A Popular Commentary on The New Testament

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I

POPULAR COMMENTARY

ON

THE NEW TESTAMENT

BY ENGLISH AND AMERICAN SCHOLARS OF VARIOUS

EVANGELICAL DENOMINATIONS.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS.

EDITED BY

PHILIP SCHAFF, D. D., LL. D.,

BAUIWIN PROFKSSOR OF SACRED UTERATURE IN THE UNION THEOUXilCAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK.

IN FOUR VOLUMES.

VOL. IV.

W^t £piiE(tle to i^t ft^xt^an, Efje Catfiolic Zpistlrs,

anil 3£lebelatton.

EDINBURGH:
T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET.

1883.

PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB,

TOR

T. & T. CLARK, EDINBURGH.

LONDON, .... lIAlf ILTON, ADAlfS, AND CO.
DUBLIN GEORGB HRRBBRT.

MANCHESTER, . . JOHN HEYWOOD.

NEW YORK, . . . CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.

MELBOURNE. GEORGE ROBERTSON.

COMMENTARY

ON

THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS,
THE CATHOLIC EPISTLES, AND REVELATION.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

HEBREWS.
Prof. JOSEPH ANGUS, IXU.,

kruknt's pakk collegb» lunuun.

JAMES.

Kkv. PATON J. GLOAG, D.D..

CALASH I RI^.

I. AND II. PETER.

Prof. S. D. F. SALMOND, D.D.,

FREE CIII'RCII COLLEGE, ABERDEEN.

I. II. AND III. JOHN.
Prof. WILLIAM B. POPK, D.D.,

DIUSBURY COLLEGE, MANCHESTER.

JUDE.

Prof. JOSEPH ANGUS, IXD..

regent's park COLLEGE, LONDON.

REVELATION.

Prof. WILLIAM MILLIGAN, \y,\^,,

ABERDEEN.

EDINBURGH:
T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET.

1883.

|oi

0
^l

/

•^

CONTENTS OF VOLUME IV.

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS— INTRODUCTION TO

COMMENTARY ON .
EPISTLE OF JAMES— INTRODUCTION TO .

COMMENTARY ON
EPISTLES OF PETER— INTRODUCTION TO .
FIRST EPISTLE-COMMENTARY ON .
SECOND EPISTLE— COMMENTARY ON
EPISTLES OF JOHN-
FIRST EPISTLE— INTRODUCnON TO .

COMMENTARY ON .
SECOND AND THIRD EPISTLES— INTRODUCTION TO

COMMENTARY ON
EPISTLE OF I UDE— INTRODUCTION TO . . .

COMMENTARY ON . . .

REVELATION OF ST. JOHN— INTRODUCTION TO .

COMMENTARY ON .

PAGE

I

95
107

144

151
241

281
393

323
325
331
334
343
369

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

MAP OF ASIA MINOR— /Ty////jr//Vr^.

JERUSALEM

MAP OF ISLE OF PATMOS

EPHESUS

23

343
369

CONTRIBUTORS

TO COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT.

VOLUME I.
Introduction, and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Introduction to the New Testament. By Prof. PHILIP SCHAFF, D.D., New York, and

Prof. Matthew B. Riddle, D.D., Hartford.
The Gospel of Matthew. By Prof. PHILIP Schaff, D.D., and Prof. Matthew B. Riddle,

D.D.
The Gospel of Mark, By Prof. Matthew B. Riddle, D.D., and Prof. Philip Schaff,

D.D.
The Gospel of Luke, By Prof. Matthew B. Riddle, D.D., and Prof. Philip Schaff,

D.D.

VOLUME IL

The Gospel of John, and the Acts of the Apostles.

The Gospel of John. By Prof. William Milligan, D.D., University of Aberdeen, and

Prof. William F. Moulton, D.D., Cambridge.
The Acts of the Apostles. By J. S. HowsoN, D.D., Dean of Chester, and Canon Donald

Spence, Rector of St. Pancras, London.

VOLUME IIL

The Epistles of Paul.

Romans. By Prof. Philip Schaff, D.D., and Prof Matthew B. Riddle, D.D.
/. and II. Corinthians. By Principal David Brown, D.D., Free Church College, Aber-
deen.
Galatians. By Prof. Philip Schaff, D.D.
Ephesians. By Prof. MATTHEW B. RIDDLE, D.D.

Philippians. By Rev. J. Rawson Lumbv, D.D., Norrisian Professor pf Divinity, Cambridge.
Colossians. By Prof. Matthew B. Riddle, D.D.
/. and II. Thessalonians. By Rev. Marcus Dods, D.D., Glasgow.
/. andIL Timothy. By the Very Rev. E. H. Plumptre, D.D., Dean of Wells.
Titus. By Rev. J. Oswald Dykes, D.D., London.
Philemon. By Rev. J. Rawson Lumby, D.D.

VIII

VOLUME IV.

The Epistle to the Hebrews, The Catholic Epistles, and Revelation.

Hebrews, By Prof. Joseph Angus, D.D., Regent's Park College, London.

James, By Rev. Paton J. Gloag, D.D., Galashiels.

/. and IL Peter, By Prof. S. D. F. Salmond, D.D., Free Church College, Aberdeen.

/. //. and III, John, By Prof. William B. Pope, D.D., Didsbury College, Manchester.

Jude, By Prof. JOSEPH Angus, D.D., Regent's Park College, London.

Revelation, By Prof. William Milligan, D.D., Aberdeen.

Maps and Plans.

By Prof. Arnold Guvot, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Geology and Physical Geography in
Princeton, N.J.

Illustrations.

By Rev. William M. Thomson, D.D., late of Beirftt, Syria, and William H. Thomson,
M.D., New York.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO

THE HEBREWS.

I. THE AUTHORSHIP.—II. THE ARGUMENT.

THE authorship and the argument of this Epistle are questions of peculiar interest.
The argument creates no special difficulty ; the authorship has given rise to
much discussion. The whole question indeed is specially deserving of attention, and
we may be excused for giving space to it.

(i) Was the Epistle written by ApoUos? In commenting on Gen. xlviiL 20,
Luther says incidentally: *The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, whoever
he was, whether Paul, or, as I think, Apollos.' This opinion he repeats in his
sermon on i Cor. iii. 4, suggesting that from the eloquence of Apollos, his know-
ledge of the Scriptures, and the general esteem in which he was held in the early
Church, he was competent to write it The opinion therefore first appeared in the
sixteenth century,^ and now numbers amongst its adherents Tholuck, Alford, and
others, all of whom are dissatisfied with the evidence of the common theory that
it was written by Paul, and all concur in accepting a theory which is without any
external evidence whatever. To maintain that Apollos might have written it is just
enough ; but to maintain that he did write it, or that he probably did, on the grounds
assigned, is to overlook some of the first principles of historical investigation.*

But not only is there no proof; there are several serious objections to the theory
itself. Apollos was a Christian Jew of Alexandria (Acts xviii. 24). He had many
devoted adherents among the early Christians (i Cor. i. 12), and shared their attach-
ment even with Paul himself. It is also clear from the Epistle that the author was

^ Though this was Luther's opinion, it was not shared by his colleagues. Calvin, indeed, sup-
posed that Luke might have written it, or Clement ; but Beza and the other reformers maintained
its Pauline origin; and in 1658 the younger Spanheim wrote an elaborate treatise on the whole
subject, examining the external and internal evidence, and showing that Paul was probably the
writer, and that he had the very qualities of which the Alexandrian scholars were proud.

' The two internal arguments upon which Dean Alford insists to prove that the Epistle was
written by Apollos, are — (i) That it is said of Apollos he began to speak * boldly* («'«^^ii#<«^ir/«i),
Acts xviii. 26 ; and therefore it was very likely he should tell the Hebrews not to cast away their
wmffii0't*9, X. 35. And yet this is the very thing which Bamal>as tells us Paul did (Acts ix. 27) in
Damascus ; the very thing he did in Jerusalem (Acts ix. 29) ; the very thing he did in company with
Barnabas at Antioch in hb last address to the Jews before turning to the Gentiles (xiii. 46) ; the very
thing he did for three whole months at Ephcsus (xix. 8); the very thing he did before Agrippa
(xxvi. 26), and at Rome, where he preached for two whole years * with all boldness.* Once the
description is used of Apollos, seven times in the Acts it is used of Paul. Four times this boldness is
commended in the Hebrews, and ten times by Paul in other Epistles which are confessedly his. The
idea is intensely Pauline. (2) The second proof is, that when Apollos first met Aquila and Priscilla,
he knew only the Baptism of John, and therefore he was well qualified, says Alford, to speak of
baptism as the foundation of the Christian life ; but so was any baptized Jew, and Paul as much
as any.

VOL. IV, I

2 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

known to his friends (cf. xiii. i8, 19, 23); and yet we are required to believe that
the secret was so kept that it was never guessed till the sixteenth century, and that
the church at Alexandria, the most learned church in Christendom, with a school
(founded, it is said, by Mark, who was certainly pastor there) which sent forth a
succession of men eminent for their erudition and research, allowed a distinguished
Alexandrine teacher to be despoiled of his honour, and uniformly ascribed the
authorship (as we shall see) to another. Apollos may have been the author, that is,
he was learned and eloquent enough to write it ; but the fact, if fact it be, is
absolutely without evidence, and is on other grounds highly improbable.

(2) Was it written by Barnabas ? The chief argument in favour of this theory is
the statement of TertuUian (about 220), and the theory itself has been supported by
Ullmann and Wieseler. 'There is extant' (says TertuUian) *an Epistle to the
Hebrews under the name of Barnabas, a man,' he adds, * sufficiently authorized by
God, inasmuch as Paul associated him with himself in maintaining the doctrine of
self-denial' (namely, that he declined wages for preaching); *and verily,' he adds,
* this Epistle of Barnabas is more generally received among the churches than the
apocryphal Pastor ' (the Shepherd of Hermas, whom he supposes to be too lax in his
views and discipline). He then quotes Heb. vi. 4-8, and adds : * The men who
received this doctrine from the Apostles, and taught it with them, had never learned
that a second repentance was promised by the Apostles to adulterers and fornicators.'
This seems strong testimony, and is the stronger from the fact that if TertuUian had
supposed that the Epistle could have been attributed to Paul, he would have attri-
buted it to him so as to gain for his views on the non-restoration of the fallen the
greater authority.

But on the other hand, when TertuUian lived it is now known that there was no
Christian Latin literature (see Wordsworth on Hippolytus and the Church at Ronu\
so that his opinion on a literary question is not entitled to great weight. It never
gained acceptance in Christendom. It was not received in Cyprus, the country of
Barnabas. Epiphanius (a.d. 367), Bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, knows nothing of it,
and ascribes the Epistle to Paul. In Africa, the country of TertuUian, it was not
received. The greatest African writers, Augustine and Athanasius, ascribe it to
Paul, as do the African Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (419).

Besides, if Barnabas had written the Epistle, he would naturally have prefixed
his name to it Barnabas took part with Peter at Antioch in the debate concerning
the ceremonial law (Gal. iL 13), and his name would have commended any Epistle
to all Hebrew Christians, as did the names of Peter and James. And further, it is
a constant tradition that Barnabas wrote one Epistle, and that Epistle is expressly
stated by Eusebius and Jerome not to form part of the Canonical Scriptures.
Whether it be the same Epistle as is now known by his name, is doubtful. If it be
his, no one can doubt that the acknowledged Epistle of Barnabas is in all respects
a very different composition from the Epistle to the Hebrews ; and it is certain that
the one Epistle which the ancient Church attributed to Barnabas is not the Epistle to
the Hebrews which both Eusebius and Jerome place in the Canon.

How TertuUian's opinion originated it is impossible to say, but the phraseology
he employs is very peculiar, and may suggest an explanation. Instead of speaking
of the Epistle of Barnabas, he speaks of the ' titulus Bamabae,' a book with the
name of Barnabas upon it as an inscription. It is very possible he may have had a
volume inscribed * Bamabae ' containing the Epistle of Barnabas and the nameless
Epistle to the Hebrews. It was not uncommon in ancient times to bind together
compositions of different authors. The Epistle of Clement is now appende'd in this

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 3

way to the Alexandrine ms., as is the Epistle of Barnabas to the Sinaitic, and so,
curiously enough, is the Epistle of Barnabas to one of the oldest mss. of Tertullian.
Some of the most remarkable discoveries of modem times — by Cureton, for example
— have been made by the examination of diflferent works bound up under one name.

(3) Was it written by Clement, Paul's fellow-labourer (Phil. iv. 3), afterwards
Bishop at Rome? The ancient testimonies on this question, Origen (220), Eusebius
{33^)i ^^^ Jerome (380), say only that some persons were of opinion that the
language of the Epistle was from him, and that the substance was Paul's : either he
clothed the thoughts of the apostle in the dress they wear, or he translated it out of
the Hebrew. That he was the author of the Epistle is an opinion maintained by no
ancient authority.

In fact, Clement has frequently quoted from the Epistle in his own Epistle to
the Corinthians, written it is generally admitted twenty or thirty years later, and
quoted it with passages taken from Holy Scripture.^ Of course he would hardly have
made those quotations if he had been himself the author. His own Epistle, more-
over, addressed to the Church at Corinth, and intended to allay the spirit of division
that prevailed then, is a good specimen of early Christian writing, but it is very
different, as any one may see, from the Epistle to the Hebrews.

(4) Was it written by Luke ? Here again the question has to do only with the
form ; no ancient writer ascribing anything to him but the words ; the form, and not
the substance. The reason for this supposition is that the style is thought to be
unlike Paul's and to be like Luke's. This question we shall look at by and by.
Meanwhile, note that Luke was not of Hebrew origin, nor was he probably even a
Hellenistic Jew. Eusebius and Jerome speak of him as a Gentile Christian, and as a
native of Antioch, the capital of Syria, and the country of Gentile Christianity.
It is hardly likely that a Gentile or even a Hellenistic Jew would have written an
Epistle to Hebrews. If Luke had written it, the fact would have been known to the
Christians of Syria and Asia, and to the Church at Antioch ; and yet the Bishops
assembled at that city in 269 to examine the teaching of Paul of Samosata who was
bishop there, quote the Epistle (Heb. iv. 15, xi. 26. See Routh's J^ei, iii. 298, 299),
and expressly ascribe it, not to Luke, but to Paul.

(5) Was it written by Paul? In considering this question, the canonical

authority may also be settled, and the subordinate question, Is the language Paul's,

or only the thoughts, or both ? And it may be convenient to divide the question

into two — the external testimony, and the internal evidence.

^ Alford objects that Clement does not say when quoting the Hebrews that it is Scripture he is
quoting, and certainly he does not say that it is from Paul he quotes, and hence Alford concludes
Clement's quotations do not prove the Pauline origin of the book, nor even its Divine authority ; but
this statement is only half the truth, and it really misleads. The fact is, that he quotes the Hebrews
as he generally quotes Paul's Epistles. He quotes Romans, Ephesians, I Tim. and Titus, and never
speaks of Paul's name in connection with any of them, nor does he introduce the quotations with any
reference to their inspired authority. Once he does refer to the Corinthians as the Epistle of the
blessed Paul, but this is a single case. No Apostolic Father has quoted so largely from the New Testa-
ment as Polycarp. In nine pages of his Epistle to the Philippians he has quoted forty-Hve passages,
but only once does he mention a name (Paul's) in connection with his quotations (chap, xi.) ; nowhere
is there any mark of quotation or formal acknowledgment of the Divine authority of the passage he is
quoting ; nor is there any example of a quotation from the New Testament with the formula common
in citing from the Old Testament, ' It is written,* earlier than the Epistle of Barnabas, which was
written subsequent to A.D. 130 (see Ante-Nicetu Apostolic Fathers^ p. 107). The fact is, that if
Clement had known Paul to be the author, and had meant to quote the book as authoritative, he
would not have quoted it in any other way. The true conclusion is that he did regard it as authori-
tative, for he quotes it to settle religious questions. Whether he regarded Paul as the author no one
can say on either side.

4 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

The Epistle to the Hebrews was no doubt written during Paul's lifetime. It
speaks throughout of the Temple as still standing, and of the Temple worship as still
going on. This is the natural meaning of the perfect tense throughout, as most of
the Greek commentators note ; and though it warns the readers of the doom hanging
over Jerusalem (x. 25), there is nothing to indicate that the war waged by Vespasian
and Titus had yet commenced.

This war began in the reign of Nero, and Paul was martyred in the last year
of the Emperor's life (see Pearson, a.d. 60-67, and Clinton's Fasti Romania 44-48).
Therefore Paul was alive when the Epistle was written. Since also the writer
promises to visit the Hebrews with Timothy (Heb. xiii. 23), it would seem to have
been written before Timothy settled at Ephesus, an event that is said to have taken
place some time before Paul's own martyrdom. This is the old tradition, and agrees
with the general tenor of the Epistle. This mention of * Timothy my brother ' has
been thought by some to be sufficient to identify the author with Paul, for Paul
often joins Timothy with himself in the addresses of his Epistles (Phil. i. ; i Thess. i. ;
2 Thess. L), speaks of him as his workfellow (Rom. xvi. 21), and three times as his
brother (2 Cor. i. ; Col i. ; Phil, i.); nor is Timothy ever so called by any other
writer of Holy Scripture.

Why Paul should write to Hebrews, and why he should omit his name, are
questions that belong more naturally to the division of Internal Evidence; but
I may note here that it was no part of the writer's purpose to remain concealed.
Those to whom the Epistle is addressed knew the name of the writer (Heb. xiiL 22).
Alford indeed maintains that, besides the omission of the name, the Epistle is
wanting in that authorization which he says Paul affirms is found in every Epistle of
vi! his — the message written in his own hand — * The salutation of me Paul with mine
own hand, which is a token in every Epistle : so I write ' (2 Thess. iii. 17). But surely
this is a mistake. The authorization is there. In all the thirteen acknowledged
Epistles of Paul, the authorization is added : * The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all.' This is the authorization he everywhere sends. These words
formed the token by which his Epistles were known. No such close is found in
any other New Testament Epistle written in Paul's lifetime. Thirty years later
Clement used it in his Epistle to the Corinthians, as thirty years later John also used
it in the Revelation ; but in the Epistles it is used by Paul alone, and it is found at
the close of the Hebrews. Whether this reasoning be admitted or not, it is clear
from the Epistle that the writer was known to those whom he specially addressed.

To whom then did Paul write? To believing Hebrews certainly. Whether to
Hebrews in Galatia, in Thessalonica, in Corinth, in Asia Minor, or in Palestine,
critics do not agree. Most have held, as nearly all the ancient churches held, that
it was written to Hebrews in Palestine. Alford thinks that it was written to Hebrews
in Rome. To believing Hebrews at all events it was written.

The Second Epistle of Peter was written a short time before the death of that
Apostle, as most hold, later than the Epistle to the Hebrews. It was addressed by
him, like the first Epistle, to the Hebrew converts in the East. In that Epistle,
which was written about a year and a half after the first, and about the same time
after what we have supposed to be the date of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the
Apostle speaks of an Epistle written by Paul, and written by Paul to Hebrews,
* as our beloved brother Paul according to the wisdom given unto him hath written
to vou; as also in all his Epistles.' Hence, it has been said, Paul wrote to the
Hebrews, and he wrote to the Hebrews in a distinct Epistle, and Peter claims for
the whole inspired authority — * which the unstable and unteachable wrest, as they do

liNTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 5

the other Scriptures^ to their own destruction.* Several competent scholars [Pearson
(Opera Posth. Diss, L p. 59) and Wordsworth] have regarded this language as a
distinct inspired testimony to the authorship and claims of this Epistle. Even if
2 Pet be of later date, it gives early testimony to the authorship of the Hebrews.

Before proceeding to give other testimonies, it may be worth while just to notice
the testimony of the Apostolic Fathers, as they have been called. This testimony has
increased of late years through the discovery of fragments of their works, and though
those fragments are not all certainly genuine, the preponderance of evidence in favour of
their genuineness is considerable, and the fragments are, at all events, of great antiquity.

Clement's quotations are not new. His Epistle was written, it is said, in a.d. 68,
or, as most hold, in 97. He quotes Heb. i. 3-7, xi. 5, 37, etc, xii. i, and probably
iii. 2, 5, vi. 18, X. 37, etc. The passages may be seen side by side in Jacobson's
edition of the Fatres Apostolici; in Stuart's Epistle to the Hebrews^ i. 77, 94; in
Forster's Apostolical Authority of the Hebrews^ sec. 13. The passages are quoted as
passages from Scripture, and are generally quoted by Clement without any indication
of quotation, and without any name. They are proofs of the existence of the Epistle,
and of its authority. His silence as to the authorship has been differently inter-
preted. If he knew the author, and knew his reason for not giving his name, it was
natural he should not assign it to Paul. Besides these quotations, it may be added
that the allusions to the Epistle are so numerous that Dr. Westcott says, it is not too
much to affirm that the Epistle must have transfused itself into Clement's mind.

Ignatius has not generally been reckoned among the writers who quote the Epistle,
but in two of the Ignatian Epistles which are generally regarded as genuine, which
exist in Syriac and have been published by Cureton, he quotes as Scripture x. 29,
and especially xiii. 17. These letters were written between 107 and 120 (see -^«/^-
Niccne Fathers^ pp. 190, 250).

Barnabas (130-150) quotes iii. 5 ; and though this may be a quotation from the
Old Testament, the argument of his Epistle touches upon many questions which are
discussed in the Hebrews {Ante-Nicene Fathers^ p. 126).^

Polycarpy the teacher of Irenaeus, and the disciple of John, quotes it (see Routh,
Opusc, EccL i. p. 24). He wrote probably about 150.

Jrenceus (130-200) is described by Alford as not quoting the Epistle, but in fact
he quotes two passages at least, i. 3 and xiii. 15, ascribing the last passage by
name to Paul. This last quotation is found in one of the recent fragments of Irenaeus
{Ante-Nicene Fathers^ i. 238 and 176). For an account of those fragments, see L
p. 20 of the same series. Many of his writings, it may be added, have been lost.

Justin Martyr (103-147) is one of the early Apologists. He was of Greek descent,
and resided near Sichem. He reasoned with Jews at Ephesus, and taught the Gospel
at Rome. He quotes from several Epistles, and from the Hebrews (i. 9, xiii. 8, 7).
The passages may be seen in Westcott, p. 147.^

' The Epistle of Barnabas contains thirty-five pages and twenty-one chapters. No one ascribed it
to the Barnabas of the New Testament till the days of Clement of Alexandria ; and Eusebius reckons
it among the non-canonical books. But there is very good reason for regarding it as belonging to the
middle of the second century. By the discovery of the Cod. Sin. the whole Epistle is now known in
Greek. Previously we had only a Latin translation of part of it. It discusses the meaning of the
Jewish sacrifices, the near approach of Antichrist, the New Covenant as founded on the sufferings of
Christ, the spiritual significance of the Ancient Law, and the abrogation of the Ceremonial Law.
Every chapter may be paralleled from one or other of the Gospels or of the Epistles, and yet the
New Testament is never quoted except twice.

' It is not creditable to our English scholarship that it should be said that Justin Martyr never
quoted from the writings of St. Paul. German editions of his works give some fifty passages which
are quoted really from Paul's writings.

*

6 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

Considering that two at least of these Apostolic Fathers (Clement and Irenaeus)
were Westerns, and resided in a district where the Epistle was least known, the amount
of testimony is really considerable, and is much more than has been hitherto
supposed.

The other testimonies to the authorship of the Epistle are divided into those of
general or local Councils, of members of the Eastern Churches, viz. in Palestine, Syria,
Alexandria, Asia Minor, and Constantinople, and those of the Western Churches
including Africa.

The earliest Council is that held at Antioch a.d. 269, which quotes the Epistle as
Paul's (see Routh, iil 298). The second is the Council of Nice (a.d. 325), where it
was received as the production of Paul (Wordsworth's Introduction ^ p. 365). The
third is the Council of Laodicea (a.d. 363), where it was decided that the uncanonical
books are not to be read in the churches, but only the following : Genesis . . ., etc. . . .
PauFs fourteen Epistles (Westcott, p. 483). The fourth is the Council of Carthage
(a.d. 397), where it was ordered that none but the canonical Scriptures should be
read in the churches, and among those are * the thirteen Epistles of Paul, and also
the Epistle of the same to the Hebrews.' In the next council held at Carthage
twenty years later (a.d. 419), they are called *the fourteen Epistles of Paul' simply;
and so the phrase goes in later Councils.

If the Epistle was addressed to believing Hebrews at Jerusalem, — the common
view, — we may begin our testimonies with Cyril, who was bishop in that city. He
wrote his Catechetical Lectures in 349, and gives the names of the books of the two
Testaments. Among them he recites the fourteen Epistles of Paul, affirming that the
books themselves were delivered by apostles and primitive bishops (Westcott, p. 491).

In the same century Jerome was living at Bethlehem. He had come from Rome
to fit himself for translating the Scriptures into his own tongue, and brought with him
the prejudice of the Latin Church of his age against the Epistle and its translations,
a prejudice that was occasioned in part by the fact that the doctrines of the Montanist
Novatian teachers in the West concerning the renewing of the fallen to repentance
were grounded on their interpretation of the early verses of the sixth chapter of the
Hebrews. He states that it was received as Paul's by all the churches of the East,
and by all previous Greek-Christian writers. Though many attributed it to Barnabas
or to Clement, he adds, that he himself receives it as Paul's, but thinks the question
of authorship a small one, since the book itself is read every day in public reading
{Epist. ad Dardanum^ Words, p. 31). Elsewhere {de Vir, Illust p. 30) he says that
the style created difficulty, and that some therefore thought that while the Sententiae
were Paul's, Barnabas, or Clement, or Luke had arranged and written them in his
own style (Words, p. 30; Delitzsch, p. 12). There are several smaller mistakes in
this statement, which, however, we need not notice.

Eusebius was Bishop of Caesarea (a.d. 340), the town where Paul was for two
years confined. He says that the * fourteen Epistles of Paul are manifest and evident '
(E. H, iii. 3), and elsewhere states that he is disposed to think that the substance of
the Epistle is Paul's, but the diction from another hand, Clement's {E, H, iii. 38;
Words. Introduction^ p. 364 ; and Del p. 10). Elsewhere he reckons it among the
Homologoumena (iii. 25), and quotes it as Paul's (Words. Introduction), His testimony
is the more important, because he was inclined to favour the Arians. * If,' says Theodoret^
Bishop of Cyprus (393), ' the Arians are not willing to listen to us concerning the
benefits which the Church has received from the Epistle to the Hebrews, let them
listen to Eusebius of Palestine, to whom they appeal as an advocate of their own
dogmas ; for Eusebius admits that this Epistle is the work of the Divine apostle, and

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 7

that all the ancients entertained this opinion concerning the authorship of it ' (Prooera. to
his Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews),

Besides these Palestine authorities, Gregory Thaumaturgus (Bishop of Caesarea,
A.D. 212-270) is now quoted by Cardinal Mai as assigning it to Paul, as does Basil
the Great, Bishop of the same place (a.d. 371-380). Chrysostom (a.d. 347-407),
Bishop of Antioch, and afterwards at Constantinople, speaks of the fourteen Epistles
of Paul. Herein also Epiphanius (a.d. 367) of Cyprus, Theodoret of Cyrus, Gregory
of Nyssa (a.d. 332-396) all agree.

In Asia Minor, Gregory of Nazienzum (a.d. 391) reckons among the * God-inspired
writings ' * the fourteen Epistles of Paul' Amphilochius (a.d. 380), Bishop of Iconium,
puts his reasons into verse, and reckons among the words of truth and inspired Scrip-
tures the twice seven Epistles of Paul. Some, adds he, say that the Epistle to the
Hebrews is spurious, ovk c^ XeyoKrc?, yvticria yap 17 xapt^. So says also Theodore,
Bishop of Mopsuestia in Cilicia (a.d. 394), and a hundred and twenty years earlier
Archelaus, Bishop of Cashara in Mesopotamia (a.d. 278), in his controversy with
Manes, quotes Heb. i. 3 and iii. 5, 6. The passages may be seen in Routh, v.
127-149. The testimony of Ephrem of Syria (a.d. 439) and of Severian Bishop of
Galata in Syria may be seen in Lardner, II. 482, 620.

As yet I have said nothing of Alexandrian writers. The church in that city was
of primitive origin. It is said to have been founded by Mark, who was with Paul in
his first imprisonment at Rome (Col iv. 10; Philem. 24), and perhaps also at his
martyrdom (2 Tim. iv. 11). The church was also distinguished by the ability of its
pastors, and Jerome says that the Catechetical school there began a Marco Evangelista,
One of the chief teachers of the school, a presbyter of the church, was Pantaenus
(a.d. 155-216), the teacher of Clement of Alexandria (see Routh, i. 376). He
ascribes the book to Paul, and gives reasons why the apostle omits his name (West
p. 309; see Delitzsch, p. 8). Clement (a.d. 220) of Alexandria taught (according to
the summary of his Hypotyposes or Outlines as given by Eusebius) that the Epistle
to the Hebrews is Paul's written in Hebrew, and that Luke, having carefully {^^1X0-
Tifim) translated it, published it for the use of the Greeks. Hence, he adds, the
similarity of colouring (xpwra) between this Epistle and the Book of Acts. In his
Adumbrationes (Comments on the Canonical Epistles) he expressly assigns the
Hebrews to Paul, adding that Luke translated it. He regularly quotes it in the
Stromata as Paul's (West. p. 311 ; Words, p. 365).

Origen, a pupil of Clement's, holds substantially the same view. See Wordsworth's
translation of the passage ' on the Can./ p. 237, and Stuart, L p. 127. The meaning
of this passage has been questioned, and Alford quotes it as affirming that no one
can know who wrote the Epistle ; but not only does the passage itself correct this
rendering, the rendering is contradicted by two facts. First, after writing this passage,
Origen always quotes the Epistle as Paul's, or as the apostle's (see Stuart, i. 133).
Secondly, in a passage given by Westcott as containing Origen's mature judgment on
the Epistle, he says (a.d. 240) that he has written elsewhere * to show that the Epistle
is Paul's ' (West. p. 318).

These facts are important They show that in the second and third centuries
there was a uniform and constant tradition at Alexandria that the substance of the
Epistle was Paul's, and that there was a difference of opinion as to the person who
reduced the Epistle to writing. Pantaenus gives no hint that the diction had one
author and the matter another. Clement suggests a Hebrew original and a Greek
translation. Origen differs from his master, and suggests that Paul arranged the
materials and another wrote, Clement or Luke. The discrepancy shows how all

8 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

agreed as to the substance ; and in all the subsequent testimony at Alexandria, the
distinction between substance and language ceases. Hence Dionysius of Alexandria
(a.d. 247) ascribes the Epistle to Paul (Delit. p. 10; Words, p. 366); as does Peter,
a celebrated Bishop of that city (a.d. 300) (see Routh, iv. p. 35), and his successor
Alexander (a.d. 313) (see passage in West. 319; Lardn. ii. 302); and so, finally, do
the two great leaders in that city, Athanasius (a.d. 373) and Cyril (a.d. 412). The
passages may be seen in Lardner, ii. 400, 401, iii. 9 ; and a confirmation of the state-
ment may be seen in a recently published Catena of Dr. Cramer (a.d. 1844), in
which Cyril, Alhanasius, and others all speak of the Hebrew as Paul's.

It may be added, to complete this Eastern testimony, that nearly all the most
ancient Greek mss. place the Epistle to the Hebrews among Paul's Epistles,^ not
after the Pastoral Epistles as is done by the Vulgate, and in the A. V., but before
them. In the Alex., the Sinaitic, the Vat, the Cod. Eph., the Codex Coislianus,
in several ancient Cursive mss. (see Tisch. N. Z, ed. 1858, p. 555), and in older
MSS. still, the Epistle to the Hebrews is placed immediately after the Epistle to the
Galatians, and before that to the Ephesians. This fact appears from the present
numerals of the sections in the Vat. (see Cardinal Mai's note, p. 429). In the most
ancient Sahidic version it is inserted before the Epistle to the Galatians.

It may be added, as bearing upon the question of canonicity, that the Epistle is
found in the earliest versions of the New Testament, the Syriac, and the old Italic ;
and those versions were made as early as the end of the second century at latest, or
about a hundred and thirty years after the Epistle was written.

While the evidence of the Eastern Churches (Palestinian, Syrian, Arabic, Alexan-
drian, the last half Latin and half Syrian or Greek) is thus decided, the evidence of
the Western Church is in a very different position. The history of the Epistle in this
respect is the very opposite of that of the Book of Revelation. That book was received
unanimously by the Western Church, and questioned in the East. The Hebrews, on
the contrary, was received unanimously in the East, and questioned in the West. The
amount and value of this Western questioning we now proceed to discuss.

Here again I may remark the question has been unfairly represented, either by
inadvertence upon the part of readers, or by forgetfulness of facts upon the part of
writers.

Dr. Westcott, for example, says of Cyprian that he makes no reference to the
Epistle, and that he implicitly denies that the work is Paul's (p. 325). In the same
way Victorinus is quoted as rejecting it. The grounds for these statements are — (i)
that Cyprian does not quote the Epistle, and (2) that he speaks of Paul's Epistles to
Seven Churches only. So also in the case of Victorinus. To the first reason I reply
that Cyprian quotes comparatively little from the New Testament, that there are
several other Epistles not quoted from, and that in fact he does quote from Heb.
xil. 6 (see Works, p. 30). As to Victorinus, nothing remains of his but a brief
fragment of half-a-dozen pages of a commentary on Genesis apparently, entitled, * On
the making of the World' (Routh, iii. 455). In those fragments he refers to only six
books of the New Testament, and his non-quotation from the Hebrews proves nothing.
The second argument is, that both writers speak of Paul's letters to seven churches
only, and of course, it is concluded, the Hebrews is not included among them. The
statement of both is in substance: — Behold the seven horns of the Lamb, the
seven eyes of God, the seven spirits before the Throne, the seven lamps, the seven
candlesticks, the seven women in Isaiah, the seven deacons, the seven trumpets, the

^ On the other hand, the Cod. Clar. reckons the Epistle as canonical, but speaks of it n§ the Epistle
of Bamabns. This is an African MS. of the eighth century.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 9

seven angels who sounded, the seven seals which were broken, the seven pairs which
Noah took into the ark, the sevenfold vengeance promised to Cain, the seven pillars
of the house of Wisdom of which Solomon speaks, and of course the seven churches
to whom John wrote, and the seven churches of Paul {apud Paulum). Each writer
is commenting upon the number of seven, its significance, and its completeness, and
on the impossibility of there being more than the four Gospels, and seven Epistles to
as many churches. Now, in fact, Paul did write to seven churches only, as John did,
but the very place of the Epistle to the Hebrews, standing as it does among the
Catholic Epistles, and after the Epistles to particular churches, shows that it was
regarded, not as an Epistle to a Church, but to Hebrew believers ; and the implicit
denial, as it has been called, of the Pauline authorship based on these facts, is really
without foundation. Perhaps the favourite theory may be saved, and no dishonour
be done to any Epistle by the later discovery of more than one Father that there are
Epistles to seven churches, and that Paul wrote twice seven Epistles in all, including
the Hebrews ! Of course I am not quoting Cyprian or Victorinus as saying anything
in favour of the Epistle, except that Cyprian once quotes it. I only affirm that their
authority against it amounts really to nothing.^

Another similar statement is, that no Latin Father before Hilary (a.d. 368) quotes
the Epistle as PauFs (West p. 331). This statement may sound startling, but it
really amounts to very little. There is no Latin Father before Hilary to quote it
Clement, as we have seen, quotes the Epistle, as he quotes most of the Epistles,
without mentioning the author ; but he is not properly a Latin Father. Tertullian
quotes and speaks of it as a book included under the title of Barnabas ; and he is
rather to be reckoned a heretic Father of the North African Church, as he certainly
was when he wrote the treatise Dc Pudicitia^ in which the Epistle is quoted.
Apollonius and Victor are Latin Fathers^ but they have left no works behind them.
Minucius Felix is the only author of any note before Tertullian. He wrote OctaviuSy
a book on Evidences, but, like most of the books of the early Apologists, it contains
no quotations from the Christian Scriptures ; while the Letters of Cornelius given in
Cyprian quote only one passage out of the whole of the New Testament (Matt. v. 8).
The Latin literature of the first three centuries is, in fact, exceedingly scanty, and
what we have supplies little or no evidence in the way of quotation upon the question
of the Canon at all. It may be worth noticing, after these sweeping statements about
Hilary, that the Epistle to the Hebrews had been translated into Latin, and had
received its place among the Latin Scriptures a hundred years at least before
Hilary *s day.

Among Western writers who were not Latin Fathers, however, are Irenaeus and
Hippolytus. The former was Bishop at Lyons, and though he is mentioned as not
having quoted the Epistle, he has really quoted it, and according to the Pfaffian
fragments has ascribed it to Paul. As to Hippolytus, who was Bishop at Portus
Romanus, we have fragments only of his works, though they are considerable. His
Refutation of all Heresies fills a volume in the Ante-Niccne Fathers^ and it may be
said that though perhaps he does not quote the Epistle, in three passages he quotes
remarkable Old Testament passages which are quoted in the Hebrews : * Our God is
a consuming fire,' for example ; and, * The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent.' At
the same time much cannot be made of his silence. His quotations from the New
Testament are, considering his subject, exceedingly few, — not more, I suppose, than

* This is the more clear when it is remembered that ten years after the death of Victorinus the
Council of Hippo (a.d. 393), and then the Council of Carthage, placed this very book among the
canonical Scriptures under the title of * The Divine Writings * (see West. p. 483).

lo INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

80 in 500 pages ; and he gives no quotations from the First of John and Philemon
(Westcott). His quotations, it may be added, are not always distinguishable from his
own composition.

But though no importance is to be attached to the silence of Latin writers, there
are two or three testimonies in relation to the Epistle which deserve special attention.
Eusebius states that Caius, an ecclesiastical man, as he calls him, and of great
reasoning power (XoytKcoraTos), mentions only thirteen EpisUes of Paul, not
enumerating the Hebrews with the other Epistles, and he intimates that he does this
in a treatise against Montanism. This Caius was a presbyter of Rome, and flourished
(about A.D. 196) towards the end of the second century (Eus. vi. 20; Words. 367).

There is a similar omission in the Muratorian Canon, as it is called, a list of the
canonical books of Scripture belonging probably to the latter part of the second
century, and ascribed by some to this Caius. The manuscript which contains that
canon was written in the eighth century, and is a Latin translation from the Greek,
as is proved by the Graecisms of the style. It is most carelessly written, and there
are several lacunae in the mss. If this is the authority to which Eusebius refers, it
partly corroborates his statement, though in fact it merely says that Paul writes to no
more than seven churches by name, and shows * by this sevenfold writing that there
is only one Church spread abroad through the whole world' (see Ante-Nicene Fragmmts^
p. 161). If this Muratorian fragment was not by Caius, then it is an additional
confirmation of the statement of Caius. It illustrates very well how the canon was
now taking a definite form. It detracts from the value of the document that it does
not contain the First Epistle of John, and that the Epistle of James and one Epistle
of Peter are omitted.

A hundred and fifty years later (a.d. 380), Philastrius, Bishop of Brescia, and a
friend of Ambrose of Milan, speaks of some heretics who say that Paul's Epistle to
the Hebrews was not written by him, but is either by Barnabas the Apostle, or by
Clement, while others say that it is Luke's. There is also an Epistle written to the
Laodicaeans, and because in it are certain things of which they do not think well,
therefore it is not read in the church. ' Though it is read by some, it is not read in
the church to the people, but only the thirteen Epistles of Paul and occasionally the
Epistle to the Hebrews. They think it not Paul's because the author has written in
a rhetorical style, and because it speaks of Christ as man (iii. 3) ; therefore it is not
read as well as because of what it says on the impossibility of restoring the fallen
(vL 4), a passage that might favoiu: the Novatians' (Words, p. 16). Here he ascribes
the opinion to heretics, though he says also that the Epistle was not commonly read
in the churches.

These two authorities (Caius and Philastrius) are confirmed by the language of
Jerome. He says that the Epistle was received as canonical by all the churches of
the East, and by all early Greek Christian writers, though some ascribed it to
Barnabas and others to Clement, while they read it in their churches nevertheless.
He adds that the Laiinorum Consuetudo did not regard it as canonical, just as the
Gracorum Consuetudo did not regard the Revelation as canonical; and yet, he
continues, we receive both as canonical, following herein the authority of ancient
writers (Westcott, p. 403).

How the Epistle got this repute at Rome it is not difficult in some measure to
explain. Let me repeat that there was a very scanty literature, and very little know-
ledge of theology or Scripture, at Rome during those early centuries, that the Roman
Church up to the time of Augustine always admitted fewer canonical books than the
Eastern, that in the ancient Latip lists just named the Epistles to Jews are all

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. ii

omitted (Hebrews, James, and i Peter), and we have some explanation of the facts.
It may be added that the great controversy in Italy in the first century was in relation
to Montanism and Novatianism, both heresies maintaining that the fallen could not
be restored to the Church. The list of Caius, giving to Paul thirteen Epistles, is
expressly said by Jerome to be in his Treatise on Montanism (see Jerome's testimony
in Words, p. 32, App.), and Philastrius states that the Epistle was read in the churches
only ' sometimes,' because of the teaching of the Epistle, and the support it seemed
to give to the Novatian heresy. At the same time this was not the only reason ; for
Tertullian, who was a Montanist, does not quote the Epistle as Paul's, though stating
that the doctrine of the Episde was received from the apostles.

While there is this negative testimony up to this date, there are on the other side
other facts connected with the Western Church : (i) Clement quotes it largely, as he
does other New Testament books ; (2) the Epistle is included in the old Italic version
of Scripture (a.d. 150 to 200, Stuart, L 144); (3) it is quoted by Irenaeus; (4) by
Rufinus, one of the few Latin writers of this century, the Hebrews is ascribed to Paul,
and is said to be among the books which the Fathers included in the Canon (Words,
p. 20, App.). In the Decretals of Daraasus (a.d. 366-384) the Pope, who sent Jerome
to Palestine to complete his revision of the old Latin versions, the Hebrews is
reckoned as Paul's, and is said to be one of those Divine writings which the universal
Catholic Church holds (Words, p. 38). Other Decretals by Innocent (402), and by
Gelasius (492), to the same effect may be seen in Words, pp. 38, 39, App. Their
genuineness, however, is questioned.

From the time of Jerome the Epistle was generally received in the Latin Church,
though with some misgivings upon the part of some authorities. Hilary of Poictiers
(a.d. 368), and Pelagius (a.d. 425), both speak of it as Paul's (Westc. p. 401), as do
Ambrose of Milan (a.d. 340, 397), Lucifer of Cagliari in Sardinia (a.d. 370), and
Augustine, though not without some hesitation. The lists of Jerome, Augustine, and
the old Latin version all agree with our modern Canon, except that the last omits the
two shorter Epistles of John. Cassiodorus (a.d. 468-560) appeals to all, and affirms
that the Canon had been long since settled. The Middle Age writers agree in these
conclusions — Primasius, Isidore, Alcuin, and Aquinas; and in the year 1546 the
Church of Rome pronounced an anathema on all who denied the canonical or the
Pauline origin of the Epistle. The evidence is not strengthened by her denunciations,
but the decision has value as showing how she sided with Jerome and Augustine,
the writers with whom the Latin literature of the Western Church really begins.

Internal evidence, though often regarded as very decisive, is really often delusive.
A few years ago the literary world was startled by the discovery of an alleged poem
of Milton's, and the highest literary authorities pronounced it impossible that it
should be his. No one, on comparing the L* Allegro and the Paradise Lost of the
same author, would guess them to be by the same author. Johnson, it is well known,
had three styles, and between the first and the last there is a wide difference. The
style of the Letters of Junius has been traced in half-a-dozen contemporaneous writers,
and all have been charged in succession with the authorship of these volumes. And
when we go back and examine literature which belongs to another country and
another age, with scanty materials to guide us, conjecture becomes much more
unsatisfactory. The Book of Job has been ascribed on internal evidence by the
most eminent authorities to Moses, and to the time of the Captivity. The Pentateuch
has been divided among a dozen writers, and each critic has sought to set aside the
theories of his predecessors. I am speaking only of general impressions when I say
that the Hebrews does not differ more from the rest of Paul's Epistles than the

12 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

hoi)cful tone of First Thessalonians differs from the sadness of Second Timothy,
than the style and general spirit of the Galalians differs from the style and spirit of
the Ephesians^ or than the Book of the Revelation differs from the Gospel of John.

The (juestion needs, however, to be examined in detail.

Let me jiremise that the question of the authorship differs from the question of
the canonical authority. Clement, for example, quotes the Epistle as he quotes
other |)art8 of Scrij)ture, but without mentioning the author's name. Origen, who
maintained that the thoughts were PauFs, held that the words were by another, and
yet he has written Homilies upon the whole book, expounding it as Scripture. The
ancient versions, the Italic and the Syriac, place it in the sacred volume without
giving evidence of its authorship. In other words, whilst there is extensive external
evidence of its Pauline origin, there is still more extensive evidence in favour of its
canonicity. It is very conceivable that we may admit the second without admitting
the first, being either in doubt, or disposed to think, though without external evidence,
that the thoughts are Paul's, and the composition partly Luke's or ApoUos's, and
partly in the closing chapter Paul's — a view that has found favour with some German
•cholars. Even Alford, who questions strenuously its Pauline origin on internal
evidence chiefly, does not scruple to admit its canonical authority. Calvin and Beza,
who question its Pauline authority, also maintain strenuously its canonicity.

Let me revert to the language of Peter in relation to Paul's Epistles (2 Pet. iiL 15)
— words that were long since quoted as referring to the Hebrews, This second
Epistle is said to be written to strangers of the Dispersion, i.e, to believing Jews who
alone answer the description ; and . its purpose is to exhort them to patience amid
the trials of their faith. This lesson is the very lesson of the Hebrews^ the readers of
which are exhorted to be followers or imitators of those who through faith and
patience (fiMcpoOvfjua) are inheriting the promises (vi. 12 ; see xii. 2, ii. 18, iv. 15, 16).
This interpretation has been as vigorously questioned as maintained, but no one
seems to have considered whether there is not evidence in the Second Epistle of
Peter of his knowledge of the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is admitted that he has
taken expressions largely from Paul's writings generally, and it might be expected
that if he had referred to the Hebrews he would have taken expressions from it too.

There is a remarkable sameness of expression in the Epistle to the Hebrews and
in the Epistles of Peter. Phrases are found in both, and in no other books of the
New Testament to an extent and in forms which make it clear the sameness cannot
be accidental. A comparison between them will often throw light upon the meaning
of each, and it will be found to have interest in connection with the authorship of
the Epistle. Peter's pointed reference to Paul's wTitings, and the fact that he
addressed his Epistles to Hebrews scattered abroad, and exhorted them to practise
the same patience in suffering upon which the Epistle to the Hebrews insists, all
combine to make the Pauline origin of the thoughts at least probable.

The following are the more important parallelisms : —

Heb. i. I, and 2 Pet. iii. 2, where both describe God as having spoken to the
Fathers by prophets, and as giving the Gospel through His Son. Both also use the
phrase ' in the last days,' or * at the end of these days.'

Heb. ii. 7, 9, and 2 Pet. i. 17, where each speaks of glory and honour as ascribed
to Christ, quoting apparently from the 8th Psalm, and combining terms found only here.

Both speak of Christ as * without spot ' {a/uafios), and as offering Himself without
spot unto God (Heb. ix. 14, and i Pet. i. 18-20).

Both speak of Him as dying once for all (airo^) for sin (Heb. ix. and x., and
I Pet iii. 18) — a description found only here.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 13

Both speak of the sprinkling of His blood (pavrurfio^) — a familiar idea in the
Law, but found only in these two Epistles, Heb. ix. 13, and i Pet L 2.

Both speak of the sympathy which Christ has for us, and which we ought also to
have for one another (Heb. iv. 15, x. 34, and i Pet in. £) — expressions found only
in these Epistles.

Both speak of Christ as the Chief Shepherd, or as the Great Shepherd— a
comparison found only here.

Both speak of the entrance (cto-oSos) into Christ's kingdom and glory (Heb. x. 19,
and 2 Pet i. 11), and both speak of angels as subject to the Son (Heb. i. 6, iL 5, and
I Pet. iii. 22) — expressions found nowhere else in the New Testament

Similarly Christians are described in both Epistles, and nowhere else, as strangers
(irap€iriBrjfioi) ; as having tasted that the Lord is gracious, or as having tasted the
good word of life (Heb. vi. 5, and i Pet ii. 3); as *fed with milk, and not yet fit for
solid food' (Heb. v. 12-14, and i Pet ii. 2). In both, Christians are exhorted
* to exercise oversight lest,' *to look carefully lest' (cTrto-KoirovKrc?) (Heb. xii. 15;
I Pet V. 2) ; the only places where the verb is found. In the passages where the
awful results of apostasy are described the thought is alike in both, and the guilt is
made to depend upon the fact that the men whom they warn had received a fuller
knowledge {iirCyvoxny) of the truth (Heb. vi. 4-6, x. 26-29, and 2 Pet ii. 20, 21).
The prayer of the two apostles is that God Himself would be pleased to perfect them
(KaTapTLo-aL vftas), or in the revised text of Peter KaTapTL(r€t, simply, a phrase found
in this sense in these Epistles alone (Heb. xiii. 21 ; i Pet v. 10). Here are fifteen
descriptions ot Christ and of Christian men peculiar to these Epistles, and they
seem to lead to the conclusion that the writer of the Epistles of Peter must have
seen the Epistle to the Hebrews.

Why should he write to Jews at all ? Is there not prima facie evidence against
his writing ? True, Peter was the apostle of the Circumcision, as Paul was of the
Gentiles; but this did not exclude the one or the other from the care of any part of
the Church. Peter was the first to win the Gentiles to the Church. Paul always
visited the synagogues and preached to the Jews in every city to which he went.
Nay, he himself says that he was the servant of all that he might gain the more.
To the Jews he became as a Jew, that he might by all means save some of them. Nay,
he was even specially interested in their salvation. Are they Hebrews ? So am I. Are
they the seed ot Abraham ? So am I. Therefore he says, Brethren, my heart's desire
and prayer unto God for Israel is that they may be saved. And if this was his feeling
for all the seed of Abraham, how much more for those among them who were endeared
by their fellowship in the Gospel ! He had made collections in all parts of Europe
for the relief of the bodily wants of the saints at Jerusalem : how natural that he
should think of their temptations and strengthen their hearts to meet them !

Besides, as no one was more zealous than Paul to promote the salvation of his
kinsmen, none was more capable. He was a Pharisee, and the son of a Pharisee,
had been brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect
manner of the law of his fathers. After the straitest sect of their religion he had
lived a Pharisee. He was therefore eminently qualified to reason with his own
nation on the true nature and end of the Mosaic Institutes, and to handle them with
all the learning and wisdom which the Epistle to the Hebrews displays.

But why should he write anonymously ? His thirteen Epistles all commence with
his name, which occurs nowhere in this Epistle. Like the First Epistle of John, it is
anonymous : is that a proof that it is not of apostolic origin ?

The Epistles to which Paul has prefixed his name were all addressed to Gentiles ;

14 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

and as he was the apostle of the Gentiles he magnified his office, and claimed to be
heard by them in virtue of it. But in addressing Hebrews his position was different
It is true that the person from whom the Epistle came should be known, for how else
could its reception be ensured ? They whom the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews
desired to assure of the fact knew well the hand from which that Epistle came.
* Pray for us that I may be restored to you the sooner ; * * Know ye that our brother
Timothy is set at liberty? with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.^ These
expressions prove that they to whom the Epistle was sent in the first instance knew
from whom it came ; and the bearer of the Epistle would naturally inform them by
whom it was sent Hence, as we find from external evidence, all the Eastern and
ancient churches ascribed it to Paul. So says Eusebius ; so says Pantaenus a hundred
and fifty years earlier.

Clearly, therefore, the name of the writer was not withheld from any (desire to
maintain entire secrecy, much less for any unworthy purpose ; for the author was well
known to his friends, and could be known by all who cared to inquire of them.
Alford indeed remarks on the gaiuherie of the writer in concealing his name, and
yet telling them substantially who he was, and concludes that Paul would never have
done this ; but this gaucluriey if it be such, is chargeable upon the writer, whoever he
was ; and as Alford has the highest opinion of his profound sagacity, why charge him
with what may be no gaucherie at all, but may be the soundest wisdom ?

The case is that the Epistle was written not only for steadfast friends, but for
waverers, for Judaizing Christians, and even indirectly for unchristianized Jews. To
two-thirds of this last class he was specially odious — to the Judaizing Christians
because he had rebuked Peter openly to his face, and maintained the equality of all
Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, under the Gospel ; and to unchristianized Jews
as the renegade whose life they sought, and whose name would have deterred them
from reading anything he had written. In the last two cases his name would have
frustrated the very design with which the Epistle was sent

His Master, who ' witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate,' had set him
the example. He withdrew from districts that refused to receive Him. He charged
those who witnessed His mighty works not to make Him known, lest they should
provoke prematurely the jealousy of His enemies. He carefully abstained from
putting stumbling-blocks in their way, lest they should sin. Paul caught the same
spirit. He sought to give no offence either to Jew or to Gentile, or to the Church of
God. He never compromised truth, indeed never concealed the Cross, or corrupted
the simplicity of the Gospel by human additions, or by worldly wisdom ; but if the
withholding of his name was likely to gain his end, he was the first to withhold it
If Paul had been the author of this Epistle, there are good reasons why he should
have withheld it ; and as those reasons do not apply with anything like the same force
to any one else, the very withholding of the name, instead of diminishing, does, in
fact, increase the probability that the Epistle is his.

Upon the question of the internal evidence we cannot enter at length. It may be
enough to state briefly the objections and the answers given to them under the heads
of single words ; or combinations of words ; the mode of quotation, and the general
style of argument and thought

I. De Wette quotes a list of words used only in the Hebrews, and not found in
the recognised Epistles of Paul. He takes the list as Schultz gives it (see Stuart's
Introduction to the Epistle^ pp. 308 and 289). The total number of such words is 118,
or, omitting six that are found in quotations from the LXX., 112. The Epistle covers
about twenty pages in the Oxford Revised Text, so that words peculiar to this Epistle

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 1$

amount to about five and a half in each page. In fact, words of this class amount,
according to Forster, to 151, or about seven and a half in each page. Now, in First
Corinthians there are 230 words peculiar to that Epistle. The Epistle covers twenty-
seven pages, so that they amount to eight and a half per page (see the list in Stuart,
pp. 298, 299). If we take Jurst Timothy^ the case is much stronger. That Epistle is
one-third of the length of the Hebrews^ and it contains 74 words found nowhere else
in PauFs writings — nearly half the number found in the Hebrews. The number of
peculiar Pauline words found in the entire New Testament (excepting the Hebrews)
is 791, of which 614 are found but once, or in only one Epistle of his. These
Epistles cover 132 pages, and the peculiar words amount to six in each page. The
peculiar words of the Hebrews amount, according to Forster, to seven and a half per
page, and yet it is on this ground that De Wette questions the Pauline origin of the
Epistle itself. 1

But we may go further. There are 54 words taken from the LXX. which are found
only in the Hebrews and in Paul's Epistles. There are 21 words peculiar to the
Hebrews and PauFs Epistles or speeches, and found elsewhere neither in the New
Testament nor in the LXX. (d^Xciv, eta — c^iXo^cvta), and there are 38 words which
are occasionally found in the New Testament, but which in frequency of usage are
peculiar to the Hebrews and to Paul's Epistles (aytoo-ftos, used eight times by Paul in
Romans, Corinthians, Thessalonians, Timothy, and Hebrews, and only once elsewhere).
These are all characteristic words, and are found in the Hebrews and in Paul's
acknowledged Epistles. There are indeed 177 more which occur more than once in
his acknowledged Epistles (c^iXort/u-cto-^at, TroXtrevco^ai, etc), none of which are found
in the Hebrews, and great stress has been laid upon this fact Here again, however,
we need only to complete the statement of the facts, and the objection is answered.
There are 172 words which are acknowledged to be Pauline, and yet are not found in
the Corinthians; and there are 159 which are not found in the Romans; while in the
shorter Epistles the number of omitted words is proportionately much larger. These
figures are subject to correction, as may be gathered from the note below ; but they
will be found in any case to supply but a feeble reply to the external evidences.

2. The quotations in the Epistle to the Hebrews are objected to by various
writers, and on various grounds. De Wette objects to the number of them, and refers
to the fact that in Ephesians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, and Titus, there
are not more than four or ^y^ quotations in all ; but the answer is plain. In an
Epistle to the Hebrews quotations from the Old Testament are the very things we
should expect. In fact, while there are 34 quotations in the Hebrews^ there are 48

' I have adopted these figures from Stuart and Forster. Dr. Abbott of Harvard has re-examined
the Epistle to the Hebrews and the First Epistle to the Corinthians. See Smith's Dictionary
(American edition) under Hebreivs. He states that the words peculiar to the First Corinthians are
217, and the words peculiar to the Hebrews are about 300. I have roughly examined Bnider's Cofi'
cordance for the entire New Testament, with the result that, in First Corinthians, the words used in
that Epistle are about three and a half to the page ; in Hebrews, six to the page ; and in all the rest of
Paul's Epistles, five. But two facts appeared very obvious in that examination : (i) In many of Paul's
Epistles — I and 2 Tim. and Titus, for example ; Eph. and Col. ; i and 2 Cor. — the same subjects
are discussed, and the number of words that occur twice in what are practically parallel passages is
very considerable. But for those passages these words would be found only once, and the difference
in the proportion of unusual words in the Hebrews and in the confessedly Pauline Epistles would be
largely diminished. (2) The peculiarly Pauline phrases found in the Hebrews are both numerous and
striking; — «9^» (I Tim. vi. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 7; Heb. xii. i), k^Mrfx^it^m (2 Cor. i. 12; Eph. ii. 3;
Heb. X. 33, xiii. 18), kifmvu fiifim$st yaX* (in its metaphorical sense), tfiixtt, ^Ur^v, and Si«r/i(ir#M,
MMTmfyut, futimt, *fit ffmhimf, i«V itaihimf (2 Tim. iii. i6 ; Heb. xii. 7, Revised text), rffX/**;, *fSin^t,
rvvfi^nrif, rtymf^, inrsfiuniy yfrirrmirit (confidence), inr^rmr^Uf, etc.

l6 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

in the Romans^ an Epistle unquestionably Paul's, and addressed to a mixed church —
Jewish only in part The quotations in the Hebrews are 3*5 per page : the quotations
in the Romans are rather more.

De Wette maintains also that the symbolical use and occasional accommodation
of the Old Testament passages and ordinances to the argument in hand is foreign to
Paul's manner, though like Philo's. But the facts are really the other way. Paul
uses the Old Testament in his acknowledged writings in the very way in which the
Jews were accustomed to use it. He sometimes appeals to direct prophetic utter-
ances ; sometimes to similarity of sentiment ; sometimes he accommodates passages
which in their original reference have a local or temporary meaning to describe things
that happened at the time he wrote. Sometimes he appeals to the Old Testament
for analogical cases to confirm or impress the doctrine which he inculcates, and
sometimes he uses Old Testament language as the vehicle of thought in order to
express his own ideas. In particular, and to meet De Wette's objection, he employs
the Old Testament ex concessu in what seems an allegorizing sense. It is thus he
allegorizes on the history of Sarah and Hagar (Gal. iv.); on the command of Moses
not to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the com (i Cor. x.) ; on the veil over the face
of Moses (2 Cor. iii.) ; on the declaration that a man should leave his father and
mother and cleave to his wife (Eph. v.). All these examples are found in Paul's
accepted writings, and all have their parallels in the Hebrews,

Schultz, and after him De Welte and Alford, object to the manner of citing the
Old Testament by Paul, and by the writer of the Hebrews, as different Paul, it is
said, always appeals to the Old Testament as a written record, whereas the writer of
the Hebrews quotes it as the immediate word of God, or of the Holy Ghost Paul's
phrase is, * It is written ; ' the Bebreias' phrase is, *God says,' cr *the Spirit says;'
and, it is added, Paul never uses the phrase, * God says,' which, it is said, is found in
this Epistle.

Now the facts are that in twenty-one cases the quotation in the Hebrews, * He
says' (cTirc, Xcyci, if>riai), is used generally without any nominative; in thirteen of
these God, or the Lord, is probably the nominative; four have * Christ' implied; in
two other passages ' the Spirit * is expressed ; and once we have * the Scripture saith ; '
and once * that which was commanded.* In Romans, * It is written,' or a similar
form, is used sixteen times ; * the Scripture saith ' is used eight times ; * Isaiah saith,'
•Moses saith,' *the oracle saith,' is used fourteen times. So the Hebrew usage pre-
ponderates even in the Romans.

The statement that Paul never used * God saith * is contradicted by the fact that
*God' is the nominative in two passages in the Romans^ in four passages in the
Corinthians^ and in one in the Galatians, Thrice only, indeed, is * God,' or * I^rd,'
expressed (2 Cor. vi. 16, 17, 18); but then in Hebrews, out of fourteen passages, it
is expressed only once (vi. 14).

The Epistles to the Corinthians may be taken as a specimen of the formula of
quotation. In First Corifithians * It is written ' is always used, except in one passage
(vi. 16), and four times there is no formula. In Second Corinthians * It is written' is
thrice used ; * He saith ' thrice ; and there are two quotations without any formula.
There is in fact no great difference between the Hebrews and other Epistles, except that
•He saith' is there the preponderating form, as elsewhere *It is written ' is the pre-
ponderating form. Even of these differences there is an obvious explanation. The
common form of quotation from Scripture among the Jews was, and still is, * It is
said,' or • According as it is said.' To a Greek this phrase would be very ambiguous :
to a Jew it is perfectly natural and clear. Of course this reasoning does not prove

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 17

that Paul wrote the Hebrews ; but it proves that, whoever wrote it, wrote as to Jews,
and as one who knew their ways. It proves, moreover, that the difference of quota-
tion between the Hebrews and other Epistles is trivial, and is explained by facts with
which Paul was perfectly familiar.

3. But what of the argument from these quotations? Who could imagine, it has
been said, that the second Psalm, for example, had anything to do with the resurrec-
tion, or that the eighth Psalm had anything to do with our Lord, or that the iioth
Psalm, with its reference to Melchizedek, applies to the Divine priesthood of our
Redeemer ? These quotations, it has been said, are not made in the proper sense of
the passages quoted. And again the answer is at hand. The second Psalm is quoted
in the New Testament, and is applied to our Lord by the apostles (Acts iv. 25) ; and
the very verse quoted in the Hebrews to prove the resurrection of Christ is quoted
for the same purpose by Paul (Acts xiii. 33), being quoted by no other New Testa-
ment writer.

The eighth Psalm is quoted by our Lord as fulfilled in Himself (* Out of the
mouth of babes and sucklings,' etc) ; and is made the basis of a similar argument by
Paul in I Cor. xv. 27 (*and hast put all things under His feet ').

As for the i loth Psalm, which contains the allusion to Melchizedek, our Lord has
quoted it as fulfilled in Himself, and it is recognised as Messianic by His Jewish
hearers. * Jesus answered and said. How say the Scriptures that Christ is the Son of
David? for David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
Thou on my right hand till I make Thy foes Thy footstool David himself therefore
calleth Him Lord.' If this use of the Psalm is Philonistic, as some have stated, it is
also scriptural.

In brief, the common arguments based on internal evidence against the Pauline
origin of the Epistle prove little, and certainly cannot be regarded as setting aside
the external authority.

That when the writer of the Hebrews expresses thoughts found elsewhere in Paul's
writings, he often employs forms of expression that differ from those of his acknow-
ledged Epistles, is admitted, and what the most satisfactory explanation of those differ-
ences may be is a question open to discussion. A later expression of the same
thoughts by the same writer, a Hebrew original, the employment of the pen, and, in
some degree, of the style of another, all have been suggested as explanations. We
are not bound to decide on any of these explanations. What may be safely affirmed
is, that there is nothing in this difficulty that justifies us in setting aside the historical
evidence, which is very decidedly to the effect that in its substance the Epistle is
Paul's.

II.— THE ARGUMENT.

The Epistle consists of two parts : the first part chiefly doctrinal (chap. i.-x. 18), the
second part chiefly practical (x. 19-xiii.) — the whole abounding in warnings against
apostasy and unbelief.

I. Doctrinal. — In the first part, the supreme authority of the gospel and the in-
feriority of the law and of all other dispensations, are proved by comparing tlie heralds
or teachers of these dispensations, their servants or priests, their covenants, their
worship, and their sacrifices (i.-x. 18).

2. Practical. — Upon this doctrinal argument are based exhortations to patient

endurance and trust Faith is shown to be the essential and permanent grace ; its
VOL. iv. 2

i8 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

power and blessedness are traced through a long line of heroes and confessors, ending
in Christ Himself; and the Hebrew Christians are encouraged to endure trials as
fatherly chastisement common to all true sonship, and fitted to promote their holiness.
The blessedness of the new covenant is then used, as often in the earlier part of the
Epistle, to set forth the awfulness of apostasy (x. 19-xii.); and the Epistle closes
with exhortations to special duties and virtues, blended with personal allusions, and
ending with the apostolic benediction (chap. xiii.).

Doctrinal Outline (chap. i.-x. 18).

Christ, the author and teacher of the gospel, is superior to prophets, to angelic
messengers, and to Moses, the mediator of the law.

1. Christ is superior to prophets, not in time, indeed (L i, 2), but in the unity
and completeness of His teaching (vv. i, 2), and in His personal dignity as 'Light of
light,' Son and Lord or heir, through whom the worlds were made and are still
sustained (ver. 3), and as Redeemer and King (vv. 2, 3).

2. Christ is superior to angels^ as proved by His Divine origin, which differs from
that of angels (vv. 4, 5), by the worship they pay Him (ver. 6), by His office as eternal
King (vv. 8, 9) and as Creator (ver. 10), by His unchangeableness, and by His
mission to preside and reign, as it is theirs to serve (w. 13, 14).

Hence the practical lesson. Give the more earnest heed to this gospel which
Christ introduced, which apostles and others attested, and which God Himself con-
firmed by every form of miracle, and by the varied gifts of the Holy Ghost (ii. 1-4).

And yet this Son is * man * also, a fresh proof of His superiority to angels, and of
His fitness for His office. For it is * man ' who is to have supremacy (ii. 5-8), and it
is by His manhood our Lord becomes our brother and helper and sympathizing
priest (ii. 9-18).

3. Christ is superior to Afoses, one of the most faithful of God's servants. Moses
was apostle, messenger, only ; Christ was apostle and priest (iii. i). Moses was part
of a great economy ; Christ was the founder of the economy itself (ver. 3, * house ').
Moses and his economy were creations ; Christ was the creator (ver. 4). Moses was
a servant in the house ; Christ was son (w. 5, 6) — the first in another's house, the
second in what was His own.

Again the lesson is plain. Be faithful and obedient and true — a lesson enforced
by solemn examples and appeals. The Israelites perished through unbelief (iii. 7-1 1),
and a like spirit will bring a like punishment and create a new example (ver. 12). The
writer reminds his readers that we share in salvation only if we persevere (ver. 14).
He appeals again to the case of the Israelites (vv. 15-19). They had a promise and
a gospel (iv. 1-3) as well as we, and yet they missed * the land * and the rest that were
promised them. So David assures us that there is a truer rest, and a better Canaan,
which later generations, and it may be we with them, may also miss through the
same unbelief (w. 4-1 1). Great caution is needed, for the Divine word discriminates,
and God Himself, who knows all, is judge (w. 12, 13). And yet there is hope even
for the feeblest believer. Our High Priest is Son of God and Son of Man. He is
therefore as prompt to pity as He is mighty to save.

4. Christ s priesthood superior to Aarotis (chap, v.-vii. 28). — Every high priest (a)
must be one with those he represents (ver. i); {p) must have the 'considerate mild-
ness,' the * sweet reasonableness * of one who knows his own weakness and ours ; (c)
must be prepared to offer sacrifices for others (w. 2, 3); and having to act in matters
relating to God (</), must be appointed by God (ver. 4). The first of these qualifica-

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 19

tions he has insisted upon already (chap. iL); the third he discusses later (chap,
ix 15-X. 18) ; the fourth and the second (//and b) he now proceeds to prove.

Christ, it is clear, did not take upon Himself this office, as is shown from the
second Psalm, and from the hundred and tenth (w. 5, 6). His fitness to exercise
compassion is proved by His own trials and prayers and tears, and by the efficacy of
them (vv. 7-10).

Digression on the priesthood Oi Melchizedek, with warnings and exhortations.
The digression necessary, partly because of the rudimentary knowledge of the
persons addressed, partly because of the mystery of the truths themselves (w. 1 1-14).
Progress in knowledge essential (vL 1-3) : a truth confirmed by the danger of apostasy
(w. 4-6), and the miserable recompense of unfruitful professors (vv. 7, 8), and by his
own hope of better things for them, lounded on the Divine faithfulness and on their
own love (vv. 9, 10). But he desires them still to persevere. Strengthened by the
example ol those who are fellow-heirs with them (vv. ij, 12), by the example of
Abraham, and by the promise given to them, which promise comes to us with a double
confirmation, and introduces us to even greater blessedness (w. 19, 20).

The argument is now resumed. Christ being a priest after the order of Melchize
dek, is superior to Aaron. Melchizedek was king and priest (vii. i, 2). His priest-
hood was not hereditary or temporary, and he received homage from Abraham, and
virtually from Levi (w, 3-10). And in all this superiority Christ shares, and shares
pre-eminently. In dignity and in authority He is superior, and also in the perfection
ot His work. The Levitical priesthood perfected or justified none, and it was finally
set aside on the ground of its unprofitableness. Christ's priesthood, on the other
hand, offers a sacrifice once for all, and saves to the uttermost all that come unto God
by Him (vv. 11-19). There are also other proofs. Christ was appointed with an
oath, with a double oath, with higher sanctions (w. 20, 22), and holds a permanent
office, while His character and sonship give power to His office both with God and
with man (w. 23-25, 26-28).

5. The Superiority of the New Covenant, — The efficacy, sacrifices, and worship
contrasted with the imperfect and typical institutions of the law.

Christ, as priest, is seated at God's right hand, the minister of a true tabernacle,
not a typical one, and has offered a divine and heavenly sacrifice (viii. 1-6), whence
it is clear that we have a better covenant, based upon better promises, and pro-
nounced by God Himself to be superior to the old (w. 8, 9) ; for it is written on
men's hearts (ver. 10), gives its blessings to all (ver. 11), and provides for the forgiveness
of sin (ver. 13). Divine and beautiful as were the temple and its sei^vices (ix. 1-5), they
belonged rather to an earthly state (ver. i) than to a heavenly one (ver. 11); and
showed that the way into the holiest was not yet open, and that consciences were not
at rest. The whole was at best a type or parable of a coming reality, which last alone
could set completely right what was disordered (w. 6-10). All this Christ has
realized by the offering up of Himself (w. 11-14), ratifying the new covenant by His
death (w. 15-17) as the old typical covenant was ratified by the blood of its victims
(w. 8-21). Hereby He has obtained forgiveness (w. 21, 22), and has effectually opened
the way into heaven, where He now appears for us (ver. 24) ; whence He ¥dll come
again as judge, and complete His work as the Saviour of all who believe.

The superiority of His sacrifice is further proved by the inefficiency of the sacrifices
of the law, which only revealed, and did not remove sin (x. 1-4, n), by God's repudia-
tion of the victims and offerings of the law (vv. 6-8), and by the preparation and
substitution of the offering of the body of Christ (vv. 5, 7, 9), and by the reality of the
efficacy of His sacrifice. It requires and admits of no repetition — a repetition that is

20 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

forbidden alike by Christ's position in glory (w. 12, 13), by the perfect sanctification
of all who believe, and by the completeness of that forgiveness of which prophets have
long since spoken (vv. 15-18).

Practical Lessons and Exhortations (x. 19-39, ^' '-S^* ^' 39-^i- '»»
xiL 12-29, xiii. 1-25).

Grounds for stedfastness : An open door into heaven (x. 19), a new way of access
(ver. 20), and Christ's appearance in heaven for us (ver. 21).

Stedfastness is strengthened by a fuller faith in Christ, who has freed us from
guilt and impurity (ver. 22), by hope in the Divine faithfulness (ver. 23), by love of
the Church, and continued fellowship with it (vv. 24, 25).

Motives that ought to confirm us in stedfastness and guard us from apostasy :
The impossibility of finding another sacrifice (ver. 26), the danger and imminence of
final condemnation, and the heavier punishment that awaits apostates under the
gospel (w. 28-31). The same lesson is enforced by the memory of past struggles
and losses, which are vain unless we persevere, by the certainty of our reward if we
are faithful, and by the fact that a life of loving trust and expectancy is ever dear to
God (vv. 35-39).

The nature, object, and necessity ol faith (chap. xi. 1-6). Its utility in giving
understanding or perception (ver. 2), righteousness (ver. 4), heaven (ver. 5). Its power
and blessedness attested, before the law, by the life and blessedness of Abel, Enoch,
Noah, Abraham, etc (w. 4-22); under the law, by Moses, by the Israelites at the
Exode, by the early victories in Canaan, and by Rahab (vv. 24-30, 41); after the
^w, by Judges and earlier Prophets (w. 32-35) ; by others under the Kings, and in
the days between Malachi and John the Baptist (vv. 35-38).

Reasons for patience (xL 39, 40-xiL 11) : The example of the Fathers, who finally
received their reward, though it was long delayed (xL 39; xii. i), and of Christ Him-
self, who suffered more than all — the originator and finisher of faith (vv. 2-4).
Further reasons are found in the fact that discipline is a test of all sonship (ver. 5), an
evidence of Divine love (ver. 6), and a means of increasing holiness.

Exhortations to greater earnestness and to the cultivation of all virtue — {a) what we
have to do (w, 12-14); (^) and avoid (vv. 15-17); (c) and consider the excellence of
the Mosaic law (vv. 18-21), and the greater excellence of the gospel (vv. 22-24). The
obligation of greater earnestness (w. 25-29), and of all virtue (chap. xiii.). Love of
the brethren (ver. i), love of strangers (ver. 2), compassion on all that suffer (ver. 3) ;
purity in married life, contentment, and trust (w. 4-6). The loving remembrance and
imitation of departed leaders (vv. 8, 9), and a heart established by grace, and by our
participation in the great sacrifice of the Cross — a sacrifice for sin offered without the
camp, in which therefore none, as in the sin-offering under the law, can share (vv.
10, 11) but those who go forth without the camp (w. 12, 13). This we do, offering
continually the sacrifice of thanksgiving and of a consistent confession of Christ's
name (ver. 15), with the added sacrifice of beneficence and subjection (w. 16, 17).

The writer asks the prayers of Hebrew Christians (w. 18, 19) ; prays to God for
them — to God as the author of peace through the redemption of Christ (ver. 20), to
God as the giver and perfecter of all good, working in us through Christ (ver. 21);
commends to them his Epistle, speaks of the speedy visit of Timothy, an^ clps^ with
the usual Pauline salutation (vv. 21-25).

^.-

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBRE^VS.

21

Summary of Early Evidence on the Authorship and Genuineness of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, w.th Reference to Authorities accessible mostly to English Readers.

Name.

Clement

UpiAttnsr . . . .
Pblycarp . . . .

Justin Martyr . . .

Bamaba«? . . . .

Irexiaenit . . . .

Pkntaenus . . . .

Caiu'»t

Maratori Canon t . .

Vet. VerUo lul. . .

Versio Syriaca . . .

HIppolyinitt . . .

TwtvlUaBt . . .

Oyprlaiit . . . .

Clement

Ortgen

Dioayuttt ....
Gregory ThaumaL .
Council of Antioch .
Archelaus . . . .

Peter, Bp

Alexander . . . .
Council of Nice . .
Methodius . . . .
Gregory Nazianxen .
Eu«ebius . . . .

Chrysostom. . . .
Council of Laodicea .
Victorinust ....
Council of Carthage .

Cyril

Jerome

Damascus ....
Rpiphanius ....
Hilary

L4icifcr

Basil

Athanasius ....

Ambrose

Amphilochius . . .
PkilllStllVlt . . .
Theodoret ....
Theodore ....
Augustine ....

Ephiem

Innncent

Sahtdic Version . .
MS& Alex. Vat. . .

Sinaitic Ephr. . .

Coistin (F.) .^ .
Cannnes Apostolici .
Rnffinus

Plack.

Roms . .

Antioch . .
Smytnt . .

Lvons . .

Alexandria .
Rome .

Rome . . .

luly . . .
Palestine

luly . . .

Africa . .

Africa . .

Alexandria .

aao,* d.

Alexandria .

»53f d.

Alexandria .

247

Caesarea . .

212-370

Antioch . .

369

Mesopotamia

270

Alexandria .

300

Alexandria .

3«3

Nice . . .

3»5

Lycia . . .
Nysita . .

3««

33a

CaBsar«a. .

340

• •

347-4»a

Laodicea

$1

Africa . .

Africa . .

397

Jerusalem .
Palestine and

349

345-420

Rome

Rome . .

366

Consuntia .

367

Poictiers . .

350 368

Cagliari . .

370

Onarea . .

37»

Alexandria .

373

MiUn . .

?iK

Iconium . .

Hrescia . .

380

Cvrus. . .

393

Cilida . .

394

Hippo . .

395

Palestine

397

Rome . . .

402

Egypt . .

4th Cent.

• •

4th, 5th.

• •

6th Cen-

• •

turies

• •

Unce»t'n

Sicily . . .

320-410

Date.

70-90

107-115
80-150

io3*-i67*

2d Cent.

I30*-200*

155-216

190

200

aoo?

200?
230, d.

240, d.

348-958

EVIDBN'CB.

Quotes largely : no name . . .

Quotes twice

Quotes once more

Quotes thrice

S notes once?
notes twice : once as Paul's . .
Ascribes it to Paul ......

Does not include it in Paul's Epistles
floes not seem to include it.
Puts it among Canonical Books .

Is saia met tc quote it, hut quotes

thrice
Ascribes to Barnabas, and speaks

of it as Apostolic in doctrmo
Does not quote, and speaks of

Epistles to Seven Churches
Says Paul wrote it in Hebrew . .
Says Paul gave the thoughts, and

quotes it as his

Ascribes it to Paul

tt »»

_ ♦♦ . . »» •

Quotes It twice

.\scribes- it to Paul

»• »»

_ »» . »i

Quotes It

Ascribes it to Paul . . . ^ . . .
Discusses the whole question, and

ascribes it to Paul
Ascribes it to Paul

Speaks of Eps. to Seven Churdies
Altcribes it to Paul

If y« • • • • • •

Ascribes it ^to Paul : notes the

Latin feeling
Ascribes it to Paul

,, ,,......

•» „ ..... .

It .......

If »»

»» »•

•I ,,......

»■ »»

f» »•

,. ,,,.....

With some doubt, ascribes it to

Paul
Ascribes it to Paul

Includes the Epistle.
Hebrews is included among the
Epistles of Paul

Ascribes it to Paul

,, „...•• .

RSPERBNCB.

Jacobson's Patr. Apost. ; Stuart,

«• 77. 94*
Ante-Nic. Fathers, pp 190, 250.
Routh'sOp. Eccl. 1, 13, 24. See

Forster. p. 547.
Ante-Nicene Fathers ; Westcott,

p. 147.
Ante-Nicene Fathers.
Ante-Nic Fathers, Ir. 1, 238, 176.
Routh, i. 376 ; Westcott, 309.
Wordsworth, 367 ; Westcott.

Stuart, i. 144.

Ante-Nicene Fathers.

Delitzsch.

Ante-Nicene Fathem, p. 30;

Westcott.
Westcott, 31 1 ; Wordsworth, 365.
Wordsworth, 337 ; Stuart, 1.

X37.
Westcott, 31^

Cardinal Biai ; Wordsworth.
Routh, iii. 398.
Routh, y. X37, 149.
Routh, iv. 35.
Lardner, ii.' 303.
Wordsworth, Intr. 365.
Westcott, 3139.
Wordswortn, p. [23].
Wordsworth, 364 ; Deliti. la

Westcott, 485.

Westcott^ p. 483.

Routh, iii. 455.

Cave, Hist. Lit. 368; Words-
worth [33] ; Westcott, 483.

Westcott, 491.

Wordsworth, 30, 31 ; Delitzsch,
12.

Wordsworth [38].

Wordsworth, p. 16.

Westcott; Wordsworth, Intro.
368.

Westcott, 404.

Westcott, 397.

Lardner, ii. 400, iii. 9 ; Cramer's
Catena.^^^

Lardner, iii. 330, x ; Davidson.

Wordsworth, p. [22].

Wordsworth, p. [20].

Wordsworth, Intro. 364.

Westcott, 39J.

Wordsworth,* p. (34].

Lardner, ii. 483.
Westcott, 512.

Tischendorf, N. T. 1858. p. 555.

f*

Words. Canon, 8$ p. (36].
Words, p. [19]; West. 510.

* Indicates proximate dates.

t Authorities supposed not to refer to the Epistle, but really referring to it.

i Writers of the Latin or Western Church.

OUTLINE OF THE ARGUMENT ON THE AUTHORSHIP.

Was the Epistle written by Apollos, p. i ; or by Barnabas, p. 2 ; or by Cement or by Luke, p. 3.
Was it written by Paul ?

External Testimony.

It was written in his lifetime and has his usual authorization, p. 4. (See abo pp. 12 and 1 3.)
Peter's Testimony, p. 5 ; Clement and other Apostolic Fathers, p. 5.
Ecutern Testimony —

Palestine — Cyril, Jerome, Eusebius, Gregory, Chrysostom, pp. 6, 7.

Asia Minor — Gregory, Amphilochius, Theodore, etc., p. 7.

Alexandrian Writers — Pantsenus, Clement, Ath.inasius, Origen, Dionysius, pp. 7, 8.

Greek Mss. and Versions, p. 8.
Western Testimony —

Cyprian, Victorinus, Hilary, p. 8; Hippolytus, p. 9; Caius, Muratorian Canon, etc., p. 10;
Clement, Irenseus Decretals, Jerome, p. 11,

Internal Testimony (p. 12).

Peter. Why Paul should write to Hebrews, p. 13.

(i) Words found only in Hebrews— style, p. 14.

(2) Quotations, and mode of introducing them, pp. 15, 16.

(3) Arguments based on quotations, p. 17.
Result

English readers may be glad to have a few books named which they will find specially helpful : —
Gouge's (W.) Commentary on the Epistle, being the substance of thirty years' Wednesday's lectures
(two vols. fol. 1655), is still held in high esteem ; Owen's (Dr. J.) Exposition of the Hebrews (in four
vols, folio, 1668-74) is full of elaborate, doctrinal, and experimental comments; Maclean's (A.)
Paraphrase and Commentary on the Epistle is very judicious and excellent, and deserves to be better
known ; Brown's (Dr. John) Exposition is rich in evangelical and practical comment, though less
critically accurate than is usual in his expositions ; for the argument, and for pithy, striking suggestion,
Bengel's Gnomon will never be consulted without advantage; Bleek and Delitzsch are very
helpful for verbal criticism, and the last for doctrinal exposition ; Tholuck and Ebrard and Stuart
are each helpful in all departments ; Alford is on this Epistle largely indebted to Delitzsch, and is
generally good; for Rabbinical learning, the English reader may turn with profit to Owen and
Lightfoot and Gill ; as the scholar may turn to Wetstein, and Schcetgenius and KuinoeL

TO THE HEBREWS.

(This is the only heading of the Epistle sanctioned by the most ancient

authorities.)

[The marginal parallel passages in clarendon type are the passages from the originals of which the
words of the text are taken. In citing these, figures in brackets give the Hebrew or Greek
reference ; when Gr, or Heb, is added, it indicates from which text the quotation is taken.]

Chapter I. i-II. 4.

T/ie excellettcy of the New Dispensation— proved by the superiority of Christ to
Prophets and Angels^ as Son of God, Creator, Redeemer, and King, i. 1-14.
— Comeqnent Responsibility, ii. 1-4.

1 r^ OD, who at sundry times and * in divers manners spake * "^f"^ "^

2 VJT in time past unto the fathers by* the prophets, hath *|^^>f'
* in these last days ' ^ spoken unto us by his Son,* ^ whom he ^ j JJ^ \^^,
hath * appointed heir of all things, 'by whom also he* made ^p^^-jj-gH-^-

3 the worlds; -^who being the brightness of his glory, and the xj^lii!^f^
express image' of his person,* and '^ upholding all things by w^Vuiiy.
the word of his power, *when he had by himself purged our xCor.v5ii.6;
sins, 'sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; colX^IIs?*

4 being made" so much better than the angels, as *he hath by xiv.'i;'*'

5 inheritance obtained " a more excellent name than they. For phii.a.6;'

CoL L 15,

unto which of the angels said he at any time, ^ &*"•** .

' Thou art my Son, . ^^-.j^' "•

This day have I begotten thee ? 1 rloL'&S

And again, ^ ^i^^Z\

'" I will be to him a Father, ^ S?" *r *•

And he shall be to me a Son ? *E^h:\*^,r

6 And again, when he bringeth in" "the first-begotten into the i^y^^/^"^
world, hesaith, "And let all the angels of God worship him. ^*|%*^^3''

7 And of the angels he saith, '^i^^'fcbSk.

^ Who maketh his angels spirits," S^'ii 6; Pt.

And his ministers a flame of fire. i»Roiiir^.'JJ;

8 But unto ^* the Son lu saith, rcv.YV

* having in many portions and in many ways spoken * m pejoh^

» read, at the end of thescL days * in one who is Son • omit hath J^^J '^

* he also ' very impress * substance /Pi. oIt. *

* omit by himself <md our, and tr, made purification of sins («***•) *•
*** having become ** obtained " or, when he again bringeth in

^* or, winds ^* or^ of, as in ver, 7

[Chap. I. 1-II.4.

M TO THE HEBREWS.

^ Thy throne, O God, is for ever and* ever :

A sceptre of righteousness '* is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity ;

Therefore God, even thy God, '' hath anointed thee

With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And,

' Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid " the foundation
of the earth ;

And the heavens are the works of thine hands :
' They shall perish ; but thou remainest ;

And they all shall wax old as doth a garment ;

And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,

And they shall be changed : "

But thou art the same,

And thy years shall not fail.

13 But to *• which of the angels said he*' at any time,

" Sit " on my right hand,
Until I make thine enemies thy footstool ?

14 "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to "Minister ^'jj^*{- jj^j;.
for *' them who shall be "^ heirs of salvation i " » '.^l- !*^^

17 ; Acts

CllAP. II. I. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to }^^ll ,j.
the things which we have heard," lest at any time we should •''fx";"i>^t.ivl
2 let f/iem slip.** For if the word 'spoken by angels was** sted- li^^xJi'%.

II

12

^Pl.XlT.

(xMt.) 6^ 7.

rIsa.IxLi:

Acts hr. «7,

X. 38.
« Pi. ciL (cL)

tS^etc.
/ Isa. xxxir. 4,

IL 6: Mat.

xjdT. 35 ; s

Pcc iii. 7. xo;

Rer. XXI. x.
M Ver. 3 ; Pi.

OK. (olx.) 1 ;

Mac.xxU.44;

Mk. xii. 36 ;

La. XX. 42 ;

di. X. 12.
V Gen.^ xix. t(S,

xxxii. x,a,24;

Ps. xxxiT. 7,

xci. zz,

ciii. 30^. 3 1 ;

Dan. ill. 28.

vii. zo, X. 1 1 ;

Mat.xvui.io;

Lu. i. X9y

ii. 9. z3 ;

Acts xii. 7,

ctc,xxyii.23.
11^ Kom. viii. 17:
It. iiu 7 ;

Jas. iu 5 ;

fast, and ^ every transgression and disobedience received a just

M Ch. X. 28, 29,
xii. 25.

3 recompence of reward ; 'how shall we escape, if we neglect so ''hi^'i\i;'
great salvation ; "" which at the first began to be spoken by

25 ch. i. 2.
6 Lu. i. 2.

c M k. xvi. 20 ;

the Lord, and was * confirmed unto us by them that heard ""ActixwlJ

4 ///;// / ^ God also bearing t/iem witness,*" ^ both with signs and xv^'/isV 19T'

wonders, and with divers miracles, and 'gifts'^ of the Holy r/AcuiL "2/43.

Ghost, -^ according to his own will ? ^ « '■ «»•

4. 7. !»•

/Eph. I. 5,9.

" rtad^ and the sceptre of {and ir.) uprightness ^^ didst lay

*^ read and ir, roll them up ; as a garment also shall they be changed

^* or, of, as in ver, 7 *® hath he said *® Sit thou

*^ ue, to do service on behalf of ** who are to obtain salvation

*5 that were heard ** drift away from them

** through— by means of— aneels became, or proved to be

'^ witness with them *' maniK)ld miracles (powers), and different distributions

Vers. I, 2. The author contrasts the gradual
and multiform revelations given of old in the
person of the prophets, with the revelation given
at the end of tne Jewish dispensation in the
person of Him who is Son. — God who . . . spake ;
rather, God having spoken ; the Greek express-
ing the preliminary nature of former communica-
tions.— Sundry timee describes rather the many
imperfect revelations — which were still parts of
one whole — given through Enoch, Abraham,
Moses, etc., each knowing in part only ; as
diven mannen points to the many ways in
which the revelations were given-:-mysterious
promise, pregnant type, dark prophecy, or it

may be, though less probably, dream, vision,
audible utterance ; while under the Gospel the
revelation is the life and dying and explicit
teaching of Christ, with the added enlighten-
ment— still in Christ — of the Holy Spirit. , . .
God spake in the prophets, as he spake in one
who was Son. So the preposition means, indicat-
ing not so much instrumentality * through them,*
as God in them, abiding and inspiring. . . . ' One
who was Son.* Such is the force of the original
where there, is no article, in contrast to the
prophets of the previous clause. The complete-
ness, the unity, the supreme authority of the
revelation that closes the preliminary and partial

Chap. I. i-II. 4.]

TO TtlE HEBREWS.

iS

lessoas of the old economy is the theme Aat fills
the writer's mind. . . . The Son of God — incarnate
as wc afterwards learn (ii. 14) — is in His life and
death and teaching the full revelation of the
Father, and of all that is essential to salvation. —
At the end of theee days. Such is the corrected
text. The common text speaks of the Son as
introducing the new economy ; the corrected text
speaks of Him as closing the old. Christ's king-
ship really began at Pentecost ; but the last days
of the old economy continued overlapping the
new till Jerusalem was overthrown, and the
possibility of keeping the Levitical law had passed
away (Heb. viii. 13). The Epistle thus pre-
pares all readers for the overthrow which is seen
to be at hand, and which was to prove a sore
temptation even to Christian Jews. — Heir, pos-
sessor, like the 'heritor* of Scotland and the
lutres of the old Roman law (Justinian, Inst,
xi. 19). Already Christ was Lord, and whatever
was God's was His also (Acts ii. 36 ; John xvii.
10). — By whom, through rather, i.e, by whose
agency or instrumentality. — The worldB. The
Greek word in this passage describes all things as
existing in time, and in successive economies,
natural and moral. Elsewhere the world often
represents the world in its material order and
beauty (Heb. iv. 3, ix. 26), or, as inhabited, the
world of men (Heb. i. 6, ii. 5.) In the second of
these senses, the word is sometimes used to mark
a spirit or temper as opposed to the Gospel (Heb.
xi. 7 ; Jas. iv. 4 ; i John v. 4.)

Ver. 3. The brightneaB— the effuigaice—oi the
divine glory, with allusion probably to the visible
glory ofcthe Shekinah over the mercy-seat, though
the meaning is deeper. ' Light of {i.e, emanating
from Him who is the) light.' — The express image,
the impress or stamp wherein and whereby tlie
divine essence is made manifest : and all this He
is in His own nature, so the Greek implies
('being,* comp. John i. i), not that He became
so by incarnation. ' Image of his penK)n ' is
not felicitous. The earlier rendering, substance
(T}'ndale, essence or nature), is more accurate. —
And bearing, upholding and directing all things
by the word, theyfa/ of His power, when (rather
after) he had made purification of sins, i,e, had
atoned for them, sat down, etc.

What higher honour can be given to our I^rd ?
He is the glory — the love and holiness of God
made visible ; the very essence, the nature of the
Father in loving embodiment. He therefore
that has the Son has the Father also.

Note that God not only acted in creating all
things; He acts still in upholding them. A
creation regulated by dead law alone is not
Scripture teaching (see Acts xvii. 24, 25, He is
giving to all life and all things, 27, 28). And it
is in and through Christ this is done.

Ver. 4. Ha^g become, after He had made
at< nement for sin, as much superior to the
angda, as he has obtained a name far more
excellent than they. His greatness is partly
essential and partly acquired (see Phil. ii. 6- 11).
The first He had as Son before the world was ;
the second He obtained through His incarnation,
and after He had suffered.

Vers. 5--14. Now follows the proof of this
superiority — in name and, as name generally
implies in Scripture, in nature.

ver. 5. My Son. Again by position the em-
J^basis is on this name, and on the relation it

describes : My Son art thou, to-day haTe I be-
gottMi thee. These words have been referred to
the incarnation, when the ' holy thing ' bom of
the Vir^n was called Son of God (Luke i. 35) ;
or to His resurrection and exaltation, when He is
marked out as Son of God in regal dignity, ' in
power* as Messianic King (Rom. i. 4). This
last view is favoured by Acts xiii. 32, 33, where
this identical promise is said to be fulfilled unto
us when God raised up Jesus. Others refer the
words to the essential nature of our Lord, as Son
of the Father by 'eternal generation,' as it is
called. Crod sent the Son, it is said, and so He
had dignity before His incarnation and before His
resurrection. The fact is, the word Son describes
His relation to the Father, both personal and
official ; and ' I have begotten thee ' applies to
every state to which the word * Son ' applies —
His original nature, His incarnation, and His
kingship. In the following verse He is called
* the first-begotten * — a title not given to Him in
connection with His incarnation, but describing
His dignity and rights. He is called first-be-
gotten, never first'Creatfd, for all things belong
to Him, as all things were made by Him. This
expression, the first-begotten, is peculiar in this
figurative sense to Paul s writings (Rom. viii. 29 ;
Col. i. 15, 18; Rev. i. 5 ; comp. Heb. xii. 23).

Ver. 6. And in accordance with this relation,
whenever (to quote another passage, ' again ') He
bringeth or leadeth (literally ' shall have led ') in
the first-begotten into the world, he saith, * Let
all the angels of God worship him.' Here are
several difficulties. The quotation from Ps. xcvii. 7
is not exact, as most of the quotations in this
Epistle are. In Deut. xxxii. 43 the very words
are found in the Septuagint ; but there are no
words corresponding to them in the Hebrew text.
The Psalm belongs to the Messianic Psalms, and
the exact words of Deuteronomy describe the
welcome given to the Messianic King. Two
passages are here blended in one. Some trans-
late ' bringeth or leadeth again,' and refer the
words to our Lord's second coming alone. But
' bringeth in ' is hardly appropriate to the
second coming ; and the use of an expression that
describes an mdefinite future is justified by the
fact that it is a Quotation of what was spoken
long ago, from which time the futurity begins.
It is therefore better to regard the language as
fulfilled whenever Christ is introduced into the
world of men. Then — at His birth, His resurrec-
tion. His kingdom — is He the object of angelic
worship. — The angels. The Hebrew of Ps. xcvii.
7 is, ' all ye mighty or divine ones,' a word applied
to Cjod, and applicable to magistrates, and to all
who had a divine message and spoke in God's
name (John x. 34). Comp. ' The divine in man,'
'The divine disciples sat.' Divine though they
be, the Son is exalted above them all — in His
nature, and in the reverence paid Him. (See on
ii. 6.)

Ver. 7. As to angels, moreover, they were
made by Him (not begotten). They are spirits,
not sons ; and His servants or ministers, ia * flame
of fire.* Some render 'spirits' by ' winds,' and
read, ' He maketh His angels as winds, passive,
swift, and untiring.' They do His will, as do the
tempest and the lightning. In the Hebrew of
the Psalm (civ. 4) either meanin|[ is possible, ' Ue
maketh the winds or spirits His messengers,' or
'His messengers spints' or winds. In tlic

20

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. I. i-II. 4.

Septuagint, and so here, on the other hand, the
only allowable meaning is, ' His angels or
messengers winds ' or ' spirits.' The rendering of
the Greek by winds is very rare in the New
Testament, and is indeed found only here, and
possibly in John iii. 8. In ver. 14, the angels are
expressly called 'ministering spirits^ — a name
that recalls both the names given in ver. 7,
spirits and ministers. They are His w^orkmanship,
not His sons ; and they are all either * spirits * or
material elements, or as material elements ; ' a
flame of hre,' an allusion perhaps to a Jewish
interpretation of seraphim — ' the burning ones.'
On tne whole, therefore, the A.V. seems prefer-
able to the marginal rendering.

Ver. 8. But whatever the difficulties in the
minute interpretation of those verses, the general
sense is clear. Angels are all subordinate ; while
to Christ are given names of a very different im-
port— God and Lord, and highest dignities — a
sceptre and a throne, a kingdom. — A sceptre of
lignteoiiBneei, or rather of uprightness, as the
word is translated in the Old Testament If this
change be made, it may then be said that right-
eous, righteousness, just, justify, justification, are
throughout the New Testament forms of the same
Greek word. His character befits His kingdom.
His is a sceptre of uprightness. He loves right-
eousness and hates iniquity, showing herein the
very nature of the Father.

Ver. 9. The dignity of the God-man He owes
to His Father. God anointed Him as King and
Priest, and gave Him honours such as kings,
prophets, priests — His * fellows, * associates that is,
not necessarily equals — never knew. He there-
fore is now the One Priest, the King of kings and
Lord of lords (sec Eph. i. 21). This supremacy
is a joy to all who trust and obey Him. Nay, the
earth itself is called to rejoice because He
reigneth. The anointing oil that consecrates
Messiah Priest and King is oil of gladness
indeed !

Of these quotations, ver. 8 is taken from Ps.
xlv., which Jewish commentators maintain to be
written of the Messiah ; ver. 9 is taken from a
passage that speaks of Solomon, and of Christ as
antitype ; and ver. 10 is taken from a Psalm
(cii. 25-27) that seems to speak of Jehovah only ;
and yet vers. 13-16 of that Psalm are connected
with the. Messianic kingdom. Creating power
and immortality are here ascribed to the Son, as
in ver. 13 universal empire is given to Him.
The quotation in ver. 13 is from Psalm ex., a
strictly Messianic Psalm (see Matt. xxii. 43, 44).

Ver. II. They all, ue, the heavens and the
earth. The language and the imagery are taken
largely from Isa. xxxiv. 4 and li. 6.

Ver. 12. As a mantle shalt thou roll them
up, as a gannent also shall they be changed
— a quotation from Ps. cii., with the words ' as a
garment ' added, on the authority of the best
Mss. The heavens and the earth are to be
rolled up as done with, and they are to be changed
for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness.

Ver. 13. Sit thou, etc., from Ps. ex. i. The
right hand is the place of authority and honour.
luy footstool, lit. a footstool of thy feet — not a
resting-place for the feet, but what is to be
trodden under by them. The application of this
Psalm to the Messiah is accepted by the Jews, as
aj^[>ears from the Targums and other Jewish

writings, is affirmed by Christ (Matt xxil 43-^)
and by His apostles (Acts ii. 34, 35 ; i Cor. xv. 25;
Eph. i. 20-23), and by different passages in tms
Epistle. Whom eke could David acknowledge as
his Lord ? and to whom else did God swear that
he should be a priest for ever ?

Ver. 14. Are they not all ministering spizitif
— a blending in reverse order of the expressions
found in ver. 7. The play upon the words
' ministering spirits sent forth to minister * is not
in the Greek. The original is simply ' ministering
spirits continually sent forth on (or for) service.
The word here rendered ' ministering * is used in
N. T. to express the temple service ; and the
word rendered 'ministry' or service is a
form of the word that expresses deaconship
or subordinate service generally. The worship
and the work of angels is carried on in the
great temple of nature and grace, and their
service originates in the needs and claims of those
who are soon to possess complete salvation. Of
their ministry, for the benefit of all who believe,
we have many examples under both Testaments.
It is none the less real now that it is unseen.

Chap. ii. 1-4. These verses are closely con-
nected with the first chapter, and scarcely less
closely with the subsequent verses of the second.
It is characteristic of tnese warnings and exhorta-
tions that they never interrupt the thought. They
spring naturally from what precedes, and lead as
naturally to what follows.

Ver. I. We have heard, rather '[the things]
heard,' an expression less definite, and intended to
include all that was spoken by our Lord and by
His servants, whatever was heard by them and
reported to us, or directly by ourselves. The
d^ity of the messenger adds greatly to the
responsibility of those who hear the message (Mark
xii. 6). — ^Lest haply, possibly, we drift away
from them. The A. V. (* let them slip ') is, in a
general sense, accurate ; but it fails to represent
the figure, and conceals part of the lesson. It is
not the truths of the Gospel that slip away, but we
who slip or * fleten ' past them, as Wicliffe ex-
pressed it. The word well describes the subtle
power of temptation. We have simply to do
nothing, and we shall be carried along to our
ruin. To fall away requires no effort. To stand
firm, to hold stedfast, is the difficulty.

Ver. 2. The word spoken by (rather, through or
in the midst oO angels. If the attendance of
angels at the giving of the Law added force and
dignity to the precepts of that economy, how much
greater is the honour and the authority of the
Gospel wbidi was given by Him whom angels
worship and serve (chap. i. 6-14) ! The minis-
tration of angels in givmg the Law is mentioned
elsewhere in Scripture (see parallel passages in the
maigin of the text), though not at great length.
Josephus speaks of it more distinctly {Antiq. xv.
5, § 3), and Wetstein quotes Jewish authorities
which speak of ' the angels of service ' whom
Moses saw. In Gal. iii. 19 this ministration is
referred to as a mark of the inferiority of the law.
In Acts vii. 53 the contrast seems to be between
a law given by man and one having higher autho-
rity. Such allusions, however, must be carefully
distinguished from passages that speak of the
'angel of His presence in whom was God's
name — * the messenger of the covenant' — passages
that refer, though dimly, to the Son of God Himself
(see Pye Smith and Domer).— Wm itedfaat,

Chap. II. s-iS:]-

TO THE HEBREWS.

^

rather, became or proved to be stedfast, ue. the
command was confirmed in authority and obligation
bvthe punishment of transgressors. — Tranagrea-
aion and disobedience. Every violation of the
command is here inchided : all actual transgression
of the law in the first, and all neglect or contempt
of divine precepts in the second. Ethically the
two mental states involve each the other. Com-
missions and omissions are both transgressions
and disobedience. The first are things done in
violation of law ; the second are things left
undone in violation of law also — the neglect, for
example, spoken of in the following verse. — ^Ee-
compence of reward is a happy tautology. What
is given back to a man in return for what he has
done, whether good or bad, is the meaning of the
Greek, as it is the meaning of both expressions in
old English, though lx>th are now used in a good
sense only. (See Ps. xciv. 2.)

Ver. 3. By the Lord, rather through, by the
instrumentality of. When instrumentality is
clearly expressed in the context, as when it is said,
' By whom He made the worlds ' (chap. i. 2), no
chuige is needed ; but when, as here, ' by ' is
ambiguous, making it uncertain whether it de-
scribes a mere agnU or the originating cause^ it is
important to mark the distinction. The Lord is
here regarded as the divine messenger, whose
message God Himself attested (ver. 4). — The
Lord. The title thus given to Christ has special
dignity, and is not common in this Epistle, being
found only in vii. 14, xiii. 20, and perhaps in xii.
14. It is the word used in the Septuagint to
translate Jehovah. — Was confirmed unto us has
been quoted to prove that Paul did not write this
Epistle, be having afhrmed elsewhere that he
received his doctrine directly from Christ Himself
(Gal. L 12; I Cor. ix. i, etc.) There is, how.
ever, no inconsistency. The writer is here speak-
ing of the Gospel as attested by many human
witnesses whom he, and those he is addressing,
had heard.— So great salvation. Nothing is
said here of the greatness of the salvation beyond
the qualities immediately named (comp. Greek
iTrif ), viz. that the Gospel began with the teaching
of the Lord, and was confirmed l)y the testimony

and experience of those that heard it ; still further
by the variety and the diffusion of miraculous and
spiritual gifts — God's own witnesses. A gospel
originated in this way, and sustained by such
evidence, has the strongest claim on our atttotion.
The primary evidence of Christianity is Christ and
Christians — the character of Him who first taught
it, and next the testimony of men who have
believed it, and who can tell of its fitness to bring
peace and to produce holiness; and all this
evidence is permanent, as clear and as strong now
as in the first age. — Neglect. The sin rebuked
here is not the rejection of the Gospel or contempt
of it. It is simply neglect or indifference. The
hearers did not care to examine the truths and
duties it revealed. Tell men what God is and
what God has done to make them happy and
good, and the character of men is as fully tested
by their indifference as by their formal rejection of
the truth. Not to care about a message of recon-
ciliation and holiness decides the character and the
destiny of many who have heard but will not
regard. We have only to * neglect * salvation and
we lose it, as in the previous verse we have only
to take no heed ; and we are carried away to our
ruin in both cases.

Ver. 4. God lUso bearing them witness, i,e,
God bearing witness with them to the Gospel
they preached, confirming their word by the signs
that followed (Mark xvi. 20).— With signs,
wonders, and miracles. This is the threefold
division of the miraculous acts which prove the
superhuman mission of those who work them. As
* miracles ' (Ji/»«^f<f), they display Divine power ;
as * wonders,' they excite surprise ; as * signs ' (St.
John's usual word), they supply evidence which
remains after the sensuous excitement of miracu-
lous power has passed away — evidence which is
the usual proof and accompaniment of a divine
revelation (2 Cor. xii. 12).— The gifts of the
Holy Ghost are illustrated in their diversity
(to one man one gift ; to another, another) in
I Cor. xii. 4-1 1, God Himself distributing them
(as in First Corinthians it is the Holy Ghost
who is said to distribute them) according to
His own will.

Chapter II. 5-18.

The excellency of the New Dispensation furtfier proved by Chris fs superiority
to Angels as Son of Man, who is made supreme, and is eminently fitted
for His office as suffering Saviour and sympathizing Friend,

«

5 1170^ "^*^ ^^^ angels hath he not' put in subjection '^ the « ^^.5;^

6 X world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain
place testified, saying,

* What is man, that thou art mindful of him }
Or the son of man, that thou visitest him }

7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels ;
Thou crownedst him with glory and honour,

' For not unto angels did (or hath) he

'^

VII. 17 ;
etcoxltT.l

7^

TO THE HEBREWS.

[ChaI*. II. 5-1 S.

And didst set him over the works of thy hands :

8 ^ Thou hast* put all things in subjection under his feet. ^Jg^^cS?."'
For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing Ellh!V«a:
t/tat is not put* under him. But now ''we see not yet all ^xci.x^.»$.

9 things put* under him. But we see Jesus, 'who was made a 'g'*'**''*''
little lower than the angels for * the suffering of death -^ crowned /Acta n 3>
with glory and honour ; that he by the grace of God should

10 taste death ^for every man. * For it became him, ' for whom '^i-*":!^
are all things, and by * whom are all things, in bringing many J*^^*",?:
sons unto glory, to make *the captain* of their salvation Jj^^J^f'

1 1 ' perfect through sufferings. For "* both he that sanctifieth and jiLrkliv^e.
they who are sanctified ''are all of one: for which cause *he is iAmULilf

12 not ashamed to call them brethren, saying,

^ I will declare thy name unto my brethren.
In the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.' «St$*iv2!l6!

13 And again, ^I will put my trust in him. And again, ''Behold, '^]tfi^^!i7i

14 I and the children * which God hath given me. Forasmuch /»p2."iSL '^'
then as the children arc partakers of flesh and blood,* he ' also ^S^liiu a;
himself likewise' took part of the same; "that through death riSk^'ia
he might destroy ^^ him that had " the power of death, that is, x^i'e*^

15 the devil ; and deliver them who "through fear of death were tu.i\^i

16 all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not Phii.u.7.
on ///;;/ f/ie nature 0/^* angels ; but he took on Aim *' the ^seed L 55*:

17 of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him ^ to be aTim. i. xl.
made like unto ///> -^^ brethren, that he might be 'a merciful Rom.*viii*is:

2 Tim. i. 7.

and faithful high priest in things pcriai^iing to God, to make «!»». ^ 8-

18 reconciliation** for the sins of the people. ''For in that he ("*•)..«•
hmiself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them ^P;*^- 's,
that are tempted.

dL ni. a.
/ Lu. xiiL 3a ;
ch. V. 9.

V. I, 2.
rt Ch. iv. 15, 16,
V 2, vii. 2$.

' didst ^ />., in subjection, the same word as before in vers. 5 and 8

* rather^ But him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, we
behold, even Jesus, because of * through, etc, ^ rather^ author

' or^ congregation will I praise thee, as in Ps, xxii. 22 ■ or^ blood and flesh
® />., in like manner, literatty^ nearly in the same manner or degree
'® bring to nought "hath

** assuredly he taketh not hold of, ue, to rescue *^ taketh hold of

" in order to make propitiation or atonement

Vcr. 5. For. This verse introduces a new
proof of the superiority of the Gospel ; but it
IS also connected with what precedes. The
most natural explanation is to connect the
* for ' with i. 14. Angels are not sons : they
ore ministering spirits appointed only to serve.
Not unto angels is the government of men
under the Gospel committed. The new dis-
pensation economy, the kingdom of God, the
order of things under the Messiah, is committed to
man, as was the world of old (Ps. viii.); to the
model man, however, the ideal man, the second
Adam, the Lx)rd from heaven. The name, * the
world to come* (see noie on i. 2), was quite
familiar to the Jews, who called their own

economy 'this world,' and was used after the Jewish
economy had practically ceased (corop. Matt. xii.
32), as Christ Himself is called, even after He had
come, 'the Coming One* (Rom. v. 14). This
world of the future was already introduced ; but
the description was still appropriate, and is usetl
again in this Epistle (ix. 10, 11, x. i), partly
because it was the name that described the hope
of the Jews, and partly because the temple \yas
still standing. Some regard the name as applying
to the new heaven and the new earth, some to
the heavenly state itself. It really includes them
lx)lh, only it is wider, and applies to the whole
order of things and to the government of men
(see Or.) under the Messiah. (See chap. vi. 5.)

Chvp. II. 5-18]

TO THE HEBREWS.

29

Ver. 6. But one in a certain place. Some
one somewhere testifies. This is not the language
of uncertainty nor even of indefiniteness. It is a
common formula found in Phiio and, as Schoet-
genius shows, in Jewish writers, when they quote
from what is supposed to be well known to their
readers. Some one, you know who, in a certain
place, you know where. 1 he expression is found
only here and in chap. iv. 4. — ^WhatiBman . . . or
the ion of man t Both expressions point in the
original passage to man as fallen and feeble. It
is human nature that is thus honoured — human
nature, not probably iq its original state, but as
subject to death because of sin, the chief quality
in which angels excel men. This human nature
God crowns and makes supreme over the work of
His hands — a supremacy one day to be made com-
plete in the person of our Lord. — A little lower
may (in the Hebrew and Greek) mean a little in
d^rce (as in Prov. xv. 16 ; Heb. xiii. 22), or for
a kitle [time] (as in Ps. xxxvii. 10). If spoken of
man as originally created, it means a littU ; if
spoken of man as humbled, brought down through
sin and the penalty due to it, and spoken of Chnst
as incarnate, it may mean for a little, * A little
lower,' however, is the more probable meaning
both in the Psalm and in this passage. Both
senses are true of man as fallen and redeemed,
and of Christ as incarnate and suffering. — Than
the angels. This is the Septuagint translation of
the Hebrew of the Psalm. The original may
mean * than God,' or than * the Divine,' as we say.
The expression is applied in Scripture to magis-
trates and rulers, who are * hedged round with a
Divinity,' and the word is rendered 'than kings'
in the Chaldee paraphrase. The translation * than
angels ' is sanctioned by most of the Jewish com-
mentators (see Gill), and is to be preferred, unless
we take * than the Divine,' the Hebrew plural
form admitting this abstract sense (see chap. i. 6).
— Thou hast set him, etc. These words are
omitted by some ancient authorities and by the
earlier critical editors {vide Griesbach, etc.) ; but
the preponderance of evidence is now in favour of
retaining them. The supremacy they describe
was given to Adam after his creation (Gen. i. 28),
and again to Noah after the fall (ix. 2).

' Lord, what is man T extremes how wide

In his mysterious nature join :

The flesh to worms and dust allied.

The soul immortal and divine !

' Dut Jesus, in amazing grace,

Askumed our nature as His own.
Obeyed and suflered in our place,
Then took it with Him to His throne.

* Nearest the throne, and first in song,

Man^hall His hallelujahs raise ;
While wondering angels round Him throng,
And swell the chorus of His praise.'

Vers. 8, 9. The supremacy is certainly promised,
and is intended to be complete; for nothing is
excepted, though as yet (ver. 9) the promise is
imperfectly fulfilled. The humiliation is clear
enough, and the crowning with glory is begun.
By and by there will be universal subjection, and
He will be universal king. Meanwhile we may
welt turn from the imperfect conquest which it is
so easy to see, and contemplate (see Gr.) the
great spectacle— Jesus made man, tasting death
for men, crowned, and awaiting His full reward.
From that spectacle suffering Christians will
gather fresh patience and faith. This use of the

expression, 'subject to Him,' and its applicatfon
to Christ, is found only in Paul's Epistles : I Cor.
xv. 27 ; Eph. i. 22 ; Phil. iii. 21. The words,
*for the suffering of death,' are connected by
the ablest scholars (Tyndale, De Wette, Winer,
etc.) with the words that follow: * because of
the suffering of death He was crowned,' as in
Phil. iL 9 ; and this rendering is all but essential
if we are to do justice to the Greek ()<« with the
accusative expressing an actual existing reason,
not an end to be gained). To connect them with
the previous clause, 'a little lower,' etc., as if
dyin^ were the purpo3e of His humiliation, is to
do violence to the original, and to anticipate and so
repeat the thought of the next clause, ' that He
might taste death for every man.' 'To taste
death ' is a common Hebraism for to die (Matt,
xvi. 28 ; John viii. 52). Merely to taste is some-
times the meaning of the Latin gustare, but
that meaning must not be pressed here. In
classic Greek, the phrase means to p[ive oneself
up to ; but the Hebrew meaning ' to die ' is nearer
the truth, with the added idea, perhaps, that He
experienced and felt it, and so came to understand
more fully what death is. . . . And yet all this
suffering — the ground of our Saviour^s honour and
exaltation— was by God's grace. Herein is love,
love in its noblest form, that God sent His Son to
be the propitiation for our sins. If God Himself
be not deeply concerned in this work, if the
Divine nature have no share in what Christ did and
suffered, the whole teaching of Scripture is con-
founded ; and for our salvation we owe more to a
'man' than to the blessed God. God is outdone
by a creature in the exercise of His noblest
perfections, and that in the very dispensation
which was intended to reveal them. — For every
man ; rather, for every one. The extent, the
design, and the effect of the death of Christ have
been, as is well known, the subjects of great
controversy. Some hold that He so died for all,
that all are to be saved by Him ; others, that He
died only for all whom the Father gave Him ; and
others, that He died for all, inasmuch as His suffer-
ings and death remove the obstacles to the pardon
of sinners which are created by the character and
government of God. The question is partly verbal,
and may be raised in relation to all God's gifts—
the Bible, the means of grace, blessings of every
kind. The thing that may be safely affirmed here
is that the explicit teaching of this Epistle makes
it impossible to accept these words in the first
sense. Those who are saved by His death are
' the sanctified,' * the brethren,' * the many sons ; '
not those who reject the Ciospel and die in
unbelief ; and yet so large a company made heirs
of blessings, moreover, so numerous, so varied,
and so lasting* that if the dignity of His person
gives value to His sacrifice, the efficacy of His
sacrifice reflects back a glorious light on the
dignity of His person.

Ver. 10, etc. It became him. This arrange-
ment (whereby one made lower than the angels
was to be supreme) was not only in harmony with
God's intention, as foreshadowed in nature and
revealed in Scripture; it was in itself befitting. It
was worthy of God, and it completed the Saviour's
qualifications for His office. In this way He, as
sm-bearer, cleanses us from sin, and stands in the
same relation to God as those who are to be
cleansed. He becomes their brother, pays to the
same Father the same tribute of grateful praise.

30

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. II. s-i8.

exercises the same trust as they, and presents
them with Himself completely redeemed (vers.
11-13). Meanwhile His mercy, His faithfulness,
His help are all perfected through the experience
and the sufferings He has undergone (16-18). — It
became him, i.€, God, who is Himself deeply
concerned in His great work, for whom are all
things, and this among them. — For whom are
all thingi, etc. The same language (which is
found elsewhere in N. T. only in Paul's writings)
is applied with characteristic differences to God
(Rom. xi. 36) and to Christ (Col. i. 6 ; i Cor. viii.
6). — In bnnging is the right rendering, though
'having brought' is a possible meaning of the
tense form. The words refer not to the saints of
the old economy chiefly, but to all who are being
saved. The saints of old — David, Israel, etc. — typi-
fied Christ in their sufferings : to Him, therefore,
they were conformed. Hut we as well as they.
And as it is to the coming glory the writer refers,
the words are eminently true of us. — Oaptain, trans-
lated elsewhere author (Heb. xii. 2), and prince
(Acts V. 31), means properly originator or author,
and so sometimes leader. — Perfect : that is, in His
office as Saviour. The personal perfection in
obedience which He learned througti suffering is
touched later (chap. v. 2). . . . Sanctification in-
cludes all that is needed to make men fit for the
service of God — freedom from guilt, and personal
holiness.— Of one, i.e, not of the same race, but
of one Father ; not in the sense in which the race
are said to be God's * offspring, ' but in the deeper
sense of the Divine sonship which begins in our
case with spiritual renewal, the sonship which
begins with the second birth, not the first, when
men are begotten again by the Father, by the
Spirit, through the truth.

Ver. 12. The church. The Old Testament
name is the congregation. But in modern usage
the congregation is one thing, and the church is
another ; and it is the church that best represents
the sense, the exact meaning of the original and
the force of the argument.

Ver. 13. I will put my tmst in him. Christ's
oneness with us is not only proved by the fact
that we have one Father and are brothers, all
'partakers of a Divine nature,' but by the further
iact that we have the same trials and struggles,
and faith — the principle of our spiritual life. The
brotherhood, moreover, that begins on His part
with His incarnation and sufferings (ver. 12 ; see
Ps. xxii.) continues till His work is complete, and
all the children. Himself and we, are presented
perfect before God (ver. 13 ; see Isa. viii. 18).

Ver. 14. He himself likewise. The Greek
word here is not easily rendered. It implies
great likeness without absolute identity; very
closely like, and absolutely like so far as flesh
and blood are concerned. He partook in the
main of our nature. His was an actual incarna-
tion—Tesus Christ in the flesh (i John iv. 2), but
with the difference which His personal sinlessness
implied. The word rebukes the Doketism (the
mere appearcMce of a human nature) of the early
heresies, the mythical dreams of Strauss and other
modern inquirers, but without admitting that He
was in every respect as man is, still less that He
was only man.

Ver. 15. Thzongh death. The Fathers and the
later commentators (Bengel notably) delight in
marking how Christ destroyed death by dying, and
cast out the prince of the wo^ld— the king of

death — on the cross, the weakness proving as
often to be the power of God. — He might deetnyy
is too strong ; abolish, bring to nought, render of
none effect, neutralize the power of, permanently
paralyze, take away the occupation of, are all
nearer the meaning. It is a favourite word of St.
Paul, who uses it twenty-five times in his acknow-
ledged Epistles. It occurs, besides, only here and
in Luke xiii. 7.— Subject to bondage. Aristotle
calls death ' the most fearful of all fearful things ; '
and ancient believers often looked upon it with
dread. Even now Christians are freed from this
dread only by a firm faith in Christ's victory over
it, and by a clear insight into the significancy of
His dying. Christ died not for His own sins, but
for ours. If by faith we are one with Him, death
is no longer the penalty of sin : it is only the
completion of our holiness and the way into the
blessed life above.

Ver. 16. Verily is feeble, as is even assuredly.
The >yord means, it is known, admitted, and
admitted everywhere ; it is nowhere questioned. —
He took not on him ; rather, ' on angels (or in
later English, of angels) He laid not hold,' but on
the seed of Abraham He laid hold, i.e, to help
and save them (see the same word in Heb. viii. 9).
It is not angels whom Christ delivers (ver. 15),
nor is it angels He succours (ver. 18), but the sec<l
of Abraham, the theocratic name of the people of
God peculiar to Paul. This is now generally
accepted as the meaning of the verse. In the
early Church the phrase * took not on Him ' was
applied pretty generally, as in the Authorized
Version, to the assumption of a human nature, and
so it was understood by Calvin, Luther, Owen, and
others. The active voice of the same Greek verb
(here it is in the middle) is used by Greek writers
in the sense of assuming a nature. But the tense
is present^ the voice is middle, and the word
'nature' is not expressed, and can hardly be
supplied, so that we seem shut up to the meaning
which is admittedly found in Heb. viii. 9, and in
other sixteen places where it is used in N. T.,
including I Tim. vi. 19, and seven passages in
the Acts.

Ver. 17. It behoved him. The word ex-
presses moral fitness and consequent obligation,
as in Heb. v. 3, 12, based on the nature of His
mediatorial work. — In all things like, i.e, all
things essential to His mediation. The exception,
•without sin,* is expressed later (chap. iv. 15),
and is less necessary here because of the limitation
implied in ver. 14.

A meroifol and fjuthftd high priest. The
Greek may mean that ' he may be merciful and a
faithful high priest,' but the quality of mercy in
the priest is really part of the thought. How
much we need a merciful high priest, as well as
one who shall be faithful to his trust, is shown by
the preceding description of our state. It is the
one quality which is needed to win men to God.
God knew, no doubt, what our guilt and sufferings
were, and felt them ; but we needed proof that
He knew and felt in order that we might trust in
His mercy. This proof is supplied by Christ as
incarnate, and perhaps Christ as incarnate and
suffering became capable of higher sympathy
than the blessed God Himself. — To make
reconciliation for the sins of the people. It
is unfortunate that this Old Testament ex-
pression is used in the N. T. only here, while
the expression commonly used in N. T. tq

Chap. II. s-i8.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

3X

express the same Greek word, ^propitiation/ is
not foand in the O. T. at all. It will help the
reader if he note that ' atonement for/ ' reconcilia-
tion for/ 'propitiation for/ are all forms of one
and the same Greek word and of one and the
same Hebrew word. When followed by the word
' sin ' or its equivalent, the Hebrew and Greek
mean to make atonement for ; when followed by
a word describing a person, they mean to pacify or
appease, to make propitiation, with special refer-
ence to the moral sentiment of justice or right in
the person appeased. This doable sense pervades
all the teachmg of both Testaments.

Ver. i8. In that he snfreTed, being tempted,
is on the whole the best rendering of the Greek.
It may admit of a limited sense, ' In that wherein
He suffered, being tempted,* or, 'having been
tempted in what He suffered.' The 6rst sense
includes these senses and others too. And ihe
wider the meaning we give the words, the greater
the justice that is done by them to the complete-
ness of the fitness of Christ to win our confidence
and to help us by His sympathy and grace.

It may aid the reader of this Epistle to gather
lessoas for himself if we note briefly some of the
hints which are suggested by these first two
chapters — doctrinal, practical, and homiletic.

DOCTRINAL HINTS.

In this Epistle, as in the Gospel of John, the
doctrine is based on the Divine nature of Christ,
and on His incarnation. As in the Gospel
(i. 1-18) it is said that the Word was God and
became flesh, and this double truth pervades the
book, so in the Hebrews the Deity and the
humanity of the Son form the foundation of the
entire treatise, and give strength and consistency
to its teaching. The double truth b not worked
as a pattern on the surface, it forms part of the
texture.

In this last dispensation God is said to speak
to us in His Son. The Son is the medium of the
revelation. As revealer He has as His associates
the apostles. But this office of Christ is quite
subordinate. Hb true character is that He b
Himself the revtlation. To know God and Hb
Son Jesus Christ b eternal life. God in Christ,
Chrbt as God, — ^redeeming, renewing, sanctifying,
— b the saving doctrine of the Gospel,

There b a double Trinity in Scripture — the
Trinity of the Old Testament : the Trinity of the
eternity that precedes the incarnation, wherein
Chrbt shares the glory He had with the Father,
wherein He made the worlds; the Trinity of
the New Testament, wherein He, as incarnate
Son of God, becomes Messianic King, and r^ains
with accumulated honours Hb original glory —
the second founded on the first, revealing it in
clearer colours, with greater tenderness, and ui
closer relation to ouiselves; again, perhaps, to
become subordinate to the first, when God Him-
self in Hb essential nature shall be all in all
(chaps. L and ii.).

PRACTICAL HINTS.

I. I. God b the chief teacher of the Church,
and what He tau^t of old has still its authority
and its lessons even under the Gospel (vers.
5, 8, etc.).

I. 2. The anthor of the Old Testament b also
the author of tbe New. It b God who gives

Christ the supremacy. To put Moses or some
' son of David ' above Chrbt b to disobey God.
By whom : Chrbt, then, b a dbtinct person from
the Father, and yet He b Creator of all things.

I. 3. As the sun b manifested only by its
effulgence, so the Father b revealed to us by Him
who b Light of Light, God of God. He who
upholds all things is our Redeemer and sacrifice.
The atonement of sin b effected not by our doings
or sufferings, but by Chrbt, and was completed by
Him before He ascended. . . .

L 4. Names are qualities and character when
God gives them. ... To give angeb the worship
that b due to Chrbt b to frustrate the Divine
purpose, and to give to the servant what belongs
only to the Son or the Father.

I. 5. In the first age of the Church, Scripture
determined what was truth, and that b its province
still.

II. 2, 3. Not to believe the Gospel b a greater
sin than to break the law. . . . When men are
warned or exhorted, the first person b more im-
pressive than the second, ' How shall we escape ? '

4. The rejection of tlie Gospel is rejection of
the doctrine which Christ and Hb apostles
preached. Post-apostoUc doctrine has no Divine
authority. . . . The doctrine b Divine which
miracles confirm ; the miracles are false when the
doctrine they support is not Divine.

II. 6, 7. The Gospel, which is sometimes said
to libel human nature, — so darkly does it paint
our character, — gives man highest dignities, and
raises him to the greatest blessedness.

II. 9. Faith b ifisi^ht, and sees much that to
the unbelieving remains unseen.

II. II. The poorest, feeblest Christian whob
sanctified and believes b recognised by Chrbt as
a * brother.*

II. 13. Chrbt Himself b a believer, one with
us in the covenant of grace. He lived a life of
faith even as we.

II. 15. There b a natural fear of death in man
not always felt, but easily wakened. Christ's
death delivers man from the danger of death, and
from the fear of it. None but the true Christian
b really free.

HOMILETIC HINTS.

I. I, 2. Revelation progressive and complete.
(Trench, Titcomb). The possibility and necessity,
the certainty, the characters, the methods, the

etrfections of Divine revelation (B. W. Williams),
ivine revelation variously communicated (Dr.
Ryland). The personal ministry of Christ a revela-
tion of God (Chandler). The Gospel preached
under the Old Testament (Mather).

I. 1-4. How the New Testament fulfils the
Old (Maurice).

I. I- 1 2. The Son, the Creator and Ruler of
the worlds (Bbhop Hobart).

I. 3. Providence (Dr. CoUinges). Chrbt's
sufferings the purging of sin (Is. Ambrose).
The Feast of the Ascension.

5, 6. Messiah the Son of God. Messiah wor-
shipped by angels (John Newton). The adoration
of Chrbt vindicated from the charge of idolatry
(Pye Smith). The similarity and contrasts of the
first and second advents (Auxlot).

8. Chrbt's sceptre on earth a sceptre of
uprightness and a source of gladness (J. H.
Stewart).

13, 14. The nature and minbtry of holy angeb

32

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. III. i-IV. i6.

( I {. Wilkinson, W. H. Mill). Michaelmas (Bishop
Bull, 'lillotson, Conybeare, Wesley, R. Hall).

II. I. The great danger of carelessness in
religion (Stillingfleet, Chalmers, Guthrie).

3. The great salvation (Keach, Conant, J.
Sui)erville, S. Walker, E. Cooper, Melville, etc.).

4. Miraculous evidence as proof of the truth of
the Gospel (Collyer, Maltby, Conybeare, etc. ).

5-9. The * world to come * subject to Christ
(M*Neile). The just prerogative of human nature
(Dr. Snape).

8. Missions (R. Wilberforce). Succour in
Christ for the tempted (H. Alford).

9, 10. The reasons and end of the sufferings of
Christ. Sufferings necessary to perfection (Jones
of Nayland). Good Friday (S. Walker, Jay).
Christ (rather Go<l) preparing His people for
glory (Blunt). Christ made perfect through
suffering (Sheppard and Vaughan).

II. The mystery of godliness (Newman). The
condescension of Christ (Balmer).

14. The incarnation and its design (Dr. Peddie,
Simeon).

14, 15. The fear of death (Saurin, Three
Sermons), and deliverance from it (Usher, Bishop
Hall, Dr. Bates, P. Norris, Dr. M'Crie).

16. Fallen man redeemed (South, Berriman).
Discriminating mercy (Hyatt).

16-18. The merciful High Priest (M*Cheyne).

17. The incarnation of Christ and its pur-
pose. The reconciliation of sinners by the death
of Christ (Winchester).

18. Christ's temptations (Girdlestone). Christ's
power to succour the tempted (Simeon).

Chaps, j. and 11. Christ's divinity and humanity,
and the bearing of each on redemption and oa
human feeling.

Chapter III. i-lV. i6.

The excellency of the Christian Dispensation proved by Chrises superiority to
Moses, 1-6. — The duty of Faith and Stedfastness enforced by the example
of Israel, 7-19. — Still further enforced, iv. 1-13. — The hopes supplied by
cofitemplatiou of the Tenderness and Power of Christ, 14-16.

1 \1 THEREFORE, holy brethren, partakers of "the* heavenly *fS.^i.V:

VV calling, consider * the Apostle and High Priest of our pf ll: ,•••; I4 ;

2 profession, Christ* Jesus; who 'was faithful to him that ap- aTil^i.'o*'
pointed* him, as also ''Moses was faithful in all his house. ^Rom^'xv.*?;

3 For this man * was * counted worthy of more g\ory than Moses,
inasmuch'^ as ''he who hath builded' the house hath more

4 honour than the house. For every house is builded by some

5 man;^ but 'he that built all things is God. -^And Moses
verily' was faithful in all his" house, as *'a servant, *fora
testimony of those things which were to be spoken after ; *°

6 but Christ as 'a son over his own" house: * whose house are D^ST'ai!
we, ' if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the " gii. 3'. .'..

7 hope firm unto the end. Wherefore (as '" the Holy Ghost saith, . jj i.8.^»9.

** To-day if ye will " hear his voice,

8 Harden not your hearts, "* as in the provocation,
In '* the day of temptation in the wilderness :

9 When ** your fathers tempted me, proved me,"
And saw my works forty years.

10 Wherefore I was grieved with that " generation,

ch. ii. 17, iv.
14, V. y vL

20, VIU. Z,
ix. IZ, X. 2X.

c Ver. $ ;

Num. xiL 7.
</Zech. vi. za ;

Mat. xvi. z8.
r j^ph. ii. 10,

iii. 9 : ch. L «.
/ Ver a.
jf Ex. xiv. 31 !

Num.

» a * omit Christ ^ how that he (///. being as he)

* made * Gr. he [this personage] ® hath been [is]
' insomuch * built (or established) by some one

• indeed, or untr. simply calling attention to the contrast in ver. 6

'® afterwards to be spoken ^* rather, his (/>. God's)

** the glorying (or exultation) of our hope '' omit will ** like as in

*• where, or wherein *• rcad^ tempted and proved me ; Gr, by proving me
" read this

kiQor. iii. i6,

vi. 19 : a Cor.

yt. 16 ; Eph.

ii. at, aa :

z Tim. iii. 15;

I Pet. ii. 5.
/Ver. 14;

Lu. viiL 15 ;

Rom. V. a ;

I Cor. xi. a ;

Col. i. aj ;

iThes. V. ai;

ch. vi IX,

*• 35.
;//a Sam. xxiii.

3; Acts i. 16.
n Ver. x c ;

Pi. xbV.

(xclT.)7-U.
o Deut. xxxiiL

8 ; Ex. xvii.

1-7 ; Num.

XX. x-\y.

Chap. III. i-lV. 16.] TO THE HEBREWS. 33

And said, They do alway err in tlieir heart ;

And they have not kpown my ways : ,

11 So " I sware in my wrath,

They shall not enter into my rest.)

1 2 take heed, brethren, lest there be in any '® of you an evil heart

1 3 of unbelief, in departing*'* from the living God. But exhort one
another daily, while it is called To-day ; " lest any *^ of you be

14 hardened through** the deceitfulness of sin. For we arc
made *• partakers of Christ, ^if we hold the beginning of our/Vcr. 6.

1 5 confidence stedfast unto the end ; while it is said,

^ To-day if ye will ** hear his voice, ^ Ver. ^.

Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

16 Tor some, when they had heard, did provoke; howbeit not all rNuiiLxir.»,

17 that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he l>Buii.'34, '
grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned,

18 'whose carcases fell in the wilderness.^ And 'to whom sware *Niun-xiv.

29, etc,

he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that S!^'- *5 ;

^ ' Ps. cvi. 20 ;

19 believed not?" *So we see that they could not enter in j^'*'^'
because of unbelief. ' gj™; '^^'^-^

Chap. iv. i. Let *'us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left ns^^ *Si. iv.6.
of entering into his rest, any" of you should seem to come" t'Ch. xiuxj.

2 short of it. For unto us was the gospel *• preached, as well as
unto them : but the word preached " did not profit them, not

3 being mixed with faith in *° them that heard //. "^ For we wCh. ui. x*.
which have believed do enter into rest, as he said,**

''As I have sworn in my wrath, jrP^xcT. 1:;

' ' ch. iiu ix.

If they shall " enter into my rest :
although the works were finished ^from the foundation of the ^ooxlu.7.

4 world : for he spake" in a certain place of the seventh day on

this wise, 'And God did rest tlie seventh day from all his'S*'^*^^;

' ^ Ex. XX. 11,

5 works. And in this //n^^ again, xxxi. 17.

* If they shall '* enter into my rest «pi. xc^.

(XOlT.) IL

6 Seeing therefore it remaineth ** that some must ** enter therein,

*and they to whom it was first preached" entered not in*ch-ii»-»9

7 because of unbelief:''^ Again, he limiteth'* a certain day,
saying in David,

To-day, after so long a time ; as it is said,"

"As ^* any one. ^® Gr, apostatizing

•* tfr, while To-day is called {in your hearing ** by -• become

** omit will ** disbelieved, or were disobedient

*• remaining, or being left over {see ver. 6)

*^ to have come ** glad tidings, or a gospel *• heard ; Gr, of hearing
•• rather^ because they were not united (mingled) by faith with
'^ that rest, even as he hath said '* they shall not, as in ch. iii. 1 1

•* hath spoken •* still remaineth ** for some to

•• who formerly heard the glad tidings, or the gospel (see ver. 2)
*' disobedience, or disbelief •• or defincth

•• ^ a long time after, * To-day ' {read^ as hath been before said)
vou IV, 3

34 TO THE HEBREWS. [Chap. III. i-IV. 16.

' To-day if ye will *• hear his voice, ^ p?- ??^- 7;

•^ ' ch. lu. 7.

Harden not your hearts. ,

8 For if Jesus *' had given them rest, then would he not after-

9 ward have spoken ** of another day. There remaineth *' there-

10 fore a rest to ** the people of God. For he that is entered into

his rest, he also hath ^ceased** from his own works, as** God rfa«a.a2.

1 1 did from his. Let us labour *' therefore to enter into that rest,

1 2 lest any man fall ' after *• the same example of unbelief.*' For ' ^,^ "*»
the word of God is /quick,*' and powerful,** and ^sharper than ^j^^.^.
any * two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder 'pSitJ's.^*
of soul and spirit, and of the** joints and marrow, and is ' aiE^'^'fy;

13 discerner *' of the thoughts and intents of the heart * Neither j^^i.'* *^
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all *\^l^'''
things are naked 'and opened unto** the eyes of him with ^f^JlTs!''*

14 whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have ** ** a great / jS*Sh!'"'
high priest, " that is passed into** the heavens, Jesus the Son of iw!*jAr'.'ii.

15 God, "^ let us hold fast our profession. For ^we have not an«ch.Si.a6,
high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our*' <»ch."'23.
infirmities; but ^was** in all points tempted like as ive are^ c^ii."i8.^'

16 ^ yet without sin. 'Let us therefore come boldly unto the raCor. v*!ai;
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to xPct/u. »«;
help in time of need.*' * Ep»»- »>• »«,

* in. la ; ch. ju

*® omit will ** Joshua ** kept on speaking *' still remaineth

** a rest — a Sabbath-rest for ** rested *^ even as

*' give diligence (2 Pet 1. 10) *' or^ so as to be in fand form part of)

*• disobedience, or disbelief \cf. iii. 12) ^° />., livine

** or^ energetic, effectual ^^ of both " ready judge

** laid bare to ** Having then *• through *' Gr. sympathize with

** one that hath been *^ Gr, for timely help

Chap. hi. Having set forth the dignity of the thought expanded later (iv. 14, x. 22). This

person of Christ and the greatness of His con- Apostle and Priest the Hebrews had acknow-

descension in taking our nature, the author exhorts ledged as their own (of our profession, or con-

the Hebrews to an earnest consideration (Gr.) of fession rather), and it became them to be faithful

Jesus, the Apostle and Priest of the new economy, as confessors to Him they had in this double

whom they, moreover, had accepted as their office accepted. It is probable that the expression.

Apostle and Priest. The grounds of this exhorta- * Apostle and Priest of our confession,' means even

tion are that Christ was faithful to Him who more than 'sent by God and accepted by us.*

appointed Him, as was Moses, and that He is as When the high priest went into the holy place

superior to Moses as the son is to a servant, as on the day of Atonement, he was called the

the foxmder of an economy is to the economy apostle, the messenger of the nation whom he

itself, to which economy we really belong only if represented, and for whom as priest ha pleaded,

we are stedfast and true (ver. 6). So Christ has entered into the holy place as our

Ver. I. Holy brethren. No mere compli- accepted Messenger and Priest. To reject Him

mentary title, but descriptive of the blessed now is a double insult.

brotiberhood to which Christ and all who believe Ver. 2. Who was faithful ; rather, consider
belong.— Partaken of, partners in a 'calling' that Him, he being faithful— in that He is faithful,
comes from heaven and leads to it, besides giving His faithfulness is the quality we are to contem-
the tastes and spirit appropriate to our destiny plate, a fresh reason why we should trust lliru
(John iii. 31; Matt. iii. 2; Phil. iii. 20), servants, and be faithful too. . . . The sphere of the service
therefore, and workers under a new and divine of Moses was a restricted economy — the house of
economy. — Christ Jesna. The true reading is Israel. Christ's is a wider economy, and includes
^sus simply, with special reference to His all things. The maker must be greater than the
human nature and His connection with ourselves work, and He that made all things must be
(see vi. 20, vii. 22, xi. 4 ; Ex. iii. 10-15). He Divine. Moses was part of the economy, the
was sent from God, as was Moses, and He was house in which he served. The economy, more-
Priest also, with Aaron's office and dignity — a over, was a rough outline only — a shadowy

Chap. III. i-lV. i6.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

3$

intimation of the higher economy of grace.
Christ was faithful over His house as Son — that
house His own (see on ver. 6), and the completed
universal kingdom to which the old type gave
witness. And all this is ours — the house, the
kingdom — if we remain faithful and stedfast

(1-6).

Ver. 3. Bnilded. The word implies gathering
cnr making the materials, putting them together,
and furnishing the whole, even appointing the
servants — doing all that is necessary for com-
pleting 'the house' as a home. Even Moses,
therefore, is regarded as part of the house which
God prepared.

Ver. 5. In all his house, t\e. God's house.—
Fdr a testimony, i.e. his work was preparatory,
testifying as He did to things that were after-
wards to be revealed (chap. i. 2). — As a servant.
The word for servant in this verse, which is often
applied in O. T. to Moses, includes all the work
that naturally falls to an attendant on another,
even what is roost confidential.

Ver. 6. His own house ; rather, perhaps. His,
t.f. God's house, the contrast being between a
servant * in the house * and a son * over it.* The
Greek, however, may mean that while the house
is God's, it is alsio emphatically 'the Son's,'
whereas ever His {i.e. God's) house means that
it is Christ's only by implication, i.e. because He
is over the house and is Son. — ^Whose house {i.e.
God's, or by emphasis or by implication Christ's)
are we, i.e. (as the absence of the article shows)
of who«e house — part, not all of it — are we pro-
vided, if so be that (a strong particle) we hold
fast the confidence as shown in speech and acts
(not ' boldness,* which is too much a description
of outward manner or profession only) ; and the
ground, the matter of exultation (blended joy and
boasting) which hope supplies. As the blessings
are even still largely future, hope even more than
&ith is the requisite grace.

Ver. 7. Wherefore. Since it is only the giving
up of your hope that can rob vou of this blessed-
ness, . . . beware of unbelief (a connection that
unites the ' wherefore ' with verse 12) ; or lest you
harden vour hearts (a connection that unites the
• idieretore * with verse 8). The former explana-
tioii gives a good sense, and the length of the
parenthesis is no objection (see Heb. vii. 20-22,
ail. 18-24, where we have similar examples) ; but
perhaps the second explanation is simpler, and
commends itself to Delitzsch and others. It is
also adopted in the Authorised Version. — ^As the
Holy Onost saith. The quotation is from the
ninety-fifth Psalm, which in the Hebrew has no
author's name, but in the Greek Version is ascribed
to David, as it is in Heb. iv. 7. — If ye will hear
quite misleads ; if ye hear (literally, if you shall
have heard). — To-day equals, with the whole
phrase, whenever He speaks, whenever you hear
His voice.

Ver. 8. As in the day of provocation ; like
as in the day of temptation in the wilderness.
These clauses probably refer to two distinct
occasions. The two words which are here trans-
lated ' provocation ' and ' temptation ' are in the
Hebrew proper names, 'Meribah' (strife) and
'Massah* (temptation). On the first occasion
(Ex. xvii. 1-7) the place is said to have been
called Massah and Meribah, which the LXX.
'temptation' and 'provocation.' The
similar temptation occurred towards the

close of the forty years, and is recorded in Num.
XX. 1-13. Their wanderings began and ended in
tempting and proving God ; forty years long did
their unbelief last. Not for single acts were they
finally condemned, but for settled habits and a
fixed character.

Ver. 9. When ; rather * where,' a common
meaning of the Greek word. — ^Tempted me,
proved me. The true reading is, * tempted me
in' (or by) 'proving' [me]. Strong passion is
some excuse for sin. When men tempt God to
try how far they may go, and how much He will
bear, there is a shamelessness in their state of
heart that is without excuse. — And saw my
works. Either the punishment God inflicted,
which failed to lead them to repentance (as the
word is used in Ps. Ixiv. 10 ; Isa. v. 12), or my
mighty works, punishment in part, but chiefly
mercy, and disregarding both they became the
more guilty.

Ver. 10. I was grieved is somewhat feeble ;
displeased, offended, deeply pained, is nearer the
thought. The word means properly what is a
burden, physical or mental, 'grieved' being
etymologically good (comp. 'it lay heavy on
Him '). In some forms of tne word it means what
presses into the flesh and inflicts wounds. •^That
generation is the common Greek text, and it is the
reading of the LXX.—This generation is the
reading of the revised text. The Hebrew is
simply ' with the generation.' The author has no
doubt purposely inserted ' this ' to show that he
r^^ards the passage as applying to the Jewish
people generally, the living race of his time, as
the word ' always ' is added to the Hebrew in the
following clause, being found, however, also in
the LXX., and implied in the present tense of the
verb in this place. — Have not anown, or did not
know. The Greek may describe a historical fact
that preceded the erring in their hearts, or it may
sum up their character, as in the Authorised
Version : they have not known or understood the
true nature and blessedness of the ways in which
I would have had them to go (see Ex. xviii. 20).

Ver. II. So; rather ' as,' though without much
difference in meaning : the acts corresponded to
the punishment is the meaning of 'as;' the
punishment corresponded to the acts is the mean-
mg of so. The former is the common meaning of
the Greek.

Ver. 12. Lest there be. The peculiar expres*
sion of the original implies that the writer's fear,
lest there should be, is blended with the feeling
that there will somehow be, an evil heart (^
unbelief. His interest in them, and what he
knows of their tendencies, make his fear pre-
ponderate, and it is only kindness to them to tell
them what he fears. — ^An evil heart of unbelief
is not a heart made evil by unbelief, but a heart
of which the essence is that it does not believe.
The two qualities, evil and unbelief, are closely
connected, and each produces the other. — In
departing ; literally, 'in apostatizing.' — From the
living God ; not the idols of the heathen, but the
God of Israel, who is known emphatically by this
name (Isa. xxxvii. 4), and who is now the God of
the Christian Churdi, its Defender and Judge
(see Heb. ix. 14, x. 31, xii. 22).

Ver. 13. Exhort one another. The verb is
very frequent in the Acts and in Paul's Epistles,
and occurs four times in this Epistle. Both here
and in Heb. xiii. 16 (where it is said in the Author

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. III. i-IV. i6l

rbed Veruon that Christians are to exhort one
aiKither in psalms an<] hymns) mutual exhortation
IS implied; bat the Greek U literally 'exhort
Yourselves,' and part of the idea is that the ex-
horter should have himself also as a hearer, e^en
when he has no other. The word 'exhort,'
moreover, includes all the kinds of help, consola-
tion, encouragement, rebuke, which the Christian
life needs.— While— as long as 'the to-d^y* is
called — vrtinded — in your hearing, so long as the
warning lasts, and the need fur it, let there be
circumspection and wariness. — Look to it (ver.
12) that no one from among j'lm (as well as your
fathers, vcr. 9) fall into unb)elief.

Another interpretation of * while to-day is called *
is, • while the Psalm continues to be read ;* so some
eminent commentators (dc Wcttc, IJengel, etc);
but this does not agree with the use which is made
of the words in ir. 7, nor does it give an appro-
priate sense to * is called.' The words may mean
while the day of grace lasts, the time during which
we hear the Gosinrl and are warne<l of the danger
of apostasy. 'In is meaning does not practically
differ from the one already given, * while to-day is
sounded in your ears,' and is supported by a simi-
lar comment on the * day of salvation * made by
Paul (2 Cor. vi. 2).— The deceitfolneti of Bin.
All sin has this quality (comp. Kom. vii. 9, 11),
and especially the sin of unlK'licf, which is the sin
of this context. Unlike the violation of purely
moral prcccptfi, it excites small disturbance in the
conscience, and yet most effectively hardens the
heart by making the most impressive truths power-
less over the feelings.

Ver. 14. We are made partaken ; rather, * we
are liccomc,' i.r. we arc now what we were not
originally. The words descril)e a presefit cha-
racter nnd an acauired character. — If, that ia,
we hold faet the oeginning of oar confidence —
the confidence we have begun to exercise — firm
unto the end; not our former confidence (i Tim.
V. 12), not the princii)le of our confidence, the
essence of it, but the oeginning of it ... to the
end. On this condition we arc partakers of
Christ, united with llim (John xv. 4, xvii. 23),
*cvcn as He is united with us' (chap. ii. 14).
This use of the word translated ' confidence ' is
found only in 2 Cor. ix. 4, xi. 17, and in this
place. I'hc Fathers generally regard it as mean-
ing the beginning of what is our subsistence, our
life, or even the beginning of what is the subsist-
ence of Christ in us. The word is found, how-
ever, in Hellenistic writers and is now well
known — in the sense of confidence.

Ver. 15. While it ii eaid. The connection of
this verse with the preceding is difficult. Out of
many interpretations the most consistent is that
adopted by Ebranl, Alford, and others. We
mutt hold fast if we would be partakers of Christ,
at is imflitii in the naming (in that it is said) :
To-day if ye hear hii voice, etc.

Vers. 16-19. The argument of these verses has
been variously interpreted, and the varieties are
seen in the difference of the translation. The
Authorised Version translates * some . . . howbeit
not all ; * the Revised translates ' who . . . t nay,
did not all.' Most of the ancient commentators,
and manv of the modern, adopt the translation
*iome* m verse 16, even when they translate •
* with whom ' as a question in verse 1 7 ; forms
though they be of the same won), but with differ-
ence of accent. Bengel» Alford^ and many more

translate 'who' and 'with wIiob' as qnestioiis
in both cases. They hold that it cootribotes to
the force of the argument to aflum that all perished.
Bat on the whole the Anthortsed seems the prefer-
able rendering ; for (l) the facts rather require the
statement that not all perished. Besides Caleb
and Joshua, all the (Jiildren who were under
twenty years of age when they left Egypt, and the
woooen and the Levites, were exceptions^ (2) The
«V. Tist, comment fovonrs it also, for in i Cor.
X. 5 it is expressly said that it was ' with the
greater part of them ' (or, ' with Tery many of
them ') * God was not well pleased, for ihey were
overthrown in the wilderness ; ' sind again and
again it b said in the same context that aoaie of
them were idolaters, and lome of them tempted,
and some of them murmured (vers. 7-10) ; while
the appeal to these facts (the limited extent of the
ruin, not the universalis of it) is used in that
passage for the same purpose of warning as here ;
and (3) the argument is better enforced by the
translation of the Authorised than by the pro-
posed change. — 'Beware, for all perish,* may
seem impressive ; but it is more impressive still to
say, as is said in i Cor. x., 'Most perished,' and
perished through unbelief; those who were spared
were only the minority, and they were spared
l)ccausc they were not guilty of the disobedience
of the greater part of the nation. Blended fear
and hope is the warning most likely to impress
and encourage ; nor was there danger of Uie
Hebrews reading the lesson so as to foster delu-
sion when it is so carefully intimated that men
must perish wherever there is unbelief. — Whose
carcases — literally limbs, suggesting, perhaps, the
gradual decay of the nation's strength — one falling
here, another there, till they were strewn all over
the wilderness.

Vcr. 18. Believed not, or disbelieved, is the
sense rather than disobeyed. The word ' unbelief,'
in verse 19, may be used alike of those who have
or have not heard the truth ; the word, in verse
18, of those only who have heard the CJospel and
will not be persuaded to accept. The word in
verse 18 means also to disobey as well as to dis-
believe, and here the two ideas are combined ;
they did not obey the command that bade them
to believe. Unbelief is as much disobedience as
the breaking of any other Divine law. See John
iii. 46, where both words are Used and are trans-
lated * believe ; * I Pet. ii. 7, 8, where both are
used, and arc translated 'believe* and 'be dis-
obedient* respectively ; and Acts xiv. 2, xix. 9,
where the word is the same as in verse 17, ren-
dered 'disobedient,* and is yet translated in both
places, in the Authorised Vei-sion, 'unbelief.' It
is no doubt true, however, that the Israelites were
disol)edient and rebellious (see Deut. i. 26, etc.) ;
but even when they are thus described, their acts
of disobedience were generally owing to disbelief
of Divine announcements. So it is in this Epistle.
The Hebrews were not tempted to disobey what
they regarded as a Divine command, but to doubt
and disbelieve the divineness of the commands
they had been obeying. Their danger was not so
much inconsistency in not obeying what they
l)elieved, as the rejection of the Gospel itself. —
They shall not enter into my rest ; sec on iv. i.

Ver. 19. 80; literally 'And' [wc sec], i.e, from
these facts.

Chap. iv. i-ii. To understand the force of
the reasoning of these verses, and the n4tur;dnc9S

Chap. III. i-IV. i6.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

V

of the different interpretations of the Psalm which
the Apostle is explaining, note that ' My rest ' is
primarily the rest which God enjoys (Gen. ii. 2 ;
Heb. iv. 4) or which God provides (Deut. xii.
9, 10). The first is the Sabbath rest which God
enjoyed aAer His work of creation was completed,
and which He provided for man when He insti-
tuted the day of rest, as He did long before the
giving of the law ; the second is the rest of Canaan,
the rest which God gave Israelj a rest which
proved very imperfect, partly because multitudes
never entered it, partly because the rest itself
was never fully realized even for those who did
enter it. Both meanings of the word, there-
fore, point to such rest as the Gospel gives, of
which the rest of the Sabbath and the rest of
Canaan were types, and imperfect types. Two
other facts need to be kept in mind : the word
Sabbath and Sabbath-rest (see ver. 9) are Hebrew
words for what is translated * rest ' and (as a verb
in Genesis) * rested ; * and the word * entered in,'
moreover, is a common word in the Old Testa-
ment— almost a cant word, like 'going home to
Canaan,* 'over the Jordan,' *one more river to
cross' — for 'inheriting the earth,' taking posses-
sion of the land of promise. Hence the natural-
ness of the interpretation which the Apostle refutes.
The rest of which the Psalm speaks, and which
the unbelieving miss, is not, as the word may
mean, the Sabbath-rest which God instituted at
the first, nor is it the rest of Canaan into which
the Jews entered under the guidance of Joshua.
The rest from which the disobedient Israelites
were debarred was neither the one nor the other,
for at that time the Israelites had both. It was a
rest that stood over in David's time for future
realization — 2l rest into which those enter, and
those only, who believe (see ver. 3) — the rest of
the Gospel, completed in the rest above. How
natural this argument is may be gathered from the
religious poetry of all Christian sects, and from
the language employed even now to describe the
Divine life. Every incident of the journey of the
Israelites from £g)'pt into Canaan is spiritualized
in our common religious teaching, and so may
easily have been regarded as the reality, not as
the type. How necessary the argument is also
clear. The announcement that the Jews are not
OS Jews part of the true theocratic kingdom, that
Canaan was not heaven, was to them one of the
liardest sayings of the Gospel.

Ver. I. Let us therefore fear. A stronger
expression than the caution of iii. 12 (' take heed'),
and the fitting preparation for the 'earnest labour'
of chap. iv. 12. We are not to doubt the truth
of the Divine promise, and the more firmly we
lielieve it the more active shall we be in the fulfil-
ment of every duty ; but we are to fear the
treachery of our own hearts. Continued unbelief
will exclude us from God's rest, from the peace
and blessedness which the Gospel gives both here
and hereafter ; and even if we finally repent and
reach heaven, unbelief will, in proportion as we
indulge it, lessen the enjoyment into which we
enter by believing, and which we can enter in no
other way. This godly fear, instead of debasing
the mind, inspires courage and freedom ; it pre-
serves us from vain security, checks self-confidence,
and makes us vigilant against everything that may
endanger oar safety.— ^Lest, somehow, haply.
This last phrase, which it is not easy to express,
calls attention to the greatness of the danger and

emphasizes the caution. — A pFomiae being left
ns. A promise remaining over unfulfilled. — Any
one of yon should seem ... It should turn out
that any one of you has come short of it ; literally,
lest any one of you should seem (to himself or to
others), when the decisive day comes, to have
failed, and to have no part in the promise — a
warning of a fearful result, given with a delicacy
quite usual with the writer ; or it may be a state-
ment like that in Matt xxv. 40-46, where we are
told that many will not know their true character
till they hear it described at the bar of God.
Their ruin will be as startling to themselves as to
others.

Ver. 2. For nnto ns has the Gospel been
preached as well as nnto them, i.e. we both
have our Gospel or glad tidings of a future rest,
equally a Divine message, though given with
different degrees of fulness. — Bat the word
preached ; rather, the word heard (literally, of
hearing), was of no use to them, brought no
profit, because the^ were not united (literally
mingled ') by (and m) faith with them that heard
it, i.e, who listened and obeyed — Caleb, Joshua,
and the rest. The word * not united,' * unmingled,'
is found only here and in I Cor. xiL 24, and
describes a state that follows from affinity and
sympathy.

Ver. 3. For we who have believed are enter-
ing into rest. We only are entering who believe;
it is not, therefore, the rest of the Sabbath which
the Jews long since possessed (vers. 4-6), nor is
it, as the author goes on to say, the rest of Canaan.
To strengthen the statement that it is only be-
lievers who enter into God's rest, he quotes again
the ninety-fifth Psalm : As he {i.e. God) said, As I
have sworn in my wrath, they (who did not
believe) shall not enter into my rest. — <If they
shall not enter ' is the same phrase as b translated
*they shall not enter,' in chap. iii. 11 ; the
phrase is part of the Hebrew oath ('God do so to
me and more also, i/,* i.e. I swear I will or I will
not), and is here a strong nec^tion ; so in verse 5 :
*they shall not enter into my reef It was
unbelief that excluded them, and so it is faith
that brings us in, the appropriate means of pro-
ducing peace and blessedness, and itself obedience
to God's command.

Ver. 5. In this place again, i.e. either to quote
again what was said before, or the Sabbath rest
which God provides, is, on the other hand^ shown
not to be the rest spoken of in the Psalm, inas-
much as the men described have not entered it.

Ver. 6 is clearly an unfinished sentence, finding
its completion in verses 9 or ii. — Let ns therefore
labour, etc., seeing it remaineth; rather, it still
remaineth, for some to enter in to God's rest, and
those who formerly heard the glad tidings of a
rest entered not in because of unbelief. In all
these verses where * it remains ' is used, the phrase
has the same meaning — not that a rest now
remains and is still future, but that the promise
was not fulfilled in the Sabbath-rest or in the
Canaan-rest ; and therefore when this Epistle was
written, it was still a warning and an invitation.
It awaited the faith and the entrance which were
to exhaust its meaning.

Ver. 7. Again. I'o continue the argument and
to correct another misconstruction. He ha-t
already shown that the rest of God of which he
here speaks is not the rest of God after creation ;
he now proceeds to show, by a further examina-

3«

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. IlL i-lV. 16.

tion of the Psalm, that neither is it the rest of
Canaan. — He limiteth (still further defines the
day and consequently the rest of which he speaks)
a certain day, taying in David (as we say ' in
Daniel'), not *'by' David, nor, as Bengel holds,
' fVf/ i.e, by the Spirit dwelling in and inspiring
him. — ^A long time (some 500 years) after they
had entered Canaan, as it is said in the farf quoted
passage (iii. 7, 15). — To-day if ye hear niB voice,
harden not yonr hearts. Some think the words
* To-day * look forward to the time of the Gospel
(translating 'to-day,' i,e. as it said a longtime
before the day comes ; so Dr. J. Brown and
others ; but if this be the meaning, it would
surely be needless for the writer to prove by argu-
ment that the entering into rest had not yet come).
—A long time points back to the entrance into
Canaan, and ' as it has been said before ' (the true
reading) points simply to the previous quotations.

Ver. 8. Clearly, therefore, the Psalm speaks of
a Divine rest into which men are bidden to enter,
different from the rest of Canaan, and long subse-
quent to it. — ^For if Joehua (here and in Acts vii.
45, Jesus, the Greek form of Joshua, quite mis-
leads) had given them rest— had led them into
the rest of which we are speaking — He (i.r. God,
who further defines 'the day' in David, and
describes the rest as still unentered) would not
have gone on speaking after that of another day
(or of another day after that, i,e, still future).

Ver. 9. Therefore there remains (still un-
realized in any rest that Israel then enjoyed) a
■aored rest, a Sabbath-rest (the word is now
changed), for the people of €k>d. The name
here given, 'the peoide of God,' is the usual
designation of the covenant people. It occurs
again in Heb. xi. 25, and is used in its deepest
sense of all who are 'children of God through
fiiith' (Gal. vi. 16). The use of the word Sab-
bath in this sense for the rest which God provides
under the Gospel was quite familiar to the Jews.
The coming kingdom of the Messiah was even
called 'the perpetual Sabbath.' Into that rest
all enter who believe. Some regard this verse as
oompleting the sentence that b^n in verse 6.
The better completion is found in verse 11.

Ver. 10. For he that is entered into his rest,
he also hath ceased from his works, just as God
vested firom his; Z.^., say some (Owen, Wardlaw,
Ebrard), as Christ is entered into His rest, so also
are we to be conformed to Him and to share His
rest But Christ is not named in the previous
context, and is nowhere designated as ' lie who
entered or is entered into His rest,' nor would the
argument have force with those who were ques-
tioning His mission. The other view, adopted
by Bleek and Delitzsch, is that the words describe
the people of God, those who by believing enter
that state of peace and blessedness which is begun
on earth and perfected in heaven. They luive
fellowship with God ; they rest even as God rests,
and have a happiness that is of the same nature,
and springs from the same source, as His. The
phrase, ' ceases from his own works as God did
from His/ might then refer to the rest which men
sought to no purpose under the Law or in Canaan.
The true peace, the sacred rest of the Gospel,
frees us from the necessity of seeking a righteous-
ness of our own, and speaks peace to the conscience
as the Law never did, making the whole life peace-
ful and joyous. This ' is the rest, and this is the
refreshing,' and it is shared by all who believe.

This explanation of the argument of this part of
the Epistle throws light on the meaning of the
rest, the Sabbath-rest, of which the writer speaks.
Some (Owen, Wardlaw, etc) hold that the three
rests here spoken of are the Sabbath-rest of Para-
dise, the Jewish rest of Canaan, and the Christian
Sabbath rest that commemorates the completion
of the new creation and the deliverance of the
people of God from a worse bondage than that of
^gypt. Important as these rests are, it surely
falls far below the dignity of the theme to suppose
that the writer refers to any positive institution
merely, however useful or blessed. Others think
that the ' rest which remains ' must be heaven :
we who believe enter it, all who enter it rest from
their toils and work as God rested ; and the con-
clusion seems sustained by the fact that the rest is
ever spoken of as 'still remaining.' But this in-
terpretation mistakes the meaning of ' remaining,'
which is simply that it was not realized either in
the Sabbath rest or in Canaan ; while it is realized,
is being realized, under the Gospel, as men believe.
It includes, no doubt, the rest of heaven, which is
the completion of our blessedness on earth ; but
the primary idea still is the rest which Christ gives
to all who take His yoke upon them, and to
whom, on their believing, old things are passed
away, — sins, character, burdens, unrest, — and all
things have become new. The words of C. Wesley
are not even an adaptation of the sentiment — they
are an exposition of it :

' Lord, I believe a resl remains
To all Thy people known —
A rest where pure enjoyment reigns,
And Thou art loved alone.

' Oh ! that I now the rest might know.
Believe and enter in ;
Now, Saviour, now the power bestow.
And let me cease from sin.

' Remove the hardness from my heart,
This unbelief remove ;
To me the rest of faith impart.
The Sabbath of Thy love.*

Ver. II. Let qb therefore begins the practi-
cal exhortation based on verse 6, of whicn it is
the completion. — Labour, give diligence (as in
2 Pet. i. 10), seek earnestly, strive to enter into
that rest, lest any man fall and form part of the
same example of disobedience or unbelief ; lest
through unbelief like theirs we like them come
short of the promise. The earnest striving, the
eager seeking of which the writer speaks, is well
described by St. Paul in Phil. iii. 7-14, and in
2 Pet. i. 5-12. In one sense faith is ceasing to
work and beginning to trust ; in another sense it i^
the most difficult of all works, requiring the energy
of the whole nature, and the help of the blessed
God besides. It is at once a gift and a duty, the
easiest and the hardest 'way of life.' — ^Leet they fall
into and so become another example of unbelief —
a pregnant construction. Whether; fall has its
lighter meaning, as Luther and Delitzsch hold, or
is used absolutely, — fall away and perish (as
Calvin, Bengel, and Bleek hold), — we need not
discuss here. The word is probably suggested by
the doom of the Israelites who fell in m^ wilder-
ness and perished (iii. 17); and it is used in the
same deep sense in Rom. xi. Ii. The fact that
the Hebrews are cautioned lest they should fall
through a disbelief that proved ruinous to those
who yielded to it before, shows that the word hap

Chap. III. i-IV. 16.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

39

probably its deeper meaning ; it is the opposite
state of entering into rest. Of course it is true
also that in proportion as they fall, whether in
degree or duration, they miss peace and swell the
number of those who are warnings to all who
witness them. But here the warning seems
permanent, and the fall, therefore, complete.

Vers. 12 and 13 give a fresh reason for this
warning. — For the word of God is quick {i.e.
living) and powerftd. But what is ' the word of
God * ? . The common Patristic interpretation
refers it to the Word incarnate, the personal
* Word * of the writings of St. John : so also Owen
and many others. But that use of the term is
peculiar in the New Testament to St. John,
unless this be an instance. And the interpreta-
tion seems hardly appropriate to the description
that is here given of it; nor is Christ ever so
named in the Epistle itself, M'here 'the Son of
God ' is His common title. Had the author been
familiar with ' the Word * in that personal sense,
he would certainly have used it (as he did not) in
Heb. xi. 3. The ordinary meaning, therefore,
is to be preferred — the word of which he has been
speaking — the word especially which excludes the
unbeliever from the promised rest, and denounces
against him the Divine indignation. The descrip-
tion is true of all Scripture, but emphatically true
of the passages which condemn disobedience.
ITiis won! is a living word — not, as we sometimes
say of a law, 'a dead letter,' having its place in
our statute book, but never executed — having
living power, and so something of the attributes
of Him who is * the living G<xl ;* and powerful^
energic, operative, not inefficient, as if God
never meant to execute it, or as if He had no
means of carrying it into execution. The sentence
that the unbeliever shall not enter into God's rest
is the utterance of a living force ^ not a dead law,
which is mighty enough to execute the Divine
pur]x>se in relation to transgression, and is sure to
execute it. Nor only so : and sharper far
(a double comparative) than any two-edged sword
(literally two-mouthed), ue. a sword sharpened on
both edge and back, cutting both ways, and
peculiarly trenchant (Isa. xlix. 2 ; Rev. L 16, etc.;
see also Eph. vi. 17).— Piercing through, even to
the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints
and marrow. This quality of the Word has been
r^arded by some as a mere description of the power
of the Word of God to produce conviction, to show
the sinner the falsehood and the wickedness of even
his inmost thoughts ; but this explanation antici-
pates what follows, and is hardly consistent with
the context. It is better to regard the words as a
completion of the previous thought. The soul
was regarded by the Greeks as the principle of
animal life and action ; the spirit, as the principle
of rational life and action. 1 o separate them
is to destroy the life of the man, the description
being taken from the inner nature. Similarly the
joints or limbs, of which the bones are the frame-
work, and marrow are also closely connected ; to
separate them is to produce great pain and death
itself, the description being taken from the
physical life. The threatening of God against
disbelief is a threatening that will certainly be
executed, and when executed intensest suffering,
destruction, and misery will ensue. Suffering
with the possibility of destruction — not necessarily
destruction — may be the idea, as in similar
passages (Luke ii. 35 ; Jer, iv. 10, LXX.) ; but

this interpretation does no justice to the strong
word— the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.
On either interpretation the lesson is solemn and
instructive. What . occurred in the case of the
Israelites who fell by hundreds of thousands in the
wilderness will occur under the Gospel with
aggravated suffering if men will not believe. . . .
Nor does this word take cognizance of outward
acts only, — open apostasy, — it is a discemer and
judge of the thoughts and intents (or rather of
the inclinations and thoughts) of the heart.
Feelings and thoughts, desires and ideas (opinions
as we call them), are equally under its jurisdiction ;
backslidings of heart, as well as of Ufe, it marks
and condemns. The religion of Christ is
eminently spiritual. Not the outer life only;
the inmost nature, mental and emotional, must
be subject to the Divine authority, and conformed
to the Divine will.

Ver. 13. The power of this word comes really
from Him whose it is. }A.oxt accurately, the Word
of God is God Himself speaking. The writer,
therefore, naturally turns from the instrument to
the author. — Keimer is there any creature —
any created thing visible or invisible (Col. i. 16 ;
even, perhaps, thought, the creature of the mind :
Michaelis) — that & not manifest in his, i.e,
God*s, sight (a Hebi-aism common in St. Luke, in
St. Paul, and in Alexandrian writers). — But all
things are naked and laid bare to we eyes of
him with whom we have to do. These phrases,
though their general meaning is clear, have been
variously explained. 'Laid bare' may refer to
the victims which were hung up by the neck,
opened, and the backbone deft from the neck
downwards, so that the priest might see any
blemish which made the victim unfit for sacrifice
(so the ancient Greek Fathers explained it) ; but
there are no known instances of this meaning of
the word : others say the reference is to the
athlete caught by the neck and thrown prostrate
on his back for all to sec his defeat. The first of
these interpretations is on the whole the more
probable, the words being addressed to Jews who
were more familiar with sacrifices than with the
games. Anyhow, the general meaning is clear,
that before God we are all manifest, stripped of
every covering and concealment, our very thoughts,
our 'secret faults,' revealed to the eyes of nim
with whom we have to do, i.e. with whom our
business is (a sense that may be seen in Judg.
viii. 7, 28). The Greek Fathers give the words
a narrower meaning — to whom our account is
to be given ; but the English Version is at once
idiomatic and accurate. All this description
applies, of course, to our relation to Christ, and
many commentators r^ard the words as applied
to Him in this passage ; but unless we accept the
explanation that the Word of God is the personal
Logos — Christ Himself (not a natural mterpre-
tation) — it is more grammatical and more accurate
to regard the verse as applicable primarily to God
who IS Judge of all, though at the hist He gives
all judgment to the Son.

Ver. 14. The following verses (14-16) might
b^in a new paragraph, and are closely connected
with the fifm chapter ; but on the other hand,
verse 14 looks back to the brief statement in
chap. i. 3, ii. 17, and iii. i, and its hortatory
form naturally makes it rather a completion of
what precedes. It is, moreover, the author's
manner to blend with admonitions, based on

40

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. III. i-IV. id.

previous teaching, assertions of what he is about
to prove.

It is a peculiarity of the Gospel that it seems
now without a sacrifice and without a priest. The
unbelieving Jews would naturally say, ' Your new
religion is without the first requisite of a Divine
system ; you have no sacrifice and no high
priest — how can sin be for^ven? who can
mtercede for you ? * The objection is answered in
this passage : We have a High Priest, a great
High Priest, transcending in personal and official
dignity all that ever bore the name, for He is
Jesus, the Son of God, each title implying His
superiority. No doubt His sacrifice has ceased,
and He Himself has passed through the heavens
beyond clouds and stars, even into the heaven of
heavens, to the very throne of God itself ; just as
the Jewish high priest on the day of Atonement
offered sacrifices of expiation, entered into the
holy place, and then through the second veil
into the holiest of all, to sprinkle the blood of
atonement and to burn incense, an odour of a
sweet smell, a symbol of acceptance to Him who
dwells between the cherubim. The objection
that we have no sacrifice or priest is met by the
fact that our High Priest has completed His work
on earth, and has gone, not into an earthly
tabernacle, the image of the true, but into
heaven to the throne of God itself — an evidence
of the efficacy of His mediation and the means of
perpetuating it. His entrance and His inter-
cession there are really *a perpetual oblation*
with the intimation of His 'will' that the
blessings He has gained be bestowed on them for
whom He pleads. The exhortation is, therefore,
that we hold fast our confeasion— what we have
acknowledged as true and Christian faith, the
word being used in a wider sense than in iii. I.

Ver. 15. For. Whatever the difficulties of our
Christian life, whatever the dangers that tempt us
to turn aside, whatever the dignity of our Priest,
whatever the awful power of the Word of God,
we have not a High Priest unable to sympathize
with us in our infirmities, but on the contrary one
tempted in all things like as we are (or rather in
accordance with the likeness there is between us),
sin apart. The infirmities of which the writer
speaks are not strictly sufferinp^ or afflictions, but
the weaknesses — physical, spintual, moral — where-
by sin is likely to find entrance, and misery is
produced — hunger, poverty, reproach, the dread of
sufferings, the love of rest, of friends, the difficulty
of living by faith, the tendency to judge things by
present results, to snatch victory in the easiest
way ; whatever, in short, is natural to man, and
yet not itself sinful. The temptations of Christ
in the wilderness, which are described as repre*
sen ting most of the forms in which temptation
assails us ; all He endured when the ' season *
came in which the tempter renewed his work, and
especially in the hour and power of darkness,
illustrate the meaning. All He bore and all He
remembers, and so in a sense bears still (note the
present perfect tense), fits Him to sympathize
with like weaknesses in us. In all these tempta-
tions of His there was no sin in the origin of them
in the stru^le, in the results ; but that fact only
increases His fitness for His office and our

confidence. He bore all, and yet was undefiled ;
and so His pity, while most tender, is in no danger
of becoming weakness, which would itself create
distrust even if it did not end in sin. 'Sin
apart,' therefore, is added, as much in our interest
as to the honour of our Lord. The perfect
sympathy of a sinful man would have given very
imperfect consolation.

Ver. 16. Let lu therefore come nigh— a com-
mon word in this Epistle for drawing nigh to God
by sacrifice, or under the Gospel through Christ
(vii. 25, X. I, xi. 6). St. Paul's word for a similar
idea is generally different (see Rom. v. 2 ; Eph. ii.
18, iii. 12, we have boldness and access by faith)
with the added idea when addressing Gentiles
that the^ are brought nigh. — With boldneiB,
rather with confidence (see chap. iii. 6), not as the
Israelites trembled when they approached, not to
the mercy-seat, but at most towards it — the priest
alone entering the holiest of all, but with the trust
that tells all its wants — ^to the throne of grace (not
Christ as if He were the mercy-seat, as some have
held, nor the throne of Christ, but), the throne of
God Himself ; not of His justice, however, nor of
His providence, but of His grace made such in
fact by the propitiation which Christ has offered,
and in part by our assurance that the priest him-
self feels for us.— That we may obtain mercy —
pity — partly, as His sympathy implies, but chiefly
the means of forgiveness for the sins which still
cleave to us as children (see 2 Tim. i. 18, Jude
21, where the idea is that the mercy we receive
from day to day is confirmed and perfected in the
day of God) : we need continual forgiveness for
continual sin (i John i. 10, ii. i). — ^And grace.
Whatever we need to perfect our holiness and
happiness — those gifts of free favour which prove
God to be our friend, and will help us to persevere
in the faith and obedience of the truth till we are
partakers of the perfected grace which is glory —
the grace that is to l)e brought unto us at the
revelation of Tesus Christ (i Pet. i. 13).— For
aeaaonable help is the literal rendering of the last
clause, i.e. help convenient, suitable to the
occasion ; * in time of need ' is very good if that
mean, as it may, *as we need it,' and so is
appropriate to each emergency as it arises.

These exhortations were eminently suited to the
condition of the Hebrew Christians. With such
a High Priest, who has expiated our sins, has
passed into the presence of God, thus proving the
acceptance and the continuance of His work,
whose Divine Sonship gives virtue to His sacrifice,
whose perfect sympathy with us in all our weak-
nesses is made complete through His endurance
of the same trials, let us persevere in the
confession we have made — seek from God with
the boldness of children the mercy and the grace
we need for emergencies and opportunities alike
till our victory b complete. Nor less suited is
the exhortation to ourselves. In every age the
same temptations assail us, though they assume
different forms ; and in every age the maintenance
of the truth as it is in Jesus, and habitual (mark
the present tense, * continue coming ') intercourse
with God as the God of Peace and blessing under
the influence of this truth, tliesc are the true
sources of our stedfastness

Chap. V. i-VII. 2S.J TO THE HEBREWS. 41

Chapter V. i-VII. 28.

The excellency of the Christian Dispensation proved by Chris fs superiority to
Aaron, v.-vii. 28. — His Appointment and Compassion, v. 7-10. — Digression
on the Priesthood of Melchisedec, and the reasons for it, v. 1 1 -1 4. — Pro-
gress in Knowledge essential, vi. 1-3. — Danger of Apostasy, attd arguments
against it, 4-20. — Argument resumed — Christ s Priesthood proved superior
by various arguments, vii. 1-28.

1 T70R every high priest taken * from among men " is ordained * «ch. viu. 3.
A for men * in things pertaining to God, ^ that he may offer *^- ^^^7-

2 both gifts and sacrifices for sins: ^who can have compassion 2; J*"'
on ' the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way ; * for '^^^ **»

3 that ' he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And -^by ^2;^j;/3^-
reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to j^; 16*^7 f'

4 offer for sins. ^ And no man taketh this honour unto himself, it^^'^^'

5 but he that is* called of God, as ^ was Aaron. ' So also Christ ^^x^hs*:
glorified not himself to be made* an high priest ; but he that AEx.xivm.i;
said unto him, Ji""l'chron.

* Thou art my Son, ,• jJ!"*iH?*54.

To-day have I begotten thee. ch.* i. 5. *

6 As he saith also in another //<f7tY, (oix.)4:

' Thou art a priest for ever wiMat. xxvi. *

After the order of Melchisedec. Mt xiv. '

7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had ** offered up prayers Jo. xvli. x.

and supplications * with strong crying and tears unto him * that Mit. xxViu

was able to save him from death, and was heard ^ in that he «y-34. 37-

fl Mai.xxv1.53:

8 feared:' ^ thoujjh he were • a Son, yet learned he '^ obedience Mk.xiv.36.

' o y J / Mat.xxv1.37:

9 by the things which he suffered ; and ' being made perfect, he **•'• »'.r- 33:

A^Ua xxii« 43 '

became the author' of 'eternal salvation unto all them that ]?c^S\V'

g Ch. ui. 6.

10 obey him ; called of God an*® high priest "after the order of j'^^":."-J-

11 Melchisedec. Of whom"*' we have many things to say, and ^ ji*a.**iiy. n.

12 hard to be uttered,'* seeing ye are*' "'dull of hearing. For *Jf^^J^;
when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that *'^°p*^'iH.",k
one teach you again which be ''the first principles" of the ^J?h.'\rri!'^
oracles of God ; and are become such as have need of -^milk, ^\^^J' '"' '*

13 and not of strong meat." For every one that useth" milk is
unskilful" in the word of righteousness: for he is 'a babe. * J,^°-;, *jij'.

14 But strong meat" belongeth to them that are of full age," even ^^^^\^i/

• being taken (/>. being taken as he is) * appointed

' deal gently with {or, feel gently towards) * and the erring (wandering)

• read, when ® to become ^ for his godly fear

• was • Gr, the cause '® addressed by God as [seev, 6)
'* or. Of which (subject) ^' explained " insert become

'* the rudiments of the first principles {Gr. of the beginning), see vi. i
" solid food '® Gr, partaketh (* takes') *' inexperienced

" mature — full grown (fir, finished, or perfect); see vi. imperfection

m. 13,

42 TO THE HEBREWS. [Chap. V. i-VII. 2&

those who by reason of use have their senses exercised "to «iaa-vii 15;

, , * Cor. u. i4«

discern both good and evil. ^JK ..

Chap. VI. i. Therefore * leaving the principles of the doctrine of «3»m;

Christ, let us go on unto perfection;*' not laying again the ^Mk.^i.15;

foundation of ^repentance ^from dead works, and of ' faith ^^.»- 38.
2 toward God, -^of the doctrine of baptisms, ^and of laying on '^^i^.*^.

of hands, * and of resurrection of the dead, ' and of eternal J^^; ^•
3> 4 judgment. And this will we do, * if God permit. For ' // is •^^•^'^^s.

impossible for those '"who were once*^ enlightened, and have" '^^^,e.

tasted of "the heavenly gift, and ''were made" partakers of *j^^-,^'/9,=

5 the Holy Ghost, and have** tasted the good word of God, and ,|?."7i-V7';

6 the powers of ^ the world " to come, if they shall fall away," to ^.*'?': ^''
renew them again unto repentance; ^seeing they crucify ** to acS."'/io.*
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open xConTt^ii?

7 shame. For the earth which drinketh " in the rain that cometh j,l^e^^iXi\
oft upon it, and bringeth forth ''herbs" meet for them by 'jS'v.^e!''

8 whom it is dressed," ' receiveth blessing from God : ' but that "'2PeUi.M,af!
which" beareth thorns and briers is^ rejected, and is nigh *vi!*3T;/°'

9 unto cursing;" "whose end is to be "burned. But, beloved, «»G&.iii*.f,'5;
we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accom- >ch.H.5.

10 pany salvation, though we thus speak : ^^ for "' God is not rOonftTi.
unrighteous to forget ''your work and labour of love," which /oeiLiii. w,
ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have" •''ministered «Deut. xxix.

22 2^ * 2 Cor

11 to the saints, and do minister. And" we desire that 'every xi.'i5;'Heb.'
one of you do show the same diligence ''to the full assurance pProvlxiv.ai;

•^ ** Mat, X. 42,

12 of hope unto the end : that ye be not slothful, but * followers" 'i'^^- <?s

* ' ' Jo xm. 20.

of them who through faith and patience ^inherit the promises, "'flhtt'-^'^ •

13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could •'^'Thes. I's:

cp. X. 32-34.
XV. 25;
. viii. 4,
ix. X, 12 :
2 Tim. i. 18.

14 swear by no greater, ^he sware by himself, saying, Surely -^fcbr/

blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.

15 And so, after he had patiently endured,** he obtained the J^l*J[- J; '^*

16 promise. For men verily " swear by the greater : and ' an oath ^^^;^^\\y'

17 for confirmation is to them an end of all strife." Wherein" ii.,4"*' ^'
God, willing more abundantly to show unto -^ the heirs of pro- ^oen.xxu.16;
mise*' ^the immutability of his counsel," confirmed // by" an Lu-TVa.*

18 oath : that by two immutable things, in which // was impossible /chJixi!*^."

g Rom. XI. 2$

*® Wherefore and for the rest^ or, leaving the word (the instruction) of the first

principles {see note 14) of Christ, let us press on unto maturity
*® once for all ^* omii have ** became •• or^ age

•* Gr. and fell away ^* Gr. crucifying as they do . . . and putting

** land which hath drunk ^' herbage

2* for whom (on whose account) it is tilled •* when it

*® it is '^ a curse *' read^ the love ^' omit have

'* But ** Gr* imitators *^ rather, waited ^' omit verily

^^ rather^ and in every contradiction {or, dispute) of theirs, the oath is final

for confirmation or settlement of the matter {see note on v. 16)
*® Wherefore ^^ the promise

** Counsel is a form of the same word as wit/in^ — * willing to show ... of his

will '— <?r, * minded to show ... of his mind' ^* rather, interposed with

Chap. V. i-VII. 28.] TO THE HEBREWS. 43

for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation/' who have

fled for refine to lay hold upon the *hope 'set before us: ^^k'iV*

19 which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and 'Ch.xiLi.
stedfast, * and which entereth ** into that within the veil ; ^1^15?^ ^

20 'whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, '"made** I'^'iy^i^,
an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. wFloL"* ***

Chap. VII. i. For this " Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of "" the S^i*'. ^,
most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter «ga?iv. Vi,

2 of the kings, and ^blessed him ; to whom also Abraham gave *• <>vS. Vi***^
a tenth part of all ; (first being by interpretation King of ^ ^*^ ***' **
righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is,

3 King of peace ; without father, without mother, without
descent,*^ having neither beginning of days, nor end of life ;

but made like unto the Son of God ;) ^abideth a priest con- ^ctoB.xiv.18.

4 tinually. Now consider how great this man was^ ''unto whom ra6n.xiv.i7,
even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.**

5 And verily ' they that are of the sons of Levi, who *• receive ' ^^"^j *^"*-
the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes

of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren,

6 though they *® come out of the loins of Abraham : but he
whose descent ^ is not counted from them received ** tithes of

7 Abraham, 'and blessed" ''him that had" the promises. And j^^^^"
without all contradiction" the less is blessed of the better. Cai. in. x6.

8 And here men that die receive tithes ; but there he receiveth

9 tlum^ ^ of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so ''S^al* ^'
say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham."

10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec

11 met him. "'If therefore perfection were** by the Levitical^'cSLii'^ai'?'
priesthood, (for under*' it the people received** the law,) what ^^"-7.
further need ivas there that another** priest should rise "^ after ^^■.«.(flix.)
the order of Melchisedec, and not be called ** after the order of

12 Aaron ? For the priesthood being changed, there is made ** of

13 necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these

things are spoken** pertaineth to ** another *• tribe, of which ^JjJ^*|:^":s»

14 no man gave** attendance at the altar. For it is evident that Li!!*lu\i3;

^our Lord sprang ** out of Juda ; of** which tribe Moses spake R°JJ*v^t*

*' or^ encouragement ** entering

*• V^ere as forerunner for us Jesus is entered, having become
*• literally^ gave as his portion (^r, divided) *' genealogy

** out of the chief spoils *• rather^ when they Ton their receiving)

** rather^ these (/>. their brethren) " hath taken

»« hath blessed «* hath

•* nrMrr, without any contradiction or gainsaying {or, beyond all contradiction)
^' so to say, through Abraham, even Levi, who receiveth tithes, hath been
tithed lumself *• If then there was perfection

•' Gr, on the ground of ** read^ hath received *• a different

^ that he should be said to be not ** comes to be

•• said {as in v. 11) ** Gr. hath partaken of

•* hath ever given •* bath sprung •• as to

Eph. u. 1 8.
iu. la : ch. W.
16, z. 19.
r P& ex. 4.

44 to THE HEBREWS. [Chap. V. I-VII. 2S

15 nothing concerning priesthood,*' And it is yet far more
evident : for that •* after the similitude of Melchisedec there

16 ariseth another* priest, who is'* made, not after the law of a
carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless '* life.

17 For he testifieth,'* ' Thou art a priest for ever after the order 'Jj;^*;

18 of Melchisedec For there is verily" a disannulling of the '^**-
commandment going before for'* *thc weakness and unprofit- '^T-^^^'

19 ablcness thereof. For *the law made nothing perfect, but *J^^J;J2^*
the bringing in of ""a better hope did ;''*^ by" the which ''we cSiLu.'^:^'

20 draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath ^^ ^.^s,

21 he was made priest : (for those priests were made" without an ^5^^.,.
oath ; but this '' with an oath by him that said unto him,

' The Lord sware and will not repent,
Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec :)

22 By so much ^was Jesus made" a surety of a better testa- ^£^,*"iif;^

23 nicnt.** And they truly were many priests,*' because they

24 were not suffered to continue" by reason of death: but this
man^^ because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priest-

25 hood." Wherefore he is able also to save them to the utter-
most** that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth ^to ^fi^^'/;^*

26 make intercession for them. For such an high priest became J*jo*iL*t.*
us, * who is ' holy, harmless, undefiled, separate *^ from sinners, *pi'^;(xk)

27 *and made higher than the heavens ; who needeth not daily, ^L^h.i
as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, ' first for his own
sins, '"and then for the people's : for ''this he did once," when

28 he offered up himself. For the law maketh" "^ men high priests voJts'.i^uxi.
which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was ''ch!Tx.V2.28■
since•• the law, inaketh*^ the Son, ^ who is consecrated ®' for ^chl'v. 1. 2.

/Pj. li.7;ch.

evermore. ii. xo, v 9.

IV. 10; ch.
iv. 14, viii. z.
/ Lev. ix. 7,
xvi. 6, 1 1 ;

•' rfiui^ priests ^' if ^^ a different

^0 halh been (6V. hath come to be) ^* Gr. indissoluble

'* read^ It is witnessed of him ^' omit verily ^* because of

^* because of the weakness and unprofitableness thereof; (for the law made
nothing perfect ;) and there is a bringmg in thereupon of a better hope
^* through " For these have been made [or^ become) priests ^' he

^' hath Jesus become ®^ covenant

"* have become priests in great number ®' hindered from continuing

•■ hath his priesthood unchangeable, or^ a priesthood that doth not pass away
*' completely ** separated '^ once for all

" appointeth ** after ^^ perfected

Chap. v. The lugh-pricslhood of Christ is
now formally introduced for fuller discussion. It
i)a« iiccn mentioned in every chapter of the
Kpisllc (i. 1, ii. 17, iii. l, iv. 5), and clearly
occupies a chief place in the writer's mind, as it
docH in other Ixwks of Scripture. The notion
that this oflficc of our Lord has only economic or
temporary interest ; that it l)elongs rather to the
ancient law and to Jewish conceptions than to the
iia^^lH^I, miite misleads. It is, indeed, a doctrine
demandru by the express teaching of the New
Te»iamcnt and l>y human nature as illustrated in

the religious sacrifices of all nations, and in the
fell necils of the human conscience.

Two qualifications are said to be necessar}* in
priests, and Christ is proved to have them both :
the first is, that they should he able to feel for those
whom ihey represent, and then that they should
have the authority of a Divine appointment (vers.
I -4). Christ is thus shown to have both a Divine ap-
pointment and the requisite sympathy (vers. 5-10).

Vcr. I. For resumes the subject of di •
cussion (see iv. 15), and gives a reason why
Christ should possess the qualities here .de-

Chap. V. i-VII. 28.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

45

scribed (ver. 5). — Every priest The rensoning
is suQ^ested by the case of the Aaronic priesthood,
and refers in detail to that ; but the words are
applicable to all priesthoods (t.^. to all who act
for others in things pertaining to God). — Taken
M he it from among men affirms part of the
quality of a priest, and is so regarded by most
commentators ; others render the expression, as
apparently does the English Version, * when
taken * (/>. every merely human* priest) ; and
suppose that there is a contrast between human
pnests and the Son of God. But the former is
the juster view, for the writer goes on to claim
for Christ also the same human Qualities in a
higher d^;ree (ver. 7, etc). — ^Is ordained; pro-
perly, *is appointed;* 'ordained even as Aaron
was [ordained],' misleads. Ordination in any
technical sense is not here, but Divine appointment
simply. — For men, i.e, on behalf of, not in the
stead of. This last is indeed a possible meaning
of the preposition in certain combinations (He
was made a curse for us, etc.), but is not in the
word itself, nor is it appropriate here. — In things
pertaining to Gk>d; literally, < things Godward/
our interests and business in relation to Him. —
Both gifts and sacrifices for sins are naturally
the offerings or gifts of the law other than sin-
offerings and the sacrifices ; * for sins * belonging
to the last only (see the same combination in
viiL 3 and ix. 9), and not, as Alford supposes, to
both. It is true, however, that the * sacrifices *
were also gifts, the victim being the property of
the offerer, and sometimes only gifts, and not
properly sacrifices (for sin) ; while the gift was
sometimes of the nature of a sacrifice. Both the
ideas are blended in the work of our Lord, * who
gave Himself for us.* On the other hand, we are
said, without any reference to sin-offerittgt to pre-
sent our bodies living sacrifices (Rom. xii. x). The
fact is that the old Homeric meaning of the word
to sacrifice (Ovw) was to burn wine, etc., in the
fire to the gods ; its secondary meaning, to slay in
sacrifice. From that one root came a double set
of derivatives — incense, to bum incense, altar of
incense (Thyine wood, Thus^ etc.) ; and to
sacrifice, to offer sacrifice, altar of sacrifice, etc. ;
and hence sacrifice is often and naturally used in
the New Testament in the figurative sense,
especially in St. Paul(£ph. v. 2; Phil. iv. 18). —
To offer is the technical word common in this
Kpistle, but Alford says it is never found in St.
Paul. The noun, however, is found (Rom.
XV. 16; Eph. v. 2), though appropriately with
another verb * present,* * give,* either because the
sense is figurative (see above), and the ordinary
verb would be too sacrificial, or because in the
last passage he wants to call attention to the fact
that Christ is offerer as well as victim.

Ver 2. Who ; rather, being one able to have
compassion; literally, to be reasonably com-
passionate towards — a word found in the New
Testament only here. The Stoic prided himself
on being apathetic in relation to sm and misery,
as he held the gods were. A sympathetic or
emotional nature rejoices with those that rejoice,
and weeps with those that weep, llie true
position of a priest in relation to those who are
not only suffering, but are also guilty, is between
the two. His is a blended feeling of sorrow and
blame. Were there no sorrow, there would be no
fitness for the office manward ; were there no
blame, there would be no holiness, and so no

fitness for the office Godward. As standing
between man and God, he feels (we may say it
with reverence) for both ; and herein consists His
noblest quality. — With the ignorant and the
erring. The persons for whom the priest acts are
not innocent, or the function would cease ; they are
sinners, and are described as ignorant and out of
the way (erring or, it may be, 1^ out of the way).
The first word is milder than the second, and
describes an ignorance that may be without sin,
though it is oftener an ignorance that is more or
less sinful (see Lev. iv. 13, v. 18). There is
generally sin in it, though not the sin of a wilful
perverseness (*I did it ignorantly in unbelief,'
I Tim. i. 13). The second word, though stron^r
than the first, is milder than is consistent with
wilful conscious sin ; it is going astray, or (in the
passive voice) being led astray (see I Cor. vi. 9 ;
Gal. vi. 7 ; 2 Tim. iii. 13). Possibly these words
describe the feeling of the priest, who is supposed
to be a man and himself a sinner (see next clause)
towards those who are sinners, and who he may
say are after all 'ignorant and deluded.* More
probably, however, the words describe the real
character of those for whom he is to act. All
men are blameably ignorant, and are out of the
way ; every sin is want of knowledge, as well ss
want of wisdom ; we all have gone astray, and for
all the priest acts ; those being excepted who are
presumptuous and defiant sinners tor whom no
sacrifice could be accepted. The very office of
the priest implies some desire to be forgiven, or
at all events the cessation of perverse persistence
in sin. Sympathy for all such is the duty and the
qualification of the true priest ; made the more
easy that he is himself beset with infirmity, and the
more obligatory that he himself needs the same
treatment. The infirmity here spoken of is
clearly moral weakness, which makes men capable
of sin, and leads to it.

Ver. 3. And by reason hereof (the tnie
reading, though requiring no change in the
English Version), i,e, the infirmity with which he
is himself compassed. — He onght (under a double
obligation, ethical and legal, with special refer-
ence in this instance to the first). — As for the
people even, so also for himself. The reasoning
applies to the Aaronic Priesthood, ^nd also to all
human priests. The provisions of the Jewbh law
in this respect are very clear (Lev. iv. 3-12), and
especially for the service of the great day of
Atonement, when the priest confessed for himself
and his house, then for the priesthood in general,
and then for all Israel (Lev. xvi.). Whether
all this applies to Christ has been much dis-
cussed. Some have regarded it as spoken of
human priests as distinguished from Christ ; but
it is more natural to regard it as true of all high
priests in general, and then to allow the writer
himself to show how far the Priesthood of Christ
is like others, and how far it is unique ; this he
docs as his argument proceeds (vers. 7, 8, and
chap. vii. 28).

Ver. 4. A priest, moreover, who is God's agent
as well as man's, has his appointment not from
himself nor from man, but from God. — And none
taketh this honour {the office^ as the word
frequently means) tohimiBelf (upon himself, as we
now say), i.e. legally, acceptably to the chief party
in this arrangement ; but when called of God,
even as Aaron was. The Divine ordinance which
made Aaron and his sons high pnests continued

46

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. V. i-VII. 28.

long in the theocntcy, and was vindicated against
the nsurpation of other Levites and of kings
(Num. xvi. 17 ; 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-21). But long
before the date of this Epistle the ordinance had
been broken, and the Roman power con-
temptuously set it aside. Some have thought
that the writer rebukes these irregularities in thb
verse, but probably he is speaking of what was in
fact the law and the proprieties of the case
without any side-reference to later abuses. Wlio
are to present offerings to God, and whom God
will accept, are questions that belong clearly to
God Himself. We must carefully distinguish,
however, between the prophetical office and the
priestly. All Christians that have the Gospel
may prophesy ; every man who has found the
cross is competent and is authorised, nay, is
even required to tell others the road. Warnings
a^inst preaching the Gospel, derived from^ the
history of Korah and Abiram, are specially
inappropriate under a dispensation when all are
commanded to tell what God has done for them,
when not only the Spirit and the Bride, but every
one that heareth is to say. Come. The real
lesson lies in another direction. We have under
the Gospel one Priest only in the deeper sense of
that word, a Mediator and a sacrifice, who has
made complete atonement for sin. The usurpa-
tion of His office is on the part of those who
assume to themselves the name of priests, and
pretend to offer sacrifice for the sins of the living
and the dead. Here is the sin of Korah ; the
more guilty as Christ is greater than Aaron,
and as His perfect sacrifice is superior to the
shadowy sacrifices of the ancient Law.

Vcr. 5. These requisites of the high priests are all
found in Christ, and found in Him in such a degree
as proves Him to be superior to all others. — ThnB
Ohrist also (ns well as others) glorifiednot himBelf,
took not the honour upon Himself (see John viii.
54) to be made High jPrieat, bat he (the Father)
who apake to him: Then art my Son ; I have
this day begotten thee. He it was that made
Him Priest, and made Him Priest in the very
passage that speaks of Him as * Son ; * the ' Only-
begotten.' This deeper meaning which regards
the Sonship that Chnst had before His incarna-
tion as itself having reference to redemption, and
to Christ's place therein, is favoured by the
Fathers. Others who regard the quotation as
giving honour to the Son without making that
honour an assertion of His Priesthood, interpret
simply Christ did not Himself assume the office
of Pnest ; God who acknowledges Him as His
Son in a sense that raises Him above all creatures,
God gives Him the office.

Ver. 6. Then follows a correction (according to
the second of the above interpretations), or an asser-
tion in plainer terms (according to the first) of this
appointment. — Even as also he saith in another
(literally, *a diflferent') place ; a psalm written with
a different purpose ; a quotation from the i loth
Psalm, which is generally accepted by the Jews
themselves as Messianic, showing that if Jesus is
the Christ it is by a Divine appointment He holds
the character and performs the functions of a
Priest— a perpetual Priest — the only Priest — with
honours and qualifications higher and greater than
those of Aaron.

Vers. 7-10, Having shown how Christ has one
qualification for the Priesthood, the authority of
a Divine appointment, based in part upon His

relation to the Father, the writer now reverts to
the other qualifications. His fitness to bear with
our infirmities, and to sympathize with us in
suffering. The four verses really make one
sentence. Stripped of its modifying clauses, it is
briefly : ' Who, though He was, in His own nature^
Son, yet learned obedience by the things which He
suffered, and being perfect (having completed the
sacrifice He had to offer, and finished the trainii^
that was to fit Him for His office). He became
the author (the cause) of eternal salvation to all who
obey Him, being publicly, solemnly addrened
as High Priest after the order of Melchisedec.'

Ver. 7. In the daya of bia fleah (* of His
humani^,' Arabic), ue, during His earthly life,
especially in the closing part of it, as contrasted
with the glorified state on which He entered
when His high-priesthood began. — ^When he
had offered np, etc. ; rather, * in that He ofiered
up ... . was heard, and though He was a
Son . . . learned ; ' or, * having offered up and
being heard ... He learned obedience, etc.
All the tenses refer to one and the same process
of discipline ; they describe His life not in distinct
and successive portions, but as a whole, though
no doubt the description is specially true of His
final agony. — ^Having offered np is the r^ular
sacrificial word used throughout this Epistle, and
it probably implies that while all the sufferings
these words describe were fitting our Lord for His
priestly office, they were also part of what He had
to suffer as the liarer of our sin. — Frayen and
BupplicationB. The word for * prayers ' expresses
a deep /ieiin^ of need ; the word 'supplications'
is a term taken from the olive branch wrapped
with wool which was held out of old as an
earnest entreaty for protection and help, and is a
stronger word than the former. 'Prayers and
entreaties ' may represent, therefore, the general
sense. Each may involve the other, but they
differ in this way : St. Luke (who of the Evan-
gelists dwells most on this human side of Christ's
life) tells us often that Christ prayed, and then
again that 'being in an acony he prayed more
earnestly^ (xxii. 44).— Witii strong crying and
tears ; with a most vehement outcry, an outcry of
intensest feeling. Such was His first great cry on
the cross : * My God, why hast Thou fon»ucen
me?' (Matt xxvii. 46) ; and such was the cry that
accompanied His last utterance (Luke xxiii. 46).
His tears are also once named at least (xix. 41),
and seem implied in such passages as Matt.
xxvi. 38, xxvii. 46. The very agony of the final
struggle has its prelude at an earlier stage (John
xii. 27), and was not without its parallel even in
the wilderness. These prayers and entreaties were
addressed unto him that was able to save from
death, and he was heard in that he feared.
This clause has been variously interpreted. One
guide to its meaning is, that whatever it was He
prayed for, the Father heard and gave (literally,
or by a better equivalent) what he asked. A
second guide to its meaning is that the last clause,
*in that He feared,' is rightly translated in the
English Version. * Was heard, and so delivered
from that which He feared— either from His own
fear, or from the thing He feared,* though largely
supported, is inadmissible.— The word 'fear* is
used only of the fear of caution, of reverence, of
devoted submission, never of the fear of terror.
The interpretation of the Authorised Version,
adopted by all the Greek expositors, is accepted,

Chap. V. i-VII. 28.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

47

mfter a foil examination of passages in ancient
writers by Bleek and Alford, and is required in
Heb. zii. 28, the only other place where it is
found in the New Testament. The adjective,
moreover, which is found only in Luke, means
always ' devout ' (Luke ii. 25, and Acts). Does
it mean, then, that Christ prayed to Him who was
able to save from death that He Himself might
not die ? Impossible — He came to ' give Himself
a ransom for many.' He knew that He was to
be betrayed into the hands of the Gentiles, and
was to be scourged and crucified. — With ever-
increasing clearness He had announced the fact
to His disciples ; and if now He prayed for such
deliverance. His prayer was not heanl. Does it
mean that He prayed God to deliver Him from
death after having died — a prayer that was fulfilled
when the ' God of Peace,' God reconciled to the
world through the death of His Son, 'brought
apain from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ ' ? So
Ebrard, Brown, and others interpret it. But
neither is this exactly the meaning. What He
prayed to be delivered from was not the mere
d3ring, nor was it the grave into which, when
dead. He was to enter. His prayer had rather
reference to the agony of the final struggle. As
Mediator He saw in death all it involved ; the
curse of the broken law, the penalty due to sin,
the wrath of God, not primarily against Himself
as the Holy One, but against the guilty, in whose
room He stood, and a^nst Him as He had taken
their place. The weight of the Father's wrath,
and the need in that dread hour of continued
love to man, and of continued trust in God ; the
fear lest by one moment of passionate impatience,
in forgetfulness of the force of His tem{)tation,
throu^ a natural recoil against the injustice and
cruelty of His murderers, through possible distrust
of Him who now seemed to have left Him to His
own unassisted power — these were among the
elements of His agony. And He could bear and
resist them only through the cautious handling
of the solemnities of His position, and by the
reverent submission of His entire nature unto
God. And God heard Him, not by delivering
Him from the necessity of dying, not even by
raising Him from die dead, but by strengthening
Him to bear all (Luke xxii. 43), and by making
the pangs of death the birth-throes of an endless
life for him, and for all who were to believe.
Had there been any impatience or distrust His
prayer must luive remained unanswered, and His
whole work have been frustrated. On the cross
was there the deepest prostration of human weak-
ness, and the utmost willingness to bear the
burden whereby we are disburdened; as there
was also the perfecting of the work and of the
discipline which fitted Him to be a Priest, both in
relation to God and in relation to ourselves.

Ver. 8. Tlioiigh he were a Son ; more accu-
rately, 'fhongh he wm Son* (there is no
conditional thought expressed, but a strong
assertion) ; fiterally, though being [in His own
nature] Son, yet teamed he hie obedience (not
obedience ^ply, but the obedience He practised,
or the obedience which was to fit Him for His
office) by (really the source of His knowledge)
the tldngi. which he eolfered.— 43on. The
absence of the article again calls attention to His
relation to the Father (see i. 2).— Learned by
■offering. There is in the Greek a play upon
the wofds (oomp. irm$4ifutT» /ut^nftmrm^ troi$bla

our best teachers — discipline essential to disciple-
ship).

Ver. 9. Being made perfect, not only brought
to the end, the completion of His learning and
suffering, but having acquired all the necessary
merit, power, and sympathy needed in His office
after His obedience unto death. — He became the
author (literally, the cause, the personal principle)
of eternal salvation. A salvation not partial or
temporal, like the atonements of the law, but a
complete and ever-enduring deliverance from evil
in all its forms and in every degree. It is the
salvation of the soul which is immortal. It is the
opposite of eternal condemnation. It takes in
grace and glory ; and Christ is its author or cause
through the lasting virtue of His blood and
righteousness, His obedience and suffering, His
intercession and gifts. — To all who obey him,
who believe the truth He reveals, who live under
the influence of it, and who acknowledge Him as
their Master and Lord. His o1)edience unto
death is the ground of our hope, and His obedience
unto death is the model to which our life is to be
conformed.

Ver. 10. Being called of Gk>d; rather, being
addressed (not the ;same word as in verse 4) by
God as High Priest : the title of honour where-
with the Son made perfect through suffering was
saluted by the Father openly and solemnly when
He made Him sit at His own right hand. Christ
was Priest on earth (see ver. 6) when He made
oblation of Himself unto God ; but having now
entered the heavenly sanctuary. He was publicly
received by God as High Priest, the priestly and
high-priestly office*; being united in Him. — After
the order of Melchisedec, there being a resem-
blance in many particulars between the two, and
especially in the antiquity, the dignity, the per-
petuity of their resi)ective offices, with the usual
fuller depth of meaning in the antitype, the reality,
than in the shadowy S3rmbol.

The exact nature of the obedience which
Christ learned through suffering has been much
discussed. Many commentators hold the view
that it was His obedience as Priest whereby He
became qualified for His office and the consequent
sympathy of which He became capable. He
learned to feel what obedience involved, and so
became a merciful High Priest in things pertaining
to God. The idea that His obedience to the
Divine law generally was increased by sufiering
seems to maxiy inconsistent with His Divine
nature and His personal holiness. But the
language of the 8tn verse seems to mean more
than this explanation allows. He learned His
obedience^ not sympathy merely, nor merely
priestly fitness for iiis work. Though Son, witn
all the love and trust of a Divine Son, He yet
acquired and manifested a measure of obedience
which else had been unattainable. Our Lord
was man, proper man as well as God, and we
must not so confound the two natures as to
modify the attributes of either. As man He had
an intellect like our own. He grew in wisdom,
nay, even in favour with God and man. He had
the faculty whereby He perceived the relation in
which as man He stood to others, and felt the
duties that relation involved. He had a will to
decide His choice, and affections to impel Him
to act. He was subject like ourselves to the
great law of habit, whereby active principles
become stronger through exercise, and are freed

48

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. V. i-VII. 28

from exhaustion or made mighty through medita-
tion and prayer. As man, the second Adam was
as capable of growth in holiness as the first. He
was made, moreover, under the law subject to its
requirements. Created under it. He was to be
judged by it ; and though this subjection was His
own act, it was as complete as if He had claimed
His descent entirely from the first transgressor.
In this condition He was personally liable for all
His .icts. To Him the warning came as to us :
* Indignation and wrath upon every soul of man
that doeth evil.* Under tnis law, and subiect to
this condition, Christ appeared. If He fulfil the
law with absolute perfection He is accepted, and
for us there is hope. If He fail, if through His
own weakness, the force of temptation, the
subtilty of the tempter. He be seduce^l in thought
or in feeling, even for one moment, from the
narrow path of perfect holiness, our ruin becomes
irremediable and complete ; and the blessed God
is left to deplore the ruin which His own frus-
trated benevolence has made only the more
touching and profound. One impatient desire,
one selfish thought, one sinful feeling, would have
done it all. His suflfering was obedience. His
obedience was intensest suffering from the begin-
ning of His public ministry even to its close ; and
if lie was subject to the laws of human growth,
faculties stren^hened by reason of use, emotion
made more mighty and more tender, ol^edience
more easy by repetition, we may say that as
Christ was truly man His obedience was learned
and perfected by suffering. This view of the
human life of our Lord, and the awful responsi-
bility which attached to every act and feeling of
His life, amid forces of evil unparalleled in human
history, gives us a higher conception of His
sufferings than anything besides. Such suffering
strengthened, developed, perfected His own
nature, even as ours is to be perfected, while it
fits Him in the highest d^ree to understand our
struggles and to sympathize with them.

Chap. v. ii-vi. 20. The writer, knowing how
ttnpre|>ared his readers were to admit that the
Aaronic priesthood was inferior to that of Mel-
chisedec and to that of Christ (who was the anti-
type of both), interrupts his argument by remon-
strating with them on their spiritual ignorance
(11-14), and urges them to attain higher know-
ledge (vi. 1-3), by the danger of apostasy (4-8),
by his own hope of them founded on their former
zeal (9-12), and by the encouragement which
God's promise and oath give to persevering faith
(12-20).

Ver. II. Of whom; that is, of Melchiscdec, in
his superiority to Aaron, and as the type of Christ.
The other interpretations, *of Chnst,' and 'of
which thing,' are hardly defensible grammati-
cally ; the explanation just given is grammatically
preferable, and is the same in sense. — We, not the
writer and Timothy, but (as elsewhere in the
Epistle, ii. 5» vL 9, 11, and as is common in
Paul's Epistles) the writer himself.— Have many
things (literally, have much) to say, and hard
to be nttered; rather, hard to explain to you.—
Seeing (since) ye are become (having lost the
quick sense of your new life, and relapsed, in part
at least, into your old state) doll in your hearing
(not easily made to understand). — ^For while ye
ought, on account of the time, to be teachers,
etc Thirty years had passed since Pentecost,
and some of you may have heard Christ the Lord ;

His apostles you have certainly heard. Churches
were first formed among you, and most of you
became believers years ago. Nor only a long
time, but a trying time also ; ' distress of nations,
* men's hearts failing them for fear,* the * shaking '
foretold by the prophet. The nature of the time
(not the length only) ought to have produced
serious thought, earnest inquiry, and better under-
standing of what was coming upon the earth.
They had not only made no progress, — they had
retrograded.— Ye have need tnat one teach you
what is the nature of (or, that some one teach
you) the very Irst principles of the oracles of
God. The first rendering is adopted by most
commentators, ancient and modem, though the
second is adopted by Bleek, Alford, and others.
In neither case does it mean * what are the first
principles,* but rather, what quality and meaning
they have. The oracles of God in the plural
means generally what God revealed, — the Div*ine
utterance (Acts vii. 38 ; Rom. iii. 2), — while in
the singular it meant that part where the revela-
tion was given. The meaning here is not quite
the same as in vi. I : *the doctrine of Christ,'
thoujjh this meaning is implied. The Jews had
sacrifices and ritual, a material temple, prophecies
clearly foretelling the life and death of our Lord,
and rudimentary Christianity; but though they
had embraced the Gospel, they were failing to sec
what their own economy really meant, and they
were in danger of going back from the Spirit to
the flesh, from the reality to the type, overlooking
the significance of the simplest parts of their
system,—* the elements,' as the Apostle Paul calls
them also (Gal. iv. 3, 9). The description here
given may mean the plain doctrines of the Gospel,
such as are specified in the first verse of the next
chapter ; but the peculiar language of this verse
('elements,* * oracles') points rather to the signifi-
cance of the elementary rites and truths of Judaism
itself, the very things he goes on in later chapters
to explain. Christianity is the Law unveiled, and
you would understand the general principles of the
new economy if you rightly understood the old ;
a like rebuke may be seen in Luke xxiv. 2J-27.
— And are become (as in ver. 11) such as nava
need of milk, and not of strong meat (solid food).
You have gone back into a second childhood, and
need to understand the pictures and shadows of
the ancient Law, — things intended for the infant
state of the Church, — or, possibly, need to study
again those easier parts of the Gospel which men
accept at the beginning of the Divme life. The
Fathers generally understood by *milk* and by
' first principles ' the Incarnation ; but that is
itself a profound mystery, and the writer has
already affirmed and discussed it. The compari-
son of doctrines to milk and food is common in
Philo, and is found in both Testaments. St.
Paul uses both in I Cor. iii. i, 2.

Vers. 13 and 14 give the reason why the further
teaching is hard to explain. — ^For every one who
nseth milk (takes it as his ordinary food, and can
digest nothing else) is unskilled (literally, inex-
perienced) in the word of righteousness; not in
the Gospel as the true and righteous word (Gro-
tius. Brown, and others) ; not in rightly ordered
speech (Delitzsch) ; not quite the word of righteous-
ness, as Melchisedec is king of righteousness, as if
there were a play upon the words (Bleek) ; but
rather, that message, that Gospel of which right-
eousness, imputed and imparted, in its double

ChaP.V. I-VII.2S.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

40

Ibnn of Justification and holiness, is the central
tnith. The man who fails to see the spiritual
significance of the law, or, having once seen it,
goes hack to his old condition of imperfect vision,
neither knows the burden of human guilt and the
consequent need of Divine atonement, nor the
necessity of true holiness.— For he is a babe (an
Infuit), and takes the same place among S{)iritual
seers as an infant takes in the perception of
worldly interests.

Ver. 14. But lolid food belongs to the fnll
glioinii, to the spiritually mature (so the word
often means in Greek writers). It is the same
word in vi. I (Met us go on unto perfection^
Then follows the description of them. — Even
thoee who by reason of (by virtue of, not by
means of) me (their long use, their habit) have
their sensee (properly their organs of sense, ue,
the inner organs of the soul) ezerdsed (by spiritual
gymnastics ; only it is healthy work also, and not
play; comp. i Tim. iv. 7, and Heb. xii. ii) to
diaoem (literally, * with the view to discriminate
between') goodl and evil. To discern what is
good and noble and what is bad and mischievous.
The child is easily imposed upon: he may be
induced to take even poison if it is sweetened to
his taste ; but a man has learnt by the discrimina-
tion which practice gives to make a distinction
between things which differ, to ^refuse the evil
and choose the good,* the very discrimination in
which children fail (Deut. i. 39 ; Isa. vii. 16).

To have time for learning, time which is rich
in lessons, and make no progress, is itself retro-
gression. Growth is the condition of all healthy
life, physical, mental, spiritual. Not to grow in
grace is to become dull and feeble ; it is to retain
m the system what ought to be replaced by new
or added knowledge or feeling. It makes men
specially susceptible to disease, and is the sure
precursor of decay. The apostolic guard against
apostasy is here and ebtewhere to grow in grace
and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet.
xviL 18).

Chap. vi. i. It must be carefully marked that
this chapter does not begin a new subject ; still
less is it implied that the first principles of the
Gospel have been considered in previous chapters,
and now the writer proceeds to doctrines that are
more profound. It is all part of the argument
begun in ver. 11, and is a digression on the
danger and weakness of the Hebrew Christians,
and indeed of us all, the writer included, unless
we aim at higher knowledge and clearer under-
standing.

Ver. I. Therefore; rather, wherefore, %,e, for
which (not for that) reason — viz., because the
Christian cannot remain a child, but must either
grow or decay, and because you yourselves seem
decaying, losing even your perception of the
meaning of your economy. — Let ns leave (behind,
as something which should be done with) the
principles of the doctrine of Christ (literally,
the word or instruction of the beginning of Christ,
the elementary truths with which men began when
they first believe or preach the Gospel, the things
mentioned in the next verse). * The first princi-
ples of the oracles of God ' describe the primary
and essential truths taught in Judaism. ' I'he prin-
ciples of the doctrine of Christ ' represent the cor-
responding troUis of the Gospel. ~ And press on
nmo perfection (maturity, the state of full-grown
men). A question is raised here on which the
VOU IV. 4

commentators widely divide. Have these words
to do with the writer's' task, in which he unites
his readers with himself in his work, or have they
to do with the hearers' condition and their need
of a spiritual manhood, in which case he unites
himself with them in their deficiencies and duty ?
Is he urging them to listen to his arguments, o( is
he urging them to greater advances in holiness ?
Most authorities favour the former view. Against
this interpretation is the fatal objection that the
writer has affirmed that they are not fit for such
instruction. The meaning seems therefore to be,
that he puts himself by their si^e, and urges him-
self and them to seek such maturer knowledge as
will increase their spiritual discernment and pro-
mote their stedfastness. Not mere teaching
which the writer alone has to give, but knowledge
and life, which his readers are to share with him.
—Wherefore, seeing that we (you and I) are chil-
dren, not grown men, let us, etc He then pro-
ceeds to name six particulars which are specimens
of the 'first principles' of the Gospel. Two of
these refer to the spiritual requirements of Chris-
tianity, two to the introductory rites, and two to
its final sanctions; or better, the six particulars
are really two essential qualities of Christian life,
followed by four subjects of doctrine — rites and
sanctions. These former (to repent and believe)
the Hebrew Christians ought not to have to do
again, and the other four they ought not to
have to learn again. — Hot laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works,
and of faith in Ood. * Laying again ' describes
naturally the preacher's work, but as naturally
the work of the hearer, who builds his own cha-
racter and busies himself with every part of the
process. The foundation consists of repentance,
the true inward change of heart, without which no
man can see or enter the kingdom (John iii. 3, 5).
— Bepentance from dead works ([)erhaps works
devoid of all spiritual life, consciousness, and
power, but more likely, from the use of the same
phrase in chap. ix. 14, guilty works, works that
deserve death ; see i Kings ii. 26), and faith in
Ood as having fulfilled the promise in the gifl and
death of His Son.— Of the doctrine of baptisms,
and the laying on of hands. The form of the
word for 'baptism' means ' baptidng,' as distin-
guished from * baptism,' and is generally applied
in the New Testament to the washings ot the
ancient law. It probably includes also the bap-
tism of John and of Christ. The nature of each,
and the distinction between them, became impor-
tant practical questions with the Jews in the first
age. The laying on of hands had several uses in
the early Church. With that rite the sick were
healed ; pastors and elders were admitted to their
offices ; the Holy Ghost was given, and converts
were fully admitted into the fellowship of the
Church, generally with the impartation of spiritual
gifts also. It is to this last chiefly that the ex-
pression refers. — And of resunection of the
dead and etonal judgment All these par-
ticulars are under the grammatical government of
*the doctrine,' showing that it is not to the facts
themselves, but to the doctrine and the belief of
the facts, the writer is referring as the foundation
of the Christian life. These were Jewish doctrines
as well as Christian, only they were brought into
clearer light by the Gospel. The resurrection is
that of both good and evil (John v. 29); and the
judgment (here the sentence, rather than the pro-

so

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. V. i-VII. 28.

cess, though both forms of the word are ased for
the judgment, see x. 27) is called eternal because
its results are eternal, and so final (Matt. v. 46).
That these first principles of the Gospel were pro-
claimed by the first teachers as principles wnich
a man must know and believe in order to be a
Christian, will be seen by an examination of the
passages given in the margin of the text. The
Hebrew l^lievers are exhorted to leave them just
as St Paul tells us he himself left them, * forget-
ting the things that were behind ;* not because
they are unimportant, for they are in truth essen-
tial, but because to stop there is to risk our
stedfastness. How important these elementary
principles .are is clear from the fact that there is no
true godliness without them ; how unsatisfactory
if Christians have no profounder knowledge is
clear from the fact that the divisions and the
lesser errors that have paralyzed the powers and
marred the beauty of the churches of Christ have
nearly all originated with men who understand
first principles, and had no clear perception of
anything beyond. We must have godly people
in our churches, or the^ are not churches of Christ
at all ; but if they are ignorant godly people, with
small insight into the spirit and nature of the
Gospel and of the Church, these churches will be
robbed of half their power and of haif their holiness.

Ver. 3. And thiB will we do. Let us try to
raise each other to the higher ground of matured
intelligence. — If so be that Qod permit (favour
and help). Whether any of us have so far for-
feited His grace as to be incapable of further pro-
Ess, God only knows ; the writer hopes the best
T. 9) ; but there is a backsliding, an apostasy,
m which it is impossible to return. Tne posi-
tion is therefore veiy solemn, will anyhow need
special help, and the work may be even im-
possible.

Vers. 4-7. These verses have deep significance
and are difficult of interpretation. In the early
Church a sect arose who gathered from them that
those who sinned after baptism either generally or
especially by joining in idolatrous wor^ip nnder
persecution, were to be finally and permanently
excluded from the churches, and could not be
forgiven; and hence baptism itself was often
postponed till death drew near. The Church of
Rome; on the other hand, refused for a consider-
able time to give this Epistle a place in the
Canon, because it seemed to teach a doctrine at
variance with what is taught in the accepted
apostolic writings. In later times, those who
deny the perseverance of the saints find in these
verses and in others a little later (x. 26) the chief
support of their system, as the defenders of that
doctrine may perhaps have sometimes been more
anxious to confute tneir argument than to give a
fair interpretation of these texts. Nor can it be
questioned that the passages have created great
anxiety in real Christians who, sinking into
spiritual languor, or betrayed into gross sins, as
was David or Peter, have been thrown into
despondency, unable * to lay hold of the hope set
before them in the Gospel. Of the two passages
it mavbe observed generally that the word *i/*
(*if they shall fall away,' ^we sin wilfully) is not
found in the Greek of either of them. It has
been urged against the translators of the Autho-
rised Version that they inserted * if* for the pur-
pose of lessening the difficulty of the passage ;
but this should not be hastily assumed. In the

Revised Version the * 1/' is retained in the second
passage, though it is struck out in the first : and
the * if ' is so natural a translation of the Greek
that it is inserted in the 8ih verse : * ^ it bear ; *
where the Greek is simply ' but bearing,' *on its
bearing.' We need not blame the translators
either earlier or later ; it is enough to note that a
common solution of the difficulty of the two pas-
sages, that they are only supposed cases, is not
tenable. On the other hand, very few of the
commentators note that the persons whom it is
impossible to help are descnbed by words that
indicate continuous character and not a single act.
Those who fall away are spoken of as (ontinuinf;
to crucify to themselves tne Son of God afresbi
while those who sin wilfully are not guilty of a
single sin, but of going on sinnirig. The case,
therefore, is the case of those who ^ back to a
life of sin, — who take their place with the cmd-
fiers of our Lord. Not single sins, but settled
character or habitual practice, is what is con*
demned. Three principles more need to be
remembered : everv Christian grace has its coun-
terfeit, an<I all the common privileges of the
Gospel are shared by multitudes who make no
saving use of them. This is the first. Many of
the rulers of the Jews believed^ and yet they 'loved
the praise of men more than the praise of God.'
There is a real faith that cannot save ; there is a
repentance, a worldly sorrow, which cannot be
distinguished for a time from the godly sorrow of
the true convert, as there is a * joy' with which
some receive the word and yet have no root in
themselves. There is a hope which God will not
honour ; there is a holiness that is Pharisaism or
deception ; there is an enlightenment as univei^
as the knowledge of the Gospel (John i. 9} ; there
are miraculous powers shared apparently bv Judas,
and certainly by men whom Chnst never knew as
their Lord (Matt. vii. 22). And, secondly, though
there are difficulties on both sides, the genend
teaching of the New Testament is, that if there be
true union with the Lord Jesus Christ it is nevfcr
to be broken off. If the light of Divine grace be
once kindled in the soul, it is never to l^ extin-
guished. Sins once forgiven are forgiven for ever.
The law written on the heart by God Himself is
distinguished from that written on stone, and is
not to be effiiu»d ; the principle of the Divine life
once implanted is kept and guarded even to the
end (see Heb. x. 19 ; John x. 15, 17, 28, 29 ;
I Pet. i. 4, 5). But, thirdly, the precepts and
warnings of the New Testament are addressed to
men who are still in a state of probation. Every
command that deals with essential Christian grace,
every promise made to character, as in the Ser-
mon on the Mount, all the watchfulness whidi
Christians are exhorted to practise, and which
inspired men practised (* I keep my body under,
lest having preached the Gospel to others I should
be a castaway '), are based upon the supposition,
not that really saved men will perish^ but that any
professing Christian man may. We are startled
to find the truth so sharply set forth in passages
like the one before us ; but the truth really under-
lies the teaching of every Epistle, and practicallv
of every modem sermoiu Most startling of all»
the warnings and the invitations of the blessed
God in the Old Testament, and of our Lord in
the New, both of whom may be supposed to know
the actual character and the final destiny of those
they addressed, speak ever as if the ivln of all

Chap. V. i-VII. 28.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

5»

were possible, nor can there be probation under
an^ other arrangement. To argue that therefore
neither the ruin nor the salvation is known or
certain, would be shallow philosophy. We can-
not solve the mystery, but we ought to recognise
it, and to note that a moral government under
which God reveals to every one beforehand his
final destiny, speaks or acts as if it were fixed,
and thus removes the condition which moral
government implies (the force, viz., of motives as
if all were uncertain), is a contradiction in terms.
There is, of course, an added difficulty in this
chapter, that those which are enlightened are not
supposed to fall away, but are stated to do so.
The difficulty wiU be examined in due time.

Ver. 4. rar. A reason for each of the previous
clauses : ' This will we do,' for the case is urgent ;
without further knowledge you may fall away.
' If God permit,' for the case may be even now
hopeless, and certainly is so without His help. —
It is impoHlble (see below) for those who naye
been onoe for all enliglttened; once for all a
process that needs not, or admits not of repetition.
'Enlightened,' a won! which, when applied to
persons, means 'instructed,' 'taught. When
applied to professing Christians, it means that
they have been made acquainted with the prin-
ciples of the Gospel, and have received 'the
knowledge of the truth,' as it is expressed in
Heb. x. 26: they have known the way of
righteousness (2 Pet ii. 20, 21). In the later
history of doctrine, the word ' enlightenment ' is
used as a sjmonym, it is said, for baptism, and
so many have interpreted here ; but in fact it is
not used in the Fathers for baptism simply, but
for the illumination of the new birth of which
baptism was the S]rmbol (Alford). This interpreta-
tion was set aside in favour of the common meaning
of the word by Erasmus, and nearly all modem
commentators have adopted his view. — And have
liad taate of the heavenly gift, i,e, of the gift that
is made known by this enlightenment. Some refer
the gift to Christ or the Spirit, or forgiveness, or
salvation in Christ (2 Cor. ix. 15) ; but the con-
necting particle in the Greek (rt) shows that the
pift r^rs rather to what is implied in the previous
instruction, — a heavenly gift it is in its origin and
xesults.~And beoaine partaken of the Holy
Ohost. Partakers, the noun and the verb are
common in St. Paul and in this Epistle. When
men had been instructed and had tasted of the
blessings which instruction revealed to them, the
next stage of the Christian life was to become
partakers of the gifts and influences of the Holy
Spirit, not excluding the influences which bad
men may resist, for He has much to do even with
hearts in which He never takes up His abode. —
And have tasted the good word of God. Tasted,
so as to feed upon the rich inheritance of promise
and hope, which men have seized in all ages, even
when slow to justify their right to it by con-
sistency and holiness. This use of the word
'good,' as descriptive of what is comforting and
sustaining, is common in Scripture (see Josh.
xxiiL 15 ^ Zech. L 11).— As well as the porwera
of the woild to oome : the gifts and experience
of the new economy, its powers both miraculous
and spirituaL To taste these is to enjoy the
blessings and advanta^ which follow from the
fulfilment of the Divme word. Whatever is
strildi^ in evidence, glorious in teaching, solemn
and impressive in sanctions — all are included in

* the powers which these men had felt. — And have
CsUen away (not, if they should fall) ; fallen not
into sin simply, but so as to renounce the Gospel,
so as to go back with a will into a life of sin
(chap. X. 26), so as to depart from the living God
(chap. iii. 12), returning to the false religions
they had left, or to determined ^infidelity and
ungodliness. Sudi are the characters the writer
describes; they possessed the knowledge of
Gospel truth, and had a certain amount of enjoy-
ment from that knowledge (note the genitive case
after ' taste ' ) ; they were partakers of the common
influences and miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost ;
they enjoyed the promises of the Gospel (note the
accusative case, after ' taste ' ) more fhllv than
some other truths in which they had been
instructed, and had felt most of the influences
of the new economy miraculous, moral, and
spiritual; and yet after all they had abandoned
the Gospel and continued to denounce both it and
its founder. Every part of this description
applies probably to Judas, whose case seems to
have been in the writer's mind ; and yet he was
never a real believer, but ' a son of Perdition '
even from the first. Such was the primitive
apostate. His counterpart in modem times is
easily described : men have made great attain-
ments in the knowledge of Christianity, have had
considerable enjoyment of it; they have been
striven with by the Holy Spirit, have enjoyed
largely the promises and hopes of the Gospel ; and
yet through neglect of its ordinances, through
fear of the persecution to which it subjects them,
they have been led to deny its Divine origin, and
proclaim its founder a deceiver or mad. They
have tried the Gospel and the Lord of the Gospel,
and after trial they have rejected both. These
miserable men are described as having fallen away.
That was the fatal step which they took once for all
(so the tense implies). The state in which th^
now are is described in the other participles, ' cruci-
fying to themselves, as they still do, the Son of
God afresh, and putting Him, as they still do, to
open shame.' It is not the act that ruins them,
it is the habit; and it is partly through that
settled habit that it is impossible to renew them
again to repentance. Some indeed regard 'im-
possible' as used in a popular sense. It is
difficult to renew them, so the Latin of D.
translates here, and so several commentators have
held ; but that meaning of the word is unknown
in the New Testament. Others rmrd the
impossibility as referring to man rather than God,
and hold the meaning to be : We cannot renew
men whose hearts are so hard, and whose con^
dition is so desperate as theirs. God can, but we
cannot. No new argument, no new motive can
we use; the terror, the love, the warnings, the
entreaties of the Gospel — ^all have been applied
and understood and resisted. Nothing^ but a
miracle can change and save them. Neither of
these explanations, however, is satisfactory. The
word 'impossible' is very strong, and it seems
immoveable. Just as in chap. x. 26, the writer,
after describing the sacrifice of Christ, ' tells us
that if men reject and despise it and go back to a
life of sin, no other sacrifice remains for them ;
there awaits them nothing but the fearful recep-
tion of judgmbnt : so here, if men deny Chnst
and cruofy Him to themselves— their treatment
of Him in their own hearts ; if they renounce Him
as a blasphemer and impostor — their treatment

Si

To tHE HEBREWS.

[Chap. V. i-VlI. 28.

of Him before the World ; and that after having
seen the truth and felt the attractiveness of His
teaching and life, it is impossible to renew them.
The language, as thus explained, is not a mere
truism, as Delitzsch holds ('it is impossible to
renew to re[)entance those who fall away, except
they repent ') ; it is rather a strong assertion of an
important truth. The contemptuous rejection of
Christ's sacrifice means no foreiveness, and the con-
temptuous rejection of ChrisTs teaching and grcue
means no renewal and no personal holiness. There
may be a sense in which each b an identical pro-
position, but each meets the very purpose of the
writer and the needs of the readers. They were
tempted to think there was still forgiveness and
holiness for them, even if they renounced Christ
and treated Him as their fathers had done. The
writer warns them that to reject Christ — to reject
Him after all they have known and felt, under
circumstances, therefore, that made their rejection
practically final — was to give up all hope, all
possibility of salvation. What would become of
them if somehow they had ceased to crucify Him,
ceased to scorn and to denounce Him ; if they
gave up the life of sin to which, in chap, x., he
speaks of them as having willingly returned, we
need not discuss, for the case is not supp>osed.
What they were in danger of saying was : There
b renewal and forgiveness in the old economy, in
heathenism, nay, even in ungodliness. We
believe it in spite of Divine teaching and our
long experience to the contrary. We may give
up this new religion, may trample upon the blood
of the covenant, insult the Spint of God, and live
aS'We please, and yet be saved. What else can
meet such doctrine but the strongest rebuke, and
the most absolute denial? For men — out of
Christ — because they have knowingly and wilfully
rejected Him, renewal and forgiveness are alike
impossible. Neither man nor God can sate them.

Vers. 7 and 8. Awful as this teaching is, men
accept it in the sphere of nature and recognise the
equity of the arrangement. — For land (not the
earth) that hath drunk in (not that drinketh in :
the showers precede the fruitfulness) the rain that
cometh oft npon it (that keeps coming, not in
drenching but frequent showers, and comes for the
purpose of making it fruitful, probably the force of
the genitive with tr)). So the land is described ; it
is not impenetrable rock from which the rain runs
off, but land that sucks in the rain. Rain itself
is in Scripture the emblem both of Divine truth
(Isa. Iv. 10) and of Divine influence (Isa. xliv. 3).
The whole description, therefore, applies to those
who have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the world to come. . . . And, the
result is in one case that the mother earth made
fruitful from above, bring! forth herbage (edible
plants, grass, com, food) fit for those on whose
account, moreover (not 'by whom,' as Vulgate,
Luther, Calvin, and other*, a sen«*» the Greek
will not admit), it is tilled (carefully cultivated,
a strong word) ; such fertility making a due
return for the rain of heaven and the toil of man,
partakes of blessing from God, in that He rewards
It according to His own law (Matt. xiii. 12) and
promise (John xv. 2) with more abundant returns.

Ver. 8. But when it (or the first clause may
be repeated : ' but when the same kind of land
under like conditions') bears (produces, not so
noble a word as * brings forth, which expresses
something like natural birth) thorns and tnistlei

* (so generally. Matt. vii. 16, etc. ) — these products
of the curse— it is rejected (being tried, it is
proved worthless and reprobate, a word occurring
seven times in N. T., and only in Paul's Epistles),
and is nigh unto a curse ; whose end (not the
end of the curse, De Wette, Bleek, etc, but the
end of the land ; see Ps. cix. 13, Heb., his
end shall be) is for (or unto) burning. With
great tenderness the writer softens the language
of the original curse (Gen. iii. 17 and x8), and
pronounces land of this kind to be nigh unto
cursing, in great danger of it, and the end to be
in the direction of burning — an end it may reach
and will reach unless there be a great change.
What this burning is has been much discussed.
Are they the weeds, that the soil may be made
fruitful, as were the weeds of old ( Virg, Geor, i,
S4'~93 ) ^ No ; the weeds and soil also. What is
burnt is the soil, and that means destruction ; so
it is in Deut xxix. 22, 23, and elsewhere ; comp.
John XV. 16. . . . E^ch clause of this analogy
answers to the description already given in the
previous verses. The tillers of the soil are
Christian workers; they for whom the ground
is tilled are the Father (i Cor. iii. 9), and the
Son as heir (chap. iii. 6; Matt. xxi. 38). The
rain represents the oft-repeated manifestations of
truth and grace, and the drinking in of the rain
symbolizes the apprehension and the reception of
them ; if there be fruitfulness there will be ever-
increasing blessing ; and if there be no fruitfulness,
the case may not be hopeless ; but it is nearing
that state, and is preparing for judgment, and the
judgment is destruction. How applicable all
this description is to our own age, as to every age,
need not be shown.

Vers. 9, 10. After these solemn warnings comes
the outburst of hope and love.— But, oeloved
(only here in this Epistle), we are persuaded (not
the middle voice as often, *we have the inward
confidence,' but the passive, — we are led to the
conviction, — we are persuaded by evidence which
justifies the conclusion, the evidence being given
m the next verse. The whole expression, as
Alford and Delitzsch note, resembles Rom. xv. 14).
— Better things (either * in your moral state ' or
* in your final destiny ;* both are really combined),
and things that accompany salvation (rather,
things that lay hold of,— that are in immediate
connection with,— so that he who has the one has
the other) ; though (notwithstanding that) we
thus speak (talk, not now only, but again and
a^ain). The better things, and things connected
with salvation, are the holy dispositions they
possessed (not the external privileges and spiritual
gifts only), together with the final issues of that
holy disposition in continued stedfastness and
eternal liie. ITiey had * received the knowledge
of the truth in the love of it * (the exactest defini-
tion that can be given of true and saving faith),
and being rooted and grounded in love, he hoped
they would persevere and be preserved (the two
sides of perseverance) in believing even till the
completion of their salvation.

Ver. la Tor (and he has reason for this con-
viction) God is not unrighteous so as to forget
your work and the love ('labour of [love] is
without adequate support ; it was probably taken
from the parallel passage, i Thcss. i. 3) which ye
have showed towards his name, in that ye
ministered to the saints and do (or still) minister.
Their 'work* was their whole Christian life cf

Chap. V. i-VII. 28.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

53

active obedience (so of ministets, i Cor. iil. 13 ;
so of men generally, Rom. ii. 15; and of
Christians, i Thess. i. 3). Their love shown to
God*s name ht not the love with regard to or for
the sake of His name, but the love towards it
(sec Rom. v. 8, etc.). The object of their love
was the name of God — ^God Himself as revealed
to us, * the God and Father of our Lord,' and the
God and Father of all who believe ; and this love
they manifested by ministering, and continuing to
minister, to those by whom tl^t name was known
and confessed and loved. Their work and love
are clearly described in chap. x. 32-34. The
ministry was one of sympathy, and the help
shown largely to those of their own nation.
'Ministering to the saints* is generally used in
Scripture of help given to the Jewish Christians
in Palestine; not because this expression of
Christian love was to be restricted to them, but
because they had then most need. This active
Christian life, this love towards God shown in
generous help to His servants, gives the writer
hope that they are really God^ children, and
that, therefore, God wiU not forget them. • He
ii just, and will not forget,* is the strong language
he uses. Some commentators (Dr. J. Brown and
others) regard 'righteous' as equivalent to
'faithful,* shrinking apparently from implying
that the remembering ot the grace we exercise is
a ntatter of righteousness with Him, and Quoting
2 Thess. I 6 (' God is not unfaithful *) as the true
explanation. That is no reason, however, for
changing the meaning of the word ; and the two
words, faithful and righteous, are combined in a
very similar passage (i John i. 9). The whole
case is well explained by Delitzsch. Not only is
it true, when we believe and are holv, that God
b bound by righteousness to fulfil what He has
promised; not only is it true, when we repent
and plead the mediation of His Son, that God is
bouiKi by what b due to Him, as well as by His
mercy to forgive ; but it is true also ^hat God*s
righteousness prompts Him to help and graciously
reward them that are righteous, whenever our acts
correspond to His holiness and love. His righteous-
ness leads Him to honour and bless the holiness and
love which he has Himself created. The state in us
that answers exactly to the holy love of God is our
holy love, the fruit of faith in the revelation of (}od's
holy love in Christ Faith, as the acceptance
by our hearts of the free unmerited grace of God,
is itself the beginning of a holy loving state ; and
though the holiness of the faith is neither the
meritorious ground nor the measure of our for-
giveness, for of itself it cancels no sin, and can
give no leg^ title to eternal life, it is none the
less the object of God*s approval, and it ever
works by love, which is its noblest fruit. Faith
and love and holiness all come into judgment
and approval now, as they will come into final
judgment at last. As states of heart they are
right and holy, and it is r^At in God to commend
and honour them. Love towards God, and
towards all that bear His name, holy love, b the
divinest grace and likest God, and the Holy God
woukl cease to be holy if He did not approve and
bless it Yes ! God b not unright€<ms to forget our
work and love ! To forget them would be to vio-
late Hb word and deny Himself (see 2 Tim. ii. 13).
Ver. 1 1. Bnt (thou^ persuaded of better things
and recognising your work and love) we desire
fnot 'earnestly desire;* the preposition of the

ori^nal indicates generally the object of the
desire, not the intensity of it) that every one of
yon do show the eame diligence (the diligence
you have already shown in cultivating bromerly
love) with leepect to the full aesnranoe of yonr
hope nnto the end. The stress b on ' the full
assurance of your hope,* and 'unto the end.'
' Full assurance of hope * b no doubt the mean-
ing, just as elsewhere we read of the full assurance
of faith (Heb. x. 22), and the full assurance of
understanding (Col. ii. 2). And we desire that
you show this quality and pexseyeze in it even
to the end. The warnings of the Gospel are
solemn, and yet Christians should live in tne sun-
shine of an assured hope as the true safeguard
against apostasy, — a hope, however, which it b
difficult to maintain.

Ver. 12. In this hope ye need to persevere,
that ye become not alotlifal, bat imitatois (a
favourite Pauline word, see i Thess. i. 6, etc ) of
those who through faith and patience (generally
' long suffering *) inherit the prondses. ' Become
not slothful,' a more delicate and hopeful way
of expressing the exhortation than 'be.' The
same word ('slothful*) is used in v. 11, and the
writer affirms that they had become so. But
there the reference b to hearing, and b the oppo-
site of vigorous thought and knowledge ; here the
reference b to Christian practice, and b the oppo-
site of a diligent, earnest life. The sluggbhness
had already invaded the outer sense— the mental
faculty ; the writer's hope b that it may not reach
the inner spiritual nature. — Bat rather imitators.
The Greek word has a nobler meaning than thb
English equivalent. Scholars, it was said of old,
should not only learn from their master, they
should imitate (or, as we say, should copy) them.
'Copy' itself is also misleading. Both words
indicate too much a servile superficial reproduc-
tion of the original, and hence the ' followers * of
the Authorised Version is not unlikely to retain
its place with ' imitators * in the margin. Patience
or long-suffering b the mental state that bears
long with the truds of the Chrbtbn life, and with
the delays of the fulfilment of the Divine promise,
with cheerful courage and without despondency
or dejection. We believe what b promised, we
patiently wait and endure, and in the end we
shall come into the full enjoyment of the blessings
themselves. ^Of them that inherit the promises.
What b it, then, they inherit, and who are they ?
A needless difficulty has been created by the state-
ment of chap. xi. 39, that the Patriarchs did not
obtain the promises, i,e, the blessings promised,
and hence it b concluded either that what they
inherited was simply a promise, not the blessing
promised (Bleek), or that the words here used
cannot refer to Abraham or to the spiritual bless-
ings of the Gospel (Alford). But the argument b
dear enough. Our fathers and others of later
times walked by faith ; they were stedfast amid
the trials to which they were exposed ; but they
inherit the promised blessings, some in the fulness
of GcKi*s grace on earth, and others in heaven.
The specific instance quoted, that of Abraham,
had a double fulfilment— the promise of a large
seed, though long delayed, began to be fulfilled
in hb lifetime, and under the old economy (Deut.
i. 10) ; its complete fulfilment belongs, of course,
to the Gospel, and Abraham sees and enjoys it
now, as he saw and enjoyed it even when the
l^pbtle was written.

54

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. V. i-VlI. 28.

Vers. 13-20. The writer has sought to encou-
rage the Hebrews by appealing to the Divine
' righteousness/ He who graciously made them
fruitful would righteously treat them according
to their fruitfulness, and would complete what He
had begun (ver. 10). He now proceeds still further
to encoura£;e them by the fact that they had on
their side the promise and the oath of God even
as Abraham had.

Ver. 13. For when Gk>d made (or, had made)
promise to Afaraham, beoause (since) lie oonld
■wear by none greater, he sware by himself.
' Made promise * may be translated (as is done by
De Wettc and others) *had made promise/ with
reference to previous promises, wnich were in
substance repeated for the first time with an oath
at the offering of Isaac. The only occasion on
which God did swear was at Mount Moriah (Gen.
xxii. 16-18). The quotation which is made in
the next verse follows neither the Hebrew nor the
Septuagint exactly, but it represents the sense.
Similar promises without an oath were previously
given (Gen. xiii. 16, xv. 5). * Having made pro-
mise, He afterwards sware,* may 3ierefore be
the meaning, as is rather implied in ver. 18 ; but
whether the promise and the oath refer to one
occasion only or to two, the sense is unchanged.
God made promise, and then, because there was
none greater to whom He could appeal, He
pledged His own life or being to the truth of the
promise. Both promise and oath were immut-
able ; the oath did not add to the intrinsic cer-
tainty of the promise, His word being ever as
good as His lx)nd ; but it gave a deeper impres-
sion of its certainty, and was fitted to remove
every doubt.

Ver. 14. Saying, Snrely. The Hebrew of
'surely * is equivalent to ' I swear.* The unfami-
liarity to the Greek translators of the Hebrew
idiom for swearing has created various renderings
of the Hebrew particles, and the meaning of the
Greek particle has been misunderstood by the
English translators in this Epistle (see chap. iv.).
But there is now no question as to the sense.
—Blessing I will bless, etc The repetition
indicates, according to the order of the original
words, either the certainty of the thing promised
('Thou shalt surely die'), or the continuousness
and consequent completeness of it. In neither
case is it unmeaning.— I will multiply tiiee.
The full expression in Genesis b : ' I will multiply
thy seed,^ Some think the change is significant,
as if it was intended to connect the promise more
closely with Abraham and his faith rather than
with his seed (so De Wette and Bleek), and there
may be force in this somewhat refined reasoning ;
but the multiplying is the essential thing, and, as
Abraham could be maltiplied only through his
descendants, the promise in this shorter form
leaves the meaning unchanged.

Ver. 15. And so, in this way, haying patiently
waited, believing and expecting the blessing
amid all the trials and delays he was subjected to,
he obtained what had been promised, — ^not so
much -the birth of Isaac (Alford), who was bom
before the oath, nor yet the restoration of Isaac
from the dead (De Wette), a result that needed no
waiting. The promise was really fulfilled in
Abraham's becoming through Isaac the father of
the people of promise, and then of ' many nations '
under the Gos[)el through Him who was 'the
seed ' (Gal. iii. 16), and so of all who are diroogh

faith children of Abraham, lliis is the pro-
mise which, in the widest sense, Abraham has
obtained. During his earthly life the fulfilment
was very partial. At the exodus the seed arc
expressly said to have been as ' the stars for mul-
titude ' (Deut. i. 10) ; but the blessing of the
nations was still to come. Nineteen hundred
years later appeared the great Deliverer, whose
day Abraham also saw, and now His kingdom is
supreme, and Abraham has long since ' obtained '
it all. This wide meaning of the promise is not
properly a spiritualizing of the Old Testament ; it
is the true meaning on which St. Paul again and
again insists (Gal. iii. 7 ; Rom. iv. 11). No trial
of faith under any dispensation has been severer
than Abraham's, and no reward more blessed or
more complete. The lesson to * Israel,* whether
literal or spiritual, is decisive and clear.

Ver. 16. For men swear (* verily,* or 'indeed,'
goes out on external authority) by the greater :
by one who is above themselves, and can punish
the wrong-doer ; and for confirmation, when any
statement of theirs is contradicted the oath is
final ; the question, as a legal question, is settled.
The oath here spoken of includes two distinct cases:
the truth of a statement was made legally valid by
the oath of assurance which appealed to God ;
an agreement or covenant was made legally bind-
ing by the oath of promise, accompanied on solemn
occasions by the death of the covenanting victim,
which death was really an imprecation of death
on him who broke the agreement. Further sanc-
tions, in either case, were impossible. The oath
went beyond everything. It was as far as men
could go. It still forms the highest and final
sanction of the law ; and when men*s statements
are contradicted or their promises questioned, the
oath is the ultimate confirmation of both. Some
translate contradiction * dispute,' or * strife ; * * of
every dispute or strife of theirs the oath is an end.'
The interpretation given above is the more pro-
bable, however, partly because * contradiction ' is
the accurate rendering of the word elsewhere
(chap. vii. 7), and partly because there is no dis-
pute or strife supposed in this case, but only, on
man's side, disbelief and questioning of the Divine
announcement. The entire thought of this reason-
ing is given in very similar words in Philo (see
Delitzsch).

Ver. 17. Wherein; better, 'wherefore,' under
which circumstances, in which case, on which
principle, i,e, man having this estimate of the
value of an oath.— Gk>d, willing to show more
abundantly to the heirs of the promise (those to
whom under both economies the promises belong,
see ver. 12) the immutability of his will. The
word used for ' will ' is used by Luke and by Paul
to express God's gracious will or coimsel (Acts ii.
23, etc. ; Eph. i. ii). — Interyened, 'mediated,'
with an oath, i,e, between Himself as the pro-
miser and man as the recipient of the promise.
He Himself came as pledge and surety, not for us
(Ps. cxix. 122) but for Himself. The same loving
purpose that provided the blessings He promised
prompted Him to do everything that could be
done to win our trust and establi^ our faith.

Ver. 18. That by means of two immutable
things, two distinct acts, things really done.
Most understand by these two things the promise
and the oath to Abraham ; but the immutability
He IB said to shew by the oath (ver. 17) ; though
no doubt He was also immutable in His promise.

Chap. V. i-VII. 28.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

51

That qnality, however, was not so clearly shown to
our apprehension. It is therefore better to r^;ard
the oath to Abraham as one, and the oath con-
cerning Melchisedec (the typical priest) as another
(F^ ex. 4, quoted in chap. v. 6 and vii. 21). — ^In
nfiit]i0r of which is it poeaible that Ood ever
Um (the force of the tense denying the possibility
in a single case). The emphasis is on lying and
the impossibili^, while the absence of theGredc
article oefore ' &od ' calls attention to His nature.
In the case of Him who is God, lying can really
have no place (Tit. i. 2). only He needs to meet
human mfirmity. — That we may have strong
enoanzagement who have fled for refuge to lay
hold of the hope set before na (as the goal of our
race or the reward of our conflict). On the whole,
this is the more probable meaning. Those who
connect ' strong encouragement ' widi ' to lay hold
of the hope^' etc., leave 'have fled for refuge'
without an objecC and represent Christians as
fleeing somewhere for refuge, and then laying
hold of their hope. What they ne«d is ' strong
encouragement,' naving ahready fled for refuge to
their hopcu We have laid hold of Uie promise set
before us in the double oath of God, Christ, the
Desire of all nations, and the great High Priest,
and it is a mighty encouragement to Jkefp hold of
that on which we have lau^ hold (the word means
both), to know that God Himself has solemnly
assured and reassured us of His loving purpose on
our behalfl ' Encouragement,' trans&ted ' conso-
lation.' has a wide meaning ; it includes the help
and blessing which men odl in for emergencies.
The meanings vary between ' strength ' and ' con-
solation,'the old English word ' comfort ' repre-
senting both — the first etymologically (through
fifrtis), and the second from usage.

Ver. 19. Which (i,e, which hope, not which
encouragement) we have. The hope spoken of
in the previous verse is largely objective, i,f, it
includes the object of our hope^ — the glorious
things which the promise warrants us in expect-
ing. In this verse it is largely subjective — the
aroction or grace (compare 'Christ, our hope,
sustains us,' where hope is objective ; and ' hope
in Christ sustains us, where hope is subjective;
both are combined in the beautiful description,
' Christ in us the hope of glory '). Each implies
the other ; the heavody reward as set before us
by God is ' our hope ' in its objective sense ; our
hope of the heavenly reward is the grace of hope
in the subjective sense. — As an anchor of tne
■onl (a common classical emblem, though not
found, as 'anchor' itself is never found, in the
Old Testament) both aure (with firm holding
ground) Mid stedfiMt (in itself strong), and enter-
hg into that whidi is within the vea A
mixed figure, but of great beauty. The anchor of
the sailor is cast downwards into the depth of the
ocean ; but the anchor of the Christian, which is
hope, finds its ground and hold above. Into the
holiest above Jesus has entered for us, and there
also the anchor of our hope has enteral ; so have
we rest now, and shall outride all the storms of
oar earthly life. Some regard these last clauses,
'sure and stedfett,' as qualifying 'hope,' not the
anchor ; the image, in short, thev thmk, is once
named, and then no longer used ; while others
rciprd the hope as identical with Christ, who is
said to enter heaven as our anchor, and then as
priest for us. The general sense is not changed
in any of these interpretations. The force and

beauty of the figure is best preserved, howevei«
by the interpretation first ^ven.

Ver. 20. Whither as fotrerupaer Jesoi baa
entered for ns, having become after tiie order
of Melchifiedec a High Priest for ever. 'As
forerunner' (not ' the,' and not 'a' forerunner, ay
if He were one of several This absence of the
article simply calls attention to the nature and
purpose of His entrance). ' Forerunner ' occupies
the prominent place also in the sentence. The
Levidcal high priest entered the Holy of Holies
on behalf of the people, as Christ also entered
into the Holiest of all. Here He appears in a
new character. He is now gone to prepare a
place for us ; we are to follow and to share His
glory and His throne. The * priest for ever * of
the Psalm is now changed into 'high priest,' a
title made appropriate l^ the fact that it is not
into the holy place simply, but into the immediate

Sresence of God, He is gone. — After the order of
[elchisedeo occupies me emphadc place in the
verse, for it is the subject to which he is about to
return. Here, therefore, the digression ends.

Chap. vii. 1-28. Resuming ms argument, the
writer proceeds to show that Jesus, belonging as
He did to the order of Melchisedec, is superior to
Aaron. In proving his point he first (i) treats of
the priest king Melchisedec with reference to the
history of Genesis (xiv.), dwells upon his greatness
(1-3), and on his superiority to Abraham, the
ancestor and representative of Levi (4-10) ; he
then (2) treats of the prediction (Ps. ex.), wherein
it is foretold that a perpetual priest is to arise who
is to supersede the Aaronic priests because of
their inefficiency; shows (3) that the greater
solemnity of the institution of the priesthood of
Christ proves its superiority to the priesthood of
Levi (20-22) ; (4) its permanence (23-25) ; and
(5) its adaptedness to our needs (26-^).

Here begin the things hard to be explained;
not that the difficulty lies in the phrases used con-
cerning Melchisedec, for these, however startling
to us, were familiar modes of expression among
the Jews, but that the Jews were slow to receive
and apply the general teaching of the passage.
The Jewish priesthood had the nighest sanctions |
it was the divinest part of the law. The govern*
ment was originally a theocracy; the pnestwas
the representative of the invisible Kmg, Hit
minister, and the mediator between the nation
and Himself. The kincship came later. It
originated partly in popular feeling, and was at
first even displeasing to God. That the Messiah
should be King, the Son of David, and the occu-
pant of his throne, was generally allowed; but
that He was to be priest also, that He was to set
aside the ancient kw, was something more diffi*
cult to believe. The cessation of the priesthood
is indeed as great a mystery to the Jews as the
destruction of the Temple, and is in their view
even more irremediable. And yet One is to arise
after the order of Melchisedec, and not after that
of Aaron, and is to hold uninterrupted office in
His Church.

Ver. I. For this Kelchisedec . . . aUdeth a
priest continnally. And who is he? Xing of
Salem, i,e. Jerusalem, as is taught in the old trap
dition given in the Targums (see Gill),' and in
Josephus {Afttif, i. 10, 2), the Salem of the 76th
Psalm (ver. 3). The later tradition, though earlier
t)ian Jerome'^s day, that it was a Salem in Samaria
(John iii. 23), is not probable. Nor only was he

$6

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap.V. 1-VII.28.

king of Salem, he was also Priest of the Most
lUgn God, the possessor of heaven and earth, a
title intended to^assert not only that He is God
alone, but that Melchisedec was priest of the God
not of a particular people, but of all nations ; his
priesthood belonged therefore to the primitive
dispensation of religion, the early Catholicism of
the first ages, and not to the temporary and tjrpical
economy of Judaism. — ^Who met Aoraham re-
luming from the alAQghter of the kingi, and
gave him, when at the summit of his earthly
greatness, after he had overthrown four kings and
delivered five, his priestlv benediction (see Deut.
xxi. 5)— a benediction which Abraham welcomed
by paying the tithe which was of old offered to
priests, that they might present it as a symbol of
the consecration of all the gains of the offerer
unto God. Abraham therefore acknowledged
what the blessing implied, the reality and the
greatness of his priesthood.

Nor less instructive is his name and the name of
his citv, and the very silence of the Scripture record
on other questions. Melchisedec, his personal
name, when interpreted, is significant of his
character. He is king of Righteousness, he rules
in righteousness, he maintains and diffuses right-
eousness.— And after that (in the next place) he
fa king of Peace, and ' righteousness and peace *
are, as we know, the glory of the reign of the
Messiah (Ps. Ixxii.). This reasoning rests upon a
double principle. Names are in the Old Testa-
ment largely descriptive of character, and as God
arranges all the developments of history, and sets
up this king as a type of the Messiah, we may
safely reason from him to the antitype, and gather
lessons and proofs of God*s purpose and grace.

Ver. 3. He is without father or mother,
appearing out of the darkness without ancestors
or successors ; without pedigree either immediate
or remote ; owing his priesthood, therefore, and
dignities to no connection with priests on his
Cumer's side or even on his mother's : his is a
priesthood purely personal, and not to be traced
to natural descent or hereditary claim. In con-
trast with this tenure of office was the tenure of
the Levites ; they held their priesthood only on
condition that they could prove their descent from
Levi ; and so, after the captivity, those who could
not prove this descent were not allowed to act as
priests till God Himself gave counsel by Urim
and Thummim (Ezra ii. 62, 63 ; Neh. vii. 63-65).
—Without beginning of days or end of life,
unlike the Jewish priests therefore, who began
their ministry at thirty and closed it at fifty, the
high priest holding his office until he died.— But
made like (in the respect named) unto the Son
of Ood, abideth a prieat continually. These
words still refer to the history and not properly to
the Psalm (ex. 4), where it is said that Melchi-
sedec was made like to Christ, and so, instead of
•a prieat for ever,* the phrase of the Psalm, we
have 'a priest continually,' one whose office
remains unbroken either at the beginning or at
the close. Though this is the simplest and the
natural interpretation of the words, some find a
deeper meanmg in them. The terms used are
wide and sweeping, and while the Targums and
Philo, and modem commentators, find no diffi-
culty in the explanations given above of the
phrases 'without father or mother or genealogy,'
a deeper meaning is not without its attractions,
especially when the words are applied to the great

antitype Christ. 'Without father,' it has been
thought, may refer to the fact that Christ had no
earthly father and no Divine mother (answering to
His higher nature), while the later expressions,
'without beginning of days or end of life,' are
descriptive, they think, of Him whose goines
forth are from everlasting, and who, though He
died, conquered death, and has taken the nature
He assumed into union with His essential eternity.
What in the type means no record, meant in the
antitype no existence. It may fairly be admitted
that the phrases are finely chosen so as to be true
of the type in some degree, and more profoundly
true of our Lord ; but l)eyond this it is unsafe to
go. Origen regarded Melchisedec as the incarna-
tion of an angel ; Bleek thinks that the writer
shared a supposed Jewish opinion that he was
called into existence miraculously and miraculously
withdrawn, then abiding a priest for ever. Others,
ancient and modem, think he was the Son of God
Himself — an opinion untenable, inconsistent alike
with the Psalm and with the entire teaching of
this Epistle. The Jewish writers supposed nira
to have been Shem (see Gill), or Enoch, or Job.
It is enough to say that he probably represents a
royal worshipper of the true God, the head of his
race, before as yet the primitive worship had
become corrupt, and before there had arisen any
need for selecting a particular family as the de-
positary and the guard of the Divine will. ... It
IS solemn and instructive to note how most of the
false religions on earth and most of the corruptions
of the time owe their power to men's desire to
have a human priest who may forgive them and
plead for them, and even offer sacrifice for them.
The doctrine is even more popular than the oppo-
site extreme, forgiveness without sacrifice and
without priest. AH sacrifices are su[)erseded by
the sacrince of the cross, and all priesthoods by
the priesthood of our Lord. The recognition of
one priest is as essential to true religion as the
recognition of one king.

Ver. 4. Kow consider (consider further, a
slightly transitional particle) how great (applied
to age, size, or, as here, to moral grandeur) this
man was, to whom even Abraham the patriarch
(the father of the tribe, of the whole race of Israel)
gave the tenth out of Uie best of the spoils.
The word rendered ' spoils ' means properly that
which lies at the top of a heap, ' the finest of the
wheat,' and so of anv spoils taken in war. It is
questioned whether the tenth of the best of the
spoil means the tenth of the best of the spoils,
leaving what was of less value untithed, or a tenth
of all the spoil, which tenth as given to God was
to be the best part of the whole. The last is the
true meaning (comp. Num. xv. 21), for it is
already said that Abraham gave a tenth part of
all (ver. 2). As was fitting, he gave to God the
tenth, and that tenth the best.

Ver. 5. And they yerily (or, 'indeed,' as in
ver. 8; or better, the emphatic 'and they,* the
Greek particle calling attention to the contrast
between those mentioned in this verse and in the
following) that are of the sons of Levi, when
they (not ' who ') receive . . . have a command-
ment, etc. The meaning here is best leamed
from the facts. The Levites, the teachers of the
Jewbh people, received their portion of the land
of promise m the formof a tithe of all the produce
of the ground (Num. xviii. 21-24) ; of this tithe,
the priests properly so called received a tithe

Chap. V. i-VII. 28.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

57

(Num. xnii. 26-28) : the priests* share, therefore,
was taken from their brethren's share, and all
from the people. This was the arrangement
' according to the law.'

Ver. 6. Bnt he (Melchisedec) whoee descent
(pedigree) it not reckoned from them has never-
theless taken tithes of Abraham (when he
contained in his own person both Levi and Israel).
And not only did he receive tithes from the tithe-
taking Levites, he bath also blessed him who
him (who b the possessor oO the promises.

Ver. 7. And beyond all contradiction (or
without any contradiction), what gives a blessing
is greater, (is raised above) what receives it. The
neuter of the original seems used to express the
universality of the statement, and to make the
truth of it depend not on the person but on the
act or relation itself; and the conclusion is that
Melchisedec is greater than Abraham, the pos-
sessor of the promises, for he adds even to the
bleuings of him who for all men and by all men
is so richly blessed. The exalted founder and
head of the covenant people is inferior, even in
the hour of his triumph, to the still more exalted
and mysterious personage who is at once priest
and kii^.

Ver. 8. And here indeed (as in ver. 5, * indeed '
is useful only to make more clear the contrast of the
following clause ; an emphatic ' and here ' would
be better) refers not to the time of Melchisedec,
though that is last spoken of, but to the time of
the Levitical priesthood, which extends down to
the writer's own age. — Men that die (literally,
' dying men ' they are who) receive tithes ; but
tliere {i.e, in the case of Melchisedec of which he
is immiediately speaking, but which as belonging
to the past b more remote) he receiveth them, of
whom it is witnessed that he liveth, i,e, we read
of him not as djring but as livine. No ' end of
life ' b afhrmed of him at alL Thb is spoken not
of Melchisedec as man, but of the Melchisedec of
the sacred narrative, who b made in thb way
like unto the eternal priest As man he no doubt
died, but as priest he did not belong to that order.
Under the law the priesthood was temporary.
Before the law the pnest was priest as long as he
lived, and so was perpetual (as at Rome the
dictator for life was known as 'Dictator per-

Etuus*) ; and as Christ lives for ever, so for ever
e b able to make intercession for us.

Ver. Q. And so to say (a phrase which, like ' as
it were, b used to moderate a strong expression
or to qualify a statement that b not literally true ;
the otiier sense of the original, 'in a word,* 'to
speak briefly,' b not appropriate here).

An obvious objection to the previous reasoning b
that Abraham was not a priest It was therefore
not unnatural that he should pay tithes and
receive the blessing. But the objection is
answered by the ract that as Abraham had
obtained the promise, he was the representative
of all hb descendants. Levi was in him, not
phjrsiodly and seminallv merely, but repre-
sentatively ; and so Abraham on hb own behsdf
and on theirs recognised a priesthood beyond the
limits of the dispensation which belonged to hb
own line.

Ver. II. If therefoie perfection was ; better,
'If again,' or 'Now if,' a transitional particle
indicating an argument bearing on the same
subject (see ix. i). 'Was,' not 'were;' the
reuoning b not, 'If there were perfection, there

would be no need ; * but, * If there was perfection,
there was no need.* The Psalm tells us that in
the person of the Messiah there was to arise a
priest who did not belong to the order of Aaron,
but to a different order ; and thb declaration
implies that the priesthood of Aaron was not
capable of securing the great end of a priesthood.
What that end is has been largely disctissed.
Expiation, consecration, transformation of personal
character, true permanent blessedness, each has
had its advocates, and we may safely combine
them all. If sinners are to be forgiven, forgive-
ness must be consbtent with the Divine character
and law ; the conscience must be pacified and
man made holv. That the Levitical priesthood
did not effect these ends is proved at length later
on ; here the writer restricts himself to the one
point, that after the first priesthood was instituted
It was announced that its work was to pass into
the hands of another order, an intimation of its
insufficiency. The case b made clear by the
parenthetic statement — for on the ground of the
Levitical priesthood (not ' under it *) the people
have received the law {i,e, not that the priest*
hood was first and the law afterwards, for the
contrary is the fact, nor that the people were
subject to a law that had reference to the priest*
hood), l^he law rested on the assumed exbtence
of a * priesthood, all its precepts and requirements
presupposing some such body ;* so that now, if
the pnesth(xxl is removed, the economy itself b
removed also. Under the Gospel, God appoints,
as He foretold, a priest who does not answer to
the description given of priests under the law —
a clear proof that He who first made the law has
annulled it.— What need was then that there
should arise (the usual word to describe one
raised to dignities in his office, Acts iii. 22, vii 37)
a different priest after the order of Melchisedec,
and that he should be said to be not (or not be
called) after the order of Aaron t

Ver. 12. For the priesthood being changed.
This is true of an institution that forms the
foundation of the law in the sense just described
(ver. II). If Christ is made priest, the law b
changed in its ceremonial and political arrange-
ments, and even in the ethical relation of the
people to God. They have another priest, and
through the completeness of his work they have a
freeness of access and a fulness of forgiveness
which alters the very nature of their economy.

Ver. 13. The writer now proves the complete*
ness of the change of the pnesthood. — For ne of
whom (not * to whom,' Dr. J. Brown and others,
the preposition being used to denote that to which
a word or thing refers) these things (the words in
Psalm ex.) aro nid (see the end of ver. 11)
hath partaken of (better than 'pertaineth'), hath
become a member of, a different tribe (the words
describe an already exbting fact, and intimate
that he had joined the tribe), of which tribe no
man hath ever (the full force of the corrected
text) given attendance (the word means to
bestow labour or attention upon anything, see
I Tim. iv. 13) at the altar.

Ver. 14. for (the proof of the statement of
ver. 13) it is evident (plain to all, an adjective
found only in Paul, i Tim. v. 24; for proof
that it is evident, see the passages in the margin
above) that onr Lord hatn sprung— as a drancA
out of the root of Jesse, a common rendering of
the Hebrew word, Jer. xxiii. 5, Zech. iv. 2 ; or

5«

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap.V. i-VII. 2&

as the son or the star rises (Num. xxiL 17 ; com*
pare Isa. Ix. I and Matt iv. 2). Both meanings of
the word * hath sprung; ' are scriptural. Christ is
said to 'spring up* in both senses. Here the
former is the more probable, as the language of
Isaiah, chap, xi., seems to have been in the
mind of the writer. — Oat of Jndah, with respeot
to which Mbees spake nothing concerning
pziesta, nothing to imply that priests should arise
out of that tribe. — Oar Loxd. This is the only
place in Scripture where this name 'Our Lord,*
now so familiar, is applied to Christ without the
addition of His proper name Jesus, or His official
name Christ. ' The Lord ' is frequent.

Vers. 15-17. The writer now touches another
point of tne argument. — And it ia yet far more
evident. What is more evident ? That the law
is changed? as De Wette and Bleek hold.
Hardly; for this is not the main thought, but
the imperfection of the priesthood (ver. ii).
That imperfection has been proved by the change
of priests, and that imperfection is made still more
evident by the fact that a new priesthood is to
arise after the limilitude of Helchiaedec (ver.
16), who hath been made (who hath become)
priest not after what is a law of a carnal com-
mandment— i,e, a rule of external ordinances (see
Lev. xxi. 17-24 ; Ex. xl. 12-17), temporary and
perishing— out after what is the power (the
priestlv and kingly power, Rom. i.) of an endless,
an indissolnble life. We are bidden to conceive
o( His priesthood in this light, and not in the
light of the qualities and temporary office of the
priests under the Levitical law (ver. 17). — For
it is testified of him, Then art a priest for ever,
the emphatic phrase.

Vers. 18, 19. These verses summarize the aimi.
ment of the previous verses. — ^For what takes
place is on the one hi^d an annulling of the
former commandment (concerning the priesthood)
on account of what in it was wei3c and nnprofit-
able (for the law made nothing perfect), and on
the other hand [there is] a bringing in over the
law of a better hope — such a bringing in as supplies
the deficiencies of the law and practically supersedes
it. — By means of which hope we draw nigh to
God. *What in it was weak' is the expression
the writer employs, not the wider expression, the
weakness thereof. He simply adls attention to
what in it has that quality. The law made
nothing perfect ; it finished nothing ; it created
hope, out failed to satisfy it ; it awakened a
consciousness of the need of an atonement, but
provided no sacrifice ; it set up the ideal of a
holy life, but failed to give the strength needed to
realize the ideal ; it created longings for closer
fellowship with God, but opened no way whereby
we could draw nigh. ' fre draw nigh,' and not
priests only. The access to God is free to all who
believe. Ilie Holy of Holies has still to the eye of
flesh its veil ; but Christ has entered for us, and
so to the eye of faith it has no veil at all. The
title and the fitness to enter there is the perfection
which the law could never give. This note has
been struck already (iv. 16, vi. 19) ; by and by it
swells into a whole strain of impassioned argument
(ix. 24, X. 19-25).

Vers, ao-22. A third aimiment is now intro-
duced. The oath which God sware in making
His Son Priest gives to His office higher sanctions.
—And inasmntm as (it is) not witnont an oath ;
rather a simpler filling up of the omission than

the Authorised Version, thoogh ' He was made
(or came to be) priest ' better represents what is
really a new argument

Ver. 21. (For they, as we know, withoat an
oath (literally, without the swearing of an oath
as a solemn act) are made (have become and now
are) priests; bat he with an oath I9 him that
saith, etc). — 22. Of so mach better a covanant
(or as in A. V., provided 'a better covenant,'
which comes at the end of the verse, is made
emphatic) hath Jesos become suxetj, m. He
has pledged Himself for the nudntenance of it,
and for the fulfilment of its promises. The
covenant is the result of His death, and His
presence above as Priest (vL 20) and the glory
and honour with which He is crowned (ii. 9) are
a perpetual security for its continuance and cpm<-
pletion.

Vers. 23-2^. A fourth aigument for the superi-
ority of Christ's priesthood is that the pnests
under the law were continually removed by deaths
while Christ is undving. This argument has
been touched upon oefore (vers^ 8 and x6) in
different connections. Here it is the personal
contrast of the manv who changed with the
one who abides. — ^Ana they indeed have becoma
and still are priests in great number, beoanae
they are being hindered by death firom oon-
tinning {i.e. * in their priesthood,' not ' in their
life,' which makes a poor tautolo^cal sense;.

Ver. 24. But he Decause of nis abiding for
ever {i.t. in His life, John xii. 34) hath his
priesthood nnchangeable ('inviolable'). The
active sense of the word rendered ' unchangeable '
('what does not pass over to another') is very
unusual, and therefore less likely ; but either
meaning makes a good, and nearly the same^
sense. By some commentators the 'abiding'
which is here affirmed of Christ is applied not to
His life, but to His priesthood. If this meanine
seem preferable, it needs then to be kept in mind
that the ' for ever ' of the Psalm relates to the
priesthood of Christ, and answers to the * for ever '
of the arrangement with Melchisedec— each of
them having reference to the covenant to which
they belong, and so not eternal in the case of
Melchisedec, nor even in the case of Christ ;
for though the life of Christ is eternal, as are
the effects of His priesthood, yet His exercise
of that office will cease when all the glorious ends
of it are completely answered in the eternal
salvation of the redeemed, even as He will then
deliver up the kingdom to the Father (i Cor. xv.
24). But the more natural reference of ' for ever '
is to His life.

Ver. 25. Whence, 1.^. from the fact that He
lives it follows — the particle being generally used
to introduce something of deeper significance. —
He is able also to save (in its cgmpletest sense,
not from this evil or the other, but from all evil)
to the nttermost (not to save for ever, but, as the
word properly means (see Bleek), to completeness
in every respect, and not chiefly with respect to
duration) all that approach through him to God,
ever living as he does, — a fuller exp!a:ntion of
the * whence ' at the b^inning of the vcijC, — ^to
undertake for them. The word rendered
' undertake ' means primarily ' to see ' or ' meet
in with a person on behalf of another,' and so
includes all that Christ does for us, either by His
perpetual oblation in heaven, or by His mediation
generally and kingship as Head over all. Thi$

Chap. VIII. i-X. i8.]

TO THE HEBREWS;

59

mediation is of the very essence of the work of
Christ so fiur as His priestly office is concerned,
and is the ground of the tnumphant outburst of
St PauI when he concludes that none can con-
demn, seeing that Christ who died is now risen,
and is making continual intercession on our behalf.
Its foundation of right is His atoning sacrifice ;
its central motive is the love He bears us ; its
method of procedure, the advocacy of our interests,
and the intimation of His will that the blessings we
need be bestowed ; and its fruit the maintenance
of our relation to God, and our perseverance in
holiness.

Vers. 26-2S. The final argument for this superi-
ority is the moral fitness of the whole arrangement
fsee^io).^For such a high priest was for as
MfllUug — a high priest who was holy (giving to
God the reverence and holy love that were due to
Him), harmlea (innocent, guileless, unsuspected
in relation to all human du^' between man and
man), undefiled (free, therefore,, from personal
pollution, and from legal defilement, such as often
interrupted the priestly office), separated from
sinnars — ^pitying them, helping them, able to
sympathize with them, dyii^^ tor them, but not
belonging to their class, — apart from them as He
was apart from sin itself (Heb. iv. 15, where a
form of the same word is used), and made higher
than the heavens — a phrase found only here,
though the sense is expressed elsewhere (chap. iv.
14 : *• having passed through the heavens ; ' Eph.
iv. 10: *far above the heavens'). It descrioes
His higher authority, while implying that part of
Hb work has been done on earth, and that for the
rest it is essential that He should be at the right
hand of God. And such a high priest and no
other became us, who needs not oaily to offer
sacrifice for his own sins, as the high priest did
on the Day of Atonement, and then for the sins
of the peq^e ; bnt this (the offering for the sins
of the people) he did once for all when he
offered nimseif. This b the first mention in
thb EpbUe of Christ * offering Himself;' the

truth b introduced again and asain :• once struck,
the note sounds ever louder and louder.^ As the
writer compares Chrbt with the Levitical high
priests, and as these did not offer sacrifices daily,
there has been much discussion on the ' daily ' of
thb verse. The various solutions (that the high
priest did offer incense daily : that the hieh
priest might have taken part occasionally in the
daily burnt-offerings ; that ' daily * means on the
day appointed — the Day of Atonement which b
elsewhere said to be every year 'from days to
days,' Ex. xiii. 10^ Heb. and LXX. ; and that
the high priest b regarded as doing what the
ordinary priest did) are all unsatisfactory. Chrbt
b now, and every day, in the Holy Place. If,
therefore, He were a sinner, as the high priests of
old were. He would need to offer for Himself each
day, as the high priests offer, on the one day oi
every year when they appearexl before God. But
Chrbt, being conopletely free from all personal sin,
had no need to offer except for others ; and as He
offiu^ Himsflf once for all, Hb atonement has
perpetual efficacy.

Ver. 28. For the law appointed men (emphatic)
high priests having infirmity ; but the word of
the oath (see ver. 21) which was after the law —
five hundred years later as given in {)rophecy, and
one thousand five hundred later still when ful-
filled in Christ— [appointeth] one who is Son (see
note on i. i), nubde perfect for evermore. ' For
evermore * b in the emphatic i>lace, and belongs
to 'made perfect' 'Having infirmity' belongs
to ' high priests ; ' they were mortal, sinful men,
and therefore were an inefficient priesthood ; their
expiations, their intercessions, their benedictions,
all had the character of weakness, and as such they
were not fit to meet our needs. ' Perfected ' or
'made perfect' (not ' consecrated *) 'for evermore ;'
it b the same word as b used in chap. ii. i(^
'made perfect through suffering;' and in v. 9,
' havinp: been made perfect ; ' and thb condition
b continuous and uncnan^^ipg, forming a contrast
to the condition of the pnests of the llaw.

Chapter VIII. i-X. i8.

The Excellency of the Christian Dispensation proved by the Superiority of tite
New Covenant — in the Efficacy of its Priest and Sacrifice, viii. 1-13, and
in its Worship and Ordinattces, ix. i-x. 18.

1 "\TOW of* the things which we have spoken* this is the

i^ sum:* we have such an high '^ priest, *who is set on •jK«-(«i3t.)
the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; *c?uiiT;*

2 a minister of ^ the sanctuary, and of '' the true tabernacle, which ^*;.'' ** "•

3 the Lord pitched, ' and * not man. For ^ every high priest is ^^^,^'
ordained * to offer gifts and sacrifices : wherefore ^ it is of f HniTndv.

4 necessity that this man have somewhat also* to offer. For' if/ai.v. i.
he were on earth, he should not be a priest,* seeing that there * dtb^\V

* Gr, upon * are saying {lit, are being said) ' the chief

^ omit and * appointed ^rather^ high priest . . . also

^ nadj Now also * would not even be a priest

rmyUl)
•if

60 TO THE HEBREWS. [Chap. VIII. i-X. 18.

5 are priests • that offer gifts " according to the law : who serve

unto the example and ^shadow of" heavenly things, as Moses *^-."«7'*
was " admonished of God when he was about to make " the *• *•
tabernacle: *for, See, saith he, that thou make all things * 2*-. »^*^

6 according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount But "^*- *.•.

^ ^ Num. viu. 4;

now *hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how ^^g^^*^-.*^-
much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was f.9; ch. vu.

7 established ** upon better promises. ' For if that first covenant '^J* ^ "•
had been faultless, then should '^ no place have been sought for

8 the second. For finding fault with them, he saith,

*" Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, '*''g^

When I will make" a new covenant with*' the house of '*•'*•
Israel and with " the house of Judah :

9 Not according to the covenant that I made * with " their */^)"**^'

fathers
In the day when 1 took them by the hand to lead them

out of the land of Egypt ;
Because they continued not in my covenant.
And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with " the house

of Israel
After those days, saith the Lord ;
I will put my laws into their mind,
And write them in ^^ their hearts :

And "" I will be to them a God, *^«*- ^»«-

And they shall be to me a people :

11 And ^they shall not teach every man his neighbour," '*j"'Ji''* '?•
And every man his brother, saying. Know the Lord : ' Jo- »»• *i
For all shall know me.
From the least " to the greatest.

12 For I will be merciful " to their unrighteousness,"
^ And their sins and their iniquities^will I remember no more. ^Jj*^ *!y»7:

13 ''In that he saith, A new covenant y he hath made the first old. rsCor. v. 17.
Now that which decayeth and waxeth old *• is ready to vanish
away,"

Chap. IX. i. Then verily the first covenaut^^ had also ordinances
2 of divine service, and ' a worldly sanctuary." ^ For there was ' g*- **^- s-

' ^ ^ / Lx. XXVI I.

a tabernacle made:" the first, "wherein was^^ *'the candle- «ex. xxvi.35,

' ' xl. 4.

V Ex. XXV. 31.

• omit priests '® the gifts ^* what is a copy and shadow of the

i« is *• Gr, finish " hath been enacted (as a law, see viii. 11)

** would *• Gr. complete *' towards (with the idea of bringing home upon)
18 for " covenant with, or^ establish for ^^ also upon

*' ready townsman ** insert^ of them even *' Gr, propitious

'^ unrighteousnesses '^ probably omit and their iniquities

s« is becoming old and failing for age '^ Gr, is nigh to vanishing away

'* rather^ Now the first covenant indeed
*• its sanctuary (^r, holy place) of this world
•® rather^ prepared " rather^ is {see ver, 4)

Chap. VIII. i-X. i8.] TO THE HEBREWS. 6i

stick, and ^ the table, and the shewbread ; '* which is called the "'^*- f^- •3*

3 sanctuary." ' And after the second veil, the tabernacle which ;r eT«vL 31

4 is called the Holiest of all ;** which had the '* golden censer, and g'.^ ?'^"'
'the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, -^f^J^'^if
wherein was ' the golden pot that had manna,'* and "* Aaron's , l^/ivj 33^

5 rod that budded, and *the tables of the covenant; and ^over a??iiii.xvu.
it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy-seat ; " of which ^ £;. ^xr. 16,

6 we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things J!.'"**^"*
were thus ordained," *' the priests went '•always into the first fwlii'wii'

7 tabernacle, accomplishing the service 0/ God; but Into the ?aiiii.v.ia
second went^^ the high priest alone 'once every year, not with- ^aa^iuJ'xvL
out blood, ^ which he offered ** for himself, and for the errors ** liiie, ^*

8 of the people : ^ the Holy Ghost this signifying, that * the way 3 ;"£J!.*1SL
into the holiest of all^ was not yet^ made manifest, while as #vJr.as:

9 the first tabernacle was" yet standing : which zvas*^ a figure for i-ev. xvi a,'
the time then** present, in which were*' offered both gifts and /ctv.'LVu.*

Qi.

, ^ , ^

10

11 imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ ^SiiiV-^-
being come*® "an high priest ''of good things to come, ^by a*' „,e5,. y ,
greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that ^/-^S* ^*

12 is to say, not of this building;*' neither ^by*' the blood of J^J;!;!-/;
goats and calves, but ^ by *' his own blood he entered in ' once ** ^§1.* xi.**
into the holy place, ' having obtained eternal redemption /<?r us. ^E?h.1.%f *

13 For if "the blood of bulls and of goats, and ''the ashes of an fpi/jiVn.
heifer sprinkling the unclean,** sanctifieth to the purifying** o{ g\Vx'^^J^\

14 the flesh: how much more '"shall the blood of Christ, 'who dTiifL''
through the eternal Spirit ^offered himself without spot to God, «u^xVm.
'purge*' your** conscience from "dead works *to serve the rNim. xix. a,

15 living God? ^ And for this cause ''he is the mediator of the wI'pcJL 19;
new testament,** ' that by means of death,*® for the redemption rcJ; l J.*
of the transgressions that were under the first testament,** -^ they 1 Pet. ul is.
which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance, tu. u m !

^ — ch» vita a?

16 For where a testament** is, there must also of necessity be the »ch. i/3, '

X* 23*

aCh. vi. I

*' ///. the presenting of the loaves, or, the loaves as presented ^ ^"- »• 7f ?

" the Holy place {see ver. 3) " Or. the Holy of holies «• having a f,*^"",- p«!'

*• a golden pot having the manna '^ Gr, the propiiiatory iv.'a.

*• prepared {ver, 2) '• go in *° otnit went, or, goes in ^jj*"^ii*;|'

** offereth ** Gr, ignorances *' rather, the holy place {see vers, 12, 25) viii.6,xiL94.
** hath not been ** is ^^ or, now *' read, according to which [fig[ure] arc ' ^<»"; "> "s.
** that cannot, as to the conscience, perfect him that does the service S. /g.' "

^' read, being only (in the meats and drinks and divers washings, Gr, /Ch. UL i.

baptisms) carnal ordinances ^ having come ^^ or, through the

" creation *« through ** once for all

** ///. them that have become unclean, or, have been defiled *** purity

*' purify •« Some MSS, read, our *• a new covenant

** Gr, a death having taken place — with the idea of the result that foUows*-

{flnd so, the origin or means) *^ or^ covenant

62 TO THE HEBREWS. [Chap. VIII. i-X. i8.

17 death of the testator." For ^ a testament •* is of force after men ^g«l ui 15.
are dead : ^ otherwise it is of no strength at all while the

18 testator •• liveth. * Whereupon neither the first testament^^ was ^f^*"*^*^

19 dedicated •* without blood. For when Moses had spoken every
precept** to all the people according to the law, ' he took the 'f'gf^s.
blood of calves and of goats, * with water, and scarlet wool, and »^ »4. 15.

2a hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, saying, ^J;^'^''-^*;
' This is the blood of the testament** which God hath enjoined /g. nrtv.s;

21 unto'* you. Moreover '"he sprinkled with" blood both** the ^Mat-xxvias:

22 tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all f^]^l;£^
things are by the law purged*' with blood; and "without ^fj^^^^; J?;

23 shedding of blood is no remission. // was therefore necessary

that ^ the patterns of things'* in the heavens should be purified ^ch. viiL s.
with these ; but the heavenly things themselves with better

24 sacrifices than these. For ^Christ is not entered" into the/ch-viao.
holy places" made with hands, which are the figures of* ^the ^ch-wL 2.
true ; but into heaven itself, now ''to appear in the presence of ''^**^^"?^*

25 God for us : nor yet that he should offer himself often, as ' the , vi%?* **
. high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood

26 of othet^ ; for then must he often have suffered since the foun-
dation of the world : but now 'once "in the end of the world ^Xf- ?«i

ch. viL 27,

hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ^ '** J ' ^«'-

X. XI

27 And as it is appointed unto'* men once to die, '''but after this ^\^}{^\

28 the judgment: so "'Christ was once ^offered to bear the sins ^gJJ^* ji^'J'^.
' of many ; and unto them that ** look for him shall he appear wf^*v*!*i^
the second time without " sin unto salvation. ^!^' "• '*•

Chap. X. i. For the law having *a shadow ^of* good things to 'x^pSlm/xa!
come, and not the very image of the things, ''can" never with 'I jo.iiL|.^*
those '* sacrifices which they offered year by year continually 'Matxxviis*;

2 make the comers thereunto 'perfect. For then" would they aT\^\L\l\
not have ceased to be offered.^ because that the worshippers *Coifii/^7 1**
once purged should ** have had no more conscience of sins. ix. 2^* ^'

3 ^ But in those sacrifices tJiere is a remembrance again made of ^ch! u i.**

4 sins every year. For ^ it is not possible that the blood of bulls /ulj iti 21;

5 and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he^ver. 11:'
Cometh into the world, he saith, ch. ix. ij.' '

A Ph. xl

* Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, fxxxix.)ft-8

l7-9y. I. 8

But a body hast** thou prepared me :*' «t<^ ••.^«'.»-

*^ him (^r, he in v, 17) that made it {see note on verse), or, the covenanting
victim ^^ over the dead

^^ Whence not even the first covenant hath been inaugurated
** commandment ^^ commanded ^"^ insert the ** omit both

*• purified '® figures of the things '^ entered not

'* a holy place, or^ holy places ^* copies like in pattern to

'^ Gr. laid up for ^* Gr, apart from ^* insert the '' read, they

^® the sanfe '^ else *® having been once purified would

'* didst •* complete, or^ fit— for me

20.; Amos V.

21. 22.

Chap. VIII- i-X. 18.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

63

6 In" burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had**

no pleasure.

7 Then said I, Lo, I come

(In the volume of the book it is written of me,)
To do thy will, O God.

8 Above when }ie said, Sacrifice and offering and *' burnt-offerings
and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure

9 therein ; which •* are offered by the law ; then said he, Lo, I
come to do thy will, O God : he taketh away the first, that he

10 may establish the second. ' By the which will we are** sancti- •J?-*yA>- »9;

« ' en* xiu. 12.

fied * through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for *ch.ix. w.

11 ail. And every priest standeth 'daily ministering and offering /Num. xxviu.
oftentimes the same sacrifices, "* which can never take away »» ver. 4.

12 sins : * But this man,*' after he had offered one sacrifice for sins "f^ «•(?*»•)

4 ; Col. ui. I ;

1 3 for ever, sat doiVn on the right hand of God ; from henceforth <*• »• 3.

14 expecting * till his enemies be made his footstool** For by one '^cts^' '' •
offering ^he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.*' ci^Y**^'^'

15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us : for after that ^^^' '•
he had said before,**

16 ^ This is the covenant that I will make with them

After those days, saith the Lord,

I will put my laws into *' their hearts,

And in ** their minds will I write them ;

17 And •• their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

18 Now where remission of these is^ there is no more offering for
sin.

7 Jer.

di. viii. to-
la.

•* the which

•• Gr, the footstool of his feet

•• insert whole •* hadst

•• have been •' he

•• or^ being sanctified ^ omit before

•• rather as implied in after ofver, 15, then saith he {so some copies read)

91

on

Chap. viii.-x, 18. Not only is Christ greater
than Aaron, but His functions, and the place
where He fulfils them, and His very posture
there, are all superior to those of the priests under
the Law. Jesus ministers permanently as Priest in
the real ('the true') and heavenly temple (viii. 1-5),
as Mediator of the new covenant, which is better
because it is a spiritual covenant and is based
upon better promises (vi. 13). Divine and orderly
as were the tabernacle and its services (ix. 1-5), it
belonged to an earthly state (see ver. 11), and had
no power to give peace to the conscience, nor did
it secure access to God (vi. 10) ; while Christ, by
the offering of Himself, has done both (11, 12),
ratifying the new covenant by His death (15-17)
as the old was ratified by the blood of its victims
(iS-22}, and effectually opening the way into
heaven : His sacrifice ueing offered once for all
C23-28), a sacrifice that cannot be repeated being
therein in contrast to the offerings of the Law
(x. i'4) ; a complete fulfilment of the Divine will
(5-10), followed oy an exaltation never to be abro-
gated (11-14), and by the removal of all sin
(15-18).

Chap. viii. i. Now— a transitional particle—
in regard to (or in) the things here spoken of
(literally being spoken oQ, the chiefpointisthia:
* The sutn is this ' is a possible meaning of the
word ; but it does not agree with the force of the
preposition, with the incomplete tense of the verb,
or with what follows where it is implied that the
previous enumeration is unfinishea : We have
8Uoh a high priest who (having finished His
work) took his seat on the right hand of the
Migesty in the heavens. The main point is that
Christ, being exalted to the throne of God, and
seated there, has an equally exalted sphere for
His priestly office, with greater power than the
priests of the Law.

Ver. 2. A minister (the regular word for public
work, and specially for priestly functions, Jer.
xxxiii. 21) of the sanctnary (the inner part —
' the holy of holies,' as it is called in ix. 3 ;
though elsewhere, as here, the holy place or the
sanctuary simply, ix. 25, xiiL ii) and of the tme
tabemade (the outer part of the same erection,
called in ix. 2 the first tabernacle) which the
Lord pitched, not mAft. Christ's place and

64

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. VIII. i-X. 18.

work are described in terms taken from the
divisions of the earthly copy of the spiritual or
heavenly reality. The copy Moses pitched (Ex.
xxxiii. 7) ; the reality is the work of God Himself.
The holy place is the immediate presence of God,
distinguished from the tabernacle, where God is
pleased to meet with men. Jesus Christ mediates
lor us in both— in the holy of holies of the Divine
nature, while He welcomes and overshadows with
His glorified humanity the whole company of the
worshippers. Both are in the heavens, and in this
double sphere Christ is acting as Priest and High
Priest. And yet the spheres are really one. The
veil having been removed by His incarnation and
death, we all have free access to God. The
Father Himself loveth us and gives us the right
of entrance (Rom. v. 2), because we have believed
in the Son. ... 'A minister of holy things'
(not of the holy places or place) is Luther*s
rendering; but it is not sanctioned by the
usage of this Epistle, where the expression is
applied onlv to the holy place, ix. 25, x. 19,
xiii. II. The same form (the neuter pi.), * the
holies,* is clearly used of * the holy of holies' in
ix. 8, 12. In ix. 3 the holy of holies (probably a
superlative, the most holy place) is also used for
the inner sanctuary.

Vers. 3-6. For— a new proof is now given that
Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary. There is no
priest without sacrificial functions (ver. 3) ; and if
Christ were here on earth He would not be a priest
at all (ver. 4), there being already those who offer
the gifts and do temple service for what ia a copy
and shadow of the heavenly things. Christ's
ofHce, therefore, must be discharged elsewhere, as
it really is. And the dignity of His office is
measured by the superiority of the covenant to
which He belongs. The following verbal ex-
planations are important.

Ver. 3. * Ordained * is simply appointed. ' This
man * is rather this high priest. Ver. 4. * For ' is
by reading *now,' and marks the continuance of
the statement, not a reason. Ver. 5. * Who *
means * those namely who,' and calls attention to
the description. Ver. 5. * Serve * describes always
in N. T. the service of God. It occurs in Luke
eight times, in St. Paul's acknowledged Epistles
four times, and this Epistle six times. * What is
a copy ; * the word means either a model, the
archetype which is to be followed (iv. ii), or it is
(as here and in ix. 23) an after-copy made from an
original : And * shadow * of the heavenly things :
the shadow cast by a solid body or a mere outline
that gives an idea of the form only without reveal-
ing the true substance. This language is clearly
depreciatory, not because the writer questions the
Divine origin of the things he speaks of, but
because the tnie priest having come, the glorv of
the legal priesthood and of the tabernacle sinks
to its proper level as the mere shadow or outline
of the great reality.

That this is its true character is now proved
from Exodus, Even as Moses is admonished of
God (not 7uas, the present tense shows that the
admonition still stands in Scripture and may be
used to explain the nature of the tabernacle),
when about to make (literally, to finish, i.e. to
take in hand and complete) the tabernacle, for
(not part of the quotation, but a proof of the asser-
tion just made), see, saith he . . . the pattern
showed to thee in the mount These words may
mean either the reality, the veritable heavenly things

which are the original of the earthly resemblances,
or a plan of the tabernacle itself which had the
spiritual meaning here given to them. As Moses,
however, could hardly have seen Christ's priest-
hood and offering as actual facts, it must have
been the symbolical, the parabolical (ix. 9) repre-
sentation of them in the form of the earthly taber-
nacle. Anyhow, the priesthood and offering of
Christ belong to the heavenlv state.

Ver. 6. fiut now — as the case is ; not the
temporal now, but the logical now so common in
this Epistle, ix. 26, xi. 16, xi. 8, xii. 26, and in
Paul's writings^hath he obtained a more ex-
cellent ministry (see ver. 2) ; by how much he is
the mediator of a better covenant also. Jesus
is surety (vii. 22) and mediator, both ; and herdn
He has qualities which Aaron never had. He is
Moses and Aaron (Mediator and Priest), and the
ratifying, the sealing blood of the victim all in one.
— whiSh {i.e. better in this that it) was a law-
based constitution, like the first, but resting upon
better promises, as the following quotations
prove. * A law-based and a law-enacted consti-
tution ' (as the Greek implies) is the very character
Paul gives to the Gospel. It is ' the law of faith,'
'the law of spiritual life in Jesus Christ,* *the law
of righteousness,* Rom. iii. 27, viii. 2, ix. 31.

Ver. 7. For . . . the better promises im-
plied in what follows are themselves a proof of
the inferiority of the old covenant — no place
would have been sought, i.e. in the development
of the Divine purpose, in the plan of redemption.

Ver. 8. Vet it is sought—For (and this is the
prooO finding fault with them. This phrase
completes the description of the previous verse.
Tk4Te, the covenant is said to be not blameless ;
and here, it is the people who are blamed. The
covenant, as a revelation of God's holiness, was
faultless ; but as the people fell away under it, it
failed as a covenant of works to establish abiding
fellowship between them and God, and so proved
weak and profitless (viu 22, see on viu 19). — Ho
saith : Benold, the days come — ^Jeremiah's com-
mon introduction to his prophecies (Jer. ix. 25,
xvi. 24, etc.). The prediction that follows is
taken from the last great series of his prophecies
(chaps. XXX. xxxi. ), which are distinctly Messianic.
It points to the new covenant which God will one
day make with Hb people, based upon the
absolute remission of sins and on a no less absolute
change of heart. — When I will make ; rather, will
complete. The word here used is not the same as
in ver. 9, which is rightly 'made,* nor yet as in
ver. 10, where the word means establish a
* covenant.' It may be added, however, that the
three different Greek verbs used here are taken
from the LXX., and that all represent one and the
same Hebrew verb. Nor is tne * with * of vers.
9, 10 the same expression in the Greek. In lK>th
verses the * house of Israel * and * their fathers *
are rather recipients than co-ordinate agents. The
covenant is * for * them rather than with them,
though in a sense it was both and is so described.

Ver. 9. The old covenant differs from the new
in this — that it was broken on the one side, and
ended in indifference and displeasure on the other.
Peifect as the Law was, the Jews never kept it.
Idolatry prevailed in nearly all the earlier ages of
the theocracy, as later hypocrisy and formalism

}>revailed ; and so God withdrew the providential
iavour He had promised to show them, though
only that in the end he might introduce an

Chap. VI 1 1. i-X. i8.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

65

economy of richer grace ; whether with a corre-
spondeDt change upon the part of the ancient
people of God remains, the Epistle tells us, yet to
DC seen.

Ver. la The new differs also from the old in
this, that^a) God will write His law upon their
hearts ; {6) they shall be permanently His people,
and He will be their God (ver. ii) ; (c) the true
knowledge of God, moreover, will bmme the
common heritage of all the members of the polity
He is about to establish (ver. 12); and fourthly,
{d) a more excellent promise, itselif the beginning
and the very reason (for) of the rest ; God idU
foigiTe (will be propitious to them, and to) their
nnrightaonrawi and their dm and their law-
leHBenwill he remember no more. Sins of
every kind He will forgive — at once and for ever.
How completely this teaching agrees with Paul's
need not be shown. In Christ all is forgiven
when once men believe, and yet the doctnne b
not the minister of sin, for the faitE that justifies
is ever the beginning of renewal, the germ of a
holy life.

Ver. 12. In saying a new covenant, he hath
made the fint old. Long ago, in Jeremiah's
day, God showed by His promise of a new
covenant that the former one had done its work ;
was antiquated and virtually obsolete. And (we
know, for it is a general truth) that which is be-
ooming antiquated, which is already obsolescent,
and ifl daily growing feebler with age, is nigh to
vanishing away. It is nearing the point where
its power and its right to exist will both cease !

Chap. ix. The argument interrupted by the
preceding quotation b now resumed. The divine-
ness and the beauty of the arrangements of the
old covenant are admitted, and their significance,
vers. 1-5 ; but they belonged to thb world (ver. l)
and gave no peace to the conscience, and no free
access to Goa ; a provbional and ineffective insti-
tute awaiting the time when all should be reformed
and completed, vers. 6-10. That time b now
come. The entrance into the holiest b now
opened ; provision b made for the full forgiveness
of all transgressions, even those under the ancient
law (see ver. 15) ; and the conscience b purified
by the efficatnr of the blood of Christ, who is again
to manifest Himself to those who wait for Him,
and will bring in complete salvation, vers.
11-28.

Ver. I. Thb verse concedes the excellency of
the old economy. It had ordinanoes of divine
wotihip. The writer Speaks in the past tense,
because he looks back to the orb;inal institution
and the first tabernacle, partly also because from the
vantage ground of the new covenant the old
seems ob^lete — and its holy place of this world.
As the writer b commending the first covenant,
' of thb world' can hardly be onl^ depreciatory.
The word used, when not used ethically, describes
the world in its order and beautv ; and thb is part
of the thought : of thb world indeed, and yet
costly and beautiful. Compare a similar word in
I Tim. iii. 2, 'orderly' . . . The words at the
b^inning of the verse — ' The first covenant then
indeed ' — are concessive and resumptive, taking up
the thought in chap. viiL 7 and 13.

Ver. 2. The writer first notes the beauty of the
holy place, and then (ver. 6) the holy ordinances
of tne service. For a tabernacle was prepMed
with two apartments, the first wherein were the
pandlestiok (the golden candelabrum, with its
^OL. IV. 5

upright shaft and six branches, three on each side,
crowned with seven lamps : Solomon's temple had
ten of those lamps ; Herod's, again, but one), and
the table (of acacia and overlaid with gold) and
the shewbread (the loaves as set forth and pre-
sented before God), whidi part of the tabernacle
is called the holy place.

Ver. 3. And titer (generally of time, here of
place, behind) the second veil, the same taber-
nacle, which is called the holy of holies (the
holiest of all) ; having (belonging to it, not
necessarily * in it ') a gcSden censer or an altar
of incense. The word means either ; and inter-
pretations differ. Incense was taken by the high
Eriest into the holy of holies from the very first,
ev. xvi. 12, 13, but a golden censer is not nanud
in the Law, and only in the ritual of the second
temple. On the other hand, if we take the other
meaning, * the altar of incense,' thai stood not in
the holy of holies, but without the veil ; though
it was regarded as belonging to the inner sanctuary
(I Kings vi. 22), and was sprinkled with the blood
on the Day of Atonement— And the ark of the
covenant (so called because it contained the two
tables of the Law) overlaid on all sides (without
and within, Ex. xxv. 11, and with a colden rim
or border, Ex. xxxvii. 2) with gol{ wherein
was a golden pot having the manna and
Aaron*8 rod that budded. All these were in the
holy of holies in the time of Moses. The first
temple also possessed the ark (though not the
manna or Aaron's rod, I Kings viii. 9). In the
second temple the ark was wanting. — And the
tables of the covenant, the stones on which the
ten commandments were written by the finger of
God : mentioned last, because the writer is enu-
merating the things that were most costly and
beautiful.

Ver. 5. And np over it (the ark) ohembim of
glory overshadowing the mercy-seat These
'cherubim' were connected with the Shekinah,
the vbible glory of God. They were two in
number, one at each end of the mercy-seat, and
were b^ten out of the same mass with it A wing
of each stretched over the mercy-seat till both met
in the middle ; their faces were opposite each
other, and they looked downwards on the mercy-
seat between them (Ex. xxv. 18-20). The mercy-
seat was the lid or cover of the ark. On this the
Divine glory rested as on a throne. It was by
sprinkling the blood on and before thb covering
that the atonement for the nation was completed
(Lev. xvi. 14, 15) : and it was there that God
manifested His presence and revealed Mb will
(Ex. xxv. 22), and showed his favour (Ps. Ixxx. i).
The glory above, the tables of the covenant, called
also of testimony below, and the place of propitia-
tion between, with all the vesseb of the service,
had each its lessons, but tlie writer cannot now
discuss them.— Xlf which one cannot now speak
severally — in detail. Everything was made under
Divine direction (Ex. xxv. 8, 9), everything had
significance. Some are explained elsewhere. But
the writer hastens on to the ordinances of worship,
and above all to the superiority of the great atoning
work of the new economy.

Ver. 6. Meanwhile he notes the weakness of the
old covenant and its fitness for this world only
(vers. 9, 10). And now all these things— the
apartments and their contents — having been thus
prepared or arranged, into the first tabernacle
the juriests go in continoally, aocomplishing

66

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. VIII. i-X. la

(perfonning) the services. The ordinary priests are
enterin^contintially, t>. withoutlimits prescribed by
law, twice at least every day (Ex. xxx. 7), to do the
appointed service, sprinkling; the blood of the sin-
ofiering before the veil, dressing the lamps, burning
incense on the golden altar, and once a-week
changing the shewbread.

Ver. 7. But into the Becand tabernacle, the
holy of holies, the high priest alone once in the
year. Into this second part none of the priests
were allowed to enter or even to look ; but the
high priest alone, and he only on one day — the
tenth day of the seventh month (Lev. xvL 29). On
that day he entered within the veil at least three
times — first with the censer of burning coals and
the incense, that the cloud might cover the mercy-
seat and intercept the Divine glory (Lev. xvi.
12, 13) ; then with the blood of the bullock, which
he sprinkled seven times before the mercy-seat
(ver. 14) ; and then with the blood of the goat,
which also he sprinkled on and before the mercy-
seat (ver. 15), so that not without blood which
he offereth for himself and for. the errors of the
people. It was his business to make atonement
for sin, and this could not be done without blood.
Nor was it enough that the blood should be shed
at the door of the tabernacle ; the high priest had
to carry with him a portion of it within the veil,
and there offer it by sprinkling it on and before
the mercy-seat. And this atonement was made
for himself and his house, i.e, the priests generally,
and then for the sins of the people (Lev. xvi. 6, 14).
Within the holy place the blood was sprinkled
once upwards ; seven times backwards before and
on the mercy-seat The horns of the altar were
anointed with the blood of the two sacrifices, and
the same mingled blood was sprinkled seven times
before it, and then the remainder of the blood was
poured out at the foot of the altar of burnt-offering.
Thb offering of the blood is said to have cleans^
the people once a year from all their sins (chap,
vi. 16-34). Here the statement of the Law is re-
stricted to sins ofignorance — 'errors,' a term describ-
ing offences committed in no defiance of the Law,
or with only a partial knowledge of their turpitude.
They are thus marked off from those capital
offences and presumptuous sins for which no pro-
visions of mercy was made ; in which, dierefore,
the sinner died without mercy (Num. xv. 27-31 ;
see also Heb. x. 28).

Ver. 8. The Holy Ghost this signifying, U,
by the arrangement which excluded all from the
sanctuary except the high priest, who entered only
on one day in the year — ^that the way into the
holiest — heaven itself, the true antitype, not the
holy of holies — ^hath not yet been made mani-
fest, whQe as (an archaism, like whnt as [and the
modem form whereas\ stating time during
which, with a slight intimation that the thing
stated is the reason of the result) the first tahnur-
naole, i,e. the holy place separated from the
holy of holies, is still standing— these present
tenses all call attention to the continuance of the
Jewish worship and to the need of its ceasing.
That is, whUe there is a distinction of tabernacle
and tabernacle with a veil between them, and a
hidden glory, there is no freedom of access.
Let the veil be removed, and then the two taber-
nacles will become one ; and so the first will be
done away ... To refer the 'first tabernacle' to
the old covenant neither suits the usage of the
context nor the description given elsewhere of the

'heavenly things* which are prior to the first
tabernacle.

Ver. 9. The which tabernacle is a flgme
f literally a parable, an arrangement with a lesson)
for, i.e, in reference to (or lasting till) the time
[now] present, or [then] present, for neither is
expressed. Either makes good sense. The former,
' now present,' better suits the writer's purpose ;
the latter, ' then present,' has found most favour
with the commentators. The arrangement might
have taus;ht those who first witnessed it (then
present) that the g^ts and sacrifices which are still
being offered (present tense) could not meet the
needs of the human conscience or give free access
to God. The arrangement teaches us ('now'
present) the same lessons imposed, as it is till the
luhiess of the time when all is to be rightly
arranged and with better results. And aocoiding
to wmch parable (or tabernacle, i,e. a holy place
with the holy of holies veiled and inaccessiole —
either meaning gives the same lessons, and the
Greek admits either) were offered gifts and
sacrifices which could not give peace to the con-
science or satisfy God's justice.

Ver. 10. And the reason is plain, being only
with meats, and drinks, and divers washings
(or baptisms, a reference to the legal and tradi-
tional ^conditions of eating and drinking, comp.
I Cor. viiL, and CoL ii. 16-23, and to the various
baptisms commanded by the law both for people
and priests).— Gamal ordinances. They may
have been performed in a right spirit They may
have been accompanied by some spiritual blessing.
But they were mainly material, not spirituaL
They purified die flesh and not the spirit They
failed to meet the demands of the awakened con-
science and to brin^ back that blessed fellowship
with God which sm destroys. Burdensome in
themselves (so the word ' imposed ' means, conm.
Acts XV. 10-28), they were also inadequate for
spiritual purposes. They were imposed on men
to prepare them for better things, and for a better
time, when all is to be put right in the conscience,
in the life, and with God.

Such is the earthl}^ sanctuary and its ordinances.
The contrast, the time of reformation—not 'a
time,' as if there were several, not quite ' thi time ; '
the Greek simply marks the quality of the time
itself — ' until what is to prove God's set time,
when all is to be made straight ' — is described in
the following verses.

Ver. II. Here begins the true antithesis to the
preceding verses, though ver. 6 marks a contrast
of another kind. That old economy was earthly,
glorious indeed, but (ver. 6) ineffectuaL The
new economy has to do with another tabernacle
not of this creation, with other blood, with a fax
completer redemption, and with the purification
of the conscience and of the life (vers. 11-14). So
it introduces a new covenant and a heavenly
sanctuary (vers. 1^-20), with complete forgiveness
(ver. 26); and the only thing that remains is
Christ's reappearance to complete salvation (vers.
27, 28). — Bat Christ having oome (having
appeared, a word used to describe the appearance
of any one in history or on some important stage
of life. Matt. iii. I ; Luke xii. 51^, a high priest
of the good things to come (not things that
belong to the future state chiefly, but in conformity
with Uie Jewish mode of speaking of them while
they were^et future, the things uat belong to the
new covenant, extending indeed into the heavens

Chap. VIII. i-X. 18.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

67

and the distant future, but begimune here and
now), by a greater and a more peneot taber-
nacle not niade with hands, that is, not of this
ereatlan (s£e under ver. 12).

Ver. 12. Hot yet by the blood of goats (put
first because most characteristic of the Dav of
Atonement, Lev. xvi. 5, etc. — the two goats which
made one sacrifice) and calves (called in ver. 13
trails ; both were males, one of the first year and
the other of the second), bat by his own blood
(the same expression as in Acts xx. 28, so chap.
xiiL 12) be entered in onoe for all, etc., %,e, by
services of a greater and more perfect tabernacle —
neither of human workmanship nor of created
materials. Some regard 'by ' or 'through' in ver.
1 1 as Uctd; but the use of Uie same preposition in
ver. 12 in the instrumental sense is against this
view. Those who regard it as local interpret
difierently: 'Through Christ's body' (the true
temple) is the common Patristic interpretation.
Through the Church; or the world, the outer
temple of the Creator ; through the lower regions
of the heavens ; through the worshipping place
of blessed spirits (Delitzsch), have all their advo-
cates. Some who understand through as 'by
means of^' render by means of Christ's human
nature — ^the outer dwelling-place of God. But
the inteipretation.given above is simpler and more
natural. We know that Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands (ver. 24), but into
heaven ; and so it b not by the services of an
earthly tabernacle, but by the services of a
taberxiacle far grander and more perfect He pre-
sents His ofTering and seeks forgiveness. — And
having obtained (an emphatic form of expression
impljring energetic effort) eternal redemption
ferns. ^1 here is in contrast, and the results
not least. The Jewish high priest gained a
pardon for the sins of the jrear, such a pardon as
cancelled all ceremonial sin, fleshly defilements,
and retained or regained for his worshippers their
y^iMOt in the theocracy ; but Christ, by the one
sacrifice of Himself, has obtained for us an ever-
lasting deliverance from the guilt of sin, ending in
a complete deliverance from the power of it, and
that at the price of Himself or of His blood. He
cave Himself for us, and He gave His blood,
dying in our stead that we might live. Both
expressions are scriptural (lit ii. 14 ; Eph. i. 7).
The word here translated redemption (deliverance
by payment of the price, by giving 'satisfieu:tion,'
Num. XXXV. 31, 32) is the shorter form (Xvrf«rif);
the longer form XjkMtXi^fmnt) is used in ver. 15,
and again in a lower sense in chap. xi. 15. Both
forms are found in Sl Paul's Epistles, Redemp-
tion is obtained for us when Christ enters into the
holy place, as redemption is made ours when His
blood is applied to our consciences ; both truths
are consistent with the other teaching that atone-
ment— expiation — was made when He died for
our ans.

Ver. 13. For If . . . and the ashes of a
heiliBr, BprinkUng them that have been defiled,
saactiflelh nnto (ut, so as to secure ; the full
expression implies result, not purpose) the pnrity
of the flesh. This case of the 'ashes of the
heifer ' is one of the most suggestive symbols of
the Law, and is well worth examination (see Num.
xix.). The heifer without spot, slain by the
priest without the camp, its blood sprinkled in the
direction of the tabernacle, the animal itself burnt
with solcBm rites, its ashes laid up in a dean place

to be used with water in cleansing those who had
been defiled by contact with a dead body, itself a
symbol and a result of sin — all are instructive,
and all was done to secure an outward ptuity
only.

Ver. 14. How mnoh more shall the blood of
Christ . . . oleanse your oonsdenoe from that
impurity which shows the inward man to be as a
dead corpse, producing only such works as have nO
pulse, no power or feeling of true and higher life.
The context gives to ' dead works ' in this passage
a slightly different meaning from that in chap. vi. i.
And the purpose of this process is to secure not
the common service of the Jewish worshipper —
the service of an outward life ; but the mward
spiritual service of the living God— of God not as
veiled and in symbols, but of God in His reality
and holiness. Such is the work of Him who,
through the eternal Spirit, oflbred himself
without spot (I Pet. i. 19) unto€k)d. 'Throu^
the eternal Spirit ' has* been variously explsiined.
Through the Holy Spirit — say some — ^which was
given to Him ' without measure,' or by which He
was quickened and raised from the dead, and so
entered into the holy place. Others, however,
regard the expression as describing all in Christ
that was not human — His higher nature. His
Divine personality. This view is favoured by the
double fact that it is the writer's purpose to
describe the intrinsic excellence of His offering,
and that elsewhere ' the Spirit ' is used in this
sense when applied to our Lord. As to His flesh
— His human nature — He was son of David ; as
to the Spirit, what in Him vras not human nature.
He was the Son of God (Rom. i. 3, 4 ; i Pet.
iii. 18 ; I Tim. ill. 16). The victims of the Law
gave up an animal life all unconsciously. Christ
gave Himself, His own will and heart consenting —
not the man only, but all that was Divine in Him :
His higher nature which, before time, acquiesced
in the purpose of the Father, and that same nature
now a conscious agent in effecting it

Ver. 15. And lor this cause (for the reason
that His blood is thus efficacious, ver. 14, or
because He has performed this great work, vers.
11-14) he is mediator of a new (emphatic)
covenant, in order that^ death having taken
place (viz. His own) for redemption from (or ex
piration of) the transgressions under the first
covenant, they that have been called ('par-
takers of a heavenly calling,' chap. iii. i) may
receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
The first covenant left its transgressions unfor-
given. It waited for the offering that had
efficacy. The death of Christ, therefore, has a
double work. It is offered once for all, and
extends its efficacy forward to the end of time and
backward to the entrance of the Law. It is the
procuring cause of forgiveness for all dispensations
(see Rom. iii. 24-26). The emphasis of the last
words is on ' may receive the promise,' i.e, be
put in possession of what was promised — the
eternal inheritance, the blessing of the Gospel,
'the good things to come,' including the eternal
life, which is the completion of them all. ... As
the writer is speaking of the Old Covenant, those
' who are called ' refers properly to the Jews, but
the principle applies to the Gentiles also, and to
all economies.

Ver. 16. And it is a covenant — with all the
requisite validity. For where a covenant is^
there must also be (brought in— or, there is

68

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. VIII. i-X. 18.

necessarily implied) the death of the covenanting
▼ictim.

Ver. 17. For a covenant U of force over the
dead (or on the condition that some persons (or
things) have died), flinoe it has no avaU at all
while the covenanting victim liveth.

Ver. 18. Whence neither hath the first cove-
nant heen inaugurated (or ratified) without
blood. Those verses are specially difficult. The
logic of the passage seems to require the rendering
now given. It does not follow that because a
testator must die before his will can take effect,
therefore the first covenant was inaugurated with
blooid. ^«#if»ff, moreover, is everywhere else
in Scripture ' covenant,' as it is in the immediate
context, and it seems better to keep to that
meaning throughout : all the more as the notion of
a will, though familiar to Western civilisation, was
not familiar in countries where each child's portion
was settled by law. There are difficulties, how-
ever, on the other side. * Covenanting [victim] '
is not a known meaning of the word here used.
It means generally a covenanting person or a
testator. * Over the dead ' is commonly used also
only of deeui men. Both difficulties are lessened,
however, by the peculiar facts of the case. All
solemn covenants under the Law were made
valid by the death of a victim which represented
the covenanting persons, and pledged them on
peril of their lives to faithfulness ; and so ' the
covenanting victim * is spoken of under the same
name as the covenanting person — the one repre-
senting the other. If the rendering 'testament'
is preferred, and ' testator,' it is best to r^;ard vers.
16 and 17 as an illustrative argument, a parallel
case, suggested partly by the mention of an in-
heritance and partly by the double meaninc^ of
the Greek word {covenant or testament), which is
applied to any arrangement or distribution by will,
or in any other way.

Ver. 19. Por (a proof of the assertion in ver.
18) when every commandment had been spoken
by Moses according to the law (as the law
directed, without any variation from it) unto all
the people, he took the blood of the calves and
the goats (these last are not expressed in Ex. xxiv.
6-8, but are implied in v. 5) with water and
scarlet wool and hyssop (those details are not
named in Ex. xxiv. 6-8, but each is given else-
where. Either Crod commanded Moses to do
these things, as they were done later, or the
\KTiter is giving in brief a summary of the whole
law as at first instituted), and sprinkled both
the book itself (which probably lay on the altar)
and all the people.

Ver. 20. The design of this sprinkling is now
explained — Saying, This is the blood of the
oovenant which God (the Hebrew is Jehovah, and
the Greek * the Lord ; ' probably God is used to
preserve the O. T, character of the quotation;
the N. T. covenant, the Supper especially, is con-
nected with ' the Lord ') commanded to you-ward.

Ver. 21. Moreover, the tabernacle and all the
vessels of the ministry (the service) he sprinkled
in like manner with blood (probably later : it
was certainly done every year, Lev. xvi. 16-20.
Josephus, however, gives the same fact as occur-
ring at the inauguration of the covenant, and in
very similar wonk, Antiq. iii. 8, 6).

Ver. 22. And according to the law almost all
things (some were purified with water, Ex. xix.
10, etc. ; others with water and the ashes of the

heifer. Num. xxxi. 22-24; but the things
which were specially appropriated to the worship
of God) are cleansed with (in) blood ; and apart
Acom shedding of blood— the word here brings
up the language of the Lord's Supper, *Sh»l
for you* (Luke xxii. 20)— there is no remission
(forgiveness). The 'almost' of the first clause
applies also to the second (see Lev. v. 11-13).
The need of blood and the significance of it may
be seen in Lev. xvii. ii.

Ver. 23. The patterns ; rather, the representa*
tions, the heavenly things themselves beii^ the
original ' patterns shown to Moses in the mount '
(viii. O, whence the earthly copies were taken :
but the heavenly things themselves (heaven
and the things therein, see ver. 24) by better
sacrifices than these. How the heavenly things
need purifying has been much discussed. The
simplest explanation is that the heavenly things
received purification through the blood of Christ,
in the same sense as the tabernacle received
purification through the blood that was offered in
It. The tabernacle had no impurity of its own.
It needed purifying because of the uncleanness of
the people, and b^use of the uncleanness which
the entrance of the people without atonement
would have introduced. Forgiveness without
atonement would have sullied the holiness of God.
By the blood of Christ God b just while justifying
the ungodly. The place that was unapproach-
able by reason of our sin, is made free to the
guiltiest : but for this purpose there were needed
sacrifices better Car than those that Aaron
offered.

Ver. 24. * The heavenly things : * for not into
a holy place made with hands did Christ enter,
like in pattern (answering to the original, ' the
typical form') to the true, now to show (to
manifest) himself before (the face of) Gk)d for
us ; His passover our offering, and by virtue of
*the Eternal Spirit — His own Divine nature,'
with all the power of an endless life.

Ver. 25. And as Christ has not entered into
the holy place made with hands, neither has ho
enterea into heaven that he should offer him-
self often (the reference is not to His dying, but
to His presenting Himself and His blood. The
dying is named later, ver. 26), just as the high
priest entereth into the holy place year by year
with blood of others {i.e. * not his own,' as the
Syr. renders it); else must he often have
suffered since the foundation of the world.
As His blood was His own, and as His death was
essential to the offering of Himself, and necessary
in order that He might have something to offer
(viii. 3), He must in that case have often suffered.
The contrary, however, is the fact. — But now,
the case is that once for all at the end (the com-
pletion) of the ages which have elapsed since sin
entered, antediluvian, patriarchal. Mosaic, hath
he been manifested, i.e. in our flesh (i Tim. iii.
16 ; I Pet. i. 20), for the putting away of sin
in its guilt and power by the sacrifice of himself.

Vers. 27, 2S. And there can be no second
dying, and so no second offering of Himself unto
God. Such an arrangement would be against all
analogy and all experience. Since man as such
can die but once, so must it be with the Ohrist
also : for in all things He b made like unto His
brethren. And as it is the judgment which awaits
all men beyond the grave, so there is no second
self-offering of Christ between (h^ First Advent

Chap. VIII. i-X. 18.]

and the Second. As human life with all its works
comes to an end in death, and only judgment re-
mains ; so the atonement of Christ is complete,
and nothing remains but for Him to return —
and judge. But no ; the writer does not care to
end sa He shall appear to them that wait for
Him, unto complete salvation.
All here is still in contrast When the high

Snest returned from the Holy of Holies after
aving made atonement there, he made a second
atonement in his priestly robes for himself and his
people (Lev. xvL 24), *for the sins of his most
noly things.' When Christ appears coming forth
from His holy place, He will appear without
sin, and therefore without a sin-offering, and
completing the blessedness of those He has re-
deemed!

Chap. x. i-iS. We now reach the conclusion of
the argument, which is also in part a repetition.
Christ s offering of Himself, as contrasted with the
yearly offerings of the Law, is the completion of
the will and purpose of God (vers. i-io). Christ's
priestly service, as contrasted with the daily ser-
vices of the priests, oft-repeated and all imperfect,
is for ever perfected by His one priestly act, and
in His kingly authority (11-14); and His finished
work is the inauguration of a New Covenant, in
which the law being written on the heart, and
sin pat away and forgotten, no further offering is
needed or allowed (15-18).

Ver. I. For — a particle that connects the argu-
ment with the last verses of chap. ix. I'hc
sacrifice of Christ will not be repeated, we are told
in ix. 28. Nor need it, is the statement here —
the law having, as we know it has, a shadow
only — a mere outline of the good things which
belong to the world to come (chap. vi. 5), of
which Christ is High Priest (ix. 11), not the very
image—the very fonn — of the things, t.e, the
heavenly realities themselves (comp. Rom. viii. 29),
they can never — at any time or anyhow — with
the same sacrifloei year by year which they offer
con tiim ally — words that describe the ever-recur-
ring cycle of the same sacrifices for sin — make
pemet thoee who are ever drawing nigh to God.

Ver. 2. Else woold they — these same sacrifices
— not have ceased to be ofEsred, because the wor-
siiimfien — ^both priests and people — would have
had no longer any oonsdenoe — any conscious-
ness of the guilt — of sin being once for aU
completely porifled f The whole clause is best
treated as a question, as is clear from the next

TO THE HEBREWS.

69

Ver. 3. Bat, on the contrary, there is in those
sacrifices a remembrance made— a recalling to
mind, on the part of the worshippers and on God's
part-»-€f sins year by year.

Ver. 4. Nor could it be otherwise, for the
sacrifices themselves are inherently defective.
This teaching mayseem to contradict the statement
that * the blood upon the altar ' makes an atone-
ment for the soul (Lev. xvii. Ii), and is appointed
(' given *) for that purpose. The fact is, that the
blood of the bullock or of the goat (the sin-offer-
mg on the Dav of Atonement) could not weigh
against the guilt of a nation, or even of a single
worshipper. It could only sanctify to the puri-
fying of the flesh (ix. 13), restoring the sinner to
living membership with the literal Israel. It
cancelled ceremonial guilt, not spiritual sin, and
gave legal outward purity, not spiritual regenera-
tion. The annual sacnfice was only a shadow

and prophecy of another sacrifice, in which the
Divine will was to be perfectly accomplished.

Ver. 5. Wherefore, let me describe, says the
writer, in O. T. language, the voluntary offering
of Christ and His setting aside of the offerings of
the law — ^when coming into the world — the
incarnate Messiah, to do the will of His Father-^
he saith. Sacrifice (victim) and offexing (gift)
then desiredst not. This langusq^ and the
language of ver. 6 has created dimcultv. All
these offerings were commanded, and were
offered accordmg to the Law (ver. 8). Why then
did not God desire them ? or find pleasure in
them ? When offered indeed in hypocrisy, to the
neglect of moral obedience, or when trusted in for
righteousness and acceptance, they were, as we
know, rejected. But these reasons are not
assigned here. The explanation, therefore, is to be
sought elsewhere. It is of atonement for sin the
writer is speaking. In sacrifice or mere suffering
God cannot delight, and if it is spiritually power-
less, insufficient to atone for sin, it is useless,
and may even be worse than useless. In whole
burnt-offerings (see Lev. L 16, 27), in sacrifices
for sin of whatever kind (sin-offerings, Lev. iv. 3,
20, etc ; trespass-offerings. Lev. v. 15 ; peace-
offerings. Lev. iii., vii. 11-23), Cod had no
pleasure, because none, no one, nor all combined,
were an adequate propitiation. But when Christ
came in the body which the Father had prepared,
and to offer the sacrifice of Himself, the Father
declared that in Him at every stage He was well
pleased (Matt. iii. 17, xvii. 5) ; and so because of
His * obedience unto death,* He became Lord
over all. The clause, 'a body hast Thou pre-
pared for me,' has created difficulty. The present
Hebrew text is, ' My ears hast Thou opened or
pierced.' The rendering 'pierced' is supposed to
refer to the man who became a life-long servant
under the circumstances described in Ex. xxi. 6,
etc. ; but this view is not favoured by the plural
form * my ttirr,' nor is the Hebrew word here used,
the usual word for ' piercing. ' ' My ears hast Thou
opened ' is therefore the better rendering, describing
as it does hearty and devoted obedience, as in Isa.
L 5. It is not easy to explain the change in
the Septuagint. Perhaps the Greek text better
represents to a Greek reader the general sense.
Perhaps there has been confusion in copying
Greek Mss., or possibly some later alteration of
the Hebrew. Each theory has its advocates.

Ver. 7. Then said I, Lo, I am come (in the
volume or roll of the book it is written of me)
— the book of the ancient Law from Moses down-
wards (see Acts iii. i8 ; I Pet. i. 11) — ^to do thy
will, 0 God. To do the will of God is to obey
His commands, and especially in this context the
command to lay down His hfe (John x. 17, xiv.
31). It is on this one thing the writer is insisting.
That He might render this obedience a body was
prepared for Him, and a nature capable of those
sufierings both in heart and in life which were
necessary to expiate sin, and fulfil the one right-
eousness whereby many were to be made
righteous. This was, indeed, the chief design of
His coming (Matt. xx. 28 ; I Tim. i. 15).

Ver. 8. The writer now comments on the
quotation : Saying above as he {i.e. Christ, see
ver. 5) does say, etc. IVhich is more than the
relative — it describes quality, and makes this
remark apply to all offered under the Law — then
and now (present tense).

70

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. X. 19-39.

Ver. 9. Then saitli he (literally, hath He said),
He (that is, Christ) taketh away the fint, that
he may estahUeh (set up) the aeoond. Legal
sacrifices are abolished that there may be substi-
tuted for them, the will — the good pleasure of God,
which Christ came to do by the one sacrifice of
Himself.

Ver. 10. In which will, and in the accomplish-
ment of it, we have been and are sanctified — freed
from the guilt of sin (and so we are said to be
sanctified in Christ Jesus, i Cor. i. 2) and made
morally fit for God's service — ^by the offering of
the body of Ohrist, ' which Thou hast prepared
for me,' onoe for all.

Vers. 1 1- 14. With this appropriate result — that
He is exalted as Priest and King to the right hand
of his Father. ^And every priett (* high priest '
has less MS. authority and is less appropriate)
■tandeth (not permitted to sit in God s presence
as if he were at home and his work were done),
ministering and offering oftentimes, morning
and evening, day after day, the same saciifioee,
with no result All that were offered had the
same deficiency — that they conld nohow and
never strip on all ronnd, take clean away the
guilt of sins. Some sense of relief, some hope
Uiey might give ; but the sin itself still clung to the
worshippers.

Ver. 12. Bat he (this Priest) having offered one
■acrifice for sins for ever, took his seat on the
right hand of Ck>d, an evidence of the complete-
ness of His work, which left no room for another
sacrifice or for the repetition of His own. His
priesthood indeed contmues, and the presentation
of His sacrifice — ' the perpetual oblation ; ' but
His atoning work is over. * For ever,* in per-
petuity, uninterruptedly, may be connected with
'took His seat,* but the usage of this Epistle is to
connect it with the words that precede, vii. 3, x. i.

Ver. 13. Not a second time can He suffer : Only
waiting as he now is till, in fulfilment of the Divine
promise (Ps. ex. i), his enemies be made the
footstool of his feet The Jewish priest stood
fearful and uneasnr in the holy place — hastening
to depart when the service was done as horn a
place to which he had only temporary access.
Christ sits as at home, having completed His work
and now awaiting His full reward.

Ver. 14. For 1^ one offering he hath perfected
for ever, in unbroken continuance, them that are
being sanctified. Here the word used is the

present participle — not as in ver. 10^ the perfect —
and calls attention to the progressive purification
that belongs to the redeemed. The word ' sancti-
fied * implies both the imputed and the imparted
righteousness of Christ. When the perfect is
used, and we are said to be sanctified m Christ*
imputed purification from the guilt of sin is the
predominant thought ; when the present is used,
It points rather to the subjective process whereby
Christ's work is realized in the peace and holiness
of believers.

Vers. 15-17. And with this teaching agrees the old
prophetic word which makes inward holiness and
absolute forgiveness the most characteristic marks
of the new covenant whereof the Holy Ohost alio
bears us witness — then follow passages that have
been (quoted before (viii. 12). The verbal differ-
ences m the two quotations are suggestive, though
they do not change the general sense. For ' with
the house of Israel ' (viii. 10) we have now ' with
them,* so that the promise is denationalized and
wider. In the earlier passage the mind is first
influenced, and then the heart ; in the later, the
heart is first changed and then the mind. Both
are changed — is the truth common to the two
passages. The order alone differs. Even this is
suggestive. Renewal and forgiveness are really
contemporaneous, 'llie faith that renews is also
the faith that justifies. The dead letter is written
on the heart, and becomes a living spirit ; and con-
temporaneous with this great change, and the
effect of the same faith, sin is not only forgiven, it
is forgotten and remembered no more. Other
sacrifices are remembrances of sins ; this sacrifice
is the complete obliteration of them alL

Ver. 18. And plainly where tiiere is fosgiveneH
of these, there is no need of further atonement ;
and the sacrifices of the Law which were instituted
to meet and deepen man's sense of a need they
could not satisfy, and which secured at best out-
ward forgiveness only, are for ever done away.

Here ends the threefold central argument ot
the Epistle, that Christ is a Priest after the order
of Melchisedec, not of Aaron, viL 1-25 ; that He
is the Mediator of a better covenant, viL 26-ix.
12 ; and that His sacrifice is of everlasting
efficacy and is fittingly followed by His kingdom,
ix. 13-X. 18 : the first eighteen verses of ^apter
X. being devoted to a repetition ol the main
positions and to the confirmation of Uiem from
the Old Testament

Chapter X. 19-39.

Practical Lessons, x. 19-39. — Grmndsfor Stcdfastness, and Means of
promoting it, and Motives, vers. 19-21, 22-25, 26-39.

19 T T AVING therefore, brethren, ''boldness to enter * into the •IS'il'iV

20 JTl holiest* by the blood of Jesus, by ^a new and Hying ^^'igjia.
way, which he hath consecrated' for us, ''through the veil, that ^^^'i.^i.'iT'

21 is to say, his flesh ; and having * an high ' priest over ^ the *'^ch!*b^

22 house of God; ^let us draw near with a true heart *in full 'JS^Silv!
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled * from an evil *^

/i Tim. iii. 15. ^Ch. iv. 16. h Eph. UL xa ; Jas. i. 6 ; i Jo. iii. at. /Ch. ix. 14.

^ or^ the holy place

' inaugurated, opened

great

Ghap. X. 19-39.] TO THE HEBREWS. 71

23 consdence, and *our bodies* washed with pure water. 'Let ^f^^i^,''^;,

a Cor. vU. i.

US hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering ; (for /chTTv.

«4.

24 •'he IJ faithful that promised ;) and let us consider one another '^l^: ^ ^*

25 to provoke unto love and to good works: *not forsaking the i Them's I
assembling of ourselves together, as the manner* of some is; «A^ul'i."i;
but exliorting one another: and ''so much the more, as ye see o]^om!xm,xu

26 * the day approaching.* For ^ if we sin ' wilfully ^ after that we ^a pcl*ui.*i
have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no ^ S'uilxv. 30;

27 more* sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for* of raP^iio^
judgment and 'fiery indignation," which shall devour" the ad- «iixr?Lii,

28 versaries. ' He that despised Moses' law died " without mercy xxxw/s;

29 "under" two or three witnesses: "of how much sorer punish- iii8; '

aThes. L 8;

ment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden ^ ni-^ag.
under foot the Son of God, and "'hath counted " the blood of •^peut.xVii.

8b 6L XIX. 15 *

the covenant, wherewitli he was sanctified, an unholy " thing, M«t.xyiu.i6':

' ' . ' ** Jo. viu. \y ;

30 and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace .^ For we ^jc<w.xuui.
know him that hath" said, ^Vengeance belongeth unto me," I J^^^^^,
will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, 'The Lord shall J^,*^;^!

31 judge his people. *// is a fearful thmg to fall into the hands ^^jf^iTi.

32 of the living God. But * call to remembrance the former days, |^*» ^p^- »^-
in which, ^ after ye were illuminated,'* ye endured ''a great ''^l^^^^

33 fight" of afflictions; partly, whilst** ye were made 'a gazing- .^ul^ixxii.
stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst** Sicvf'14.^'

34 -^ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye ^gS-ul f;
had compassion of me ^in my bonds, and** *took joyfully the c\^^\
spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that *' ye have in coi. a.?.'***

35 heaven ** a better and an enduring substance." Cast not away yjm!'\"^\ ^
therefore your confidence, * which** hath great recompence of iThku-M.

36 reward. 'For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have ^aTinJ^uie.
done the will of God, ** ye might ** receive the promise. Acts.r.^i ;*

37 For * yet a little ** while, « iSl vl' ao,
And ' he that shall come will *' come, and will *• not tarry, l^. ^'^3 :

' X Tim. VI. 19.

38 Now ^ the just *• shall live by faith : * m*«- v. la.
But if any man^^ draw back, my soul shall have** no ^^"^^^'^

pleasure in him. i^&ul'ii ;

39 But we are not of them ^ who draw back '* unto perdition ; but ^^j^y
of them that '' believe ** to the saving '* of the soul. "Ki.^?/

2 Pet. iiL 9.

* body • custom • drawing nigh ' rather, go on sinning ^ ^^ W^\

• insert a * ^r, reception " ///. indignation, or, fierceness of fire g^. iiL n.
" rather, hath set at nought " dieth " rather, on the evidence of ^ *^^ "• ^
** deemed " iiV. common, £?r, unclean **^»i//hath rAcuxvLao,
" or, is mine {fls in Rom. xii. 19) " enlightened {as inyi. 4) 31 ; .
" rather, conflict *<> rather, in that, or, bemg made, and, becoming axS-'il'iV
'^ read, on them that were in bonds, and ye

** read^ that ye have yourselves •* />. possession ** the which

"may "very little «' comcth shall "shall

•• read, my just {or, righteous) one *^ he *^ hath

"Ay. of drawing back w/iAof&ith '^^r^ gaining

n

TO tH£ HEBREWS.

[Chap. X. 19-39.

Chap. H. 19-39. For nearly foor chapters the
argument has remained unbroken by those ex-
hortations which abound in the earlier parts of the
Epistle. From chapter viL I to x. 18 the reason*
ing is dose and continuous ; but the one great
purpose of the Epbtle is never absent from the
writer's mind. Here he resumes the appeals with
which the fourth chapter closes, and repeats with
characteristic differences, as su^ested by the train
of the thought, the solemn warnings of chapter
vi. 1-8.

Vers. 19-21. Having therefore (on the grounds
already named), brethren (again he puts himself
in communion with those he addresses as in
chapter iii.), oonfidence by the blood of Jeene
(see on chap. iiL 6) in respect to fgoing] the way
into the holieet, a new and liying way whieh
he first opened (or inaugurated) for ns through
the veil, that is to say nis flesh, and having a
great priest (who is at once Priest and King)
over the house of God, let us use the way that is
opened in joyous assurance (22), let us hold fast
our profession (23) and complete the graces of our
character, faith and hope (22, 23), by the love
which is the crown of all (24). Through the per-
fection of the sacrifice of Christ and His position
in heaven, where He has entered for us, we have
holy filial confidence in approaching God, — a
feeling that contrasts with the fear and bondage of
Old Testament worshippers. Christ has preceded
us (as forerunner, vi. 20), we follow along the
way He has formed and opened, knowing our-
selves to be sanctified by the one oblation of blood
which was shed on earth and presented in heaven ;
and so we have access to the holy place, which is
heaven itself (ix. 24) : there is the throne of grace
(iv. 16), and there Jesus, the Minister of the holy
places (viii. 2), appears for us. This way is
further described as a new and living way, — * new ;*
literally, * newly slain ;* but in common Hellenistic
usage the meaning is * newly made ; * and yet there
is probably a reference to the fact that it is made
with blood and yet living,— the opposite of what
is lifeless and powerless, — the way opened by
Christ which leads and carries on all that enter it
into the home above. He who is • the Way and
the Life * is not dimly described in these half-
contradictory words. — Through the veil — that is,
his flesh, has been differently interpreted. The
thing to note is that * through * does not mark
the instrument, but the intervening hindrance that
needed to be removed or rent that man might
enter — the way was through it unto God, so that
the true parallel is Matt, xxvii. 51. Christ came
in 'the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,' and it
is exactly the sin and the sinful flesh His incar-
nation and dying represent, that come between
us and God ; and when He died for sin, the veil
was rent ; and when He ascended and entered
heaven for us, it was completely taken away.
Thus it is that we are reconciled in the body of his
flesh through death (Col. i. 22).

Ver. 21. A great priest— not high priest chiefly,
for which the word high priest is always used in this
Epistle, but a priest who is enthroned at God's
right hand — over the house of God — not a servant
like Moses in the house (iii. 5, 6), but over it, t\e,
over the universal Church, including both the
heaven of glory (John xiv. 2) and the Church on
earth. We are under Christ in our earthly pilgrim-
age, as we shall be in the home above ; and indeed
we have both privileges, for we reach the inmost

recesses of the very sanctuary of God even now by
faith and prayer (ver. 22).

Ver. 22. Let ns draw near-— every hindrance
created by God*s holiness and oar own sin is re-
moved— the way is opened — let us come to God
in loving trust and holy service; and so wor-
shippers are called ' comers ' (unto God), viL 25,
X. 1, xi. 6 — ^with a tme heaart — ^free from hjrpocrisy
and double-mindedness and in harmony with the
realities of the Gospel (John L 9), being what we
seem and seeming what we ought to be, 'the
perfect heart' of Isa. xxxviii 3 — in ftill aanir-
anoe of fidth, t,e, without any diffidence as to our
right of approach or our acceptance through the
entrance and presence of our priest Hope and
love come afterwards (vers. 23, 24), ' these three,'
the usual Pauline triad (i Cor. xiiL 13 ; I Thess.
!• 3> 5> ^ > Col. i. 4). The three assurances of
Scripture, of understanding (Col. ii. 2), of faith«
and of hope, are great blessings which all
Christians snould try and perfect. All the errors
and doubts, the discomforts and fears, of Christian
men are traceable to the defectiveness of these
graces. Israel's right of access is not comparable
to ours. They were sprinkled with blood at Sinai
(chap. ix. 19) ; the pnests washed hands and feet
before every sacrificial service (Ex. xxx. 29), and
the high priest washed his body twice on the Day
of Atonement (Lev. xvi.) ; but these were external
sprinklings of blood and external washings, while
ours are operations of grace. We are sprinkled
as to our hearts, so as to be cleansed from an
evil conscienoe — an inward justifying through
sprinkling of the bluod of Christ (i Pet. i. 2)
which was shed for this very purpose, and is there-
fore called the blood of sprinkling (chap. ix. 14) :
and our bodies washed with pure water, with
reference still to the divers washings of the I^w
(see chap. ix. 10), whereby both people and priests
were purified for approaching to God, but with
deeper significance. The blood under the Law
typified the cleansing of priest and people from the
guilt of sin, and the washing typified the cleansing
of them from the pollution and defilement of it ; so
our justification through the blood of Christ is
inseparable from that inward renewal which we
call a new and regenerate nature. The faith that
justifies is always the beginning of a holy character:
both are essential to acceptable service and to
acceptable fellowship with God (for the need of
this double work, see Tit. ii. 14, iii. j). Some
commentators understand by the washing of the
body the rite of baptism (Delitzsch, Alfoi^, etc.),
and it is not improbable that this may have been
in the writer's mind ; but it is not consistent with
sound interpretation to make one rite the antitype
of another. Antitypes are spiritual realities, and
if baptism is implied at all it must be baptism in
closest connection with the grace it symbolizes ;
in short, it must be the spiritual significance of the
ordinance rather than the mere ordinance itself.

Ver. 23. 'I'hus forgiven and renewed and
sprinkled with blood, washed as with water,
heaven is ours, though only in hope (Rom. viii.
24), and what remains is thiat we hold fast the
profession of our hope (the undoubted reading)
without wavering. Those who refer the previous
clause to baptism find here an argument for that
view : ' hold fast ' the hope which you expressed
when you confessed Christ in baptism, became
conformed to Him in His death, and vowed to
walk henceforth in newness of life (Rom. vi. 3-15 ;

Chap. X. 19-39.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

73

CoL iL 12 ; Gal. iii. 27) — a good sense ; and yet
confession is generally used in this Epistle without
specific reference to baptism (chap. iv. 14, iii. i),
aiid the change of reading from * faith ' to ' hope '
points rather to the view that it is not chiefly the
tMiptismal answer they are to remember, but the
general hope in Christ which their daily life and'
speech have avowed to the world. Their hope is
not to ' waver,* but is to be stedfast (chap. iii. 14),
neither allured by worldly pleasures nor frightened
by persecutions, doubting neither the greatness
nor the certainty of the reward. — For fidthfol ia
ha that promiied — a common Pauline formula
(i Thess. V. 24 ; I Cor. L 9, x. 13, etc). A lying
god, a perjured god (chap. vi. 18), is not the God
of the covenant or of the Bible.

Ver. 24. And let ns (who have the same right
of approach, the same interest in one another's
holiness, the same common relation to one Lord —
all still depending on ver. 19) well consider
(the weakness, the capabilities, the dangers, the
predousness of the graces of one another) to pro-
▼oke onto lore, etc (in the old sense of calling
forth — literally, * to the sharpening or quickening
of love,* etc), and kind beneficent works which
are its appropriate fruiL Such provocation is the
only provocation the Gospel recognises, and it
most be carried on from proper principles and
with Gospel motives so as to confirm our faith and
hope. A loving Christian community striving for
the faith of the Gospel is sure to be stedfast (Phil.
i. 27, 28) — a loving temper is a wonderful aid to
faith. The connection between states of heart
and belief is far closer than most suppose (ver.
25), as also is the connection between faith and
the maintenance of fellowship with Christians.

Ver. 25. KotfoTBaking (the original is stronger —
not deserting, not leaving in the lurch) the as*
■emhling of yoiuselTes together^a phrase found
only here and in 2 Thess. ii. I, * Our gathering
together unto Christ.* The reference is not
chiefly to the meetings of the Church as a Church,
but to all the meetings of Christian brethren
whereby brotherly love and kindly service are
promoted— as the manner of some is — an expres«
sion which shows that it is not of apostasy as yet
the writer is speaking, but only of the indifference
which comes perilously near it and is often its
forerunner— but exhorting one another— com-
forting, strengthening, entreating, is the meaning
of the term, both by word and by example. This
is part of the pastor*s work (Rom. xiL 8 ; 2 Tim.
iv. 2 ; Tit. i 9), but not exclusively. All who
have knowledge are to admonish one another
(Rom. XV. 14). lliesame precept has been given
before (chap. iiL 12, 13), and now it is enforced
by the fact that 'the day* was seen to be ap-
proaching, the briefest description of Christ's
coming to judgment, found onlv here and in
I Cor. iii. 13 : the day of days, the last of time,
the first of eternity. And yet, as this day was
seen to be approaching, the immediate reference is
probably to the destruction of Jerusalem, of which
there were signs already in the earth and the sky
— the day so long foretold (Luke xxi. 22, and
with its signs, viii. 12) ; the day which was to
end the Jewish Church and State, and to punish
that people for their rejection of the Messiah and
their persecution of His followers ; though perse-
verance unto the end (Matt. xxiv. 13) was the only
way of escaping the calamities that were comine
upon their nation, and the still more dreadful

calamities which await those who, having been
once enlightened, apostatize from the Christian
£uth. ' The day of the Lord ' is at once the day
of complete salvation and the day of final judg-
ment ; and the expression may be used in a lower
sense — it is the day of great delivering mercy, and
it is the day of decisive judgment, and the day of
our death.

Ver. 26. For if we sin wilfWy ; rather, are
wilfully continuing in sin. It is a word which
needs to be noted. First of ail there is no ' if ' in
the passage ; it is stated as an actual case, not a
supposed one. Then the emphasis is on ' wilfullv *
and on continuance in un. In a sense all sin implies
the consent of the will for a time ; and yet there is
a distinction. Paul was a blasphemer and a
persecutor ; but he did it ignorantly in unbelief.
Peter was a true disciple, and nevertheless he
denied Christ with curses and oaths ; but not
wilfully, rather apparently through passing fear
(Matt. xxvi. 74, 75). The expression seems taken
from Num. xv. 30, 31, where sinning wilfully is
described as doing something presumptuously,
with a high hand, and by one wno despises the
Word of the Lord. The willing sinner is one
who nnU sin. Nor is it a single act that is
denounced, but a permanent state (not an aorist,
but the present), continuance in a sinful course,
and such continuance as implies apostasy. More-
over, it is the state of one who has received the
knowledge of the truth, and who knows it to be
truth (not as in Paul's case, and not as in the case
of the murderers who crucified Christ ignorantly,
and some of whom became obedient to the faith).
They were enlightened ; they received the woiti
with joy; for a while they believed (Luke viii.
13). And this 'knowledge of the truth,* it may
be added, is found only here in this Epistle,
though common in Paul's writings. Sucli was
their character ; and yet they gave up the Gospel,
trod under foot the Son of God, counted His
blood an unholy, a common, even a profane
thing, offered insult to the Spirit of grace. They
rejected that one sacrifice which completed and
ended the sacrifices of the ancient Law, against
their better knowledge, and resolved to return to
their former sinful life ; and for them there is no
longer remaining any sacrifice for sin.

Ver. 27. The only thing left is a fearful
award, an awful reservation, of Judgment and
fiery indignation (fervour of fire — flaming fire,
2 Thess. i. 8 ; the heat of the consuming fire of
God Himself, chap. zii. 29), which shall devour
those that oppose. The word 'reservation,*
' award,* is found only here in the New Testament,
though the verb is not infrequent. It always means
in common Greek reservation (in a literal or a
figurative sense), and this is probably its meaning
here. It describes not what is expected, but
what will certainly be, and in truth what is already
in reserve — *a reception of judgment.*

Ver. 28. This awful destiny which awaits wil-
ful apostates, judgment without mercy, is now
illustrated and enforced from the law. — He that
hath despised (literally, any one having despised)
Moses* law dieth without meroy upon the
testimony of (before) two or three witnesses —
not in every case ; it is simply a general principle.
Moses' Law attached to certain violations of it the
doom of death. Some eleven kinds of sin were
thus punished : — wilful murder, obstinate dis-
obedience to parents, blasphemy, idolatry, etc.

74

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. X. 19-39.

(Dent. xvii. 2-7). The phrases of this verse are
taken from this last instance, and, as the sentence
of death is said in that case to be carried out with
unusual severity, ' without mercy ' no doubt refers
to it Idolatry was treason against Jehovah, and
the idolater was an apostate from God. Apos*
tasy from Christ answers to the wilful, deliberate
idolatry of the Law, and is the sin condemned here
with a condemnation proportioned to the fuller
light and the greater pnvileges of the Gospel.

Ver. 29. Of how mnoli lorer pnnishment (a
word used only here, and meaning punishment in
vindication of the honour of a broken law ; com-
pare Acts xxii. 5). The phrases that follow
describe the acts of the apostate Christian. — He
tramples under foot (an expression of ruthless
contempt) the Son of CKkL — Him who has been
proved to be above the mediator of the old
covenant, and above angels and prophets. He
treats the sacrifice of blood under the covenant as
a common thins, nay, as a profane thing — as the
blood of one who claimed to be what the apostate
now denies Him to be, and who is, therefore, guilty
of blasphemy — the blood, moreover, wherewith
(or rather in which, i.e, sprinkled with which) he
WAB Mtnotifled (Lev. xvi. 19). What is this but
the profanation of what he himself admitted to
be most sacred. Who ' was sanctified ' ? Christ,
who did ' sanctify Himself? Hardly ; for He is
never said to sanctify Himself with his own blood;
and, moreover, the word ' sanctify * is always used
elsewhere in this Epbtle in the sense of cleansing
from the guilt of sin b^ the blood of sacrifice
(chap. ii. II, ix. 13, xiii. 12). The person,
therefore, said to be sanctified is the apostate
himself. But in what sense ? Not in the sense
of the Divine purpose or will (Stier — see chap. x.
10), not in the sense that he tramples upon blood
wherewith we believers are sanctified (Calvin) ;
but in the sense that he himself, the apostate, had
claimed and had professed to be sanctified by it.
So all the members of the first churches are
addressed as saints elect, sanctified (i Cor. i. 2 ;
I Pet. i. 2), for this was their professed character.
Similarly Peter speaks of the fruitless professor as
having been cleansed from his old sins (2 Pet. i
9), and of false teachers, who denied the Lord
that bought them (2 Pet ii. i). What men
seem to be, what men claim to be, what
men are commonly recognised as being, is fairly
quoted as an aggravation of their guilt. — They
nave done despite to (have insulted) the
Spirit of grace— the Holy Spirit, the Giver of
grace. To contemn mercy and holiness, to
return insult to Him who gives them grace, is the
sin of sins, for which, as the man has gone back
to his old state, and continues in it, there can be
no forgiveness ; as in a previous passage we have
learned that neither is there renewal (cp. vi. 6).

Ver. 30. For. This punishment is certain, and
is fulfilled and executed by God Himself. The
first quotation in this verse follows neither the
Hebrew nor the Greek text, but is the exact
rendering adopted by Paul in Rom. xiL 19. The
second is taken^ from Deut. xxxii. 36, and from
the Psalms. The Hebrew of the word • judge *
has two meanings — to exercise judgment in pun-
ishing others, and to exercise judgment on behalf
of others. The second sense may be seen in
Ps. Ixxxii. 3, 4 (compare margin), Ps. xliii i,
I Sam. zxiv. 12, 15, and is appropriate to the
passage in Dent, xxxii. 35, 36, as weH as here.

He will execute judgment on behalf of His people^
and against those who become traitofs and
blasphemers. God is Judge, b the first truth ;
and His judgment will be executed, is the second.

Ver. 31. It Is a fearfU thing to faU into the
hands of the living God. His hands represent
His powor for work, whether in love or in wrath.
To udl into His hands in fiiith is to have peace ;
but to fall into His hands in punishment is dread-
ful.

Vers. 32-39. The argument now takes a turn,
as in chap. vi. 9. The writer hopes better things.
He bids them to remember again and again their
earlier struggles and their hope of a blessra reward
(vers. 32-34). He exhorts them not to give up
their confidence (ver. 35), which needs patient
waiting for God (ver. 36); the time required
for it, indeed, is short (ver. 37), though it re-
quires faith and stedfastness (ver. 38). To
those who owe their all to faith, and who mean,
God helping them, still to believe, and so to
secure their souls from the ruin that will other-
wise overtake them, he affirms they belOi^ (ver.

39).

Ver. 32. Gall to remembrance (rather, call up
and keep in remembrance) those former days in
which, when first enlightened (as in chap. vi. 4),
ye endured, without losing heart or hope (so the
word implies), a great fight (a manifest strug^e)
of snffexing, ue, consisting in sufiering, not with
suffering as your foe (ver. 34, where it is said that
they sunered with those that were bound).

Ver. 33. Partly in that ye became a fpeetade
of shame — *• a theatrical spectacle * — a term taken
from those who were exposed in the theatre to
shameful punishment (i Cor. iv. ii) — ^in the
scornful tannts (you .suffered) and in active
persecution, and partly in that ye became
partaken (partners) with those who were living
and suffering in this way. The word ' living '
is not passive, but is repeatedly found in thQ
Epistles to describe the actual condition of a
man's life (chap. xiii. 18; 2 Cor. L 12; I Tim. iii.
15). Such ' reproach and affliction ' is recorded
in Acts V. 18, 40, and viii. 3, and xi. 19, and xxiL
19, andxxvi. 10, 11, and in the history of Paul
himself (Acts xxi. 27). All those instances must
have been familiar to Hebrew believers.

Ver. 34. For ye had companion upon thoae
who were in bonds, and ye also took JoyfUly
the spoiling (the plundering) of your goods,
knowing that ye have yourselves — or for your-
selves—the alternate reading (*in yourselves') is
certainly wron^, and 'in heaven' is probably
wrong, though it makes a good sense, and is im-
plied in the shorter reading— a better and an
abiding substance (possession. Compare Acts iv.
32 ; Luke xii. 15, where a form of the same word
is used).

Ver. 35. Cast not away, therefore, your con-
fidence (the faith and hope and boldness with
which you confessed Chnst, and) whid^ bath
(hath this quality — is among the things that have)
a great recompense of re^wd.

Ver. 36. For ye have need of patience— an
emphatic word ; when used in relation to suffering,
it describes the patient endurance which beajs
all with stedfastness and hope ; when used in
relation to active work, it describes the ' patient
continuance in well-dohig' (Rom. il 7) which
endures (a form of the same word) to the end ;
tiie former is the commoner meaning, and both

Ghap. XI. 1-38.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

TS

seem to be combined in this passage — that ye
mAj dQ the will of God and receive the promiae.
The doing and the receiving are not separated in
time ; the one crowns the other. ' The promise *
paeans the promised reward, which in a sense
is already yours ; bat the fuU possesion is still
iiiture, and the present enjoyment broken and
imperfect. Hence the need of patience and
faith, as b shown by Old Testament teaching.

Ver. 37. Plor yet a very litUe while— a phrase
that b taken from the Greek of Isa. xxvi. 20,
where it is translated, in E. V., <for a little
moment* (literally, for a little time, how little). —
He that cometh— *He that is to come*— 'the
coming One' — the name of Christ tmder both
economies — He was called 'the coming One,'
and He is so stilL The prophecy is taken from
Habakknk, where it refers to the vision of the
fidl of the Chaldean monarchy, a type for the
time of a great persecuting power, and of the
setting up in immediate sequence (as is common
in prophecy) of the Divine kingdooL —Will come
— fhoni^ it tany, wait for it. The Greek of
the Septuaeint naiakes the object of the vision a
person, and the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews makes the person the Messiah. The
day of Jdiovah in the one covenant becomes the
day of the Lord in the other.

Ver. 38. But (or now) my righteous one (he
who belongs to God's people) by faith shall
live. As it is by £uth he first gets life (as b
told ns in Rom. i. 16, 17, and Gal. iiL 11), so it
b by £uth that life b preserved in the midst of
judgments and of delays that are incident to
theoL— But if he (A. V. ' any man ')— Owen and
Gill, Winer and De Wette, prefer 'he,' which b

simpler and in harmony with the context ; the
same person b described in the two clauses —
draw oaek — ^the rendering of the Septuagint
adopts apparently a different reading of the
Hebrew text, as it does to a small extent in the
following clause. The reference of those two
clauses to the same person need create no
difficulty. The apostasy of a professed Christian
b alwa3rs possible, or warnings would be needless :
not necessarily the apostasy of a true Christian.
The perseverance of the elect b one thing ; the
perseverance of a particular person b to us
another.

Ver. 39. Bat we are not of them that draw
hack onto perdition (destruction, Rom. ix. 22 ;
Phil. I 28, iii. 19, etc.), bat of them that
believe. * We ' — the writer again includes him-
self witli them as true believers, though subject
to the same law as here b applied to his own
case ('I keep my body under, lest, having
preached the Gospel to others, I should \x
myself rejected'). 'That draw back'— 'that
believe '—each expression describes a quality or
character which originates in apostasy or faith
respectively. We are not of the character that
drawing back produces; we are of the cha«
racter 3iat faith produces.- Unto the saving of
the soul. Thb last phrase b very striking— the
gainine of possession of the soul. As the back-
slider loses his soul, — gets, instead of eternal life,
never-ending death, which yet b not annihilation,
— so the man of faith wins back his soul from
impending perdition, eains a possession that b
truly his. The man who b not God's is not even
hb own ; hb entire personality b the slave and
the property of another.

Chapter XI. 1-38.

Reasotisfar Faith. — The Nature, Objects, and Necessity of Faith. — Its Utility,

Poiver, and Blessedness illustrated, xi. 1-38.

1 ^T OW faith is the substance * of things hoped for, the evi-

2 1^ dence' 'of things not seen. For *by' it the elders

3 obtained a good report.* Through ' faith we understand that
* the worlds were • framed by the word of God, so that things

4 which are seen were not ' made of things which do appear. By
faith 'Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God
testif)nng • of his gifts : and by • it he being dead ' yet speaketh.

5 By faith ^ Enoch was translated that he should not see death ;
and was not found, because God had translated him : for before
his translation he had this testimony/® that he pleased " God.

^ or^ confidence {as in iii. 14), //'/. substance, or^ what gives substance to

• proof • in * i.e, testimony, or^ witness (as in ver. 4)

• By {as in vers. 4, 5) • have been
^ read, what is seen, andtr. hath not been

* bearing witness. Three oficient AfSS. read, he bare witness to God

* through ^^ hath this witness ^^ hath pleased

«Rom viu.a4,
as ; 3 Cor.
iv. 18, V. 7.

6 Ver. ^.

c Gen. 1. X ;
Ps. xxxiii. 6 ;

Jo. 1.3;
ch. 1. a ;
a Pet. iii. 5.

2 Ja iii. 12.

t Gen. iv. 10 ;
Mat xxili.
35 : ch. xii.

/OMI.T. 22,
M.

76 TO THE HEBREWS. [CHAP. XL 1-38.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him : for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and t/iat he is a rewarder

7 of them that dih'gently seek" him. By faith ^Noah, being ^^'^'a,
warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,"

* prepared an ark to the saving of his house ; by* the which he ** ^**-*^ •*
condemned the world, and became heir** of * the righteousness 'S**^ ."****•

8 which is by** faith. By faith * Abraham, when he was called ^SSt^U
to go " out into a place which he should after " receive for an ^ ^ *•
inheritance," obeyed ; " and he went out, not knowing whither

9 he went. By faith he sojourned " in the land of promise, as in

a ' strange country,** ** dwelling in tabernacles** with Isaac and 'aS^S^*'

10 Jacob, "the heirs" with him of the same promise: for he^Sa^/^g**
looked for a city which hath foundations,** ^ whose builder and .STvi'it.

11 maker is God. Through" faith also ^Sara herself received ''Si'.*)?^'*"
strength to conceive seed, and ''was delivered of a child when ^Sjv"xxt'»,
she was past age, because she judged" him 'faithful who had ^Jin.xriii^

12 promised. Therefore" sprang there even** of one, and 'him mlV''**
as good as dead, "so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, rRom.1v!'ai;

13 and as the sand which is by the sea-shore innumerable. These /i*. tt^i?*a:
all died in " faith, *' not having received the promises, but i»o«Sx2iLi7,

having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of tltem^^ and Kom. iv. i«.
embraced them^^ and "^confessed that they were strangers and wVer.'a/:

Jo viii. 5^

14 pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things -^declare "^jSS,^??**-^

15 plainly" that they seek a country." And truly, if they had ^2^.
been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they 5i^u"

16 might have had opportunity to have returned." But now ,^*^'J*,'^'
they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore j^'^j-
God is not ashamed " * to be called their God : for ** he hath ' ^- "^^-

13 p >s«x« Ui.

17 prepared for them a city. By faith * Abraham, when he was MiVxxii •
tried," offered" up Isaac: and he that had received the ^pha.^j|-^*.

18 promises "^ offered" up his only begotten son^ of whom " it was ^omlxxu!'!,

19 said, ''That in*" Isaac shall thy seed be called:** accounting ctilAv^t.
that God ' was able to raise ///;;/ up, even from the dead ; from '^RjHi.^"'

20 whence also he received him in a figure.** By faith -^ Isaac 'J^;.*''''''

yuen. xxvU.

" rather, seek after " godly fear '♦ />. possessor

" according to **^ obeyed and went (///. to go)

*^ was to '* />. a possession ^^ omitf see note 16

*® i,e. a temporary dweller in *^ land that belonged to another

**" ///. having his home in tents ** possessors

*♦ ///. the city which hath the foundations ** By ** deemed {as in x. 29)
*' Wherefore also ** omit even

*^ according to {as in note 15), i.e, as men die who had not received the pro-
mises, but believed in them '• omit and were persuaded of them
** read, having seen them from afar and greeted them ** make it plain
*^ are seeking after a home (a fatherland) of their own ** to return
»« insert of them ** while tried «' ///. hath offered up
** or, was offering *• or, he to whom *• or^ In simpty
^^ lit. In Isaac shall a seed be called to thee
^* he did in a figure receive him

Chap. XI. 1-38.] TO THE HEBREWS. 77

21 blessed" Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith rCeB-xwui.
Jacob, when he was a dying, ^blessed both** the sons of *jj«- »*▼**-
Joseph; and * worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 'E^%*jiiY**

22 By faith * Joseph, when he died,** made mention of the depart- *$5[.^f/ao.
ing**of the children of Israel; and gave commandment con- ^|j^jj^'jj»»*

2.'^ ceming his bones. By faith * Moses, when he was born, was »J^^««v-
hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a ''SaSS)*
proper*' child; and they were not afraid of the king's 'com- fe**°^

24 mandment By faith '"Moses, when he was come to years,** S!^??,!

25 refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; * choosing jEx'.i'»8''a9.
rather to suffer affliction*' with the people of God, than to ^**i?;****'

26 enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming *® " the \iSli^ ti,
reproach of Christ*' greater riches than the treasures in** /Ex. xiv. »«,
Egypt: for he had respect unto** ^the recompence of the Je/x/TiLii*'

27 reward. By faitK 'he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of i»Jo.h.yi. ao.
the king: for he endured, as ''seeing him who is invisible, vi. 33/

28 Through** faith 'he kept** the passover, and the sprinkling of wJo*^. ii..»'.
blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. rJud<*iv.'6.i.

* sjudg.xiii.x6.

29 By faith ^they passed through the Red sea as by dry laftd:^ «judg.xi. x,

30 which the Egyptians assaying to do *' were drowned. By faith * » sam. »vi.
"the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed '"iif^*****

31 about seven days. By faith *'the harlot Rahab perished not ''^^^JJ^^**
with them that believed not,** when "'she had received** the '^"*?siS[.'^'

32 spies with peace. And what shall I more say.^ for the time i)^'.%li3.*
would** fail me to tell of 'Gedeon, and of^^ -^ Barak, and of"' ^fsJ*„!*ii,'^.
'Samson, and of^^ * Jephthae ; of * David also, and ^ Samuel, jKhl*.^*",i*

33 and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, *Jt^|Tobxiu!
wrought righteousness, ''obtained promises, 'stopped the mouths ifJ^g^j^:S;

34 of lionSy -^quenched the violence" of fire, ^escaped the edge of ify.ia?^,
the sword, * out •* of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant r&lm.'vm!'

35 in fight,** ' turned to flight the armies of the aliens. * Women k\*^ xvu.
received their dead raised to life again : •* and others were iv's*.

' tortured,** not accepting deliverance ; '^ that they might obtain wxIS^xifif'

36 a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings xvn!o:
and scourgings, yea, moreover **of bonds and imprisonment: xxxi\^,3.

37 "they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted,** «iKin.icxLtj;

3 Chron.

*• insert both, or insert even before concerning ** each of JJ^j* J^*

^^ drawing to bis end *•///. exodus *' goodly Actsvu.*5»,'

*• grown up *• to be evil entreated *® deeming *»*• «9.

•* or^ tbe Christ ** read^ of *• looked away to

** By ** or^ bath made, i.e, instituted

•• read land in Roman type as part of the original text

*' />. trying to do {lit, of which making trial, see the same phrase in ver, 36)

" <7r, were disobedient *• having received (receiving as she did)

«• will •* omit and of " power *« Gr, from

•* mighty in war •* ///. by a resurrection

** ///. broken on the wheel, or^ beaten to death

*' lit, redemption, />. deliverance at the price [of principle]

•• Tischendorf suggests pierced, or^ burnt

78

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. XI. 1-38.

were slain with the sword : * they wandered* about ^in sheep- ' mSIul *'
38 skins and goatskins ; being destitute, afflicted, tormented ;'• (of /2cch.am.4.

whom the world was not worthy :) they wandered in deserts,
and in mountains, and ' in dens and caves " of the earth.

f I Kia. xviiL
4> XUC9'

** went {not the same ward as in ver. 38)
'^ and caves and in holes

^^ evil entreated {as in xiiL 3)

Chap. xi. i. Having affinned that our dis-
tmguishing quality as Christians b not apostasy,
but faith, and that the issue in our case is not
perdition, but the gaining of that life of the sonl
whidi apostasy threatens, he now proceeds to
show that faith is the quality of the spiritual life.
This fiuth means the belief of things still future ;
such belief as makes them realities to us : and the
evidence of things unseen, such evidence as
answers objections and produces conviction
(compare Aristotle's definition of txiyxt). It
means, among other things, patient waiting,
heroic suffering, and is illustrated by reference
to the lives and history of men of all ages and of
every economy. The words of this verse have
sometimes been regarded as a definition of faith,
or as a description of it ; but properly they are
no definition, for the terms of each proposition
are not interchangeable ; nor are they a descrip-
tion ; they rather seize upon one quality of faith
which is most appropriate for the writer's pur-
pose, and help us to understand what faith is by
calling attention to properties not peculiar to it,
but still deeply significant. Faith, then, has to
do with what is future and is an object of hope,
viz. blessine and reward. More widely, it has to
do with what is unseen, whether in the future,
the present, or the past. Similarly the things
whidi it .believes are either histoncal facts, as
'things' means in chap. vi. 18, or spiritual
realities, as 'things' means in chap. x. i. If
they are fixture and are objects of desire, they are
hoped for ; and if they are not objects of hope,
but still believed, they are things unseen. All
are unseen, whether honed for or not. So the
last clause of the verse describes the wider class.
Faith elves weight and force to what would be
otherwise unsul^tantial ; and faith is itself, in an
important sense, a proof of the truth of what it
beneves. The feeling of the solid body which
the hand sustains is itself a proof that the body is
solid. The consciousness of the light is decisive
evidence that the sun has risen — not to others,
but to the man himself.

Ver. 2. For in it. In just such and no other
faith all the heroes of the older economy were
testified of, and obtained a [good] report —
became, through their stedfastness and amid
inferior means of grace, examples to the younger
generation, ourselves (see ver. 40). The forms
of expression used to describe a life of faith are all
instructive. Here it is ' in it,' as the region or
state in which the good report and testimony was
gained ; later it is ' by it ' (vers. 3, 4, 5, etc) ;
' through it,' as the instrument — calling attention
not to 'it, but to some living force which is
behind it (ver. 33) ; * in accordance with it,' 1.^.
in such a way as faith requires or prompts (vers.
7, i^). All those phrasts are common in Paul's
writmgs— ' out of fiulh ' — ue, having its ori^n in

fiuth, another of Pftul's expressions, is also found
(chap. X. 38).

Ver. 3. Here b^in the examples of the power
and nature and ^ects of £utn. By fUui we
know tbftt the iroddt (the universe) hftTe bean
firmmed by the wwd of CM. ' The worlds ' —
all that exists in time and spaoe, indudii^ time
and space themselves (see note on chap. L 2).
' Have been firamed * — the reference is to the
preparation and completing of the world aooordine
to the design of the Founder. The word is
translated 'established' in Ps. Ixxxix. 37 —
'prepared' in Ps. Ixxiv. 16. 'By the word
of God ;' i,e. His command. The explanation
18 found in Gen. i., where nine times we read,
' God said ' . . . ' and it vras so.' It is by foith
we understand that God made the universe. The
word 'understand' describes the rational or
spiritual act of thought whereby things come to
be known : that things had an origin, that they
did not originate themselves, that they had an
originator whose ability, intelligence, and good-
ness correspond to the qualities which we see in
them, are conclusions to which our rational and
spiritual nature lead us (as we are told in Rons,
i. 20). The conclusions are of the nature of faith ;
for the process was unseen, and the oondusions
are rather to be believed than demonstrated.
When the announcement is made, however, and
we believe it, the mystery is comparatively solved ;
an ade(}uate cause is assigned, and we form a
conception of the origin of things which com-
mends itself to our ' noetic faculty, or perceptive
understanding, as certainly as it commends itself
to our religious instinct Faith, therefore, the
belief in the unseen, is as certainly a principle of
natural religion, in its rudimentary form at least,
as it is of revealed religion, it suggests the
solution of many problems. Without it the
world itself, in its origin and destinv, is a deep
mystery, a maze without a plan.— 80 that what is
seen (the true reading, the visible universe as a
whole, not many separate things) was not made
(hath not come to be) ont of the things whldh
appear. Creation abounds in change and in
development — the plant comes from the seed, and
each man from the race that precedes him ; but
the understanding of faith leads us to the con-
clusion that at the beginning it was not sa The
series is not eternal or self-created ; God Himsdf
is the Creator, and to Him and to His word the
visible creation is to be ascribed. The clause
'so that,' etc, may mean the tendencv of the
arrangement ; the arrangement itself leaos to the
conclusion ; or it may describe the purpose of the
Creator, ' in order that ' what is seen m^ht. be
understood to have come from what does not
appear — ^viz., from the Divine mind and plan;
hut the interpretation given above is the more
simple and natural.

Chap. XI. 1-38.3

TO THE HEBREWS.

79

Ver. 4. A man ezoeUent saorifioe—partakiDg
more of die quality of a true sacrifice with refer-
ence to what constitutes its excellence. Cain
ofieied of his fruits what came first to hand ;
Abd offatd of the firstlings of his flock, the
choicest and best. Cain expressed at most his
thankfulness, and that not hearty or profound ;
Abel's ^th showed itself in acknowledging his
sin and in laying hold of the Divine mercy in
the midst of what he felt to be deserved wrath ;
and thus his offering was a true sacrifice. — ^By
wUoh (£iith) it was witnened of him (the same
word » m ver. 2) that he was righteous. Wit-
iK»ed by our Lord (Matt, xxiii. 35), and later
by John (l John iiL 12), but chiefly by God
HiittKlf, as the following clause shows : — God
bimMlf testifying of bis gifts (the very expres-
sion in Gen. iv. 4)-^probabIy as God testified in
other cases (Ex. xiv. 24 ; i Kings xviii. 24, 38),
by consuming and accepting the sacrifice. — Ai^fi.
hj it (still his hith) he being dead (having
died), yet speaketh (the active voice is the true
reading). But how? Partly perhaps to us by
way of encouragement and example ; but as a
similar phrase is used in chap. xii. 24 of the blood
of Abel as speaking unto God, it seems at least
to be part ot the meaning here that through the
fiuth and the ofierings of Abel, Abel, the first
martyr, lives on afier death : through his faith he
still speaks to God ; even as Enoch still lives,
who never died at all.

Vers. 5, 6. By ftith Enoch was translated.
The language of this verse is taken from (he
Septuagint (Gen v. 22-24). 'He was not' is
there rendered ' he was not found.' The phrase
'God took him' b translated 'God translated
him;' changed corruption into incomiption,
the natural body into the spiritual. The Hebrew
pfajrase, 'he walked with God,' which probably
had no clear meaning to a Greek, the Septuagint
renders 'he pleased God,' or strove to please
Him; he lived a life well • pleasing to Him.
Nothing is said in the Old Testament of his faith ;
bat betore his tran^tion is recorded, it is re-
corded that ' he pleased God ; ' and now the
writer proceeds to show that faith was the
foundation of his God-accepted life.

Ver. 6^ But faith is essential to our well-
pleasing, and therefore Enoch had faith. Without
with there is a double difficulty; there is no
complacency on the side of God, who r^ards the
impenitent and unbelieving man as a sinner, and
on the side of man there is no trust. The logical
proof of the need of this fiuth is that who-
ever draws nigh to God to serve Him, or hold
communion with Him (see chap. vii. 19-25,
ix. 14), must believe (i) that He ts a reality
towards whom he stands in closest relation of
love and duty, and (2) that to those who seek
Him He becomes (not wH/ become) the bestower
of a fnU reward. God's being is a thing not
seen. His reward a thing ho^ for; fiuth an
assured conviction of the first, and a solid expecta-
tion of the second.

Ver. 7. Three antediluvians are named — Abel,
the penitent and martyr ; Enoch, the prophet
(Jude 14, 15) and saint ; and now is introduced
Noah, the righteous and perfect man — the first man
to whom t£s title is applied (Gen. vi 9, com-
pare Ezek. xiv. 14-20). Being waned of God
(havii^ received a Divine admonition) . . •
mowa with godly fear. The word thus

rendered is a form of the expression found in
chap. V. 7. Its meaning depends in part upon
the context, and varies from (mere prudence) the
fear that excites careful forethought (Acts xxiii.
10) to the filiid reverence of our Lord Himselfl
Here reverence for God, or what is practically the
same thing, for the message that was given to
him, best suits the passage. The rendering,
taking forethought (Delitzsch, Alford), separates
the quality from the faith, and describes worldly
caution rather than Christian grace. When things
unseen and fearful are revealed, faith believes
them, and fears accordingly. Faith works bv
fear in such cases, as it works by love. — By whicn
faith he condemned the world — not by the ark
(Chrysostom, Calvin, etc.) ; though this is true :
only it is feeble, and it b of faith the whole
chapter treats — by which fisith, as shown in this
way, is, however, the full thought He con-
demned the world, showing how the world ought
to have regarded the warnings God gave, and
how guilty they were in disregarding them. The
penitence, faith, and holiness of godly men all
condemn their opposites, and excite the hatred of
bad men on that ground. — ^And became heir
f possessor) of the rignteonsneas which is accord-
ing to faith — the righteousness which owes its
quality, as it owes its origin, to faith. All these
expressions are intensely Pauline; and it is
instructive also to note that the great doctrine of
righteousness by faith, which is not the main
subject of Uie Epistle, must have been familiar to
all its readers.

Vers. 8-22. From the elders of the antediluvian
world the writer now appeals to the elders of
Israel, the great men wno, under God, founded
the Jewish state. Theirs also was a condition
of patient trust, and ultimately of blessed reward.

Ver. & By faith Abrahism, when being
called — the reading, A€ who U caUcd^ has less
authority than the common text, though it makes
a good sense — ' he who is called the father of
nations' — obeyed and went; his confidence
showing itself in this way. — And he went out, not
knowing whither (where) he was going. When
Abraham left ChaJdea he had no promise ; that
was given afterwards in Canaan (Gen. xii. 7).
In Noah faith showed its power by the feelin?
it produced ; in Abraham by obiedience. It
works, if it be true, now through feeling, — fear,
love ; and now in an obedient life.

Ver. 9. By fiuth he received the promise, and
still waited for the fulfilment of it. ^ By faith he
sojourned (a temporary resident only) in the
land of promise (which God had given him) as
(if it were) another's (and not his own), having
his home in tents — tents without foundation —
pitched to-day, struck to-morrow. His whole
life, therefore, was a life of promise unfulfilled, and
so of patient waiting for God's time and at God's
disposal.

Ver. 10. For (the reason ofhis being a sojourner
only) he looked, or waited, for a city whidi
haul foundations, whose Builder (the word im-
plies the skill employed in building — the skill of
the architect who forms the plan, as Ae following
word implies rather the labour of erecting it) ana
Maker is God. The contrast here is first between
tents, which are easily removed, and a permanent
home, and then between an earthly tent and the
city of the living God, of which we read in chap,
xii. 22 and chap. xiiL 14. Abraham's fiu&

8o

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. XI. 1-38.

looked forward to a home for himself and his
descendants in Canaan, in the earthly Jerusalem,
with its foundations in the holy mountains
(Ps. Ixxxvii.) ; and then, beyond Canaan and his
mortal life, to the heavenly reality, of which
Jerusalem was the type — a double Jerusalem, the
one below and the other above ; of which Jews
had some knowledge, and devout Jews had strong
hope, long before the Gospel had thrown fuller
light upon these themes.

Ver. II. And what is true of Abraham, the
father of the faithful, is true also of Sarah, who
was eaually the ancestor of the chosen race.
Sarah nenelf, not ' who had so long doubted '
(Bleek, etc.), for the writer is not dealing with the
difficulty of faith, but with the necessity for it.
The expression is nothing but an extension of the
lesson of the previous verse to a new and con-
nected instance : — Sarah likewise. The expres-
sion is very common in Luke. — And when she
was past age (literally, ' and that contrary to the
time of life ') — an additional difficulty ; and yet,
in spite of her barrenness, her age, her former
incredulity (for she had laughed at the promise in
the Brst instance), she believed, and therein found
a large reward. — Deeming (as in chap. x. 29 and
xi. 26, and to be distinguished from the ' account-
ing ' of ver. 19) him faithful.

Ver. 12. "^erefore also (a common Pauline
expression, Rom. iv. 22 and xv. 22, etc.) from
one (the emphatic part) sprang there, etc. — from
a single, nay a lifeless, source sprang there a
race like the dust of the earth (Gen. xiii. 16), the
stars of the heaven, the sand on the lip (the
margin) of the sea, innumerable ; and through
faith Abraham became the father and Sarah the
mother of them all.

Vers. 13-16. The one attribute of the faith of
all these men is that it continued till death. In
faith (rather, consistently with it, still looking
forward to a glorious future as yet unrealized). —
These all (from Abraham downwards, as is clear
from ver. 15) died as not having reoMved IJie
promises (often repeated, and containing blessings
of many kinds — hence the plural ; the promises
which they did not receive are the * things pro-
mised,' as in chap. ix. 15 and Acts i. 4), but as
haying seen them from afar, and greeted (or
saluted) them, and having confessed, as Abraham
did, and Jacob (see references). They saw their
home all through their lives ; and even when
they were dying they saw their homes from afar,
and greeted them ' though distant still.'

Ver. 14. For (they proved that they lived and
died in faith) they who say of themselves that
they are sojonmeri (Gen. xxiii. 4)— of their life
that it is a pilgrimage (Gen. xlvii. 9), a wander-
ing in a foreign land, make it plain that it is a
fatherland, a true home, they are seeking, and
not the home they have left in the country of
Terah, or elsewhere.

Ver. i^. And if indeed they were thinking of
(or mentioning, as in ver. 22) that home whence
they came on^ they might have had opportunity
to return.

Ver. 16. But now (the case is that, see chap,
viii. 6) they desire a better, that is, a heavenly
(home) ; wherefore Ood is not ashamed of them,
to be called their Ood. Of old He honoured
them as His friends; Himself added to names
which describe His essential nature. His being,
and His almightiness, the surname ' the God of

Abraham and Isaac and Jacob;' acknowledged
it when given to Him by the patriarchs (Gen.
xxxii. 9) ; and now He acknowledges the same
name, and acknowledges the continuance of the
same relation (the force of the present tense),
showing their continued life and His own con-
tinued TsLVovLi ; and the proof of all (partly iierhaps
the reason but rather the proof) is that He pre-
pared for them a permanent home above — not a
tent but a city of His — and welcomed them there.
Whether all this was foreseen by the patriarchs
has been much questioned. There may be a
fulness of meaning here which the patriarchs did
not reach ; but in substance they believed that
the promise given them was the promise of a
future home, a promise connected in part with an
earthly heritage; but their desire was for the
presence and blessing of Him who was their trust,
and with whom they hoped to be when their
earthly pilgrimage was ended. Less than that
fails to explain the language of the Old Testa-
ment, as it fails to recognise the clear teaching of
the New.

Ver. 17. Thus they lived and died. The
writer now returns to particular instances, in
order to illustrate not tne final results, but the
power and heroic deeds of the faith which was
thus honoured. By fiftith Abraham being tried
(his trials were long continued), hath offered np
(the purpose of his heart was complete, and has
abiding results) Isaac ; and (intensive — ^nor only
Abraham, Isaac, but^yea) he that had gladly
received (literally, accepted, welcomed as with
open arms) the promises was offering np Us
only • begotten son. The tense now recalls
attention to the literal fact ; the work was b^gun
— a marvellous act of faith ; it was against nature
— nay, even against what seemed the Divine
purpose ; for it was through this son the nations
were to be blessed.

Ver. 18. Even he to whom (' whom ' refers in
the Greek to Abraham, not to Isaac, and there-
fore it is Uo whom,' not with respect to (ol)
whom) it was said, In Isaac (through and in
descent from him) shall there be named to thee
a seed— only his descendants shall be (and shall
be known as) Abraham's seed. To be called, is
generally used in Scripture with one of two
senses, — * to have the name,' or really to be.
Sometimes, as here, the two senses are com-
bined.

Ver. 19. And the reason was that he reckoned
the faithfulness of God to be safe in the keeping
of His almightiness ; he believed that God would
keep His word, even if it was necessary for Him
to effect a resurrection from the dead. The
statement is quite general; and, though applied
to Isaac by implication, it is a universal truth.
Whence — and from the dead he did receive him
back (used of captives delivered— of hostages sent
home), not in a literal resurrection indeed, but in
what was an equivalent ; the father's heart was
as resigned, and the bitterness of the separation
was as complete. Whether this is all has been
much disputed. Perhaps 'in a figure' has a
further reference to ' the ram ' which was offered
in his stead — the victim of God's providing, while
the son was set free ; or possibly the whole trans-
action may be a figure ot the death and resurrec-
tion of our Lord.

Ver. 20. Nor is faith restricted to trial ; it
realizes blessing also. By faith Isaac Ueised

Chap. XI. 1-38.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

81

Jacob (the heir of the greater promise) and Enu
too (the two articles of the original call attention
to distinct acts) OTon concerning things to come
— the act of faith and of prophetic faith. The
Uessing and the prayer of foith, proceeding as
they do from a mind instnicted by the Divine
mind, and from a will in harmony with the
Divine will, bind even God, and control the
latixie destinies of him on whose behalf they are
ofiered.

Ver. 21. By faith Jacob, when dying, bleaed
each of the eoni of Joeeph. The dying acts of
the two patriarchs are connected together as
worshippers (Gol xlvii. 31). — ^He worshipped
on the top of his staff, llie history explains
tills allusion. Jacob had arranged with his son
for hb own burial in the distant land of Canaan
(itself an act of faith), recognising in Canaan the
tiitare home of his posterity. When Joseph had

Siven the promise, Jacob showed the energy of
is faith by the ener^ of his thankfulness.
Though dying, he rose m his bed, leaned on his
staff (the sta$ perhaps, of which he spoke long
before. Gen. xxxii. 10), and bowed in worship
(this is the meaning of the Hebrew, Gen.
xlviiL 2) to the God who had now fulfilled all
his desires. The same word (written 'staff')
means, with other vowel pointing, ' bed ; ' and,
as the older Hebrew text had no vowel points,
the Septnagint has one rendering and the English
▼emon of the Old Testament another. The
writer adopts the version of the Septuagint. If
the English version be retained, it means that he
wonhipped, leaning on (with his face towards)
the bed. (See Isa. xxxviiu 2.)

Ver. 22. This dying act of Tacob's recalls the
Hke faith of Joseph. By faith Joseph, when
diawing to nis end, made mention of the
exodus of the sons of Israel, and made his
brethren swear that his bones should rest in the
land of promise ; an expression at once of his
£uth and of his love for those who were the heirs
of that promise. Centuries later Moses carried
his bones oat of Egypt (Ex. xiii. 19), and the
burial of them in Shechem is recorded in the
dosing verses of the Book of Joshua. All this
had deeper meaning. He would be buried where
they were buried, because his God was their
God.

Ver. 23. Thus far the writer has been dealing
with examples of faith in Genesis alone. The
examples are few compared with all recorded in
that txK>k, but they are very striking and noble.
The history and character of Moses naturally
occupy a chief place in the following verses.
From the first he was a child of faith. His
parents hid him three months, noting his comeli-
ness (Acts viL 20), and hoping apparently that
God mi^ht use him as He had used Joseph, to be
the dehverer of their people. They therefore
disregarded the king's ordinance, and did their
duty, looking for Divine succour.

Vets. 24-28. Mark the successive expressions
of his faith. When he was grown up he refused
the name and dignity of a member of the royal
family, preferring to suffer with the people of
God rather than enjoy, with godless, idolatrous
Egyptians, soch fleeting pleasures as sin provides.
Betmfng the rsproaoh of Ohrist greater riches
ttaa the treasue of Egypt The reproach
whidi typical Israd suffered is called the re()roach
of Cbfist ; as F^ calls the sufferings of Christians

VOL. IV. 0

the sufferings of Christ (Col. i. 24 ; 2 Cor. i. 5),
ue. of Christ dwelling and suffering in His Church
as in His body. In the true Church of every age
the eternal Cnrist ever lives and reigns, though
when Moses suffered He was still to come, appear-
ing chiefly in the types and prophecies, while
r^Iy dwelling among them. And the reason is
that he looked away from the suffering to the
Divine reward, his life and acts being moulded
and guided by his hopes. — By fidUi he left
Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. The
reference here has been supposed to be to his
flight into Midian after the slaughter of an
Egyptian ; but then it is said that ne did fear
(Ex. ii. 14). The natural explanation is that
the words describe his abandonment of all his
Egyptian hopes (not that he fled from Egypt, but
gave it up), not fearing the wrath which the
desertion of his pK)st, and the bitter feeling of
Pharaoh against the people whom he was joining
would certainly excite. — For he endured (he was
stedfast) as seeing him who is invisible, or, the
king who is invisible (i Tim. i. 17). The wrath
of an earthly sovereign was nothing to him, when
assured of the j[race and protection of the King of
kings. — * By fiith he luith kept the Passover,*
1./. he celebrated it, as the verb always means,
and instituted it, as the sense rather implies. Both
thoughts seem to be here. ' By faith, because he
believed that the destroyer would pass over and
not hurt the chosen people, and that a complete
exodus from the land of their captivity was at
hand ; as by faith in a coming Deliverer it was
intended that it should continue to be observed. —
^d the effusion of blood, viz. on the lintd and
door-posts. The effusion was made by means of
a branch of hyssop, and so sprinkling has come
to be a rendering of a word which properly
means effusion. In this sprinkling or applica-
tion of the blood lies the atoning power of the
Passover, as in the case of the great Antitype ;
it is not the blood shed, but the blood as applied
through faith, that speaks peace and secures for-
giveness.

Ver. 29. That awful night is followed by
a glorious deliverance. By faith they passed
through (the verb is used of crossing in any way)
the Bed Sea. God by a strong east wind made
a passage through the water, and in faith the
Israelites entered as by dry land, assured of their
safety. The Egyptians tried (either the sea or the
seemingly dry land) as an uncertain experiment,
and were swallowed up.

Ver. 3a The writer now leaves the Book of
the Law for the Book of Joshua, the record of the
conquest of the land and of the complete fulfil-
ment of the ancient promise. By faith (of Joshua
and the whole people, the correlative of that
Dinne power which really did the deed) the
walls, etc. As the great deliverance from Egypt
was effected by faith and the boldness it produced,
so the first victory in Canaan was acnieved by
persevering faith, uie wall having been compassed
about for seven whole days (see Josh. vi.).

Ver. 31. Nor does previous personal character
hinder its power, or previous separation from the
covenant people. By faith, as shown in her con-
fession, ' Jehovidi b God in heaven above and in
the eaith beneath,* 'and He hath given you the
land ' (Tosh. xi. 9).— Bahab the narlot, and a
Canaanite, perished not with those who, having
heaid of God's miraculous dealings on behalf of

82

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. XI. 1-38.

Israel (Josh. iL 10), persisted in their defiance, and
refused submission. Her faith showed its reality
(see Jas. ii. 25) in her receiving and protecting
the spies, and found its reward in her preservation,
and finally in her becoming an ancestress of our
Lord. ' When she had received/ in the Autho-
rised Version represents the expression of her
£uth (properly 'receiving as she did*), as if it
were prior to the faith ; it was really its result,
or more properly the working of the faith itself.
A careful attention to the tenses, and to the
absence of the article whereby this clause is closely
connected with the preceding, would be sufficient
of itself to reconcue the teaching of Paul and
James.

Ver. 32. What Bhall 1 8a7;.more f for time will
U^ etc The groups named in this verse are
really two ; and though there are various readings
as to the connecting particles, they necessitate no
change. The chronological order of the names
would be, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson;
Samuel, David. Samuel is probably put last to
connect his name with the prophets, to which
class he belongs (see Acts iii. 23); and Gideon
and Samson are probably put before Barak and
Jephthah respectively, because they are of greater
celebrity as men of faith. The characteristic
exploits of each will be found in the passages
named in the margin.

Ver. 33. Who through faith. The 'who'
refers both to those named and to others like
them ; the introduction of the previous enumera-
tion ('time will ^fail,' etc.) being practically a
rhetorical equivalent for 'etc* in £nglish; and
the ' through faith * applying to all that is said to
the end of ver. 34. Tlirongh faith (not 'm' or
' according to *), the expression for the last time
in this oiapter, and specially appropriate as
describing the instrument by which those great
works were accomplished. How it sustained also
in sufferingis recoraed in the later verses, 35-38. —
Subdued EingdomB — true of all the judges named,
as it is of Samuel and David. — ^Wrought righteouB-
nees is specially true of David, the righteous
king (2 Sam. viii. 15, etc.), and of Samuel, the
righteous judge (I Sam. xii 4). — Obtained
pronUseB, i,e, obtained the fulfilment of them, not
indeed of the great promise of all (see ver. 40),
but of the lesser promises which God fulfilled to
the prophets themselves. Joel, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Daniel, all saw the partial fulfilment of things
they foretold. — Stopped the mouths of lions —
true in part of Samuel and David, and specially
of Daniel, of whom it is said that an angel shut
the mouths of the lions, because he believed in his
God (Dan. vi. 22, 23).

Ver. 34. Quenched the power of fire (not the
fire, which still burnt, but the power of it) ; true
of Shadrach and his companions. — EsoafKBd the
edge of the sword, as m the case of Elijah
(i Kings xix. i, etc.), Elisha (2 Kings vi. 14, etc.),
Jeremiah rfer. xxxvi. 26, etc.). — Out of weakness
were made strong, as in the case of Samson
(Judg. xvi. 28, etc.), and David, whose most
plaintive Psalms end often in thanksgiving. —
Waxed (became^ mighty in war— true of many
heroic men under the judges and during the
monarchy. — Turned to mght the armies of the
aliens— a word used in the Septuagint of the
Gentiles — ^true of Gideon and the Midianites, and
of Jonathan and the Philistiaes. It is prolnble,
however, that these last clauses, without excluding

those older deeds of faith, refer mainly to the
later history of Israel after the close of the Old
Testament canon. They find a striking fulfilment
in the Maccabsean age. It is certain tnat some of
the sufiferings spoken of in the next group of
verses are found only in that age ; and the ex-
pressions of ver. 34 seem taken from the First
Book of the Maccabees (compare i Mace. iiL 3,
i. 38, ii. 7, etc.). No doubt the faith of these
later heroes was sometimes of a lower type, rather
patriotic than theocratic, the result of a noble
enthusiasm as much as of trust in the living God ;
but in other cases it was true and Divine ; while
the struggles between the holy and atheistic
nations, which the book describes, seem referred
to in the Book of Daniel as of Uie deepest in*
terest.

Vers. 35-38. What faith has done we have
seen ; what it helps men to sufier is now told us.
Women receivea (back) their dead ndsed to
life again (literally, by a resurrection, which is
regarded as the cause or origin of their so receiv*
ing them), true of the widow of Sarepta and of
the Shunamite. — And others were tortured
(broken upon the wheel). The word here used
(a wheel or drum-head on which the victim was
stretched and beaten to death) shows that the
reference is to Eleazar (2 Mace vL 18-31), and
the heroic mother and her seven sons mentioned
in chap. vii. Fuller details of the same mar-
tyrdom are given in the so-called Fourth Book
of Maccabees, sometimes, though erroneonsly,
ascribed to Josephus. — Not accepting (rejecting
would be more exact) the deliyerance which was
ofiered them at the price of their principles (so the
original means), in order that tliey might obtain
a better resurrection than the mexe letnm to
the present life. ' The king of the worid sladl
raise us up,* they said, 'unto everlasting life*
(2 Mace. vii. 9, etc.).

Ver. 36. Others had trial (^cperience) of emel
mockings and soourgings. The allusion agam
is to the Maccabees (2 Mace. viL 7-10). — ^xeai
moreover (a harder thing, because of the continu-
ance and depressing influence of it), of bonds
of imprisonment — perhaps with neference to
Jonathan (i Mace, xiii 12), or to Hanani,
Micaiah, and especially to Jeremiah (see rder-
ences).

Ver. 37. They were stoned, as was Zechariah,
the son of Jehoiada, the last martyr mentioned in
the Old Testament (2 Chron. xxiv. 20-22), as Abd
was the first. Jeremiah is also said to have been
stoned to death at Tahpanhes (Daphne) in Egypt.
— They were sawn asunder, as was Isidan oy
Manasseh. — ^They were tempted. This word reads
feeble, standing as it does in the midst of three
descriptions of violent death. A similar word
means, * they were burnt ; * another, * they were
mutilated ; * and thore is evidence, though not
preponderating, for the omission of it altogether,
if it is genuine, ' they were experimented upon '
is a possible rendering, and makes a fiurly con*
sistent sense. As it is now rmdered, it means
that in addition to a cruel death they were, all
through, ofiered relief if the^ would onlv abandon
their feith. — ^They were slain with uie sword
(literally, they died by the murder of the sword)—
true of Urijah in Judah (Jer. xxvi 23), and quite
common in Israel (i Kings xix. 10, etc.). — ^Zhay
went about. The writer now retoms firom the
various kinds of death they suffered to their ltt»*

Chap. XI. 39-XII. 29.] TO THE HEBREWS. $2

loQg conflicts— thqr were waaderen, destitate, tain, ending in chambers) ; in holes, openings of

0|i|igiwed, erfl entreated. any kind— true of Elijah at Horeb^ of Elisha at

Ver. 38. ... In cavee (clefts of the moon- Carmel, and of the prophets hidden by Obadiah.

Chapter XI. 39-XII. 29.

Reasons for Patience, xi. 39-xii. 1 1. — Practical Exhortations enforced by the

greater Excellence of the Gospel^ 12-29.

39 A ND these all, 'having obtained a good report through «ven. a, 13.

40 /a. faith,* received not the promise : God having provided *

* some better thing for us, that they without ' us should not be *ch. im. ««,
made perfect ^ ch. v. 9.

Chap. xn. i. Wherefore, seeing we also are* compassed about with ^^- ^- "•
so great a cloud of witnesses, 'let us* lay aside every weight, 'fp*e^i.^;
and the sin which doth so easily beset «j, and ' let us run -^ with ''^^'•^^'

2 patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, they jj^^j^y^^.
author and finisher of our faith ; ^ who for the joy that was set ^&.*i^v;a6;
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and * is set f pijh^'^n *

3 down • at the right hand of the throne of God. ' For consider *? X??^
him that endured* such contradiction of sinners against him- ppct!*iii!U.

4 self,' * lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.' ' Ye have ' «?jo'!kJ*ix

5 not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have i , cirT^^j;
forgotten • the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto 34. ** ^*' ^^'
children,**

*" My son, despise not thou " the chastening of the Lord, ""job^.*^."'
Nor faint when thou art rebuked of" him :

6 For •whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, "^^Vx"'
And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. jS^iJm •

7 * If ye endure chastening," God dealeth with you as with sons ; tfiteut^wii^;

8 for what son is he whom the ** father chasteneth not ? But if if^pi^
ye be without chastisement, ^ whereof all are " partakers, then 5? m»rS

9 are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we have had ^xPet.{^'9l^'
fathers of our flesh which corrected us,^^ and we gave them
reverence : shall we not much rather be in subjection unto ^ the ^SSl^***

ID Father of spirits," and live ? For they verily for a few days ^^jSij;

chastened tis afler their own pleasure ; " but he for our profit, ?^i.*S'.*
11'' that we might " be partakers of his holiness. Now no chasten- r l^jSV.'

ing for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous : neverthe- t^jf [I

witness {see xiL i), or^ testimony through their faith
Gr. foreseen, or, having looked forward to * apart from

let OS also, seeing we are * read, hath sat down ' hath endured

reoiL themselves (u^'M, ^^ himself /'» margin). See Num. xvi. 38 {Gr, xvii. 3).
Ui. minting in your souls * rather, quite forgotten

*• or, reasons with you as with sons *^ treat not lightly

*• reproved by *• It is for filial chastening ye endure

** rather, his, or, a ** have become *• as correctors

^' AT, of our spirit? ^* as seemed good to th^m " or, may

84 TO THE HEBREWS. [Chap. XL 39-XII. 29.

less afteru'ard it yieldeth 'the peaceable fruit of righteousness Jfif*j^^fj

12 unto them which are * exercised thereby. Wherefore 'lift up fSbii^^A.

13 the hands which hang down, and the feeble" knees; "and *^J*^
make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be iS^^Jitv.

14 turned out of the way ; "" but let it rather be healed "^ Follow " gSf^^i"
peace with all men, and holiness," "^without which no man shall rTTuSiL.*.

15 see the Lord: -^looking diligently *lest any man fail of the '^ci.^il'i.
grace of God ; '^ lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble ^f&Tvfi.

16 j^ou, and thereby many** be defiled; *lest there ^^ any fomi- !^ Drat sbz.
cator, or profane person as Esau, ^who for one morsel of aJ^'ia.'

17 meat** sold his" birthright. For ye know how that afterward, co^iH!5;

1 Tbes. IT. 3.

''when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: d
(' for he found no place of repentance,) though he sought it i/cen.

18 carefully with tears. For ye are not come unto -^the mount*' r?t^6w
that might ** be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto «;▼..««':

19 blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a i8,i^!^8;
trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard wLis;

^ intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any i bx.'St. Ik

20 more : " (for they could not endure that which was commanded, Pf^j- ^
* And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be *j^xir.ix

21 stoned, or thrust through with a dart:" 'and so terrible was (5«i*:*«-i*'

' *^ >rGal. IV. a6:

the sight,'* tAat Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) Rev.iii.i«,

22 but yc are come *unto mount Sion, ' and unto the city of the '?S."^ *^-
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, ** and to an innumerable X'Tt^^

23 company" of angels, to the general assembly and church of "^ t'xl**

the firstborn, ^ which are written '* in heaven, and to God ^ the ,

Rev.

ziv. 4.

La. z. so;

24 Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men ^ made perfect, and ^.jri-jfi.
to Jesus ^the mediator of the new covenant, and to 'the^^^**J**
blood" of sprinkling, that speaketh better things" 'than that ^S!^^^^"'

25 of Abel.'* See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For "if ^^^^
they escaped not who*' refused him that spake" on earth, 'Slj^;*'

much more shall not we escape^ if we turn away from him that /ce^

X Fet. La.

nr. 10:

26 Speaketh " from heaven : " whose voice then shook the earth : ^S. al X 3.

but now he hath promised, saying, ^ Yet once more I *® shake *' ^ «7. x.a^
2^ not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word^ Yet once ''meb^*

more, signifieth '*' the removing of those things that are shaken, »b^ n. c

jrPft. ciL ad;

w have been " Gr. palsied " Follow after J%^«?:

■• the holiness (pr^ sanctification) ** the many ** meal *• his own lUv. xn. 1. *

■' ready a mount {and in italics as omitted in best MSS.) •• could

** ratker^ no word more should be spoken to them

^ omit or thrust through with a dart '^ //'/. that which was made to appear

'* //'/. tens of thousands, or^ innumerable hosts

" ///. ' written off,' or^ enrolled

*^ rather, as mediator of a new covenant, and to blood

«* read, better, and omit things

»« lit, than Abel {cf, xi. 4)—* than the blood of is found in some MSS.

•' when they (//'/. refusing as they did)

•• ///. warned them (i>. in God's name), see xi. 7 •• is, or, wameth

*• recut^ ^^nXi I *' not the same word

CHAP. XL 39-XlI. 2^] TO THE HEBREWS. 85

as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be ^'

28 shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which ^g^*- *▼•«*:
cannot be moved, let us have grace/* whereby we may serve S^l*"*'*

29 God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:** for ^our God {Jiii^Xj.
is a consuming fire.

*• rather^ are not *• or^ thankfulness *♦ read^ fear simply

» llies. I 8 :
ch. X. 97.

Ver. 39. The Bible is largely a history of faith,
its deeds and sufferings and rewards; pre-emi«
nently of the patience and perseverance which
beloi^ to it, and which seem essential in a world
where Tirtne is militant. Theoe aU having had
witnflM home to them through their fiaith, ue,
though they had all this noble attestation, had
still to wait for the fulfilment of the promise — ^the
promise of final and complete salvation (chap.
UL 15).— God haTing provided, or rather, having
looked forward to, some better th^g^that salva-
tion which the Lord has accomplished and made
known, which God reserved for our economy, and
which Old Testament saints receive only when we
receive it too. Our economy completes the
former. To give up the Gospel and go Imck to
the Law is to return from what is perfect to what
Is preparatory ; and to sever ourselves from the
blessedness for which the patriarchs died.

Chap. xii. i-ii. Exhortation with encourage-
ment and reproof, in view of all these witnesses,
and of the later example of Jesus, to maintain the
conflict, and to remember the love ftom whi(^ all
discipline comes, and the fruit it is intended to
produce. The chapter is introduced by a strong
ranline particle, seeing then, therefore, found
only here and in i Thess. iv. 8, and by a favourite
Pauline image taken from the ancient games.
The figure is doublv instructive ; it throws some
light upon the autnorship, and it illustrates the
general principle that Christianity is a universal
religion, using for literary purposes Hellenic
materials as well as Jewish. The chief thought
continues the appeal of chap, x., basing it on
stronger arguments suggested in part by the
eleventh chapter. — ^Let ns (as well as those just
named), having abont ns aaoh a doud of
witnenea, lay aside every enonmhering weight,
and the sin which doth so easily beset ns, and
1st ns nin with patience {i,e, with endurance
maintained through to the end) the race that is set
beftairo ns. These are the first conditions of success.
Those who were once witnesses for God, witnesses
even onto blood, martyrs in the modem sense,
DOW form the circle, the rin^, of spectators who
witness our consistency. This double meaning is
certainly here ; the first in the word ' witnesses,'
and the second in the cloud that bends over the
militant Church. The witnesses for God, whose
<iecds are named in the previous chapter, are also
witnesses of our faithfulness and patience.

Ver. 2. Even more impK)rtant than the contem-
plation of these martyr witnesses for maintaining
the athlete spirit is the continuous looking unto
JesQS, the originator and finisher of onr faith
(or of fisith). ' Our faith ' favours the interpreta-
tion that Jesus begins and completes the faith
which forms the principle of the Christian life.
But though this is true of Christ, as it is true of
God (John xv. 16), it seems hardly the truth taught

here. The faith spoken of is the faith of chap, xl ,
and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is quoted
as the noblest example; He realized a glorious
future in the midst of a troubled present, even as
we must do. He is the originator of faith be-
cause He has trod the way of faith before us, and
the finisher of it because having completed our
salvation, which is 'the end of our faitn' (i Pet.
i. 9), He leads all who trust Him to the same
goal. This application of faith to Christ is not
common in Scripture, but it is found in this
Epistle (chap. ii. 13), and it is involved in His
human nature and conflicts. — ^Who, for the Joy set
beforo him, endured the cross, despising shame.
This part of the sentence describes the life of
faith, as the second describes its reward and com-
pletion.— And hath sat down at the right hand
of the throne of Ood. These two things we are
to fix our gaze upon ; they are closely connected in
the Greek, as they are m the argument. Faith,
as the realization of the unseen, was as much the
principle of our Lord's life as it is the principle of
the life of His followers.

Ver. 3. For (He suffered as well as you, there-
fore you may well) consider (properly, compare
His case with your own, and gather Uie lessons)
him who hath endnred (it is His permanent
character that is described) snoh contradiction
(not in words only, but hostility of every kind,
even treason (John xix. 12)) of sinners against
themselves (i,e. of those who, in thus acting,
sinned against their own souls), the other read-
ing, 'against Himself,' has also good authority;
'themselves' suggests a fresh reason why the
Hebrew Christians should not join ' a gainsaying
people ' by rejecting the Gospel. — Lest ye grow
weary and faint in your sonls. Still the athlete's
figure. As the limbs grow faint (loose) in the race,
so the soul in the Christian conflict Principle is
strengthened by thoughtfulness ; for want of con-
sideration Israel periled, as well as from want of
knowledge.

Ver. 4. Special care is still needed, for there
may be severer trials in store. For not yet have
ye resisted onto blood in your conflict with sin.
Here the image is changed, as in I Cor. ix. 24-27,
from running to boxing ; and the meaning is that
whatever some of the Hebrew Christians had
suffered (chap. xiiL 7), heavier trials might be in
reserve for them. Thus the writer is addressing
those who, though not without experience of
severe persecution in their first love, would have
securea themselves against further violence hy
sinful conformity. How poor our modem self-
denial is, compared with what the first Christians
sufliered, much more when compared with the
sufferings of our Lord I Happier times call for
the greater voluntary consecration.

Ver. 5. And ye have quite forgotten (not a
question, as Calvin, and Delitzsch, and others

86

TO THE HEBREWS.

have suggested ; the fact is rather assumed in
vers. 7-1 1 ; and a question, after the strong
assertion of ver. 4, is unnatural) ; the exhortation
(blended exhortation and comfort or consolation,
which is the more common rendering : see an in-
stance in Acts XV. 31), which xeasoiui with yon,
etc (both words, 'consolation ' and ' reasons,' are
favourite ones in describing Paul's method of
teaching, consisting as it did of argument and
appeal. Acts xvii. 2-17, xviii. 4, etc.). The (juota-
tion is from Prov. iii. II, 12; and as wisdom
speaks there as a person, so here the exhortation she
gives is spoken of as a person addressing tender,
motherlv appeals to all who suffer. . . . Nor
fSaint when corrected by him. The rendering of
the Greek is here adopted ; the Hebrew means,
to resent or to murmur against Despondency
and resentment imply the same unbehef of the
loving purpose of the discipline, and they express
themselves in the same outward form of complaint

Ver. 6. Whom he receiyeth, ue. whom He
takes to His heart as His son. The quotation is
from the Septuagint of Prov. iii. 12. The Hebrew
may be rendered as in the English version ('even
as a father'), or, by an alteration of the vowel
points, as here, 'and scourges.' All suffering
mflicted by God upon His children, or permitted,
is a proof of love, and forms in itself or in its
results part of the evidence of their sonship.

Ver. 7. It is for chastening (for filial chasten-
ing) 7® endure ; as with Bons God deiUs with
yon (bears Himself towards you). The reading,
' It is for chastening — for improvement as sons ve
endure,' has decisive suppK)rt. It differs from the
common text only by the addition of a single
letter (ut for u) ; and the use of the expression
' for ' is c^uite common in this Epistle (chap. i. 14,
iv. 16, VI. 16). — For what son is he (not ' who is
a son,' or 'what sort of a son is h^' though each
is a possible meaning) whom a father (or his
father — the statement is quite general, and does
not 'refer primarily to God) chaitiseB notf Cor*
rection and chastening while character is forming
is the condition of all sonship and of all true
fatherhood, and our sonship in relation to (?od is
no exception to the common law.

Ver. 8. If ye he without (be severed from,
have no part in) chastisement (filial discipline),
of which all (God's sons, or better, because of the
tense, the sons mentioned in chap, xi.) have he-
come pcuiakers (ox have had their share), then
are ye bastards (of spurious parentage) and not
sons.

Vers. 9, 10. The fatherhoods differ, and so the
rule and purpose of their discipline differ also.
Furthermore, we once had fathers of our flesh
(our natural parents, and probably rather more —
those who were mediately the originators of our
flesh), as chasteners (correctors), and we gave
tiiem reverence ; shall we not much rather he in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live f
The contrast here is between earthly fathers, men
who being fl^^ themselves are in a sense the
creators of our flesh, and God, Himself a Spirit,
and the immediate Creator of spirits. Other
interpretations have been discussed m both ancient
and modem times — ' The Father of our spurits, ue,
of human souls ; ' ' the Father or Originator of all
spiritual life.' Others think the reference is not
to the origination of our nature at all, but only to
parental feeliiu^ — 'We have had those who, in
relation to oar fleshly nature, have shown a father's

[Chap. XI. 3^X11. 29.

care ; shall we not much rather submit ooxsdves
to Him who, in relation to our spiritual natureand
life, has a father's rights, and shows a ^thtf;s
kindness ? * The ethical meaning implied in thn
last interpretation is implied more or less in all
the others. This last suggestion will bear further
illustration. The earthly discipline of nearly aU
nations, their Paideutics, was physical, and found
its best results in physical beauty, with Apollo
as its ideal, or in manly strength, with Hercules
as its ideal ; when it went further, and cultivated
wisdom, as in Greece, or patriotism, as at Rome, or
the commoner virtues, as in the model Republics
of ancient or even of modem writers ; it was still
fleshly and secular. The Paideutique that sancti-
fies our higher nature is peculiar to Divine revda^
tion, and b perfected only under the personal
superintendence of the Father of spirits. The
recognition of His rights, and the acceptance of
His discipline, and the laying hold of His strength,
are essential to it.

Ver. 10. And this deeper reverence is reason-
able. For they (our earthly parents) for » few
dajrs (for the time of youth, and with special
reference to it, whether successful or not, it came
to an end) chastened us according aa it aeemed
good to them (their rule being their own view off
what was right, or sometimes their own temper
or caprice) ; but he for onr proflt (not a question
of seeming but of actual fact), for the pnzpoie that
and to be continued until (literally, unto) we
shi^re in his holiness, and then the discipline and
our need for it will cease. The contrast here is
perfect between seeming and reality — between
their pleasure and God's noble purpose — ^between
the few davs of our youth, whetner it succeed or
not, and tne continuance which is unbroken tUl
the result is achieved. 'His holiness' is, no
doubt, a holiness completely like Hb own. The
original word represents it rather as a gift or a
result of His discipline than of our own culture
or effort {iytirtit not kymrvtn b found only here,
compare 2 Cor. vii. i). The word rendered
'share' or, in the English version, 'be partaken
of,' is not the same word as in ver. 8. It means
rather to share in what is not within our reach ;
it implies willing acceptance rather than personal
acquisition, though shared with others, even with
the blessed God Himself. He sits as a Refiner of
silver, and He applies the heat and removes the
refuse till He sees in it Hb own image.

Ver. II. Now no chastening (either God*s or
any other) seemeth for the present to be Joyoni^
but grievous (literally, a matter of joy; but of
grief) ; nevertheless afterward it yiudeth the
peaceable tmit of righteonsneos (f.<. righteous-
ness b the fruit ; and as the conflict b over, it b
enjoyed in peace) nnto them that have been ex*
ercised thereby. The figure of a struggle b still
continued, as the original implies :

* Tis conflict here below,
Tis triumph there and peace.*

Such b the general interpretation of the passage
The objection to it b that the last part of tne yeac
is not true of all chastisement, but onl^ of what
God sends. To thb objection it b rephed that it
b true of all chastisement^ of all filial discipline,
properly so called. Delitzsch prefers to rtt^ard
the chastisement of ver. 11 as spoken of (S>d's
only, and then the conclusion b true as it stands.
The connectiDg particles are affirmative in both

Chap. XI. 39-XII. 29.] TO THE HEBREWS. S?

cUuises ; mnd the only question b how to render relinqaishing) the grace of Ood. The character-

the 6rst of them. ^ ^Now' refers to chastisement istic of the Gospel is ' grace/ apart from the works

generally,^ as distinguished from God*s chastise- of the Law ; and a man falls from it who puts him*

menty which b spoken of in the previous verse, self at a distance from the blessing, and so gives

*AU chastisement from God, Atfiomvr,' represents it up. — Lest any root, or plant, of bitterness,

Delitzsch's sense; whereas *now' better rq>resents trouble the sacred enclosure of the Church, and

the sense adopted above. In either case one of thereby the many (the larger part of the ground

the daoses needs narrowing ; either the first even) be defiled (corrupted).

daiise means God's chastisement, or the second Ver. 16. Lest there be any fornicator (taken

that all chastisement has this beneficial literally, as is the uniform meaning in the New

result if we tpeak of it from its design and pur- Testament except in Revelation), or profane

person (rather, worldly person ; one who has no

The chapter is a striking lesson on * analogy ' sense of the value or glory of Divine things) aa

-y^he wora which underiies the command (' con- Esau, who for a nngle meal sold his own birth-

sider ') with which it begins. Christ Himself right (the double portion which was his share as

(ver. 3), human institutions (the Grecian games), the eldest son (Deut. xxi. 17), together with the

the common relationship of life (parents and precious inheritance of the great promise that in

children), are all introduced to strengthen the his seed the nations of the earth were to be

aigmnent, and most impressive lessons are drawn blessed). These three clauses are oflen regarded

from them alL as describing one character ; but it seems better

Vers. 1^17. Further exhortations. Ver. 12. to regard them as describing three. For want of

Wharefcce (connecting the practical appeals, as faith men give up the Gospel ; for want of faith

is usual in this epistle, with the reasoning and roots of bitterness spring up in the Church and

imagery of the previous verses) lift ap (make defile it ; and faithless persons become so selfish

straight) tha hands that hang down, and the and so low-minded, that the smallest worldly

waas (the loose or the palsied) knees. The advantages tempt them successfully to abandon

figure of a race is still preserved, and perhaps of their principles : and yet the course of even the

a fight also ; the last requiring the strong hands, least favoured of them may end in despair —
and the first firm knees ; or perhaps the drooping Ver. 17. For ye know (a fact familiar to every

hands and the palsied knees denote simply the Hebrew) that when afterward he was dedrons

complete coUap^ which threatened the Hebrew of receiving the bleasing (part of his birthright.

Christians in the race set before them.' — And make and involving the rest), he was rejected (rejected

■traight (or level) paths for yonr feet (the same after trial, as the word means), by his father and

verb as above), that that which la lama, tKat part by God (Gen. xxvii. 33) ; for he found no place

of the Church which is stumblin£[ between" Chris- of repentance, though he sought it (<>. the

tianity and Judaism, may walk m plain, beaten blessing) carefully and with tears. The previous

tracks, and so he kept from taming aside. Some clause, *for he found no place of repentance,' b

interpret ' that that which b lame mav not be put best regarded as a parenthesb (compare diap.

out (» joint ' — a possible meaning of the verb. It xii. 20 and vii. 11). The tears expre^ed sorrow

b xacdf however, in the New Testament only in for the loss he sustained, not for the low, sinful

the pastoral Epistles, i Tim. i. 6, v. 15, vi. 20, preference of which he had been guilty. Whose

2 TlnL ivl 4, and has always the sense given to it repentance did he not find ? Hb own (as all the

above. Who can estimate the power of a few Greek fiithers hold, with Luther, Calvin, Bengel,

courageous, consbtent men in any struggle, and and Delitzsch), or hb father's (as Beza, Tholuck,

not least in Christian churches I — ^Nay, rather and others)? The word has always an ethical

than let it suffer further infirmity, as it b needlessly meaning, and describes a change in the deeper

doing, let it he healed. recesses of our nature, which is followed by a

Meanwhile here, as in the Church at Rome, the corresponding change in the outer life. Such a

weak, the lame, are to be treated with great for- sense b hardly applicable to Jacob. It seems

braiayor, and peace b to be carefully cultivated, better, therefore, to regard the words as applicable

not divbion. to Esau. He b regarded as a type of the hopeless

Ver. IX. Follow peace with all (believers, the apostate, who throws away hb birthright through

troe parallel being Rom.*xi^. 19), and holhiesB sensual indulgence or love of the world, and

(the approprbtion oy us of the Divine holiness of who, too late, finds the door of repentance closed

Ter. 10 ; there it b the Divine attribute, here it is to him, because repentance itself, m its true and

the process whereby the quality b made our own) ; deep sense, is impossible. Other commentators

witnont which (apart from which) no man shall give the lighter interpretation to ' place of repent-

see tha Lord — shall not enter Hb presence, and ance,' and understand by it iacus penit^nha, a

share His blessedness. The reference is to God chance and opportunity by repentance of repairing

the Father. Only the holy rise to the sight of the mischief— a result in thb case impossible ;

Him. The word 'Lord' b applied to Christ in and then they understand by 'it' such repentance

chap. ii. 3, and to God in chap. viii. 2. When, as might repair the loss he had suffered (Alford).

however. Scripture speaks of seeing as a future Others give to ' repentance ' its deeper meaning,

reward, it b seeing God that is meant (Matt, and refer the 'it * to that repentance. Thus re-

▼. 8 ; I John iii. 2) ; and yet as the throne of garded, the whole passage t^hes that a time

God b also the throne of the Lamb, to see one b may come, possibly in the hbtory of any of us,

really to see both. when through sensual indulgence and worldly

Ver. 15. Looking diligently. The word b tastes repentance becomes impossible, though men

tised genorally of pastoral oversight, but b here seek ii carefully and with tears. There b a strik-

Qsed to enforce mutual watchfulness and discipline; ing sermon of Melvill's on the text as thus inter-

k truth set forth also in chap. x. 24, iii. 12, iv. i. — preted. In favour of referring ' it *^ to the blessing

Lest any man fidi of (come ihoit of by wilfully rather than to repentance, b the hbtorical fact ;

is

to THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. XI. 39-Xn. 29.

and in favour of the deeper sense of repentance
(not merely a change of his father's mind, or a
cancelling of the result) is the uniformly ethical
meaning of the word. In any case the lesson
remains ; sensual, worldly preferences may be so
indulged as to become our masters ; and we may
wish to die the death of the righteous, and
reap their rewards, and yet be rejected. That
path cannot be safe where such a possibility is
incurred. Whether the repentance comes too late,
or the repentance, though in some sense desired,
is really unattainable, or whether both suppositions
are true, it is in any case an awful destmy, and
men should take warning in time.

Vers. 18-29. All these warnings become the more
impressive from the fact that our economy is one
of much greater privilege than the previous, and
that it is the last revelation' which God will give. —
For ye have not drawn near to a monntain that
it tooched (a material, tangible mountain) and
that burned with fire and blackneM (of clouds)
and darkneM (as in the night) and tempest. At
the giving of the Law the top of the mountain
burned with fire ; lower down were black, im-
penetrable clouds, and out of the darkness which
they caused came the mutterings of the storm.
Amid this terror was heard the sound of a trumpet,
and an articulate voice giving the commandments
which were delivered to Israel ; which voice was
so awful that those who heard implored to be
excused, begged off from hearing (declined to hear)
more. The same word is found in the parable,
'They began to make excuse.* — For (a paren-
thetical explanation of their awe) they conld
not bear what was commanded, vis. And if
•▼en a beast (much more a man) touch the
monntain . . .

Ver. 21. And so terrible was the sight (what
was made to appear) that Moses shared their
feeling of dread. Suchjwas the access to God
which ancient Israel possessed — an access that
belonged to a visible mountain full of terror ; an
access cather of repulse and enforced approach,
which they prayed might cease.

Vers. 22-24. Seven things, Bengel notes, show
the inferiority of the condition of Israel under the
Law, and seven things show the superiority of the
true Israel under the Gospel. Our gathering-
place is Mount Zion (not Sinai), the abode of Him
who is Father and King, — and the heavenly
Jemsalem, the city of the living God. We are
oome to an innnmeraUe company of angels
(literally, ten thousands of angels ; not the com-
paratively few who witnessed the giving of the
Law, and aided the administration of the old
econony), to the festal gathering of the Church
of the nnt-bom — of the Christian Church of this
age, consisting as it did of those who were heirs
of the promises, and whose names are enrolled,
not as were the names of the first-bom of Israel,
in earthly registers (Num. iii. 42), but in heaven
itself; a privilege snared, moreover, not by the
first-born only, but by the entire company of the
redeemed (see Luke x. 20) ;— and to Qod, the
Judge of all The mention of the militant
Church and of their adversaries brings up this
thought : He is their Defender, and to Him they
mav commit their cause.— And to the spirits of
Just men made perfect, from righteous Abel
downwards ; and to the Mediator of the recent
and new ooyenant (not the same word as in
chap. ix. 15)— Jesus (the name of our Liord which

the writer of this Epistle uses when speaking of
His redeeming work), and to the Uood of
sprinkling — the blood that ratified the covenant
is now offered to God and applied (not shed
merely) to the human conscience, — ^which speak*
eth better than Abel, or than the [blood] of
AbeL 'Than Abel' may refer to his offering
or to his martjnrdom. His offering had no in-
trinsic efficacy, and his martyrdom cried for
vengeance. Christ's blood cried only for mercy,
and secures it.

Ver. 25. See that ye refuse — decline — not
(the same word as in ver. 19) him that speaketh
(offering peace through the blood of Christ : see
ver. 24): for if they escaped not, declining as they
did to hear him that spoke on earth— a different
word, meaning to speak as an oracle with Divine
authority. God is the speaker in both cases ; bnt
the contrast is between God speaking on earth
and through Moses who received the living oracles
to give to men, and God speaking from heaven
and in the life and blood of His Son — not con-
cerning an earthly covenant with earthly bless-
ings, but concerning blessings that are spiritual
and eternal. The medium (the Son), the place,
the blessedness of the message, all combine to make
the guilt of rejecting the Gospel the greater (see
vers. 1-5, and x. 28, 29).

Vers. 26, 27. In these verses we have fresh
evidence of the accuracy of the views which the
writer takes of the Gospel — a system that is to
supersede Judaism as the prophet foretells, and a
fresh ground of earnest remonstrance. This is
the last economy, and men must beware of reject-
ing it. — Whose voice then shook the earth (Ex.
xix. 18) ; literally, only the shaking was emble-
matical, as was the earthquake and the rending of
the veil at Christ's death. It implied, therefore,
a great change (comp. Isa. xiiL 13 and Joel ii. 10)
in the state of things that preceded the old
covenant.— But now hath he promised— and then
follows the passage from Haggai, in which the
coming of the Messiah is predicted, when all is to
be changed, both by the removal of the things
that are shaken and by the establishment of a new
covenant, that of the Messiah. — 27. And this
word yet once more — once for all, as it means,
shows plainly that there is to be one change only
from the time when the prophet spoke, and con-
sequently that the things which are introduced by
that change are to remain unshaken. The shaking
of the 'heavenly things' has created some difficulty.
But, in fact, the new covenant affected both earth
and heaven. The Word made flesh, the complete
forgiveness of sin, eternal life through the blood
of Christ, the introduction of sinners of all nations
into the Church of God, the changing of the
Church itself from an earthly into a spiritual fel-
lowship, Christ exalted as Priest and King : these
are changes that affect both worlds, but cannot
themselves be changed. The shaking, therefore,
here spoken of is not new future, as some suppose.
It becan at the incarnation (and so the 'I will
shake of the prophecy is here changed into ' I am
shaking '), and it is only the complete realization
of it that is still to come. The last clause, as of
things that have been made, etc, refers pro-
bably not to creation but to the Jewish economv,
to which the word ' made ' has been already
applied ; and their removal is with the view to the
permanence of the spiritual economy which is ' to
abide.'

Chap. XIII. 1-25.]

Ver. aS. Wlmefoire, m no&Mng m we do a
Unfdoai thftt cuuiot be ihAkeii, let QB be thuik.
M (Off have gnoe), end therein lenre Ck>d accept-
J^ («<dl-pleasiiigly) with godly rererenoe and
nar. Thankfnlnns, not discontent, is the becom-
ing feding, and when Mended with fear ( 'awe ') will
make o«r service reverent and joyous. The Greek
fhiasefiiToini this rendering (see 2 Tim. L 3, Gr.).
I«t «s have grace' is, however, a possible

TO THE HEBREWS.

89

Ver. 291 Tor— a finesh reason for the reverence
and the service— onr CM it a eonenming fire.

The description is taken from Dent tv. 22, and
the meaning may be, Our God also (as well as the
God of the Jews) is a consuming fire ; but the
former rendering — an additional reason simply —
without specific reference to a distinction between
our God and theirs, is the juster view. A devout
sense of what we owe to God is a strong motive to
holy service : so also is our reverence for God's
holiness and justice. Thankfulness and fear are
both among the motive forces of the Gospel, and
both are stimulated by the character and acts
(mercies and judgments alike) of the blessed God.

Chapter XIII. 1-25.

Admonitions to the Cultivation oj Love, Hospitality, Compassion, and other
Graces, 1-6. — The Loving Remembrance of Departed Leaders, etc, — Chris-
tian Sacrifice, 7-17. — Asks their Prayers, offers his own, commends to
t/iem his Epistle, speaks of the speedy Visit of Timotf^, and closes with the
usual Pauline Salutation, 18-25.

1,2 T ET 'brotherly love continue. * Be not forgetful to enter- 'flftifi;!;:
-L^ tain strangers:' for thereby ''some have entertained {L^ui*?;

3 angels unawares. ''Remember them that are in bonds, as
bound with them ; and them which suffer adversity,' as being

4 yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honourable in all, Rom.S*i^j
and the bed* undefiled: 'but* whoremongers and adulterers 1pS!w"'^*

rGen. xvui.3,

xix. s.
</ Mat XXV. 36:

Rom. xii. 15;

I Cor. xii. t6;

CoL IT. 18 :

1 Pet. iiL x8.
1 1 Cor. vi. 9 ;

Gal. ▼.19, ax;

£ph. ▼. 5 :

Col. iii. ^ 6 ;

Rev.xxi1.15.
/ Mat. vi. as,

34: PhiLiv.

11, It: xTim.

iv. 8 ; a Pfet.
1.7; XJ0.IU.
IX, etc, iv. 7,
XX. ax.

5 God will judge. Let your conversation* be without covetous-
ness ; • and ^ be content with such things as ye have : for he

6 hath said, ^ I will never leave thee, nor ^ forsake thee. So that
we may • boldly say,

* The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear
What man shall* do unto me.

7 ' Remember them which have the rule over you," who have
spoken" unto you the word of God: * whose faith follow," J^^'i

8 considering the end of their conversation.** Jesus Christ "^ gSi.'5S^*'

9 'the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. "*Be not JJ^-j,^'?"-
carried about " with divers and strange doctrines. For // is a ^pJ;SSm.'i
good thing that the heart be established with grace ; " not with **J5J; J;***-
meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied " icSvifja.

ID therein. ' We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat '^£1",*;?**
II which serve the tabernacle. For ^the bodies of those beasts, ^ISi^-;^,^^

whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest

^ lit, of love to strangers ' are evil entreated

* Let marriage be held in honour, and the bed be

* life, ///. turn (mode of life, or, turn of mind)
' insert will I ever • omit may

* tfr. I will not fear. What shall man

?

^^ in that they spake '* copy (///. imitate)

^* life {fit. manner of life), i,e, the [noble] end their life had

'♦ insert is ^ ^ " read, awsiy *• walked

♦ readn for

* ///. love of money

*• better, your leaders

v. 6; Col.ii.4,

8 ; I Ja iv. x.
m Rom xiv. X7;

Col. iL 16 ;

X Tim. iv. 3.
0 X Cor. ix. X3,

X. x8.
/LsT.zvLST:

Ex. xxix. 14 ;

Lev. iv. IX,

la, ax, yi. 30^

IX. XI ; Num.

xix. 3.

90

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. XIII. 1-25.

12 for sin, are bifmed without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, ^i^^^'A'
that he might sanctify the people with " his own blood, ''J^ef'irL

1 3 ^ suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto ' ^, Sj.*^*,

14 him without the camp, bearing ''his reproach. 'For here ^^'*^*^

15 have we no continuing city, but we seek one'® to come. 'By 'f|^\*?/
him*' therefore let us offer "the*^ sacrifice of praise to God "Fu.it^x.i
continually, that is, ''the fruit of our lips, giving thanks" to xadxsi;

16 his name. "'But to do good and to communicate" forget ai'^crii^

17 not: for "'with such sacrifices God is well pleased. •'Obey tSL^w
them that have the rule over you,*" and submit yourselves : Jttw, L
for 'they watch for your souls, as they that must" give jr9Co^.ix.*ia;
account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief : " ch. ▼>• «^/

18 for that fj** unprofitable for you. * Pray for us : for we trust** H.a9:iT^
we have *a good conscience, in all things willing to live 5V...

19 honestly.*' But I beseech }^ou ^the rather** to do this, that I S^''i*

20 may be restored to you the sooner. Now ^ the God of peace, *?•
'that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, ^that*' cSf'-J***.'*
great shepherd of the sheep, ''through *® the blood of the ever- JtJ^Iul*!*

21 lasting covenant, *make you perfect in every good work ** to *^^^''
do his will, ' working'" in you** that which is well-pleasing in cF^i^S!
his sight, through Jesus Christ; *to whom 6e glory for ever ''^^J^'^^

22 and ever. Amen. And I beseech** you, brethren, suffer** JS^t.S
the word of exhortation : for ' I have written a letter unto you * ASiU4!ia:

23 in few words. Know ye that '^our brother Timothy "is set at ^;^,u<St?.

■

24 liberty ; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. Salute rot.Uil?
all them ''that have the rule over you,** and all the saints. S.a.w:

25 They of*' Italy salute you. ^ Grace 6e with you all. Amen. Jp^lVi!*

y Is. Ixltl. 11, xL XX ; Ezelc xxxiv. 23, xxxvii. 34 ; Jo. x. it, 14 ; x Pet. iL as, v. 4.
^Is. It. 8 : ZooIlIx. 11 ; ch. x. 39. AaThes. ii. 17; 1 Pet. v. icx

M GaL £.5:3 Tim. iv. x8 ; Rev. i. 6. / x Pet. v. X3. mt Tbes. iiL a.

0 Vers. 7, X7. /Tit iii. X5.

r PhiL u. 13.
n I Tim. vi. xa.

" through " the «/y which is »» Through him

** opm'/ the *^ which give thanks, or^ make confession

^'^ fellowship TActs ii. 42) and distribution (2 Cor. ix. 13) are forms ofthesam§^
word •* shall ' ** lamentation, <v, groaning •* were

•* read^ are persuaded ^' honourably {or^ well)

** more exceedingly ^^ the *® Gr, in ^' or read^ thing

•* or, doing {same word as in previous clause) *^ read probably y us

** rather y exhort '^ i>. bear with ^« your leaders

•' or^ from

Chap. xiii. The exhortations with which the
Epistle closes are various ; but all are connected
with the argument and with the condition of
those addressed. The writer has sought to
confirm their faith and grace, and now a loving
holy life, which ever grows feeble with waning
faith, is his chief concern. To their fiuth he has
exhorted them to add godliness (xii. 28, 29), and
now they are to add to godliness brotherly kind-
ness and universal love. It is characteristic of
the Epistle, too, that the graces commended in the
earlier verses of this chapter are those for which

the readers are commended in previous chapters
(x. 33» 34. vi. 10).

Ver. I. The first admonition is to 'brotherly
love* — a term used in the N. T. (not as in
classic Greek to describe the love of brothers
and sisters, but) to describe the love wliich
Christians bear to one another in Christ, and as
children of one Father (cp. ii. \\\ part of the
wider love which 4ty««^ describes (2 Pet L 7).
It was not extinct (x. 32), the precept therefore
is— as in the case of their faith— diat it should
continue^ or abide. It is appropriately pot firrt

Chap. XIII. 1-25.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

91

among c«rthlv duties, as it 2s the first -fruit of
£uth aad the beeiiiniiig of all else. How the title
here given to this grace struck the heathen is
made ver^r dear by a passage in Lxidan : ' Their
most distinguished lawgiver (? Paul) has taught
that they aU become brethren one of another as
soon as they are changed; that is, when they
demr the Greek gods, and adore the crucified
sofmist.' He also enlarges on dieir s]rmpathy
with those in bonds, and on their hospitality.
The sentiment struck the observer even while he
icomed it as new and impracticable (see the
passage in Dditzsch, ii. 371).

Ver. 3. Nor was this love confined to the
fiunily. The God they worshipped loves strangers
(Dent. z. i8, 19). In His gracious philanthropy
(Tit ill. 4) He had welcomed tkem when
strangers ; and now He sometimes sends His
mcwtngen — His angels— in the disguise of way-
fiueis, that He may know whether those who
bear His name are like Him in their kindness, and
that He may reward them as of old (Gen. xviii.).

Ver. 3. Debtors to all the brotherhood, and to
others besides, there were some who had strong
claims on their sympathy. There were prisoners
who wore their bonds tor Christ's sake and the
Gospel's ; and in loving tenderness these they were
to remember as bound with them (x. 34). There
were others in afflictions natural to men; these
also they were to bear ever in mind as being
themselves in the body, and subject to like trials.
Loving and praverful remembrance might bring
ddiveranoe, and would certainly comfort their
hearts and deepen their thankfulness.

Vers. 4, 5. The writer now speaks of two
rdatioos of fife which are often placed side by
side in Paul's Epistles — marriage and the purity
which bdongs to it, and covetousness, or 'the
love of money ' (Eph. v. 5 ; Col. iii. 5). The
abrupt form of the sentences and the curt energy
of the admonitions are intensely Pauline. I^
flumriage be held in honour in all, and the bed
be vndelDed. Whether these words are affirma-
tive ('marriage is honourable'), as the A. V.
and Delitsch hold, or hortative ('let it be held'),
has been much discussed. But the question is
nqcw settled. The words stand in the midst of
ezbortatioos. The next verse is equallv without
a verb, and is yet translated as an exnortation.
And moreover, the reading in the next clause is
^for' and not 'but,' enforcing not a statement,
but a command. ' In all persons,' of whatever
rank, degree, or profession ; or ' in all respects ' —
a rebuke of the ' false science ' which was already
spreading in the Church (l Tim. iv. 13). It may
be better to be single, if God's adjustment of gifts
and tastes makes single life no serious bu^en
(I Cor. vii.), and if Christ is thereby better served.
But all who marry in the Lord assume an
bonoorahle place. Only, where Christians have
entered into that state, the bed must be undefiled
by adulterous intercourse, or by lascivious
sennality. Tho>e who dishonour the relation
in either wa^, God will judge. Let your life—
a word which describes the turn of a man's
thou^ts and actions — be free from coyetons-
aev ('the love of money'), [and be] content
vith (finding your sufficiency in) inch tidngs aa
you hsTe. They needed Uie warning: For as
men decline in grace, .they erow in selfishness.
The miscUevoas influence of this deceitful vice
Is strikingly described In i Tim. vi. 9, 10^ where

' the love of money ' (the same word) is said to
be a root of all kinds of evil, drowning men in
perdition, or piercing them through with many
sorrows. One guard against this evil is that we
be content with what we have; but the security
against it is the Divine promise. — ^For he hi^
Bud, I will never leave thee, nor fbnake thee.
Five negations, 'I will never, no never, no
never forsake,' give strength to the assurance.
The words are taken from three passages (see
marginal references) spoken to various Hebrew
saints, and forming part of the general promise of
the Gospel given to each believer. Our God is
the God of Ovations (Ps. IxviiL 20), not one, but
many, and delivers us from want as well as from
sin. He spared not His Son, and fireely gives
with Him all things.

Ver. 6. 80 that we boldly say. The Lord ia
my helper, I will not fear : what shall man do
unto mef So the Hebrew reads, and so more
naturally the Greek of this passage.

Ver. 7. This verse is connected in part with
the precedinjgr. Bemember them who axe yonr
leaden — a title found 01^ in this chapter in the
Epistles, but used in the Gospels and Acts for the
leaders of the Church (Acts xv. 22 ; Luke xxiL
26). Leadership is the prominent thought with
so much of rulmg as b essential to 1^. As
applied to ministers, it p;ives no authority to makt
new laws in Christ's kingdom, or even to enforce
Christ's commands by any authority except His
own. — ^Ihe whioh (who have this quality that —
a word which defines the ground and the limit of
their authority) have spoken to you the word of
God (the Gospel) ; whose faith (not their creed,
but their blessed trust in trouble and fidelity to
principle) copy (or imitate), thoroughly oon-
ddering what a blessed end their life had.
These words refer not necessarily to mart3rrdom,
of which, as yet, there were but few examples.
The meaning is rather, that a course of
Christian conduct, which even to the end is the
outcome of a holy noble faith, is well worthy of the
contemplation and imitation of all who observe it.

Ver. 8. This verse is closely connected wi^
the preceding, though not in the way the Author-
ised Version (with a colon, or sometimes a comma,
at the end of ver. 7) indicates, as it is also with what
follows. It is a general truth. Jesus Christ is,
the same yesterday (when our fathers lived and
struggled), to-day (now that we live and struggle),
and throughout the ages. He was the chief
theme of the Gospel they preached — so ' the word
of God ' generally means m the New Testament.
His power and love and grace are all unchanging
and exhaustless.

Ver. 9. Very different from the varied and
strange (foreign) Moctrines (teachings) with which
this Gospel is sometimes confounded, and very
different from the legal precepts as to meats which
are profitless as means of quickened life, or of
true salvation, by which we must not suffer our-
selTes to be oanied away (the true readings not
' carried about ') : For it is a good thing (a fine
thing — a thing that has the beauty of virtue as
well as the substance of it) that the heart be
established (be made strong and firm) with graoe
(here opposed as a Divine operation in the soul
to the outward and lifeless precepts of Jewish
teachers, Col. ii. 22, 23) — tne flesh profiting
nothing (John vi. 63), wherein those that walked
(a common Pauline expression, Eph. ii. 2-1 1 ;

9*

TO THE HEBREWS.

[Chap. XI II. 1-25.

Col. ill 7) wtre not pnttad. The pmxpts oC
a ritual law have no liring power, do saring
efficacy. The mind that is occapied with them
b generally blind to the great duties of piety and
virtue, and is neither peaceful nor strong. The
tiroplicity of Gospel lites is as certainly helpful to
holiness as the purity of Gospel truth.

Vers. 10-12. And yet we have our attar and
our meat. We are worshippers, nay, even
priestly worshippers. Our altar is the cross : our
sin-offering the body of our Lord. ' His 6esh is
meat indmd, and His blood b drink indeed.'
But all is hidden from the view and forbidden to
the touch of those who serve the earthly taber-
nacle. Under the Law, some offerings were
shared by the priest and people, and the arrange-
ment implied that fellowship was restored and
ceremonial expiation was completed. But the sin-
offering of atonement was not eaten (Lev. vi. 30),
and the bodies of national and priestly expiations
were burnt without the camp. When atonement
was a figure only, and not a reality, the wor-
shipper had no communion with what professed
to furnish it. Now we discern the body^ and are
partakers of it, and claim the reconciliation
which the partaking implies. The old altar must
be renounced, and the old sacrifice abandoned.
Men must go to the place where Christ was
offered <cp. ix. 28), the place where Christ
offered Himself (ix. 25), and those who seek
acceptance through legal sacrifices have no part
in Him, as they had no part in that sacrifice,
which was the completest type of His work, yet
was itself powerless to make full atonement, and
therefore insufficient to secure the reconciliation
and the strength of which the eating of the altar
was the sign.

Ver. 13, Of Christ the sin-offering we may
partake, provided we go forth unto Him without
the camp, bearing His reproach. The cross is
the meeting-place of all who would be saved.
To number ourselves with those who cast Him
out, and so unconsciously made Him the antitype
of the holiest of the ancient sacrifices, is to be
undone. We must abandon the Law, we must
find in Christ Himself the sin-offering in which
we are to share, if we desire to partake of the
foigiveness and holiness of the Gospel.

Ver. 14. Israel still claimed to be the people
of God, and Jerusalem was outwardly His
dwelling-place. But God had already quitted it.
Jerusalem, with its temple and rites — all were
condemned. Here, therefore, we have no con-
tinuing city, no material temple, no imperfect
sacrifice; but the cross and Christ and heaven
the antitype of them all.

Ver. 15. Meanwhile our sacrifice or peace-
offering is praise; 'the perpetual offering,' as
even Jews described it, ' which is never to cease '
—the fruit, *the calves,' of lips that are ever
giving thanks to His name. Praise, continuous
praise, is the fitting recognition of an abiding
Saviour and an unending salvation.

Ver. 16. Nor is that all : there must be also the
further sacrifice of a beneficent and generous life ;
for with such sacrifices — ' well-doing ' and fellow-
.ship in love, in service, and in gifts — God is well

f>leased. A life of cheerful thankfulness, of cease-
ess well-doing, of ready participation with others
in the giAs God has entrusted to us — these are the
offerings of the Gospel ; the one great sin-offering
of our Xord possessing ceaseless power.

Ver. 17, etc Having referitd to deceased leaden
and to their sted£utness, the writer is natmaUy
led to speak of the dajnger of apostatiring to
Judaism ; he therefore exhorts them to oome com-
pletely oot of it and bokily follow Christ He
now returns to their leaders. Obey (^ve^ and
keep giving, the obedience which springs fiom
trust in them, and from the persuasion that their
rule is right) your leaden, and mhoiit ycmiMlYit
(to their reproof and adimonition, even to their
authority) ; and this rule he enforces by a delicate
reference to the leaders' responsibility ; for it is
their duty and their right to watch over and in
the interest of your souls, free alike from indo-
lence and from false security, as ha^iiig to give
account, that they may do tiiia wo^ (of watdi-
ing) with joy, and not mourning (literally 'groan-
ing ') over it or you ; for, if it is a grief to them, the
loss will be yours ; that is nnprofitable for yoo.

Ver. 18. The writer now speaks of himylf and
of his colleagues, all watchers over them, and asks
the prayers of his readers, as Paul does in all his
Epistles. Pray f or na, for we are pemiaded (the
perfect tense, ' we trust,' gives place to the present
passive) that we have a good oonadenoe. He
was conscious of no evil. He had exhorted them,
rebuked them, and instructed them. He had also
suffered. And he felt he was blameless in aU.
1 he feeling, however, may be a delusion ; and yet
it rests on the teaching of God's Word, and is
confirmed by God's blessing and by our hi^^ier
consciousness — that we are really dealing (striv*
ing, having a will) to behave^ to live, honoorably
in all thmge. llie Greek words for *a good
conscience and 'honourably,' are forms of the same
word, and express the beauty, the nobleness of
goodness. To live a good and noble life in all
things is an earnest purpose, and the conscience
which affirms this is our purpose, is itself worthy of
the life we desire to live ; not blind or perverted,
but noble and true. His life and his teaching had
probably both been subjects of distrust among the
Hebrews. Paul's gospel, which this Epistle
certainly represents, was still in disrepute. He
therefore asks their prayers as helpful both to
himself and to themselves.

Ver. 19. And I beseech you the more exceed-
ingly (earnestly) to do this, i,e, to pray for us
(comp. Philem. 22), that I may be reetored to yon
the sooner. This language agrees remarkably
with the deep affection Paul cherished for the
Hebrew Church at Jerusalem, a Church he visited
many times.

Vers. 20y 21. To this desire for their prayers is
added his own benediction, as in Paul's Ej^istles
generally (i Thess. v. 23, etc.). Now the God of
peace — a common title of God in Paul's Epistles,
used in different connections, and probably with
different meanings. Here it b specially appro-
priate ; partly because of the troubles that harassed
and threatened them, and partly because it implies
how completely God had been pacified and recon-
ciled through the death of His Son, who *camc
t)reaching peace.' God is further described, who
^rooght again firom the dead (not too much for
icMi and U), as one who had made full atonement
for sin, and having paid the debt, could no longer
be held in the bondiage of the grave. Only here
in this Epistle is the resurrection named, probably
as proving the completeness of Christ s worlu
Everywhere else Christ passes from the altar to
the Holy of Holies as priest and offering, to make

Chap. XIII. 1-25.]

TO THE HEBREWS.

93

intercession for tis. The phrase, ' from the dead/
coupled with what follows, ' that great Shepherd
of tne sheep,' points to Isa. Ixiii. 1 1, where Moses,
the shepherd of the sheep, is said to have been
bioaght up out of the sea. Moses from the sea,
Christ from the dead, each for his own work. —
The givttl thcq^erd of the sheep, who had given
His liie for them, who was great as Priest (x. 21 ),
and great as Shepherd too. His self-sacrificing
toMlemess, His ceaseless care, His power, His
resources, His authority, all are included in this
title — a fiaivourite representation of our Lord in
aodent Art.— In the blood of the everlasting
eofrenaat, i.e. God brought Him from the dead
bj Tirtue of, in the power of, the blood, which
ratified not the temporary covenant of Sinai, but
the eternal covenant of grace. God's peace is not
a truce for a time ; it is a permanent peace, an
agreement for eternity. The interpretation that
Cfnrist was made shepherd by virtue of the blood
of the covenant is hardly scriptural. He was
shepherd before He died. The acceptance of His
atonement, the efficacy of His blood, was the
condition of His resurrection. If He had not
risen, it most have been because atonement was
not made ; and if atonement was not made, we
should still have been in our sins. — ^Even onr lord
Jesos Ohrisl Here the name that is above every
name (our ' Lord ') is given to Jesus. He who is
the Shepherd, who dira for His sheep, who keeps
them, feeds them, guides them, protects them, is
abo their lord ; the Lord of their hearts as He is
also of their creed. By His resurrection God
aduiowledges the validity of the atonement ; by
aooepting Christ as Lord, we make the blessings
of it our ovm. — Perfect yoa (not the common
word so translated. It means to complete all the
parts, to put them in order, and fit them for use),
make you ready, active, fit, in every good work
to do (literally, to do out and out so as to accom-
plish—the force of the tense) his will, doing in
joa (the same repetition of words as in Phil. ii. i^)
that wldeh is well-pleasing in Us sight, through
Jesos Gluist. Whether God works through Jesus
Christ, or whether what is well-pleasing to God is
ifell-pleasingthrough Jesus Christ, has been much
discussed. The former is preferable to the latter ;
but there is no reason wny both should not be
combined. God works in us through Him what
is well-pleasing through Him. — To whom, ue, to
God, the principal subject of the sentence ; to
Htm who brought up from the dead the Lord
Jesoa^ who can perfect us, and is working for this
porpose. Glory and dominion are ascribed to the
Son in Rev. L 5, 6, and perhaps in i Pet. iv. 11,
ss they are to the Father, Phil. iv. 20, and to
both, Kev. V. 13 ; and so it is not material to
iHiom we refer the inscription here. But it is
more natural to refer it to the Father, to whom
the prajrer ispresented.

Ver. 22. How I exhort yon, brethren, bear
vith (in the sense of giving a patient, willing
audience to ; see Acts xviii. 14 ; 2 Cor. xi. 4) the
word of eshortation. The language is pN&rtly
^wlogetic, on the ground that the writer stands
in no close relation to his readers, and yet had not
spared them in his warnings (cp. vi. and x. ). All
ne had to say, however, is made as brief as pos-
sible.— For (with deeper reasons for such forbear-
ance, there is also the brevity of the letter itselQ
I have written a letter (which is implied in the
word used) in few words. This is the first time

the writer speaks in the singular number, as it is
the first intimation he gives that the treatise is an
epistle. A similiar close is found in Rom. xvi.
17, and in I Cor. xvi. 15.

Ver. 23. Know ye (imperative rather than indi-
cative, as a matter of joy, one of the prisoners
whose bonds you shared in spirit is now n'ee) that
onr brother Timothy is set at liberty (the most
natural rendering. The word is used for entering
on some official work. Acts xiii. 3, xv. 30 ; but a
fuller description would have been necessary if
that had been the meaning here) ; with whom, if
he come shortly, I will see yon. This language
does not prove that Paul wrote the Epistle, but it
intimates that the readers knew the writer, and it
is certain that no one stood in closer relation to
Paul than Timothy, especially towards the close
of the apostle's life (see Phil. ii. 19).

Ver. 24. Salute all your leaders, the chief men
among^ you, and all the saints, i.e, either of the
Church or those Christians outside of the Church,
whom they or their leaders might meet. They of
Italy, i.e, those who belonged to Italy, whether
then residing in Italy or not (comp. Acts xvii. 13).
In these expressions there seems an intentional
indefiniteness intended to conceal the place where
the Epistle was written. — Grace be with you all
(rather, Grace be with all of you ; an order of
words that gives individuality to the message as
well as universality). — Amen: Grace, the free
result of Divine love ; grace which justifies and
sanctifies and guides us ; grace which begins and
completes our salvation ; an especially appro-
priate ending of this Epistle, and the characteristic
ending of each of Paul s Epistles, and of his only,
in the New Testament.

The only subscription that has any critical value
is *To the Hebrews.' Variations are found in
some MSS. ; * was written from Italy by Timothy,'
one MS. adding * in Hebrew ; * * from Rome ' (A).
But no argument can be based on these readings.

lliree lessons are suggested hy the structure and
argument of this Epistle, i. The teaching which
distinguishes doctnne from precept, and makes
precept the more important, is rebuked by the
ver^ order of the Epistle itself, as in all Paul's
Epistles. The doctrinal teaching suggests the
form of the precepts, and supplies the strongest
reasons for obedience. Spiritual truths on sin,
Christ, redemption, eternal life, are largely the
foundation and the motive-forces of practical duty.

2. The need of a priesthood, and the fact that
Christ is the great High Priest, superseding every
other, all-sufficient and eternal, are essential parts
of the Gospel. Without the recognition or the
first, there is no adeq^uate sense of sm and of God.
Without the recognition of the second, there is no
pacifying of the conscience, and no free personal
access to God as the loving Father of all who
believe.

3. False conceptions of the Gospel and of God's
way of peace, when based on institutions and
teaching that are originallv Divine, are among the
greatest hindrances to salvation, and amonc; the
most fruitful sources of apostasy. Because Juda-
ism was Divine, and the Jews believed it, they
were in danger of rejecting Christ — in greater
danger than if they had been heathens. Truth
blended with error, God's word misunderstood and
believed, may be as great hindrances to holiness
and charity as heresy or unbelief.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF

JAMES.

THIS Epistle is the first in that division of the books of the New Testament
known by the name of the Catholic Epistles, To this division belong seven
Epistles : the Epistle of James, the two Epistles of Peter, the three Epistles of John,
and the Epistle of Jude.

The term Catholic was applied by Origen in the third century to First Peter and
First John ; but it was not until the fourth century that it was used to distinguish this
group of Epistles. In this application we first meet with it in the Ecclesiastical
History of Eusebius, who speaks of 'the seven Catholic Epistles' {H, £. iL 23).
Various meanings have been attached to the term. Some regard it as synonymous
with canonical, and as used to denote those Epistles which were universally recognised.
Others understand the term as opposed to heretical, and as employed to denote those
writings which agree with the doctrines of the universal church. And others think
that, after the Gospels and the Acts were collected into one group, and the Pauline
Epistles into another, the remaining Epistles were called catholic to denote the
r^ffWMnrm qjc general collection of all the apostles. But all those meanings are
defectire; tibej da not distinguish this group of Epistles ; they are as applicable to the
other writings of the New Testament The most appropriate and approved meaning
of the term is general^ in the sense of ciiciilar ; used to denote those Epistles which
are addressed, not to any particular church or individual^ as the Pauline Epistles, but
to a number of churches. It is true that the Second and Third Epistles of John
form an exception, as they are addressed to individuals ; but they are attached to the
larger Epistle of the same author, and may be considered as an appendix to it
Although the tenn Catholic is given to these seven Epistles primarily to distinguish
them from the Epistles of Paul, yet, taken in the above sense, it appropriately
distinguishes them. Thus the Epistle of James is a catholic or circular Epistle : it is
not addressed to any particular church or individual, but generally to the twelve
tribes which are scattered abroad. Corresponding to this general address, the
references in it are general, not personal ; there are no salutations appended to it, as
is the case with many of the Epistles of Paul

Sect. I. — ^The Author of the Epistle.

The autfior designates himself 'James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
Christ' Now there are three distinguished disciples bearing the name James, i.
James the son of Zebedee and brother of John, one of the three favoured apostles of
our Lord a. James the son of Alphseus, called also James the Less (Mark xv. 40),
another of the apostles. 3. James the Lord's brother, the so-called bishop of Jeru-

96

96 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES.

salcm; unless, indeed, these two last are the same person. The question which
meets us is : To which of these three does the authorship of this Epistle belong ?

Some have attributed the Epistle to James the son of 2^bedee. This is stated in
a manuscript of the old Italic version, the Codex Corbeiensis, and in the early printed
editions of the old Syriac or Peshito, although it is doubtful whether it was originally
in that version itself. But this opinion is now generally abandoned as opposed to
all probability.^ James the son of Zebedee was beheaded by Herod Agrippa i.,
A.D. 44 (Acts xiL 2) ; but this is too early a date for the composition of this Epistle.
The gospel was then scarcely propagated beyond the boundaries of Judea : there
could hardly, at that early period, be any Jewish churches of the dispersion to which
to write ; nor could the Christian Church be in that state of development which this
Epistle presupposes. This, of course, proceeds on the supposition, which we shall
afterwards prove to be correct, that this Epistle was written to Jewish Christians, and
not to Jews generally.

Christian tradition has pointed to James * the Lord's brother ' as the author of
this Epistle (Eus. H, E. iL 23) ; and with this the state of the case fully accords.
This James was permanently resident in the church of Jerusalem; he appears to
have been its recognised head ; if not an apostle, he was at least a person of acknow-
ledged importance among the apostles ; he presided at the Council of Jerusalem, and
is mentioned by Paul as one of the pillars of the church (Gal ii. 9). Hence, as
the head of the Jewish church at Jerusalem, he would have a great interest in the
believing Jews outside of that city — * the twelve tribes who were scattered abroad,'
could write to them with authority, and would be listened to by them with deference
and respect

The opinion of Roman Catholics and early Protestant commentators is that this
James the Lord's brother is identical with the Apostle James the son of Alphaeus.*
This opinion was not entertained by the early Church, and appears to have been first
introduced by Jerome. According to this view, the word brother is used in an
extended sense for cousin. The brothers of Christ are mentioned by name in the
Gospels; they are James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas (Matt xiiL 55; Mark
vL 3). Now two of these names, James and Joses, are elsewhere mentioned as the
names of the sons of Mary, the wife of Clopas, who is assumed to be the same as the
sister of the Virgin. * Now there stood at the cross of Jesus His mother, and His
mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene ' (John xix. 25) ; and
elsewhere we are informed that this Mary was the mother of James the Less and
Joses (Matt xxviL 56 ; Mark xv. 40) ; and consequently these two were the cousins
of our Lord. It is further maintained that Clopas is the same name as Alphaeus —
these being different forms of expressing the Hebrew name in Greek characters ; and
hence the Apostle James the son of Alphseus is the same as James the son of Clopas
and Mary, the cousin of our Lord. We also know that this James had a brother
named Judas; for among the apostles mention is made of 'Judas, the brother of
James' (Acts L 13). And further, another apostle named Simon is mentioned in the
apostolic lists, always in company with James and Judas, so that there is no improba-
bility in supposing him to be another brother. Hence, then, the sons of Alphaeus, or
Clopas, and Mary, the sister of the Virgin, namely James, and Joses, and Simon, and
Judas, are regarded as identical with those bearing the same names, who are mentioned

' This opinion has of late been ingeniously defended by the Rev. F. T. Basset in his Commentary
on the Epistle of James.

* See the discussion on the brothers of our Lord in a note appended to Matt. xiii. 58 m this
Commentary. The remarks here were written independently of that note.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 97

as the brothers of our I^rd The names are the same, and to identify them we have
only to suppose that the word brother is used in an extended sense so as to include
cousins.

It would occupy too much space to discuss this view. The reasoning is plausible,
but will not bear examination ; and the objections against it are so numerous and
great, that it may almost be considered as demonstrated that James the brother of
our Lord, and James the son of Alphaeus, are not identical, i. In no passage of the
New Testament is it indicated that the brothers of our Lord were only His cousins ;
they are always called brothers, never relations ; and it is arbitrary to assume that the
word brothers here denotes cousins, a sense which it never has in the New Testament.
The same objection is equally strong with reference to those who are called the sisters
of our Lord (Matt xiil 56). 2. When the brothers of our Lord are mentioned, they
are always distinguished from the twelve apostles. Wc are expressly informed that,
during the lifetime of Christ, His brothers did not believe on Him (John vii. 5).^
And after His ascension, when they became believers, and associated with the
disciples, they are still distinguished from the twelve (Acts i. 14 ; i Cor. ix. 5). This
could not have been the case, if two, if not three, of them had been apostles. 3. It
is extremely doubtful if Mary the wife of Clopas was the sister of the Virgin. The
words in John's Gospel are : * Now there stood at the cross of Jesus His mother and
His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene * (John xix. 25). It
is more probable that four women are here mentioned in pairs, instead of three ; and
as we learn from the other Gospels that Salome, the mother of John, also stood at
the cross (Matt xxvL 56 ; Mark xv. 40), the probability is that she, and not Mary
the wife of Clopas, was the sister of our Lord's mother : John having abstained to
mention her name, in accordance with his usual reserve in personal matters. This
avoids the awkwardness of two sisters being called by the same name. On this',
supposition, James the son of Alphasus was no relation to our Lord. 4. It is by no'
means a certainty that Clopas and Alphasus are the same names. 5. It is equally
uncertain that Judas the apostle was the brother of James, and not rather, as the
words might have been translated more in accordance with the Greek idiom, the son
of (an unknown) James. 6. The uncertainty is still greater with regard to the rela-
tionship of Simon 2^1otes to James and Judas. For these reasons, then, we consider
that the identity of James the son of Alphgeus, and James ' the Lord's brother,' must
be relinquished.*

But if James the Lord's brother is not identical with James the son of Alphjeus,
who is he? On this point there are two opinions: the one, that he and the other
brothers of our Lord were the sons of Mary and Joseph ; and the other, that they
were the children of Joseph by a previous marriage.

Many eminent divines suppose that James was a real brother of our Lord, being
the son of Mary and Joseph. According to this opinion, the words brothers and
sisters, when spoken of in connection with our Lord, are to be taken in their literal
sense ; they being likewise the children of Mary. Such an opinion was first started
toward the close of the fourth century by Helvidius.' It was opposed to the then
universal tradition of the Christian Church concerning the perpetual virginity ot

* The argument is independent of the meaning attached to the unbeluf of our Lord's brothers,
whether it was absolute or partial.

* This identity is asserted by Bbhop Wordsworth in his Greek Testament, and has more recently
been defended by Dean Scott in his excellent Commentary on the Epistle of James, forming part of the
Speaker's Commentary.

* It is a matter of dispute whether Tcrtullian held that James was the son of Mary ami Joseph :
his words are ambiguous. Lightfoot thinks it highly probable that he held the Hclvidian view,

VOL. IV. 7

98 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES.

Mary ; and on this account is still repugnant to the feelings of many Protestants, as
well as of all Romanists. On the other hand, it is argued that the idea, that Mary
should have had no other children of her own, is a mere sentiment arising from a false^
notion of the superior sanctity of celibacy, and that it has no foundation in the word
of God (Luke iL 7 ; Matt. i. 25). There are, however, two positive objections against
this opinion, i. It would appear that James is expressly called an aposde by Paul,
when he writes : * Qther of the aposdes saw I none, save James the Lord's brother '
(Gal. i. 19). To this it has been replied, either that the word apostle is here used in
an extended sense : as in the New Testament it is not confined to the twelve, but is
applied to other distinguished disciples, as, for example, Paul and Barnabas (Acts
xiv. 16) ; or that the restriction does not apply to the word apostles, but to the whole
clause in the sense : Except Peter, I saw no other apostle, but I saw James the Lord's
brother (comp. Luke iv. 25-27). 2. If Mary had children of her own, Jesus would
not, when dying, have recommended her to the care of John (John xix. 26, 27) : an
objection to which we have found no satisfactory solution.^ We are ignorant of the
circumstances of the case ; but this objection cannot outweigh the greater and more
numerous objections to the theory of identity.

There is still a third opinion — namely, that James and the other brothers and
sisters of our Lord were the children of Joseph by a previous marriage, and were, on
account of this relationship, regarded as his brothers and sisters. By reason of our
Lord's miraculous conception, they were actually no relations ; but they would be
considered by the world as His brothers. This view was the general opinion of the
early Greek Fathers, as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, Epiphanius,
Gregory of Nyssa, and so is the one best attested by ecclesiastical tradition. It
lessens, though it does not entirely remove, the objection arising from Jesus recomr
mending His mother to the care of John, that is, to her nephew, instead of to her
step-children ; and it does no violence to the general sentiment of the Church con-
cerning the perpetual virginity of Mary. Still, however, though ably maintained by
Bishop Lightfoot, and apparently adopted by Dean Plumptre, it has not been much
favoured by modem divines. It has too much the appearance of a hypothesis
invented to avoid a difficulty ; nor is there the slightest intimation in Scripture that
Joseph had been married previous to his espousals with the Virgin.

This James, the Lord's brother, is scarcely alluded to in the Gospels, but is
frequently mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. He was a prominent person in
the early church. During our Lord's lifetime it is probable that with his brothers
he remained unbelieving (John vii. 5), but was converted by a special appearance of
Christ to him after His resurrection (i Cor. xv. 7). From the first, owing probably
to his high moral character and relationship to Christ, he occupied a distinguished
position in the early church. To him Peter sent a message, on his release from
imprisonment : * Go show these things unto James and the brethren ' (Acts xiL 7).
He presided at the Council of Jerusalem, and pronounced the decree of the assembled
church (Acts xv. 19). To him, as the head of the church of Jerusalem, Paul repaired
on his last visit to that city (Acts xxi. 18). In the Epistle to the Galatians, Paul gives
him the honourable designation of 'James the Lord's brother' (GaL i. 19); and
along with Peter and John, he mentions him as one of the three pillars of the church
(Gal. ii. 9). In the same Epistle we are also informed, that it was the presence of
' certain who came from James ' which was the cause of Peter's withdrawing himself

^ An ingemous solution is given by Dr. Bushnell in his sermon on Mary the mother of Jesus :
' Why Jesus committed her thus to John and not to the four brothers it is not difficult to guess ; for
John has a home as they certainly hav^ npt, and are not likely soon to have.'

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 99

from converse with the Gentiles (Gal. ii. 21). And in the short Epistle of Jude, the
author calls himself * Jude the brother of James' (Jude i).

If not actually bishop of Jerusalem, it would appear from these scriptural notices
that James at least exercised a very important influence in the mother church. He
was the recognised head of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. When Christianity
was chiefly confined to Jewish converts, his influence must have been almost para-
mount And after its extension to the Gentiles, the Jewish Christians would esteem
him to be peculiarly their apostle, as Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles ; his influ-
ence would not be confined to Jerusalem, but would extend to all believers among
the twelve tribes, wherever scattered.

Nor is ecclesiastical history silent concerning this pillar of Christianity; he
occupies a large space in the traditions of the church. Certainly the accounts that
have reached us are mixed with fable, but still in them we can trace the character of
the man. They all describe him as a man of the greatest moral strictness, to whom
the epithet * the Just ' was universally applied, and aflSrm that he continued to the
last an observer of the Mosaic law. He suffered martyrdom by the Jews, a few years
before the commencement of the Jewish war. The accounts of his death vary. It is
thus recorded by Josephus, in a very remarkable passage, the genuineness of which
has without good reasons been disputed : * Ananias assembled the sanhedrim, and
brought before them the brother of Jesus, who is called Christ, whose name was
James, and some of his companions ; and when he had formed an accusation against
them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned ' {Ant, xx. 9. i). Accord-
ing to the account of Hegesippus, preserved in the history of Eusebius, James was
cast down from the pinnacle of the temple, and stoned while he was yet alive, and
at length put to death by a blow from a fuller's club (ZT. E. il 23).

From all these scriptural and traditionary notices, it would appear that James was
a man of the strictest integrity, and that he continued to the last an observer of the
law of Moses — 'a just man according to the law.' By becoming a Christian he did
not renounce Judaism ; he resided in Jerusalem, and continued to worship in the
temple. He was even more than Peter the apostle of the circumcision (Gal. il 8) ;
the sphere of his labours was restricted to the Jewish converts to Christianity. Hence,
then, his practical relation to the Jewish law was different from that of Paul Paul
felt himself to be dead to the law, freed from its requirements ; he probably observed
it, but not strictly ; when it served to promote the diffusion of the gospel, he could
become without the law to those who were without the law ; though, on other occa-
sions, he became a Jew to the Jews that he might gain the Jews. James, on the
other hand, did not dissever Christianity from Judaism ; he regarded Christianity as
the perfection of Judaism ; he was far from wishing to impose the Jewish yoke on
the Gentile Christians, but he saw no necessity to separate himself from the ancient
people, or to renounce their religion. * Had not,' observes Dr. Schaff", * the influence
of James been modified and completed by that of a Peter, and especially a Paul,
Christianity, perhaps, would never have cast off" entirely the envelope of Judaism and
risen to mdependence. Yet the influence of James was necessary. He, if any, could
gain the ancient chosen nation as a body. God placed such a representative of the
purest form of Old Testament piety in the midst of the Jews to make their transition
U> the feith of the Messiah as easy as possible, even at the eleventh hour. But when
they refused this last messenger of peace, the divine forbearance was exhausted, and
die fearful, long-threatened judgment broke upon them. And with this the mission of
James was fulfilled He was not to outlive the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.' ^

* History oftht Afostolic Churchy vol. il p. 38.

loo INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES.

Sect. II. — The Readers of the Epistle.

As the personality of the author has been the subject of much dispute, so likewise
have been the persons to whom this Epistle was primarily addressed. They are
designated * the twelve tribes who are scattered abroad ; ' but very different meanings
have been attached to these words.

Some suppose that the Epistle was addressed to Christians in general. They
take the expression * twelve tribes ' in a figurative sense to denote * the Israel of God *
(Gal vi. 1 6), in contrast to * Israel after the flesh* (i Cor. x. i8). But such an
interpretation is wholly inadmissible. There is not the slightest intimation in the
Epistle that a figurative sense is to be given to these words ; and we must beware
of assigning a metaphorical sense to the words of Scripture when no such sense is
indicated by the context or required by the passage. Moreover, James speaks of
Abraham as *our father' (Jas. ii. 21), thus indicating that as a Jew he wrote to
the Jews.

Others suppose that the Epistle was addressed to Jews generally — to non-Christian
as well as to Christian Jews. This is an opinion which possesses considerable
plausibility, and has found many able supporters.* The Epistle, it is affirmed, is
addressed * to the twelve tribes,' without any recognition of the Christian faith of
the readers ; they are described merely according to their nationality. Besides, it
contains various statements which can hardly apply to Christians, and can only be
true of unconverted Jews (iL 6, 7, v. 6). But the general contents of the Epistle are
opposed to this opinion. The readers, whoever they were, were at least professing
Christians ; their Christianity is taken for granted. James rests his authority upon
being *a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ' (i. i). His readers, without
distinction, are such as God hath begotten by the word of truth, that is, the gospel
of Christ (i. 18). He speaks of their possessing the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory (iL i). He mentions those who blasphemed that worthy name,
namely, the name of Christ, by which they were called (ii. 7). And he exhorts them
to patience because of the advent of Christ : * Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto
the coming of the Lord ' (v. 7).

Hence, then, we conclude that this Epistle was primarily addressed to Jewish
Christians. To this, indeed, it has been objected that there are portions in it which
are inapplicable to Christians : the severe invectives of the writer (iil 9, iv. i, 4), and
especially his denunciation of judgment upon the rich (v. 1-6), can only refer to
unbelievers. But we do not know the state of moral corruption which prevailed
among the Jewish Christians ; and certainly, if we were to judge of them by the
conduct of many professing Christians of the present day, we would not regard those
invectives as too strong. And with regard to the attack upon the rich in the fifth
chapter, it is so worded that it may be regarded as an apostrophe addressed to rich
unbelievers — the proud oppressors of the Jewish Christians ; though it is not impos-
sible that there existed in the Christian Church rich professors to whom these words
of stem reproof were not inapplicable.

The phrase * twelve tribes ' was a usual appellation of Jews in general. Thus Paul,
in his speech before Agrippa, says : * Unto which promise our twelve tribes hope to
attain * (Acts xxvi. 7). The twelve tribes were now mixed together, and formed the

^ The opinion advocated by Basset, and necessary for his theory of the authorship of James the soi>
ofZebedee,

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. loi

nation of the Jews. Many of the Israelites were left in their own land by their
Assyrian conquerors, and many of them returned at the restoration from Babylon.
The locality of these twelve tribes is contained in the addition, * who are scattered
abroad.^ They were the Jews of the dispersion — ^Jews resident beyond the boundaries
of Palestine. In almost every country at that time Jews of the dispersion were found ;
but there were especially two great dispersions — the Babylonian and the Greek. The
Epistle being written in Greek, it would seem that the Greek dispersion (John viL 35)
was primarily intended. Accordingly the persons to whom it was addressed would
be such as had passed over to Christianity from among those who are called Hellenists
or Grecians in the Acts of the Apostles, ue. Christian Jews who resided out of
Palestine and who spoke the Greek language. The churches addressed were in all
probability those in the countries in the closest proximity to Judea, namely, Phenicia,
Syria, Cilicia, and Proconsular Asia. The members of these churches were, it is
supposed, chiefly composed of Jewish Christians ; not like those churches founded by
Paul, which were chiefly composed of Gentile Christians.

The condition of those Christian Jews of the dispersion, as described in the
Epistle, was such as to excite great anxiety and concern. They were exposed to
manifold trials ; their members were in general poor \ and they were dragged by their
rich oppressors before the judgment-seat (ii. 6). But it would appear that they did
not bear their trials with Christian patience. Instead of trust in God, they gave way
to doubt, and thus became double-minded, with their affections divided between God
and the world. On account of their trials, they were strongly tempted to apostasy, to
renounce their Christianity, and to relapse into their former Judaism. They carried
the spirit of Jewish covetousness with them into the Christian Church, and were
eagerly desirous of earthly riches ; looked upon poverty as a crime ; showed even in
their religious assemblies an obsequious attention to the rich ; and by their actions
declared that they preferred the friendship of the world to the friendship of God.
This worldly spirit was the occasit)n of bitter strife among themselves ; and especially
there was a wide breach among them between the rich and the poor. Their religion
had degenerated into a mere formal observance of certain religious ceremonies ; they
trusted to their privileges, both as Jews and Christians, without giving due attention
to holiness of life ; and they rested on their Christian faith, although divorced from
good works. Of course we are not to suppose that all were thus estranged from
the Christian life; but even they who preserved their Christianity purest were
living in the midst of temptation, and required to be admonished and encouraged
to perseverance.

Sect. III. — Place and Time of Writing.

With regard to the place of composition, there is hardly any difference of opinion.
Thb was undoubtedly Jerusalem, where James usually resided, and which was the
proper centre for an epistle addressed to Jewish Christians to issue from. In this
Epistle the mother church addresses her oflspring. *The local colouring of the
Epistle,' as Dean Plumptre remarks, * indicates with sufficient clearness where the
writer lived. He speaks, as the prophets of Israel had done, of the early and latter
rain (v. 7); the hot blast of the kausdn or simoom of the desert (i. 11) ; the brackish
springs of the hills of Judah and Benjamin (iii. 1 1) ; the figs, the olives, and the vines
with which those hills were clothed (iii. 12) : all these form part of the surroundings
of the writer. Storms and tempests, such as might have been seen on the Sea
of Galilee, or in visits to Casarea or Joppa, and the power of man to guide the

ioi INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES.

great ships safely through them, have at some time or other been familiar to him '
(ill. 4).i

The fime of composition, on the other hand, is a matter of greater difficulty, and
has given rise to a variety of opinions. Assuming the correctness of our view regard-
ing the author of the Epistle, it was evidently written on or before the year 63, when
James was martyred. But it may be disputed whether it was written before or after
Paul's publication of the doctrine of justification without the works of the law. Those
who suppose that the object of this Epistle was to correct the perversions of Paul's
views must assign a later date, not long before the death of James ; whereas those
who think that James makes no reference to Paul's views, but refers only to errors
which he knew to be then prevalent among the Jewish Christians, may assign a much
earlier date, though not necessitated to do so.

Some suppose that the Epistle contains a designed refutation of certain perversions
of Paul's doctrine of justification, that doctrine having been apprehended as implying
that faith was all that was necessary for salvation, and that works or acts of holy
obedience were unnecessary. They think that the very terms employed by James —
justification, faith, and works — point to a Pauline origin, and are a proof that Paul's
doctrine was already published and perverted among those Jewish Christians to whom
James wrote. James, it is said, expresses himself with evident reference to the
conclusion which Paul arrived at (Jas. ii. 24; Rom. iii. 28). The example of
Abraham's justification is adduced by both Paul and James, as an illustration of
their respective views (Jas. iL 21 ; Rom. iv. 1-3). And various expressions in this
Epistle are considered to be allusions to similar expressions in Paul's Epistles. The
relation of James* doctrine of justification to that of Paul's will be considered when
we come to the exposition of the Epistle. Meanwhile we would only remark that it
is not necessary to suppose that James was acquainted with Paul's doctrine, or that
he had read his Epistles. The supposed allusions to the Pauline Epistles are vague
and not numerous. There is no necessity to suppose that the ideas of justification,
faith, and works, were only Pauline ideas ; they might have been prevalent in the
Christian church, as expressions of its belief; and, indeed, they were not unknown
among the Jews. The reference to Abraham's justification would be natural to any
Jewish writer in discussing the relation of faith to justification, for it is one of the few
instances in the Old Testament where faith is mentioned in such a relation. What
James combats may have been, not any perversion of Pauline views, but the old
opinion of the Pharisees introduced into the Christian church, that mere external
privileges, an orthodox creed, and the performance of certain outward religious services,
would ensure salvation, independently of a holy life.

We are therefore inclined to agree with those who would assign the date of this
Epistle to a period prior to the promulgation of the Pauline doctrine of justification :
indeed to suppose it possible that it may have been written even before the Council
of Jerusalem. There is in it no allusion to Gentile Christians, as if Christianity was
then chiefly restricted to the Jews ; nor is there any mention of those divisions which
arose, in consequence of the numerous conversions of the Gentiles, between Jewish
and Gentile Christians concerning the validity of the Mosaic law. This can easily be
accounted for on the supposition that such divisions had not then arisen, and that
Jewish Christianity was then predominant. At an early period, when the gospel had
only commenced to be preached to the Gentiles, when Paul and Barnabas had only
set out on their first missionary journey, most of the Christian Churches must have
been composed of Jewish Christians, who would be identical with those Jews of the

* The local colouring of the Epistle is also adverted to by Hug in his Introduction, vol. ii. sec. cxlviO.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. io3

dispersion beyond Judea, to whom James wrote. ^ We read that, in consequence
of the persecution that arose about Stephen, those that were scattered abroad
travelled as far as Phenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but
to the Jews only (Acts xi. 19). Afterwards, in consequence of the conversion of
the Gentiles, the Jewish element would be swallowed up, and beyond Palestine there
is no mention of Jewish Christian churches, although it is not improbable that some
of Aem may have existed in Syria and Babylonia. Although we can attain to no
certiadnty on this point, yet an early date is more probable than a late one, and on
this supposition we would assign the composition of this Epistle to somewhere
between the years 45 and 50. In that case, this Epistle is one of the earliest, if not
fte veiy earliest, of the books of the New Testament.

Sect. IV. — Design of the Epistle.

The design of the Epistle has already been indicated in considering the condition
of the readers. It was to correct certain errors in practice into which the Jewish
Christians had fallen, to warn them against apostasy, and to establish them in the
feith amid the temptations to which they were exposed. It is observable that the
faults which James censures are such as we know then prevailed among the Jews.
The Jewish Christians, when they embraced Christianity, had not divested themselves
of their Jewish character ; their old nature was not thus so easily laid aside. Thus
James reproves them for their covetousness — their eager desire to buy and sell and
ffst gain (iv. 13) ; for their formalism — ^relying on their belief in the unity of God, the
great article of the Jewish religion, without a corresponding practice (iii. 19); for
Aeir oppression — ^the rich refusing to pay the labourers their hire (v. 4) ; for their
meanness, their sycophancy toward the rich (ii 3) ; for their falsehood, their disregard
of oaths (v. 12) ; and for their fatalism, laying the blame of their faults upon God

(i. 13).

The design of this Epistle is ethical, not doctrinal. James does not, like Paul,
insist upon or develop the peculiar doctrines of Christianity; he supposes them
known, and he builds upon them practical Christianity. He dwells upon the govern-
ment of the tongue, the sin of worldliness, the observance of the moral law ; in short,
the utter worthlessness of faith without works : he inculcates the principle of that
pure and imdefiled worship which consists in doing good to others, and in keeping
ourselves pure in the world (L 27). Hence there is in the Epistle a comparative
want of Christian doctrine. James does not insist on the atonement, the resurrection
and ascension of Christ, and the work of the Spirit. Our Lord's sufferings are hardly
alluded to : even the name of our Saviour occurs only twice (i. i, il i). On the
other hand, there is nothing in the Epistle at variance with the exalted and divine
nature of Christ, but rather the reverse. James calls himself * the servant of God and
of the Lord Jesus Christ' (L i), thus maintaining a unity between God and Christ;
he speaks of Him as the Lord of glory (ii. i), exalted above all human power and
dignity ; he adverts to the coming of the Lord (v. 7, 8), and evidently designates
Him as the Judge of the world (v. 8, 9). At the same time, even when James touches

' Pr. Erdmann supposes that the Epistle was written even before the formation of the Gentile
church at Antioch, when consequently almost all the Christians would be Jews and Jewish converts.
These churches of the dispersion would necessarily be closely connected with the church of
Jerosalem, over which James presided, so that he may be considered as having a pastoral oversight
over them.

164 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES.

on doctrine, it is not for the sake of the doctrine, but always with reference to
practice. Thus he speaks of justification, in order to show the inseparable connection
between faith and holiness. The Epistle, in its purely ethical tendency, bears a very
close resemblance to the Sermon on the Mount : many of the precepts and illustra-
tions are the same as those found in that greatest of discourses.^ Not that the writer
of this Epistle saw the Gospel of Matthew ; but the words of Jesus, orally repeated
before any Gospel was written, were impressed upon his memory, and influenced his
diction.

The style of this Epistle is very marked and original ; it bears no resemblance to
any other writing in the New Testament ; the nearest approach to it in sententious
sentiments and detached maxims is the Book of Proverbs. There is a great freshness
and vividness about it ; the writer is rich in illustrations, which are always appropriate
and impressive. There is a directness in his address ; the persons whom he addresses
are brought forward, and spoken to, as if they were present. In his animadversions
he uses strong expressions; his stem sense of duty gives rise to a great severity
in his rebukes ; he is full of zeal and moral indignation at all iniquity ; he does
not spare the faults of those to whom he writes ; and his denunciations often
resemble the indignant reproaches of the Old Testament prophets. To him no
faith, no profession, no assertion is of any value unless accompanied with holiness
of life.

It is not easy to give a connected statement of the train of thought in this Epistle.
There is no logical connection, as in the Epistles of Paul ; the sentences are often
detached, and do not follow one another in a regular order. James commences his
Epistle by alluding to the trials to which his readers were exposed ; these, if patiently
endured, were to be to them a source of joy, and were an occasion of blessedness ;
but they must beware of attributing their yielding to temptation to God, for He is the
source of all good and not of evil ; more especially it was of His goodness that they
were bom again by the gospel. It becomes them to be diligent hearers of the
gospel, in order that they might reduce to practice its precepts. Religion does not
consist in the performance of ceremonies, but in active benevolence and personal
purity (Jas. i.). They must not envy the rich, nor despise the poor, but practise
their religion without respect of persons. The royal law of love teaches them to
love their neighbour as themselves. Faith without love, showing itself in acts of
benevolence, is dead. Such a faith, if it hath not works, cannot justify. To no
purpose do they believe in God, unless their faith is accompanied with holiness of
life (Jas. ii.). Especially must they cultivate that branch of holiness which consists
in the government of the tongue ; this will require their utmost care ; they must
avoid all strife and bitter envy, and cultivate that heavenly wisdom which is pure and
peaceable ; the result of holiness is not contention, but peace (Jas. iii.). On the
other hand, all their fightings and strifes arise from those sinful lusts which exi.st
within them ; these they must overcome ; they must resist the devil ; they must
cleanse their hands and purify their hearts; they must humble themselves before

* The following is a list of parallelisms as given by Huther ; —

Jas. i. 2 compared with Matt. v. 10-12. i Jas. iii. 17, 18 compared with Matt. v. 9.

„ iv. 10 „ „ V. 3, 4.

i. 4 „ „ V. 48.

i. 5.V. 15 „ „ vii. 7-12.

i. 9 II »i V- 3.

i. 20 .. „ V. 22.

ti *• *" It i>

II
II

ii. 13 II II ^'i- »4, IS. V- 7.

ii. 14-16 „ „ vii. 21-23.

fi IV. II „ ,, vii. I, 2.

II V. 2 „ ,, vi. 19.

II V. 10 „ „ V. 12.

I. V. 12 „ „ V. 33-37.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. t6J

God, and not judge one another. Religion is also trust in God ; in everything it
behoves them to exercise dependence on God, and to acknowledge Him even in
their worldly undertakings (Jas. iv.). The rich are especially warned, in a stern
apostrophe, of their oppressions and wantonness ; whilst those suffering from their
oppressions are exhorted to patient waiting for the coming of the Lord ; they are to
take the prophets for examples of patient endurance of sufferings. In all things, and
in every condition, they must abound in prayer, and seek to reclaim their erring
brethren, for in so doing they would hide a multitude of sins (Jas. v.).

Sect. V. — The Authenticity of the Epistle.

The Epistle of James did not receive the same speedy and general acceptance as
the Epistles of Paul The testimonies in its favour among the ancient fathers are
comparatively few. Eusebius classes it among the disputed epistles {H, E, iii. 25) ;
and it did not receive universal acceptance until the close of the fourth century. It
is well known that at the Reformation its authority was disputed, and that Luther,
from subjective reasons, viewed it in an unfavourable light.

The reasons of this dubiety with regard to the authenticity of this Epistle are
easily accounted for. There was a certain doubtfulness as to its author. James
the Lord's brother, to whom it was generally ascribed, although a person of great
importance in the early church, was not an apostle, and hence he was regarded as
inferior to most of the other writers of the New Testament The Epistle was primarily
addressed to the Jewish Christians, and thus would for some time be confined to a
narrow circle of readers ; and, besides, there was in the early ages a prejudice among
the Gentile Christians against their Jewish brethren. Most of the peculiar doctrines
of Christianity were omitted in the Epistle, and hence it was regarded as of inferior
importance to those epistles which contained a development of Christian doctrine ;
it was -considered to belong rather to the law than to the gospel. And especially
the statements in it appeared to be opposed to the teaching of Paul. These circum-
stances hindered the general recognition of this Epistle ; but, as has been remarked,
' so much the more valuable are those recognitions of its genuineness and canonicity
which we do meet with.'

Still, however, this Epistle is not without external testimonies in its favour.^
There are probable allusions to it in the writings of the fathers Clemens Romanus,
Hermas, Irenaeus, and Tertullian, in the second century. Origen, in the third
century, is the first who ascribes it to James ; he speaks of it as the Epistle attributed
to James. But the chief external testimony in its favour is that it is inserted in the
Peshito or early Syriac translation, made in the middle of the second century, although
that translation omits some other books of Scripture (2 Pet, 2 and 3 John, and
Jude). The Syriac church was in the best position to judge of its authenticity. It
was especially to the Jewish churches in Syria that this Epistle was addressed ; and,
therefore, its being recognised by the Syriac church is a strong proof in its favour.

The internal evidence is even stronger than the external If it were a forgery, the
author would not be described merely as * James, the servant of God.' Other titles
would be attached to his name, as * James the Lord's brother,' in order to pave

^ It has been plausibly asserted that the earliest testimony in favour of the Epistle of James is the
references to it in I Peter. Comp. I Pet i. 6, 7 with Jas. i. 2, 3 ; I Pet. i. 24 with Jas. L 10;
I Pet ii. I, 2 with Jas. i. 21 ; I Pet iv, 8 with Jas. v. 20 ; I Pet. v. 5, 6 with Jas. iv. 6, 10 ; i Pet
V. 8, 9 with Jas. iv. 7.

io6 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JAMES.

the way for the reception of the writing by the authority of the name of its author.
The difference between it and the non-apostolic writings is immense, and its undis-
puted superiority is an argument in its favour. But, further, it is precisely such a
letter as one would expect, considering the l^al strictness of James, and the
national feelings and temptations of the Jewish Christians. It is at once severe
and indignant at sin, and earnest in the inculcation of practical religion, as we
would expect in any utterance of James, the Just; and it reproves covetousness,
worldliness, and Pharisaical formality, the prevalent faults in a community of Jewish
Christians; for these were, even in the apostolic age, the prominent sins of the
Jewish race.

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF

JAMES.

Chapter I. 1-18.

On Temptations.

1 T AMES, 'a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to «g^j|-/.'
J the twelve tribes which are * scattered abroad,* ^ greeting. ^^^'^J '351

2 My brethren, ^ count it all joy when ye fall into divers ^ \^'J;; \^

3 temptations; knowing /Atr," that 'the trying* of your faith ^J?*^^'^;-^

4 worketh patience.* But let patience * have her * perfect work,

5 -^that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.* If any /^at. v. 48.
of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, ^that giveth to all *Matvii.7.
men liberally,' and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him *ask in faith, 'nothing wavering :• for he that *m*l xjoj^m.
wavereth ' is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and

7 tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any

8 thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is ** unstable in all

9 his ways. Let *the brother of low degree" rejoice in that he *J*^•J^3;^
ID is exalted ; " but the rich, in that he is made low : " ' because '^^^^'^l;

1 1 as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is

no sooner risen ** '"with a burning heat," but it withereth ^* the wMat. « w.
grass, and the flower thereof falleth," and the grace of the
fashion of it perisheth : '* so also shall the rich man fade away

12 in his ways. * Blessed is the man that ** endureth temptation : «Mat. v. to;

* Job T. 17.

for when he is tried," he shall receive ^ the crown of life, which »J\''- "•

13 the Lord "• hath promised to them that love him. Let no man « Tim. iV. 8
say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God : for God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his ^own ^Rom. vii. 7.

Mn the dispersion ^ omit this 'proof * endurance

• a • lacking in nothing ' simply ® doubting • doubteth

*• He is a double-minded man " who is lowly

" glory in his exaltation " in his humiliation " For the sun arose

" with its heat ^* and withered " fell

'* perished 1* approved ^ He {the best authorities omit the Lord)

163 THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. L i-i8.

I S lust," and enticed. Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth

forth sin ; and sin, when it is finished, ''bringeth forth" death. rR0m.v1.a3.

16,17 'Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and '«Cor. vi.^,
every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down " from
the Father of lights, ' with whom is no variableness, neither / 1 ja l $.

18 shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us "with the «iPet.i.a>
word of truth, that we should be a kind of "first-fruits of his trRo«.yiu.

' »i-«3; Rev.

creatures. **^- *•

** by his own lust

«* begettcth

** coming down

Contents. James, after saluting his readers,
commences his Epistle by adverting to those trials
to which they were exposed : these, if patiently
endured, would confirm and strengthen them in
the faith ; and, as they were placed in trying cir-
cumstances, he admonishes them to ask, without
doubting, wisdom from God. If, on the one
hand, they successfully overcame those tempta-
tions to which their trials exposed them, they
would receive the crown of life which the Lord
had promised to them that love Him ; but if, on
the other hand, they were overcome, they must
beware of attributing their sins, which arose from
their own wicked desires, to God who is the
Author, not of evil, but of good ; and especially
it was of His pure coodness that they were born
again by the word ottruth.

Ver. I. Jamee: the same name as the Hebrew
Jacob. The James who is the author of this Epistle
18 the Lord's brother, known in ecclesiastical his-
tory as the bishop of Jerusalem, and was either a son
of Mary and Joseph, or a son of Joseph by a previous
marriage (see Introduction, sec. i). — a servant,
literally a bondman or a slave ; the word denotes
absolute subjection, but we must not associate
with it the degradation and involuntary compulsion
attached to our conception of slavery. A certain
undefined ministerial office is perhaps implied ;
but the phrase, 'a ser\-ant of Christ/ has become
a popular term, belonging not only to all the
office-bearers of the Church, but to all Christians
(I Pet. ii. 16). We are all the servants of Jesus
Christ, bound to obey His commands, and to
devote ourselves to His service. Some suppose
that it is a proof that James was not an apostle,
l)ecause he calls himself only * a servant of God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ ; ' but this supposi-
tion cannot be maintained, as Paul gives himself
the same appellation in the Epistle to the Philip-
pians (Phil. i. i). — of Ood and of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Only in another place in this Epistle does
James mention our Lord by name (chap. ii. i),
though elsewhere he alludes to Him (chap. v. 7,
14, 15). — to the twelve tribes, a common desig-
nation of the Israelites (Acts xxvi. 7). The twelve
tribes were now mingled together, and formed the
nation of the Jews. The name Israel was, how-
ever, still retained as being the covenant people of
God ; to Israel, and not specifically to the Tews,
were the promises made (Rom ix. 4). — whien are
scattered abroad, or more exactly, 'that are in
the dispersion.' The Dispersion, or the Diaspora,
was the name given to those Jews or Israelites
who resided in foreign lands beyond the boun-
daries of Palestine. This Epistle was not written

primarily to the Gentile Christians, or to the
Jews generally, but to the Christian Tews of the
dispersion — to those who are elsewhere odled
Hellenists (see Introduction, sec. 2). The Jews
were everywhere 'scattered abroad.' Josephus
says that it was not easy to find an eminent place
in the whole world where the Jews did not reside;
and the same observation holds good in the present
day. — greeting, or * wishes joy. The usual Greek
form of salutation. It is found at the commence-
ment of no other apostolic Epistle, but occurs in
the Epistle drawn up by James, addressed to tlw
Gentile churches, at the council of Jerusalem
(Acts XV. 23), over which James seems to have
presided.

Ver. 2. My brethren: the constant form of
address in this EpisUe ; his readers were his
brethren, both on account of their nationality and
of their Christian faith ; both in the flesh and in
the Lord.— count it all Joy, that is, complete or
pure joy — a joy which excludes trouble and
sorrow. Some suppose a reference here to the
greeting of James, wherein he wishes his readers
joy. — when ye fall into, when ye become unex-
pectedly surrounded or encompassed by. The
idea of surprise is here to be taken into account.
Trials are not to be sought for or rushed into;
believers fall into them. — divexa temptatioiia.
The adjective 'divers' does not indicate the
different sources from which the temptations pro-
ceed, but rather the different forms which they
assume. Temptations are generally regarded in
two points of view — enticements to sin, and trials
or tests of character ; here it is evident that they
are chiefly regarded in the latter point of view,
though the former is not excluded (see note to
ver. 13). They are outward trials as contrasted
with inward temptations to evil. St. Tames may
primarily allude to those trials to which, in the
form of persecution, the Jewish Christians were
exposed from their unbelieving countrymen; but
the epithet 'divers' would appear to include
temptations or trials of all kinds. It is not the
mere falling into trials that is the cause of joy ;
but the beneficial effects which result from them,
as is evident from the verse which follows.

Ver. 3. Knowing this— being well assured of
the fact, the reason or ground of the joy. — that
the trying. These temptations are regarded as
the tests or proofs of faith, and in this consists
their value. By them faith is being tested as eold
in the furnace, and is thus recognis^ and purified.
— of your faith : of your firm confidence and
trust in the Gospel. Faith here is not used ob-
jectively for the doctrines of Christianity; but

Chap. I. 1-18.]

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

IC9

subjectively for our personal persuasion of the truth
of the Gospel.— worketb, produceth, patience.
By patience here b not meant so much freedom
from murmuring and repining, as endurance —
sted fastness or perseverance in the faith of the
Gospel under these temptations. The Jewish
Chnstians by their trials were tempted to aposta-
tize^ from Christianity. A period of trial is a
period of testing ; the true metal is purified, not
consumed. Thc«e who are true believers stand
the trial ; the trying of their faith produceth en-
durance. Those who are not true believers fall
away; 'in time of temptation,* says our Lord,
•th^ fall away ' (Luke viii. 13). With respect to
joy in temptation, because it produceth patience,
compare the language of St. Paul : ' We glory in
tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh
patience (endurance), and patience experience
(approval),' (Rom. v. 3, 4).

Ver. 4. Bat let patience, or endurance, have
her pttfeot — not only in the sense of enduring to
the Old, bat of completeness — work. Patience is
not merely a passive but an active virtue ; there
is' a work of patience, yea a perfect work. And
this work consists in the purification of the soul —
in refining and ennobling our moral character.
Patience under trials has pre-eminently a sancti-
fying tendency. The most perfect Christians are
not the most active, but the most enduring ; not
so mach in the bustle of the world is the work of
grace carried on, as in the quietness of the sick-
chamber. God proves His people in the furnace
of affliction. He purj;es the fruitful branches
that they may bear more fruit (John xv. 2). —
tliat ye may be perfect ' I'he work of God in
a man,' as Dean Alford observes, ' is the man.
If God's teaching by patience have had a perfect
work in you, jwu are perfect.' Of course by this
cannot be meant absolute perfection ; the word
denotes maturity in grace, not absolute but
rdative holiness. — and entire. Perfect and
entire are almost synonymous terms ; perfect
denotes that which has attained to its maturity,
entire that which is complete in all its parts.
Compare Acts iii. 16.— wanting nothing— or < in
Botlung lacking,' a negative expression for the
sake of strengthening these two positive attributes
—perfect and entire.

Ver. 5. If. The connection of this verse with
the preceding b not very obvious. It may be as
Iblkms : You may by your trials be thrown into a
state of perplexity ; you may want wisdom ; if
so, ask It of God.— any of yon lack wisdom,
pcarhaps suggested by the previous expression
* wanting or lacking nothing, the verb in both
veises bong the same in the Greek. By wisdom
here may be primarily meant wisdom or prudence
in the present trying circumstances of the Jewish
Chrirtians ; wisdom to bear their afflictions well.
Bttt the word is not to be confined to this ; it denotes
spiritual wisdom in general, not mere human wisdom
or learning, but that ' wisdom which cometh from
above,' and which is an essential foundation of
Christian conduct James, in writing to Jewish
oonTerts, might well sup[)ose them acquainted
from thdr sacred books with the true nature of
wisdom, which was regarded by them as almost
synonymous with religion. Wisdom was especially
necessary to Christians in their temptations, to con-
vert them from being incitements to sin to be
occasions of Christian perfection. — ^let him ask
of God ibttt glTeth, or more literally, ' of God,

the Giver.'— to all men liberally. The word
rendered * liberally' denotes simply, with sim-
plicity, and intimates either that God gives from
the pure love of giving, or without exacting any
conaitions. God docs not give as man does,
grudginglyand restricting His gills, but simply, that
is, freely and graciously. — and npbraideth not:
without reproaches. Not as man who upbraids the
petitioner on account of his unworthincss, or of
his past misconduct, or of his abuse of fonner
gifts. God in His giving upbraideih not ; He
does not reproach us with our past faults. * After
thou hast given,' says the wise son of Sirach, 'do
not upbraid ' (Sirach xli. 22).— and it shall be
given him, namely, wisdom, the object of his
request (comp. i Kings iii. 9-12).

Ver. 6. But, as an essential prerequisite to our
obtaining an answer to our prayers. — let him ask
in faith ; that is, not believing that God will give
us the precise thing that we ask, for we may ask
for what is pernicious to us, but believing that
God hears prayer. The object of prayer is here
presupposed, namely, wisdom ; and this we may
ask without limitation, as it is a blessing which is
always pro))er for God to give, and fit for us to
receive. — nothing wavering, or more simply and
correctly, ' doubting nothing.' It is the same ex-
pression as occurs in Acts x. 20 in the address of
the Spirit to Peter : * Arise, get thee down and go
with them, doubting nothing, fori have sent them.'
Here the expression means *not doubting that
God hears prayer.' The nature of this doubting
is well stated by Huther in his excellent com*
mentary : *To doubt is not equivalent to "dis-
believe," but includes in it the essential character of
unbelief; whilst faith says **yes," and unbelief
"no," to doubt is the conjuction of "yes" and
**no," but so that "no" has the preponderance ;
it is an internal wavering whicn leans not to
faith, but to unbelief.'— For he that wavereth,
or doubteth, is like a wave of the sea : there is in
the original no play upon words, as in our
English Version. — driven of the wind and
toesed. These terms are synonymous, and do
not, as some think, refer to outward and inward
temptations (Erdmann). The figure which St.
James employs is striking. The mind of the
doubter is unsteady and wavering ; like a wave,
sometimes advancing and sometimes receding;
there is wanting rest and calmness. It is in still-
ness that God communicates His grace ; unrest is
adverse to His operations.

Ver. 7. For let not that man, namely, the
doubter, think. This warning supposes that
the doubter fancies that he will receive an
answer to his prayers ; but it is a vain delusion :
his expectations will be disappointed. — that he
shall receiye anything of the Lord. By the
Lord is here meant not Christ, but God. James,
as the Septuagint does, here uses the term as
eouivalent to Jehovah. This is the usual meaning
of^ the term in this Epistle ; it is applied to Christ
only in v. 7, 14, 15. In the Epistles of the
other apostles the term ' Lord ' generally denotes
Christ.

Ver. 8. In this verse it is to be observed that
the word ' is ' is in italics, and therefore is not in
the original. The verse ought to be translated :
' He,' that is, the doubter, 'is a double-minded man,
unstable in all his ways.' — a donUe-minded man
— literally, a two-souled man. Double-minded-
ness is here used not in the sense of duplicity, but

!IQ

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAME§. [CHAP. L i-i«.

of dubiousness and indedsioa — a man whose
affections are divided between God and the world,
or between foith and unbelief, who has, as it were,
two minds — the one directed to God, and the
other to the world. The man is not a hjrpocrite ;
he is a wavcrer in his religion. — is onstaUe in
■11 his wayi. This necessarily arises from his
double-mindedness. Where there is a want of
unity in the internal life, it is also wanting in the
external life (Huther). The man b actuated
sometimes by one impulse, and sometimes by
^nother; and thus will be perpetually running
into inconsistencies of conduct He wants deci-
sion of character. On such a man there is no
dependence ; he has no fixedness of purpose, and
is destitute of that holy earnestness that adds
dignity to the character.

Ver. 9. The meaning of this and of the
foUowingverse has been much disputed.— Let The
connection with the preceding is not obvious. It
appears to be thb : We must avoid all doubting
of God in prayer, all double-mindedness; we
must exercise confidence in Him, and realize His
CTadous dealings in all the dispensations of His
Providence ; and, whether rich or poor, we must
place implicit trust in Him. — the orother: here
evidently the Christian brother, because Chris-
tianity unites all those who embrace it into one
holv brotherhood.~of low degree — literally,
*who is lowly.* The word in itself does not
necessarily involve the idea of poverty ; but here,
where the contrast is with the rich, it must denote
'poor* or 'afflicted*— the poor brother. The
majority of the early Christians were from among
the poor ; and it is probable that the unbelieving
Tews by fines and extortions deprived their
believing brethren of their goods. Poverty was a
frequent form of persecution for conscience* sake. —
rejoice in that he ii exalted— literally, * glory in
his exaltation.* Different meanings have been
assigned to this phrase. The usual interpreUtion
is to refer it to spiritual exaltation : Let the poor
brother rejoice in the dignity and gloiv whidi as
a Christian he possesses, in those spintual riches
which are conferred upon him, and in the crown
of life which is in reserve for him. He is con-
stituted a child of God and an heir of heaven.
Doubtless manv who were slaves in the world
were the Lord^s freedmen. Thb dignity was a
proper subject for glorying in, as it was conferred
on them not because of their own merits, but
from the Divine graciousness. May not the words,
however, admit of a more extended and literal
signification ? The poor are permitted to rejoice
when they become rich, because they are thus
possessed of greater means of usefulness, and are
the better enabled to promote the cause of Christ.
Voluntanr poverty b no virtue ; money may be
redeemed from the world and deposited in the
treasury of the Lord.

Ver. ID. But the rich. Some suppose that by
the rich here is meant the unbeliever ; not the rich
brother, but the rich man ; and accordingly they
imderstand the words either as ironical, ' Let the
rich man rejoice in — let him glory in — what is in
reality his shame, hb humiliation ;* or as a state-
ment of fact, ' The rich man rejoices in hb humilia-
tion,* in hb riches, which shall perish. But such
a meaning appears to be forced and unnatural.
The most natural meaning b to take the word
' brother * as a general term, which b specified by
the lowly and the righ, The r^ch man, then, is here

the Christian brother. Although moat of the
early Chrbtians were poor, yet there were several
among them who were rich ; and to them there wete
addr^sed special exhortations ; as when St Paal
says : ' Cha^ them that are rich not to trust in un-
certain riches* (i Tim. vL 17). The word 'rejoice'
or ' glory * has to be supplied : Let the rich brother
glory in that he is made low : literally, ' in hb
hunuliation. * There b here also the same diversity
of meaning as in the former verse. It U usually
understood of humility of spirit : ' Let the wealthy
brother rejoice in'that lowliness of spirit which the
Gospel has conferred upon him :' that by being
made conscious of the vanity of earthly rioies^ he
has been induced to seek after the true riches ; to
cultivate that spiritual abasement whidi b the
prelude of true exaltation. Although rich in thb
world, yet as a Christian he b poor in qmit, and
clothed with humility. Others refer it to a ridi
man being stripped of hb possessions bvpeneoi-
tion for the sake of the Gospd : ' Let mm gloiy
in being thus deprived of nb worldly wealth.'
Perhaps the words may also be taken in their
most literal meaning': 'Let the rich brodier
rejoice when he becomes poor,' when he »
reduced from affluence to poverty, because he it
then freed from the snares and temptations oC
riches. Thb b indeed a high attainment in piety,
but it b one which has been made by many of tbc
children of God. Riches are too fireqnently an
obstade to salvation; and when taken away.
believers may have abundant reason to thank Goa
that that obstade has been removed. beeauB
as the flower of the grsfli he shall pMs away.
A common figure in the O. T., expressive of the
instability of earthly blessing ' All flesh it
grass, and all the goodliness thereof b as the
flower of the field : the grass withereth, and the
flower fadeth * (Isa. xl. 6, 7).
. Ver. II. For the son is no sooner xisen. In
the original the words are in the livdy stvle of a
narrative : ' For the sun arose.' — ^with a bomfaig
heat. The word here rendered ' bumiog heat ' it
often used in the Septuagint to denote the hot.
east wind : and hence many suppose that the
simoom or the sirocco b meant, wnich, blowing
from the hot sands of Arabia, bums up all vt&tMr
tion. But it is better to refer it to the heat « the.
sun, which in Palestine is very scorching : hence,
'for the sun arose with its heat.'— hut it withentH*
the grass, and the flower thereof fidleth, «nd
the grace of the fashion of it perislieth: or.
rather, ' and it withered the grass, and the flower.
thereof fell, and the loveliness of its form perished: *
it converted the rich and luxuriant field into an'
arid waste.— so also shall the rich man : not the-
rich brother, that is the Christian, but the rich
man generally : St. James b here speaking of
the transient nature of the earthly riches. He
who trusts in earthly riches shall fade away like
the flower of the field.— fade away in bis wnys:
in his goings, when actively engaged in hb-
worldly pursuits or pleasures. Death snatches us
away from the objects of worldly ambition.

Ver. 12. Blessed is the man that endurelh
temptations: not merely falleth into divers
temptations, but endureth them, cometh out of -
them unscathed, does not succumb under them.
A man who has been tempted, and has come.
victorious out of the temptation, b a fiur nobler
man than one who preserves a moral character,
because he has never been tempted. Teaipta-

Chap. I. i- 18] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

Ill

UoBS impart a manliness, a strength, a vigour to
Yirtve. Victory over temptation is a higher
aUainment than untried innocence. Untried
mnocenoe b the negative innocence of children :
rj^tcoosness approved by trial u the positive
holiness of apostles, martyrs, and coxuessors.

* Behold,' says St James elsewhere, 'we count
tbem happy that endure' (v. 11). — ^for, the reason
assigned for this blessedness.— when he is tried,
or rather, when he is approved by the trial, so that
be is able to stand the test and to be purified by
it— ha dudl xeceiYe the crown of life. If these
wofds were found in one of St. Paul's Epistles, the
reference would be to the Grecian games — to the
crown of laurel which was bestowed on the victor
in these games. But here there can be no such
reference ; as these games were discountenanced
bj the Jews, and regarded as polluting. The
roerence is to the conqueror's crown, or to the
rojal diadem ; it is a figure not uncommon in the
O. T. (PL XXL 3). So al^ in the Book of
Wisdom : ' The righteous live for evermore, their
reward also is with the Lord, therefore shall they
receive a beautifnl crown from the Lord's hand '
(Wisdom V. 16, 1 7). As has been beautifully said :

* Earthly trials are the flowers of which the
heavenljf garland is made' (Bishop Wordsworth).
The genitive is that of apposition : life is itself the
crown which the Lord, not Christ, but God.
hnth psomiMd to them that love him. To
atdore temptation is a proof of love to God.
It is attachment to His cause which induces us to
endure.

Ver. 13. Let no man aay when he is tempted.
The connexion is : if, instead of enduring the
temptation, we yield to it and are overcome by
ity we must not lay the blame of our fall from
virtue upon God. Hitherto the word 'tempta-
tion * has been used chiefly in the sense of tests
of character ; here it denotes solidtalions to sin ;
and yet there is hardly any change of meaning, as
some think. These two views of temptation
involve each other ; what is a test of -character
may also be a solicitation to sin. Temptations
may be considered as either external or internal.
The trials which occur in the course of life, the
afflicdons which befall us, the persecutions to
which religion ' may expose us, are external
temptations and tests of character. But when
these draw out our sinful desires and excite to
sinful actions, they become internal, and are
solicitations to evil. In themselves, temptations
are not sins ; when resisted and overcome, they
are Dfomoters of virtue ; it is in our voluntary
yieldnig to the temptations, in the consent of the
wiU, tluit sin arises.— I am tempted of God, or
rather, 'from God,' denoting not the direct
agency in the temptation, but the source from
iniich that agency proceeds. It is unprobable
that Uiere is any reference here to the.doctrine of
the Pharisees concerning fate ; rather, the refer-
ence is to that common perversity in human
nature which attempts to throw the blame of our
finlts upon God : tiiat the temptations to which
we were exposed, and in consequence of which we
fefl, were occasioned by God, bemg caused either
by the circumstances in which His providence
has placed us, or by that temperunent with which
He has created us (cp. Gen. iii. 12).— for God
etanot be tempted with eviL Some render
these words : ' God b unversed in evil things' —
inexperienced in them ; all evil is completely

foreign to His nature. — neither tempteth he any
man : that is, to evil, to do what Is wrong. God
certainly tempts in the sense of tries. But the
design of the Divine trying is not to excite to sin,
not that sin should arise, but that it should be
overcome; He tries our virtues, in order that
they may be purified ; He designs by these trials
our moral improvement. The external tests of
character may be from God; but the internal
solicitations to evil are from ourselves.

Ver. 14. But every man who is tempted is
tempted, namely to evil, when he is drawn away
of his own Inst By lust here is meant evil desires
in general. The doctrine of human depravity is
assumed rather than asserted. St. James is not
speaking here of the original source of sin in
the human race, but of the cause of temptation to
eviL These solicitations, he observes, arise from
within ; they have their origin in our evil desires ;
our passions are the occasion of our yielding to
temptation.— and entioed ; literally, allured as a
fish by a bait Some suppose that the apostle by
these two terms, 'drawn away' and 'entioed,'
denotes drawn away from good and enticed to
evil ; but this is putting more into these wonls than
they contain. St. James, then, here tells us
where to lay the blame of our temptation or
incitement to sin ; certainly not on God, for He
tempteth no man to evil ; but on ourselves— on
those sinful propensities which exist within us. It
is we ourselves that yield. We sin simply because
we choose to sin. Even Satan can only tempt ;
he cannot constrain men to commit evil.

Ver. 15. Then. Now follows the genesis of
sin. — when Inst, evil desire, hath con^ved, it
bringeth forth sin. Lust is here considered as a
harlot who seduces the will, and sin is the con-
sequence of this unhallowed alliance. Sin b the
child of our corrupt passions ; it has its origin in
our evil desires; it is the outcome of inward
depravity. First, there is evil desire in the heart,
and then by the will yielding to that evil desire
there is sin in the life. — and idn when it is
finished, fully developed or matured. There is no
distinction here between the internal and the
external act ; as if it were sin in the form of the
external act which worketh death. St. James
speaks of sin in general, whether in the heart or ia
the life. Sin may be developed in the heart as
well as in the conduct. — oringeth forth, or
begelteth, as the two verbs are different in ^e
original, death. Lust is the mother of sin and
death its progeny. (Cp. Milton's sublime
allegory in Paradise Losf, Book ii. 745-814.)
Death here does not denote only physical or tem-
poral death, but, as the contrast is to the crown
of life which God has promised to them that love
Him, it must include eternal death. Cp. the
statement of St Paul: 'The wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life ' (Rom.
xl 23).

Ver. 16. Do not err — ^a common Pauline ex-

Sression, elsewhere always translated, 'Be not
eceived.' Here it refers rather to what precedes
than to what follows. Be not deceived in this
matter, in supposing that temptation to evil comes
from God.— my beloyed brethren, strengthening
the exhortation.

Ver. 17. Every good gift. A positive proof of
the assertion that (}od tempteth no man. Not
only does evil not proceed from Him, but He is
the source only of good. All good is from God.

112

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. L 19-27.

Our higher and spiritual good evidently arises from
Him : all good works are the effects of Divine
impulses. Our lower and earthly good also comes
from Him : our health, our property, our domestic
comforts, are the gifts of His bounty. Our very
trials, our disappointments, our afflictions, our
sicknesses — those tests of character are the proofs
of His goodness, and are designed to produce
within us the peaceable fruits of righteousness.
The statement is true taken in its most universal
application. — and oTery perfect gift is ftom
abore, and cometh down (more literally, * Every
perfect gift descendeth from above,* or * is from
above, coming down') from the Father of
lighte. By lights here are primarily meant
the heavenly bodies and by the Father is denoted
their Author or Creator; but it may well be
applied to all spiritual existences — the souls of
men and angelic spirits. As Bishop Wordsworth
beautifully expresses it : ' God is the Father of all
lights : the light of the natural world, the sun, the
moon and stars, shining in the heavens ; the light
of reason and conscience ; the light of His law ;
the light of prophecy, shining in a dark place ;
the light of the Gospel, shining throughout the
world ; the light of apostles, martyrs, and con-
fessors, preaching the Gospel to all nations ; the
light of the Holy Ghost, shining in our hearts ;
the light of the heavenly city : God Is the Father
of them all. He is the everlasting Father of the
everlasting Son, who is the Light of the world.*
— ^with wnom is no yariableness, neither shadow
of turning. St. Tames does not here employ, as
tome suppose, technical astronomical terms, which
would not be understood by his readers, but
alludes to what is apparent to all— the waning

and setting of the natural lights in the firmament.
The statement is obviously equivalent to that of
St. John : ' God is light, and in Him is no darkness
at air (I John i. 5).

Ver. 18. Of his own will—' After the counsel of
His own will,' as St. Paul expresses it (Eph. L 11).
R^eneration is here alluded to as the highest
instance of the Divine goodness. It is not a
necessary act of God, but proceeds from His own
free will. — begat he ns. It is evident from what
follows that spiritual and not natural birth is
here referred to : believers are begotten of God
(John i. 13). — with tiie word of tmtii : the instru-
ment of our r^eneration, namely the Gospel, so
called because truth is inherent in it .Some
erroneously interpret the word here as signifying
the Logos, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ ; but
this is exclusively an expression of St. John.^that
we should be a kind of flnt-fhiits : a Jewish
form of expression taken from the custom of

Presenting the first-fruits to God. Christians are
ere called * first-fruits * because they are con-
secrated to God, dedicated to the praise of His
glory. Those Jewish Christians also, to whom Sl
James wrote, might be regarded as the first-fruits
of Christianity, being the first converts to Christ,
and the earnest of the spiritual harvest — the vast
increase of converts from the Gentile world. — of
his creatnies : of the new creation, that great
multitude of the redeemed whom no man can
number : and perhaps not even to be limited to
them, but to embrace all the creatures of God,
pointing forward to that time when ' the creature
Itself shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the chSdren
of God' (Rom. viiL 21).

Chapter I. 19-27.

Hearing and Doing the Word.

19 \7[7'HEREFORE, my beloved brethren, let every man be

20 VV "swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the «sir. v. n.
2! wrath of man worketh not * the righteousness of God. ^ Where- ^J^- «• 3^

- - ^ ex Pet. u. I, a.

fore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness,'

and receive with meekness* the engrafted' word, ''which is ''r^*j;^'

22 able to save your souls : but be ye ' doers of the word, and not 'JiS'Jii.yi*

23 hearers only, -^deceiving your own selves. For if any be a/R«^w«-»7.
hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man

24 beholding his natural face ^in a glass:* for he beholdeth '»Cor.xiii.ti.
himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what

25 manner of man he was. But whoso * looketh into the perfect *' Pet. l xa.
' law of liberty, and continueth therein^ he * being not a forget- ' ^^.^qJJ'
ful hearer, but a doer of the ^ work, this man shall be * blessed ^l^'J ,,
in his deed.'

' abundance of malice
' Qmit therein

* mildness

• omit he

^ implanted
' omit the

* mirror
' doing

Chap. I. 19-27] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 113

26 If any man among you seem to be religious,' and bridleth

not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's 'reli- 'Acu.xxvi.5;

^ ' ' Col lu i8.

27 gion** is vain. Pure religion*" and undefiled before •'God ••'^p**-^**-
and the Father is this, To visit "the fatherless and widows wPi-Uviiis.
in their affliction, and to keep himself ** unspotted ^from the ^J'jJiJ;^^.
world. ^ J"- »*• 4. '

* thinketh himself to be a worshipper

^® worship

CONTiNTS. In this passage St. James exhorts
his readeis to he not only hefuers but doers of Uie
vocxL They are to be swift to hear, and to re*
ceive the word implanted within them with freedom
from malice and m mildness : but they are to hear
it only with a view to practise its precepts ; lest,
being mere hearers of tne word, they impose upon
themselves. They must remember that true re-
lk;loits service does not consist in the performance
or certain ceremonies, but in active benevolence
ibown especially towards the afflicted, and in purity
of life.

Ver. 19. Wherefore. There is a diversity in
the reading of this verse. The most important
manuscript instead of 'Wherefore,' read 'Ye
know,' or 'Know ye,' according as the verb is
understood as inductive or imperative, referring
cither to what precedes, ' Ye know this,'^ namely,
that God out of His free love has begotten you
with the word of truth ; or to what follows,
' Know this, my beloved brethren, let every one
of yoa be swift to hear : ' equivalent to ' Hearken,
my beloved brethren' (ii. 5). — my beloTed
taethien: an afiectionate address, strengthening
the exhortation. — ^let every man be swift to hear,
namely, the word of truth, which, having been so
faUely mentioned, there was no necessity to repeat.
Hie words, however, admit of a general applica-
tioo to the acquisition of all profitable knowledge.
The same sentiment is found in the writings of the
son of Sin^di : ' Be swift to hear ; and let thy life
be sincere, and with patience give answer' (Sir.
V. II). There b no reason, however, to suppose
that St. James in these words refers to this
passa^ne. — ilofr to speak : perhaps here primarily
refemng to teaching : Be not rash in entering upon
the office of a teacher (chap. iii. i); see that you
are thorooghly prepared beforehand. But the
words are a proverbial expression, admitting of
general application. Men are often grieved for
saying too much, seldom for saying too little.
Still, however, the maxim is not to be universally
adopted. Occasions may frequently occur when
we shUl regret that we have omitted to speak,
giving a seasonable word of advice, reproof, or
comfort There is a time to speak as well as a
time to keep silence (Eccles. iiL 7). — slow to wrath.
Wrath here is not directed toward God — enmity
against Him, on account of the trials which befall
ns; but wrath directed toward men, and especially
that wrath which frequently arises from religious
oontroversv or debate. ' Tlie quick speaker is the
qaick kimller.' But the words are true generally;
00 an occasions we ought to be slow to wrath.
Stilt, however, all wrath is not here forbidden.
Moral indignation is a virtue, for the exercise of
which there are frequent occasions ; and to regard
sin without anger is a proof of indifference to
* So the Revised Version.

VOL. IV.

8

holiness. — Some suppose that in this sentence is
contained the subject-matter of the Epistle. The
former part was only introductorv ; now the
subject of the Epistle is stated ; and the remainder
is divided into three parts, corresponding to
• swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath,' with
an appendix at the close. The arrangement
is ingenious, but is hardly borne out by the
contents.

Ver. 2a For, the reason assigned for the above
exhortation, and especially for the last portion of
it—* slow to wrath. —the wrath of man, that is,
carnal zeal, whose fruit is not peace, but con-
tention. Those angry feelings which arise from
religious controversy are here primarily alluded
to. The word of God was then abused, as it is
now, into an occasion of strife. — workeih not,
produceth not. — the righteonsness of Ood. By
the righteousness of God is not meant the right-
eousness imputed by God, as if the meaning were
that the wrath of man does not work out the faith
which God counts to men for righteousness ; nor
that righteousness which God possesses — the
Divine attribute of righteousness ; but that right*
eousness which is approved by God, and which
He Himself forms within us b^ His Holy Spirit.
The meaning of the verse is that contention,
arising from dispute or controversy, is not con-
ducive to holiness, either in ourselves or in others
— does not tend to the furtherance of the righteous-
ness of God in the soul. Furious zeal does not
promote the interests of God's kingdom.

Ver. 21. Wherefore, seeing that the wrath of
man does not promote the righteousness of God,
lay apart, divest yourself of, all filthinesi,
pollution. By some this word is taken by itself,
but it is more in accordance with the context to
connect it with ' naughtiness,' indicating a par-
ticular kind of pollution. — and superfluity —
abundance or excess. — of nanghtiness : a word
which has now lost somewhat of its original
meaning. The Greek word signifies wickedness,
depravity, malignity, malice, — that disposition
which manifests itself in the wrath of man men-
tioned above ; accordingly, ' all pollution and
abundance of malice'— all that malice which is so
polluting and abundant in our hearts. Some
suppose that the words are metaphorical, having
reference to agriculture, in correspondence with
the injTrafted word which directly follows : Put
away all the defilement and rank growth of malice
which like weeds encumber the ground, and pre-
vent the growth of the ingrafted word.— and
receive ^th meekness: here, as opposed to
malice and wrath, not so much a teachable spirit,
as mildness — ^a gentle and loving disposition
toward our fellow-men. — the ingrafted word, or
rather the implanted word — that word which by
Divine grace is implanted in your hearts. By

114

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [CHAP. L 19-27.

this is meant, neither reason nor the inner light of
the Mystics, but the word of truth or the Gospel
of Christ as received into the heart. Some suppose
that by the ingrafted word the incarnate Lc^g;os,
namely the Lord Jesus Christ, is meant ; but this
is a umcifiil supposition, and imsuitable to the
context — which is able to save your souls.
Compare with this the words of St. Paul : ' I
commend you to God and to the word of His
grace, whioi is able to build you up, and to give
you an inheritance among them who are sancti-
fied' (Acts XX. 32). Como. also Rom. i. 16.
James does not mean that those who are bom by
the word do not already possess salvation, but
that the salvation is not fully possessed in this
life.

Ver. 22. But be ye doers of the woxd, and not
heazexB only. The implanted word, or the word
of truth, must be so heard and received as to pro-
duce a corresponding course of action. Practice,
and not opinion, is the desired effect of the recep-
tion of the word. The Jews have a proverb
among themselves : ' He who hears the law, and
does not practise it, is like a man who ploughs
and sows, but never reaps.' It is, however, to be
observed that St James does not in the slightest
degree depreciate the hearing of the word ; he
only asserts the superior importance of the doing
of the word. * Be not only hearers of the word,
but be also doers.' And indeed the hearing is in
order to the doing ; if this be wanting, the hearing
is of no value. Compare with this the words of
St Paul : ' Not the nearers of the law are just
before God, but the doers of it shall be justified '
(Rom. iL 13).— deceiving yonr own selves. The
term denotes deceiving by false and sophistical
reasoning. He who is a hearer of the word and
not a doer, and who thinketh that this is sufficient,
imposeth upon his own sell And of all deceptions,
self-deception is the worst. If a man were de-
ceived by others, it would be comparatively easy
to undeceive him, by placing things in their true
light But if a man be deceived by himself, it is
next to impossible to undeceive him, because pre-
judices have blinded, his eyes ; the bandage must
first be removed before he can see the light.

Ver. 23. For. The above exhortation is en-
forced by a comparison. A hearer of the word,
who is not a doer, resembles a man seeing his
face in a mirror, without its making any perma-
nent impression upon him. — if any man be a
hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like
unto a man beholding his natural face : liter-
ally, ' the countenance of his birth,' — that face with
which he was bom ; and therefore here well
translated 'his natural face.* The word for 'be-
holding ' literally denotes ' contemplating: ' it does
not involve the idea of a passing glance, which is
suggested by what follows. — in a glass, or mirror.
The ancients had no looking-glasses properly so
called ; their mirrors were usually made of polished
metals. In them objects could be but dimly dis-
cerned : ' Now we see through a glass darkly '
(i Cor. xiii. 12).

Ver. 24. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth
his way, and straightway forgetteth. Tlie
words are in the lively style of narrative : literally
translated they are : ' For he contemplated him-
self, and has gone his way, and immediately
forgot what manner of man he was.' A general
statement, not necessarily to be understood univer-
sally. A man has seldom any trae or accurate

notion of his own features : from beholding himself
in a glass or mirror, he retains no distinct recollec-
tion of what he has seen. — ^what mannw of man
he was. No distinct impression is made on him ;
he cannot recall his own features. This must
especially have been the case, when we lake into
consideration the imperfect nature of the mirron
of the ancients.

^ Ver. 25. Now follows the application of the
metaphor. — But. The doer of the word is now
described. — whoso looketh into : literally,
' stoopeth down to look into,' representing the
earnest inspection : ' whoso fixedly contempUteth '
(comp. I Fet i. 12 ; John xx. 5).— tbe peifaot
law of liberty: corresponding to the glass in the
metaphor, the same as the word of troth or ths
implanted word, namely, the Gospel of Christ By
this, then, is not meant the natural law, nor the
moral law as such, but the Gospel in so fiur as it
becomes a law of life and morals. There is hardly
any implied contrast between the law of Moses
and the Gospel. The moral law itself was a
perfect law : it was the transcript of the Divine
character; and, of all the writers of the New
Testament, St James would be the last to
depreciate it. But the perfection which belongs
to the Gospel is that it is ' the law of liberty.'
This could not be said of the Mosaic law: in
many respects, it was a law of bondage (GaL
V. i). The moral law was a rule of conduct — a
law of commands and prohibitions — a law which
by reason of its violation brought all men under
sentence of condemnation. But the Gospel ia a
law of liberty : it not only delivers man firoin
condemnation, but, by implanting within him a
new disposition, it causes him of his own free
will and choice to obey the moral law; it not
only imparts to him the power of obedience^ hot the
will to obey : the law of God is written on his
heart : obedience to it is not so much a yoke as a
pleasure : ' he delights in the law of Uie Loid
after the inward man' (Rom. vil 22). The
perfect law of liberty, then, is not lawlessness ; on
the contrary, it is holiness — a disposition to obedi-
ence— * the moral law transfigured by love.' * As
long,* observes Calvin, 'as the law is preached
by the external voice of man, and not mscribed
by the finger and Spirit of (jod on the heart, it ti
but a dead letter, and as it were a lifeltts thii^.
It is then no wonder that the law is deemed
imperfect, and that it is a law of bondage : for, as
St. Paul teaches, separated from Christ, it gener-
ates to bondage, and can do nothing but fillns widi
diffidence and fear.' — and continneth tiieiefai.
The word 'therein' is in italics, and not in the
original. The meaning therefore is not 'and
continueth in the law,* but 'and continneth to
look.' — he being not a forgetful heuer: literally,
a hearer of forgetfulness, to whom forget^ness
as a property belongs. — but a doer of toe weak x
litersuly, 'a doer of work,' with the omission of
the article; 'work' is added to 'doer,' in order
to give greater prominence to the doing : or taken
as a Hebraism, 'an active doer.' — ^tnia man Is
blessed in his deed, or rather, 'in his doing.'
The righteous shall be rewarded for their doii^ i
to those on the right hand, the King will say,
'Well done.' The point of comparison then is
evident The word of God, especially in its
moral requirements, is the glass, in which a man
may behold his moral countenance, wherein the
imperfections of his character may be clearly

Chap. II. 1-13.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

di:iceniec1. Both to the mere hearer of the word
and to the doer of the word, the Gospel is com-
pared to a glass, wherein a man may behold his
natural face : but whereas the one sees his imper-
fections, and immediately forgets them ; the other
Bot only sees, but endeavours to remove them.
'Blessed,' says our Saviour, 'are they that hear
the word of God and keep it' (Luke xi. 28).

Ver. 26. If any man among you seem, that is,
not seems toothers, but thinketh himself, appears
to himself to be religious. The words denote the
false opinion which a man has of himself; the
lUse estimate which he has formed of his religion.
— ^to be xeligioiu. 'Religious' and 'religion'
are hardly the correct renderings. Both are,
however, adopted in the Revised Version without
note. We have no terms in our language to express
the ordinal; worshipper and worship is perhaps
thenearest approach. See Col. ii. 1 8. See Trench's
New Tatanunt Synonyms^ pp. 192 if. It b not
internal religion to which St. James alludes, but
the manifestation of religion, the service of God or
religions worship. He speaks of the external form
rather than of the internal essence, of the body
lather than of the soul of religion. To be religious,
in the sense of our verse, is to be a diligent observer
of the external forms of worship : ' If any man
among von think that he is observant of religious
service, that he is a true worshipper of God. — and
taridleih not hia own tongae, does not abstain
from wrath and contention : does not exercise a
command over his words. — bnt deoeiyeth hia own
heftrt^ unposeth upon himself, by relying upon
the mere lorm of religion. — thia man's rdigion,
rdigioos service or worship, is vain — of no value
in the si^t of God.

Ver. 27. Pnie religion and nndefiled. Pure
and nndefiled may almost be regarded as ^ony-
moas terms, the one expressing the idea positively,
and the other negatively. Not, as some arbitrarily
think, 'pore' referring to the inner, and 'un-
defiled' to the external life. There may be a
rdeienoe here to the frecjuent washings and purifi-
QStions which characterized the Jewish worship. —
Mbve Ctod and the Fisher; in His view, who

"5

looketh not so much at the outward appearance as
at the heart. The Father is added to express the
relation of God to us, as one of paternal love. — ^is
this — consists in this. James does not here ^ve
an enumeration of all the parts of religious service,
but mentions only two chief points — active bene-
volence toward the afflicted, and careM avoidance
of the impurities of the world ; these, he observes,
and not certain ceremonial observances, are the
outward forms in which real worship manifests
itself.— to yisit the fatherless and tne widows.
There is a probable reference here to * before God
and the Father ; ' before Him who is the Father
of the fatherless and the God of the widows. — ^in
their aflUction. No kind of religious service or
worship ])aid to God can be of any value, if it
violate the royal law of charity. The fatherless
and the widows are mentioned as examples of the
afflicted. But along with this active benevolence
toward the afflicted there must be combined
personal purity.— and to keep himself unspotted.
Personal purity which, like the delicate pupil of
the eye, shrinks from the very approach of every-
thing which defileth, which garrisons the heart
with holy affections to keep out those whidi are
polluting, which maintains a conduct above
suspicion, and which abstains from the very ap-
pearance of evil, is acceptable in the sight of
our God and Father, and shall be rewarded with
the manifestation of His glory : for, ' Blessed are
the pure in heart, for they shall see God.' — ttom,
the world. By the 'world' is here meant not
merely earthly things so far as they tempt to sin,
or worldly lusts, but the world as the enemy
of God, the rivsd of God in the human heart ;
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (l John
ii. 14). Christians, by being bom again by the
word of truth, are separated from the world —
they are a peculiar people. But still, so long
as they live in the world, thev are exposed to
its temptations and liable to be defiled b^ its
pollutions. They must carefully avoid that fnend-
ship of the world which is enmity with God
Qas. iv. 4).

Chapter II. 1-13.

Respect of Persons,

1 A^ Y brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 iVX ^tlu Lord of glory, *\vith respect of persons. For 'f Jr^'J*/;.
there come unto your ^assembly a man with a gold ring,' in ^JJ^*,**^'f
goodly apparel,* and there come in also a poor man in vile "C0r.xiv.a3.

3 raiment ; * and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay
clothing, and say unto him,* Sit thou here ''in a good place; -^ Mat. xxiii.6,
and say to the poor. Stand thou there, or sit here under my

4 footstool : are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are *

* with gold rings * ^y clothing * clothing

* Was not this to doubt wittiin yourselves, and to

* omit unto him

ii6 THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. IL 1-13.

5 become ^judges of evil thoughts?' Hearken, my beloved '^^^^
brethren. Hath not ^ God chosen the poor of this world rich /« Cor. 1 27.
'^in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to ^iTim.i.t.

6 them that love him ? But ye have despised the poor. Do not

rich men oppress you, and *draw you before the judgment- *Ae««iruia,

7 seats? Do not they 'blaspheme that worthy' name by the «ActsxxvLii.

8 which *ye are called ? • If • ye fulfil the royal law ' according *^°5i^^
to the scripture, ** Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye «»•* .

9 do well : but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and "'^^^iiS^a

10 are convinced of ^" the law "as transgressors. For whosoever «» jo. m. 4.
shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is

1 1 guilty of all. For he that said, *" Do not commit adultery, said oEx.xx.ty,
also. Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if

1 2 thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak

ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by ^the law of^J^^-'^^s-

13 liberty. For he shall have judgment ^without mercy " that ^ Mat, vL 15.
hath showed no mercy ; and '' mercy rejoiceth against " judg- '•Mat v. 7.
ment.

• evil-minded judges ' goodly

• Yet if *® convicted by
^^ For the judgment will be without mercy to him

^ which was named on you
" glorieth over

Contents. In this passage, St. James pro-
ceeds to caution his readers against showing
respect of persons, especially in their religious
assemblies ; for by doing so they would violate
their Christian principles, and become evil-minded
judges. God has chosen His people from among
the poor ; whereas the persecutors of believers
and the blasphemers of Christ are from among
the rich. The law of God requires them to love
their neighbour as themselves ; but by exhibiting
this respect of persons they violate this law.
They must so speak and act as they who are to
be judged by the law of the Gospel, remembering
that if they show no mercy to the poor, no mercy
will be shown to them by God.

Ver. I. My brethren. The connection appears
to be : As the true service of God consists in
active benevolence, exercised especially toward
the poor and afflicted, St. James takes occasion
to reprove his readers for a practice which was
in direct contradiction to this, namely, showing

Eartiality to the rich, and despising the poor. —
ave not, or hold not, the faith— Sie profession
of Christianity, or the belief in Jesus as the true
Messiah. Do not hold it in such a manner, as
that respect of persons should constitute a part of
it.— of onr Lord Jeeus Ohrist : of Him who,
although rich, yet for our sakes became poor, in
whom there is neither rich nor poor, and with
whom there is no respect of persons. — ti^e Lord
of glory. The words * the Lord * are in italics,
and not in the original ; all that is in the Greek
are the words *of glory.' Accordingl)r, different
meanings have been attached to this phrase.
Some construe it with * respect of persons,' and
translate it 'according to your estimate or opinion ;'
thus Calvin : ' Have not the faith of our Loid

Jesus Christ with respect of persons, on accomit of
esteem ; ' that is, placing a false and unchristian
value on riches. Others attach it to Christ : 'the
faith of our Lord Jesus, the Christ, or the
Messiah, of glory. ' Others consider it as governed
by faith, but give different meanings : ' the
glorious faith of our Lord Jesus Christ ; * or
'faith in the glory or exaltation of Christ ; ' or
' the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ in the glory,'
namely, in that glory which is reserved for the
saints. Others suppose that glory is a personal
appellation of Christ : ' our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Glory,* equivalent to the Shechinah of the
Jewish Church. This is certainly the simplest
reading ; but there is no proof from the New
Testament that such an epithet was applied to our
Lord. Our version, by supplying the words ' the
Lord ' from the former clause, is the least objec*
tionable : 'the Lord of glory.' The claose is
inserted to show the vanity of earthly riches, as
contrasted with the glory of Christ— with veapeot
of persona : a caution against showing undue
preference to any on account of external circum*
stances. The word in the Greek is in the plural,
as St. James had several instances of such respect
of persons in view. We must, however, beware
of perverting this maxim. We must show due
respect where respect is due : as St. Paul says,
' Render to all their due, honour to whom honour
is due * (Rom. xiii. 7). There is a respect due to
a man in office on account of his official character.
Servants must honour their masters, and subjects
their rulers ; but we arc not called to honour a
man merely on account of his wealth. And in
spiritual matters all are equal. In the house of
God, the rich and the poor meet on the same
footing of equality. The same exhortations are

Chap. II. 1-13.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

"7

addressed to both ; and the vices of the rich must
be rebuked with the same sharpness as the vices
of the poor.

Ver. 2. Fdr if there oome. St James does
not here mention a mere hypothetical case, but
what must frequently have occurred. — unto your
MMmhly. The word employed in the Gre«k is
'synagogue.' Some understand it of the Jewish
synagogue, from which believers had not yet
separated themselves ; but against this opinion is
the pronoun *your,* nor would Christians in a
synagogue not tneir own be permitted to give any
preference of place to those who entered. Others
think that the reference is to the judicial
assemblies which the Christians, in imitation of
the Jews, held in their places of meeting, and
that the caution is against showing partiality in
the administration of justice ; but this is an
arbitrary opinion for which there is no reason.
The reference is undoubtedly to the Christian
places of assembly, for worship. To denote these
places of assembly, the word ' synagogue ' was
employed, because it was more ^miliar to St.
James and the Jewish Christians than the corre-
sponding Greek term. We read in the Acts that
there were numerous synagogues in Jerusalem
(Acts vi. 9), and among them there would be the
synagogue of the Christians ; and the same would
be the case in all the large cities where the Jews
of the dispersion congregated. — a man with a
fold ring : literally, gold-ringed, wearing many
rings. Formerly persons of distinction wore only
one signet ring ; but at the time when this Epistle
was written, as we learn from Roman writers, it
was the custom for the wealthv to wear many
rings. Such rings could only be worn by free
dtixens, and were consequently a symbol of rank
or riches. — in goodly apptxeL The gorgeous
dresses of the Orientsils may be here alluded ta
In that age of luxury the rich prided themselves
00 the extravagance of their dress. — and there
oome in aleo a poor man in Tile or shabby
xaiment The description is in St. Tames'
graphic style. Into tneir place for religious
assembly two men entered, the one gorgeously
amjtd with jewelled fingers and a great display
of riches ; the other a poor man in shabby
arcarel, soiled with his daily manual occupations.

Ver. 3. And ye have respect: literally, ye look
vpoo, ye have regard to Mm that weaieth the
gay otothing. Ine two who came in are verv
differently treated ; the rich man is conducted with
all honour to a comfortable seat, whilst the poor
man is left to shift for himself. In these verses
there is in our English version a needless variation
in the renderings of the same Greek word ; the
words apparel, raiment, and clothing are dl in the
original expressed by the same term. — and say unto
1dm, Sit tJum here in a good ^aoe ; a place of
consequence and comfort : literally, * Be well
seated.' As in the Jewish synagogues, so in the
Christian, there would be a diversity of seats.
Thus we read of the scribes and Pharisees who
' loved the chief seats in the synagogues ' (Matt.
xxiii 6). — and say to the poor, Stana thon there,
or wU here nnder my footrtooL The other man
in vile raiment is told to stand where he is, or is
allowed to sit where he can, provided he does not
select a good seat Observe the contrast between
' here ' imd ' there ; ' ' here,* the goodly seat— the
place of honour ; ' there,' the scat under the foot-
stool— the place of dishonour. We are not in-

formed whether those who came in were believers
or unbelievers. Some suppose that both parties
were Christian strangers, others that they were
Gentiles or unbelieving Jews, and others that the
poor were believers and the rich^unbelievers. But
It is best to leave it, as in the Epistle, undeter-
mined ; they are taken merely as samples of
each class — the rich and the poor. It is well
known that those who were not Christians might
and did come into the Christian assemblies
(i Cor. xiv. 23).

Ver. 4. This verse has given rise to a great
variety of interpretation, owing to the uncertainty
of its correct translation. Are ye not partial in
yoorselreet This version is hardly correct. Some
render the words : ' Did you not judge among
yourselves,* by thus determining that the rich are
to be preferred to the poor ? Others : ' Did you
not discriminate or make a distinction* among
those who as Christians are equal ? Others :
' Were ye not contentious among yourselves ? * did
ye not thus become litigants among yourselves ?
And others : ' Did ye not doubt among yourselves *
— become wavering and unsettled in your faith ?
The verb in the original is the same which in the
former chapter is translated to doubt or to
waver (Jas. 1. 6) ; and therefore, although it may
also admit of the above significations, it is best to
give a preference to that sense in which St. James
has already used it. Hence, literally translated,
' Did you not doubt in yourselves ? ' Did vou not,
in showing this respect of persons, waver between
God with whom there is no respect of persons and
the world, and thus become double-minded ? Did
you not contradict your faith, according to which
the external distinction between rich and poor is
nothing? For to hold the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of gloiy, with respect to persons is
a contradiction in terms. The Revised Version has,
• Are ye not divided in your own mind ? * — and
are become Jndgee of evil thoughts f Here also
there is an equal variety of opinion. Some con-
sider ' the evil thoughts ' as the objects of their
judgments, and render the clause : ' Are you not
judges of evil disputations * — of such disputations
as a strife about precedence would give rise to.
But it is best to take ' the evil thoughts ' in a sub-
jective sense, as residing in the judges themselves
— evil-minded judges ; showing themselves to be
so by giving an undue preference to the rich. Just
as a partial iudge may be called a judge of
partiahty, or, in the same manner, as the unjust
judge in the parable is in the Greek called the
'judge of injustice' (Luke xviii. 6; see also
Luke xvi. 8). Compare L 25, *a forgetful hearer,*
literally 'a hearer of forgetfulness. The word
here rendered ' thoughts ' also denotes reasonings,
disputations ; and hence some render the clause
'judges who reason iU; * who, instead of calmly
acting on principles of equity, are led astray by
partiality to the nch.

Ver. 5. Hearken, my beloved brethren. With
this verse St. Tames commences to show the
sinfulness of such conduct ; and, first, it is in con-
tradiction to the conduct of God.— Bath not God
chosen the poor of this world ; that is, either
those whom the world esteems poor — the poor in
the opinion of the world ; or those who are poor
in relation to this world — the poor in worldly
wealth. — ^rich in faith. Rich in faith is not in
apposition to thepoor of this world, but the object
or intention of God*s choosing them— that they

ii8

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap, IL 1-13.

might be rich in faith. Faith is not the quality,
but the sphere or element, in which they were rich.
These riches consisted in the spiritual blessin|;s
which faith procured, and especially in the sonship
of believers — in the heirship of the heavenly
kingdom. ' The rich in faitn,' observes Calvin,
* are not those who abound in the greatness of
fiuth, but such as God has enrich^ with the
various gifb of the Spirit which we receive by
faith.* — and heirs of the kingdom, namely, not
the spiritual kingdom of Christ on earth, but the
heavenly kingdom.— wMoh he hath promised to
them that love him ; the love of God being the
essence of true piety. St. James did not require
to prove the truth of this statement ; the condi-
tion of the Jewish Christians of the <Uspersion, to
whom he wrote, was proof sufficient that although
there were a few rich among them, yet they were
mostly chosen from among the poor. Compare
with this the words of St. Paul : * God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the
things that are mighty' (i Cor. i. 27). And the
same statement holds good in the present day.
The rich are under far greater temptations than
the poor ; they are led to trust in uncertain riches,
and to seek Uieir good things in this world, to
fix their happiness here, and to forget 'the kingdom
which God hath promised to them that love Him.*
'How hardly,' says our Saviour, 'shall thev that
have riches enter mto the kingdom of God ' (Mark
x.a3).

Ver. 6. Bnt ye, in contrast to God*s estimate
of the poor. God has chosen the poor of this
world to be rich in faith, whereas ye, on the
contrary, have desplBed the poor: not so much
the poor generally, as the poor among Christians.
Now follows a second consideration; that by
showing respect to the rich, thev give a preference
to those who were the enemies both of themselves
and of Christ— Do not rich men: it is unnatural
to suppose that Christian rich men are meant, but
rich men as such, who in their worldliness and
pride manifest a hatred to Christianity. — opprees
yon, and draw yon before the Judgment-seat f
The rich unbelieving Jews were the bitterest
enemies to their believing countrymen : they fined
and imprisoned them, as apostates from Judaism.
Thus we read that Saul made havoc of the Church,
entering into every house, and haling men and
women committed them to prison (Acts viii. 3).
Those who suppose that by the rich here mentioned
Christians are mtended, think that the reference
b not to persecution, but to litigation, similar to
the abuses which occurred in the Ck>rinthian Church
(l Cor. vi. 6).

Ver. 7. Do not they blaspheme. The pro-
noun is emphatic : ' Is it not they who blaspheme.'
Tlie allusion may be to the attempts of the un-
believing Jews to compel believers to blaspheme
the name of Christ. Thus it is said of Saul, that
he punished them oft in every synagogue, and
compelled them to blaspheme (Acts xxvi. 11).
But it is better to refer it to the blasphemous
utteruices of the Jews themselves. Thus Justin
Martyr tells us, that the Jews were accustomed to
blaspheme Christ in their synagogues. Those
who suppose that the rich men here mentioned
are Christians, think that it refers to the disgrace
brought upon Christianity by their ungodly prac-
tices : that they blasphemed Christ in their lives.
But such a meaning is less natural and appropriate.
—that worthy, gSodly, or noble name— not the

name of ' God,' or that of ' brethren,' but the name
of ' Christ. * It does not, however, follow firom this
that believers were at this early period called
Christians. It is a goodly name, for Christ is the
Lord of glory, the Founder of Christianity, the
Messiah promised to their fathers. — ^l^ the which
yon are called f or rather, ' which was invoked
upon you,' namely at your baptism, when baptized
into the name ot Christ. Tne allusion is to the
name of God being put upon the children of Israel
to distinguish them as His property. ' They shall
put my name upon the children of Israel ' (Num.
vi. 27). So the name of Christ was put upon
believers to signify that they belonged to Him.

Ver. 8. If. The connection has been variously
understood. Some suppose that St James is
anticipating an objection of his readers, that by
showing respect of persons to the rich, they were
obeying the royal law, in lovine; their neighbour
as themselves ; others think that he is guanUng his
own argument from misinterpretation. — ^ye fttlfil
the royal law; the law which is the king of all
laws, which includes in itself all other command-
ments. Others understand the expression, ' the
law which like the royal road is plain, straight
and level ; ' others, ' the law which proceeds fiiom
the great King,' whether God or Christ ; and
others, ' the law which applies to kings as well as
to other men.* But all these meanings are
objectionable, because thc^ do not discriminate
this special precept. It is to be observed that
love to our neighbour is not so much a smg^e
command as the principle of aU true obedience ;
it is the chief of all laws ; all other laws are its
ministering servants. 'All the law,' says St
Paul, ' is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thoa
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself' (Gal. ▼. I4]l
—according to the scriptnxe ; here not according
to the Gospel — the words of JesUs ; but according
to the law of Moses (Lev. xix. 18). — ^Ihoa nhaS
loye thy neighbour as thyself, ye do weU. For
then it would follow that if you did so, yoa would
not have this respect of persons.

Ver. 9. Bnt iiye have respect of peiMina, ye
commit sin, ye violate this royal law, and avo
convinced of; convicted by, tne law. By the
law here is not meant a single commandment^ as
the law against partiality or respect of persoos^
but the moral law, and which, as regards our
duties to others, is summed up in this command
to love our neighbour as ourselves. — ae tcanigxei-
Bors, because such a respect of persons is contraiy
and opposed to a disinterested and universal love
to others.

Ver. 10. For whosoever shall keep the wlude
law, and yet offend in one point— one particular,
one commandment — he ia gnilty of all : that is,
although respect of persons may appear to be the
violation only of a single precept, yet it is a trans-
gression of the whole law. Tlie truth of this
statement of St. James is founded on the unity
both of the Lawgiver and of the law. The same
God who gave one commandment, gave aU t the
law is but the expression of His will : and,
therefore, whosoever breaks one commandment
opposes himself to the will of God. So also love
is the essence of the law; and whosoever sins
transgresses this royal law of love. ' God,' says
Calvin, 'will not be honoured with exceptions,
nor will He allow us to cut off firom His law what
is less pleasing to us. St James denies that oar
neighbours are loved by as, when only a poitkm

Chap. H. 14-26.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

119

of tiiem i% timmgh ambition, chosen and the rest
neglected.' The Jews haye a similar sentiment :
* It a man obeys all the precepts of Moses, but
leaves out one, he is guilty of all and of each.'
llus declaration of St James was especially
appropriate to the Jewish Christians, who were in
danger of being led away by the errors of the
Pharisees. The Jewish doctors affirmed that if
men kept any one precept of the law, it was suffi*
dent ; and aooordincly some selected the law of the
Sabbath, others the law of sacrifice, and others the
law of tithes ; whilst the law of love was n^Iectcd.

Ver. II. For: the reason of the above assertion,
arising firom the' unity of the Divine Author of the
law. — ^Ha, namely God, that said. Do not oommit
adolieiiy. Mid also. Do not kill (Ex. xx. 13, 14).
Various reasons have been assigned for the selec-
tioo of these two precepts ; but the most obvious is
that these are the two first commandments of the
second^ (able of the law, containing our duties to
our neijghbour; the fifth being generally classed
fay Jewish writers as belonging to the first table. ^
—now if thou oommit no a£iltery, yet if thon
kill, thon art beoome a transgxeasor of the
law. There is a Divine unity in the law, as well
as in the Lawgiver. We must ^bey all the laws
of God, without exception or limitation ; if we
offend in one particular, the law is broken and
we become transgressors. A man who is a liar,
although he may observe all the other precepts of
the moial law, is evidently living in open violation
of the law of God.

Ver. 12. 80 qpeak ye and so do, as they that
■hell be Judged by the law of liberty. The law
of liberty is not here the moral law, nor the love
of our neighbonr as a single commandment, but
the ssme as that mentioned in the former chapter:
' Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty '
(Tas. L 35). See explanation of that passage.
Bdierers are under tne law of liberty, because
they are (reed from the condemning sentence of
the moml law, and are delivered nx>m the en-
slaving power of sin, a disposition having been

^ The Mvtadi oomouuidiiient, * Do not commit adultery/
isaboL ashera^ pot before the sixth, « Do not kill,' in Mark
X. 19, I^ka xvm. ao, Rom. xiiL 9 \ whereas in Matt. ziz. x8
llw Older ia dM DecalogiM is reuined.

implanted within them which renders them willing
to obey the Divine commands. The spirit of
bondage is superseded by the spirit of adoption.
And by this law of liberty believers shall be
judged ; their good works will be rewarded, and
their voluntary obedience to the moral law which
springs from faith in Christ will be graciously
accepted. They are no longer under the moral
law, as a rule of rewards and punishments, but
under grace— this law of liberty.

Ver. 13. For, the reason assigned for so speaki-
ing and acting, he shall haye jndc^ment wiuiont
mercy, literidly, the jud^ent will be without
mercy to him, who hath Aowed no mercy. We
must show mercy to our fellow-men, if we expect
mercy from God. Compare the words of our
Lord : ' If ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses'
(Matt. vi. 15). On the other hand : 'Blessed are
the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy' (Matt
V. 7). The chief aim of the Gospel is to make
men like God ; to form the Divine image in the
human soul; that they should be merciful, even
as their Father in heaven is merciful. — and mercy
xejoioeth against, boasteth over. Judgment
Mercy and judgment are here personified ; judg-
ment threatens to condemn the sinner, but mercy
interposes and overcomes judgment The sajring
is general, and not to be limited either to God
or to man; mercy prevails against judgment
'Mercy,' sajrs St. Chrysostom, 'is dear to God,
and intercedes for the sinner, and breaks his
chains, and dissipates the darkness, and quenches
the fire of hell, and destroys the worm, ana rescues
from the gnashing of teeth. To her the gates of
heaven are opened. She is the queen of virtues,
and makes men like to God ; for it is written. Be
ve mercifiil, as your Father also is merciftil. She
has silver wings like the dove, and feathers of

fold, and soars aloft, and is clothed with the
)ivine glory, and stands by the throne of God ;
when we are in danger of being condemned, she
rises up and pleads for us, and covers us with her
defence, and enfolds us with her wings. God
loves mercy more than sacrifice.' Compare with
this Shakespeare's celebrated lines on the quality
of mercy.

Chapter II. 14-26.

Relation of Faith and Works.

14 \X /HAT doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he

V V hath faith, and have not works ? can ' faith save him ?

15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16 and one of you say unto them, "* Depart in peace, be^^ warmed *lJ'^^.
and filled ; notwithstanding ye give them not those things |^®' "*• »7*

17 which are needful to the body, what doth it profit ? Even so

18 faith, if it hath not works, is * dead, being alone.* Yea, ^ a man * J'}?« "•

' * / o 'ex \JOK» XV.

may say,* Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy
faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my

^ itutrt this ' in itself * one will say

3S

120

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. II. 14-26.

19 works. Thou believest that '^ there is one God ; thou doest ''^' *"• **

20 well : the devils also believe, and tremble.* But wilt thou

21 know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead.^ 'Was 'Rom.iv 1-3.
not Abraham our father justified by works, -^when he l^^id /^j**^^

22 offered Isaac his son upon the altar .^ Seest thou how* faith «7. »8,
wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect f

23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, ^Abraham believed rGen.Y-5'f;
God, and it was imputed ® unto him for righteousness : and he Gai. Ui. 6.

24 was called *the Friend of God. Ye see then how' that by A^chroa.xx.

25 works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also,

was not ' Rahab the harlot justified by works, * when she had' ^fcSj;J'*,?J*.
received the messengers, and had ' sent t/iem out another way }

26 For as 'the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without /Cen.vix7.
works is dead also.

* shudder

' omi^ then how

* Thou seest that

• omtt had

• reckoned

Contents. In this passage James continues
to enforce practical religion. He tells his readers
that faith destitute of works is of no avail to the
saving of the soul, and is as useless as a charity
which expends itself in kind words, but is destitute
of beneficent actions. As the charity is dead, so
also is the faith. Faith can only be manifested
by works. A mere theoretical belief in God is of
no advantage, and differs little from the belief of
evil spirits. Such a faith, unproductive of works,
cannot justify. Abraham was justified by an
active faith when he offered up Isaac ; by works
did his faith receive its full realization ; thus
proving that a man is justified by an active and
not by an unproductive faith. So also Rahab
was similarly lustified when she harboured the
spies. Faith aestitute of works resembles a body
from which the living spirit has departed.

Ver. 14. The connection appears to be as
follows : — James has been showing that true
religious worship does not consist in the perform-
ance of certain ceremonies, but in active bene-
ficence extended toward the poor and afflicted,
and that opposed to this is a respect of persons
showing partiality to the rich. He now proceeds
further to maintain the more general proposition
that a profession of religion, apart from religious
practice, is of no value. James carefully separates
appearance and reality from each other — the
shadow from the substance. As formerly he
showed that the hearing of the word without the
doing was worthless, and that religious worship
was of no avail without active beneficence ; so
now he asserts that a mere theoretical assent
to the truths of the Gospel was also unprofitable
and vain.— What shaU it profit!— literally, 'What
is the use ?' Faith without works will not profit
at the judgment ; it will not be conducive to the
saving of the soul. — my brethren, though a man
say. Some critics lay stress on the word *say,*
as if the assertion of a faith without works was a
mere affirmation or profession, and not a reality.
But James admits the existence of a speculative
faith ; the man is supposed to have faith of a
certain kind, though not saving faith. ~ he hath

faith. It is of importance for the understanding
of this passage to ascertain what is here meant by
faith. James evidently takes the word in its
general acceptation ; with him it denotes any
assent to religious truth, whether it be operative
or inoperative. And what he asserts is that if
the faith be inoperative, if it be a lifeless
principle, unproductive of good works, a mere
mtellectual assent to Divine truth without its
exerting any influence over our heart and conduct^
it cannot save us. James undoubtedly considers
faith to be a necessary prerequisite to salvation^
but only that faith which is productive and
accompanied with works. — and have not worki.
By works, as is evident from the context, James
means those works which are the fruits and effects
of faith — evangelical works which arise from
faith ; hence, then, not mere ceremonial works,
nor even moral or legal works done previous to
and apart from faith.— can faith save him f The
article in the Greek must here receive its full
force— literally, *Can the faith save him?* that
is, the particular faith which such a man possesses
— * this faith.' Faith certainly does save; nothing
can be more evidently the doctrine of Scripture
than that our salvation is attached to faith ; but
not the faith to which James here alludes :
Can this faith save him ? — this dead, barren faith ;
this mere speculative belief in the doctrines of the
Gospel.

Ver. 15. To prove the uselessness of a barren
faith, the apostle illustrates the subject by showing
the uselessness of a barren charity, which every
one will at once admit ; and this illustration is
the more appropriate, as love is the indispensable
attendant on a living faith — the instrument by
which it works (Gal. v. 6).— If a bioth«r or
sister— a Christian brother or sister — a fellow-
believer — bringing forward more strongly our duty
to assist them, and our culpability if we refuse
such assistance. — be naked and deatitnte of
daily food — be reduced to a slate of extreme
destitution. By daily food is meant the food
necessary for each day.

Ver. 16. And one of yon say to t)iem, Depart

Chap. II. 14-23.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

121

in P0M6, be ye wanned nnd filled: warmed in re-
ference to their being naked, and filled in reference
to their being destitute of daily food. Expressions
of kind wishes toward the destitute ; mere words,
but no actions. The words are such as, if
sincere, would have been followed by correspond-
ing actions. 'Depart in peace,' are the words
which our Saviour employ^ when He dismissed
those whom He had cured (Luke vii. 50). — ^not-
withstanding ye gnTe them not those things
wliich ere needfU to the body, namely, food and
raiment. —what doth it profit f What good do
your kind words do either to them or to your-
selves ? Undoubtedly charity, if it have not works,
is dead.

Ver. 17. Now follows the application of this
illustration. As this love, which merely expends
itself in kind words and wishes, is of no value ;
so neither is the faith of him who professes to
believe the Gospel, yet walks not up to his pro-
fession. Even so; as charity without works is
dead, so Daith, if it hath not works, if it be merely
a theoretical assent to the truths of revelation.
Is dead. From this it is evident that by works
b not meant merely something which is added to
fiiith, but something which proceeds from it ; as
life is seen by its actions, so is faith by its works.
The works then are those of a living faith, those
to which faith gives birth. ' If,' observes Neander,
* James calls the faith which is without works a
mad fiuth, it could not surely be his view that
works, which are but the outward manifestation,
made faith to be living ; but he must have pre-
supposed that true faith has the principle of life
within itself, from which works must proceed, and
which manifests itself in works.* — being alone.
The words in the Greek are not tautological, as
they appear in our version, but emphatic. More
correctly rendered they are *by itself* — denoting
that a simple assent is useless, or rather ' in itself,
i.g, is wholly and completely dead — has no living
root which might spring up — ' twice dead, plucked
np by the roots,' as Jude expresses it (Jude 12).
As has been observed, ' A tree in winter may not
have signs of life, but is not dead in itself ; it will

Et forUi shoots and leaves in spring. But faith
I no winter ; if it has not works, it has no life
in it, and ought not to be called faith, for dead
fidth is no faith ' (Wordsworth). It is, however,
to be remembeted that James does not deny the
existence of a theoretical faith ; he distinguishes
between faith and faith, between theoretical and
practical faith ; and to the former, the theoretical
fidth, he denies that justification can be ascribed.
Ver. 18. Yea, a man may say. Thou hast faith
and I have works. There is a considerable
diverrity of opinion in the interpretation of these
words. They appear to be the language of an
objector, being the usual form by which an
ol>jcction is introduced (Rom. ix. 19; i Cor.
^v* 35) » ^^ when examined, they express the
sentiments of Tames, and not those of an opponent f
if an objection, we would have expected the
opposite: *Thou hast works and I have faith.'
Some, considering the words as those of an
objector, give the following interpretation : * One,
defending thee, may say : Thou, who hast not
works, hast faith, and I, who declare that faith
without works m dead, have works ; there is no
reason to lay more stress upon the one than upon
the other.' But such a meaning is complicated
and awkward ; it reverses the language of the

apostle. Others suppose that the objector is a
Pharisaical Jew who, opposing James, maintains

i'ustification to be entirely by- works without faith ;
>ut such a meaning is not borne out by the
context. It is best to suppose that the words are
not those of an objector, but of a person who
agrees with the apostle, and who is here intro-
duced to impart liveliness to the discussion. Nay,
one may interpose. Thou hast faith and I have
works. Others connect the words with ver. 14,
and consider the intervening words as parenthetic,
but we do not see how this removes the difiiculty.
— shew me thy faith without thy works, prove
to me the reality of your faith. A faith without
works is incapable of being proved. To show
faith without works is simply an impossibility. If
it exist at all in such a state, it exists in a passive
or latent form in a man^s mind, and cannot be
shown to others. Faith is not entirely denied to
the man, but living faith is ; if faith does not prove
itself by works it is dead, and of no value as
regards salvation. — and I will show thee my faith
by my works. This is the key to the meaning of
James. Justification is denied to a dead faith,
and affirmed only of a living faith — a faith which
manifests itself in works. This is the test by
which we are to try the reality of our faith ; and
this is the test by which we shall be judged at the
final judgment. We shall not then be examined
as to the pureness of our creed or the extent of
our knowledge, but whether we have fed the
hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick, and
ministered to the afflicted ; whether we have
practised that religious worship which consists in
visiting the fatherless and the widows in their
affliction, and in preserving ourselves unspotted
from the world.

Ver. 19. Thou belieTest that there is one
God. Here the existence of a theoretical faith is
admitted: Thou assentest to the statement that
there is one God, or, as it is otherwise read, * that
God is one.' This particular article of faith is
chosen from a Jewish point of view, because the
Jews put a high value on it, as that which dis-
tinguished them from the rest of the world. And
it is still the boast of the Jews that their national
vocation is to be witnesses to the unity of the God-
head. Hence then : Thou hast more knowledge
and a more correct faith than the Gentiles, who
have gods many and lords many. — thou doest
well : so far gO(^. There is a certain touch of
irony in the language ; but the irony does not lie
in the words, ' Thou doest well,' but in the whole
statement — that a theoretical faith in the unity of
God, though in itself good, yet does not essentially
differ from the belief of devils. — the devils. By
the devils here are not meant the devils in the
possessed who trembled before Christ (Matt. viii.
29) ; nor the heathen divinities considered as
demons (i Cor. x. 20), but evil spirits generally,
—also believe — assent to this doctrine — and
tremble : the word in the Greek is stronger, ' and
shudder.' The force of this addition may be :
* The faith of the nominal Christian is no better
than the faith which devils possess ; nay, it is not
even so good, for the devils not only believe, but
they also tremble ; ' or it may be : * The devils*
belief in God, because unproductive of works and
obedience, not only cannot save them, but is the
cause of their trembling before the Divine tribunal '
(Briickner).

Ver. 2a Bat wilt thou know, or rather, ' Art

122

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. IL i^r-ad

thou witling to know/ to recognise this truth?
implying tbit such knowledge was not palatable
to biin.---0 vain num; that is, O empty man, puffed
up with pride, trusting to thy outward privilec'es,
but without seriousness and spiritual life. — uutt
faith without works ia dead. Some manuscripts
read 'is idle,* that is, inoperative or useless; a
reading which makes no alteration in the sense.
Faith without works is properly not faith at all,
but reprobate faithlessness.

Ver. 21. James now adduces two examples —
those of Abraham and Rahab — to prove the truth
of his assertion that faith can only save if it is
productive of good works. And, first, the ex-
ample of Abraham.— Was not Abraham. The
same example is adduced by Paul (Rom. iv. 1-5);
but there is no reason to suppose that the one
writer borrowed from the other. The example of
Abraham would readily occur to every Jew, on
account of the importance of that patriarch in
their national history. — onr father : the same
appellation is given by Paul ; but here it is given
because both James and his readers, the Jewish
Christians, were descended from Abraham. — ^waa
Jnstifled. Some suppose that bv 'justified' is
meant proved to be justified, and that the allusion
is to the manifestation of our justification before
men, which can only be by works. Thus Calvin
remarks : ' Paul means by the word " justified "
the gratuitous imputation of righteousness before
the tribunal of GckI ; and James, the manifestation
of righteousness by the conduct, and that before
men. In this sense we fully allow that a man is
justified bv works, as when one says that a man is
enriched by the purchase of a large and valuable
estate, because his riches, before hid, shut up in a
chest, were thus made known.* But this has too
much the appearance of a subterfiige to avoid a
difficulty ; it puts a forced interpretation upon the
text. We taxe the word in its ordinary meaning,
' declared righteous in the sight of God, * equiva*
lent to ^ saved* in a previous verse : 'Can faith
save him ? ' — by works. Paul also appeals to Uie
case of Abraham, but with a desire to prove that
he was justified by faith without works. These
writers view the matter in different lights. Paul
asserts that Abraham was justified by the unseen
principle of faith ; he simply believed God, and it
was imputed to him for righteousness. James
affirms that the faith by which Abraham was justi-
fied was a faith which manifested itself by works,
and was seen in a remarkable manner by the great
act of his obedience — the sacrifice of Isaac; his
faith obtained its perfection by works. See excur"
sus ai the end of this exposition. The plural
worksy whereas only one work is mentioned, is
explained from the fact that the class is named to
which the offering up of Isaac belongs. — ^when he
had offered Isaao nis son on the altar. This
great act of obedience (Gen. xxii. 2) was certainly
a work of faith, arising from Abraham's practical
belief in God. 'By faith,* writes the author of
the Epistle to the Hebrews, ' Abraham, when he
was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had
received the promises, offered up his only -begotten
son, of whom it is said. That in Isaac sh2l thy
seed be called : accounting that God was able to
raise him up, even from the dead ; from whence
also he received him in a figure' (Heb. xi. 17-19).
It was therefore a most notable proof that Abra*
ham had a living faith, and vras therefore in a
justified slate.

Ver. 22. SeesI tlioa how, or, moie cocieotlya
*thou seest that,' lisitb wiooglit, ooHipeialed,
with his works. This cannot mean that woriu
co-operated with his faith in the matter of his
justification before God, as if God did not know
that he had livii^ faith until it showed itself by
works. But the evident meaning is that Uie offer*
ing of Isaac proved that the faith of Abraham was
not a dead, but a living and active faith, and thn
was a verification of Abraham's justificatioo. It
was faith that enabled him to pmorm this woilb
—and by works was faith made pevfeet^ frdly
realized, completed ; not proved or verified, but
perfected. Faith is only perfected when it vi
embodied or realized in gocKl works. As love is
perfected by the practice of works of benetvolcnce,
so faith is perfected by the practice of those works
which are appropriate to it By works friitb
attains its legitimate development or completion.
' Faith creates works; works perfect faitb ' (Sderk

Ver. 23. And the soriptnra was fuffiM*
The same expression which is employed with
reference to prophetical declarations ; hence ' the
Scripture received its accomplishment' This
great act of obedience on the part of Abraham
was a proof of the fulfilment of the scriptural
declaration made concerning him. — ^whioh saith,
Abraham believed God, and it was impated ta
him for righteonsness ; the scriptural statements
This remarkable declaration is also twice quoted
by Paul (Rom. iv. 3; GaL iii 6). The woidl
are by both apostles quoted from the Septnsgiot
In the Hebrew the verb imputed is in the active^
and not in the passive voice : 'And he believed
in the Lord, and He counted it to him for
righteousness' (Gen. xv. 6). This occurred
long before Abraham offered up Isaac, indeed
before the birth of Isaac. Abraham was at that
early period in a justified state before God ; the
declaration was made concerning him; and by
his offering of Isaac the scriptural declaration
received its fulfilment and realizaticm. It is there*
fore evident that this act of obedience was not the
cause of Abraham's justification ; but, because it
proved that Abraham was possessed of a living
faith, it fulfilled the words of Scripture.— and hie
was called the Friend of God ; not adduced as
a statement of Scripture which received its fulfil-
ment, but an additional assertion of the Ikfoor
in which Abraham stood with God. It is not
directly stated that Abraham, in consequence of
his offering up Isaac, received this honouiable
appellation, but the blessing which that name
denotes is evidentlv presupposed : Abraham was
the Beloved of Goo. The name is twice ascrU>ed
to Abraham in the Old Testament, according to
our English version. Jehoshaphat, in his prayer,
says : ' Thou gavest this land to the seed ot Abra-
ham thy friend' (2 Chron. xx. 7). And in the
prophecies of Isaiah we read : 'Thou Israel art
my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of
Abraham my firiend ' (Isa. zli. 8). The term, how*
ever, is found neither in the Hebrew nor in the
Septuagint, but is employed by Philo. And this
is still the favourite descnption of Abraham, both
by the Jews and by the Mtdiometans. By the
Mahometans his proper name b often supplanted
by the appellation El-KhalU-AUah, 'the Friend
of God.'

Ver. 24. Ye see then, from this example of
Abraham, how that by works a man is jns&Hed*
The emphasis is upon worl^ : stress is put unoq

Chap. II. 14*26.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

the fiict tfial fiuth must be piodiictive of works. — ever.
mad not by UiXh. only. These words do not
admit of the trunlation, ' and not aaly by faith: *
as if theie were two kinds of justification, the one
by fiuth and the other by works ; or as if faith did
put, nnd works were required to do the rest.
The meaning is, 'not by faith simply,' — ^b^a faith
without wonci, which cannot jn^ify either in
wiude or in part It must be carefully observed
that Tames aoes not deny that a man is justified
by nith; on the contrary, he presupposes this
truth, as without fiuth thm can be no works, in
the sense in which he employs the term works ;
he onhr asserts that justifying faith must not be
akme^ cmt must be productive of works.

Ver. 35. The second example which James
adduces is that of Rahab. idtowiae also mm
not Bahab. The same example, and the same
incident in Rahab's history, is also adduced by
the anthcv of the Epistle to the Hebrews, as an
inustrioos instance of faith. The example is not
so obvious as that of Abraham; and we can
assign no sufficient reason why it was selected by
berth writers.— the harlot: to be taken in its
Hteial sense, and not to be considered as eqni*
valent to innkeeper.— Jnatifled, namely before
God.-— by works when she recelTod the mas-
and sent them out another way. This

123

was certainlv a work springing from her faith ; it
arose from her firm belief in the God of Israel.
Indeed, Rahab herself gives this as the reason of
her conduct : ' I know that the Lord hath given
yon the land, and that your terror is fallen upon
us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint
because of you. The Lord your God, He is God
in heaven above and in the earth beneath ' (Josh.
fi. 9, II). Her receiving the messengers, and
sending them out another way, was therefore a
pRx^ that her fiuth was real and living. 'By
kith,' ssys the author of the Epistle to the
Hebfews, 'the harlot Rahab perisned not with
them diat beBeved not, when she had received
die spies with peace ' (Heb. xL 31). Her deliver-
ance from deadi is to be ascribed to her faith, but
it was to her fiuth as active. Thus did she
manlfiest Hit reality of her faith. Her faith co-
operated with her works, and by works was her
fiuth made perfect — received its full realization ;
~^^ in this sense she is said to be justified by

Ver. 96u Vor M the body without the spirit
Is dead. The 'spirit' here may either be the
spirit — ^the soul of man ; or the breath

of lifie---the living principle ; as in the expression,
'all flesh idierein is the bieath of life' (Gen. vi.
17).— 00 fMb. without woda !■ dead also.
Here fidth without works answers to the body
without the spirit At first sight it would seem
that tiie comparison, in order to be correc^ would
leqniie to be inverted; inasmuch as faith is a
spiritual principle, whereas works are its external
nimifffft^«»« ; so that we would require to read :
*io works without faith are dead also.' But
what James insists on here is not the deadness of
woiks without fiuth, but the converse, the dead-
ness of firith without works. According to him,
a fiuth without works is like a body from which
the living principle has departed ; works are the
evidences of life, and if these be absent, the fiuth
is dead. A mere system of doctrine, however
correct, is a mere dead body, unless it be animated
by a living working spirit We must not, how-

press the metephor too far. Strictly
speaking, the works do not correspond to the
spirit, but are only the outward manifestations ci
an internal living principle — the proof that there
is life. An unproductive faith is a body without
the spirit ; a productive faith is the living body.

Excursus : James and Paul.

The relation of Paul and James to each other
in regard to justification is a matter of such
importance that it requires for its discussion a
separate consideration. It is impossible in our
limited space to give a full statement of the
subject; all that we aim at is to point out the
probable solution of the difficulties connected with
It It is undeniable that there is at least an
apparent opposition between these sacred writers
in their view of justification. We have merely to
state their views in their own language to perceive
the difference. Paul, as the conclusion of his
argument, affirms : ' Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight '
(Rom. iiL 20) ; and, in the Epistle to the (Sda-
tians, he makes the same assertion: 'By the
works of the law shall no flesh be justified '^(GaL
ii 16). Whereas James appears to assert the
very opposite : 'Ye see that by works a man is
justified, and not by fiuth only' (Jas. ii. 26).
And this apparent opposition is very obvious in
their different statements concerning Abraham's
justification, which both employ to illustrate or
confirm their respective views. Paul says: 'If
Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof
to gloiy, but not before God ' (Rom. iv. 2). James
asl^ : ' Was not Abraham our father justified by
works?' (Jas. ii. ai). Thus, then, it would
appear from the simple reading of these statements,
that Paul ascribes our justification to faith without
the works of the law ; whereas James ascribes it,
if not to works, at least to works combined with
faith.

Accordingly, various modes of reconciliation
have been adopted. These may be arranged into
three classes, according to the meanings attached
to the three principal terms — works, justification,
and faith. One class of writers suppose that the
sacred authors employ the term ztwris in different
senses. Some think that Paul speaks of works
done in obedience to the ceremonial law, and
James of works done in obedience to the moral
law. Others think that Paul speaks of the works
of the unregenerate, James of the works of the
true believer. And undoubtedly there is a certain
difference in their use of this term. The works
of which Paul speaks, are legal works done
without faith ; the works of which James speaks,
are evangelical works which arise from faith.
But this is not the true solution of the difficulty,
as even evangelical works are excluded from
Paul's idea of justification. A second class of
writers suppose that the term justification is
differently employed by them. Some suppose
that Paul considers justification from God's point
of view, which is by faith ; and that James spesdcs
of justification from man's point of view, which is
by works. But such a distinction in the meaning
of the term 'justification' is not apparent: it
would rather seem that both Paul and James
employ the term in the same sense, as a dedara-
tion of righteousness on the part of God.^ A

1 Httther supposes that Paul has in view the justificatioo
that puts behevers in a gradous relation to God in this

124

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. IL 14-26.

third class of writers suppose that there is a
diflerence in the use of the term faith. Paul, it
has been maintained, speaks of faith as an active
practical principle — he recognises no other kind
of faith ; whereas James employs the term in a
much more general sense, and includes in it
theoretical as well as practical faith. It is in
this direction that we consider the true solution
of the question lies.

In any solution we must not forget the peculiar
characteristics of Paul and James, the one as the
apostle of the uncircumcision, and the other as the
apostle of the circumcision. They stood in
different relations to the Mosaic law. Paul
regarded it as abolished, and he himself freed
from its requirements, whereas James adhered to it
to the last ; and therefore we may expect expres-
sions and statements used by the one m reference
to justification which would not be employed by
the other, even where no real discrepancy ei^ts.
Paul is eminently doctrinal, and therefore faith
occupies a prominent place in his theology.
James is eminently practical, and therefore works
occupy a prominent place in his teaching. Both
agree in ascribing our justification to niith, and
both assert that the faith must be living ; but they
contemplate the matter under different points of
view. James would hardly assert with Paul that
a man is justified by faith without the works of the
law, because he re^jarded faith as only efficacious
when it is productive of works ; and Paul would
hardly assert with James that by works a man is
justified and not by faith onlv, because he
admitted of no other kind of faith than one that
was living and aaive. Although, then, we
believe that there is no real discrepancy in the
opinions of these apostles, yet there is a remark-
able difference in their terminology, arising from
their individual peculiarities.

Paul and James view justification from diflferent
standpoints, according to the different nature of
the errors which they opposed. Paul is arguing
against those who supposed that they would be
justified by their good works. His opponents are
the self-righteous Pharisees, who trusted to their
own righteousness, and boasted of their obedience
to the law. He tells them that their own obedience
was imperfect, that the law of God, far from
justifying, condemns them, and that the only
method of salvation was to exercise faith in
Christ. But the faith, to which Paul attaches
salvation, is presupposed to be a true and living
faith, not the mere assent of the understanding to
the proposition that Jesus Christ came into the
world to save sinners, but an application of this to
our souU* necessities. James, on the other hand,
is arguing Against those who supposed that an
orthodox faith could save, though unaccompanied
with a holy life. Such an error was very common
among the Jews, They placed their confidence
in their external privileges, in their belief in the
unity of the Godhead m contrast to the p>olvtheism
of the Gentiles ; and this spirit was carriea by the
converted Jews into the Christian Church. James
tells them that such a faith, which was merely
theoretical and unproductive of good works, was
useless; as useless as a barren charity which

world, and James the justification that places believers at
the last judgment in the full enjoyment of God ; an opinion
which appears to be adopted by Dean Scott in his com-
'n^r^'y* ^'^^ '1** example of Abraham's justification,
which was certainly in this life, b a refutation of this view

expended itself in kind wishes. Saving faith
must be active ; it must be productive of good
works ; if these be absent, the faith is dead, and
will never save the soul. Thus, then, Paul
opposes Pharisaical legalism — those who trusted
to their own works for salvation. James opposes
Pharisaical antinomianism — those who trusted to
their religious knowledge and speculative faith.
Paul teaches us how a guilty sinner may be
justified before God ; James reminds ns that no
man living in sin can be justified, whatever his
profession may be. Paul answers the question of
the awakened sinner, *What must I do to be
saved?' James exhorts professed believers to
walk worthy of their calling. Paul discloses to
the Pharisaical legalist the worthlessness of his
works ; James discloses to the Pharisaical anti-
nomian the worthlessness of his faith.

But not only do the apostles contemplate the
doctrine of justification under different points of
view ; they also employ the term faith in different
senses. The faith to which Paul assigns justifica-
tion is a real, active, and living belief in Jesus
Christ; it is the assent of the will to the
doctrines of revelation ; it is a faith which
worketh by love; he knows no other kind of
faith. The faith of the Gospel requires action-
something to be done ; and it is the action which
proves the reality and constitutes the value of the
faith. Faith, if real, must work ; if there are no
works, it is a proof that the faith is unreal and a
mere pretence. James, again, places his chief
stress on the activity of living faith. He uses the
term faith in a much more general sense than
Paul, as including theoretical as well as practical
belief. Faith, he asserts, can only justify when it is
operative ; if inoperative, if it is a mere speculative
belief, it cannot justify ; it is a dead faith, a mere
body without the living spirit. Not by a mere
general faith is a man justified, but by a faith
productive of good works.

Paul and Tames then speak of different faiths,
so that, although the one asserts that we are
justified by faith without the works of the law,
and the other that by works a man is justified and
not by faith only, there is no contradiction
between them, as they employ the term faith in
different senses. Paul asserts that a living faith
in Christ is the only cause of justification ; James
affirms that the faith which justifies must be
living, and productive of good works. Paul
descends from saving faith to good works as its
necessary effects ; James ascends from |[ood works
to saving faith as their cause and origin. Paul
dwells on ^th as the efficient cause; James
insists on works as the indispensable effects. Paul
assigns our justification to a faith which worketh
by love ; James denies that it can be assigned to a
faith which is destitute of works. Paul speaks of
a living faith by which the justified man lives ;
James of a dead faith, even as the body without
the spirit is dead. The faith whereof Paul treats
is that of the true believer ; the faith which James
reprobates is that of the nominal professor. If,
then, these apostles use the term faith in different
senses, there is no contradiction in their state-
ments, even although there is a contradiction
in the words by which these statements are
expressed.

The fiill doctrine of Scripture on justification is
that a man is justified not on account of his own
righteousness, but on account of the merits of

Chap. HI. 1-18.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

12;

Christ received hy faith ; bat that this faith must
be active, a faith which works by love^ and leads
a man to act according as he believes. The first
part of this doctrine, that a man is justified by
nuth and not by his own righteousness, is chiefly
dwelt npon by Paul ; the second part, that the
faith which justifies must be active, b chiefly dwelt
npoQ by James. Pftul addresses himself chiefly to

those who are unbelievers, and who are trusting
for salvation to their own works, and he urges
them to faith in Christ James addresses himself
chiefly to professing Christians who neglect to
walk up to their profession, and he urges them to
prove their faith by their works, because a mere
speculative faith in Christ will profit them
nothing.

Chapter III. 1-18.

Gavernvient of the Tongue,

X TVyfY brethren, ''be not many masters,* knowing that we «Mji.«^ii.^7:

2 IVX shall receive the * greater condemnation. * For in ^ |2d"^. \o
many things we offend all. If any man ''offend not in word, ^gj^ji^j'^*'
the same is a perfect man, and ''able also to bridle the whole ''Mat. xiL34.

3 body. Behold,' we put bits in the horses' mouths that they

4 may obey us, and we* turn about their whole body. Behold
also the ships, which, though tlicy be so great, and are driven of
fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm

5 whithersoever the governor listeth.* Even so the tongue is a

little member, and boasteth great things. ' Behold how great ' fj^-,?.*'''"-

6 a matter* a little fire kindleth! And the tongue ts a fire, /a V«Tim.vi.ia
world of iniquity : so ' is the tongue* among our members, that

it '• defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of

7 nature;" and ^it is set on fire of hell. For every kind" of^^^"!;'**'
beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is

8 tamed," and hath been tamed " of mankind.** But the tongue

can no man tame;" // is an unruly** evil, *full of deadly* ^4^3 ^

9 poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father;*' and
therewith curse we men, which are made after ' the similitude * iite.c^'uL

10 of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and ***•

1 1 cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth
a fountain send forth at the same place " sweet water and

12 bitter.^ *Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? *M^*-^^»^
either a vine, figs ? so can no fountain both yield salt water

and fresh."

13 Who w 'a wise man and endued with knowledge among 'd«o«.»-»3.
you? **let him show out of a good conversation •• his works «p«««^'

14 with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and

* teachers • omit the
^ omit and, and read we also

* forest ' that

* the tongue is

** nature ^' subdued

*• Best AfSS. reoiiy restless

*• fissure
■• conduct

» Best MSS, read. But if

' the inclination of the steersman willeth

« Best AfSS, omit so

*® that which " the circle of life

** human nature ** subdue

" Best MSS, read, the Lord and Father

*• Best MSS, read, neither can salt water bring forth sweet

126 THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. IIL i-i8.

strife '^ in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

15 This wisdom descendeth not'* from above, but is earthly,

16 "sensual,** devilish. For where envying and strife" iV, there "^^'g;

17 tf confusion, and every evil work. But 'the wisdom that is ^p^^^
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and** easy to be
entreated," full of mercy and good fruits, ^without partiality,** /!««•"• 4.

18 and without hypocrisy. And 'the fruit of righteousness is f h«i». xS. w.
sown in peace of*' them ''that make peace. rMat.v.9.

** party strife
" persuaded

'^ is not one descending

-^ doubting

** natural
"by

^* ouiit and

Contents. In this chapter, St. James cautions
his readers not to be too forward in assuming the
office of teachers, but to exercise a wise restraint
upon their zeal, knowing that such an office would
confer on them a heavy responsibility. This caution
leads him to advert to the importance of the
government of the tongue. He who can command
his tonmie, commands himself. This observation
he explains by two obvious illustrations, that of
the bit which curbs the horse, and that of the helm
which guides the ship. The tongue, he observes,
though a little member, is a powerful instrument
for good or eviL Its abuse gives rise to the
greatest mischiefs, and influences for evil the
whole circle of human life. It is more untameable
than the wildest animals. By it we are guilty of
the greatest inconsistency — blessing God, and
cursing His image in man; an mconsistency
which never occurs in nature, as no fountain sends
forth both salt and fresh water, and no tree pro-
duces different kinds of fruit. St. James therefore
urges his readers to a candid and benevolent spirit,
and to exhibit wisdom and meekness in their con-
duct He then distinguishes between earthly and
heavenly wisdom ; the former is the cause of envy
and contention, of confusion and aU kinds of
wickedness ; the latter leads to righteousness and
peace.

Ver. I. My brethren, be not many masters.
Either ' be not many of you masters ; * or rather,
' be not a multitude of masters ' — each one striving
to be a master. * Masters ' here used not in the
sense of rulers, but of ttachers. Hence the sense is:
Do not rashly enter upon the office of a teacher. The
meaning is not to be limited, as is done by Calvin,
to the office of a reprover — 'masters of morals ; '
but is to be understood generally. Such an assump-
tion of the office and authority of teachers was
very prevalent among the Jews. The Pharisees
loved to be called of all men * Rabbi, Rabbi '
(Matt, xxiii. 7). St. Paul, adverting to the Jews,
sAjs that they were confident of their ability to be
guides to the blind, and teachers of the foolish
(Rom. ii. 19, 20) ; and he finds fault with them
for desiring to be teachers of the law, whilst at
the same time they understood neither what they
said, nor whereof they affirmed ( i Tim. i. 7). And
this craving to be teacners would be naturally carried
bv the converted Jews into the Christian church.
The opportunity of exercising the office of teachers
was greater in these davs of early Christianity
than in ours, as it would seem that teaching was
not then restricted to a particular class, but was
exercised by believers gezierally. The eidiorta.tion
is not without its use m the present day. Many,

especially in a season of reli|;ious excitement,
assume the office of teacher, without any qnafifi*
cation of knowledge or experience, sind thus
expose themselves to the reproof of St. James. —
knowing, as ye well do, being well awaic — ithtX
we — we who are the teachers. St. James indndes
himself out of humility, and in order the better to
propitiate his readers, shall reoeiTa tlia graatsr
condemnation. The meaning being that as the
responsibility of teachers is great, unej shall be
the more strictly dealt with by God. Knowing
that we shall undergo a stricter judgment than
others in a private station.

Ver. 2. For : the reason assigned for the second
clause of the last verse. — ^in many ttafn^i: to be
taken generally — ' in many particulars: ' not to be
restricted to the offences of the tongue ; the re-
striction follows in the latter part of the Terse. —
we offend : literally, ' we trip or 'stumble.'
Human life is represented as a way, and psrtica*
lar actions as steps in that way ; and henoe acting
amiss is represented as stumbling. Beliefcn^
thoOgh they may not actually fall, often stumble.
— all: a strong expression in the Gredc ; 'we, all
without exception.'— -If any offend not ixk woni—
stumble not m his speech, the same ii * p«£Ml
man. By ' a perfect man,' here and elsewhere in
Scripture, is not meant a man who is absolutely
free from sin, but one who is comparatively per-
fect Thus Noah, Abraham, and Job were culed
perfect in their generations ; and of Zadiarias and
Elizabeth it is said that ' they were both rigfate—
l)efore God, walking in all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blameless ' (Lulce I.
6). Hence, then, a perfect man is a man who has
attained to a high degree of holiness. And cer*
tainly a man, whose words are inofeisiVe, mt^
have his imperfections, but, compared with those
who have little command over their tonguei^ who
give an unbridled licence to their speech, he is a
perfect man. ' He that can rule his tongue shall
live without strife ' (Sir. xix. 6).— and aUe •!»
to bridle his whole body: qualified to keep the
body under subjection ; that is, has obtained the
mastery over himself, inasmuch as it is more
difficult to bridle the tongue than to control the
actions of the life. A man's character is known
by his words: 'Out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh ' (Matt. xii. 34) : even
as the nature of a fountain is known by the quality
of the stream which issues from it Henoe the
wise saying of Socrates, ' Speak, that I may know
thee.' Offences of the tongue are the most
common of all offences. 'There is one that
slippeth in his speech, but not fimn his heart;

Chap. III. 1-18.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 127

sad who is he that hath not offended with his Gospel, pleads the cause of the umocent and
loogoe?' (Sir. six. 16). Even the meekness of oppressed, stirs up to the performance of noble
Moses was violated by a rash word : ' he spake deeds, diffuses the light of truth, procures liberty
naadvisedly with his lips ' (P& cvi. 33). to the captive, comforts the sad and sorrowful, and
Ver. 3. St James introduces two illustrations supports the dying in their last moments. Sweet
to prove the truth of his remark, that if a man is waters flow from this fountain of humanity. But
able to command his toi^e, he is able also to bitter waters also flow. On the side of evil the
oomroaod his whole conduct. The first illustra- tongue sows the seeds of moral pestilence and
tioo, that of the bit in the horses' mouths, was death, corrupts men's morals, spreads the leaven
MUuralty suggested by what he had just said about of wickedness, persuades to vice and all manner
bcidling the whole body. Behold. The best of sin, diffuses tne poison of infidelity and ungod-
Manuscripts read, ' But if : ' as if St. James had liness, gives rise to bitter contentions, dissolves
taidy ' Bat if you doubt the truth of my assertion, friendships, disturbs the peace of a whole neigh-
consider how the horse is bridled.' — we put bite bourhooo, and is not less powerful for evil thau
1m the honei* numths, that they may obey na; for good. 'Many have fallen by the edge of the
mad we tum about their whole body. As the sword ; but not so many as have fallen by the

are governed bv bits in their mouths, so tongue ' (Sir. xxviii 18).
am we governed by the tongue in our mouths. Ver. 6. And the tongue is a fire—possesses
The cmef point of comparison here is that of the destructive power of fire. — aworldofmiqnity.
: — These words have been differently translated.

Ver. 4. Behold also the shipe, which, thongfa Some render them as follows : ' The tongue is

th^ be ao gxeai The ships of the ancients were a fire, the world of iniquity the forest ; ' but this

often very large, as may be seen in the case of the is an unwarrantable insertion of the words ' the

ship which conveyed Paul to Malta, which con- forest.' Others connect the words with what

tanad twohundred and seventy-six persons (Acts follows : ' The tongue is a fire. As a world of

xxvii. 37); but the comparison is even more forcible unrighteousness the tongue is among our mem-

inov days, as our ships are still larger.— and are bers : ' but it is best to consider ' the world of

driven on fleroe windk These fierce winds m9y iniquity ' in apposition wiih the tongue, as is done

denote human passions, which the government in our version. Hence the meaning is : the tongue

of the tongue controls. — yet they are tnmed is a combination of all that is eviL The expression

^owt by a ym amali helm whithenoever the is of similar import to that of St. Paul, when he

pofemov lieteth : literally, ' whithersoever the calls the love of money ' the root of all evil ' ( i Tim.

inclination or impulse of the steersman willeth.' vi. 10). — So ia, or rather ' so makes itself,' or 'so

The little helm controlleth the fury of the winds steps forward : ' so is constituted the tongue among

and waves. Here there is an additional point of onr memben, that it defileth the whole body, is

eooipariaoo, namdy, the smallness of the instru- the cause of universal pollution, and eetteth on

■lent employed in governing. fire, inflameth, the cowae of nature. 'i*his phrase

I Ver. 5. Even lo. Now follows the application has been very differently translated, and indeed is in

Of Che two illnstrations. If we rule our tonnes, our version hardly intelligible. The word rendered

ne pyvem the whole man ; for the tongue is to ' course ' denotes something that revolves, and is

the man what the bit is to the horse, or the helm generally used of a wheel ; and the words ' of

to the ihip. -the tongue is a little member : the nature ' are in the Greek ' of birth,' or metaphori*

icfaenoe oenig to the smallness of the helm. The cally ' of creation.' Hence the literal translation

toagneismaU in proportion to the whole body, is *the wheel of life' or 'of creation.' Some

Mad to many of its members. — and boaeteth great accordingly understand it of the whole creation —

bciasteth, instead of worketh or doeth, 'the orb of creation ; '^ the meaning being that

boasting is specially applicable to the the tongue sets the universe in fiames ; but it is
tongne. The mutd is not here, however, em- extremely improbable that St. James would use
pkjtd to denote a vain ostentation ; for, as is such a strong hyperbole. Others consider it as a
cfident firom the context, the tongue not only figurative expression for the body ;' but such an
boasteth great things, but makes go^ its boasts, explanation is forced, and it is improbable that St
Hence the meaning is, 'exerts immense influence.* James would express that figuratively which he
*-Beheld how great a matter ; or ' forest,' as it is had immediately before expr^sed in plain terms.
hi the Gredc, suited to the lively and figurative Others suppose that by it the successive genera-
style of Sl James. — a little fixe kindleth. A tions of men are meant — 'the circle of numan
ragle spark may set a whole forest on fire, as is existence : ' ' the meaning being that, as the tongue
often the case with the forests of America. The set our forefathers on fire, so it has the same per-
reading of manuscripts is here different. Some nicious effect on us and on all succeeding genera

ready ' How great a fire kindleth a great tions ; but this is a meaning which is too vague and

;' th« allusion being tq the greatness of the indirect. It is best to understand by the phrase

conflagration, whilst the smallness of the spark is the circle of the individual's own life, and which

left out of consideration. Some critics translate commences its revolutions at his birth ; hence it

the words without any reference to size : ' What a is to be translated ' the circle or wheel of life.'*

fire kindles what a forest' Hie reading in our ' The present life of man,' savs Benson, ' is here

verrion is to be preferred, as being best adapted compared to a wheel which is put in motion at

to the apostle's train of thought, bringing pro* our birth, and runs swiftly until death st(Mp8 it.

minent]]r forward the smallness of the fire (comp. The tongue often sets this wheel on a flame,

PS. faunoii. 14; Isa. ix. 18). We are here taught, which sometimes sets on Are the whole machine.'

ihoet emphatically, the power of the tongue. — And it is set on fire^ inflamed or inspired, of, or

Speech is that whidh distinguishes man from the by, hell : Gehenna, the place of future torment,

mferior aafaials^ 5 is a poweriul instrument for , ^ ^^^^ Ba«eL « Wiedngcr. » SttadUo.

gondoTevO. On fhe side of good it preaches the •SoEiSSimaSdciicr, Ptam^ /«■««.

I2S

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. IIL i-i8.

different from Sheol or Hades, the place of discm-
l)odied spirits. Except in the synoptical Gosnels,
the word Gehenna is only found here in the New
Testament. It denotes * the valley of Hinnoni/
and was used by the Jews to si(|^if^ the place of
future punishment, because it was m that valley
that the rites of human sacrifice were practised, and
a perpetual burning was kept up for its cleansing.
The reference here is not to the future punishment
of the tongue, but to the source from which it
derived its destructive properties, namely, from
hell — that is, from the devil. * A bad tongue,* as
^tius says, * is the organ of the devil. * At Pente-
cost the outpouring of the Spirit was manifested
by tongues of fire wnich lighted upon the disciples,
and enabled them to speak with new tongues ;
the tongue was then set on fire of heaven ; but
that tongue which we have by nature, unpurified
by grace, is often kindled from hell.

Ver. 7. For every kind : literally, every nature
or disposition.— of beasts, and of birds, and of
serpents, and of things in the sea : the inferior
creation arranged under its usual fourfold classi-
fication— beasts of the earth, fowls of heaven,
creeping things, and fish of the sea. — is tamed
— better, ' is subdued,' as we can hardly say that
all the inferior animals are tamed, many of them
being incapable of being so ; but they may all
be subdued.— and hath been tamed, subdued. —
of mankind: literally, *by the nature of men,'
answering to the nature of the inferior animals
mention^ above ; hence *by human nature.'

Ver. 8. Bat» expressive of contrast, the tongne,
genenilly considered — whether our own tongue or
the tongue of others — can no man tune or subdue.
The tongue is more unconquerable than the wildest
animal. No man can master his own tongue, or
subdue that of the slanderer or the liar ; we
require the grace of God for this.— it is an unroly
e^ — incapable of being curbed, full of disturb-
ance. The best manuscripts read, ' it is a restless
evil * — incapable of being quieted. — full of deadly
po^n : the reference being to the poison of
serpents which was supposed to be connected with
their tongues. Compare the words of the Psalmist,
referred to by St Paul (Rom. iiL 13) : * They have
sharpened their tongues like a serpent ; adders'
poison is under their lips * (Ps. cxl. 3). Hence the
miportance and difficulty of the government of the
tongue. We must pray for the grace of God * to
keep our mouths as with a bridle.' We must
steer this little helm aright, lest we should make
shipwreck of our immortal hopes. We must be
cautious of every little spark, lest the infernal
flames should burst forth, and spread devastation
over the whole circle of our lives.

Ver. 9. Therewith : literally, 'in it,' 'acting in
the sphere of the tongue } * hence, instrumentally,
'by it.' — bless we God, even the Father. The
best manuscripts read, ' bless we the Lord and
Father,' an unusual combination ; both terms
apply to God the Father. To praise God b the
proper use of the tongue. — and therewith, by it,
cnrse we men — the improper and opposite use of
the tongue. —which are made after the similitude,
or likeness, of God. Man was originally created
after the Divine image (Gen. i. 26) ; and this
image, although marr^ and obscured, is not, as
some rashly affirm, obliterated by sin. Thus murder
wasdeclared tobe punishable bydeath, becauseman
was made in the image of God (Gen. ix. 6). Man
in his understanding and affections, and especially

in his conscience, still bears the traces of the
moral image of his Creator ; indeed, it is b^ reason
of this resemblaiice that we can attam to a
knowledge of the perfections of God, and are
rendered capable of religion. And this Divine
image obscured by sin is restored by Christ (CoL
iil 10). This Divine similitude, then, we ou^t
to respect both in ourselves and in others. He
who curses man curses the ima^ of God, and
consequently God Himsdf in His image. It is
evident that the reference is not to the original
condition of man prior to the fall, bat to his
present state ; for thus only can there be any Ibice
m the apostle's remark.

Ver. 10. Out of the same month proeeedetii
blessing and enzaing. My hrethnn, theaa
things ought not so to be. There is here a
moral incongruity. ' The annals of Christendom,*
observes Dean Plumptre, ' show that the necess^
for the warning has not passed away. Coundtt
formulating the faith, and uttering their cuises
on heretics ; Te Deums chanted at an Amt^ da
/?, or after a massacre of St Bartholomew ; the
railings of religious parties who are restrained
from other mckles of warfare, present the same
melancholy inconsistency.'

Ver. II. Now follow, after the apostle*s
method, two illustrations of this incongruity, taken
from the natural world. Doth * toontam tend
forth at the same place : literally, ' at the same
hole or fissure' — from the same spring. — iwMl
water and bitter : literally, ' the sweet and the
bitter.*

Ver. 12. Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear
oliye berries f either a Tine, figs t that is, no tree
can bring forth fruits inconsistent with its nature.
The illustration here is not, that we must not
expect bad fruits from a good tree, or convi»sely»
good fruits from a bad tree, according . to oor
Lord's illustration : ' Do men gather grapes of
thorns, or figs of thistles?' (Matt. vii. 16); but
only that we must not expect different fruits from
the same tree— figs and olives from the fig tree,
or figs and grapes from the vine. — io can no
fountain yield salt water and flredi ; or, as other
manuscripts have it, 'so neither can ailt water
bring forth sweet ; ' the salt water referring to the
cursing, and the sweet or fresh water to the bless^
ing. That cursing and blessing should proceed
from the same mouth is as great an incongruity as
that salt and fresh water should flow from the same
spring. In the natural world no such incongruitY
exists, as does in the moral world. Man is a sel&
contradiction, acting continually inconsistently
with his nature.

Ver. 13. With this verse a new section of the
Epistle apparently begins, and yet in strict con-
nection with what precedes. The connection
appears to be as follows : The want of command
over our tongues argues a defect in wisdom and
knowledge; so that if you do not govern your
tongues, your boast of these qualities is a mere
pretence. — Who is a wise mant that is. Who
among you professes to be such? The Jews were
great pretenders to wisdom, and they as well as
the Greek sophists gloried in the title of wise
men ; and indeed an assertion of wisdom is a
general feature of the human race ; humility is the
rarest of virtues.— and endued with knowledge
among you? There is not much difference
between these two epithets, ' wise ' and ' endued
with knowledge. ' Some understand wisdom as in-

Chap. III. 1-18.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

129

tdligience generally, and knowledge as a practical
insight which jnd^ correctly in particular cases.
Bat, if we were to distingiush them, we would
father say that wisdom denotes the adaptation of
means to ends, and knowledge the acquisition of
particular facts ; the knowledge of £scts constitutes
the materials with which wisdom works. — let him
■how-: let him make good hb profession, let him
prove his possession of wisdom and knowledge. —
out otf or rather ' by,* a good ocmTertfttion, * by
a holy conduct' The word 'conversation' has
altered its meaning since our translation was
made ; then it signified conduct, but now it is
almost entirely restricted to speech. — his works
with muBlnni of wisdom : not to be rendered
' in a meek wisdom,' or ' in a wise meekness ; ' but
the genitive of possession, *in wisdom's meekness,'
that is, in that meekness which is the proper
attribute of true wisdom; the meekness which
belongs to wisdom and proceeds from it. Com-
pare the somewhat similar sentiment of the
Psalmist : ' What man is he that desireth life, and
loveth many days, that he may see good ? Keep
thy tongne froi^ evil, and thy lips from speaking
gmle' (Ps. j^iv. 12, 13); for the meekness of
wisdom is |^en in the government of the tongue.

Ver. 14. Bnt if ye naTe bitter envying— zeal
or cmolation in a bad sense, as is evident from the
epithet * bitter,' — Bad strife, or rather factiousness,
coBtention, party - strife ; the reference being
specially to religious controversies. — in your
hearts, glory not, boast not, and lie not, by a
false pretence to wisdom and knowledge, against
the troth : not subjective, ' against veracitv,'
being destitute of the truth, which would render
the passage tautological ; but objective, ' against
the tmth of God,' namely the Gospel

Ver. 15. This wisdom, that which gives rise to
this fidse seal and party-strife, desonideth not
tnm abore, bnt is earthly, in contrast to
'desoendeth from above' — belongs to the earth.
Thcie are no heavenly aspirations about it; it
ovorlooks or foigets the unseen world ; it is limited
to the affiurs of the present life. — sensnal. Hardly
a correct rendering; litendlv, 'belongs to the
sold,' not to the spirit. The contrast is well
brought out in Jude 19 : ' sensual, not having the
spuiL* Elsewhere the word is translated ' natural.*
'There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual
body' (I Cor. xv. 44). 'The natural man re-
edrtdCtk not the thmgs of the Sinrit of God'
(i Cor. ii. 14). There is a distinction drawn in
Sciiptnre between the soul and the spirit; the
sool is the intellectual nature of man, that which
qvalifies him for this world; the spirit is his
religioiis nature, that which renders him capable
of religioOy and assimilates him to God. Hence,
then, the wwd is to be translated 'natural,' as
apoB the whde the best eouivalent This wisdom
appertains to our natural mental powers, but
takes no cpgniiance of oar spiritual powers; it
regards man as an intellectual being capable of
knowledge^ rather than as a spiritual being capable
of holiness. These two epithets, earthly and
natoral, are perhap negative qualities ; the third
quality is positively sinlttl.— derilish, devil-like,
|i«T»«Vifig of the nature of devils, similar to that
wisdom which is possessed by evil spirits, like the
tongne impiied by heU. This wisdom is often
the canse of pride and ambition, of selfishness and
maligni^, and of all those vices which actuate the
•piriu Of eviL Some suppose that the three great
VOL. IV. 9

temptations of the world— avarice, a love of plea-
sure, and ambition — are here referred to ; the first
of which is earthly, the second sensual, and the
third devilish, being the sin by which the devil
fell ; but this is refining too much. These three
qualities — earthly, sensual, devilish — have their
contrast in the qualities heavenly, spiritual, and
divme.

Ver. 16. For, the reason assigned for the above
description of earthly wisdom, where envying
and strife is ; where zeal (in a bad sense) and
party-strife are, there is confosion and every
evil work — all kinds of wickedness. Certainly
the reference is primarily to religious controversy ;
but the supposition that the controversy between
the Jewish and Gentile Christians is here referred
to is without foundation.

Ver. 17. Bnt. Now follows a description of
the heavenlv wisdom in contrast to the earthly.
The heavenly wisdom is descrit>ed by seven quali-
ties which, as has been well said, are ' nothing
but the seven colours of the one ray of light of
heavenlv truth which has appeared and been
revealed in Christ Himself— the Wisdom of God.'
— the wisdom which is firam above is first, in
the first plsice. Purity is its primary quality ; all
other qualities of heavenly wisdom are subservient
to this. We must, however, beware of perverting
this remark in the interests of intolerance and
party-strife ; these are the bitter fruits, not of
heavenly, but of earthly wisdom. — pure, free from
all impure and corrupt mixtures ; separated from
everything that offends ; no stain of sin . must
pollute it; everything that is morally evil is
abhorrent to its nature. The word is to be taken
in its widest sense, as all sin is impurity, .then
peaceable, opposed to envy and party-strife ;
desirous to make and maintain peace. The spirit
of love will cause us, as much as possible, to live
peaceably with all men; instead of strife there
will be a readiness to be reconciled. — genUe,
kind, forbearing, considerate, making every allow-
ance for the Ignorance and frailties of otJiers,
imitating the character of Him who is meek and
lowly — * the gentle Jesus.'— easy to be intreated,
or rather, easy to be persuaded, willing to be
reconciled when differences arise, and always
ready to meet its opponents half way.— ftdl of
mercy and good Cmits, benevolent, compassionate
to the afflicted, charitable to the poor, ready to
extend relief and assistance to the destitute. —
without partiality. Tliis has been variously
rendered. Some, ' without, contending,' not
entering into controversy ; others, ' without judg-
ing,' not finding fault with others ; others, ' not
making a difference,' that is, impartial. Perhaps
the most correct meaning, and most in accordance
with the doctrine of St. James, is, 'without
wavering or doubting ; ' not feeble or changeable,
'without vacillation (see Note on Jas. ii. 4). —
and without hypocrii^, without pretence, show-
ing a naturalness in behaviour, meaning all the
kindness it expresses, without affectation, its
actions beine in accordance with its words.

Ver. 18. iund the ftruit of rigfaiteousness. This
does not mean ' the reward of righteousness,' nor
'the fruit which springs from righteousness,' but
' Uie firuit which consists in righteousness.' So in
the Epistle to the Hebrews we read, that chastise-
ment yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness
(Heb. xii. ii). As bitter emulation and party-
strife are the fruits of earthly wisdom, so righteous-

iy>

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. IV. 1-12.

ness is the fruit of heavenly wisdom. And by
righteousness here is not meant the imputed
righteousness of Christ, but moral goodness —
righteousness in ourselves and in others, in habit
and in practice. — ^is sown; the fruit being sup-
posed to be contained in the seed. The sower is
not God ; but, as is evident from the context, the
peacemakers. — in peace. Some render the words
'into peace,' meaning that they who are of a
peaceful disposition will reap a harvest of peace
Doth in this world and in the next ; but this is
giving a wrong meaning to the preposition. ' In

peace ' denotes the spirit with which the seed or
fruit is sown.— of them that make peace. Some
render thb ' on behalf of them,* or, 'for the good
of them that make peace.' But it gives a better
meaning to regard the peacemakers as the sowers
of righteousness, hence ' by them that make
peace.* The meaning of the whole verse is : The
seed of righteousness is sown by the peacemakers
in a spirit of peace. Only those who are actuated
by the spirit of peace are the true sowers of
righteousness ; whereas ' the wrath of man woiketh
not the righteousness of God.*

4 .

Chapter IV. 1-12.

Government of the Passions,

1 TT^ROM whence come wars and fightings among you? come ^
A tfiey not hence, even of your lusts ''that war *in your J^J^jH*,^

2 members.^ Ye lust, and have not: ""ye kill, and desire ^^ cl^t^nLiy.
have,* and cannot obtain : ye fight and war, yet * ye have not, *"^ ^- ««• •

3 because ''ye ask not. Ye ask, and 'receive not. because, ye -'Mat.vn. 7. \

"^ e Jas. I. & 7.

it upon* your lustl "/Ye /«•*•«•»:!

Mk« viiLaS;.

4 ask amiss, that ye may consume tt upon" your,
adulterers and * adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship »?^>m;.
of the world is ^enmity with God } whosoever therefore will be ^Jgf^^^

5 a friend of the world is * the enemy of God. Do ye think »
that the scripture saith in vain,* The spirit that dwelletth' in us .

6 lusteth to envy?* But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he '
saith, *God resisteth the^proud, but giveth grace unto the *P>w.«a»34r

7 humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. 'Resist the '^^"»"

8 devil, and he will flee from you. * Draw nigh to God, and he ^|^ ,^ »
will draw nigh to you. ' Cleanse. j't?///- hands, ye sinners; and '**^«w.4.

9 purify your hearts, ye "* double-minded. * Be afflicted, and 7{ti.*v^4.
mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning,

10 and your joy to heaviness.' ^ Humble yourselves in the sight • ^at jomi.

of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." fi-

ll -^ Speak not evil one of" another, brethren. He that /BCaLviLt: '

Rmb. ti. I *

speaketh evil of" his brother, and judgeth his brother, iCor.iv.s*. ■
^speaketh evil of" the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou ^Ro«i.xHr,4.
judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 There is one lawgiver," ''who is able to save and destroy: who »^M«i.«.aa.
art thou that ' judgest another ? " ' '^*»- «*^-i«

' and envy ' All MSS, omit yet. Put a full stop after war, and omit yet

* spend it in * Best MSS, omit adulterers and

* is constituted ^ Insert note 0/ interrogation after vain
' Some MSS, read. He made to dwell

* Does the spirit that dwells in us long towards envy ?

^ dejection »« exalt you »* Speak not one against

'» speaketh against " Best MSS. read. One is the lawgiver and judge

" Best. MSS, read, thy neighbour

CHAF. IV. I-I2,] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

131

CbMTBirre. St Jamei warns bis readers
afainst those evil passions which gave rise to
wars aad- fightings among them. They must
asoderate their desires, and guard against self-
giatificatioa. If they placed their chief affections
on the things of the world, they were alienated
tnm God, fer no one could be a friend of the
worid withoat being the enemy of God. The
dedaiations of Scripture against worldliness were
aot made for no purpose ; and the promptings of
tlie indwelling Spirit did not lead to strife and
€nvy. They must cultivate submission to God,
icsbtance to the devil, outward and inward
puritT, repentance, and humility. They must
anoia all evil-spealung and censoriousness. They
■mst not set themselves np as judges of one
another; but ever remember that there is one
tMM^ptwtt and Judges who has the power to carry
His judgments into effect, and to whom all must
give an account

Ver. I. Ttam whence come wan and fight-
iB0i UBOBg yoat Other manuscripts read,
¥^heiioe wars and whence fightings among you ?
The connection Is as follows : — St James had
been reproving his reader? for envy and party-
strife, which was the occasion of contentions
among tbem (iii. 16) ; and he now proceeds
to trace those mischiefs to their origin in their
stnfid lusts. The sudden transition from the
frnit of righteoosness sown by the peacemakers
to the nvevalence of wars and fightings, is start-
ling. Indeed, the expressions us^ in this
pasMCe^ whorein the reaaers are accused of wars
and fightings, are said to kill, and are called
adulterers, are so strong, that at first sight one
mk|ht snppose the Epistle to be addressed to the
mbelievmg Jews, to whose state and character
these expressions literally applied, and not to
Jewish Chrutians, to whom they could be only
figuratively applicable ; but the whole spirit and
stmctnre of the Epistle prove that it was written
to believers. We must make allowance for the
vehement style of the writer. Besides, we are
not to suppose an ideal excellence as existing in
the primitive Church ; we learn, especialljr from
the two Epistles to the Corinthians, that it had
its fiudts and blemidies; the converts carried
with them into Christianity many of the vices of
their nnconvorted state. This is the case with
oar modem missions; the vices which are pre-
valent among their unconverted countrymen are
those to wliiai the converts are most exposed and
most inclined. Now a contentious spurit was a
Jewbh vice. Wars and fightings were at this
time the cmidition of the Jewish nation ; indeed,
it was this contentious spirit that was the cause of
their ruin. The Jewish Christians had not eman-
dpated themselves from this national character.
Tnetoms ' wars' and ' fightings ' express the bitter
oootentions which prevailed among them ; ' wars '
denoting a state of contention generally, and
' fightings ' particular outbreaks of it Th^ con-
tentions are not to be limited to disputes among
teachers or to rd^ious controversies, but are to
be undei^ood generally— all those quarrels which
arise firom our sinful passions and selfish desires.
Mofe than eighteen centuries ago the Prince of
Peace visited this earth, and the Gospel announc-
ing ' peace on earth ' was proclaimed ; and yet
there are still wars and fightings in the Church
and in the world. — come tbey not hence. James
bj a ttoood question antwers his first, appealii^

to the consciences of his readers. — even of yonr
InatB or pleasures. Their evil desires were the
occasion of their contentions ; desires after worldly
objects — the greed of gain or influence. And
such has been the cause of all the wars which have
devastated this earth ; these spring from the evil
passions of men. 'Nothing,* observes Plato^
' but the body and its lusts and appetites kindle
sedition, quarrels, and wars in this world.' — thai
war. There is no necessity to supply 'against
the mind,* or 'aeainst the soul.' There are
different forms of this war of our lusts. There is
the war between the sensual inclination and the
conscience ; between indwelling sin and the
principle of grace in the renewed man; and
between one sinful lust and another, as for
example between avarice and ambition. There is
the law of the members warring against the law
of the mind (Rom. vii. 23). But it is not to these
forms of war that St. James alludes ; the lusts are
rather considered as a combined force warring
against our fellow-men ; he does not speak of the
state of internal war in the soul, but of active
contention against others. — in yonr memben.
The lusts have their seat in our bodily members ;
and these members are the instruments which they
use in accomplishing their purposes. Thus St.
Paul says : ' Let not sin reign in your mortal
bodv, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof;
neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin * (Rom. vi. 12, 13).

Ver. 2. Ye Inat and have not. This verse
further describes the origin or genesis of these
external strifes. First, then, is the evil desire ;
then this desire, being ungratified, leads to hatred
and envy ; and hatred and envy lead to wars and
fightings (comp. Jas. i. 15). The objects of
desire are worldly blessings — the gratification of
our sinful interests. This spirit ot restless desire
was also at this time the national character of the
Jews ; they were restless under the government of
the Romans, and eagerly desired national liberty
and the lordship over other nations. These
desires were especially fostered by their belief in
an earthly Messiah, who should bestow worldly
blessings on His followers. This Jewish vice was
prevalent among the Jewish Christians, and per-
haps the false notion of an earthly Messiah was not
eradicated from among them. — ye kill ; expressive
of the bitterness of the hatred that prevailed. If
this Epistle were addressed to the Jews generally,
these words would receive a literal meaning ; but
we can hardly suppose that the contentions among
the Jewish Christians led to actual bloodshed,
although such has of^en been their result in the
history of the Church. The words, then, are to
be understood in a modified sense, denoting that

murderer' (i John iii. 15). Compare with this
the words of our Lord : ' Ye have heard that it
has been said by them of old time, Thou shalt
not kill ; and whosoever shall kill shall be in
danger of the judgment ; but I say unto vou.
That whosoever is angry with his brother without
a cause shall be in da^er of the judgment ' (Matt
V. 21, 22). Not the external act, but the internal
disposition, the bitter hatred, is described.
Strong and vehement expressions are character^
istic of the stvle of St James.—end desire to
have; or ratWi 'and envy* — indulge in a

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. IV. 1-12.

132

resentful and envious spirit toward others. — and
OMmot obtain, namely, that on account of which
you indulge in hatred and envy. — ^ye flght and
war ; the third stage in the eenesis of contention.
— yet ; this word is not in the Greek. It is best
to put a full stop after * war,' and begin a new
clause, showing the reason why their desires were
not cratified, either because they asked not, or
asked wrongfully.— ye have not, becanse ye
aiked not. There seems here a reference to our
Lord's declaration : ' Ask, and it shall be given
3rou.' And it is also here implied that we are
permitted to ask for temporal blessings, only we
must not ask wrongly.

Ver. 3. Ye aak, and receive not: as if to
anticipate the reply of his readers that they did
ask, but still did not receive the object of their
desires. — becanae ye ask amisa: or wrongly,
wickedly ; either in an improper spirit, without
iaith in God as the Hearer of praver ; or rather
for improper objects, for worldly things which are
pernicious in themselves or prejudicial to the
petitioner — for the sole purpose of self-gratifica-
tion, without any thought of the ^lory of God.
Such asking is equivalent to not askmg. — that ye
may oonanme it (that which ye ask) on, or spend
it in, your InatB: in order to gratify your own
sinful desires. The meaning is : if you pray in a
proper spirit, these selfish desires, which are the
occasion of those bitter contentions among you,
would cease to exist.

Ver. 4. Ye adnlteren and adnlterenes. The
best manuscripts read only 'ye adulteresses,' a
reading more suitable to the metaphor employed.
This appellation might be taken literally, if we
referred it to the unbelieving Jews ; but, as refer-
ring to the Jewish Christians, it can only be
understood in a metaphorical sense. It is spiritual
adultery to which St. James here alludes. He
here adopts the language of an Old Testament
prophet. By the prophets God is represented as
the 'Husband of His people,' and sin, especially
the sin of idolatry, as unfaithfulness to Him. Nor
is this metaphor confined to the Old Testament.
Our Lord, on two occasions at least, calls the
Jews ' an adulterous generation ' (Matt. xii. 39 ;
Mark viii. 38) ; and St. Peter speaks of wicked
Christians as * having eyes full of adultery ' (2 Pet.
ii. 14). The believer is considered as married to
the Lord (Rom. vii. 4); and the world is God's
rival, that which seduces our affections from Him.
SL James, in using this strong and startling
epithet, gives vent to his moral indignation. He
is filled with holy anger on account of the con-
tentions that prevail^ among them. — Imow ye
not that the friendship of tiie world. This is
not to be restricted to the indulgence of sinful
lusts, or to an eager pursuit after the carnal
pleasures of the world ; but by this is meant an
over-attachment to worldly objects, an eager
craving after the riches or influence of the world ;
in short, worldliness, worldly desires without any
thought of God, a preference of the world to
Him.— is enmity with Ood. God and the worid
here stand opposed to each other as rivals: so
that we cannot love the one without rejecting the
other — *Ye cannot serve God and mammon'
(Matt vi. 24). The more the world occupies our
hearts the less room there b in them for God,
and the more forgetful are we of the world to
come. — whosoeTer therefore will be : literallv,
' whosoever wishes to be '—has chosen the world

as his portion.— the friend of the worid— resolves
to cultivate its friendship and favour as his chief
good— is, or rather, 'constitutes himself,' *scU
himself up as,' the enemy of God.

Ver. 5. 'llie meaning of this verse is voy
difficult : it is one of the dark sayings of Scripture.
This difficulty arises from two causes : from the
fact that no such passajge, as St James apparently
quotes, is to be found in the Old Testament ; and
from the supposed quotation itself being obscnrCf
and susceptible of different and even opposite
meanings. Do yon think that the fleriptiire
saith in vain: that its declaration is made for
no purpose. These words appear to introduce
a scriptural quotation ; but no passage can be
found which expresses the subjomed sentiment.
Various passages, both in the Old Testament amd
in the New, have been adduced, but not one which
is identical with the supposed (|uotation. Some,
indeed, think that the quotation cited is that
contained in the Book of Proverbs, mentioned in
the next verse, 'God resisteth the proud, but
^iveth grace to the humble,' and that all that
intervenes is to be considered as a parenthesis ;^
but this is a forced method of removine the
difficulty. It is best to suppose that St James
alludes, not to any particular quotation, but to
the general scope of^ Scripture : Do yon think
that the scriptural declarations are made in vaio ?
This may refer to the sentiment that follows : or,
as we think is better, to what precedes, to the
scriptural denunciations against worldliness, and
the indulgence of hatred and envy. — ^the Wfitit
that dw^eUi in ns Insteth to envy, lliese
words have given rise to a vast variety of interpre-
tations. According to our version, the meanii^
is that the Scriptures declare that our depraved
nature is given to envy. But to this it has been
forcibly objected that 'the spirit that dwelleth
in us is a spirit different from ourselves, and
therefore cannot denote our depraved nature.
Accordingly, some think that the 'spirit of evil,'
or Satan, is here meant. But, although such an
expression as ' Satan dwelling within us ' may be
admissible, yet this meaning is contradicted bv
the next verse : ' He giveth more grace,* which
would require ' God ' to be inserted as its subject.
Others suppose that by ' the Spirit that dwelleth
in us ' is meant the Holy Spirit, and they give to
the words ' to em^y ' an adverbial import : they
think that the metaphor introduced by the words
* adulteresses ' is still carried on ; and accordingly
they give the following rendering to the woras:
'The Spirit which dwelleth in us jealously desireth
us for His own.'^ But to this it is objected that
the word rendered 'envy' is always used in
Scripture in a bad sense, and that the words ' us
for his own' are inserted in the text. Some
render the clause : ' The Spirit that dwelleth in ns
lusteth against envy ; ' but this gives a false
meaning to the preposition. Another translation
is to understand by * the spirit ' the human spirit,
and to consider it not as the subject but as the
object of the verb. Accordingly the following
interpretation is given : ' God eagerlv desires the
spirit that dwelleth in us.'' But here also an
erroneous meaning is given to the words rendered
in our version 'to envy;' and 'the spirit that

1 This is Huther's solution of the difficulty.
' So Alford, Brilckner, Basset, aod Plunptre.
s So Erdmann and I>ean Soott, who. however, andct*
stand by the spirit the Holy Spirit, which i« tautological.

Chap. IV. i-i2 ] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 133

dwelleth in us ' is a strange circumlocution for the resbtance to all that Is evil, and to the devil the

human spirit It gives the best tnmslation, and spirit of evil, especially as the devil is the author

the one mest from difficulties, to refer 'the Spirit of pride and contention. We must realize our

that dwelleth in us' to the Holy Spirit, and to spiritual enemy, and resist him with spiritual

suppose that there are here two distinct questions :^ weapons ( Eph. vL 1 1, i6), especially by the exercise

Do yon think that the Scripture speaks in vain ? of constant watchfulness and prayer on our paft*

Are its declarations against worldliness, and Compare the words of St. Peter : ' Be sober, be

strife, and envy, a mere empty sound ? Does the vigilant, because your adversary the devil, ts

Spirit that dwells in us lust to envy ? Does He a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom

cncooiage such worldly affections? Are the fruits he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the

of the Spirit envy, and strife, and worldliness, and faith ' (i Pet. v. 8, 9).— and he will ilee ftom

not imther love, joy, peace? 'Some,' observes yoo. 'We may,' says Benson, 'chase away

Calrin, ' think that the soul of man is meant, and the devil not by holy water, nor by the sign of

read the sentence affirmatively, that the spirit of the cross, but by steady virtue and resolute

nan as it b depraved is infected with envy, goodness.'

They, however, think better who r^ard the Ver. 8. Draw nigh to God : not to be limited

Spirit of God as intended : for it is He that is to prayer, but to be understood of our intercourse

they envied they were not ruled by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts ' (Zech. i. 3).-
God.' Another important, and perhaps better your hands, ye (dnners. The priests before they
atteaBted,readingof the Greek is 'caused to dwell,' ministered at the altar, and the people befiore
instead of 'dwdleth;' but this is also in conformity they prayed, always washed their hands, thus
wiUi the interpretation given above: 'Does the intimating the purity with which we ought to
Spirit which He caused to dwell in us lust to approach God. The hands are specially men-
envy?' If that be the correct reading, the inter- tioned as being the instruments of wickedness.—
pcetation given in our version is erroneous ; for and pxaitj your hearts. The cleansing of the
oar depraved nature can never be described as hands refers to external, and the purification of
*the spirit which God caused to dwell in us.' the hearts to internal purity; the one to the

Ver. 6. Bat he, that is, God, or rather the absence from contention, and the other to

indwelling Spirit, the immediate antecedent. — freedom from those lusts which were the cause

I^Teth more, or greater, grace. Here also there of contention ; the external and the internal must

b a difficulty in determining what ' more ' refers correspond : we must have ' clean hands and a

to : this depends on the meaning given to the pure heart ' (Ps. xxiv. 4). There is not much

former clause. Some render it ' greater than the difference in the two words here rendered

world gives:' others, 'greater th^ the strength 'cleansing' and 'purifying:' the former is

ol depravity that exists within us.' Perhaps the freedom from stain or blemish, the latter is

most correct meaning is : Just because the Spirit consecrated or set apart. — ye doable-minded:

does not lust to envy ; and yet there is a lust to having, as it were, two souls— the one professing

envy in man: therdfore, to overcome this lust, to be attached to God, and the other really

He ^veth more grace. — ^Wherefore he saith: attached to the world. The epithets 'sinners 'and

that IS, God or the Spirit saith. This is better ' double-minded ' refer not to different, but to the

than the rendering 'the Scripture saith.' — Ood same class of persons.

naiateth the proad, bat giyeth grace to the Ver. 9. Be a^cted, and moorn, and weep —

InanUe. The quotation is from the Book of namely, over your envy and hatred, your strifes

Proverbs, and is according to the Septuagint, and contentions, and the miseries occasioned by

except that there we have the word ' I^rd * them. The epithets 'sinners' and 'double-minded'

instead of 'God.' The same quotation, and imply the necessity of repentance; and true

with the same variation, occurs in the First Epistle repentance must ever be accompanied with godly

of Peter (I Pet V. 5). The words in our version sorrow. — let yoar laaghter be tamed to

are, 'Sorely he scometh the scomers ; but he moaming, and yoar Joy to heayinees: feelings

giveth grace to the lowly ' (Prov. iii. 34). By which are more appropriate for the occasion.

the pfoud here are meant the contentious— those Ver. la Hamble yoazselyee. All the above

who eagerly desire worldly objects ; and by the exhortations are enforcements of humility. — in

hamble, those who have overcome their worldly the dght ot the Lord : that is, before the Lord, as

desires and govern their passions. in His presence. The Lord is, as is usual in the

Ver. 7. Now follow several exhortations to Epistle of St. James, not Christ, but God. — and

enibfoe humility and the subjection of the he shall lift yoa ap, or rather exalt you, both in

Mssions. Sabmit yoaxselyea therefore to God. this worid by His grace, and in the next world to

Because God resisteth the proud, therefore submit His glory. The true way to exaltation is through

jrourselves to Him. Submission is the first step humility. Compare the very similar words in St.

cl the sinner's return to God ; and the same spirit Peter's Epistle : ' Humble yourselves therefore

of submission accompanies the believer in every under the mighty hand of God, that He may

sacoeeding stage. Submission b the parent of exalt you in due time ' (i Pet v. 6) ; and the

patience, contentment, freedom from petulance, words of our Lord : ' Whosoever shall exalt

trast, hope, and other blessed and peaceful graces ; himself shall be alnsed, and he that shall humble

the want of submission gives rise to himself shall be exalted' (Matt, xxiii. 12).

angovemed desires, envy, hatred, and all those Humility is one of the rarest and one of the most

passions which are the cause of bitter contentions, lovely of all graces. It b the direct opposite of

* -'-^ tbe derU. Submission to God implies that contentious, envious, and resentful spirit

I So the Revised Venioo. which St James here so vehemently condemns ;

iU

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [CHAP. IV. rs-V. d

peace and contentment are its inseparable asso-
ciates. Humility is the true spirit of all obedience ;
submission is the perfection of virtue ; and
resignation to the Divme will is just another term
for universal holiness.

Ver. II. Here a new sentence begins, and yet
in close connection with the preceding. St.
James returns to the sins of the tongue, and
cautions his readers against that sinful judging and
insuring which was the effect of their bitter
contentions. — Speak not evil one of another,
brethren. Evil speaking has its origin in resent-
ment and envy. Those whom we do not like, or
who are our successful rivals, we are apt to de-
preciate. On the other hand, humili^ in the
sight of God will show itself in humility with
reference to our fellow-men : we will think humbly
of ourselves, and so will not be so apt to under-
value others. Of coarse, all evil speaking is not
here forbidden ; we are bound to direct attention
to the wicked, as a warning to others ; but the
evil speaking which St. James here condemns, is
sinful censuring ; judging the motives and charac-
ter of men ; pretending to see into their hearts,
and discerning the motives of their actions ; con-
demning them without good reason from prejudice
and envy, and thus usurping the judicial authority
of God.— He that apeakeUi evil of his brother
and Jndgeth his brother. Tadging here is used,
as it is often in Scripture, in the sense of condemn-
mg. Compare witA this the prohibition of our
Lord : ' Judge not, that ye be not judged. For
witfi what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged *
(Matt vii. I).— speaketh evil of the law. By
the law here is meant the moral law, that law the
summary of which is, * Thou shalt love thy neigh-
bour as thyself ; * and which St. James designates
* the royal law ' (Jas. ii. 8). He who in a cen-
sorious spirit judges his brother, sets at nought

this law of love, and thus speaks evil of it, or
undervalues it. — and jndgetn the law. Some
suppose that by this is meant that he who jadges
his brother, judges the Uw by setting himself
above it, pronouncing on its observance or non*
observance by another (Alford). Bat it rather
appears to mean : He that: speaketh evil of his
brother condemneth his brother ; and in doing ao^
without necessary occasion, usurpeth the authority
of the judge ; a meaning, however, which is not
essentially different— bat if thoa judge the lav,
thon art not a doer of the law, bat a Judge : by
condenming thy fellow-men, thoa steppest cot oif
thy province, which is not to jud^ the law, but to
obey it. Judgment is the provmce of God, the
one Lawiver, not of the subject to the law, and
far less ofthe traneressor of the law.

Ver. 12. There is one LawgiTsr. Most manu-
scripts read, ' There is one Lawgiver and Judge :'
and this is more suitable to the oontezt, as it is
the province of a judge that is adverted tou These
are not many, but one : one pre-eminently and
exclusively. All human lawgivers and judges
derive their authority from God, and are only to
be obeyed when their Commands are not opposed
to His. God is the source of all aothonty, the
fountain of justice. — ^who is able t - who has both
the authority to command and the power to exe-
cute.—to save and to destroy. Who art thout
expressing the insignificance o£ man : thoa, whb
art so ignorant and so erring, so sinful and so
liable to fall ; thou, who hast no power and lie
authority; thou, who art th3^1f guilty and ss a
sinner obnoxious to the judgment of God ; hov
darest thou invade the office of this sopreme sad
universal Lawgiver and Judge, snd expose tfavsdf
to His condemnation?— that Judgeil anotnart
Compare the words of Paul : ' Who art thou thit
judgest another man's servant?' (Rom. sdv; 4^

Chapter IV. 1 3-V. 6.

Warnings to t/te Rich.

13 /^^O to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go
vJT into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and

14 sell,* and get gain ; whereas * ye know not what sAa/l be on the
* morrow : for what is your life } * It is even ' a vapour, that

15 appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that
ye ought to say,* ^ If the Lord will, we shall * live, and do this

16 or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such

17 rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knowcth to do good,
and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Chap. v. i. Go to now, *^ye rich men, weep and howl for* your i/ja«.fi-d,7..

2 miseries that shall come upon ' you. Your riches are corrupted,

3 and your garments ' are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is

«Prav.xxvii.i.
^Wisd.il.4:

Hoc vu 4, '

xiu. 3.

r ActszT8i.««;
t Cor. iv. 19^
XVI. 7.

^ will spend there a year, and will traffic.

' This 14M verse to be printed as a parenthesis,

* Best MSS, read^ For ye are * instead of saying

* iVu/r/ both

# Jobxui.«8;•
Isa. li. 8 ;
BUt. vlt 19,
so; Acttjw.

33. .

* howling over

are coming on

CHAP. IV. 13-V. 6.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

cankered ; * and the rust of them shall be -^ a witness against '
you, and shall eat your flesh as it were*** ^fire. Ye have

4 ^heaped treasure together for" the last days. Behold, 'the
hire of the labourers which have reaped down ^ your fields,
which is of you kept back by fraud, ^crieth : and the cries of
them which have reaped are entered into the ears of ' the Lord

5 of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure *' on the earth, and been
wanton ; ye have nourished your hearts, as ** in a ** day of

6 slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed ^the just;" and^^
he doth not resist you.

• corroded • to *® omi/ it were ** in

" mowed " delicately " TAe best MSS. omit as

'^ ye condemned, ye killed the just one
** omit and, and inset t semicolon after yx%\, one

135

/Hab. u. II.
^Ps. xzL 9.

h Rom. U. 5 :
Ps. xxxix. 6.

( Lev. xix. 13 ;
Deat.xxtv.5;
MaL iii. 5.

^GcQ. iv. xa

/ Rom. ix. 29.

iM Jer. xii. 3.

n Acts iii. 14,
i5..vii. 5a;
ts.u.ia-3a

l^i

CONTENTS. St James, having warned his
readers against worldfiness, and exhorted them to
humility before God, proceeds to censure the rich
for their forgetTulness of their dependence upon
God, their proud confidence in their worldly plans,
and their arrogant boasting as if they were their
own masters ; he reminds them of the brevity and
nnoertainty oif life, and exhorts them to acknow-
Icd^ God in their worldly transactions, and to
rei£ze His absolute power over them. He then
apostn^^^uzes the ungodly rich, and, like an Old
Testament prophet, pronounces their doom. Their
riches, thdr garments, their gold and silver would
all perish ; they had accumulated treasure for the
day of wrath. £q>ecially he mentions three crying
sins which drew upon them the Divine vengeance :
their injustice toward their labourers, their luxury
and self-indulgence, and their oppression of the
ci^teous.

Ver. 13. It is a matter of dispute and consider-
able difficulty to whom this passage is addressed ;
whether James is here addressing unworthy mem-
bers of the Christian Church, who had not yet
laid aside the Jewish vices of their unconverted
state; or whether he admonishes the oppressors
of the Jewish Christians, the unbelieving Jews, the
vngodfy and rich in this world. • Three reasons
have been assigned in support of the opinion that
unbelievers are here addressed. I. The address
'Go to^* again repeated (chap. v. i), seems to
indicate that the words in the two apostrophes
are addressed to those without the Church. 2.
Those addressed are not designated as ' brethren,*
as is the usual custom of St James, nor are any
marks ^ven to indicate that thev are Christians.
3. Their ungodly conduct is so described that it
can only be applicable to those without the church,
and their doom is pronounced without any call to
repentance. Others affirm that we are ignorant
of the extent of moral corruption in the early
Churdi, and that it was not the practice of the
»cred writers to address those who were outside
of the Christian community. Perhaps the most
correct opinion is to assume that the first part of
the passage, to the end of the fourth chapter, is an
admonition to the worldly members of the Church ;
and that the second part, commencing at the
beginning of the fifUi chapter, is an apostrophe to
the rich and the ungodly in the world. The

passage is divided into two distinct portions, each
beginning with the address ' Go to ; ' and there is
no reason to conclude that the persons thus
similarly addressed in both paragraphs were the
same. We consider, then, that those here ad-
dressed in the first paragraph were members of the
Christian Church. Go to, a call to attention,
found only here and in the beginning of the next
chapter. — now : this being the case ; an inference
from the preceding warning against worldliness
and presumptuous confidence. — ye that say. To-
day or to-morrow ; other manuscripts read
* to-day and to-morrow ; ' but the difference in
meaning is slight.— we will go into sadi a city :
literally, into this city or the city in the intention
of the speaker.— and continue there a year:
literally, ' spend a year. ' Other manuscripts read,
' Let us go into such a city, and let us spend there
a year.'— and buy and sell : literally, 'traffic' —
and get gain. There could be nothing wrong in
the mere merchandise ; the sin consisted m a
presumptuous confidence in themselves, and in a
want of realization of their dependence on God.
The practice referred to is still very common in
the East. Merchants journey to some distant dty
with their stock of goods, and continue there until
the whole is disposed of.

Ver. 14.' Whereas ye know not what ahall be
on the morrow. You are ignorant of what shall
happen to you ; your health and lives are not at
your own disposal. Compare the similar thought
in Proverbs : ' Boast not thyself of to-morrow ; for
thou knowest not what a day may bring forth '
(Prov. xxvii. i). — For what is your life? It is
even a yaponr. The best manuscripts read, ' Ye
are even a vapour ; ' and this is a more lively and
graphic form of expression. Ye are a mere vapour ;
a smoke, or an exnalation from the ground. — that
appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth
away. A metaphor peculiar to Sl James in the
Scriptures ; and, as has been well remarked, there
is hardly a finer image in any author of the un-
certainty, the brevity, and the vanity of human
life. We are but as a smoke which is only seen
to vanish ; a vapour which rises from the ground
at dawn, and disappears long before noon-day.
A somewhat similar image is employed in the
Book of Wisdom ; ' Our names shall be forgotten
in time, and no man shall have our works in

13^

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. IV. 13 -V. 6.

remembrftnee, and our life shall pass away as the
trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mbt
that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and
overcome with the heat thereof* (Wisdom ii. 4).
Elsewhere in Scripture the brevity of human life
is compared to a shadow that declmeth, or to the
fading of the flowers. Such is the vanity of life ;
we appear as a flash, and then are swallowed up
in darkness.

Ver. 15. For that ye onght to ny: literally,
'instead of your saying.' This verse is directly
connected with the 13th, and the 14th verse
is to be considered as a parenthesis. Ye say,
* To-day or to-morrow we shall go into such a city ; *
instead of saying, *If the Lord will.' Ye assert

vour self-dependence, instead of humbly acknow-
ledging your dependence on God. — If the Lozd
will Compare with this ex[)ression of dependence
the words of St. Paul : * I will return again to you,
if God wiir (Acts xviii. 21) ; *I will come to
you shortly, if the Lord will* (i Cor. iv. 19);

• I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord
permit ' (i Cor. xvL 7).— we ahall live and do this
or that The words may be rendered, * If the
I-ord will and we live, we shall do this or that.'
Kut our version is better, as both the living and
the doing are made dependent on God. The
meaning being precisely the same as our common
phrase : * God willing {Deo voleHte\ I shall do so
and so.* ^ye must, however, beware of allowing
this expression of dependence to degenerate into a
mere form, as is too frequently the case ; it must
be the real feeling of our heart We must not
only acknowledge in words, but deeply realize our
dependence on God.

Ver. 16. Bat, in contrast to this spirit of
dependence on God ; instead of acknowledging
God in all your ways. — now, as matters now
stand ; as is actually the case. — ye rejoice, literally

* ye glory,' in your boastingB, in your vauntings,
in your vainglory. Ye take a pleasure in this
arrogant and presumptuous spirit, as if you were
your absolute masters. By their boastings is to l)e
understood not so much their vain talking, as their
confident and groundless reliance on Uicir own
health and life ; in short, a presumptuous reliance
on themselves. Ye rejoice not in the Lord, as ye
ought to do as Christians ; but in your own vaunt-
ings.—all each rejoicing, or glorying, is evil, is
sinful and wrong. It is rebellion against God —
casting olTyour dependence upon Him. Nothing
is so hateful to God as a proud and arrogant
spirit.

Ver. 17. Therefore : not a mere general
inference drawn from what St. James has said in
the previous part of his Epistle, but a particular
inference drawn from this spirit of vain boasting.
— to him that knoweth to do good : not to be
limited to mere benevolent actions, * knoweth to
do good works,* but to embrace our whole moral
conduct—* knoweth to do what is right : ' 'good *
here is opposed to what is sinful and wrong. — and
doeth it not, to him it is sin. The omission of
good is undoubtedly a sin, as well as the com-
mission of evil. We have here the statement of
an important principle, which is susceptible ot
endless applications. The application in the
present case appears to be as follows : You have
the unquestionable knowledge of the uncertainty
of life ; you know that it is your duty to realize your
dependence on God ; if then you do not do so, it
you act as if you were your own masters, to you

it is sin. Yon know the right and do the wrong,
and therefore are convicted of sin. (Compare
John ix. 41.)

Chap. v. i. Go to now. Whoever may
be the persons referred to in the preceding
paragraph, we consider that the rich who are
nere addressed were unbelieving and wicked
men not belonging to the Christian community.
Some indeed consider that they are rich
Christians ; ^ but the crime charged upon them
of condemning and killing the just cannot be
applicable to believers. Hence, Stier correctly
remarks : ' The rich men, whom St. James must
here mean, are those already mentioned in chap,
ii. 6, 7 : those who practised violence on the
disciples of Christ, the confessors of the Lord of
glory, and blasphemed that good name by whidi
they were called. To them St. James predicts,
as a prophet and in the style of the old prophets,
the impending judgment to which Jeru^em was
doomed, the desolation of the land, and all the
misery which he, like the Lord Himself, speaks
of as His coming to judgment and salvation.' It
has also been disputed whether we have here a
pure and unmixed denunciation of evil, or a call
to repentance. Certainly there is in the words
no invitation to repentance, but a mere declaration
of vengeance. ' They are mistaken,' observes
Calvin, * who consider that St. James here
exhorts the rich to repentance. It seems to be
a simple denunciation of God's judgment, by
which he meant to terrify them, without givii^
them any hope of pardon, for all that he says
tends only to despair.' But this must not be
too absolutely assumed, for we learn in the case
of Nineveh that all God's denunciations are
likewise exhortations to repentance. — ye rloh
men : to be taken literally, rich in worldly
wealth : the same who were formerly mentioned
as the oppressors of believers (Jas. it 6, 7).
The allusion is not to rich men as a class, but to
the unbelieving rich. The words are applicable
to all the rich who are living without God in the
world ; and certainly the rich are under a peculiar
temptation of setting their aflections upon the
things of this world. Riches are too frequently
an obstacle to salvation, a weight which prevents
the soul soaring upwards to heaven. — weep and
howl for your miseriee : literally, ' weep, howling
over your miseries.' — that shall come upon
yen : literally, ' that are coming upon you.' llie
miseries here referred to are those which shall
precede or occur at the advent of the Lord ; and
also, as in our Lord's prophecy, those which
occurred during the Jewish war, then close at
hand, miseries which were typical of those which
would occur at the advent. These miseries in
the Jewish war fell heavily upon the rich. They
as a class belonged to the moderate party, who,
having much to lose, wished to avoid a war with
the Romans, and therefore were especially
persecuted by the Jewish zealots, who became
the ruling party. Nor were these miseries
confined to the Jews in Judea, but embraced the
Jews of the dispersion — 'the twelve tribes,
scattered abroad. ' There was at that time a general
attack upon the Jews throughout the world. ' St
James,' observes Bishop Wordsworth, Mike a
Christian Jeremiah, is uttering a Divine prophecy
of the woes that are coming on Jerusalem and the
Jews throughout the world.*

* So Erdmano.

Chap. IV. 13-V. 6.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

Ver. 2. Yonr xichM are oonrnptad. We have
Here a description of the doom that was to befall
the rich. \our riches, in which yon prided
jToofselves, and in which you trusted, will be
taken from you* Some suppose, on account of
the tenn ' corrupted,' that riches in grain are to
be understood, which are liable to corruption ; but
thb is refining too much : the word ' corrupted '
is evidently a figurative term used to denote the
perishable nature of the riches. The fact is
slated, in a prophetical manner, in the past tense,
fts having already occurred— ' your riches are
GOfmpted,' denoting the certain and impending
mtnre of the calamity. — and your gaiments are
■mth eaten. The general idea of 'riches* is
here specialized as consisting in garments and in
treasoie — silver and gold. Among the Orientals
garments still often constitute a considerable
portion of their riches (compare Matt. vL 19.;
Acts XX. 33).

Ver. 3. Xcmr gold and your lilTer : the other
treasures in which their riches consisted.— ie
cankered : corroded, eaten through with rust.
Literally, gold and silver do not contract rust,
and hence various explanations have been given,
as, for example, vessels plated with gold ; but
sach explanations are childish : the expression
may well be employed to denote the perishable
nature of money. — and the met of them ahidl
be a witne« against yon : literally, 'shall be a
testimony to you.* Some render this : the rust
which you have allowed to accumulate on them
from want of use shall testify against you in the
judgment as an evidence of your parsimony
and sinful hoarding. Thus Neander : ' As their
onosed treasures of gold and silver are devoureil
by rust, so this will be a witness against them,
their guilt being apparent from this, that what
they should have used for the advantage of others,
they have suffered by want of use to be corrupted.'
But such a meaning is contrary to the context : it
is of the destruction of the rich that St. James
here speaks, not of the evidence of their crime.
Hence, then, the meaning is : the rust of them
ahall be a testimony to your destruction ; the like
destruction shall baall you which befalls vour gold
and silver. — and diall eat your ileeh: the
reference being not to the destruction of the body
by care, to the corroding nature of riches, but to
the inflictkm of the Divine judgment. — as it were
flie : fire being the emblem of judgment : like
fire shall the rust eat your flesh. So also we
speak of the devouring fire. ' The Lord shall
swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall
dcruar them* (Ps. xxi. 9). — ^Te have heaped
tieamre together. Some render this: *Ve
have accumulated treasures of wrath for the day
ofittdgment,' similar to the words of St. Paul :
*Tiiott treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the
day of wrath * (Rom. iL 5). But for this meaning
the words * of wrath * have to be supplied. It is
best to render it : Ye have heaped together treasure
ibr destraction ; treasure which shall perish. —
te, or in, the last days : not in the last days of
your life ; but either in the days that shall precede
the coming of Christ, or in the last days of the
Jewish nation, when those awful judgments
threatened by the prophets and predicted by
Jesus Christ will be poured out upon the un-
believing and ungodly Jews. We must not forget
that it is to Jews that St. James writes ; and ' the
last days ' is a Jewish expression for the age of

137

the Messiah, and hence is fitly employed by the
sacred writers to denote the end of the Jewish
economy. The zealots during the Jewish war
regarded it as a crime to be rich, and their
insatiable avarice induced them to search into the
houses of the rich, and to murder their inmates. *

Ver. 4. Now follows a statement of the sins of
the rich on account of which they are punished.
Three sins are mentioned — injustice, luxury, and
oppression. The first sin mentioned is injustice.
Benold, the hire of the labonrers who haye
reaped down your fields, which is of yon kept
htuOL by fraud. Some connect the words 'of
you * with * crieth * — ' crieth from you ; * but our
version is admissible, and the more simple. In
the law of Moses, it was expressly forbidden to
keep back the wages of hired labourers : ' Thou
shaft not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him ;
the wages of him that b hired shall not abide with
thee all night until the morning * (Lev. xix. 13).
And again : * Thou shalt not oppress an hired
servant that is poor and needy. At his day thou
shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go
down upon it ; for he is poor, and setteth ^ his
heart upon it : lest he cry against thee unto the
Lord, and it be sin imto thee* (Deut xxiv. 14, 15).
— orieth : that is, for assistance to the defrauded,
or rather for vengeance on the defrauders ; like
as Abel's blood crieth unto God (Gen. iv. 10).
Compare with this the words of Malachi, which
some suppose St James had here in view : ' I will
be a swift witness against those that oppress the
hireling in his wages, the widow and tne father-
less, saith the Lord of hosts* (Mai. iii. 5). — and
the cries of them that have reaped are entered
into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. An Old
Testament title of God, generally translated in our
version, 'The Lord of hosts.' ^ It is only used
here in the New Testament, and is highly appro-
priate, as it was an expression famuiar to the
Jewish Christians. In Rom. ix. 29, it occurs as
a quotation from the Prophecies of Isaiah. It is
expressive of the power of God ; as, being the
Lord of hosts. He has all agencies at His com-
mand, and therefore is able to respond to the
cries of the oppressed.

Ver. 5. The second sin is luxury or self-indul-
gence. Ye have Uved in pleasure on the earth,
and been wanton->revelled. The Jews at this
time were especially addicted to luxury and de*
bauchery. — ye have nourished your hearts, that
b, yourselves, as in a day of daughter. The
conjunction ' as is omitted in the best manuscripts.
Various meanings have been given to this expres*
sion. Some suppose that it denotes a day of
feasting, indicative of the luxurious living of the
rich ; but the omission of the particle of compari*
son * as * is opposed to this meaning, and besides
it would be a mere repetition of the previous
clause. Others think that it denotes the careless-
ness and infatuation of these revellers ; that they
were like cattle which graze and feed, on the ver^
day of their slaughter, utterlv unaware of their
danger ; the day of slaughter being here regarded
as the day of God's vengeance. Perhaps the
correct meaning is : You have nourished your-
selves like fed beasts prepared for the slaughter.
Thus Neander : ' As the ox is fattened which is
led to the slaughter, so have ye by your devotion
to the service of your lusts, and by enjoying your-

1 The ScptuagtDt generally render the phrase by 'Al-
mighty : ' compare Rev. iv. S.

li^

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

[Chap. V. 7-20.

selves in all security, made yourselves ripe for the
impending judgment '

Ver. 6. The third sin is the oppression or per-
secution of the righteous. Ye likve condemned
and killed the jiuit, or the just one— the just
man, a.^ the word 'just * is in the singular. These
words have been usually referred to the condem-
nation and execution of our Lord by the Jews.'
He is pre-eminently the Just One ; and this appears
from the Acts of the Apostles to be a common
appellation of our Lord in the primitive Church,
and perhaps also of the Messiah among the Jews.
His murder is ever represented as the crowning
sin of the Jewish nation. Thus St. Peter accuses
the Jews of having denied the Holy One and the
Just, and of killing the Prince of life (Acts iii. 14) ;
and with the same crime does the martyr Stephen
charge his accusers : ' Your fathers have slain
them which showed before of the coming of the
Just One, of whom ye have now been the betrayers
and murderers' (Acts vii. 52). And so also
Justin Martyr says ; ' Ye have kUled the Just One,
and before Him the prophets.' But there is
nothing in the context to indicate this, and the
words which follow, ' He doth not resist you,* are
adverse to this meaning : they cannot refer to the
1 So Lange, Basset, Dean Scott

non-resistance of Christ, as the verb is not in the
past, but in the present tense. Some, indeed,
suppose that the words denote 'God doth not
resist 3rou : ' that, as a punishment for their crime
in killing Christ, God withdrew from them His
Spirit; His Spirit no longer strove with them.
But such a meaning is far-fetched. Others read it
as a question : ' And doth He^ that is, God, not
resist you?' We prefer the other int^retatioo,
that Inr the just one is meant just men in general,
an individual being taken to represent tlw class.
Christ was the most flagrant, but not the only
example of their killing the just Stephen fdl a
prey to the fury of the Jews, and many more whose
names are unrecorded; and the writer of this
Epistle, who also was called the Just, was after-
wards an instance of the fiict here stated, 'Ye have
condemned and killed the just one.' — and he,
that is, Christ, if the expression, the Jnst One, b
restricted to Him, thou^ the present tense of xht
verb is somewhat opposed to this meaning ; or th^
just man, used generally. — doth not veiiat jaa^
referring either to the patience with which Christ
endured His sufferings, or to the patience of just
men in general. There is here a tacit reference
to the vengeance of God, who adopts the cause of
the just

Chapter V. 7-20.

Various Admonitions.

"OE patient therefore, brethren, unto '"the coming of the «•

II. ff.

8

II

Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious
fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he * receive
, * the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your *|^*-»-;4;
9 hearts : for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.* Grudge ^i2»?**"«**
not' one against another, brethren, ''lest ye be condemned : * fp^*^'"
10 behold, the Judge standeth ' before the door. Take, my ^JJSij^''
brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the ^^«»«8i.«.^
Lord, for an example of -^suffering* affliction, and of patience. /Act* vS.sai>'
Behold, we count them ^ happy * which endure. Ye have heard r Matv.i«,f3p
of * the patience of Job, and have seen the 'end of the Lord; ^Sji^*'
that ' the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. /jobxKL i«.

But above all things, my brethren, * swear not, neither by *Matv.34-W;
heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath : but
let your yea be yea, and j^our nay, nay; 'lest ye fall into 'e*-**.^.

13 condemnation.* Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.

14 Is any ** merry ? • let him "sing psalms.*° Is any sick among «»Acuxnra. .
you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them «Aet«xyt«|;
pray over him, ''anointing him with oil in the name of thc*!*'^^*^'

12

* being patient over it, until it

* Judged * omi/ suffering

* under judgment

• IS near

• blessed

• cheerful

* Murmur not
' bow that
'* let him praise

Hiv

ClUP.'V. 7-2o:] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 139

iy tofd^ and > the pdyer of faith shall save the sick," and the >J^»^*
Lord shall raise him up; and ^if he have committed sins, they ^^^}\i^
* 16 shall be forgiven him. Confess yotdr faults one to another, and
pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual
:I7 fervent prayer " of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was

■ a man ''subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed ^-Actsxiv.is.
. earnestly that it 'might not rain; and it rained not on the *« Kings xvu.

18 earth by the space of 'three years and six months. And he 'j^^;^*^,*
prayed s^in, and *the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought wiKiossKvUi.
forth her fruit *''*'

19 Brethren, if any of you do err " from the truth, and one
ao convert him ; let him know, that he which converteth the

shmer from the error of his way shall save a soul from death,

and shall ^ hide " a multitude of sins. ^p%^x!\ll

1 Pet. iv. a*
** the sick man " The earnest prayer

i» be seduced ** cover

CONTENTS. St Tames concludes his Epistle brethren both in the flesh and in the spirit —

-^\ a variety of admonitions. He first exhorts nnto the coming of the Lozd : until this period

nadeis to patience ; they are to exercise for- continue to exercise long - suflfering. What is

bcaianoe toward their oppressors and trust tow«rd wrong will then be redressed ; what is evil will

Gody being comforted l^ the thought of the near- then be removed. The night may be dark and

Bess of the advent of the .Lord. • Sf eanwhile they londy ; but the longest night comes to a close.

mie to posset their 'h6Rrt8 in patience; not to By the Lord here is meant Christ, according to

indiilge in 'murmuring, discontent, and sinful the analogy of Scripture, and the general expecta-

censoiing ; but to take the prophets for examples tion of the coming of Christ by believers (2 Thess.

^ patient suffering ; especially in the^ca^ of Job ii. I, 2). Though St. James applies the title

lliey had a remarkaUe example of extreme suffer- ' Lord ' chiefly to Cod, yet he had previously

B, and of a happy issue out of them. Next he applied it to Christ (Jas. iL i). Two different
autions them against swearing; in their inter- meanings have been attached to the phrase

with one another, their simple word is to 'coming of the Lord.* Some understand by it

lie sufficient. He then recommends to them the coming ofChrist in spirit to destroy Jerusalem,

'prsyer; whether they were in sorrow or in joy, when the Romans were employed as the instru-

they were to cultivate a devotional spirit ; if m ments of His vengeance upon the unbelieving

iidKBess, they were to send for the elders of the Jews, and to which reference is made in the

^MHch, and to use those remedies which the Lord previous verses. Others, with greater probability,

had prescribed ; they were to exercise mutual understand by it His coming in person to judge

confesnon and'prayer that they might be restored; the world, or what is usually termed the second

«iid as an instance of the efficacy of earnest prayer, advent. How far the sacred writers distinguished

lie adverts to Elijah, who by prayer opened and between the destruction of Jerusalem and the

Uivt the floodgates of heaven. He then concludes, future judgm^t— the type and the antitype— we

aad sums up nis Epistle vrith an exhortation to have no means of ascertaining. St. James, ac-

ftiiBal the conversion of the erring, holding out to cording to his usual custom, illustrates the

tibem the unspMeakable blessing which results from necessity of patience by an example taken from

converting a sinner from the error of his ways. natural life, that of the husbandman waitins^ for

Ver. 7. The connection with the preceding the harvest— Behold, the hnsbandman walteth

pnr^raph is obvious and direct. St. James, for the precions fruit of the earth, and hath

naving pronounced the doom of the rich oppres- long patience for it, nntil he receive the early

son, now proceeds to comfort Uie oppressea. — Be and latter rain. The early and latter rain are

ytttlsnt : literally, ' Be long-suffering;^ an exhorta- often mentioned in the Old Testament as essential

tion both to forbearance toward their oppressors, for the production of the harvest : ' I will give

iand to a trustful waiting on God for deliverance, you the rain in his due season, the first rain and the

Their patience must not be short-lived, but en- latter rain, that thou ma]^est gather in thy corn,

during. — therefore : an inference from what and thy wine, and thine oil ' (Deut xl 14). The

precedes ; seeing that there is a day of vengeance early rain was the autumnal showers, which fell

ndien the unbelieving and ungodly rich will be from the middle of October to the end of

•puniAed for their injustice, luxury, and oppres- November, and prepared the ground for the seed.

~ - and consequently a day of deliverance to The latter rain was the spring showers, which

them.— bvetimn. St James having, in the spirit fell in March and April, and were necessary for

W an Old Testament prophet, apostrophized the the ripening of the crops,

otigodly rich who were outdde the Church, now Ver. 8. Be ye also patient : as well as the

relam to his readers, the Jewish Christians, his husbandman ; in this imitate his example.-*

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. V. 7-20.

140

■tehlith your heArti: possess your souls in
patience; 'be ye stedfast and immoveable.'

* Not the weak, but the strong hearts are qualified
to cherish patience * (Huther). We need strength
of mind to be patient ; endurance is an evidence
of strength. — for the coining of the Lord
draweth nigh : the Lord is near ; His coming to
execute vengeance on your oppressors, and to
reward your patience, is close at hand. 'Lest
any,' observes Calvin, 'should object, and say
that the time of deliverance was too long delayed,
he obviates this objection, and says, The Lord
was at hand, or, which is the same thing, The
coming of the Lord draweth nigh.' Here, also,
two different interpretations are given: some
referring this phrase to Christ's coming in spirit
to destroy Jerusalem, and which was close at
hand ; and others referring it to His coming to
judge the world — to the second advent, properly
so called. We give the preference to this latter
view, as the natural meanmg of the words. But, ^
it is asked, how can St. James say that Christ's
second coming draweth nigh? ^ome solve the
difficulty by saying that it was so in the sight of
God, with whom ' one day is as a thousand years,'
and that faith enabled believers to see things as
God saw them. But St. James mentions this
coming for the comfort of the oppressed, and
therefore he must allude to a coming in their esti-
mation near at hand. Others refer it to the then
general expectation of the Lord's advent Be-
lievers were then taught to live in constant
expectation of the coming of the Lord. This
event was indeed shroudra in uncertainty, and
our Lord refused to give any revelation as to its
time (Acts i. 7) ; but it was not by the primitive
Church regarded, as it is by us, as far removed
into the distant future, and as wholly improbable
to happen in their days, but as an occurrence
which might any time take place — even before
that generation had passed away. ' The longing
of the apostolic Church " hasted unto " the coming
of the Lord. All Christian time appeared only
as the point of transition* to the eternal, and thus
as something passing quickly away' (Neander).
Hence the exhortations of the sacred writers :

* Let your moderation/ says St. Paul, ' be known
unto all men ; the Lord is at hand' (Phil. iv. 5).
'The end of all things,' says St. Peter, 'is at
hand ; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto
prayer' (i Pet. iv. 7).

Ver. 9. Omdge not. The Greek verb means
to sigh or groan ; it is here rendered 'grudge,*
because that word in Old English signified to
murmur or repine. Hence ' murmur not ;' be not
impatient. I'his refers not so much to the feeling
of envy — * be not envious to each other * — as to
impatience and irritability of temper, which are
often the effects of severe or protracted trials. It
requires great grace to avoid all murmuring and
petulance in suffering; especially it is a difficult
attainment calmly to endure great pain ; but God
gi veth more grace. — one against another, brethren
— murmuring gives rise to mutual recrimination. —
lest ye be condemned, or judged. Their mur-
muring against their brethren led them to find
fault with them, and thus to accuse them falsely ;
and this exposed them to the righteous judgment
of God, who is the Avenger of all those who are
wrongly condemned. There is here one of those
manifest references in this Epistle to the Sermon
on the Mount (see Introduction). The sentiment

is precisely similar to the maxim of our Lord :
'Judge not, that ye be not judged ' (Matt, vil 1).
— Benold, the Judge etandeth before the door.
The near approach of the great unerring Judge
should cause us to suspend our judgments. This
phrase b evidently equivalent to * The coming of
the Lord draweth nigh,' and therefore by the
Judge we are to understand Christ Christ is at
nana ; He is even at the door, ready to render to
every man according to his works. ' Before the
door,' denoting the nearness of the advent Com-
pare Matt XXIV. 33 : ' Likewise, when ye shall
see all these things, know that it is near, even at
the door.' In a different sense^ in the Book of
Revelation, but still denoting nearness, Christ is
represented as before the door : ' Behold, I stand
at the door and knock ' (Rev. iiL 20). St James
had previously exhorted believers to patience ia
the endurance of trials by the consideration of this
nearness of the advent ; now he warns them by the
same consideration against all munnuring and raih
judgment of each other.

Ver. 10. Take, my brethren, the piopbetB who
haye spoken in the name of the Loid — namely,
the Old Testament prophets, the inspired mes-
sengers of God.— for an example. It is an
argument for patience in affliction that our suffer-
ings are not peculiar, but that others have likewise
suffered, especiallv those eminent for holiness.—
of snifering affliction, or rather, simply 'of
affliction.* — and of patience ; not to be weakened,
as if it were a Hebraism, ' for an example .nf
patient affliction.' The prophets were examples
lx>th of affliction and of patience ; their affliciioos
were greater than ours, and therefore the patience
with which they endured them was so mudi the
more commendable and worthy of imitation.
Examples of affliction are not hard to find ; we
have only to open our eyes, and we shall see greater
sufferers than ourselves ; but examples both of
affliction and of patience are^arer, yet, thank God,
they also may be found. We can now take for
examples not only the prophets of the Old Testa*
ment, but the saints of^ the New ; and there are a
sufficient number of such to console us in our
sufferings, and to encourage us to a patient con*
fidence in God.

Ver. II. Behold, we oonnt St James here
speaks of this not as his own judgment, but as the
judgment of all Christians, it may be of all right*
thinking men. — them happy which andiue:
literally, ' blessed that endure ; ' that is not merely
who are in a state of suffering, but who exercise
patience in their sufferings, who endure unto the
end. Such are blessed : God will not leave their
patience unrewarded. Here we have another
reference to the Sermon on the Mount ; as the
sufferings to which St. James primarily alludes
arose from persecution : ' Blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness' sake : for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice and be tk"
ceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven ;
for so persecuted they the prophets which were
before you ' (Matt v. 10, 12).— Xe haye heard of
the patience of Job. Job is here adduced as a
special example ; because he was the most re-
markable instance both of affliction and of patience
in the Old Testament. The patience of Job
appears to have been a proverbial expression
among the Jews ; it is alluded to in the apocrvphal
lxx)k of Tobit (chap. ii. 12). No doubt JoS was
frequently guilty of impatient utterances ; but this

Chap. V. 7-20.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

I4t

b only a proof that the purest virtue is not free
from blemish, and on the whole patience had with
bim its perfect work. This also teaches us that Job
wms a real person, and not a mere myth or ficti-
tkMis character ; for if so, an inspired writer could
hardly have presented him to his readers as an
cjcample of patience. He is also mentioned in the
ProfAedes of Exekiel along with Noah and Daniel
(Ezek. xiv. 14), who were undoubtedly real
persons. — and naye wen. Some manuscripts read
' Behold, alsa ' — the end of the Lord. Some think
that by ihe Lord here is meant Christ ; and that
by * the end of the Lord ' is meant His death, or
the completion of His work. Christ, it is observed,
the highest instance of oatience, is here held out
for oat example. His death, founded on love and
borne in patience, is the great fact which can
encourage the suffering Christian to patience. But
although this meaning is plausible, yet it is inad-
missible, and not borne out by the context. The
word here rendered *end' is never in the New
Testament applied to the death of Chrbt; and
besides what St. James says was seen, namely, that
'•the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy,'
that is, that He compassionates us in our sufferings,
is not the prominent lesson which Christ's death
teaches us. The obvious and' natural meaning of
the passage, and that which is generally adopted,
& to coiuader that b^ ' the end of the Lord ' is
meant the purpose which God had in view in Job's
ttfierings — the happy termination which He put
tp his afflictions ; how the Lord restored him to
more than his former prosperity (Job xlil 2). The
meaning of the passage then is : Consider not
merely Job's affliction tmd patience, but his happv
itsae out of all his sufferings — the design which
God had in view in these sufferings, and their
Ksnlt in Job's restoration. — that the Lord is yery
pAiiftd and of tender mercy : the lesson to be
learned from this example of Job. Let thb proof
of God's pity and mercy comlort and support you
amid all your trials.

Ver. 12. Next follows a caution against swear-
ing. There does not seem to be any connection
between this caution and what precedes. St.
James was perhaps led to it by the circumstances
oC his readers. Bat above all things, my
hvafhxen — as a caution of the highest importance
— awear not. We have in the prohibition, and in
the words in which it b expressed, a third mani-
fest reference to the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.
Y. 34-37). The Jews, as we learn from the
Gospels, were very apt to indulge in swearing on
triflm^ occasions ; and it was doubtless the con-
tinuation of this evil habit among the converted
Jews that was the occasion of this prohibition of
St. James. — neither by heaven, neither by the
aiurth, Bsither 1^ any other oath. The words
are precisely similar to those used by our Lord,
only in a more condensed form : ' I say unto you.
Swear not at all ; neither by heaven, for it is
God's throne ; nor by the earth, for it is His
footstool' (Matt. V. 34, 35). It b a question,
which has been often discussed, whether all oaths
sre here forbidden. On the one hand, the words
appear sufficiently universal ; but, on the other
haix], there are scriptural declarations which seem
to prove the lawfulness of oaths (Heb. vi. 16), and
thore are instances of oaths having been taken by
the sacred writers themselves (2 Cor. i. 23). It has
also been observed that swearing by God is neither
here Qor i)9 oiir Lo^*f words forbidden ; and that,

on the contrary, this b in certain cases commanded
in the Old Testament < Thou shalt fear the Lord
thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His
name' (Deut. vi. 13). It would appear that what
St. James has here chiefly in view is the evil
custom of swearing in common conversation ; but
he so expresses himself that oaths amoi^ Christians
should be unnecessary — a simple affirmation or
negation should be sufficient. At the same time, in
some cases, as in courts of judicature, an oath b
not only lawful, but may be expedient and needful
(Heb. vi. 16). — bnt let yonr yea be yea, and
your nay, nay : be content with a simple asser-
tion. Compare Matt. v. 37.— leet ye fall into
condemnation : literally, lest ye fall under judg-
ment.

Ver. 13. Is any afflicted? The word rendered
'afflicted b a general term, denoting all kinds of
affliction — sickness, pain, bereavement, disappoint-
ment, persecution. Here perhaps it specially refers
to inward affliction — lowspirits, in contrast to merry.
— let him pray, prayer being the natural resort of
the afflicted. — ^is any merry 1 that b, cheerful, in
good spirits. It is the same word which St. Paul
employs when he exhorts hb fellow-voya^rs to

* be of good cheer * (Acts xxvii. 36). It literally
signifies to be of good mind ; hence free from
care. — let him sing psalms: literally. Met him
praise.' The primary meaning of the word b to
touch, then to touch the strings of the harp, to
praise. We are not to express our cheerfulness in
riotous mirth, but in praise and gratitude to God.
Nor ought prayer and praise to be separated ;
they should be combined ; our prayers should
often express themselves in praise, and our prabe
should be a prayer. Thus Paul and Silas in
prison prayed and san|^ praises to God (Acts xvi.
25) ; literally, ' praying, they sang hymns to
God ; ' their singing of hymns was their prayer.

Ver. 14. Is any sick among yon f a particular
instance of the general term ' afflicted ; ' to be
taken in its literal sense, denoting 'bodily sick-
ness,' and not to be spiritualize as denoting

* spiritual trouble.' — let mm call for the elders m
the church : not for the aged men, but for the
presbyters of the church ; that is, of the con-
gregation to which the sick man belongs. This
proves that even at the early period at which St.
James wrote his Epbtle there was a constituted
ecclesiastical government ; each congregation had
its presbyters. —and let them pray oyer him.
This may denote either literally ' over hb bed,* or
' over him ' bv the imposition of hands ; or
figuratively 'with reference to him,' that is, 'for
him.' — anointing him with oiL Thb anointing
with oil was and still b much employed in the
East as a medicinal remedy in the case of sickness,
the oil used being chiefly olive oil. Thus in our
Lord's parable, the good Samaritan b represented
as pouring into the wounds of the traveller oil and
wine (Luke x. 34). Here, however, the anointing
with oil appears to have been a religious ceremony,
and to have had a syml)olical meaning ; it was
performed by the elders of the Church in the
name of the Lord. We read that the disciples,
whom our Lord sent endowed with the miraculous
powers of healing, ' anointed with oil many that
were sick, and healed them ' (Mark vi. 13). — in
the name of the lord ; that b, of Christ, and to be
connected with ' anointing.' The natural meaning
is, that the presbyters were to anoint the sick by
the authority or command of Christ There is

?42

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [Chap. V. 7-m

certainly no mendoik of such an injunction, but
pur ignoranoe does not exclude the fsict ; and we
hare seen that the disciples sent out by our Lord
anointed with oil. The name of Christ was the
recognised vehicle for the communication of
mirs^ous cures. Compare Acts iii. 6 : ' In the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Rise up and
walk.'

. Ver. 15. And the prayer of fUth. Some under-
stand by this, prayer uttered in faith — believing
prayer— confidence in God as the Hearer of
prayer. Others, supposing that the reference is to
those niiraculous gifts of healing with which the
primitive Church was endowed, understand by
uith what has been called miraculous fEuth— a
belief that one was called upon to perform a
miracle— a secret impulse from God to that effect.
This faith was one of those extraordinary gifts
which were conferred on the primitive Christians,
but which are now withdrawn from the Christian
Church. * To one is given by the Spirit the word
of wisdom ; to another faith l^ the same Spirit ;
to another the working of miracles '(i Cor. xii.
S-io). It would appear from Scripture that this
faith must be possessed by both parties ; the
person who performs the miracle must be endow^
with this miraculous faith ; and the person on
whom the miracle is wrought must have faith to
be healed (Acts xiv. 9).— shall aave the aick :
here, as is evident from the context, shall recover
Uic sick man, restore him to bodily health. There
is here no reference to the salvation of the soul
The Greek verb here rendered 'save' is often
used in the New Testament of bodily healing. It
is to be observed that the recovery of the sick is
not attributed to the anointing with oil, but to the
prayer of fiuth.— and the Lord, that is, Christ, in
whose name he is anointed, shall raise him up,
bring him out of his sickness, raise him from his
bed.— and if : some render the words 'even if; *
but our verson is admissible, and to be preferred
as simpler. — ^he have committed sina— the sins
being here r^ardcd as the cause of his sickness.
Even in the present day sickness is often occa-
sioned by sin ; but this appears to have been
particularly the case in the apc«tolic a^e. Then it
would appear that sickness was inflicted by God
in the way of extraozdinarv punishment for sin.
Thus it is said concerning those whet profaned the
Lord's Supper among the Corinthians : ' For this
cause many are weak and sickly among you, and
many sleep ' (i Cor. xi. 30). Cfompare also John
V. 14. — they shall be forgiven him : the removal
of the sickness as the punishment of sin was a
proof of its forgiveness. — Such is the exegesis
of the passage ; but very different interpretations
have been attached to it. Of these there are
three which merit consideration. The first is the
opinion of the Romanists. It is from this passage
chiefly that they derive their sacrament of extreme
unction. The anointing with oil has a sacramental
efficacy, like the sprinkling of water in baptism,
or the participation of bread and wine m the
Lord's Supper. When a man is on the point of
death he is to send for the priest, who, after
hearing his confession, is to administer the com-
munion to him, and to ai^oint certain portions
of his body with the holy chrism in the name
of the Lord, so that his sins may be forgiven
him. But there is in this practice a manifest
perversion of the words of the apostle. The
anointing which St James rc<;omn;iends has

referenoe tiot so moch to spiiitnal as to bodily
healing. It was administered widi the view of
recovery from sickness, not, as is the pcactke of
the Romanists, administered when, hwnanly
speaking, all hope of recovery is gone. — A seoood
view is to consider the anointing with oil as a
mere medicinal remedy. It was generally so used
throughout the East It Vras -enjoined to hi
administered in the name of the Lord, becanse
the Divine blessmg was to be implored on aU
occasions ; and there was good hope for rfcstonf
tion to health resulting from the use of proper
remedies, and given in answer to believing pnjer.
But the great objection to this view is tint it is
contrary to the spirit of the passa^ The whole
description certainly leaves the unpresaon that
this anointing was a religious service, and that the
recovery of the sick was not the result of natmal
means, but a supernatural effect resulting from
the prayer of fidth. If the anointing were a mere
medicinal remedy, it would have beien performed
by the physician rather than by the ddcn of the
church. — We therefore give the preference to the
third view, which considers that we have hcnf
a reference to the miraculous gift of healiqg
practised in the primitive Church. We kam
from the First Epistle to the Corinthians tiiat this
gift of healing was conferred by the Spirit i^on
many of the early Christians (i Cor. ziC 9) ; mad
from the practice of the disciples of Chdatf that
they combined the anointing of oil with the
exercise of this gift (Mark vi. 13). Hence, then,
we give the following meaning to the passi^ ^—
That the elders of the church being sent for
anointed the sick man with oil in t& name of
Christ, and by the prayer of foith miracoloBdj
restored him to health. Oil was employed as an
external symbol, in a similar manner as oar Lord
in His miracles sometimes made use of nrfrma!
signs (Mark viL 33 ; John ix. 6). It had a. SKred
import among the Jews, beine the emblem of
consecration, and perhaps was here employed ta
denote that the person cured was consecrated to
the Lord. Of course this miraculous gift of
healing was not a permanent power to be exeicised
on all occasions, otherwise there would have been,
neither siclmess nor death in the primitive Chuchi
but it was conditioned by the will of God. Faol
undoubtedly possessed and exercised the gift of
healing; but still he had to leave Trophimnsat
Miletum sick, and he could not cure himself of
the thorn in his flesh. In the pexformance of a
miracle, then, there was a peculiar impulse of the
Spirit. The great objection to the above view is
that the sick man was enjoined to call not lor
those possessed with the gift of heaUng^ but for
the presbyters of the church. It is, however,
highly probable that those would be selected as
presbyters who were the most highly endowed
with miraculous gifts.

Ver. 16. Gonfess yonr ISanUa. Here we are
led especially to think on wrongs inflicted upon
others— offences ag^ainst the law of love ; but there
is no reason to limit the term to any kixid of sins ;
it comprehends sins against God as well as aeainst
man. — one to anothor. On this verse chiefly do
Uie Romanists found theur doctrine of auricular
confession, that it is the duty of believers to oonfess
Uieir sins to the priest But for this dogma there
is not the slightest foundation in this passage ; the
confession is to be made not to the priest, but to
9^e anpth^ ; it is a mutual confession, so that tbm

Chap.V. 7-2a] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

143

priest should confess to the penitent, as well as
the penitent to the priest. — and pray one for
•aoUMT, that je may be healed. Some restrict
this to bodily healing, as in the case of the sick-
lies mentioiied above. But there is no reason for
this restriction ; as the confession and the prayer
are nratual* spiritual healing may also be included.
The tenn, tnerefore, is to be taken generally,
including both spiritual and bodily healing. And
oeitainly confession has a healing efficacy. There
b no burden heavier to bear tlmn the burden of
some gnfltj secret Now this burden is lessened,
if not removed, by confession. Confession expels
sin from the soul, and restores a man to his true
self; whereas secrecy retains sin, and causes a
man to live a false life.— The eSectoal fervent
pnjer. The Greek word here rendered ' effectual
fervent ' has been differently translated. Literally
it means energetic or op^tive. Some, r^;arding
it as passive, render it 'inwrought,' that is, by the
Holy Spirit — 'inspired prayer.' Others render it
' the pra^ of a righteous man availeth much' in
its working;'' that is, worketh very effectually.
Perhaps the wofd ' fervent ' by itself, or ' earnest,'
gives the correct meaning; the word 'effectual'
m our version is wholly superfluous ; the earnest
ncayer of a righteons man availeth mnch.
Fn^'^, |n order ^o' prevail, must proceed from an
mtatA hearf, and oe made by a righteous man ;
that ii^ by a epOMd^ sincere, true-hearted man.

Ver. 17. fiUi^ waa a man snbject to like
pawinii< A wi aib,' An instance in the life of
Efijah ur (fix^ .as an example of the efficacy of
the earnest prater 'of a righteous man. As, how-
ever, the readm m^^ht object that the example of
Elijah was wholly inapplicable to ordinary men,
owu^ to his peculiar greatness, St. Tames adds,
*nbject to like passions as we are. By this is
not meant passionate, or liable to passion, but
liable to the same human infirmities and sufferings,
of the same nature as we. Compare Acts xiv. 15 :
* We -also ate men of like passions with you.*
'We profit leis,' observes Calvin, 'by the exam-
ples of the saints, because we imagine them to be
half gods or heroes, who had peculiar intercourse
with Qod ; so that because they were heard, we
have no confidence. In order to remove this
hflithch and profane superstition, James reminds
m that the saints ought to be considered as having
the infirmity of the nesh, so that we may learn to
aicribe what they obtained from the Lord, not to
their merits, but to the efficacy of prayer.' — and
ha prayed earneetly : literally, ' he prayed with
mjtt;' a Hebraism for 'he prayed earnestly.' —
that U millet not rain. There is no mention in
the Old Testament of this being a prayer of Elijah ;
it is there (^ven as a prophetic announcement
f I Kings xvii i) ; but it is a natural inference
dimwB finom the character of Elijah.— and it
alaad not on the earth ; that is, on Palestine
and the adjoining regions. — by the epace of
ttOEM yeaia and aiz montha. The same period
ilk s^fd by our Lord (Luke iv. 25). Whereas, in
) So Revised Venion.

the Book of Kings, it is said that ' the word of the
Lord came to Elijah in the third year,' namely,
concerning the rain (i Kings xviii. i). But there
is here no contradiction, as the third year refers
to the time when Elijah repaired to the widow of
Zarephath, which he did not do until the brook
Chereth had dried up, and consequently some
time after the famine had commenced. The
period three years and six months is remarkable
as being the same space of time during which the
two witnesses propnesied who had power to shut
heaven that it rain not in the days of their pro-
phecy (Rev. xi. 6).

Ver. 18. And he prayed again. This, also, is
not expressly mentioned in the Old Testament,
but it is certainly implied. It is there said that
'Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he
cast himself down upon the earth, and put his
face between his knees' (i Kings xviii. 42}^
that is, placed himself in the attitude of prayer, —
and the neaven gave rain, and the earth bronght
forth her ftnit

Ver. 19. We have in these two last verses the
conclusion of the Epistle ; and certainly the words
form a summary of its nature, its contents, and its
design. Its sole purpose was to correct the errors
of the Jewish Christians, and to restore them to
the truth of the Gospel. — Brethren, if any of you
do err, literally, be seduced, from the trath, the
truth of the Gospel, that word of truth by which
they were begotten (Yas. i. 18). Here the reference
is not to a single defection, but to an alienation
of the heart from the truth. The error includes
false doctrine as well as false practice, although it
is chiefly with the latter that this Epistle is con-^
cemed. — and one convert him — is the instrument
in the hand of God of his restoration.

Ver. 20. Let him know, as an inducement to
attempt the work of restoring the errinj;, tiiat he
which oonverteth the sinner from the error of
hia way— restores him to the truth— shall save a
Bonl from death. Here, evidently, eternal death
is meant, the punishment of the condemned, the
death of the soul ; a death compared with which
the death of the body is but a trifle ; thus intimat-
ing in the strongest manner the infinite importance
of the restoration of the erring. — and shall hide
a multitude of sins ; that is, the sins not of the
person who converts, but of the person who is
converted ; the multitude of his sins are blotted
out ; his actual sins, not the possiUe sins which
the sinner might have committed, but of which
his conversion has prevented the commission*
The covering of sins is a common phrase for their
remission. Thus David sap : ' Bliessed is he
whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is
covered' (Ps. xxxiL i). And certainly to aim at
the conversion of our fellow-men is a fiur more
generous motive presented to us, than if the
apostle had appealra to the personal eood which
such a work would confer upon ourselves ui pro-
moting our own holiness, or even to the glonous
reward in a future life promised to those who
have turned many onto righteousness (Dan. xii. 3)i

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES OF PETER.

THE First Epistle of Peter, like that of John, explains its own intention. The
latter is declared to be written in order that its readers' *joy may be full*
( I John i. 4), that they may know that they *have eternal life,' and that they may
'believe on the name of the Son of God ' (chap. v. 13). The former gives the key to
its own design in these words : * By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose,
I have written briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God
wherein ye stand' (chap. v. 12). Its object, therefore, is to assure its readers of the
truth of that which they had received, and to encourage them to abide by it at all
hazards. It was not to Peter himself that they owed their introduction to the kingdom
of Christ. It is true that Jews from some of the regions addressed had been present
at Pentecost, and may have heard Peter's discourse on that occasion (Acts ii.). But
the churches mentioned in the inscription of this letter, were churches which stood
indebted to Paul and his associates for their existence. The faith which they had
received through this channel had now to be maintained in the face of trials arising
from the threatenings or persecutions of the heathen world. It was essential that
these scattered believers should see that the Christian vocation for which they might
be called to suffer, was worth the suffering for, and that the grace which had been
made known to them was the true grace of God. If there was no Paul to do this
service for them, Peter was the man to take his place. Could not he set his seal
upon his * beloved brother's ' teaching ? Could not he testify as none other of the
Miving hope,' and of the sureness of the things in which they had been instructed?
He had confessed Christ. Upon that confession, and what it proved him capable of
becoming, the Church itself was to be built. He had denied Christ, and knew by
experience what manner of adversary these Christians had to cope with. As a witness
of Christ, he can urge them to witness a good confession in evil times. As once
threatened, he can speak to those who are now threatened. So in this letter he
carries out the commission given him by Christ in reference to Satan's sifting of
himself, — 'when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren' (Luke xxii. 32). And
the sum of his exhortations in it is an unfolding of the meaning of that simple,
piercing question, at once reproof, expostulation, and counsel, and never to be for-
gotten when once heard, which his suffering Lord had spoken into his drowsy ear in
the garden of Gethsemane, — 'What, could ye not watch with me one hour?' (Matt
xxvL 40).

The voice of the Epistle, therefore, has been correctly recognised to be the voice
of animation. It is not enough, however, to say of it that it is a letter of strength and
confirmation. It is eminently one of reminiscence. It strengthens and confirms by
putting in remembrance. It recalls the great facts of grace which had made these

144

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES OF PETER. 14$

believers what they are. It makes the warm colours of the doctrine in which they had
been trained by Paul and their first teachers, revive again. The spiritual truths which
they had once received, were the only things which could illumine the dark night of
trial which was closing in about them. On these, as on so many tracks of heavenly
light shot across the gloom, Peter concentrates their fading attention.

The Epistle was rightly described by Luther as one of the noblest in the New
Testament It is strange that its individuality and independence should have been
denied, and that some should still speak of it as a compilation of other men's thoughts,
a cento of other men's modes of expression. It Is true that there are unmistakeable
resemblances between it and others of the New Testament Epistles. There are some
decided points of conjunction, for example, between it and the Epistle of James.
These are so remarkable, indeed, that some regard Peter as reiterating James's
teaching, and preparing the way for Paul's. Both James and Peter have a peculiar
term for fria/; both speak of the manifold temptations ; both introduce the grass as
a figure of human glory ; both cite or echo the same passage from Proverbs ; both
adopt similar forms of exhortation (cf. Jas. 1. 21 ; i Pet. ii. i). There are things
again which this Epistle has in common with the First Epistle of John. Both speak,
for example, of Christ as * the righteous,' of believers being begotten or bom again^
petrifying themselves, etc Above all, there are striking similarities between Peter and
PaiU, in the use made of the Old Testament, in the counsels on the subject of the
relative duties, in the doctrine of civil and political obligation, and in other matters.
These are of a kind to indicate that Peter must have written with familiar knowledge
of much that Paul had written before him. They make it difficult not to suppose that
he had the Epistles to the Romans and Ephesians in particular before him or in his
mind. They have induced some, indeed, to suppose that his First Epistle was pur-
posely constructed to some extent, as regards the introductory greeting and the
exhortations to various orders of society, on the plan of Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

But there is nothing wonderful in such resemblances. As the Book of Acts shows,
Peter must have been well acquainted with the views and methods of statement
characteristic of James. John and Peter, again, were usually together, as long as that
was possible. They were to each other what Mary and Martha were to one another.
And as to Paul, his system of teaching was certainly not unknown to Peter. Paul is
careful to tell us himself how he laid it before the Apostles (Gal. ii. 2). Nor do these
apparent repetitions take from the distinct character of the Epistle. They are affini-
ties, not borrowings. Peter puts all in a form of his own. Even when he most
reminds us of Paul, he has an independent method of expression. The Pauline
formula ItT^e to God becomes in Peter live to righteousness. The Pauline idea of dying
to sin receives in Peter a notably different phraseology.

The individuality of the Epistle appears in many things. Not a few of its concep-
tions and terms are p>eculiar to Peter. Among these may be named the ' kiss of
charity' (chap. v. 14), the 'conscience toward God' (chap. ii. 19), the 'living hope,' and
the whole description of the inheritance (chap. i. 3, 4), the declaration that baptism is
•the answer of a good conscience toward God' (chap. iii. 21), the phrase 'gone into
heaven' applied to Christ (chap. iii. 22), the sections on the preaching to the spirits
in prison (chap. iii. 19, 20), and the gospel preached to them that are dead (chap.
iv. 6), etc He has his own modes of expounding the doctrines of Christianity, and
of illustrating the Christian life. Thus it has been noticed that good worksy which
appear in John as the fruits of love, in James as the substance of the Christian life,
and in Paul as the results of faith, are in Peter rather the ' tests of the soundness and
stability of a faith which rests on the resurrection of Christ and looks to the future'

VOL. V9. 10

146 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES OF PETER.

(Cook). He has his own way of looking at the Person and Work of Christ It has
been rightly observed that the prominent thing with him is the mediatorial position of
his Lord, and that this is made to turn uppn His resurrection. He presents this in
great breadth. Christ is the medium of our regeneration (chap. L 3), of our belief in
God (chap. i. 21), of acceptable sacrifice (chap, il 5), of baptism (chap. iiL 21), of the
glorifying of God (chap. iv. 11); and it is through His resurrection that we
are begotten again to a lively hope (chap. L 3), and that we come to have faith and
hope in God (chap. i. 21). There is a remarkable fondness for dwelling on the
character of Christ, and bringing out the power of His example. He is our Pattern
in suffering, in respect at once of the unmerited nature of His sufferings and of His
sinlessness and patience in enduring them. The Christ, too, with whom Peter
connects the great deeds of grace is all the while not so much the Christ of history as
the Christ of glory, in the might of His ascension, exaltation, sitting at God's right
hand, headship over the Church and all angels, and Second Coming.

The Epistle is distinguished, too, by its comparatively non-sjrstematic foroL It is
less dialectical by far than any of the greater Pauline Epistles. It is not without its
plan. But its unity is not a reasoned unity. The logical particles, which abound in
Paul's writings, are rare in Peter. Here the method is simply to let the one sentence
suggest the next There is the habit, too, of insisting on the same truths in rq)eated
forms. Thus the trial of faith like gold tried with fire (chap. L 7) reappears in the
'fiery trial' of chap. iv. 12; the *be sober' of chap. L 13 rings out again in the 'be
ye therefore sober ' of chap. iv. 7, and the * be sober,' etc., of chap. v. 8 ; the injunc-
tion not to fiashion themselves 'according to the former lusts in their ignorance'
(chap. L 14) is repeated in chap. iL 11 as a charge to 'abstain from fleshly .lusts,'
and in chap. iv. 2 as a warning not to ' live the rest of his time in the flesh to Uie lusts
of men ; ' the idea of the well-doing of the Christian as the best argument for silencing
the slanderous Gentile (chap. ii. 15), meets us again in the conversation of the wive$
which wins over the husbands (chap. iii. i), and in the good conversation in Christ
which puts to shame the false, accusers (chap. iii. 16); the thankworthiness . of
suffering wrongfully (chap. ii. 19) rises again in the happiness of suffering for right-
eousness' sake (chap. iiL 14), and in the blessedness of being reproached for the name
of Christ (chap. iv. 14).

The Epistle is further marked by a perpetual movement among Old Testament
ideas, imagery, and language. It represents the Church of Christ as the Church of
Israel perfected and spiritualized. The language of Leviticus is introduced when the
call of God is stated (chap. i. 15, 16). The Messianic terms of Isa. xxviii. and
Ps. cxviii. are naturally adopted in describing Christ's position (chap. ii. 6, etc.). The
great section on the Servant of Jehovah (Isa. Iii. 13-liiL 12) has many of its features
reproduced here. And all this without the exclusiveness of the old Jewish spirit
It is characteristic of the Epistle, also, to carry practice back to Christian fact and
Christian doctrine, and to show that the roots of the former lie in the latter. So it is
that it conjoins the 'exhorting' with the 'testifying' (chap. v. 12). And in relation
to this, it deals for the most part with objective truth. It has its pointed warnings
against the lusts of the flesh. But we And little in it like the Pauline representations
of the struggle between two kingdoms in the soul, or the profound experiences of a
competition between the evil that the man would not and yet does, and the good
which he would and yet does not Still less do we see of anything like a conflict
between intellect and faith. And almost as little of the deep intuition of John.
What Peter dwells on is not the subjective but the objective, not the mysteries of the
work of grace within us, but the gifts which grace brings to us, and the obh*ga.ti6ns \i

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES OF PETER, 147

lays us under. It is the acts of God that he sets forth, — His foreordaining of Christ,
His caUing a people^ His raising Christ from the dead, etc And with all this the
attitude of the Epistle is distinctively prospective. It lives in the future. What has
arrested the attention of most expositors is the £act that its face is turned so steadily
to the future. Everything is seen in the light of the end. The 'appearing' of Jesus
Christ fills the view. The present life of the believer recedes into the background,
or is read in terms of what it shall be when Christ returns. Glory and honour are
the keynotes of the Epistle. It regards salvation itself as something * ready to be
revealed in the last time' (chap. L 5), and as the end of faith (chap. i. 9). It is
engaged with the contents of Christian hope, where Paul might occupy himself with
the gladness of the present life of justification, or with the seriousness of the present
struggle between grace and nature in the individual. ' In this Epistle,' says Words-
worth, • Peter views all the sufferings of Calvary as glorified by triumph. He sees
Christ's decease, he sees his own decease, he sees the decease of all Christ's faithful
followers, as invested with a heavenly radiance by the light of the Transfiguration.
He writes his Epistle in the joyful light of that prophetic Vision of Glory.*

Authorship of the First Epistle.

Thiere are not a few things in the Epistle which become all the more natural and
intelligible if it was written by Peter the Apostle. There are various points of affinity
between it and the discourses of Peter which are recorded in the Book of Acts.
These are of a kind to suggest an argument in favour of the Petrine authorship from
andedgned coincidences. There b a habit of immediate personal appeal There is
an abundant use of direct terms of address, such as ^ to you,' ' for you,' etc., which
sharpen general statements into distinct personal applications to the readers. This is
seen in passages like chaps. L 4, 20, 25, il 7, iil 6, etc. There is also the habit of
repeating Christ's own words, or of using expressions which show that these were in
the writer's mind, as in chap. iiL 9, 14, etc And at several points, in a simple
and unstudied style, the Epistle gives a singular reflection of Peter's personal history.
It contains much that is quite in character, if Peter is the author. And external testi-
mony is almost entirely in this direction. It is not quoted, indeed, in the Muratorian
Canon, a document of high antiquity and great importance. But it is referred to by
Second Peter. There are echoes of it, allusions to it, or citations from it in many of
the oldest remains of Christian literature. It is given in the older Syriac Version, in
which only three Catholic epistles appear. It is reckoned among the accepted books
by Eusebius, in his classification of the New Testament writings. Its Petrine author-
ship has been contested by some critics in modern times mainly on subjective
grounds. It is contested by some stilL But it has been generally recognised as
among the most richly and securely attested of all the books of the New Testament
The Church has accepted it from the earliest times for what it professes to be, and
has regarded it as of eminent interest and worth.

The Parties addressed — Date and Place of Composition.

There has been great division of opinion as to the parties to whom the Epistle
was written. The question b one of great difficulty. If the terms with which the
letter opens were alone in view, we should conclude probably in favour of the view
that the persons addressed were Jewish Christians. For it would be most natural to
take the phrase * strangers scattered abroad ' in the literal sense of sojourners of the

148 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES OF PETER.

Jewish dispermn (see note on chap. i. i), all the more that it is connected with plain
territorial designations. And this view has secured the consent of a large number of
eminent expositors. On the other hand, the localities mentioned are localities tra-
versed, as we gather from Acts and the Pauline Epistles, for the most part by Paul
The churches in these localities were churches planted mainly by Paul, and pre-
dominantly Gentile in character. And throughout the Epistle statements appear (^^.
in chaps, i. 14, 18, ii. 9, 10, iiL 6, iv. 3) which only a very strained exegesis seems
capable of suiting to Jews. Hence it has been held by a still larger number of inter-
preters and historians of the first rank that the churches addressed consisted mainly
of Gentile Christians. This view has been adopted in the present Commentary as on
the whole the more probable. An intermediate solution has been sought in the idea
that the parties were chiefly those who had been proselytes to Judaism before they
became Christians. But that has met with little favour.

The date of the Epistle has been brought down by some as late as the period of
Trajan's persecution. But if the Epistle is by Peter, the persecution in view, as
now in action, or as casting its shadow over them, must be the Neronic Some
suppose it to have been written at the beginning of Paul's third missionary journey ;
others, at the end of that ; others, during the latter part of Paul's captivity ; others,
immediately after Paul's release from his two years' imprisonment at Rome. The
most probable opinion on the whole, however, is that it was written after Paul's mar-
tyrdom, and towards the close of Peter's career, about the year 66 a.d.

The only direct indication which the Epistle gives of the place of its composition
is in chap. v. 13 ; see note on which. We have seen reason to take the statement
there made in the literal sense, and therefore to regard the Epistle as written, not
from Rome, the mystical Babylon, but from the historical Babylon on the Euphrates.

N.B, — The English text is given according to the original form of the Authorised,
as that is reproduced in the Parallel Edition of the Revised Version.

Problems of the Second Epistle.

The Second Epistle professes to be written by Peter. It refers to a former Epistle
written by the same hand (chap. iii. i.). It indicates acquaintance with the Epistles
of Paul (chap. iiL 15, 16). We should infer from it that it was addressed to the same
circle of readers as First Peter. And if it is Peter's composition, it would belong
naturally to the very end of his life. It can be shown, too, that there is a not incon-
siderable number of terms and peculiar turns of thought which are common to the
two Epistles. There are at the same time great differences between them. There
are marked differences of style. There are also differences of a broader kind. The
exhortations of the Second Epistle, for example, are of a much more general order
than those of the First. The details into which the one goes on the subject of social,
political, and domestic duty, do not appear in the other. The peril against which the
First Epistle aims at strengthening its readers is that arising from the slanders and
persecutions of the surrounding heathenism. The peril which the Second Epistle
looks to is that arising from corruption within the Church, the seductions of false
teachers, etc. In respect of external testimony, too, this Epistle occupies a very
different position from the First

The question, therefore, into which all others affecting this Second Epistle run, is
that of its authenticity. Its claim to be the composition of Peter the Apostle has
been doubted or denied by a very large number of authorities, and these of widely
different schools. The grounds on which these doubts or denials h^ve proceeded

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES OF PETER. 149

have been as various as the schools. Some of them are confined for the most part
to the representatives of extreme parties. Others admittedly have weight with all.
With some the main thing is the existence in the Epistle of matters which are taken
to belong to the developed Gnosticism of the third century. Others lay great stress
upon what is believed to be the dependence of Second Peter upon Jude. The simi-
larities between these two Epistles are of a very striking kind. They are admitted
even by some who affirm the canonicity and Petrine authorship of the present Epistle,
to point very clearly to the priority of Jude. They are held by not a few to amount
to borrowings, which are inconsistent with the supposition that the Apostle Peter could
have been the writer. Others, who dispute the authenticity of Jude, hold them to be
conclusive proof that Second Peter cannot be earlier than the second century. The
singular style of the Epistle is also largely insisted on. It is affirmed that, both in
phraseology and in theological conception, the difference between the two Epistles
which bear Peter's name is too decided to make it reasonable to suppose them to have
proceeded from the same hand. It has also been argued that the writer betrays himself
by over-anxiety to make himself out to be Peter, and that there was a disposition in
the eariy Church by all means to magnify Peter's position and forge his name. Quite
recently, too, an elaborate argument has been constructed to prove the Epistle to be
largely dependent on the writings of Josephus. (See Dr. Abbot's articles in the
Expodior^ second series, vol iii.) The difficulties and peculiarities attaching to the
external evidence have been felt by all

On the other hand, the adverse arguments drawn from the contents and charac-
teristics of the Epistle have been met with considerable force. It is certainly too
much to assert the presence of formal Gnosticism in the Epistle. The attempted
demonstration of Peter's borrowings from Josephus has been deprived of much of its
power by a close examination of the facts (see especially an article by Dr. B. B. War-
field in the Southern Presbyterian Review for January 1882). If there are marked
theological and linguistic differences between the two Petrine Epistles, they are
balanced to a considerable extent by a series of equally striking similarities, both in
doctrinal statement and in individuality of expression. We have instances of the
former in the matter of prophecy (1 Pet L 10-12 ; 2 Pet. L 19-21), in that of the
new birth (i Pet L 22, il 2; 2 Pet i. 4), in that of submission to civil authority
(i Pet iL 13 ; 2 Pet ii. 10), etc. We have instances of the latter in the use of such
special terms as virtue (i Pet il 9 ; 2 Pet i. 3), multiplied (i Pet i. 2 ; 2 Pet i. 2),
eonvenaiion (i Pet L 15 ; 2 Pet iL 7), supply ox minister {\ Pet iv. 11 ; 2 Pet i. 5, 11),
putting ojf(\ Pet iii 21 ; 2 Pet. i. 14), receiving (i Pet L 9 ; 2 Pet ii. 13), etc. It is
at the best only a limited value that can be safely allowed to these differences in style.
One of the keenest of critics, now the veteran of his school, makes this confession : —
*On the theological and linguistic differences between the two Epistles, which the
later criticbm has so emphasized, we lay no stress. The two Epistles are too short,
have to do with wholly different circumstances ; and especially there are no direct
contradictions to be found. One of the Epistles is on other grounds proved to be
ungenuine. Can this also be brought into account?' (Reuss.) As to the external
testimony, it is certain that Origen, at the beginning of the third century, had the
Epistle. He notices that there were doubts current about it But his own use of it,
and references to it, indicate that in his time it was generally received as a part of
Scripture, and as Peter's composition. Clement of Alexandria, Origen's teacher, also
appears to have possessed it, and even to have written a commentary on it And
although this is disputed by many, it is possible that we can trace it back to the Testa-
ment of the Twelve Patriarchs early in the second century, to Barnabas about 106 a. d.,

ISO INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES OF PETER.

and even to Clement of Rome about 97 a.d. The amount of early evidence is un-
doubtedly small. There are also the two serious facts, that it was doubted in the
fourth century and earlier, and that it obtained no place in the canon of the Syrian
Church. The doubts which took decided shape in the fourth century were gradually
overcome, and the Epistle was recognised as canonical for many centuries. The
question was revived at the Reformation period, and the weight of such names as
Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin was lent to those who were uncertain of the Episde's
claims. In recent times these doubts have been urged with the utmost force, and
have prevailed with very many. With the exception of the Syrian branch, the Church
as a whole, however, has continued to give the Epistle a place in the canon. From
the time of Eusebius, who ranked it with the disputed books, that place has been felt
to be less certain than is the case with almost any other part of the New Testament
Yet the amount of external testimony might be shown to be even in this case hi
superior to that which is available for the masterpieces of Classical antiquity.

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF

PETER

Chapter I.

Contents. — I. Address and Salutation, vers, i, 2 ; II. Ascription of Praise
to God for the New Hope into which Believers are born, vers. 3-5 ; III. The
Certainty and Nearness of the Salvation to which that Hope points helping
to Joy in Time of Trial, vers. 6-9 ; IV. The Peculiar Interest of God's People
of these Last Times in this Glorious Salvation, vers. 10-12 ; V. Exhortations
to a Life in harmony with that Hope, and in particular to Holiness, vers.
13-16; VI. As also to Godly Fear, vers. 17-21 ; VII. And to Brotherly
Love, vers. 22-25.

Chapter I. i, 2.

Address and Salutation,

I T)ETER, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the * strangers aGen.xxiu.i;
JL * scattered throughout Pontus,* Galatia, Cappadocia, iPetX/t^

XXII. 14. XXIV.

3x ; Mk. xUL
90, 33, 37;

* Grace unto you, and * peace, be * multiplied.

La. xrilL 7 ; Rom. viiL 33 ; CoL iii. Z3 : s Tim. u. xo ; Tit. i. z ; Rev. xvii. 14. dActs il 33 : cf. Rom. viii. 39.

1 3 TIms. iL 13. y 3 Cor. x 5. f Heb. xii. 34 ; cf. Heb. x. 33.

ARom. L 7 ; z Cor. L 3 ; 3 Cor. L 3 ; Gal. i. 3, etc. t 2 Pet. L 3 ; Jude 3.

* rather^ to elect sojourners of the dispersion of Pontus, etc.

* omit elect here^ which belongs to ver. i

* literally y in

The writer opens with a greetmg which is ecjually
remarkable for its wealth of idea and for its ad-
mirable re6ection of the combined gravity, tender-
ness, and animation of the body of the Epistle. In
form it reminds us more of the Pauline type of
inscription than is Uie case with any of the Catholic
Epistles, excepting 2d Peter and Jude. It seems
cast in the mould of Pauline doctrine, and adopts
some of the familiar Pauline phrases. It has, at
the same time, an unmistakeable character of its
own. like Paul, Peter refers at once to his
apostleship. He dwells less on that, however,
tun on the standing of his readers. And the
terms in which he describes them and their election
mt choiCD so as to suggest thoughts of the believer's

151

dignity and security. Thus with its immediate
outset the letter begins to fulfil its high design of
comforting and strengthening those tried and
threatened Christians.

In ver. I we have designations of the author and
the recipients of the Epistle. The former of these
is given in utmost brevity ; the latter, as the thing
of superior interest, is carried on into the next verse
and unfolded in the detaib of grace. Each of
these designations has its peculiar point and in-
tention. The description of the writer, Peter, an
apostle of Jems OhiiBt, is noticeable for its
simplicity and reticence. For his personal identi-
fication he uses nothing bevond the new name, the
name of grace, Peter, which hb Lord had put

152

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. L i, 2-

upon him (Matt xvi. 8 ; John i. ai). He adopts
the title apostle of Jesus Ohiist; and of all
the Catholic Epistles, Peter^s alone thus commend
the writer to the readers' attention by putting
forward his apostleship in the proem. But he
appends to this official title no further title, such as
the ' servant ' which Paul adds. Neither does he
introduce any explanation of the way in which he
came to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, such as is
conveyed by the Pauline formula, * by the will of
God.' This latter would be superfluous in the
case of one known to have been of the original
twelve, one of the eye-witnesses chosen by Christ
to be His ' messengers,' and commissioned by Him
to go ' into all the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature* (Mark xvi. 15). The style of
introduction differs, therefore, at once from Paul's
and from that of James, John, and Jude, the
writers of the other Catholic Epistles. This is not
without its reason. Addressing churches with
which he had no intimate connection, which were
probably unknown to him, and which (as the
localities show) were dbtinctively Pauline, Peter
naturally appeals to his apostolic position in ex-
planation of his writing them, as his warrant for
taking the place of their founder, Paul, and in order
to bespeak their attention. By limiting himself,
however, to the one title, 'apostle,* he also indi-
cates that his claims upon their regard were not
personal, but those general, official claims which
were common to him with others. It is some-
what different in the Second Epistle. There he
can write as one who has come into closer terms of
connection with his readers ; hence there he pre-
faces the name of grace, Peter, by the old name of
nature, Syineon or Simon, and adds to the official
• apostle * the wider title * servant * (Schott). Here
nothing personal to the individual Peter is allowed
to come into view. — As this description of the writer
implies the justification which exists on his own side
for addressing these Christians, the designation
next applied to his readers suggests circumstances
on their side which make his call to communicate
with them. They are elect sojoiimerB of the
dispeision — on which difficult expression, see also
the Introduction. The term W^/ corresponds to
an O. T. title of Jehovah's people (Isa. Ixv. 9,
15, 22 ; Ps. cv. 43), and occurs m the N. T. in
a variety of connections (Matt. xx. 16, xxii. 14 ;
Luke xviii. 7 ; Rom. viii. 33 ; Mark xiii. 27 ;
Rev. xvii. 14; 2 Tim. ii. 10 ; I Pet. ii. 9). It is
not to be restricted to Jews or Jewish Christians,
neither does it apply to the Church only, and not
to the individual. Nor, again, does it necessarily
refer to what passes in the Divine mind. Taken
by itself it may express the gracious standing of
those addressed, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether
Church or individual, and that standing as the
result of an act of God which had grasped them
as they were in the world and brought them into
a new relation with Him. It may refer to ' the
selecting them out of the world and giving them
to the fellowship of the people of God ' (Leighton).
It is therefore a note of comfort. If evil im-
pended over the readers, they were at least chosen
by God out of the world of heathen ignorance and
hopelessness, and set by God's own act in a new
position which made an abiding standing in grace.
The second term, strasgen or sojoumexB, is one
used of those who are denizens of a place and not
citizens ; neither natives nor permanent inhabitants,
but temporaiy residents in a land that is strange to

them. It describes the readers as having their
true city and centre elsewhere than where they
were. It is a natural adjunct, therefore, to the
term elect. If they were chosen by God*s act out
of the world, they cannot have their final home
here. The third phrase, of the dispenlon, is the
familiar term descriptive of Jews outside the Holy
Land, the whole body of Jews whose lot was cast
among the heathen since the Assyrian and Bsbj*
Ionian deportations, remote from their own politiol
and religious centre. In its literal sense here it
would describe Peter's readers as belonging to, or
having their residence amone, the Israel that
dwelt in the bosom of Asiatic heathenism. In its
secondary application it may describe them as
belonging to the community of the true disperaon
under the N. T., the community of Christians
who have to live scattered among the heathen.
The parties in Peter*s view, however, are more
particularly defined as those of the dispersion
settled within certain geographical limits, viz.
those of Pontos, Oalfttia, Oappadoeift, Ad% nod
Bithynia. The localities are enumerated from
north-east by west and south-east to west and north.
This fits in well enough, therefore, with the
position of one writing from the distant east,
althoug[h it would not be safe to make mndi of
that.--rontn8, the extensive territory stretching
along the south coast of the Euxine, connected in
classical lore with the story of the Amazons and
the legend of the Argonauts in quest of the Golden
Fleece, is memorable in ancient history for the
brilliant reign of the great Mithridates, and in
Christian history as the native country of Aquila
(Acts xviii. 2). — Oalatia, the country seized by
the Gaulish invaders between B.C. 279 and 230^
and reduced to a Roman province (apparently
with the inclusion of Lycaonia, Isauria, the S.E. of
Phrygia and part of Pisidia) by Augustus (B.C
25), was occupied by a mixed population, mainly
Gauls and Phrygians, but with considerable
infusions of Greeks and Jews. It was visited
twice by Paul (Acts xvi. 6 ; Gal. iv. 13); and also
by Crescens (2 Tim. iv. 10).— Oappadoeia, a rich
pastoral district of Asia Minor, watered by the
Halys, and notable in Church hbtory for the
three great Cappadocians, Gregory of Nyssa, Basil
of Csesarea, and Gregory of Nazianzus, became a
Roman province on the death of Archelaus, its
last king, A.D. 17. — Asia, here, as generally in
the N. T., not Asia Minor, but Proconsular Asia,
the territory including Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and
most of Phrygia, and having for its metropolis the
great city of Ephesus, which was the scene of a
three years* ministry of Paul (Acts xx. 31), as well
as of the preaching of ApoUos (Acts xviii. 24). It
embraced many churches known to us from Acts
and the Pauline Epistles. — Bithynia, the fertile
country stretching along the S.W. coast of the
Euxine, bequeathed to the Romans B.C. 74, and
constituted a proconsular province by Augustus,
contained no churches known to us from Scripture.
By the beginning of the second century, however^
the Christian population must have been con-
siderable. Pliny's letter to the Emperor Trajan
(about A.D. no) graphically describes the multi-
tudes of converts, the deserted temples, and the
unsaleable victims. — The list of territories shows
that the churches addressed by Peter were for the
most part, if not entirely, churches planted and
cared for by Paul. It shows further that they
were churches which did not occupy, ii| the d^%

Chap. 1. 1, 2.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

»53

GomsUnoet of their formation, any peculiarly close
fdatioft to the mother church of Jerusalem. It
abo reveals the fact that there must have been a
9«ater extent of evan^listic effort than we should
Caiber from Acts. We know how the Gospel was
GUffieil into Gahitia, namely, by Paul and Silas
(Acts kvi. 6, xix. 10), and into Asia by Paul without
Was (Acts xviiL 23, six. i). But we know not
kov it was introduced into Pontus, Cappadocia,
wmd Bithynia. Some suppose that Dike may
biive evangeUied both Pontus and Bithynia from
Troas (Acts xvi. 8)l All that we learn from Acts
h that there were men from Cappadocia and
Footiis among the devout Jews who were at
Jflnaalem on the occasion of the Pentecostal
descent (it 9), and that Paul had thought of
^oin^ into Bithjmia in the course of his second
misMODary journey, but 'the Spirit suffered them
not' (xvi. 7).

Ver. 2. The following words are connected not
with the title apaale 0/ Jesus Christy but with the
clcsi^iation diet sojourners. They are not a vin-
dication of the writer's claim to be an apostle,
fcoch as Paul offers (i Cor. L i ; 2 Cor. i. i, etc.),
but a definition of the position of the readers.
The definition is given with a detail which shows
the security for their assured standing in grace to
be nochii^ less than God Himself in the fulness of
that Trinitarian relation wherein His love reveals
itself. Aocording to the foreknowledge of God
•^ Flather. Their election is in virtue of this, in
QnrsuasKe of this (Alford), or has this for its norm.
The VexfR fortkrunvledge (which is never used of the
lost) is distinct at once from allied terms expressing
the idea o{ predestinating ox fore-ordaining iyiom,
viiL 29 ; I Cor. ii. 7 ; Eph. i. 5, ii ; Actsiv. 28),
and from those expressing the purpose^ good
fi^atmre, or counsel of God. It is coupled with,
but distinguished from, the latter by Peter in Acts
ii 23. It is more, however, than mere foresight.
It is not the Divine prescience of the reception to
be given to the decree of salvation, as distinguished
from that decree itself. Neither does it imply tliat
the Divine election or purpose of grace proceeds
moKk the ground of the Divine anticipation of
cnaracter. It is knowledge, as distinguishable from
decree. But as, both in the Old Testament (Ps.
L 6, xxxvi. 10^ etc) and in the New (John x.
■iff >5 ; Gal. iv. 9 ; 2 Tim. ii. 19, etc.), the terms
for knowledge occur with the intense sense of a
cognisance which claims its objects as its own and
d^ls with them as such, it is a recognition which,
resting eternally on its objects, embraces them as
its own and cares for them as such. It is a fore-
knowledge, therefore, which comes near the ideas
of predestination and creative or appropriating
love, and which makes it certain that its objects
shall be in the relation which God purposes for
them. In God Himself, as the New Testament
teaches, is the cause of the election. The name
Father here added to the word God implies
further, that this relation of theirs to which God*s
foreknowledge looks is the expression of a new
relation whidi He bears to them. As elect, there-
fore, they are the objects not only of a historical
act of grace which took them out of the world of
heathenism, but also of an eternal recognition of
God, in virtue of which their election has its roots
in the Divine Mind, and b assured not by any
single act of God's love, but by a permanent
relation of that love, namely, Hb Fatherhood. —
In Mttoliflontioii of the Spmt. This points to

the means by which, or rather to the sphere within
which, the election is made good. The term here
used for sanctification b a peculiariy Pauline term,
being found eight times m Paul's Epistles, and
elsewhere only in Heb. xiL 14, and thb one
passage in Peter. It b also a dbtinctively scrip*
tural and ecclesiastical term, there being no certain
occurrence of it in heathen writers. It b gene*
rally, if not invariably, found with the neuter
sense, not with the active (Rom. vi. 19, 22;
I Cor, i. 30 ; I Tim. ii. 15 ; i Thess. iv. 3, 4, 7 ;
Heb. xii. 14, 22 ; less certainlv 2 Thess. it 13).
Here, therefore, it expresses neither the act nor the
process of sanctifying (Luther, Huther, and most),
nor yet the ethical quality of holiness, but that
state of separation or consecration into which
Crod's Spirit brings God*s elect. If their election
has its ground and norm in the foreknowledge of
the Father, it realizes itself now within the sphere
or condition of a patent separation from the world,
which b effected bv the Spirit.— Unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Ghrist
These words mark the twofold end contemplated
in their election. Some place the phrase 0/ Jesus
Christ under the regimen of the obedience as well as
of the sprinkling rfthe blood. If it were possible
to take the latter as a single idea, that connection
would be intelligible. It might then be = unto
the obedience and the blood-sprinkling, which are
both effected in us by Jesus Christ. But as this
b uncertain, while it b also awkward to attach two
different senses to the same case in one clause (some
making it obedience to Chrbt and sprinkling of
the blood ^Christ), it is best to take the obedience
here independently. It will then have not the more
limited sense of faith, but the larger sense in which
the idea occurs again at ver. 14, in which Paul
also uses it in Rom. vL 16, and which b expressed
more specifically in such phrases as obedience to the
faith (Rom. i. 5), the obedience of faith (Rom.
xvi. 26), the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. x. 5),
obeying the truth (R. V. obedience to the truth,
I Pet. i. 22). The second term is not one of those
terms which are common to Peter and Paul. It
is peculiar in the New Testament to Peter and the
Epistle to the Hebrews. The noun occurs onl^
here and in Heb. xii. 24, in which latter passage it
b used in reference to the Sinaitic covenant The
verb occurs only in Hebrews (ix. 13, 19, 21, x. 22).
It is to be explained neither by the Levitical purifi-
cation of the Israelite who had become defiled by
touching a dead body (for the sprinkling there was
with water, Num. xix. 13), nor by the ceremonial
of the paschal lamb, nor yet by that of the great
Day of Atonement (for in these cases objects were
sprinkled, not persons), but b^ the ratification of the
covenant recorded in Ex. xxiv. As ancient Israel
was introduced into a peculiar relation to God at
Sinai, which was ratified by the sprinkling of the
blood of a sacrifice upon the people themselves,
so the New Testament Israel occupy a new relation
to God through application of the virtue of Christ's
death. And the election, which b rooted in the
eternal purpose of God, works hbtorically to thb
twofold goal — the subjective result of an attitude
of filial obedience, and the objective result of
a permanent covenant relation assured to its
objects. Thus the note of comfort, struck at once
in recalling the fact that the readers were elect, is
prolonged by thb statement of all that there b in
the nature of that election to lift them above the
disquietudes of time.— Ornoe to yon, and pence

»S4

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. L 3^-

bemnltlj^ied. The greeting embraces the familiar
Pauline terms, grace and peace, but differs from
the Pauline form in the use of the peculiar term
muliifiied^ which occurs a^n in 2 Pet. i. 2 and
Jude 2, and in the salutations of no other New
Testament Epistle. It is found, however, in the
Greek version of Dan. iv. I (LXX., iii. 31) and
vi. 25. If the Babylon, Uierefore, from which
Peter writes can be taken to be the literal
Babylon, it might be interesting to recall (as
Wordsworth suggests) the EpisUes, introduced
by salutations so similar to Peter's, which were
written from the same capital by two kincs, Nebu-
chadnezzar and Darius, of two great dynasties.

and addressed to all tbebr provinces. The mm
is the richer Christian renaering of the IumI or
greetingi with which Greek letter- writers addressed '
their correspondents. The /eace is the Christiaii
adaptation of the solemn Hebrew salntstioiL
Those great gifts of God's love which Peter knew
his readers to possess already in part he wishes
them to have in their affluence. It is alio Joba^
wish, following his Master's word (John zv. ii^
that the joy of those to v^om he wrote ' niqp
be full' (I John L 4). As the Father, the Spirit,
and Jesus Christ have been just named, Peter
omits mention of the sources whence thoe pfii
come.

Chapter L 3-5.

Ascription of Praise to God: specially for the Grace of Hope into which

Believers are begotten.

■

3 • O LESSED be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, •f&.V;

13 which * according to his ^abundant* mercy hath 'be- J^^^j^
gotten ' us again unto a ' lively • hope, by * the ^ resurrection of S^i*^. ^

4 Jesus Christ from the dead, to an '^inheritance * incorruptible, "'^iais.
and ' undefiled, and that * fadeth not away, ' reserved in ' ^^^ **

5 heaven for you, who are *'kept by the power of God' through-^ J ^§^.12
faith unto salvation, ready to be " revealed in the ' last time. '^^ l^mV

CoL iiL 24 : Heb. ix. 15. h Rom. i. 93 ; i Cor. tx. 25, xv. 53, 54. s Jas. i. 27 ; Heib. vii. a6w

k I Pet. ▼.4. , / CoL L 5 ; a Tim. iv. 8. Cf. Jude z ; Jo. xvu. zz, le, Z5. otFIuL iv. 7.

n Rom. viiL z8 ; z Cor. iii Z3 ; z Pet v. z. o Jo. vi. 39, xu 24, xiL 48 ; z Jo. iL z8, etc

* litercdly^ much mercy
^ through

* begat • living

' literally^ who in God's power are being guarded

Peter lifts his readers' eyes at once to the future.
He speaJcs first of their hope, their inheritance,
their final salvation, before he alludes to the
burdens and fears of the present. There was that
in Peter himself which leapt up in natural response
to the new hope which came by the Gospel, and
we can see firom the Acts how he turned with
constant expectancy to the future. If he seems,
however, to give exceptional prominence to the
element of hope, it is not as if he read the
Gospel differently from Paul or John, or placed
the grace of hope where they put that of faith, or
that of love. The circumstances of his readers
made it seasonable to present primarily to their
view the worth and radiance of a grace which had
at the same time so deep a hold upon himself.

Ver. 3. Bleased be the God ana Father of our
Lord JeaoB Christ. The gills of God's grace to
the believer, and the believer's relation to God,
depend upon the prior relation between God and
Christ Hence it is as the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and neither as the God of
Israel, nor yet merely as our God and Father,
that the Giver of all grace is praised. The term
used here for blessed^ ox praised^ which is so frecjuent
also in the Old Testament, and in the New is ap-
plied only to God, occurs repeatedly as an afiirma-
tive— /.^. who U blessed (Rpm^ i 35, ix. 5 ; 2 Cor.

xi. 31). Standii^ here not in- a relative clante^
but at the opening of a section, it is xather an
ascription, Blessed he the God, etc It is another
form of the same verb that is applied to Mary
(Luke i. 28, 42). A totally different word is used
in the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Modnt
(Matt, v.), where the idea exmessed is that of
happiness merely. It is posable that in this
doxological outburst Peter is simply adapting td
Christian use an old liturgical formnbi dF the
Jewish Church, or repeating one already fiuniUar
to the Christian Church (Weiss). The similarity
of phrase, however, between Peter here and Paul
in 2 Cor. i. 3, Eph. i. 3, is striking, and suggest^
to many that the former framed his ascription oq
the model of that of the latter. In Ephesians^ as
here, the doxology introduces an exhortatioii
which reproduces its contents, although there the
exhortation does not come to expression tfll chazw
iv. I, while here it follows almost immediate^
(i. 13). — which acoording to. hia mudi merogr
begat UB again unto a living hope. The particular
grace for the bestowal of which God receives this
ascription is hope. And that hope is described in
respect at once of its origin and of its quality. It is
due to God's regenerating grace. We have it only
because He begat us again^ a phrase used in the New
Testament only by Peter, and by him only ho^

Chap. I. 5-50 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

»5S

and inircr. 33, embodying, however, the same truth
as is conveyed in somewhat different terms by Paul
Oil ifi. ^ ; GaL vi 15), James (i. 18), and John
(ijoiin in. 9, T. i), and reflecting the Master^s own
i— tnictioM to Nicodemns (John ill 3, etc). It
is to be taken, therefore, in the foil sense of the
Dew bixtii or begetting, and not to be dilated
imo ihe idea of rousing out of hopelessness. The
gfatct past {hgaif not hath begotten) is used,
bycaaie die aumge from death to life in the in-
difidual it regaraed as a definite, historical act,
OBoe for aU aocomi>lished, or perhaps because the
icgCBuatioo of all b r^rded as virtually effected
in the historical act of Christ's resurrection. In the
latter case Peter would be again in affinity with
Paul, whose habit is to speak of all as dying in
Christ't death and rising in Christ's resurrection
(RooL vil 4 ; 2 Cor. v. 14, etc.). This historical
act of legenmtion had its motive or standard in
God's wtercy^ His love being defined as mercy
in reieieuce to the natural misery of its objects,
and that mercy being further described, in refer-
ence to what it had to meet and what it bestowed,
as much or great. Compare the Pauline idea of
God's riches (Eph. ii 4; PhU. iv. 19). The hope
which originated thus in God's act is living.
With the birth comes the Quality of life which
distinguishes the believer's hope from all other
hopes. These are at the best dim, uncertain
longings dead or djring surmises —

' Beads of morning
Smns 00 dender blades of grass.
Or a spider^s w«b adorning
la a sirait and treacheroos pais.'

' They die often before us and we live to bury them,
and see our own folly and infelicity in trusting to
tliem ; bat at the utmost they die with us when we
die, and can accompany us no farther. But this hope
answers expectation to the full, and much beyond it,
and deceives no way but in that happy way of &r
eirrfding it' (Leighton). Peter's fondness for
these two ideas, the hope and the living (see the
adjective again applied to the Word of God, i. 23,
to Christ, and to believers, iL 4), has been often
noticed. It is for bringing us into a region of
tUs kind that he here praises God. The '«»/<>'
bcR does not express the end or aim of God's act
fe begat OS in mer that we might have a living
ijopc), but has rather the simple local sense.
Wnen we come into the new life we come into a
cottditioq or atmosphere of hope, into a ' region
bri(^t with hope^ a hope which, like the mormng,
spceads itself over earth and heaven' (Lillie).
— ThsoBi^ Ika TCBoneotionQf Jeens Ohiist Ihmi
tka daad. This admits of being connected im-
mediately either with the begat us amin — the idea
then beiM^that the regeneration tsdces effect only
thioagh Christ's resurrection— or with the pre-
ceding danse as a whole, in which case Christ's
Rsarfcction becomes the event by means of which
we are broog^ by God's begetting into this new
Hie oT hc^ (so Calvin, Weiss, Huther, Alford,
fICi, sabstantially). Or, as the position of the
ai^ective periiaps indicates, it may be connected
with Uie term AvM^(80 Lather, Bengel, de Wette,
Hofinann, etc.)^ the sense then being that the hope
gets its quality of life throogh Christ's resurrection
— becaose He lives it cannot but survive and assert
itsdf as a living and enlivening principle.

Ver. 4. ITnto an inheritanoe. Some connect
tbb doady with the hofe^ as a definition of that
to wliidi It points — a kving hope looking to the

inheritance. Most connect it with the b^^ the
two clauses introduced by ' unto ' being regarded
as dependent on the same verb, and the latter
clause defining the former more nearly. When we
are b^otten, that is to say, into the hope, we are
begotten into the inheritance. To have the one is
to have the other. So perfect b God's act, so
secure against failure the hope which comes by
that act. In relation to His begetting us, the future
is as the present, the possession is as the expecta-
tion. The term inheritance^ another characteristic-
ally Pauline term, and used by Peter only here
(although in I Pet. iii. 9, v. 3, we have cognate
words), is the familiar O. T. phrase for Israel's
possession in the Land of Promise. It is used
sometimes of Canaan as a whole, sometimes of
the particular lots of the several tribes, and, with
few exceptions, in the sense of a portion assijgned.
The idea of a portion coming by heirship to
Israel has as little prominence as the idea of
Israel as God's son. In the N. T. it occurs both
in the sense of the portion assi^ed (Acts viL 5 ;
Heb. xi. 8) and in that of the mheritance proper
(Matt. xxi. 38; Mark xii. 7, etc). It is used,
specially by Paul, to express the believer's
possession in the future. But while Paul r^vds
the believer as an heir because he is a son (Rom*
viiL 17, etc.), he does not app«ir to connect the
idea of possession by way of heirship with his use
of the partictUar word inheritance^ probably (so
Huther) on account of the O. T. sense being so
deeply impressed upon the term. He uses it,
indeed, wnere the notion of heirship is inap-
plicable, e.g, of God's inheritance in the saints
(Eph. i. 18). It is doubtful, therefore, whether
Peter has in view an inheritance which comes in
virtue of sonship, although the ruling idea of our
being begotten favours Uiat He uses the word
in the la^ sense, indusive of all that the kingdom
of God mu in store for the believer in the con-
summation.— ^tnoormptible, and undeflled, and
that &deth not away. Thb inheritance he
describes first neeativdy and, as suits his cha-
racter and style, by a number of adjectives, as
incorruptible^ subject to no dissolution or decay,
undefiUd (a term applied also to our High Priest,
Heb. vii. 26), neither tainted nor tarnished, and
unfading or unwithering (a word used only here,
and in a slightly different form in v. 4). There
is perhaps a climax in these negatives, from what
has in itself no seeds of deca^, to what is proof
against external touch of pollution, and firom that
to what is superior even to the law of changing
seasons and oloom succeeded by blight ; or, as
Leighton conceives it, the gradation may be from
the perpetuity to the purity, and from tbat to the
immutamlity of the inneritance. The sad realities
ot Israd's heritage in the Land of Promise may be
in the background. It is too much, however, to
find in these epithets (as Weiss does) allusions to
the pollutions whidi defiled the land, or to the
simoom which scorched it. The inheritance
is further described positivdy (m terms much used
by many of the Fatners as an argument against
the Millenarian doctrine) as reserved in heaven
(or, in the heavens) for you. The partidple,
which is in the perfect tense {has been fTserved)^
points to the inneritance as one which has been
prepared firom the beginning, and the sphere
within which it has been laid up in reserve is the
heavens^ where God Himself dwdls. It is
thereby made doubly safe, 'laid up and kept,'

156

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. L 3-5.

and that 'among God*s own treasures, nnder
His own eye, and within the sheker of His
omnipotence * (Lilley), although it is yet a thing
of the future. Thus is it secured, too, in the
ision of the qualities ascribed to it ; for into

Lven nothing can intrude that corrupts, defiles,
or makes to fade. Similar is our Lord's teaching
00 the treasure and the reward in heaven (Matt.
▼L 20, xix. 21, V. 12), and Paul's conception
of the hope which has been laid up or deposited
in heaven (CoL i. 5). With finest feeling, too, for
his readers, Peter puts this as all in reserve pre-
cisely for them. No longer using ' us,* as beiore,
he DOW sap *for you * — ^for you, sojourners in a
land that is not your own, an inheritance is in
waiting, which is strange to peril from the ' worm
at the root of all our enjojrments here * (Leighton),
from the foul hand that mars them, from the
doom that makes nothing here abide ' of one stay.*

Ver. y Who in God*a power are being
gnarded through faith. A still better reason
why they should lift a thankfully confident eye to
the heavenly inheritance. The possession might
be reserved for them, and the reservation be to no
purpose, if they themselves were left to the risks
of earth and their own weakness. All the more
insecure of it might they seem in their present
circumstances of danger and temptation. But if
the inheritance is kept for the people, the people
are also kept for the inheritance. The word
indicates a difierent kind of keeping from that
expressed by the resirved. It is the military
term used both literally (of the keeping of a city
as with a garrison, 2 dor. xi. 32) and figuratively
(of the keeping of the heart, Phil. tv. 7, and of
the keeping of the Israelite in ward under the
law. Gal. iiu 23). The perfect tense used of the
reserving of the inheritance (where a past act
abiding in its effect was in view) changes now
into the present, as only a continuous process of
protection can make the people safe against
themselves. The efficient cause (so Huther,
Gerhard, etc.) of this sustained protection, or, as
the preposition mav be more strictly taken, the
sphere within which it moves, the force behind
whidi they are shielded as by a garrison, is
nbthing weaker than Cod*s power ^ — a phrase to be
understood here in the ordinary sense, and not as
a title of the Holy Spirit (as Weiss, de Wette,
etc., suppose on the false analogy of Luke i. 35).
The instrumental cause of this protection, or the
means through which the force works to guard
us, hijaithf — not to be taken in any limited sense
(such, e,g,, as faith in the future, or a general
reliance upon God, with Hofmann, Weiss, etc.),
but in the specific Christian sense, the faith which
grasps God s power, and which, while itself God*s
gift, is the subjective response to what is objectively
ofTored. Thus, with the Lord Himself encom-
passing them as the ' mountains are round about
Jerusalem,* and with the hand of foith clinging
to the shelter of His power, the people on earth
are secure as is the inheritance in heaven. — nnto
■alTatioD. This is dependent neither upon the
immediately preceding leim/aith (as if the secret
of their security was a faith which had this
salvation as its specific object), nor with the
remote At;gat us again (so Calvin, Stdger, etc ;
as if the hcpe^ the inheritance, and the solvation
were three co-ordinate states into which God's
regenerating act brought us), but with the

guarded^ our salvation being the object which ill
this protection has in view. This great word
salvation, so often upon Peter*s lips, and
occurring thrice within half - a - dozen verses
here, seems used by him preferentially in the
eschatological sense. Occasionally in the N. T.
it has the simple sense of deliverance from
enemies (Luke L 71 ; Acts viL 25), or preservation
of life (Acts xx\'ii. 34 ; Heb. xi. 7), but it oocnn
for the most part as the technical term for spiritnal
salvation, or the Messianic salvation (John iv.
22 ; Acts iv. 12 ; Rom. xi. 1 1, etc), now in the
limited sense of the opposite oi perdition (PhiL L
28), and again in the general sense of eternal
salvation ; now in the sense of a present salvatkn
(Phil. i. 19 ; 2 Cor. L 6), again in that of a
pro^essive salvation (i PeL iL 2), and yet
agam in that of the completed salvation, whidi is
to enter with Christ's return (Rom. xiii 11 ;
I Thess. V. 8, 9; Heb. ix. 28, etc). Here its
the future salvation, and that not as mere
exemption from the fate of the lost, bat (as
the underlying idea of the present distresses
and fears of Uie readers indicates) in the widest
sense, somewhat parallel to that of the inJken'taneet
but with a more direct reference to the state of
trial, of final relief from the world of evil, and
completed possession of all Messianic blessii^.—
ready to be revealed. The expression points to
the certainty of the advent of this salvation (in the
term ready, stronger than the usual ahomt to k,
or destined to be, and indicating a state of waiting
in preparedness), and perhaps also (in the tense
of the verb) to the ' rapid completion of the act '
of its revelation in contrast with the long process
of the guarding of its subjects (Alford^ The
word revealed\9& here the familiar sense of
bringing to light something already existent, hot
unknown or unseen. —in uie last time : that ii^
the time closing the present order of things, and
heralding Christ's return. The N. T. writen^
following an O. T. conception, rq;ard all faistoiy
as having two great divisions, one covering the
whole space pnor to Messiah's times, the other
including all from these times. The lofmcr
period began to fade to its extinctioo with
Messiah's First Advent The second period wooU
enter conclusively with Messiah's Second AdvenL
The former was known as ' this age,' to whidi«
although Christ had once appeared, the apostle's
own time was spoken of as belonging. The
latter was called 'the age to come^ the final
reality of which (although in principle it bcg^
with Messiah's first appearing) was as near as
was Messiah's glorious return. This Second
Advent, therefore, was the crisis once for all
separating the two, and the time which marked
the end of the one period and ushered in the
other was ' the last day * (John vi. 39, and xL
24, xii. 48), 'the last time,^etc The lalvatioo
needs but the lifting of the veil at God*s set time^
and that time is on the wing. Christ's retnin
will announce the close of the ' last time ' of the
old order, and in a moment uncover what God
has prepared in secret Peter does not measare
the interval, or give a chronology of Mesdah's
comings. Yet if we compare this statement with
others (iv. 5, 7) touching on Christ's return, we
may say with Huther that 'his whole manner
of expression indicated that in hope it floated
before his vision as one near at hand.

Chap. I. 6-9.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL Of PETER,

157

Chapter I. 6-9.

T/i^ Anticipation of this Future a help to Joy in Time of Trial.

V. la

6 TTl THEREIN ye * greatly rejoice, though now * for a season ' * JSIj^

V V (if need be) ye are in '^ heaviness * through * ' manifold j-ij.^jg.'i^;

7 -^temptations; that the *^ trial* of your faith, being much* "'^Ys?**
more * precious than of* gold that ' perisheth, though it be L^t? 7! ^'''
* tried ' with ' fire, might be ** found unto " praise and honour ' J*^;^ v/.V:

8 and glory' at the 'appearing* of Jesus Christ : whom having ^A^*Jbc%'!?'
not seen, ye love ; ^ in '® whom, though now ye see him not, yet *' JlSat* xkiU.
^believing, ye ^rejoice" with joy '' unspeakable, and 'full of Ja^^d.^"'

9 glory:" ' receiving the "^end of your faith, even the *' salvation rcS.lu'J:
ofj|w/r'' souls." "^^

9 Mat. iy. 34 ; Ilk. L 34 ; Lu. iv. 40 ; a Tim. iii. 6 ; Tit. iii. 3 : Heb. iL 4, xiii. 9 ; fas. i. a ; i PeL iv. 10.

y a Pet. u. 9 ; Jas. i. a, za ; Mat. vi. 13 ; Lu. xxii. 38 ; Acts xx. 19 ; z Cor. x. 13 ; Heb. iii. 8 ;

cja>*i>3. . A Mat. xiiL 46, xxvi. 7 : Jo. xii. 3. - "- - - •* "^ • '

jrii. a ; a Cor. viiL 8, 33, xiiL 5 : Gal. vi. 4 ; Eph. v
xxiai 10; Pk IxvL 10; Isa. xlviiL za i

m Rom. iraL 10 ; z G>r. iv a ; s Cor. ▼. 3. w

^ Jou i. za, u. iz, etc. ; Acts x. 43 ; Rom. x. z4, etc.

Rev. ill 10^ etc.

# Oi^ here ; but cf. a Cor. iiL zo : a llies. iiL z.
n X Tub. L 5. Cf. also Rom. vL aa ; Eccles. xii. Z3.

See on ver. 6.
/ a Cor. V. zo

ver. 6. r Only here ; but cf. a Cor. xii. 5.

; £^h. vL 8 ; Col. iii. 25 ; z Pet. v. 4 ; a Pet li. Z3.
vjas. 1. az, V. ao; Ps. IxxiL Z3.

• tfr, for a little while ' literally, though now . . . pained {or, grieved)

• in ^ or, proof * omit being much • omit of
^ or, vet is proved ^ rather, praise and glory and honour

• in the revelation *® literally, on

** rather, greatly rejoice {as in ver. 6) " literMy, glorified

*• rather, with a more striking abruptness, salvation ot* souls {omitting the
wards * even the' and ' your *

Only now does Peter introduce the sufferings of
hb readen. Before naming these, he has made
the bright realities of their privilege pass in rapid
visioD bdbre their troubled eye. He has led them
to look at the hope which is in them, and the
lutoie which is bdore them. And when he comes
DOW to speak of the ilk they had to face, he has
more to say of their feelings than of their tempta-
tions. With quick and tender touch he handles
their afflictions, softening their sharpness by dis-
ckMtng their object. Wisely and with delicate skill
he so shapes ms statement as to bring the light
of the future in upon the darkness of the present,
and to make the Dtirdens of the time an argument
lor joy. Leighton has caught correctiv, if not com-
trfeteiy, the intention of the paragraph, expressing
It also with his own devout simplicity. 'The
tame motives,' he savs, 'cannot beget contrary
pMsioQS in the soul, therefore the apostle reduces
tbe mixture of sorrowing and rejoicing that is usual
ia the heart of a Christian to the different causes
ol both, and shows which of the two hath the
stronger cause, and therefore is always predoml-
nanL His scope is to stir up and strengthen
spiritiial joy in his afflicted brethren ; and therefore,
havine set the matter of it before them in the
pteoediog verses, he now applies it, and expressly
opposes It to thdr distresses.^

Ver. 6. Wbanin ye greatly rejoice. As the
paimlkl in tv. 4 shows, the wherein may be taken to

summarize the idau previously expressed, whether
in the immediately preceding sentence, or in the
preceding paragraph as a whole. Some (Gerhard
and Leighton) cany its reference, therefore, as far
back as ver. 3, so that the connection becomes this,
— 'in all which blessings into which God bc^at
you, ye rejoice.' Others (Calvin and Grotius,
followed by de Wette, Schott, Fronmiiller, etc.)
refer it more particularly to the idea of vers.
4, 5, — 'in which inheritance, hoped for and so
secured, ye have the obiect of your joy.' In the
present series of verses, however (although it is
too much to say that this is his habit), Peter
connects one section with another by carrying
over the closing word or idea (compare vers.
|, 8, 10). It is more in harmony with this, there-
lore, to regard the wherein as referring to the
immediate antecedent, via. the Mast time.' In
this case it may have the strictly temporal sense
(so Wiesinger, Hofmann, Huther, Alford, etc.),
the idea then being, ' in which last time, when it
comes, you will have your time of rejoicing.' Or
it may express the ground or object of joy, — *at
which ye rejoice,' i.e. 'which last time is the
object of your joy.' This last is to be preferred,
as most consistent both with the tense of the
verb and with the usage of the Hebrew term
which the Greek verb here represents. This
particular term for joy, aptly rendered 'greatly
rejoice,' is one which occurs very rarely outside

158

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. L 6-9

the Sephiagint, the N. T., and ecclesiastical litera-
ture. It is probably a Greek reproduction (see
Buttmann's Greek Grammar by Thayer, p. 5) of
a familiar Hebrew verb often used in the poetical
and prophetical books (Ps. ii. 11, ix. 15 ; Job iiL
22 ; Isa. zlix. 13, Ixv. 18, etc.)* Like the Hebrew
original (which means to * leap for joy,' or * rejoice
to exultation*), it denotes a strong, a lively joy,
intenser than is expressed by the ordinary term,
with which also it is often coupled. Peter has in
view, therefore, the kind of joy which is affirmed
of Christ Himself (Luke x. 21), which He too
expressly enjoins on persecuted disciples (Matt. v.
12, where the stronger term is added to the weaker),
and which breaks forth in the Magnificat (Luke i.
47). — though for a little now, if need be, grieved
in manifold temptations. The ' temptations * (a
term wide enough to cover anything by which
character is put to the prooQ will refer here, what-
ever else may be included, to the threatenings
and slanders which, as we gather from the Epistle
itself (iL 12, 15, iii. 14-17, iv. 4, 12-19), these
Christians had to endure from heathen neighbours.
Their lot was cast in them. An adjective is at-
tached to these temptations, which is used in the
Classics, to describe the mafiy-coiourAi leopard or
peacock, the colour-changing Proteus, the richly-
wrought robe or carpet, the changeful months, the
intricate oracles. What a picture does this epithet
' manifold,' which is applied by Peter also to the
grace of God (iv. i ), by James again to temptation
(i. 2), and elsewhere to such things as the divers
diseases healed by Christ (Matt iv. 24), present
of the number,, the diversity, and the changefulness
of these trials ! Yet the terror of the fact is at once
relieved by a double qualification, first by the
words (each of which ha? here a temporal force),
which limit these temptations to the present, and
exhibit them as endurnig only for a little space ;
and then by the clause * if need be,* or *if it must
be so.' This latter (which has the strict hypo-
thetical sense, and not some kind of affirmative
sense, with Bengel, etc. ; nor yet the subjective
sense supposed by Schott, as if = * if indeed there
was reason why you should /r^/ grieved in tempta-
tion') means that temptations come only where
there is a call for them, and suggests that they may
not, therefore, burden even the present continually.
-^Thc great difficulty in this verse is how to deal
with the times indicated by the several terms,
the ' rejoice * being in form a present tense, the
•grieved' a distinct past, and the word *now,*
with which the latter is connected, again pointing
to present time. Some solve this difficulty (Augus-
tine, Burton, etc. ) by taking the * rejoice * as an
imperative. But Peter does not appear to begin
exhortation till ver. 13, and the peculiar tense of
the * grieved ' would thus be still unaccounted for.
Qthers (Luther, Huther, Wiesinger, Alford, Hof-
mann, etc) suppose that the present * rejoice* has
here the future sense, expressmg the certainty of
the joy which they are yet to have ; and the pecu-
Bar tense of the other verb (*ye iwre grieved*) is
then explained as due to the writer speaking for the
moment from the standpoint of the Mast time,*
and looking back upon the troubles of his own
time as then in the P^t. This is supported b^
fhe Syriac and the Clementine Vulgate, and is
adopted by Tyndale. But, while the present
occurs often enough as a quasi-future, that is the
case with particular verbs (snch as * cometh *) and
in particular connections which naturally suggest

the time, and which have no real parallel here.
Others (Schott, e.g,) rightly retain the present
sense in the 'rejoice,* but regard the 'grieved' is
a sharp and definite past meant to exhibit the
temptations of the believer's day as transitory,
even momentary, in contrast with the deep po^
manence of his joy. This, however, is to asciflie
a refinement of idea to the aoxist which it does not
express unaided. Hie explanation seems to be
that the 'grieved* has the proleptic foice heft,
which both the perfect (i Cor. xiiL i ; Rom.
iv. 14, xiv. 23 ; 2 Pet ii. 10) and the aoiist (Jokn
XV. 6 ; I Cor. vil 28 ; Rev. x. 7) have in con-
nection with conditional presents. In this case
the natural sense of the semal terms is preserved,
and the meaning becomes simply this : ' ye kaee
a present joy, notwithstanding tnat, if such proves
needful, you are made the snbjects of some shoit-
lived trouble now.' The certainties of the fotue
make the present a time of joy too deep to be more
than dashed bv the pain ot manifold temptatioos.
Ver. 7. that the proof of your fiikiUi, etc. The
statement now introduced connects itself doody
with the conditional notice of snfoii^. It points
them at once to the ultimate object of their pos-
sible subjection to many painfiu things now. If
this subjection is only as God deems needfnl, it
also looks to an end gracious en<»%h to cast the
light of comfort back into the dark and grievom
present. In regard, however, both to the sense
of particular words and to the mutual relations of
the clauses, the verse is one of some difficulty.
The term rendered ' trial * in the A. V. is found
nowhere else in the N. T. except in Jas. L 3.
A cognate form, however, occurs more frequently,
sometimes with a present reference and sometimes
with a past (see Cremer^ sub voce)^ so that it mems
both actively the process of putting to the {noof
(2 Cor. viii. 2), and passively the proof, the eri-
dence itself (2 Cor. xiiL 3), or the attestation, the
approvedness resulting from the process (Rool
V. 3, 4 ; 2 Cor. ii. 9, ix. 13 ; PhiL iL 22). If te
present term, therefore, were strictly parallel to
that, it might mean either the act of testine^ as
many take it to be in Jas. i. 3; the memum,
of testing, as in the Classics (Plato, e^,^ using it
of the touchstone), and at least once in the Sept
(Prov. xxvii. 21); or the result of testing. Of
these three senses the first would be analogous to
what is expressed by another cognate term in
Heb. iii. 9. It is inapposite here, however,
because the act or process of testing cannot well
be the thing that is to be to their praise at the
last. The second, which is adopted by Stein-
meyer, etc., would make the temptations them*
selves, as the criteria of faith, the thing that shall
be to their praise. The third, therefore^ is die
natural sense here, the aptrcvedness (Huther) of
your faith. The idea is thus much the same as
your proved faith, your faith as attested by pro-
bation. Mr. Hort, however, holds that the tenn
can mean nothing else than the instruimeni of
trial, and supposes that an early confusion may
have crept into the text between this word and a
very similar form, the neuter of an adjective,
meaning ' that which is approved,' which is sup-
ported by two of the better cursives. — i&on
precious as surely it is than gdld whkh
perisheth, and yet is tried by fire. With the
best editors the simple ' more precious ' is to be
read for the ' much more precious * olf the A. V.
Some make the clause dependent on the snbse-

Chap, h 6-9.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

159

qoent Terb (so Steiger, de Wette, Huther, etc.).
!riiiis it would fonn a part of the predicate, and
ihf sense would be s that the apprcvedness of your
faith may be found more precious than that of
Qold whKh perisheth and yet is tried by fire, unto
your pcmise, etc. It is more consistent, however,
with the posidon of the clause, the qualifying
idea, eapicsaed by it, and the point of the com-
paraon with go/a, to take it as in apposition to
the tcnns, *t& approvedness of your faith.' The
*oi' insetted by the A. V. before 'gold* must be
omitted. What the original sets over against the
frooi of fiuth, or the approved faith, is the gold
itscl( and not its proof. The particle translated
' though' by the A. V. means ' but/ or < yet,' and
fMfHeiiei somethu^ which takes place in spUt of
■nwffhing else. Ine participles rendered ' whidi
pemheth and ' is tried ' are in the present tense,
as dmoting £uts which hold good now and at any
tioMV the sense being that it is of the nature of
fold to perish, and it is the &ct nevertheless that
tt ii tested \tj fire. The comparison between the
probation of character and tne testing of metals,
whidk occurs so often elsewhere (cf. Job xxiiL 10 ;
Prar. zvii 3, zzvii. 21 ; Ps. Ixvl 10 ; Zech.
^iL 9 ; MaL iiL 2, 3 ; i Cor. iii. 13, etc), has a
Kmttrd application here. No direct comparison
b ittstitatea between the proving; of faith and that
pf flold, nor between the wortti of proved faith
ana the worth of proved gold, lliere is an
iadhect comparison between the perishable nature
.of fold and the opposite nature of faith, and the
idea is that, if the former is proved by fire,
aKhoogfa itself and the benefits of^the process pass
^wedily away according to their kind, the latter,
which, as tested, is seen to be a possession superior
to the risks of decay and loss, and more precious
than the most valued treasure, may well be sub-
jected to similar action. The sentence, therefore,
la.i&tiodticed in order to remove the apparent
atAngeucK, and to sugx^est the purifying intention,
of the suffering which faith has to endure. — might
be liinmd unto pxalie and honour and glory.
With the best editors (Ladimann, Tischendorf,
Tngellei, Westcott, and Hort) the order runs
father pniie, and s^ory, and honour. This is
the oidy instance in the N. T. in which the three
teffBS oone together, although the conjunction of
JUmtmr and ^^ffy is common enot^h (Rom. ii. 7,
lb; I Tim. l 17, etc.). Distinctions are drawn
the terms, and it is attempted to exhibit

a dimaz in the order of the A. V., e,g,, from

for

approval to the mcral esteem following
on that, and then to the reivard or form of glory
(Scbott, etc) ; or from the language of praise^ to
the rank of nonour and the feeling of admiration
(Blason) ; or from the commendation of the Judge
to the personal dignity of the subject, and Uience
to htt admission to the Lord's own glory. But
tte descriptions are cumulative rather than ascen-
nvc^ worn being added to word in order to convey
Bome faint conception of the gracious reward
whidh is to be fnmd (a strong term indicating
the open discovery of something, the proving of
an object to be something after scrutiny) at last
to have been the end in view. — in the revelation
of Jeana Ohriat ; that is, in the time of His un-
veiling, the time of His return, when the hidden
Christ, the righteous judgment of God (Rom.
iL 5), and the sons of God (Rom. viii. 19), shall
all appear finally as they are.

Ver. 8. Whom having not Men, ye love.

With some good Mss. Scrivener reads known
here instead of seen. The latter, however, is the
better supported reading. The verse has a his-
torical interest, being ouoted (from the second
clause onward) in the Epistle addressed to the
Philippians (chap, i.) by Pol^carp, the martyr
bishop of Smyrna and the disciple of John, of
whom also Irenzeus {Adv. liar, iii. 3), his own
disciple, tells us that ' he was instructed by the
apostles, and brought into connection with many
who had seen Christ.* From the brief vision of
the future honour of believers, Peter turns again
to their present position, and to that as one with
the springs of gladness in it He takes up the
joy already referred to (ver. 6), and, having indi-
cated how the end of their trials should make
the burdened present a life of joy, he next sug-
gests how much there is to help them to the
same in what they had in Christ now. In pre-
senting the ascended Christ first as the object of
loye, he uses the term expressive of the kind of
love which rises on the l^sis of a recognition of
the dignity of the Person loved — a term whidi he
had hesitated to adopt from the Risen Christ's
lips in the scene by the Sea of Galilee (John xxi.
15-17). — on whom, though for the present not
seeing him, yet indeed believing. The relative
is connected not with the 'rejoice,* but with the
'believing.' It is as they believe on Him that
they rejoice. The faith already noticed as the
means through which they are ' kept ' is reintro-
duced as a belief in the unseen Saviour which
carries unspeakable joy ^n it. Neither the writer
himself, who once nad seen Christ in the flesh,
nor the readers who had not had that privilege,
could now see Him, of whom it is said that ' then
were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord *
(John XX. 20). Yet they had Ilim as the object
of their love and faith, and in that they had
enough to make their clouded life bright. Their
present might seem CTievous in comparison with
that future of which Peter had given them a
glimpse. But if it denied them Christ in the
possession of sight, it admitted the deeper pos-
session of faith. And to have that is to have joy.
For joy is the reflex of love and trust. So Joy stands
next to love in Paul's description of the fruit of tl|c
Spirit (Gal. V. 22). So Peter, perhaps with the
Lord's words to Tliomas in his mmd (John xx. 29),
lets them into the secret of the blessedness of those
who have not seen and yet have believed. * It is
commonly true, the eye is the ordinary door h^
which love enters into the soul, and it is true in this
love 5 though it is denied to the eye of sense, yet you
see it is ascribed to the eye of faith. . • . Faith,
indeed, is distinguished from that vision that is in
|;lory ; but it is the vision of the kingdom of grace,
It is the eye of the new creature, that quick-sighted
eye, that pierces all the visible heavens, and sees
above them' (Lcighton). Faith and love are
associated as workmg together for a gladness of
heart which rises to exultation. Their gracious
inherence in each other is indicated. ^ * There is
an inseparable intermixture of love with belief,*
says Leighton again, 'and a pious affection, re-
ceiving Divine truth ; so that, in effect, as we
distinguish them, they are mutually strengthened,
the one by the other, and so, though it seem a
circle, it is a Divine one, and falls not under the
censure of the School's pedantry. If you ask.
How shall I do to lovet I answer, Brieve, It
you ask, How diall I believe? I answer, Z^vr.' —

166

THE PIRST epistle GEl4EftAL OF PETER. [CHAP. 1. 10-12.

y TCjoioe giMtly (or, emit). The verb is
taken here again (so Hather, Wiesinger, Hof-
mann, etc.) to be future in sense, though pre-
sent in form. This chiefly on the ground that
the adjectives descriptive of the joy are too strong
for the experience of the present But its asso-
ciation here with the strict presents ' ye love * and
' believing,' stamps the verb as a present in sense
as well as in form. The point, therefore, is not
merely that over against the tossings of the present
and the disadvantage of an absent Lord, there is
a glorious future in which they shall yet certainly
rejoice, but that in Christ believed on, though not
seen, they have now a joy deeper than time's
storms can reach. The quality of this joy is ex-
pressed both by the repetition of the verb already
used to express exultant joy (ver. 6), and by the
addition ot two remarkable adjectives. The
former of these, which is found in no other pas-
sage of the N. T., and is of very rare occurrence
elsewhere, conveys a different idea from the ' un-
speakable ' in 2 Cor. xii. 4, and is more analogous
to the ' which cannot be uttered ' of Rom. viii. 26.
It means, ' too deep for expression,' and that in
the sense of ' not capable of being told adequately
out in words,' rather than in the sense of not
capable of being fitted to language at all. The
latter adjective means more than *fu11 of glory.'
It designates the joy as one already irradiated
with glory, superior to the poverty ana inglorious-
ness of earthly joy, flushed with the colours of the
heaven of the future. Compare the proleptic
'glorified' of Rom. viii. 30, and better, the
'spirit of glory' in i Pet. iv. 14.— receiving the

end at your iUth, nhmtfon of aoolt. If tk

' rejoice ' is taken as a qoasi-fntim, the parddple
must now be rendered, ^recnvin^ as ye Am
shall,* As a strict present, which it rather is, it
may express the time of the 'rejoicing' as coiik*
cident with the time of the * receiving,' or (»
Huther, etc) it may introduce the latter as^a
reason for the former : ye can dierish this joy
now inasmuch as ye are now receiving the end of
your faith. This term ' receiving ' occurs not vn*
frequently of judicial reward, specially that of tHe
last day (i Pet. v. 4 ; 2 Pet ii. 13 ; 3 Cor. t. 10;
Eph. vL 8; Col. iii. 25). It may denote fhe
getting of waces, the securing of a rewaid, dhe
carrying off of a trophy, etc, and is used also k
the more general sense of obtaining (Heb. z. jS^
xi. 39). The word ' end,* again, means gm!^ taal
which faith has in view, or in which it is to isne;
The idea, therefore, is more than that of wcnring
reward. It is rather that thevare even nem'm
the process of reaching the ^oal of their fidth, k
the way to make finally then: own that to wUch
their faith looks, and therefore they may well
find deep and constant joy even in the brokoi
present The mark which their faith is meant to
reach is described as a salvation erf* soulSf not
because salvation is a spiritual thing, nor becrase
it is the soul that is the chief subject d* aalvatioD,
and the body only a future participant (so Bengd)^
nor because there is anything like a trichotomy or
triple division of human nature in view (Brown,
etc ), but simply because in the flexible P>7cho-
logy of the N. T. the term soul denotes the wnag
sell (cf. iii. 20; Jas. L 21, v. 20).

Chapter I. 10-12.

The Peculiar Interest of Goifs People of these Last Times in this Glorious

Salvation.

10 /^F* which salvation the prophets have * enquired and «PifcxKv.»i:
V^/ * searched dih'gently,* who prophesied of the grace that Ssj-^i*'*

1 1 should come ^ unto you : * '^ searching ' what, or what manner of j^ff-,'^^
-^fime,* the *^ Spirit of Christ which* was in them did ^signify,* ^Jfyf-^J^
when it testified' beforehand the 'sufferings of* Christ, and'Jg;^^

12 the * glory • that should follow.** Unto whom it was ' revealed, fcSr.^aw?
that not unto themselves, but unto us,^* they did "' minister " ^gS;5jj^^.
the things which are " now " reported unto you by '* them that eS£ v.'^J!
have** " preached the gospel unto you with the ^ Holy Ghost ^fej;^^.
sent down *• from heaven ; which things the *' angels ^ desire to J^VSi
'look into. *k^>ili

ix. 8. XH. 27 ; Col. i. 8 : 3 Pet. i. 14 ; Ex. vi. 3. i Ch. iv. n, v. t. Cf. Heb. ii. 10 : Phil. iii. 10; also ret under Ci^

^ ♦ Lu. XXIV. a6 ; a Pet j^L 10 ; Tude 8. / Isa. liii. i ; Jo. xii. 38 ; i Cor. xiv. 50 ; Mat. x. a6, xi. 25, 27, xvi 17; La.

ii. 35, X. ai, pa, xii. a, xvil 30 : Rom. L 17, 18, viii. j8 ; x Cor. ii. 10: Eph. iii. 5 ; Phil. iii. 15, etc.

ma Cor. ml 3, viii. i^, a8 ; a Tim. i. x8 ; i Pet. iv. 10. m Isa. xl. ai ; Jo. iv. as ; Acts xx. ao ; t Ja L 5, de.

o Lu iii. 18 ; Acts viii. za, xiv. 15, ai, xvi. 10 ; Gal. i. 9. / Acu ii. 4. ^ Prov. xxiv. 1 ; Mat. xiii. 17 ; La. sxfi. 15.

r Lu. xxiv. za ; Jo. xx. 5, iz ; Jas. i. 35 ; Gen. xxvL 8.

' with regard to ^ prophets earnestly enquired and searched

* literally^ the grace unto you

* />. in reference to what (time), or^ what kind of time • that

* was decJaring ' attesting ^ unto • glories
'" after these ^* rather^ unto you *• were ministering *• were

** through *« omit have " omit down '' omit the

Chap. I. 10-12.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

161

The paragraph which now follows deals with
the relation ot the prophets to the salvntion of
mhich they prophesied. The salvation itself, how-
ever, continues to be the foremost thing. The
notice of the prophetic ministry is not introduced
with the view of indicating the essential identity
of the offer of grace in the N. T. with that in the
O. T.» or the witness to the truth of the apostolic
MDclamation of grace which may be drawn from its
mtfinony with the prophetical (so Gerhard, etc).
Neither is its object to recall the fact that, if they
nfiercd, these Christians had only to face what
the prophets had faced before them, while in
leqpect of privilege they had the immense
topetioiity otresting on a salvation accomplished,
mere these others had to rest on its promise
(Sdiott). In this last case, the section would,
indeed, furnish another reason why they should
live a hopeful life. But it says nothing itself
of the prophets as sufferers. It comes in, there-
fere^ vnth the simpler object of exhibiting the
crandenr of this salvation in the light of its
nterest to prophets and even to angels. (So
Calvioy and after him the best interpreters.)
What can be deduced from it on the subject ot
pffophecy, therefore, is limited by this object.

ver. la With regaid to which lalvation.
The sahfo/iCH here in view is the salvation already
intioduced first as ' ready to be revealed in the
bat timcy' and then as a 'salvation of souls.' It
is not to be limited either to the completed salva-
tion of the future, or to the partial salvation of the
piCKnt, but is God's salvation generally. I'his is
indicated by the method of connection with ver.
9. The relative attaches ver. 10 closely to the
preceding 'salvation of souls,* while the intro-
duction of the noun after the relative shows,
pcrhajK, that it is not so doselv attached to the
immediate antecedent as to maxe the subject of
the one in all respects co-extensive with that of
the other (Schott). The prophets referred to are
dbvioosly the O. T. prophets, as almost all
interpreters hold. The supposition is advanced,
however, that they are mainly the prophets of the
Apostolic Church, with some of whom the Book
01 Acts mentions Peter himself to have been
bfooght into personal contact, /.^. with Barnabas
(Actsiv. 36), Agbus (xL aS, xxi. 10), Judas and
Silas (xv. 36). This view is supported by appeal
to the prominent position occupied by these N. T.
|»o]^iets (Eph. ii. 20, iii. 5, iv. ii ; 2 Pet. iii. 2),
to Peter's statement about the prophetic word
(2 Pet. L 19), and to such phrases as ' the Spirit
of Christ which was in them,' which are held
to apply rather to Christian than to Israelite
prophets (so Plumptre). But, difficult as the
paragraph in any case is, some of its clauses
become doubly so on this supposition. Neither
does the term 'prophets' here stand connected
with the term 'apostles,' or with anything else
naturally defining it as = those of the N. T.
Church. — eamettly longht and searched.
Both verbs have an intense force. The first is
nsed, £,g.^ of Esau's careful seeking of a place of
repentance (Heb. xii. 17). The second, though
it occurs nowhere else in the N. T., is used by
the LXX., e.g., of Saul's resolve to get at David s
lurking-places, and * search him out throughout
ill the thousands of Judah' (I Sam. xxiii. 23).
They depict, therefore, the strength and earnest-
ness of tne interest with which the prophets gave
their minds to the hidden things of this salvation.
VOL. IV. II

— wh3 prophesied of the grooo destined for yon.

The term * grace ' here is not to be distinguished
(with Huther) from the 'salvation,' as if the latter
denoted only the future salvation, and the former
covered both the present and the future. It is
simply another expression for the salvation dealt
with all along, oesignating it now under the
particular aspect of a free gift from God. The
phrase 'the grace unto you' (as it literally is)
means the grace destined or reserved for you, not
(as Wiesinger, Schott, etc) the grace which has
cotfie to you, or which ye have actually got. For
this ' grace ' is contemplated not from the view-
point of the apostles, but from that of the
prophets. The subjects of this grace are also
emphasized here by the pointed ' unto^^^fi,' as the
ver^ parties now addressed by Peter, and therefore
(if It is a reasonable supposition that the Epistle is
directed to Pauline, and consequently mainly
Gentile, Churches) to heirs of God's grace who
were in the mass Gentiles, llie entire clause is
usually taken to characterize the O. T. prophets
according to a function common to them as a
whole (Schott, Huther, and most). It would
thus have no more point than a general description
of the prophets as men who, as a body, spoke of
a grace which was meant for others than them-
selves. But the fact that, while the noun
' prophets ' is without the article, the participle
rendered ' who prophesied ' has it, rather
suggests that Peter has a certain class of prophets
in view (Hofmann), as the associated terms
suggest that he has a particular part of the
prophetic communications in mind. Those
particularly referred to, therefore, are prophets
like Isaiah and others, who spoke of what was the
great mystery to Israel — the interest which the
Gentile world was to have in the salvation whidi
was *of the Jews.'

Ver. II. ScArching what, or what manner of
time, or better, searching with reference to what
{season),' or what hind of season. This participial
clause, introduced by the simple form of the in-
tenser compound verb 'earnestly searched,' takes
up the prophetic study and specifies the particular
point to which it was directed. It was the question
of the era at which this grace was to come. Both
pronouns refer to the word season. They are not
to be dealt with separately, as if the ' what ' meant
•which person f* and the 'what manner of
pointed to the time (so Peile, Mason, etc.). In
that case the man in whom their expected
Messiah was to appear would, as well as the date
of his coming, be what they wish to ascertain.
But the object of the prophetic reflection is here
defined simply as the time itself, or the hind of
time — a phrase meaning not (as Steinmeyer) ' the
time or rather the kind of time,' but, in a descend-
ing climax, ' the time, or, failing that, the kind of
time. ' By diligent reflection these prophets sought
to discover the precise period (whether soon or
late), or, if that were denied them, at least the
signs of the times — the kind of era (whether,
e^., one of peace or one of war) at which the
revelation ^ven them of the destined admission
of the Gentile world into Israel's grace was to be
made good. — the spirit of Christ m them. This
denotes the source of the communications which
formed the subject of the study. So far, therefore,
it also explains the impulse under which they both
studied and declared them. They rose on the
minds of the prophets in virtue of a power

l62

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. L 10-12.

which, though in them, was not that of their own
intelligence. The men were conicious that thoie
future things of grace which they saw inwardly
came to them not as the foreeastings of their own
sagacity, but as the communications of a revealing
Agent Hence they both * searched' them for
themselves, and ' prophesied ' of them to others.
The revealing Power in them is designated ' the
Spirit of Christ,* not in the sense of the Spirit that
speaks ^y Christ (Augustine, Bengel, etc. ), but in the
sense cif the Spirit that bdongs to Christ, or possibly
the Spirit that is idmtkal with Christ. The desig-
nation is to be taken in the breadth which naturally
belongs to it (cf. Rom. viii. 9, etc.). It is not to
be reduced, contrary to the anadogy of the Epistles,
to anything so subjective as ' the Messiah-Spirit,*
or ' the Messianic Spirit ' (Mason), nor, on the
other hand, is it used here with a view to the
•procession ' of the Third Person of the Trinity
(Cook). Its point is caught rather in the well-
known sentence of the Epistle of Barnabas (chap.
V.)— *the prophets having the gift from (C^hrist)
Himself prophesied in reference to Him.' Peter
does not draw any distinction here between the
'Spirit of Christ va a purely official title, and
the 'Spirit of Jesus,' or the 'Spirit of Jesus
Christ ' as the personal title, so that the designa-
tion should mean nothing more than that the
Suirit of the Messiah (unidentified with the
Christ of history) was in the prophets. He
indicates rather that the Revealing Agent who
gave the prophets their insight into a grace to
come was Christ Himself— the very Christ now
known to the Church as the subject of O. T,
prophecy and the finisher of salvation. This
u in accordance with analogous modes of
statement in Peter (i Pet. iii. 20) and Paul
(a Cor. z. 4, 9), as well as with the doctrine of
the Reformed Church that the same Being hns
been, in all ages, the Revealer of God and tlie
M inister of light and grace to the Church — the lyord
of God, the Logos, pre-incamate, incarnate, or
risen. It is admitted, therefore, by cautious exegetcs
like Iluther, that the great majority of interpreters
are right in recognising here a witness to the pre-
existence of Christ, and to His pre-incamate activitv
in the Church. Other expositions which deal with
the term ' Spirit of Christ,' as if it were identical
simply with * Spirit of God,' come short of Peter's
intention here. More is expressed than the general
identity of the work of grace in the O. T. with
that in the N. T., or the identity of the Spirit of
God in the former with the Spirit of Christ in the
latter (de Wette), or the idea that the Spirit, who
worked in the prophets, was the same Spirit of
Cjod that Jesus received at His baptism, and since
then has possessed (Schmid, Weiss, etc.). — ^was de-
claring. The action of the Spirit in the prophets is
described first by a verb which, though usckI often
in a less definite sense, has here probably the foree
which it has in i Cor. iil 13 (of the day that shall
declare every man's work), and in s Pet. i. 14 (of
Christ shewing Peter that he must shortly put ciT
this tabernacle). This operation of the Spirit is
further explained by the phrase — ^when it testified
beforehand, or rather atteating beforehand. The
verb is one of extremest rarity, scarcely known
indeed elsewhere, whether in the N. T., in Ec-
clesiastical Greek, or in the Classics. It appears
to have a definite and solemn force, explaining
the inward declaration of the Spirit of Christ in
the prophets to have taken a form which their

consciousness could neither mistake nor withstand,
the decided form of an eittestaiion of certain fiicts
of the future. It saya nothing beyond this how-
ever, and does not necessarily impl}r (as is soppcned
by Schott, etc.) that, in Peler^ view, sf>eech and
not inward vision was the medimn by which the
Spirit*! communications were conv^^d to the
prophets' minds. The future things thus attested
are described as tbe raflMngi unto OOuM {Le^
destined, or in store, for Christ), and 11m i^oriai
after theaa. But whose sufitnii^ and gkniet?
Some take them to be those of believers, and
translate the clause, the sufferings {home fy Chris-
tians) in refereme to Christ, Calvin (as abo
Luther so &r, Wiesii^r, and originally Hnther)
hold them to be those of the Church as the inyirtjcal
Christ, or rather those of Christ and the Chardi
as mystically one. An analogy is then sought in
Paul's statement about filling up 'that which if
behind of the afflictions of Christ ' (CoL L 24).
The use of the official mediatorial name^ Christ,
both there and here (instead of the personal
Jesus Christ), is also supposed to intimate that
the Subject in view is not the Christ of histG«y,
but the Mediator in His official capacity, so
that the phrase suggests the mystical applica-
tion to Christ's spiritual body. Others (^.
Plumptre) point to the different form of expres-
sion used by Peter when he speaks of Q^rirt^
individual sufferings (i Pet. iv. 15, v. l), and
regard the present sentence as the eonverM of
Paul's, 'as the sufferings of Christ abound la
us,' etc (a Cor. L 5), what believers cndvi
for Christ's sake being viewed here as sbaied
by Christ Himself. So Plumptre would trant-
late it, the sufferings passing &n to, ot Jhmmg
aver to, Christ. All this, however, brings m ideas
foreign to the context, which speaks of thoit
tilings as already reported to the readen, obvi-
ously as the burden of the preaching which made
them Christians. It is not nec^sitated by the use
of the distinctive name Christ. It does not suit
the statement that the thing which the prophetf
searched into was the time of these suflen^^
For the Church was always more or less a su£r-
iiig Church, though the sufferings of Messiah were
1)oth future to the prophets and a perplexity to
Israel. It is also inconsu^tent with the anadogy of
the coenate phrase in ver. 10, 'the grace unto
you.' Ilence most interpreters are right in under-
standing the sufferings to be those of Christ Him-
self. The Tories, therefore, will also be those
which were destined by God to come to Christ, ia
the train and as the reward of those suflferinga.
The reward of Christ is regularly expressed bythe
singular, 'glory.' The unusual plural, 'glories^' It
chosen here, either in reference to the aeveral atepa
of His glorification, in His resurrection, asoensiuni
session at God's right hand, and Second Advent (to
Weiss, Schott, etc.)> or simply as a balance to Oie
other half of the clause, the standing phrase for
what Christ had to endure being the plural §armt
'sufferings.' The communications, therefore^ un-
mistakeably attested by the Spirit of Chiiit to the
minds of the prophets, concerned a Meniah who
was destined to obtain glory only through suffering^
A suffering Messiah Mras in anv case a conceptkMi
alien to the Israelite mind. A Messiah who, bv
His suffering, was to bring grace to the worm
outside Israel was still more so, and what the
prophets strove to apprehend bv diligent reflec-
tion on the revelations made to them was not the

Chap. I. 10-12.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

i6i

SkI itself (which wu too clearly borne in by the
Spirit upon their conscioiisness to admit of doubt),
rat the period mt which it should come to pass.
Hie oommimicatioDS particularly in view, there^
fve, are probably those made to presets like
Isidah, w1k>, in his great Pastiooal (lit. i3<-UiL 12;,
ipcsks of the qprinkUns of the natiams.

Ver. IX Td wham it wm leyeftled, that not
niD thimlTW, hnt (Father) onto yon they
vMi winlitning thoM thmg^ The better
■eeradited reading here is ' unto y§u^ (not unto
m$\ Peter, therefore, still looks specially to the
litciest which Gentile Christians, like those here
flddvHMd. had in the ministry referred ta He
ttys nothing, however, to imply either that the
pnphets themselves had no personal interest in
theur commnnicationsy or that these communica-
tiooi did not bear upon their 0¥m times. He
speaks simidy of certam things in these communi-
eatioBS, whidi the prophets understood to be for
other times, and of the ministry which they dis-
charged in relation to those things as a ministry
in which they recognised others than themselves
to have the main interest The ministry in view
b expressed b^ a term applicable to any kind
of service, official or non-omciaL It is the word
nsol by Paul when he speaks of the Corinthians
as ' manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ
wnmstend b^ us ' (2 Cor. iii. 3). Here it refers
evidently to the service of announcing to others
what the Spirit had conveyed to their own minds.
The entire sentence is connected closely with the
preceding by the simple relative. The (question,
' ^ is : What b the relation thus mtended
the searching of vers. 10, 11, and the
spoken otnow? Many interpreters
regard the latter as the resuU or reward of the
Jofmer, And thb b put in two different ways,
cither that the prophets searched, and therefore
lef^dations were given them, because they were
minbtering for others ; or, that they searched, and
tKeir snrcn was answered by its being revealed to
them that they were ministering for others. But
to make their receipt of revebtions (whether in
tlie wide sense of revelations ^enerallv, or in the
nanower sense of the revelation of thie one fact
that in some things they were speaking to a later
aee) dependent so fiur upon their own previous
dO^enoe in incjuiry, is strangely out of harmony
with the initiating and impelling activity ascribed
here, and again in 2 Pet L 21, to tne Spirit.
The connection, therefore, b to be taken either
thus : ' they seardied, and to them, too, it was
revealed ;' or (with Huther, etc.), * they searched
inasmnch as it was revealed to them.' The
revelation in view occasioned and incited their
inquiry. It was discovered to them that in regard
to certain things which the Spirit communicated
they were dealing with things meant for others, and
dib fiict (pointings as it did, to the mystery of a place
for the Gentile world sooner or later in Israel's
grace) stinwiatfd theb inquiry. How thb fact
wo discovered, ot * revealed, to them, whether
by a special intimation of the Spirit, or simply by
the onmistakeable import of the communication
itadf regarding the future grace, b left unex«
pfaiiDed. — whion (thinfi) were now reported to
joa by Bienna of those who made the glad
tidings (the Gospel) known to yon. The relation
of the ' which ' here to the previous ' those things '
b not exactly the close relation between relative
and anteoeoent, bat rather that between two

distinct statements, of which the latter is an
extension of the former. The things referred to,
therefore, are not merely the 'sufferings' and
' glories' of Christ, but also the 'grace destined
for you,' all those things, in 3iort, already
said to have been promiesied and searchea
by the prophets. The things which thus were
the subject of prophetic interest and inquiry,
are now referred to as having abo formed
the burden of the preaching of those who
carried the Gospel into those Gentile territories,
Pontus, Galatb, etc Peter gives us no hint as
to who these were. The form of the statement^
however, rather implies that he did not rank
himself among them. But if the men themselves
are left unnamed, the power that made them what
they were as preachers b noted. These preachers
evangelized them by the Holy Ghost sent ftom
heaven. The better reading here b not 'iVi,'
but '^' the Holy Ghost, the Spirit bring re-
presented simply as the instrument in whose
might they effected what they did. As the pro-
phets had their revelations only by the action
of the Spirit, the preachers of the Gospel had
their power to preach only by the Holy Ghost.
But while the Spirit who gifted the prophets b
described as the Spirit of Chrbt in them, the
Spirit who gifted the preachers b described as the
Holy Ghost sent from heaven — a designation
pointing to the Pentecostal descent of the Spirit,
and, therefore, to the superior privilege ot the
preachers. So the statement r^arding the pro-
phets ends, as it began, with fiicts enforcing the
magnitude of the salvation or grace of which the
readers had been made heirs. The verbs are given
in the simple hbtorical past, were reported {jn spite
of the 'now'), ^eacned (not have preached)^
sent, as Peter cames hb readers back from their
present standing in grace to the definite acts and
events which prepared that standing for them once
for all. — It is necessary to add that while the
cenerally-acceptcd construction of thb verse has
been followed, it leaves something to be desired.
Another method of relating the several clauses,
which has to a certain extent the sanction ol
Luther's name, has been worked out by Hofmann,
and accepted bv some others. According to this,
the verse would run thus, with a parenthesb in
the heart of it : ' To whom were revealed Uiose
things ^for they minbtered not for themselves, but
mther for others), which were now reported unto
you,' etc. Thb establbhes an apt contrast
between the inward revelation in the one case and
the public reporting in the other. It gets rid of
the awkwardness of making the mere &X that the
prophets ministered certain things for others than
themselves the subject of a r^ation^ and has
other recommendations to balance the disad-
vantage of introducing a parenthesis immedbtely
after the leading verb. — ^The grandeur of thb
salvation or grace b illustrated by one thing ebe
which, as being itself so peculbr, gets a peculiar

Slace and expression here — ^whioh things angels
esire to look into. By the ' which things ' we
are to understand neither ' the whole contents of
the message of salvation ' (so Huther, Bruckner),
nor the mystery of the spiritual change effected l^
the gospel (Schott), but simply the mings alrea<3^
dealt witii in the section. Those things, the
grace ordained for the Gentiles, and the sufferings
and glories of Chrbt in relation thereto^ whiai
were prophesied of and searched by prophets, and

i64

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Ch/p. I. 13-161

reported in tliese last days by Christ's preachers,
were also an object of interest to the angelic world.
The intensity of this interest is exprosed by the
strong term desire, or long—iht word used by
Christ Himself in view of His hastening passion,
' With desire I have desired to eat this passover
with you before I suffer* (Luke xxiL 15). Its
continuance b indicated by the present tense. Its
nature is described bv the giapnic term which is
poorly represented by the 'look into* of the
A. v., and is difficult in any case adequately to
render, lliough perhaps sometimes used of a
passing glance at an object, it has usually the idea
of intent study, and a study which involves a
stooping, bending posture on the part of the
student It is applied to the man who Mooketh
into the perfect law of liberty ' (Jas. L 25) as if
he were putting himself into the posture of one
who gazes into a mirror. It is auo applied by
Luke (xxiv. 12) to Peter himself ' stooping down '
when he peered into the tomb (which passage,

however, is somewhat doubtfully accredited) ; and,
again, by John (xx. 5, ii) both to Peter and to
Mary as they ' stooped down ' and looked mto tlie
sepulchre. It is more than doubtful whethci
Peter had in view here either the two angdi
whom Mary Magdalene saw in the Lord's tonb,
as Canon Cook supposes, or the cherubim ofcr
shadowing the ark, as Grotius, Beza, and otbcs
imagine. But as the term expresiMS a change d
position in order to view something, it may poiit
at once to the straining interest with wluch the
an^lic world as such (the noun is without die
article, and denotes angels generally) contemplate
the salvation of which even outcast Gentiles aie
participants, and the foct that, as they staad
outside that salvation, their interest in it is that
of spectators who recognise the glory and ponder
the mystery of the grace which effects a change (tf
which they have themselves no personal Imow-
ledge— the chance from sin to holiness (d. alio
Heb. iL 16; Epb. iii. 10).

Chapter L 13-16.

Exhortations to Hopefulness atid Holiness,

13 \1 7HEREF0RE 'gird up the * loins of your '^mind, be ;g2*^«?

V V ^ sober, and hope to the ' end ' for the grace that is to te^^^fij
be -^brought* unto you at' the 'revelation of Jesus Christ: 'J^j^jJ?

14 as * obedient 'children/ not * fashioning yourselves according !^£,£3Li,

15 to * the former 'lusts in your *• ignorance: but "as he which IIJ/h^Sa
hath ''called you is holy,' so be ye holy' in all manner of i*itffi;i:

16 ^conversation;' because it is written, ^Be ye holy;* for I ^331^*
am holy. ''\'^}^,

t Pet. IV. 7, V. 8. * or a Mncc. xii. 42 ; Judith xi. 6. fi Pet i. 17. 18, at. rCf. on ch. i 7.

k Heb. V. 8 ; Rom. i. 5. i Cf. Eph. ii. 3, v. 6, 8 ; a Pet. iL 14 : i PeL i. aa ; a Kinies xxii. .^6 ; and see on i FiL L ak
k Rom. xii. 3. / Ch. ii. 11, iv. a, 3 ; a Pet. iL 18 ; Rom. xiii. 14 ; Gal. ▼. 16 ; Eph. iL 3 ; i la iL i6b

M Acts iii. 17, xvii. 30; Eph. iv. x8 ; and cf. Wisd. xiv. aa. n Cf. Eph. iv. 34. • Rooi. viiL jol ix. 11 ;

Gal. v. 8 : Heo. iiL i.'ix. x;^'.
iv. la ; Heb. xiiL 7 ; Jas. iu. 13.

/ Ch. i. 18, iL xa, iiL i, a, x6 ; a Pet. iL 7, iiL xi : GaL L 13 ; Eph, iv.
q Lev. xL 44, xix. a, xx. 7, a6.

* literally^ Wherefore having girt up the loins of your mind, being sober
hope perfectly « that is being brought • or, in

* literally^ children of obedience * or, in conformity with
« rather, after the (pattern of) the Holy One who called you

\ or, prove ye yourselves also holy « living, conduct, or behaviour

» Ye shaU be holy ^

The rapid outline of the magnificence of the
'salvation prepares the way for what is to be
urged in the form of duty. The Preface, which
has so much of the Pauline style both in idea and
in conciliatory intention, has closed by adding to
the prophets and evangelists, who are named as
ministers of that salvation, angels as rapt
students of the same. From this i*etcr passes
at once to the main burden of his Epistle, and
begins by giving a series of counsels which
extend into the second chapter. These counsels
deal successively with hope, holiness, godly fear,
brotherliness, and increase in grace. They are

all coloured by the light of consolation. Tb^
are all practical unfoldines and peisonal appli*
cations of what has been alreadv instanced in the
Preface. They are enforced by considenitioiis
drawn from the realities of the spiritual calling.
A reason for each is found in the grace whidi is
possessed. Here, as everywhere, the ethical
precepts of the Gospel are rooted in the fiicti
and truths of Revelation, and receive their moral
momentum from the prior gift of grace.

Ver. 13. Wherefore: the exhorution is thus
made immediately dependent on the prevtoiis
statement of grace. The duty is bom of the

I. 13-16.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

165

e. The 'wherefore,' however, points
the idea which called forth the ftscnption
e with which the intiodnction opened, and
«l7 to the thought of the necessity of trial
tte), the nandear of the grace (Calvin),
nation m the salvation from of old for
raj readers (CEc.), or anything else
smes in onljr in the train of the leading
rhe connection, therefore^ is not of the
ninate form, ' Seeing this salvation was
1 lor yon, and is so studied even by angels,
e anrq^ful of it ' (so substantially Altord,
t b fiir more pointed than that, and amounts
— ' God, then, by so marvellous a provision
DCicy, having begotten you unto a living
9e that you make that hope your own, and
Mf np to it. '—haying girt up the loina
r aifld. The first exhortation is not to
Inest ami endurance in hope ( Alford), but
specifically. The three verbs do not enjoin
iminct duty, but the first two ('gird up'
i sober') express conditions which are ne-
to the discharge of one great duty of hope
I denoted by the third. The act of tuclc*
he loose Eastern tunic in preparation for
» <x running, for work or conflict, or for
1 of exertion (cf. Israel's preparation for
It from Egypt, Ex. xii. 11 ; Elijah's for
before Amib to the entrance ot Jezreel,
s xviii. 46; and David's for the battle,
li- S^t 39)f is the natural figure of a
mental preparedness. There is an evident
a implvu^ the figure to men in the pUgjrim
icnbed in i. i and ii. 11, and it is possible
irist's own injunction (Luke xii. 35) may
ifcn form to Peter's phrase. The tense
s that the attitude of mind here in view
It be taken up definitely and once for all
he kind of hopefulness which is charged
e aojoumers can be made good. The
ed here for ' mind ' is admirably in point
i term which denotes the understanding
tactical issues, and in its intercourse with
er world, the higher intellectual nature
f in its dealings with things without, the
li thovpht 'as a process of close and
li fcmtmy of outer objects, and as a
outward attitude of tne soul' (Beck,
FijKhology, p. 71). The clause, there-
presses the necessity of a certain mental
ration, the putting a check upon the
ition of thought ' on the interests or trials of
lent. The man who will live up to the
to which God beeat him must begin by
in the tendency of his thoughts to wander
leic^ and by turning his mind, in its
. outward attitude, to the great vision of
ire. — being aober, a second condition
7 to the hopefulness which should
sitt the Christian pilgrim. The sobrietv

here, as often elsewhere, involves much
lan moderation in regard to appetite. It
the settled self-control, the elevated
lity which should make the Christian

to the distractions of the present, and
m e(}ually from undue elation in the
9 of time, and from excess of sorrow in
M. This, as a disposition to be con-
f maintained, is expressed in the present
practising sobriety,' where the former
D was in the past.— hope perfectly:
mer things have defined the kind of

hopefulness which is urged. This is usually taken
to be still more distinctly described by the ad-
dition of the term which is rendered ' to the end '
by the A. V. It is doubtful, however, to which
of the two clauses this adverb (which is found no-
where else in the New Testament, and which has
the larger sense of ' completely,' ' so as to leave
nothing lackin|^,' rather than the temporal force
' to the end ') is to be attached. It may qualify
the sobriety ('practising a /rr^/ sobriety ') — a
connection entirely in point, and saving one of
these related phrases from being left in an un-
qualified indefMcndence unlike the other two. If
it is attached to the ' hope ' (as most interpreters
attach it), it defines it as one that will rise to
the full idea of a regenerate hope, and leave
nothing to desire. Once let a guard be established
against the natural waywardness of thought, and
let the self-collectedness be sustained which
looks with a calm eye upon earth's joys and
sorrows, and they will be able to lead a life of
hopeful expectation worthy of that act of (jod's
grace bv which they were begotten into hope.
— for ihe grace. It is questioned whether
we should translate ^for the ^race' or *oh
the grace.' The construction is peculiar, and
found exactly, indeed, nowhere else, in the New
Testament, except in i Tim. v. 5 (in i Pet.
iiu 5 also, according; to the received text, but
not according to the best editors). It is not
uncommon, however, in the Greek Version of the
Old Testament. Some take the sense to be —
maJce the grace the strength or foundation of
your hope. So Huther considers grace to be

J>resented here simply as that *from which the
iilfilment of ho])e is expected,' and others {e,g.
Mason) hold it introduced as that in the strength
of which we are confidently to look for glory. 'Hie
truth which is struck, however, is deeper. Grace
is exhibited here as the object of our hope, and
the shade of meaning suggested by the uncommon
construction is simplv that our hope is to be
turned fully and confidently toward it What is
otherwise called glory or salvation is here called
grace, the believer^s present being scminally the
believer's future, and glory being the blossom of
which grace is the bud.— which Is being broaght
nnto yon: not 'which is to be brought,' as if the
object of hope were remote, and wholly of the
future ; but 'which is a-bringing^ already on the
wine, and bearing ever nearer.— in the revelation
of Jeena Ghriat, that is, at His final advent.
Both the currency of the phrase itself and the
close connection instituted by the opening
'wherdbre' between the ideas of this section
and those of Uie Preface forbid us to understand
it of the present revelation of Christ in the Gospel.
Ver. 14. As children of obedience : a second
counsel is thus introduced, dealing with a holiness
which is to be not less complete than the hope.
The one rises naturally out of the other. Hope
is a sanctifying principle, promoting holiness,
while it is itself also brightened and strengthened
by it It is in the character of 'children of
obedience' that they are charged to aim at a
perfect holiness. It is as becomes those with
whom obedience (here again in the largest and
most inclusive sense) has become a new nature.
The familiar Hebrew figure for permanence of
quality represents them as drawing the inspira-
tion of their life from obedience, as related to it
like children to a mother.— not liMhioning your-

i66

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. I. 17-21.

wttwm in oonfoimity with yotir fooDer lufai in
jonr ignorance : in the chajracter of the obedient,
and in order to holiness, they must renounce a
certain fashum of life. The verb occurs only
once elsewhere in the New Testament (Rom.
xii. 2). In the heart of it is the term which is
Applied to the world in its aspect of transience^
' ^fashion of this world passeth away ' (i Cor.
TiL 31), and which is used of Christ in the
great Christological statement in PhiL ii. 7 —
'found VOL fashion as a man.' The term refers
to the externals of an object, all that wherein an
object appears^ rather than to what is intrinsic
It cames with it, therefore^ the idea of the
chang^le and illusory. This unstable, deceptive
ftrm of life which they are not to assume is the
old life of heathen lust, the life in which they
ignorantly followed 'the capricious guidance oif
the passions.' (See Lightfoot on Pktlipfians^ p.
128.) Ignoranct (in the ethical sense of heathen
ignorance of God and the things of Crod, as also
in Eph. iv. 18 ; Acts zvii. 30) is represented as the
stage of their career (* the time o/yovx ignorance')
when passion was their life (so the Revis^ Version,
Calvin, etc.), or rather as the element in which the
passion was bred which gave the stamp to their
life. Probably Peter has in view those grosser
immoralities which are invariably associate with
idolatry, and which Paul (Rom. 1. 18, etc) traces
back to ignorance of God. The word used for
' lusts,' however, covers not only sensual passions,
but all those unregulated desires which are sum-
marihr comprehended under ' the lust of the eye,'
as well as ' the lust of the flesh' (i John ii. 16).

Ver. 15. Bat according to the fidy One who
called yon, prove ye yonrselvea alao hdy.
Instead of letting their life revert to the type of
those renounced impurities, thev must snow it
conformed to no lower standard than that of God.
The A. V. misses the point here. What it
rendered 'as' means 'after the pattern,' or 'after
the measure of ' (as in I Pet iv. 6 ; Rom. xv. 5 ;
Eph. ii. 2, etc.), and what it gives as a mere
adjective ' holy ' is a personal name. God obtains
here a twofold designation appropriate to the
precept, and furnishing motives for its observance.
He is 'the Holy One,'— m the Old Testament
the great theocratic title, expressing on the one
hand the ethical separateness of God, His

incomparable elevation above other gods, and
above everything creaturely; and on the other
hand. His approadi to the creatore in the sekctioB
of a separated people. * Holiness would not be
holiness, but exdnsiveness, if it did not pre-
suppose God's entrance into mnltilarious relations,
and thereby revelation and communication*
(Schmieder, cf. Oehler's Theology of the Old
TestamefU,L §44)* And He is the One 'who
called ' them, — here (as in 2 Pet i. 3 ; Gat L 6 ;
Rom. viii 30, etc, where we have the same
tense) of the act of grace whidi took them
effectually out of their <dd world, and brought
them into their new relation. The act of the
'call' (which is one of Peter's most familiar
thoughts. occup3ring a lar^ space with him than
even with Paul in proportion to the extent of his
writings) corresponds, therefore, with theduuacter
of (;od as the Holy One, as the latter title
implies His assuming men into near relation with
Himself.— in yonr every walk. A holiness after
God's pattern, and befitting children of obedience^
must needs be a separateness from the world com*
plete enough to show itself in all and every part of
their behaviour. The word rendered ' oonverm-
tion' in the A. V. (c£ Shakespeare's 'Ootevia is
of holy, cold, and still conversation,' Ami,
and CUo. 11 6, 13), but denoting the whole conne
of life, is another of Peter's recurrent terms.
It is rendered by the Revised Version 'maimer
of life' in i Pet L 18, ii 16, and in all the
Pauline occurrences (Gal. L 13 ; Eph. iv. «s ;
I Tim. iv. 12), but variously dsewhere^ as
' manner of living ' here, ' behaviour ' in i FeL
it 12, uL I, 2 ; ' Ufe ' in 2 Pet ii. 7, Heb. xiiL 7.
Jas. ill 13 ; and ' living,' in 2 Pet iit 11.

Ver. 16. Becanse it is written. Ye shaQ be
holy; for I am holy. The future, 'yeshallbe,'
is belter supported than the imperative^ 'be yeii'
The sense, however, remains substantially the tameii
Peter appends a reason for his coumel, and this he
expresses in words which he takes from God's
chaige to Israel. The^ occur repeatedly in the
Pentateuch (/.f. Lev. zl 44, xuc 3, z. 7» 16), hot
they apply with even greater force to the snUect of
God's wider choice in the New Testament IsraeL
They are used by Peter because they mean that the
relation which results from (Sod's call, beioff a
covenant relation, conveys obligations on twowHSi

Chapter L 17-21.

Exhortation to a Life of Godly Fear.

17 A ND if ye "^call on the Father^* who without * respect of
Jr\. persons ^judgeth according to every* man's 'work,

18 ' pass the time of your -^sojourning here^ in ''fear: forasmuch

Cf. Jas. ii. o ;, Acts x. 34 : Rom. ii. 11 : Eph. vi. 9 ; Col. iii. 25.

Specially en. iu 33; also ch. iv. 5 ; a Tim. iv. 1 : Acts xvii. 31 ; Rom. iit. v , <xct. ma. t«^

Cf. generally Acts lii. x6 ; Rom. vii. 5 ; i Cor. iii. 13 ; Heb. vi. xo ; Rev. xxii. la.

'. i. 12 ; I Tim. iii. 15 ; Eph. ii. 3 : a Pet. iL 18. /Acts xiii. 17 : Gen. xlvii. 9 ;

iTh. iL 18, iii. 2, 15 ; Acts ix. 31 ; Rom. iii. z8, xiii. 7 ; 2 Cor. ▼. zi, vii. i ; Eph. ▼. *i.

h

dCl

2 Cor,

ifCh

ill 6 ; Rev. xix. it. t8, etc.

rHeh.
I^ cxx. 5.

(AdsiLtKix.

Rooux. t%
13: 1 Cor. Lt;
a nm. iLaa.
or. P&.ffl.s,

t. 33, siu. 18 ;

^ rathir^ And if ye call on Him as Father * itt, each * omit here

Chap. I. 17-21.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

167

>5»

•blood of Christ, as of * a ^lamb ^without blemish and without j^AcJii^^',
30 ^ spot : who verily • was ^ foreordained *• ' before the foundation iy^J^:xti.S

of the world, but was 'manifest" in these "last times" for / g;} jjj;; /j^
a I you," who by him** "do believe "'in God," that "^raised him ,„YJ;y^j.

up" from the dead, and gave him -^ glory ; that your faith and nx^s'xti^i

hope might be in God." xu! tSl^

0 f sa. KiL ^ ; Jo. i. 99. 36 ; Acts viii.* 3a. / Eph. i. ^, ▼. 97 ; Col. i. 92 ; Heb. ix. 14 ; Jude 94 ; Rev. xiv. k.

^ t Tim. VL 14 ; • Pet. fii. 14 ; Jas. i. •?. r Rom. viii. 99, xi. a ; Acu xxiv. 5. x Jo. xviL 34 ; Eph. 1. 4.

GT ako Ucbw Hr. 3, Ijl ed^ etc. ^ / Heb. ix. 26 ; i Ja L 3) lii. 5. h Heb. i. 9 ; a Pet. iii. 3 ; J[ude t8 ; and o.

I ^1. L 5. V Acts iii. 16 ; and cf. also Acts xvi. 15. w Acts xx. 21, xxiv. 75, xxvi. 18.

jr BlaL zviL 9 ; i Cor. xv. xa ; GaL i. x ; Heb. xL xo, etc y Mat. xxviil x8 ; Acts ii. 33, iii. 73 : Eph. i. 10 :

Pha. fi. 9: Hebl U. 9: 1 tVt. iiL aa.

* better simply^ knowing

* mort strictly^ that ye were redeemed not with Corruptible things, silver or
gold ^ manner of life, or^ walk

' ancestral, or as in the Revised Version^ handed down from your fathers
' emit of, or arrange as in Revised Version^ but with precious blood, as of a
Inmb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ

* indeed ^® literally^ foreknown '^ manifested
^* literally^ at the end of the times ^* Le, on your account

** ije. through him " rather^ are believers on God

^* raised him, or^ aroused him from the dead

^^ or^^Q that your faith should also be hope toward God

The exhortation to a walk in holiness is followed
immediately by an exhortation to a walk in godly
fear. The way in which this section is connected
with the iweceding shows that the latter charge is
given in intimate kinship with the former, as the
lonner rises naturally out of the exhortation to hope
wliidi ft>mis the basb of the series of counsels.
*Fear* is presented here very much as it is in Paul's
^Derfecting holiness in the fear of God' (2 Cor.
m t). It Is obviously the fear which is bom of
moe, in contrast with the fear which 'hath
tonnent * (i John iv. 18) as bom of nature, and
the fear which goes with the spirit of bondage
born of the law (Rom. viiL 15). It stands in the
nearest relation, therefore^ to noliness, serving as
its safeguard, acting as its incentive, encompassing
il M the atmosphere in which it lives. It »
enforced in the following uaragraph by two large
ccmsiderations, the imp^ial righteousness of God

Srcr. 17), and the price which it cost Him to re-
eem their life from its vanity (vers. 18-21}. The
'fear* which is thus recommended Is shown
thereby all the more clearly to be not only
consistent with the filial freedom of the believer,
but essential to a walk worthy of his calling,
devBting where fear usually degrades, and helping
to nearness and likeness to God where fear
tends naturally to distance. The connection
of the several clauses, however, and the precise
succession of ideas are by no means easy to
determine. Most interpreters regard the i8th
verse as simply supplementary to the 17th, and as
pointing the injunction to a walk in godly fear
more strongly. Some {jt.g, liofmann), on the
other hand, take the thought of ver. 17 to be
complete within itself. In that case the statement
of the price of redemption would be introductory
to the subsequent exhortation to brotherly love.

Others {e,g, Schott) think that the i8th verse is
intended to explain the connection between tlie
two parts of the 17th, the price, which it has cost
God to bring in a redempuon that has opened so
glorious a future, making; the judgment which must
precede that future all the more solemn, and
serving, therefore, to exhibit all the more seriously
the need of a walk in godly fear.

Ver. 17. And if ye call on htm as Father, who
without respect of peisons Jndgeth according to
each man's work. The A. V. misses the point
by failing to notice that there are two distinct
predications, namely, that He whom all believers
invoke in praver is Father indeed, but also and
none the less fudge. If it is right to discover, as
most do, a reference in this to the Lord's Prayer,
Peter would seem to remind them that the God
whom Christ had taught them to look to as
Father is One in whom Uiere is no breach between
parental love and judicial rectitude, and with
whom there is none of that partiality on which
it is natural to presume in the case of earthly
fathers. The verb, meaning (as the A. V. cor-
rectly translates it) to 'call on,' or invoke, and
not merely to name, suits in any case the idea of
prayer. The * judgelh ' is in the present tense, not
as predicating a Divine judgment which goes on now
in distinction from the judgment of the future, but
simply as denoting the prerogative or function of
judgment which belongs naturally tj this Father.
The qualifying term, • without respect of persons,*
occurs nowhere else in this particular form,
although similar forms are used in reference to
God by Peter himself in the discourse following
the visit of Cornelius f Acts x. 34), as well as by
Paul (Rom. ii. 11 ; Epn. vi. 9 ; Col. iii. 25), and,
in reference to men, by James (ii. i, 9JL The
Old Testament formula, 'to accept the countcn-

i68

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap 1. 17-21.

aoce of any one/ 00 wbich tbqr kmnd^ h «ed
indeed Uxb in the good sense of bchig vdl
incIiDed to one, and in tlie bad sense of showing a
lortial £aiT03r. But in the X. T. it has only
the bod sense. The standard of this jndgment.
which is oftener said to be oor works, is here
described as each man*s work, the singular
'work' pointing to the imtty which each man's
life with all its particnlar acts presents to God,
while the s^nificant 'each' indicates that this
impartial judgment of God takes men not in the
mass, but indiTidiiaUy, and erczy man for himadf,
whether son or noL in fenr pMi tte tioM oC
jovr ■ojonming (or, more simply, and with
obvions reference to the 'walk' of ver. 15, wmlk
duing the time oC jtmz eojonmiag>. The /tar
(in the original set emphaticdly first in the daose)
which is so characteristic a iM>te of Old Testament

riety, occupies also no small place in the N. T.
t appears there both in the large sense of
reverence, (tr the feeling which makes it a pain
to the child to dishonour or grieve the Father,
in the general sense of the feeling which a man
has « ho is on lits euard, knowing that he may err
(which Schott thinks is the point hereX tanA. in the
more specific sense of the feeling which the Judge
inspires, and which, as Calvin observes, is here
opposed to the sense of security. Thus motives
to a walk of serious circumspection are drawn firom
these various considerations — that to God belongs
of necessity the attribute of judgment, whidi
reflects itself on every man individually and with-
out exception, that He sees men's scattered acts in
the unity which is given them by their determining
principle, and judges each man's life, therefore, as
one work which must stand as a whole on one
side or other, and that He judgeth impartial
judgment which can extend no exemption and
mdulge no favouritism towards the sons whose
privilege it is to appeal confidently to Him as
Father. The character of the time, too, should
itself be a motive to the same — a time of so-
journing, of separation from the true home, and
therefore a time when there is about us, both in
pleasure and in persecution, so much to tempt us
to forget the Father's house and resign ourselves
to the walk of the children of this world.

Vcr. 18. Knowing that not with corrnptible
things, lilver or gold, were je redeemed. The
injunction to a walk in godly fear, which b sus-
tained by motives of this strength and variety,
was implicitly enforced (as Huther rightly notices)
by the relation which the cognate terms of vers.
15 and 17 indicate between the God who ca//s
them and the elect who respond by ' calling on '
Him. It is now more explicitly enforced by a
]>ositivc statement, the terms of which are difficult
to construe, but the scope of which is that the
thought of what it cost to help them to break
with the old walk of heathenism should be argu-
ment enough for cultivating now a walk of gravity
and circumspection. A redemption is in view
which is expressed by a verb that is found in the
N. T. only in other two passages (Tit. ii. 14 ;
Luke xxiv. 21), although several terms connected
with it occur not unfrequcntly. It has radically the
sense of redeeming by |)ayment of a ransom price.
Of the three New Testament occurrences, one has
the |K)litical or theocratic sense of delivering the
kingdom of Israel, and the specific idea of price
recedes into the background (Luke xxiv. 21).
I'he other two keep the idea of the ransom price

in the Ibiegiound. In the Old Testament, the
tcnn and its cognates are used in a variety of
cases, e.^, of recovering something which has been
devoted fay sobstitnting an equivalent in its {dace
(Lev. zxviL 27), of baying back something that
has been sold (Lev. zxv. 25), of ransoming soob
fay a money payment to the Loid when Israel was
numbered (Ex. xxx. 12-16), of redeeming the
first-bom by a price paid to Aaron (Num. iiL
44-51). The terms appiv in the New Testament
to ransoming from the bondage of evil (Tit il
14V, as well as from the penalty of eriL Here
the ransom price is stated first negatively as not
' oorraptible (or 'perishable') things, not even the
most valuable of these, sndi as silver or gold.
The form of the words here used for silver and
gold is that used generally, though not invariably,
forthe coined metals, pieces of money ; hence some
think that the writer has in mind here the sacred
money paki for the redemption of the first-bom
or as the expiation-money for those who were
enrolled by beii^ numbered. But the contrast
with the * predoos blood ' makes such a limltatioa
inept. The A. V. here gives 'and' for 'or,'
which is the case also in one or two other
passages (Mark vL 11 ; i Cor. zL 27), and is doe
(as is suggested by lillie) probably to following the
Genevan and Bishops' Bibles. — from jour vaia
walk handed down by your fathen. What
they were ransomed from is a particnlar manner
of Ufe which formed a bondage too strong to be
broken by any ordinary ransom. This mannrr of
life is described as 'vain,* the adjective here
selected as the note of 'vanihr ' impljrii^ not so
much the hollowness of the life as its futility and
resultlessness — the (act that it missed its aim, and
that nothing of real worth issued horn it. It b
further described by a term meanin|r ' ancestral,*
' hereditary,' or ' traditional,' which indicates how
mighty a spell it must have wielded over them.
It was a life ' fortified and almost consecrated to
their hearts by the venerableness of age and
ancestral authority' (Lillie), and thereby en*
trenched the more strongly in its vanity. Both
these terms suit Gentile mc. The ' vain ' expresses
what a life is which has no relation to God. It
rules the other phrase 'ancestral,* or 'handed
down from your fathers,' and makes it descriptive
of a Gentile life rather than a Jewish (see also the
Introduction). What could set them free from
the despotism of a life, poor as the life might be,
which not only ran the course of natural inclina-
tion, but laid upon them those stroiu; bonds of
birth, respect for the past, relation^ip, babix^
example? Nothing but a new monu power,
Peter reminds them, which it cost something incal-
culably more precious than silver or gold to bring
in, namely, the sinless life of the Messiah.

Ver. 19. but with porecioiis blood, aa oC a
lamb blameless and spotles, to wit Ohxist'i.
The construction here is doubtful and diCBcnlt,
owing to the term ' Christ's ' being thrown to the
end. ll)e view which is adopted of the peculiar
arrangement of the words in the original affects
our understanding, not indeed of the main idea,
but of the exact relation which the two terms
' lamb ' and ' Christ ' are intended to occupy to
each other, and the predse force of the ' as ' by
which they are connected. The clause may bie
construed (so Steiger, etc.) thus — 'with precious
blood, as if with the blood of a lamb ... to
wit, Christ ; ' or (so Lillie, etc), with fAt precious

Chap. I. 17-21.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

169

blood, as of a lamb ... of Christ;* or,
•with precious blood, as of a lamb ... the
Uood of Chfist ' (so Beza, Alford, etc., and sub-
stantially Wiesinger, Huther, and the R. V.).
The first of these explanations gives greater
importance to the idea of the ' lamb * than to the
mention of * Christ.' The second is uiged on the
ground that blood is not of itself a true contrast to
'corruptible things,' and that neither blood of
itself nor the blood of a sacrificial animal, but
only Christ's blood, has value in redemption. The
third is both simpler and more in harmony with
Peter's style, as this is not the only instance of
terms introduced in antecedent opposition (cf. iL
7). Hence we have the cost of redemption defined
here first as 'precious d/ood,* and not any

* corruptible thing' (the Old Testament view of
the Ityt in the blood giving reality to the contrast),
then as ChrisCs blood, and further as blood
with the ethical value of blood shed by One in the
character of spotlessness and blamelessness. The

* as,' therefore, is not a mere note of comparison,
hut an index to the quality of the subject, and to
the worth of the life surrendered. The point of the
statement is not to institute a direct comparison
between Christ and a lamb, nor to represent the
means by which the redemption was eflected as
comparable in value to the blood of a stainless
lamb (Schott, etc), nor to explain wh]^ the blood
of Christ is precious beyond the preciousness of
all corruptible things, namely, in so far as it is the
blood of the Christ who is distinguished as the
pedect Lamb (Steiger, etc.), but to exhibit the
cost of the redemption from the heathen life of sin
as nothing less than the surrender of a life of sin-
less perfection. A death was endured by Christ
which had in it the ethical qualities figured by
lamb-like blamelessness and spotlessness, and only
sach a ransom could bring in a new constraining
power sufficient to break the thraldom of the vain
hereditary manner of life to which these Gentiles
bad been helpless slaves. The reference to a
lamb in this connection has an obvious fitness on
Peter's lips. It was in the character of the Lamb,
as that name was prockiimed by the Baptist, that
Simon, by his broUier Andrew's intervention, first
recognised Jesus to be the Messiah (John L 35-42),
and the impression of that first recognition of the
Christ conld never be effaced. The terms ' blame-
less ' and ' spotless,' too, are terms applicable to
the lambs of the Old Testament system, with which
every Israelite was so familiar. The former
represents the usual Old Testament phrase for the
freedom from all physical defects which was
required in the sacrincial victims (Ex. xii. 5 ; Lev.
xzu. ao^ and cf. Heb. ix. 14). The latter, though
not found in the New Testament, except in a
moral sense (2 Pet. iii. 14 ; i Tim. vi. 14 ; Jas.
L 27), and applied properly only to persons (except
perhaps i Tim. vl 14), expresses sunmiarily other
ceremonial perfections which were necessary in
the ofierings (Lev. xxii. 18-25). The lamb
particularly in Peter's view here, is variously
identified, as e,g, with the Paschal Lamb
(Wiesinger, Hofmann, Alford, etc), with the lamb
of Isa. liiL (Schott, Huther, etc.), or with the
general idea signified by the various lambs of the
Old Testament service and realized in Christ.
The dispute is of small importance, as it is not
probable that these different lambs would be
sharply distinguished in the consciousness of the
Israelite. The fact that Peter is dealing here

with the question of a ransom from a certain
bondage makes it reasonable to suppose him to
have before his eye some lamb that occupied a
well-understood place in God's service under the
old economy, and points, therefore, to the Paschal
Lamb, which was associated with the release from
the bondage of Egypt, and was also the only animal
that could be used for the service to which it was
dedicated. On the other hand, it may be urged in
favour of the lamb of Isa. liii. 7, that Peter else-
where seems to have that section of prophecy in
view, that the Old Testament itself (in the Greek
Version) employs a different term for the Paschal
Lamb in capital sections, and that the New employs
statedly another word than the one used by Peter
for the Paschal Lamb. In either case the lamb is
introduced here not with immediate reference to its
sacrificial character, but in respect of those ethical
qualities which are expressed by the adjectives.
The expiatory or sacrincial value of Christ's death
is no doubt at the basis of the statement, and the
idea of ransom from sin as a power is not discon-
nected from the idea of a ransom from sin as a
penalty. But the redemption which Peter deals
with here, being a redemption from the spell and
thraldom of a vain mode of living, is an ethical
redemption, and Christ's death is presented im-
mediately here as a spiritual power breaking a
certain despotism. How Christ's death carries
this weight with it is not explained, except in so far
as the whole statement suggests qualities m it which
made it a new and supreme constraining power.

Ver. 20. Who was foreknown ind^a before
the foundation of the world. The cost of this
redemption is still in view, and is presented in a
yet stronger light by a statement bearing at once
on the dignity of the Efficient Agent, the date of
the Divine purpose, and the character of the
subjects for whom it was destined. Peter reverts
to the idea of i. 2, and represents the Efficient
Agent of the redemption as appearing indeed in
time, but provided and kept in view before all
time. The phrase, ' before the foundation of the
world,* used by Paul (Eph. i. 4), and by Christ
Himself in reference to His own pre-incamate
life (John xvii. 24), and occurring also repeatedly
in the form *^from the foundation of the world '
(MatL xiil 35, xxv. ^4 ; Luke xi. 50 ; Heb. iv.
3, ix. 26 ; Rev, xiii. 8, xvii. 8), carries us above
all time into an eternity out of which time and
history issued, and in which God's purpose was
formed. In this pre-mundane eternity Christ was
contemplated and recognised as that which He
was shown to be in time. The E. V. here
departs from the literal translation, which it retains
in the other six places in which the verb or its
noun occurs, and substitutes * foreordained ' for
'foreknown.' The foreknowledge no doubt here,
as in i. 2, means not mere prescience, but
recognition, and lies near the idea of providing
or determining. But while knowledge and will
may be identic^ or coincident in the Divine mind,
they are distinct things in our minds. The revela-
tion of God, adapting itself to the modes of our
thoughts, distinguishes between these two things,
prescience and foreordination, and Peter himself
indeed mentions them as distinct (Acts ii. 23).
It is right, therefore, to keep the literal scnsj
* foreknown,' the idea beine simply this — that
Christ was eternally in God's vicw and before
God*s mind as the Agent of this redemption. It
is not necessary, therefore, to suppose (with

I70

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER* [Chap. L 17-21.

llofmann, Alford, etc.) that there b ft com-
parison here between the Iamb that was iiingled
out of the flock and marked out for the Passover
sacrifice some days before the occasion (Ex. xii*
3-6), and Christ predestined in eternity for a
service in time.— but was mAnifested ; the tense
changes here. The * foreknown ' is expressed by
the perfect ; literallv, ' has been foreknown,* in
reference to the place held and continuing to be held
by Christ in the Divine mind. The ' manifested *
is in the past, since what is in view is the historical
manifestation once for all accomplished. The
verb, which in ver. 4 is used of the future ad-
vent of Christ, is to be understood here neither
of the continuous manifestation of Christ by the
preaching of the Gospel, nor of His coming forth
rrom the secret counsel of God, but simply of His
first advent. And as the verb describes the
revelation of a ' previously hidden existence '
(Fronmiiller), the best exegetes agree in regarding
the statement as inconsistent with the theory of a
merely ideal existence of Christ before His appear*
ance m hbtory, and as a clear witness to Peter's
belief in His real pre-incamate existence. The
A. v., unlike almost all other Versions, curiously
renders the participle ' manifested ' here bv the
adjective ' manifest. '—at the end of the times.
So we should read, with the best authorities,
instead of 'in these last times.* The present
time, the interval between Christ's two comings,
is the end of the times as being the period beyond
which there is to be no new revelation of gtace.
It is Christ's first advent that has made the
present time the last.— on aoconnt of yon. The
preciousness of the redemption has been carefully
set forth by four different definitions of its cost
which have risen in a climax from the simple
notice of bloody to that of blood with all the value
srlsing from the ethical quality of Him who shed
it, to that of Christ's blood, and 6nallv to that of
the blood of the Christ who was eternally in God's
view as the Ransom. A fresh wonder is added to
it now by these words, which bring it home
personally to the readers, and show the interest of
degraded Gentiles, such as they, to have been
contemplated by it all.

Ver. 21. Wno through him have faith
toward God. The better accredited reading
replaces the participle which the A. V. renders
'who believe* by the adjective •believing,' or
' faithful,' which is elsewhere used of having faith
in the promises of God (Gal iii. 9), in Jesus as
the Messiah and Author of salvation (Acts xvi. i ;
2 Cor. vi. 15 ; I Tim. v. 16), and in the fact of
Hb resurrection (John xx. 27). The object of
the belief is elsewhere expressed by the simple
dative (Acts xvi. 15, etc), or by the preposition
•in* (Eph. i. I), but here by the preposition
•toward. Thb more forcible phrase, therefore,
exhibits the readers not merely as believing, but
as raised to the condition of a settled and loyal
faith, and as having God Himself, and nothmg
lower, for tlie object of this new conviction. And
it is 'through Him,* as Peter emphatically
reminds them, that they have thb new faith.
Christ, and only Chrbt, by all that He had
taught and all that He had been on earth, was
the means of leading them to this knowledge of
God and trust in God. The description loses
most of its point and pertinency if Gentiles ar^
not allowed to be in view here. It might be said
of Jews, indeed, that they Were brought by Christ

to a better faith in God, bnt only of Gentiles, that
they owed it to Him that they had ever come to
take God as the object of their trusL Thus, too,
the connection between thb sentence and the
preceding becomes natural and weighty, llie
fact that these Gentiles, once ' without God and
without hope in the world,' had been brought
through Christ to know God, and rest their fiuth
in Him, is a witness to the truth of Peter's
statement that even they were in God's vinv
when the Christ, who had l>een ctemaUjr More
His mind as Raxisom^ was manifested ift time. —
who raised him from the dead : Peter repeats
here what he had urged withsoch emphasb so soon
after Chrbt's departm (Acts iL 24, iiL 15, 26),
and had proclaimed as the fulfilment of pfophecy
(Acts iL 31 -36). Compare also Paul's repeated
ascription of Christ's resurrection toGod*s act (Eph.
i. 20 ; Gal. L l ; 2 Cor. iv. 14 ; Rom. iv. 84, viii.
1 1 , etc ).--aiid gave him gloiy. The consistency
of thb with Peter's own eariiest teaching (Acts
ii. 36) is apparent* Its consbtenqr with Paul's
view of the ' name which b above every name '
as a gift from God (Phil. iL 9)^ and with
Clmst's own prayer for a glorification at IASa
Father's hand, puts it out of the queptioo to
suppose (as some argue) that Peter's view of the
Person of his Lord was less exalted than Paul's,
or that he thought of any other subordinatioii of
Chrbt to God than the vduntary subordination,
compatible with equality, wnkh the Son
assumed, and for which He received reward firom
the Father, as the apostles consbtentlv tcach«
and as Christ Himseu taught them wnen Ha
spoke of the Father as giving Him all judgment
(John V. 22), giving Hb work and Hb words (John
xvii. 4, 8), Hb gloty and even Hb life (John xviL
22, V. 26). It b not withoat reason that the
new Centre now found for the faith whkh had
been wasted, ere they knew Christy on the things
of a life of vanity, b designated here, not mcfel/
as ' God,' nor even as ' the true God,' but as the
God who rabed and glorified Christ Himself.
That reason, however, lies neither in the idea
that it Was not the visibly Inoamate Christ (whom
these Gentiles had not seen indeed), but oalt the
exalted Chrbt that could wotk thb fidth in tJiem»
nor in the idea that faith it not Chtfetian fidth
unless it embraces this belief in God'b ha^ng
raised and glorified the Crucified (so Huthcrt, but
in what ii next to be said of a hope to whka thb
new faith rise&— to that irpur faith ahottld ito
be hope toward God. The point of the state-
ment which is placed so fordblv at the end of the
section is apt to be missed. To render it^ ' that
your faith and Mope might hi in Cod* (so LMtheff
Calvin, Beza^ etc., and among Versions the
Syriac, Vulgate, A. V., and R. V.)» or *§o that
your faith and hope are directed toward God*
(so many interpreters), b to bring the • hope* la
as little more than a rhetorieal appendix to the
'faith,' and to make Peter dose so rich a
paragraph with a bald repetition of what has
been already stated in the clause, ' who thnwffh
Him have faith toward God.' It overlo(As uso
the peculiar arrangement of the Greek woidli and
strips the definition of God as the God who Hted
and glorified Christ of its pertinency* The
sentence becomes a still balder repetition of what
has been already stated, if (which boUl the
A. V. and R v. avoid, but most InterprthMf
adhere to) the rendcringi •so that . . t 4#v in

Chap. I. 22-25.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

171

God,' is followed. It U doabtftd, however,
whether the Giedc phrtse so rendered erer loseft
the idea of purfasij even where it may seem to
deml with rwsmli. Taking the 'hope,* therefore,
to be predicate to the * fialh,' we fthould translate
'that your feith thoald also be (as indeed it U)
hope toward God.' We have thus a new idea
added to the previous train, and see how each of
the prfor clauses makes its own distinct contri-
batioo. Christ's death delivered them from the
skvcry of their vain life. Christ's manifesution
was the means of lifting them to a faith of which
God Himself, whom otherwise they would not
have known, became the Object. Christ's resur-
fcctioo opened the gates of the future, and gave

them a new hope, which also had God for its
Object. And in raising Christ from the dead,
and giving Him glory, God had it in view to
make them what they now are, children of hope
as well as faith, and to raise them not merely to
faith, but to a faith rich in hope, to a faith
which should now be hope in Himself. What
this God whom they now believed in had done in
Christ's case woke m them the certain hope of a
future in which He would give them joy over the
' heaviness ' and ' manifold temptations ' of the
present. And this, too, was a reason why they
should live their present life in holy fear, lest
they might come short of what God intende>i
for them 1

Chapter L 22-25.
Exhortation to Brotherly Love heartfelt, and without reserve.

22 OEEING ye have* * purified your souls in * obeying* the '*icuMi.'J4,
O 'truth through the Spirit • unto * unfeigned ' love of the J^^S^f '•
brethren,* see that ye love one another with a /pure heart ^c/*^!!:^

23 *' fervently : • being * born again,' not of ' corruptible * seed, ^ Rom!1i. g ;
but of ' incorruptible, by ' the word of God, which *" liveth and cl l 5V

24 abideth for ever.' For ** all flesh is as ^ grass, and all the glory Hcb. l*. '^';
of man • as the " ^ilower of grass. The grass ^ withereth, and a nm^^L'sf,'

25 the flower thereof" falleth away:" but the ''word of the Lord rfRim.xH.9:
' endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the ' gospel \ t^aIi \
is" preached unto you. jas!Tii.^7V

* Having * in the obedience of • omit through the Spirit
^ literalfyi unto brotherly love unfeigned

' from the heart h>ve one another intensely ^ having been begotten again
^ through * God's living word and abiding

• read of xi/or of man, or translatey and all its glory '^ omit the

^1 ditatii therenf tS lUtrallv. withered W9q the onTatsft.

^^ <mut thereof

IS

literally^ withered was Uie grass, and the flower fell away

The exhortation to brotherly love, which is
next introduced, is not without a living connection
with the preceding. The circumspect walk which
his been enjoined is a walk such as befits those
who are travelling toward a home which it would
be misery to miss, and are conscious of what it
cost to redeem them. But a walk so recom-
mended leads naturally to brotherly love. If
they are sojourners together in an alien
community, all the less should they think of
filling out by the way. If they are redeemed
together by the same great price, all the more
ahonid they take a common interest in the
household of faith; The terms in which this
counsel is given contain nothing to warrant the
summsidon that Peter had to de^ with dissensions
wmch had bunt out between Jew and Qentile in

these scattered churches. The trying jcircum-
stances of the churches may have been sufficient
occasion for the coimsel. Times of fear and
threatening develop latent selfishness, and
provoke hardness of feeling toward others. The
injunction, however, is not merely to brotherly
love, but, as if that might be taken for granted
as existent, to a brotherly love of a particular
kind and measure. As he has already urged
those who were bom anew into hope to set their
hope intensely on its proper object (ver. 13), so
now he urges those whom gmce inspired with
the new spirit of brotherly love to let it be
earnest and unreserved. And this dutv, like the
previous duties, is shown to rise naturally out of
the prior gift of God, His gift of a new life
through the great deed of regeneration.

172

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER, [Chap. L 22-25.

Vcr. 22. HaTing purified yonr aoaU. The

verb translated * purified' is one which occurs
only seven times m the New Testament. It is
of frequent occurrence, however, in the Old,
being the technical term used by the Greek
Version for the ceremonial purification of the
priests in preparation for Divine service, and
applied also to the ceremonial ' sanctification * of
the people (Josh, iiu 5, etc), to the ' separation '
from wme and strong drink which the Nazarite
vow involved (Num. vi. 2-6), etc In four out
of the seven New Testament occurrences (John
xi. 5^ ; Acts xxi. 24, 26, xxiv. 18), it has the
religious or ceremonial sense which it invariably
has in the Old Testament. In the present
passage, as well as in Jas. iv. 8, and I John
lii 3, it has the ethical sense (expressed also
by another verb, e.g, in Acts xv. 9), although
the original idea of a religious consecration or
separation also adheres to it. What it implies,
therefore, is a moral purification from everything
inconsistent with a religious destination. And
the subject of this is 'your souls,' the word
• soul * having here the sense of the * region of
the feelings, affections, and impulses, of all that
peculiarly individualizes and personifies ' (EHi-
cott). The purification is to go, therefore, to the
very 'centre of the personal life,' and to purge
out there the selfishness that is inconsistent with
their Divine destination. And this is represented
ns the moral condition on which the fulfilling of
the precept necessarily depends. This seems to be
the point of the participle which, being in the
perfect, exhibits the purification neither under the
aspect of a process which must be continually
sustained (so Calvin, the Vulgate, etc, deal with
it as if it were a present), nor under that of a
thing made good once for all at the crisis of
conversion and now taken as the ground for the
exhortation (so Bengel, AViesinger, the ' seeing
that ' of the £. V., etc, as if the tense had been
the simple narrative past). It is intimately
connectea with the following imperative. Yet
neither so as to become itself an imperative
co-ordinate with that (Luther, etc), nor as
denoting what must always be attended to
whenever effect is to be given to the charge
(Schott, Huther, etc.), but either as pointing to
the fact that * faith even in its first actings had
purified, and in its continuous exercise was still
purifying their souls ' (Lillie), or as simply indi-
cating a mental preparation which they are
instructed to attend to as the sine qud non to
their observance of the cha^e. This last brings
out best the marked difference between the
tense of the participle and the tense of the
imperative, and gives the pertinent idea, that in
order to exhibit the acts oflove of the kind here
enjoined on all the particular occasions which
may arise for them, they must first see to have
the disposition of love — the disposition of souls
cleansed of selfishness. — in the obedience of the
tmth. The same term (a peculiarly New
Testament term, unknown to classical Greek, and
occurring only once in the Greek Version of the
Old Testament) for ' obedience ' is used here as
in vers. 2, 14, and is not to be identified with
faith, but taken in the sense of obedience to God's
will, and specially to that will as revealed in
Christ. * Truth,' too, has here the objective
sense of the contents of the Christian revelation,
or the Christian salvation itself; 'so far as

being an unique and eternal reality, it has be-
come manifest, and is set forth as the object
of knowledge or laith' (Cremer). Subjection,
therefore, to the permanent realities of grace, or
to the saving will of God as revealed in Christ,
is here the sphere or element in which alone
this purified disposition at the very centre of the
personal life can be attained. The best authorities
are at one in regarding the clause, ' through the
Spirit,' which the E. V. inserts, as no part of the
original text — ^anto IxroUieriy lore wnMgniMl.
The 'onto' may express either the end or object
which the purification aims at, or the lesolt it
actually reaches. The latter is more appropriate
here, the idea being that if they have been so

Eurified, they cannot fail to have the dispositioo
ere in view. The purification implies, the creation
of a disposition which is alien to all love that is
unreal or selfish. The term for ' brotherly love '
is of less frequent occurrence in the New
Testament than might be expected, being
confined to the writings of Peter (here and in
2 Pet. i. 7) and Paul (Rom. xii. 10 ; I Thess.
iv. 9), and the Epistle to the Helnews (xiii. i).
Under various forms of expression, however, a
lai|;e place is given by the New Testament
wnters, on the basis of Christ's own teachmg
(John xiiL 31), to the peculiar love which
Christians are to cherish to each other. While
Peter and Paul, however, ezl^bit it in its more
general aspects, as an active grace tidcing shape
m deeds off self-sacrifice, and as in some respects
secondary to the wider grace of charity, it is John
who specially unfolds it in the giandeor and
newness which the new motive drawn from
Christ's love, and the new standard presented in
Christ's example, give to brotherly love. It is
here described as 'unfeigned,' not hypocritical
or wearing a mask, as the term implies. For, as
Leighton puts it, 'men are subject to much
hvpocrisy this way, and deceive themselves;
if they find themselves diligent in religious
exercises, they scarce once ask their hearts how
they stand affected this wav, namely, in love to
their brethren.' — fhnn the heart love one
another intenaely. That is, see that ye have
the purified personality which comes by receiving
what God nas revealed in Jesus Christ; and
having the disposition of unfeigned brotherly
love which that purification creates, let it display
itself heartily, and without hesitation or hindrance,
in acts of love to your fellow-believers. The
phrase * from the heart ' (the adjective • pure,'
inserted by the £. V., is better omittec^ the
sentence being on the whole adverse to its
genuineness) is to be attached not to the pievioas
clause, but to the Move one another,' and
expresses one quality of the affection, its
spontaneousness (Rom. vi 17) and sincerity;
'let the clearness of the stream that brightens
and gladdens the scenes of your daily intercoune
attest the purity of the fountain whence it flows '
(Lillie). The adverb ' fervently ' (an adverb of
degree, not of time, meaning, therefore, more
than merely ' continuously ') adds the note that
it is to be with strained energies, as Huther, etc

gut it ; or 'unfalteringly,' as Humphrey suggests,
[ere, therefore, as el^where, Peter speaks of the
deg^e of grace (cf. 2 Pet. iii. 18). But while he
limits himself here to the measure which brotherly
love .should itself attain, the Second Epistle (L 7)
represents brotherly love as rather a step in a

CHAP. L 22-25.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

^73

eradatioa of which charity is the height. So
^aul (i Thess. iiL 12) urges an increase and
mbounding in love, not merely in the form of
brotherly love, but as if the one, so far from
ancsting, promoted the other, in the larger form
of a love embracing all men.

Ver. 23. Being bom agaiii, or rather, haying
bean bofpyllenaffdn. On this see also ver. 3.
The tense denotes a subdsting state due to an act
in the past, and, therefore, here a new life in
which they stand in virtue of a decisive change
cooivalent to a new birth. If the three verses
wnich follow are regarded, as they are by almost
an interpreters, as making one paragraph with
the preceding verse, they must be understood to
enforce the exhortation to a sincere and intense
bfotherly love. There is some difficulty, however,
in establishing a sufficient connection, specially
in view of the fact that there is no reference to
community of life as the consequence of regenera-
tion, but only a reference to the nature of the
lile which comes from an incorruptible source,
through a Word which has the qualities of life
and pennanence. This being the case, and the
injunction to brotherly love, as given in ver. 22,
bemg complete within itself, it is suggested to
connect vers. 23-25 with ii. 1-3. We should
then have an esdiortation (in ii 1-3) to a right
nse of God*s Word^ based here on the considera-
tion (thrown forward, as is the case with so many
of Peter^B counsels, before the charge itself) that
it is to that Word that we owe our new life. The
ran of thov^t then would be clear and simple — ye
are possessors now of a new life which, in contrast
with the transitoriness of the natural life and its
glory, is an incorruptible, permanent life ; but this
joa owe to the power of God's living and
abiding Word ; therefore use that Word well,
feed on it, nourish your life by it. Following the
Qsoal connection, we shall have to regard the
previous exhortation to a brotherly love of a pure
and whole-hearted order as now supported by
the consideration that, in virtue of God's act of
regeneration, ' there is the same blood running in
their veins ' (Leighton, and virtually Schott), or
that the regeneration, which alone makes this
kind of love a possibility, also makes it an
obligation (Huther, etc). Or better (vrith
Weiss and, so far, Alfoixl), we shall have to
sappose that Peter now finds a further reason for
hoiding themselves pledged to a life of love of this
tenor, m a fact of grace of earlier date than even
the porification of soul already instanced, namely,
the decisive deed of God's grace in bringing them
first into the new life by the instrumentality of
Hb Word. The special qualities of the instrument
of their regeneration, namely those of Mivine'
and * abiding,' are then named as arguments for
rising to t£t high strain of persevering, unde-
onring love which befits a life which itself is
lined above the inconsistency, fitfulness, and
perishablencss of the natural life. — not of (or,
nom) ooxraptible aeed, hat inoormptible.
The preposition denotes the source or origin of
the fife, and declares it to be in that respect
unlike the natural life. The latter originates in
what is perishable, and is itself, therefore,
transitory and changeful. The former originates
in what is incorruptible, and therefore is itself
unsusceptible of failure or decadence. The word
here translated ' seed ' occurs nowhere else in the
New Testament. It is taken in that sense by

almost all commentators, and this seems to be
favoured by the qualifying adjective attached to
it. Neither is that a sense absolutely strange.
It is found, though with extreme rarity, both in
the classics and elsewhere (2 Kings xix. 29 ;
I Mace. X. 30). The word, however, would
mean naturally 'sowing,' which sense (alone with
the secondary meanings of 'seed-time and
' of&pring ') it has in the Classics. Here, there-
fore, it refers to the Divine act, described as a
begetting, which is the point of origin for the
new life. — ^through Qod'i living and abiding
Word. There is a change in the preposition now,
of which some strange explanations are given.
It is not because Peter now passes from the figure
to a literal designation of the medium of
regeneration (Schott, Weiss, etc), nor because
the Word of God is now to be distinguished as a
r^eneratins instrument from the Spirit of God
implied in the for^;oing ' seed ' as the r^enerating
power in the Word (de Wette, Briickner), nor is
It even to mark out two different aspects of the
same Word, namely the Word as external
instrumentality in the production of the new life,
and the Wonl (in the character of ' seed ') as
internal principle of the new life (Huther). It is
due simplv to the fact, that having named the
act of Gocl, which is the originating ix>wer, Peter
now names the medium through which that
takes effect (cf^ Jas. i. 18). The Logos or
' Word ' by which God begets us is neither the
Personal Word, Christ, by whom God has spoken
finally, nor the written Word, the ' Scripture,'
with which Paul opens his quotations, but, as in
Heb. iv. 12, Revelation, or the declared will of
God, and here that will as declared specially in
the Gospel. Though the Word of God does not
assume m Peter the form to which John carries
it, it may yet be fairly said that it is ' more here
than any written book, more than any oral
teaching of the Gospel, however mighty that
teaching might be in its effects' (Plumptre).
The context shows Peter to be viewing it as a
voice which penetrates man's nature like a
quickening principle, * a Divine, eternal, creative
power, working in and on the soul of man '
(Plumptre), and nearly identified with God
Himself, just as in Heb. iv. there is an immediate
transition from the Word (ver. 12) to God
Himself (ver. 13). It is not quite clear which
of the two subjects, God or the Word, is qualified
by the adjectives 'living' and 'abiding.' The
order in the Greek b peculiar, the noun ' God's '
being thrust in between the two adjectives.
Most interpreters agree with the E. V. in taking
the Word to be the subject described here as
'living 'and 'abiding,' in favour of which it is
strongly urged that the passage which follows from
the Old Testament deals not with God's own
nature, but with that of His Word. The peculiar
order of the Greek is then explained as due to
the quality ' living ' being thrown forward for the
sake of emphasis. On this view the thing most
decidedly asserted is the /t/ie which inheres in the
Word, and the subsequent citation from Isaiah
would be introduced to express the contrast
between the Word of God in this respect and the
best of all natural things. The arrangement of
the terms points, however, more naturally to God
as the subject described by the epithets, and in
support of this, Dan. vi. 26 is appealed to,
where God is similarly described, and, indeed,

"74

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. I. 21-25.

ever emphasb of pawwnnife love repeated, ol
trhich the echo b not tuaA «t last ' (Landor).^
witlMnd «M tlM gEUi. nd th« lloww (the vroid
< tk€rmf* is not wwUinrH hf the best anthoritics)
foil oC A lifelike pktnie of the actual occurs
rence, the tenses osed bein^ thoae of diicct
nanatiQQ (aptly given hj Wydiifc diiedvp. • . .
lUl downX wh^ may be rendered, as in the!
E. v., by oar English present, as expcesnng vrhat
takes place habitoally, bat virhich rather represent
the thu^ as vritnessed by the eye of the reporter,
*3at vm woid oC the jUxd andamlh for ew:
Having the Gospel inimediatdT in view, Peter sab-
stitutcs ' the vrordof the Lt^ here for * the vrord
of our God," vrhich is the phrase in Isa. xl. %^
in both the Hebrew text and the Greek. Other
departnres from the Old Testament passage, as we
have it, also appear, some of whidi are of minor
interest, others of a remaikabie kind. Not only

according to one of the ancient Greek translators,
in precisely the same terms. Calvin, therefoie,
supported by the Vulgate, and foUoired by some
good exegetes, prefers tlw view that these epithets

* living ' and * abiding ' are given here to God
Himself, vrith reference to His Word, as that in
winch 'His own perpetuity is reflected as in a
living mirror.' In this case we should have the
same kind of connection between God and His
Word as we have also in Heb. iL 12, 13, where
the conception of the former as having all things
naked and opencil to Him, and that Si the latter
as quick, powerful, and piercing, lie so near each
other ; and the following citation would have the
more distinct design of affirming the Word to be
partaker of the very life and perpetuity which in-
here in God Himself, In either case the quality
of 'abiding* is not a mere superaddition (as
Huther, etc., make it), but rather so weighty an
inference from the 'living' that it 2one is
expounded in what follows. For the dominant
idea is still the kind of love which believers
should exhibit toward each other, namely,
persevering, lasting love, and the geneiml
mtention of the closing verses is to show that
while to the unrcgenerate all that is possible may
be a love changeml and transient like the nature
of which it is bom, the regenerate are made
capable of, and thereby pledged to, a love of the
enduring quality of that new life which, like God
Himself and God's Word, lives and therefore
abides. The words ' for ever ' are omitted by the
best authors.

Ver. 84. F6r aU fleah ia aa gran. Peter
breaks off into the rapid, vivid terms in which the
prophet of Isa. xL speaks of his commission. ' The
air is full of inspiration, of Divine calls and pro*
phetic voices ' (M. Arnold). The prophet hears a
voice say to him, Ciy ; he asks what he shall cr^,
and the voice gives him as his cry thb ' antithesis
between the decay — it may be the prenoature
decay (for the breath of Jehovah " bloweth " wktu
''it listeth") — to which even the brightest and
best of earthly things arc liable, and the necessary
permanence of Jehovah and His revelation'
(Cheyne). The particular revelation or ' word '
there affirmed to stand infallibly for ever is God's
promise regarding Israel. Here that is identified
with the word now preached through the Gospel.
The phrase ' all flesh ' (which in the Old Testa-
ment is characteristic of certain books only,
occurring, e.g.^ repeatedly in the Pentateuch and
the second half (never in the first) of Isaiah, four
times in Jeremiah, three times in Ezekiel, once in
Zechariah) embraces man and all that is of roan
as he is by nature. — and all its glory m flower
of grass. The reading followed by the E. V.,

* the glory of man,' must yield to the better read-
ing, *its glory.* If the 'flesh,' therefore, is
compared to grass (a familiar biblical figure of
transient human life, cf. Ps. xc 5, 6, ciil.
I5f 16 > Job viii. 12, xiv. 2 ; Isa. xxxvii. 27, L
la ; Jas. vii. 10, 11), and one to which the
rapidity of growth and decay in Eastern climates
gives additional force, the ' glory ' of the flesh, by
which is meant its goodliest outcome, ' the most
splendid manifestations of man's life,' is compared
to the still more tender bloom that brightens on
the flower only to fall off. ' There are no flelds
of amaranth on this side of the grave ; there are
no voices, O Rhodop^, that are not soon mute,
however tuneful \ there is no namci with what-

is the qoali^ring ' as ' introdnoed before the 'pass,
the stronger term 'gloij' given for *goodhnes^'
the phnue 'flower of grass' sohstitated for
'flower of the fleld,' and 'fiiideth' displaced by
' fell ofi^' but the important section of the Hebrew
text winch ascribes the decadence of grass and
flower to the Spint of the Lord blowing npon
them (ver. 7) is entirdy omitted. In these
particulars, Peter follows the text of the anctent
Grwk translation. On the other hand, he
departs from the Greek text, and returns to the
Hebrew, in adopting 'all aCr gloij ' instead of 'all
the glory tf wtamJ It appears, therefote, that
Peter miakes a verv free quotation, oc rather,
that he does not brin^ in this passage as a
formal quotation snstaming hb statement by
an App^ to Scripture, bat simply expresses in
Old lestament vi'ords which come easdy to his
lips a reason for the incorruptibility irhich he
attributes to the new Uie, namely, that k is dat
to the action of a power whidi ^adarea Uke God
Himself This is supported by the frict that ths
passage is introduced not by the ocdmary con*
junction 'for,' but by a different term, used dan
m ver. 16, meaning rather 'because.' — Andtkii
ia the wocd which by the goepel ia pwnehei
onto yon, or rather, and the word of too foivel
which was prenched onto yon was thia The
sentence is not parallel, as it is taken by nuunr, to
Rom. X. 5-13, where the mearmess or ocaessmHiy
of the Word is in view. What is affirmed is not
that this Word, of which thinps so glorious are
said, is yet so near them as to be at thdr hand in
the Gospel, but that the good tidings iriudi
were brought to these Asiatic Christians by Fanl
and his comrades were nothing else than that
Word of the Lord of which tM proplwt 8pak%
aud nothing less enduring than the Voice of the
desert had proclaimed that Word to be. So Peter
identifies the revelatbn in the form of the ancicrt
word of promise with the revelation in the fans
of the recent word of preaching ; whidi he wkjs
also, was not merely to them, or for their benenL
but u9tio them, addressed to them personallv and
borne in among them. He gives implicit witness
at the same time to the fret that what he himself
had now to teach them was nothing but the same

Sace which Paul and othen had proclaimed,
ence the past tense, ' 7oas preached,* as referring
to their first acquaintance with the Gospel, whan
others than he who wrote to them had been th^
means of conveying to them the Lord's enduring
Word, and thus creating in them a life capable «

Chap. II. 1-3.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

^7S

a sted£ttt aad imdMaying love. The tenn used
for the * Word ' in ver. 23 (Lmu) gives place now
to a difleient term {rJkema\ which is supposed to
express only the word as uttered (while tne other
denotes the word whether uttered or unuttered),
aod to gjive a more oonerete view of ilL How (ar

the distinction can be carried out, however, is
doubtful. And it is more than doubtful whether
in the present instance the cliange is due to aught
else than the fact that the Greek translation which
Peter seems to follow uses the latter word in the
passage cited.

Chapter II. 1-3.

Exkortation to Hve on the Word with a view to Growth in Grace.

I \ Tl 7HEREF0RE, * laying aside ' all * malice, and all ^ guile, « acu vii aS;

V V and ' hypocrisies, and ' envies^ and all -^ evil-speakings, eX>v"^*"'

a as new-born ' babes, * desire * the sincere ' milk of the * word,' Jm. i. ai :' '

3 that ye may 'grow thereby:* "^if so be ye have "tasted* that ^MaLvi/^w;

the Lord is ' gracious/ Rgj^ »^2|' '

siv. so : Eph. !▼• 31 : Cbl. iii. 8 ; Tit. iii. 3 ; i Pet. iL 16. c Mat. xxvi. 4 ; Mk. vii. 99, xlv. x : Jo. i. 47 : Ron. i. 29 ;

a Got. idL 16; i 11ms. ii. 3 : i Pet. ii. n, iiL la i/Mat xxiii. 28 ; Mk. xii. 15 ; Lu. xii. 1 ; Gal. ti. 13 : zTim. iv. a.

# Ifat. MxyiL 18 ; Mk. xv. xo ; Rom. L aj^ ; Gal. v. at ; Phil. i. 15 : x Tim. vi. 4 ; Tit. iii. 3 ; Jas. iv. 5.

/a Cor. xii. ao. £ Vax, i. 41, 44, u. la, x6, xviii. 15 : Acts vii. 19 ; a Tim. iii. 15. h a Cor. v. t, ix. 14 ;

a. i. XI ; PhiL L 8, iL a6 ; x Thes. iii. 6 : a Tim. i. 4 ; Jas. iv. 5. i i Cor. iii. a, ix. 7 ; Heb. v. za, X3.

k Roak ziL I. / X Cor. iii. 6, 7 ; a Cor. ix. xo^ z^ ; Col. i. 6, zo ; a Pet. ilL z8. m Rom. viii. ^ ; z Cor. xv. xs :

"^ ~ L 6. If Ph xjoniL 8 ; Prov. xxxL x8 ; Heb. ii. 9. vi. 4, 5. o Mat. xi. 30 ; Lu. v. 35* 39: Rom. ii. 4; Eph. iv. 3a.

' Havin|r put off, therefore * long for {as in R, V,\ or, earnestly desire
* the spiritual milk which is without guile {as in R, K), or literally^ the
ional, guileless milk * therein, or. in it. Also add unto salvation.

rational,

' if indeed ye tasted

good

The doty which Is next to be urged is intro-
dnoed by *whefefoie.* and is thus given as one
which follows natufally upon what has just been
sUted. The pulse of two thoughts, which have
ruled the preceding section, b^ts in this new
pttisgraph — that of orotherly love and that of the
new nith. Of these the second is the more pro-
minenti the immediate link of connection being
between the * bom again ' of i. 23 and the ' new-
bom babes' of ii t« The fact that these converts
live a new life, which they owe to an incor-
raptible Source, is an argument for cherishing
the life to that it may grow and develop all its
gracxMts capacities. The fact that this new life
has come to them through the medium of tlie
enduring Word of God, which has made it the
icdpient of its own qualities, is an argument for
naking that Word, as in the Gospel it is preached
to thai, their sonVs very food. But it the life
is of the high strain whicn should expand into a
bfotherly love as constant and unaecaying as
natural allection is apt to prove transient and
fickle, growth in this life implies the renouncing
of every base feeling, word, and act. The things
whidi are to be put away are things inconsistent
»t once with brotherly love, with a right use of
the Word, and with growth unto fmal salvation.
They are unlovely dispositions of the old nature,
whioi form the common temptation of all Chris-
tiansi and the special note m no single class or
nationality. Tney cannot be said to * point,
especially in the hjrpocrisies and '* evil-speakings,'*
to the besetting sins of the Jewish rather than
the Gentile duuacter, as condemned by our Lord
(Matt xxiii et ml.) and St. James (iii. iv.)'

(Dean Plumptre). PauVs handling of the ' back-
bitings ' among the Corinthians (a Cor. xii. 20),
and the 'dissimulations' among the Galatians
(Gal. ii. 13), is enough to show the precariousness
of any such limited application. Paul's letter to the
churches of one of tne territories here addressed
by Peter, discovers conditions out of which evils
like those which are repudiated here very readily
sprang. His letters to the Ephesians and
Colossians recognise similar roots of bitterness at
work there. And it is probable enough that what
operated to this effect in the churches, of Ephesiu,
Colosse, and Galatia, existed in some degree in
the churches of the other territories. The evils
which are to be renounced are evils which crush
out love and create dissension among men. So
Peter passes easily through what he says here of
the need of putting away such elements of division
to what he has next to say of what believers ought
to be as a united body, and how the aim set before
them is to build up a spiritual house for their Lord,
so that His Church may be carried to her com-
pletion.

Ver. I. Having put off. The noun connected
with this verb is used by ^eter in the ccnoeat which
he throws in on the subject of the antitypical
relation of the waters of baptism to those of the
flood, where he explains that what he has in view
is ' not the putting away of the filth of the flesh '
(iii. 21). The verb itself occurs both in the
Pauline writings (Rom. xiii. la) and in others
(Heb. xii. i ; Jas. i. 21) with the figurative sense,
taken from the act of putting off or laying aside
clothes (cf. Acts viii. 58), and is employed in
Paul's two great statements regarding the 'putting

176

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. II. 1-3.

parts of die lerse, and the introdactioa of vices
like gmiU and kyf$crisj^ which are more directly
opposed to simplicitj and sincerity than is lo?^
Uyoat the latter word. In that case, the point
would be the rennndatioo of eveiything alien
to diild-like candour, to the transparency and
healthfiilness of the child-like cfanxacter. The
former view is generally prelened, however, and
is sapported by the picwent tone of the evils
specified, as well as by the relation of dependency
in which this diaige stands to the focmer. It is
doubtful whether moch is intended by the par-
ticular Older in which the things are given. It
is supposed, ^.^., that the malice comes first, as
being 'the mam cause of dissensions,' and that
then we get naturally 'guile the inwaid disease,
hypocrisy its outward manifestation, and, as a
result of the oonsdousuess of evil, envy in its
various forms, specially directed against those
who have the peace in which the hypocrite knows
that he is lackmg, a feeling whidi sooner or later
breaks out in calumnious aspersions' (Canon
Cook). But if any inner connection is to be
traced at all, it is rather that the malice which
purposes evil to a brother, is named first as at
the root of all ; that this carries with it the guile
which schemes to accomplish the end ; that the
guile which secretly works by plot and artifice for
the ends of self, reveals itself in the hypocrisies
into which it is driven to deceive the eye ; while
the masked acts by which we painfully cover our
assault upon a brother's good, exasperate our
envyings of his good, and these find vent in evil-
speakings or overt attempts to talk him down.

Ver. 2. aa new-bom babea. Of two words far
child, one of which corresponds etjrmologically to
our ' infant,' and means the child yet incapable of
speech, and then more generally (as in GaL iv. i)
a minor, the other the child at the stage of birth,
or at the tenderest age (of. Luke xviiL 15 ; Acts
vii. 19), it is the latter that is used here, at it is
also iised of Timothy (2 Tim. iiL 15), and of the
infant Jesus (Luke ii. 12, 16). It is not used,
however, in the metaphorical sense in which the
babe (as designated hy the other word) in know-
ledge is contrasted with him who is of foil age
(Heb. V. 13), or the immature and carnal with
the spiritual (i Cor. iii i). It expresses a simple
fact here, the recency of the Christian life in these
converts, which is marked still more emphatically
by the addition of the strong adjective (nowhere
else used in the N. T.) ' new-bom.' llie contrast
is not between Christians at different stages of
Christian maturity, but between these converts at
once they were and as now they have jnst come
to be. And it is in this character (the 'as' here
again being the note of Quality or fact, not uf
comparison) that they are chargei to long for tlM
pore, rational milk. The verb (an intensive or
compound form) means not merely ' desire ' (as
the £. V. renders it here, although elsewhere it
deals better with its force, e,g» Rom. i. 1 1, 'long;'
I Thess. iii. 6, 'desire greatly,' etc.), but 'ear-
nestly desire,' or 'long for/ as with the keen and
healthy appetite of the child, with whom it is to
natural to turn to the ' food convenient ' for it,
that, as Bengel says, it is capable of nothing but
this desire. It is difficult to convey the precise
sense of the three words which follow. It is
clear, however, that they describe the food for

off' which is invoh*ed in the ' putting 00 ' of the
'new man* (Eph. iv. 24, 25 : CoL iiL 8, 10).
The vices to be renounced, therefore, arc com-
pared implicitly to a foul garment enwrapping the
old man. They are the * Ncssns shirt ' of oornipt
habits which the new man tears off. This
divestiture is represented here (the participle
being in the simple past) as preparatory to, and
the condition of, the fulfilment of the positive
charge which follows. — therefore, r./'.=having by
help of the Word an undying life capable of an
undecaying love, forswear everything hostile to
the life, and by a right use of the Word foster it
till it grows to the perfection of final salvation. —
all (or, evay kind of) malice. The noun (which
in the Septuagint, e.g, Amos iiL 6 ; Kccles.
vii. 14, xii. I ; and once in the N. T., MatL
vi. 34, has also the objective sense of calamity or
trouble) may mean either wUhdnas^ viciomsnai^
in general (as in I Cor. v. 8, xiv. 20; Acts
viii. 22), or, in particular (as in Rom. L 29;
Eph. iv. 31 ; CoL iiL 8 ; Tit iiL 3 ; Jas. L 21),
tnalivoUnce^ thf unsh to injure. On the ground
of its apparent import in ver. 16, some give it the
former sense here, in which case it would be the
parent disposition, of which the things which
follow are the issue. The latter sense, however,
is favoured both by the re{>etition of the 'all'
with the 'f^ile' (which would give us a second
generalization), by the analogy of Eph. iv. 31,
Col. iii. 8, Jas. i. 21, and by the relation of
the whole sentence to the previous charge to
brotherly love. The 'wickedness' which the
R. V. places in the text, therefore, should go to the
margin, and its marginal ' malice ' should occupy
the text. — and all guile, i.e. every form of the
disposition to reach selfish ends artfully or by
deception. In iii. 10 this is re-introduced in
relation to speech, as that is dealt with in Ps.
xxxiii. 13. — and hypocriaies and enviea. llie
transition to the plural indicates perhaps that acts
arc now in view, the unlovely acts which arise
in those dispositions of malice and guile, lliese
' hypocrisies ' are in strong contrast to the love
'unfeigned,' literally ' unhypocritical,' in i. 22.
The word (which is used in Gal. ii. 13 with the
softened sense of the dissimulation of Cephas and
the Jews, which amounted to a ' practical denial
of their better insight') covers here all the
insincerities, the masked acts and concealments
into which the heart full of malice and guile
drives one in relation to his fellows. The
•envies* (the only vice in this list which is
explicitly named in Paul's enumeration of the
'works of the flesh,* GaL v, 20, 21) embrace
all exhibitions of jealousy and grudging. — and all
ovil-speakingB. The term is one of rare occur-
rence. The cognate verb, indeed, is found
occasionally in the Classics, and there with the
twofold sense of 'babbling' and 'railing.' But
the noun itself is unknown to classical Greek,
although it is found occasionally in the Septuagint
(Wisdom L li), the Fathers (e.g. Clem. Rom.
and Polycarp), and in one other passage of the
N. T. (2 Cor. xii. 20). It means literally
's^xiakings against^' and will include all words
of detraction, railing, defamation, and the like.
The five evils mentioned here may be antithetical
to either of two things, — the brotherly love for-
merly in view, or the character implied in the
immediately succeeding designation, 'new-bom
babes.' The close connection between the two

which these converts are to cultivate an appetite,
and the E. V., though literally inexact, gives a

Chap. H. 1-3.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

"^n

sufficiently correct representation of their general
import by its rendering * sincere milk of the word.*
Thie term *milk' here does not mean the ele-
mentary doctrine which is suitable for babes in
CZhrist in contrast with the 'meat' (i Cor. iii. 3),
or the 'strong meat' (Heb. v. 12-14), which else-
where is said to be for the full-grown. It is
simply a figurative expression for the food which
tbey roust have, seeing that they are now in a new
lifie. They themselves are not compared to babes,
tmt said to be babes, as having been only recently
vshered into the Christian life. And their food
Is not compared to milk, but said to be milk. But
this is at once qualified by two adjectives which
exhibit its nature. One of these is resolved into
a noun, 'of the word,' by our E. V. and some
other versions, as well as by Beza, Bengel, etc.
This brings out the sense well enough, but is not
itself a correct translation. What the food is
which is indicated by the 'milk,' is not stated,
bot is left to be inferred from the context, which
certainly points neither to the Eucharist, as some
strangely imagine, nor even to Christ, as the
Logos preached in the Word (so Weiss), but
simply to the Word itself. And to make this
plain, an adjective is attached which occurs often
m the Classics, and in a variety of senses {e.g,
bdonging to speech, possessed of reason, logical,
etc), but in the N. T. is found only once again

IRom. xii. i). In lioth its N. T. occurrences
and even in ecclesiastical Greek, the offering of
the angels being described, ^.^., in the Testament
§f the 7\oehfe Patriarchs^ as a 'rational and
bloodless offering ') it seems to mean rational, or
spiritual (though these English words poorly ex-
press the idea), as opposed to literal or ceremonial.
In the Pauline passage it desi^ates the new
sacrificial service to which the Christian is pledged
bj Christ's sacrifice, as one in which the mind is
engaged, which cannot be discharged by the hand
without the heart or as an opus operatum like the
legal circumstantial service of the Jew. In the
present passage it explains the ' milk ' to be food
for the soul, not for the body ; spiritual mUk for
the spiritually new-bom, not material milk as for
the natural babe. But this is further defined by a
second term, which signifies 'guileless,' and in
which, therefore, there may be an echo of the
' all guile ' of ver. i. Two shades of meaning,
however, are possible. If the figure of the ' milk '
b regarded as sunk in the idea of the Word to
whid it points, the term will be rendered ' sin-
cere ' (as m E V. and the Geneva Version), or
* without guile' (as in Wycliffe), or 'without
deceit ' (as in Cranmer ; Tyndale gives ' without
corruption'). The point then will be that the
Word is pure, ' uncrafty ' (as Jeremy Taylor puts
it), incapable of deceiving or corrupting; with
which may be compared the use of the cognate
verb in 2 Cor. iv. 2, ' handling the Word of God
deeeiifMlfy,* If, as is more likely, ths figure rules
the term, it may be rendered unadtdterate ; free
from any foreign element hurtful to the life ; an
analog to which is found (see Lillie) in Shake-
speare 8 ' the innocent mUk in its most innocent
month' (IVintcf^s Tale, iii. 2).— that ye may
grow thereby. The best authorities add here
the important words, unto salvation, which carry
these converts in thought at once from their pre-
sent infancy in ^ace on to what they are designed
to be in the ultimate manifestation of the sons of
God. The unflagging spiritual appetite or ' long-
VOL. IV. 13

ing ' which is spoken of is to be cherished with
this in view as its most proper object, — their own
growth from strength to strength, until they reach
the measure of final redemption. This increase
will be secured, and that goal reached, only
'thereby,' or rather, 'therein ;' that is, so far as
the Word is made the mental food in which their
new life instinctively seeks its nourishment, and
made this with that great object in view. Any
other use of the Woid of God comes short of a
worthy use. * To desire it only for some present
pleasure and delight that a man may find in it,
is not the due use and end of it : that there is
delight in it, may commend it to those who find
it so, and so be a means to advance the end ; but
the end it is not. To seek no more but a present
delight, that vanisheth but with the sound by the
woids that die in the air, is not to desire the Word
as meat but as music' (Leighton).

Ver. 3. if indeed je tasted that the Lord is
good. A condition is added which represents
the previous charge as one which is applicable
indeed only to those who have a particular per-
sonal experience (expressed as tasting), but ob-
viously applicable to such, and certain to recom-
mend itself to them. The sentence puts the
condition as one which may be held to oe made
good, = if, that is to say (and that I take for
granted), ye tasted. The tense (a simple historical
past, not * have tasted,' as both A V. and R. V.
give it) describes the experience as one belonging
definitely to the past, and points, therefore, to
what they found the Lord to be when they first
came to know Him. The adjective has not so
specific a meaning (although it approaches that)
as is implied in the ' gracious ' by which both the
A. V. and the R. V. render it. Neither has it
here the sense of ' sweet,' as if the Lord Hinuself
were viewed as the 'rational unadnlterate milk,'
and declared now to be as milk 'sweet' to the
taste in the sense in which meats and drinks are
pronounced 'sweet' or 'good.' It designates
moral goodness under the twofold aspect of at-
tractiveness and kindly disposition or active bene-
ficence, as distinguished from other adjectives
which describe goodness on the side of its sterling
worth and its gentleness. The idea, therefore, is
that if, as Peter assumed it to be the case, they
had found Christ Himself to be good in their own
first inward perception of what He was, they could
not but hunger for that living Word of the Gospel
by which thev had received Him and life with
Him, and make such use of it that their life should
be a growing life and themselves children, dwell-
ing in brotherly love, and advancing in raeetness
for the children's inheritance. It is not necessary
(with many interpreters) to limit this goodness of
the Lord to the active beneficence of which the
providing of this preached Word was the special
proof. The source of the verse shows the sense
to be more general. For Peter seems to have in
mind here the 34th Psalm, one of the eight
Psalms which are referred by their inscriptions to
the painful period of David's life during which he
was a fugitive from Saul. The particular words
which he reproduces are those in which the
Psalmist calls on God's saints to make proof for
themselves of that kindness of Jehovoii which
throws the shield of angelic protection round
them, — words on account of which the early
Church made thb Psalm its Communion Psalm
(see Delitzsch in loc,). In order to adapt it to

178

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER- [Chap. II. 4-6.

his present purpose, Peter makes certain changes
on tne sentence, dropping the imperative form,
and giving the single term ' taste ' instead of the
two terms 'taste' and 'see,* by which the Psalm
expresses the spiritual experience which leads to
spiritual perception. And what is said of the
Jehovah of the O. T., Peter applies thus to Christ

without further qualification. If they had once
tasted this goodness, the^ must have the appetite,
and that would keep their life from being stunted.
If they had once known what the Lord Himself
is, they could not but long for that Word n^hich
is His preacher, that they might have an ever*
deepening experience of His goodnc

Chapter II. 4-6.

Exhortation to Continuous Building on Christy the Foundatum.

TO w
ini

horn "coming, ^w unto^ a * living stone, ^disallowed «Heb.iy.x(5:
indeed of men,* but chosen ''of God,* and^ precious,* 36;Jo^TO.Ii.

-_ _ — . . o Sec reo. •!

5 ye also, as ' lively * stones, are -^ built up ' a ^ spiritual house, ^

cPB.czviu.M:

an holy * priesthood,' to * offer up * spiritual sacrifices, ' accept- JSljj^f •
6 able to God by Jesus Christ "* Wherefore also * it is * contained mic ot. i;
in the scripture,*** Behold, *^ I lay in Sion a ^ chief comer-stone, ^^'i^^i,

" and he that 'believeth on him'* shall not fii.^,^^^:

Lu. iL 5s.
^Rom. 1^ It;
a Cor. vi. 9 ; GftL il xo. /Acts ix. 31 ; i Cor. ill 9, 16, viii. t, to, 83, xiv. 4, 17; a Cor. vi. 16 ; Eoh. iL at ; i Thea. ▼. 11.

ft Cor. X. ^. 4 ; Eph. i. 3 ; Col. i. 9, lu. 16 ; Heb. iii. 6^ x. ai : Mat. xxv. az, as. AVer. 9; Kx. adx. 6b

Vcr. 84 ; Mat. xvii. i ; La. xxiv. 51 ; Heb. vil 37. ix. 38, xuL 15 : Jas. ii. 37 ; Gen. viii ao. ASee oader (A

/ Rom. XV. z6, 31 ; a Cor. vi. a, viii la. mCn. i. 16. 34. m Acts xxiit. 35 ; z Mace. xv. a ; a Mace ix. zl;

xi. z6. aa. See also Lu. v. g ; a Mace. iv. z6. 0 Isa. xxviii. zo. / Eph. ii. ao. a Ver. 4 ; Bfat. xx. i6]_Lii. xxai. 31.
rVer. 4 ; Lu. vU. a, xiv. 8 ; Phil. iL 39 ; z Kings xxvL az. s Lu. xxiv. 35 ; Rom. is

/ Rom. V. 5, ix. 33, X. tz ; z Cor. L 37.

^ elect, ' precious :
be ' confounded.*'

ix. 33, X. iz ; I HoL L z&

* omit /u unto * ^r, by men indeed rejected

* rather^ but with God elect * omit and

* or, honourable, as in margin of R. V, ^ living ' £?r, be ye also built up

* rather^ for, or^ with a view to an holy priesthood • Because
^® in Scripture, or^ as the margin of the k, V, gives it, in a scripture
" or^ honourable " or, with margin oj R, K., on it
^* or, with R, V,, put to shame

It is supposed by some (Schott, etc. ) that the
previous section has already had in view the future
of the Church, and not of the mere individual, its
import being that by a right use of the Word the
members of the Church should increase in love as
a brotherhood, and the Church itself advance

capacity as the Church of God, is continued for
some time, and carried into the details of their
relations to the ancient Church of God in Israel
(vers. 7-10), to the world and civil society (II-17),
and to various orders of life.
Ver. 4. To whom coming. The relative form

towards its glorious end. In that case, the verses of the sentence indicates its intimate connection
which now follow would be a mere extension of with the previous section. The connection, how-
the former paragraph. Up to this point, how- ever, is not between an exhortation and a state-
ever, Peter has dealt rather with what concerns ment of privilege appended in support of the
the individual believer's own ripeness for the exhortation, but between two exhortations whidi,
inheritance of the saints, and now he speaks of while in themselves distinct, have a meeting-
what relates to the realization of the idea of the point in what is said of 'the Lord.' This venc^
collective body, the Church. With the change of therefore, gives a further explanation of the
view there comes a change of figure. The con- primar3r condition of all growth, namely, onioii
ception of a life growing passes over into that of a with this Lord Himself. Th^ who have tasted
building increasing. At the same time the Word that He is good have an irresistible attraction to
or Revelation, which is the means of the life with Him, and it is by giving effect to this attraction

■ - If -

its growth, gives place to the Lord Himself, who that they grow. If the Church, too, is to t
is the foundation of the structure with its increase, into that which God means it to be, its members
and the idea of union with Christ Himself as the must not only feed upon the Word, but come con-
first and the last thing in the regenerate life, stantly to Christ Himself. Though the verb by
which was but dimly conveyed by the preceding which this is expressed is the-verb from which the
statement, is now exhibited in all its breadth, word proselyte is derived, it is fanciful to suppose
The description which is now commenced of what that Peter had in his mind anything relating to
believers are meant to be in their collective the modes of admission for Gendle converts mto

Chap. II. 4-6.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

'79

Judaism. Neither is he alluding specially to
service. It is held, indeed (e.g, by Schott), that
Christ being represented here not as the source of
the indiyidoal believer's life, but rather as the
ioDodation of the strocture which is being built
iq> of many regenerate individuals, the ' coming *
naturally refers neither to the first act of faith nor
to the diaily renewal of personal fellowship, but to
the stated coming with all the powers of the
regenerate life to Christ for purposes of service.
The idea then would be that the giving of our-
selves to Christ's service in the great work of
rearing the spiritual temple is to be made our
recognised mode of conduct But the construction
of tlK verb (which is unusual here) points rather
to something more than a simple approach to
one — to a dose approach or intimate association ;
while the present tense describes that as a habit.
The idea, therefore, is simply this — that the
uphuiding of the Church on Cnnst the foundation
can be made good only in so far as we, the
haOders, are ourselves ever coming into close
personal union with the same Christ. The verb
idected for the expression of this union, meaning
as it does to attach one closely to an object, is in
perfect harmony with the figure under which both
Christ and believers are represented here. — ft
IMng stone. The E. V. inserts as onto. The
original, however, is bolder. It has no such note
of comparison^ but designates the Lord directly a
IMng stone ; in which phrase the main thing,
too, is the noun st<me, not the qualifying adjective
Htring. Christ is spoken of under the figure of a
stone simply because in relation to the House He
is the foundation ; as believers are termed stones^
becaose in relation to the same House they are in
<»e point of view the materials to be used in
bnildmg, while in another they are the builders.
The word for stom here is an entirely different
word from the term which is identical with the
persooal name Peter, and this prevents us from
supposing (with Bengel, Canon Farrar, etc) that
the apostle was thinking here of the new name
(Peter = rock or stone) which he had himself
received from Christ He uses the term simply
as a well-understood Old Testament title of
Messiah, as he uses it again in his discourse afler
the healing of the cripple (Acts iv. 11), and as
Christ Himself employs it in order to point the
application of the parable of the wicked husband -
men (Matt xxi. 42). Peter, indeed, as some
suppose, may have been that 'one of His
disdpks* who, as Jesus ' went out of the temple/
said unto him, 'Master, see what manner of
stones and what buildings are here,' and who now
pointed his readers to that Master Himself as
the chief comer-stone of a more dorious temple
slowly rising out of more imperishable material.
The adjective 'living* is attached here, as it is
also to the subsequent 'stones,' simply as a note
of the figurative application of the noun. It does
not refer to the Resurrection of Christ, neither does
it express such ideas as that Christ became this
'living foundation' only through death, or that
He lives to make others alive, or that 'He
penetrates and fills with His life the whole
oiganism of believers, and causes it to grow'
(T^onmiiller). Far less is the expression analogous
to the phrase living roik, describing the stone in
its natural state as distinguished from the stone
broken and hewn. — rejected indeed of men, bnt
with God chosen, honoaraUe. There is no

reference here to the Jews as distinguished from
others. There is simply a broad contrast drawn
between two kinds of treatment accorded to the
'living stone,' one on the side of men, and
another on the side of God. It is much in Peter's
habit to draw such contrasts (c£ Acts iL 23, 24,
iiL.13-1^, iv. 10, v. 30, 31, X. 39, 40). Hence,
too, instead of the ' builders ' of Ps. cxviii. 22, we
get the more general phrase 'men.' The verb
which the E. v., following Tyndale, Cranmer,
and the Genevan Version, translates ' disallowed '
here (as it does again in ver. 7, but nowhere else
in the N. T.), conveys the stronger idea of rejec-
tion after trial, or on the ground of want of
qualification. Here 'reproved' b given by
Wycliffe, and ' reprobatea ' by the Rheims, and
outside this Epistle the verb is invariably rendered
' reject ' in the E. V. The value which the stone
has in God's sight is expressed by two adjectives,
one of which describes it as 'chosen' or 'elect'
(f./. chosen by God as qualified for His object) ;
while the ouer descnbes it as consequents
' honourable,' or ' in honour ' with Him as such
(the term being somewhat different from the
' precious ' in i. 19). Other epithets, which in Isa.
xxviii. 16 are descriptive rather of what the stone
is to be in the buildmg than of what it is in God's
estimate, are omitted.

Ver. 5. Be ye also as living stones hnilt np.
The verb admits of being construed either as
indicative or as imperative. The former is pre-
ferred by the E. V., in which it follows Tyndale,
Cranmer, and the Geneva. The same rendering
is adopted by not a few of the best interpreters
(Bengel, Wiesinger, Weiss, Hofmann, etc.),
specially on the ground that what is stated in this
verse and the following is a natural explanation
of the practical effect to which that ' goodness of
the Lord' which they had tasted (ver. 3) had
served them for good, namely, in having actually
made them, through attachment to Himself, parts
of that spiritual edifice of wtuch he is the founda-
tion chosen of God. But the imperative is to
be preferred (with Beza, de Wette, Luthardt,
Huther, Schott, Alford, etc.), as most consistent
with the use of the similar ' be ye ' in i. 15, with
the hortatory force which seems inherent in the
participle 'coming' (ver. 4), and with Peter's
practice of introducing charges in the form of
imperatives accompanira by participles expressing
the conditions of their fulfilment (1. 13, i. 17, 18,
i. 22, ii. I, 2). The imperative, too, may be of
the middle form = build yourselves up (Luther,
Steiger, Plumptre), or better, of the passive form
=be ye built up, as the K V. gives in
the margin, here following Wycliffe's 'be ye
above bilded,' and the 'be ye also your-
selves superedified' of the Rheims. So reter,
as his wont is, charges them to do on their
side what has been made both possible and
a matter of duty by what has been done
on God*s side. The K>undation is laid by God,
let them come, therefore, and be built upon
it. And the character (such again is the force
of the ' as ') in which they are to do this is that of
living stones.— a spiritual honse. Though the
noun means simply 'house,' and not 'temple,'
and the adjective ' spiritual ' is added simply to
distinguish it from a material structure, it is no
doubt the temple that Peter has in view. The
phrase itself may be in apposition to the subject
'ye' (Hofmann, etc.), or (as most prefer) it may

i8o

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. H. 4-6

express the end contemplated in the being built.
It may be that they are to be built tip on the
Foundation in the character of, or because they
are, a spiritual house ; or it may be rather that
they are to be built up in order to make a spiritual
house. At this point Peter introduces the idea
which was so alien to the Jewbh mind (cf. Mark
3civ. 58 ; John ii. 21), but by this time as familiar
to him as it was to Paul (Eph. iL 20-22, etc.), that
the real temple of God was not the great House
in Jerusalem, and that Christ's flock, without dis-
tinction, too, of Jew and Gentile, was the true
Israel, temple, and priesthood of God. It is pos-
sible, as Dean Plumptre and others believe, that
in speaking of the Church in these terms, Peter
recalled the great declaration made to him by
Christ Himself, the full significance of which he
had been slow enough to take in, on the subject
of the Church, and the rock on which its Lord
was to build it (Matt. xvL 18). < This thought of
a Divine temple consisting of living men, and of a
comer-stone by whom and in whom they could
alone cohere, may be traced throughout the whole
Epistle. From first to last he seems to be telling
them of a unity which existed for them, and
which they might enjoy in spite of their disper-
sion, if only they would recognise the living
ground of it, if only they would move round the
true centre, and not try to exist as separate atoms
apart from it * (Maurice, Unity of New Testament ,
p. 336). — nnto (or, with a view to) a holy prleet-
nood. The evidence of the best authorities makes
it necessary to insert the preposition ' unto,' which
at first sight creates an awkward connection. The
awkwardness, however, is only in appearance. It
is the new reading; that gives by far the deepest
and most apposite sense here. It indicates a
further end contemplated bv the being built up in
Christ. The^ are to be so Duilt in order to make
not only a spiritual house, but also a holy priest-
hood, and the spiritual house itself is to rise with
a view to, or, so as also to become, the holy priest-
hood. As God*s people once were, the house
and the priesthood were distinct ; now they are
one. ' Under the Old Covenant Jehovah had His
House, and His priests who served Him in His
House ; the Church fulfils both purposes under
the New, being both His House and His holy
priesthood (see Wiesinger and Fronmiiller). The
epithet * holy ' simply marks off the priesthood as
consecrated according to the idea of a priesthood.
The noun expressing the priesthood itself is one
entirely strange to profane Greek, but found in
the LXX., and once again in the N, T. (ver. 9 of
this chapter). It denotes priests not in their
individual capacity, but as a collective body or
collie. It by no means follows, however, that
it implies the existence of different degrees of
priesthood among Christians (Canon Mason), or
that it bears upon * the office of a vicarious priest-
hood, representing and acting on behalf of the
body corporate ' (Canon Cook). The one thing
it amrms is that all Christians as such, and with-
out distinction, constitute a priestly fraternity cor-
responding to the community of pnests established
under the Law, and realizing the complete idea of
a priesthood which the former college, with its
limitation in numbers, and its sharp separation
from the people, and its ritual service, imperfectly
and distantly exhibited. * The name priest,* says
John Owen, *is nowhere in Scripture attributed
peculiarly and distinctly to the ministers of the

Gospel as such ; that which pats a difference
between them and the rest of the people of God*s
holiness seems to be a more direct participation of
Christ's prophetical, not sacerdotal, ofiioe. When
Christ ascended on high, He gave some to be/fv-
piuts, Eph. iv. II ; none, as we find, to bcpiests.
Priests are a sort of church-officers whom Christ
never appointed' (see Dr. John Brown fi» lac,).
In the next few verses, Peter lingers lovingly over
this great principle of grace, the priesthood of all
believers, the right of every soul to go direct to
God with its sins, and receive for itself His for*
giveness through Christ, — the principle which the
early Church proclaimed ('are not we who are
laics also priests ? * — Tertullian, de Exhort, Casts-
talis, chap, vii.), which was lost in the theology
and ecclesiastidsm of the Mediaeval Church, id*
though it lived in its hymnology, which finally
revived in the Theses of Luther, and became the
keynote of the Reformation. — ^to dEar up qpiri-
toal sacrificea. If Christians are the spiritual
house and the holy priesthood whidi make all
necessity for a separate temple and a limited

{>riesthood vanish, they must serve in priestly
iELshion Him whose house they make. Their
service is to offer 'sacrifices,' and these, in con-
formity with the service itself, must be not mate-
rial but 'spiritual.' In the O. T., sin and tres-
pass offerings had to be offered first in order that
access might be secured, and only after these, and
in their train, came the sacrifices of consecration,
praise, and thanksgiving. Under the N. T.,
access has been opened once for all by Christ's
sacrifice for sin, and the only sacrifices which this
priesthood is called to offer, or is capable of ofier-
ing, are of the latter order. They embrace first the
consecration of our living, active selves, which is
described as the presenting of ' our bodies a living
sacrifice (Rom. xii. i) ; and then those offerings
which are the expression of that consecrated life,
— the sacrifices of our praise and thanksgiving
(which are compared to the fruit of our lips,
Heb. xiii. 15 ; cf. also Ps. 1. 23, cxvi. 17 ; Hos.
xiv. 3), of our prayers (which are likened to
incense, Ps. cxli. 2), of beneficent deeds and
charitable givings (Heb. xiii. 16), of broken
spirits and contrite hearts (Ps. li. 17), of obedi-
ence, the superiority of which to the sacrifices of
the Law was declared so early as by Samuel to
Agag (i Sam. xv. 22), and finally, if need be, of
a spent life or martyr's death, which Paul sp^s
of under the figure of the pouring out m the
heathen libation, or the Jewish drink-oflRerii^,
which accompanied the sacrifice (Phil. ii. 17).
The verb used here in the sense of ' to offer,* is
the usual LXX. term for the offering of sacrifice,
and means properly to * bring up to the altar.' It
occurs thrice in the N. T. with the literal sense of
* carrying up,* or * leading up * (Matt. xviL I ;
Mark ix. 2 ; and, in reference to the Ascension,
Luke xxiv. 51^. It is never found in the sacrificial
application cither in the Pauline writings or in
the Classics, but has that sense again in ver. 24
of the present chapter, once in James (ii. 21), and
thrice in Hebrews (vii. 27, ix. 28, xiii. 15). —
acceptable to God through Jenia Ohrist. lliis
clause may be attached to the verb, so that the
sense will bc=to offer up through Jesus Christ
acceptable sacrifices to God. This connection
has in its favour the analogy of Heb. xiii. 15, and
is urged on the ground that not only the accept-
ance of what is offered, but the very possibility o{

II. 4-6.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

» is dependent on Christ ; so Alford, de
Weiss, etc It is better, however, on the
to connect it closely with the noun, both
ant of the immediate vicinity of the noun,
muse without such an addition the accept-
r the N. T. sacrifices (as due directly and
to Christ) is not distinguished from the
noe of the O. T. sacrifices (as dependent
ain ritual observances). The meaning,
-e^ seems to be (as Luther, Bengel, Wies-
flofmann, Huther, etc., read it)=:to offer
tnal sacrifices which through Jesus Christ
eptable to God. To Him to whom we
r first consecration as priests to God, we

0 the continued acceptance of all that we
oar priestly ministry.

6k Beoanae it ia alio contained in
n (or, fit a scripture). The passage in
mind is the section of Isaiah (xxviii. i6)
h the prophet's stem declaration of the
Samaria and unsparing invective against
eial classes of Judah break suddenly into

fan of gentle seriousness and hope'
\ addressed to the pious, and assuring
'the security which will 'justify their faith,

1 the permanence of the temple-building
the solidity of the foundation ' (Cheyne).
nmla by which the passage is introduced
'berefore also,' but, as the best authorities
because ') is the same as has been found
Iready in similar connections (i. i6, 24).
ata that Peter is not making an express
m in order to establish, by the authority
Old Testament, what he nas just stated,
lather giving in familiar Old Testament
liich come naturally to his pen, a reason
ase being as he has stated it to be. This is
ed bjf the indefinite and impersonal phrase,
mitttned in Scripture^ or, in a scripture
iding 'in the Scripture' is doubtful), as
( by the foct that the words are given
exactly as they stand in the Hebrew text
ictly as the LaX. Version renders them,
is also the case with Paul's use of them in
c 33) ^th a number of significant varia*
'At point of the passage, therefore, seems
his : the reason why Uiey are to be built
a spiritual house with the view to being a
iesttiood offering spiritual sacrifices, lies in
Dg been God's will, as that is expressed in
re, to make Christ the foundation of His

with that object (cf. Hofmann, Schott,
Behold, I lay in Zion. So Paul, too
i>* 33)» gi^^^ i^ instead of Isaiah's more
statement. Behold^ I lay in Zion Jor a
iom (literally, / am He thai hath founded),
Jie LXX. puts it, Behold^ I lay to the
ions of Zion, The object that is thus laid
irding to Isaiah, a stone^ a tried stone, a

comer-stone^ a sure foundation. But
of introducing the object simply as a
od then defining that by a series of com-
^thets (which Ewald and Delitzsch agree
lering rather, *a tried precious corner-
i firmest foundation '), Peter names the
at once a chief comer-stone^ and then
it by two simple epithets, transforming

Older, and omitting some of his terms.
igain (Rom. ix. 33), seems to take the
not from Isa. xviii. 16, but from Isa.
.—•% chief corner-stone, elect (or, chosen),
aUe. The corner-stone is that stone in

181

the foundation on which the angle of the building
rests, and which is all-important to the stability
of the building and the coherence of its parts.
There is no reference here, however, to the union
effected through Christ between Jew and Gentile
(as Luther supposes), far less to Christ as 'the
connecting link of the Old and New Testaments '
(Fronmiiller). — and he that believeth on him
shall not be confonnded. The Hebrew text
gives simply, he that belieifeth, leaving the object
unnamed. The phrase ' on him ' (or, as it may
also be, ' on it ') which Peter introduces (as also
does Paul, Rom. ix. 33) is found, however, in
some Mss. of the LXX. The clause which
appears at once in Peter, in Paul, and in the
LXX. as ' shall not be confounded ' (or rather, /«/
to shame), stands in the Hebrew text as ' shall not
make haste,' or ' shall not flee in trepidation,' Le.
shall stand firm. The clause, therefore, is not
a mere parallel to the previous 'grow unto salva-
tion,' pointing to security in the final judgm'ent
(Schott), but gives a general assurance expressive
of the confidence of those to whom the prophetic
promise is fulfilled in Christ. The passage as it
stands in Isaiah is set over against the l^yptian
alliance which was sought at the time, and ag^nst
the hurt and shame which are declared in the
same connection {e.g, xxx. 1-7) to be destined for
those who lean on l!^ypt instead of Jehovah. If
this was in Peter's mind, the words would sug^t
the difference (confidence for the one, disappomt-
ment and shame to the other) between those who
hold by Christ and those who cling to old national
connections, and would appeal with peculiar force
to those Chnstians who were in danger of yielding
to the power of social surroundings in times of
peril. In any case, the passage was admitted by
the Rabbis to be of direct Messianic import But
whether the stone immediately in Isaiah's view
is to be identified with Jehovah Himself, with
the Davidic King, with the theocracy, with the
Temple, or with the promise made to David and
his house (2 Sam. vii. 12, 16), in Peter it is
Christ Himself who is that Son of David in whom
the kingdom was to reach its final glory, and in
whom uiat promise is fulfilled. In lx)th connec-
tionsy^iiM is specified. But while in the prophet
it is faith in the sense of confidence, or in the
sense of belief in the future fulfilment of a
promise, in the apostle it is faith in the sense of
personal reliance on Him who was promised and
had appeared. In both cases, too, an assurance
is attached to the faith— in Isaiah, that the
Israelite who remains faithful instead of seeking
secretly to Egypt shall not need to flee ; in
Peter, that the Christian who relies on Christ
shall not beput to real shame, however scomfiilly
handled. — Tne best interpreters are practically at
one in recognising the doctrinal bearings of this
brief but important section. Peter here expresses
what Bishop Lightfoot (Comm. on Philip, i. 17)
holds Paul's language also to express, ' the funda-
mental idea of the Christian Church, in which a
universal priesthood has supplanted the exclusive
ministrations of a select tribe or class.' 'Neander
concludes that 'when the apostles applied the
Old Testament idea of priesthood to Cnristianity,
this was done invariably for the simple purpose of
showing that no such visible particular priesthood
could find place in the new community.* And
Huther affirms the idea which is here expounded
to be opposed ' not only to the catholic doctrine

l82

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. II. 7-ia

of a particular priesthood, but to all teaching its possessors an importance in the Church, Testing
with regard to the office of the administration of on Divine mandate, and necessary for the coin-
word and sacrament which in any way ascribes to munication of salvation {i,e, priestly importance).*

Chapter II. 7-ia

The Hofiour pertaining to Christians as tlte True Israel.

7 T INTO you^ therefore which believe A^ «"* precious : * but ajo.iv.44:
vJ unto them which be * disobedient,' the ^ stone which the xo; iSila.

7, 10, ix. at.
xu.ao,3ritL7;
I Cor. zv. 31,

builders 'disallowed/ the same is made the 'head of the

8 -^corner,* and a ''stone of stumbling,* and a rock of * offence,
even to them which ' stumble at the word,' being disobedient ; *

9 whereunto also they were * appointed. But ye are a chosen
' generation,' a *" royal " priesthood, * an holy nation, a * pecu-
liar people;" that ye should ^show forth" the Upraises "of
him who hath** ''called you out of 'darkness into his

10 'marvellous "light: which in ^time past were "'not a people,"
but are now the ' people of God : which had not ' obtained
mercy," but now have obtained mercy. iv.£7;DeBt:

L 96 : Isa. Ixv. 3. c Ps. cxviii. 33 ; Isa. xxviii. z6. ^.^^ ^^ ^'^ ^^^' 4* * IHa. xxL 4a ; Acts ir. xi.

./Mat. vi. 5 ; Acts xxvL 36 ; Rev. vii. 1, xx. 8. ^Isa. %-iii. 14 ; Rom. ix. 33, 33, xiv. 13, ao ; z Cor. vuL 9.

A Isa. xxix. 31 ; Mat. xvl 93, xiii. 41, xviii. 7; Lo. xvii. x ; Rom. ix. p, 33, xiv. 13, xvL 17; 1 Cor. L a^; GaL v. 11;
t Jo. ii. zo ; Rev. ii. 14. 1 Ps. xci. za ; Piov. iii. 33 ; Mat. tv. ^ vii. 37 ; Jo. xi. 9, xo ; Rom. iz. ^ xiv. 81.

k Isa. xliv. 6 ; Acts xiii. 47 ; x Tlies. v. 9 ; x Tim. i. X2. / Isa. xliiL ao. See also refik to z Pet. i. 6.

mVer. 5 ; Ex. xix. 6; Lu. vii. 35. «vLu. vii. 5, xxiii. a; To. xi. 48-53, xviii. 31c. 0% Chron. xiv. 13:

Mai. iii. 17 ; Eph. i. 14 : x Thes. v. 9 ; a Thes. il 14 ; Heb. x. 39. Ct. also Isa. xliiL ax ; Ex. xix. 5 ; Deat. vii. 6.

/ Ps. ix. x^. Cf. also Isa. xiii. 13. xliii. 31. ^ Isa. auii. 8, 13, xliii. ax, Ixiii. j ; a Pet. i. 3| 5 ; PhiL it. 8.

r Rom. viii. 30, ix. zx ; x Cor. i. 9 ; Gal. v. 8 ; Col. iii. 15 ; a Thes. ii. 14 ; x Tim. vl zs ; Heb. ix. ts ; z Pet. iL tz,
V. 10 ; 3 Pet. i. 3. s Mat iv. 16, vi. 33 ; Lu. i. 79, xL 35. xxiL 53 ; Jo. iii. X9 ; Acts xxvi. z8 ; Rom. iL zo, xiii. za ;

z Cor. iv. 5 ; 3 Cor. vi. 14 : Eph. v. 8, xr, vi. xa ; CoL 1. X3 ; z l*hes. v. 5 ; z Ja i. o. / Mat. xxi. 43 ; Mk. xii. zz ;

Jo. ix. 30 : a Cor. x!. Z4 ; Rev. xv. z, 3. u Lu. xvi. 8 : z Tim. vi. z6 ; i Ta i. 5, 7 ; Jo. ii. 8, viil. za, xii. j& ; Mat. iv. z6;
Jo. i. 4, 5, iii. 19* ax : Acts xxvi. 18, 23; a Cor. vi. 14 ; Ej>h. v. 8, 9, X3 ; x Thes. v. $» etc vCh. iiL 5 ; Pl^em. xz, etc

ivHos.ii. 33: Rom.x.z9; Deut. xxxii. 3Z.
z Cor. \\\. 35 ; a Cor. iv. a ; z Tim. i. 3, z6.

34;CoLiLa3:
zTfafes.iv.4;
X Tim. L X7,
v.zt,vi.i,x6:
a Tim. 11. ao^
8Z ; Heb. iL
7. 9> in. 3, V.
4; zPtt.1.7;
a Pet. L Z7 ;
Rev. iv. 9^zz,
V. za, Z3, vfi.
za,xix. z,
xxL a^ a6.
b Acts XIV. a ;
Rom. X. az,
xL jo^zPrt.
aL8,iiL z.ao,

X Heb. iv. 9, xi. 35 ; Rom. xi. z.

y Mat. V. 7 ; Rom. xL 30, 3t ;

* // may be For you, or simply^ Yours

* or^ as the R, V, gives it in the margin^ is the honour. The A. V, has he is
an honour in (he margin^ while the R, K has is the preciousness in its text.

* or^ with the R, K, for such as disbelieve * rejected

* literally^ this was made head of the corner

* or^ with R, K, and, a stone of stumbling, etc,

' literally, who stumble at the word, and sOj to those who stumble, etc.^ or^
with R, K, for they stumble

8

or, as margin of R, K, stumble, being disobedient to the word

nr r^c^ 10 q^^ kingly

• or, race

" literally^, a people for acquisition, or^ as R. vrgives it, a people for God's
own possession " <?r, that ye may tell out

'^ literally^ virtues, or, with R. V,, excellences ** omit hath

** who once were no people *• literally, been compassionated

ITie central thing in the preceding paragraph
was the Stone with the stnictare erected on it.
The sudden transition from the figure of babes
growing to that of stones built up, is by no means
characteristic only of Peter. In Paul we have
even bolder instances of apparent confusion of
metaphors, as when in one breath he represents
believers as at once vmlking, rooted^ and built up
in Christ (Col. iL 27). This disregard of the

ordinary congruities of figurative speech, however,
is not due to mere rhetorical vehemence over-
leaping the accepted proprieties of style. It has
its reason in the nature of the realities of grace,
which language is strained to express, and in
which things meet which are otherwise distinct
As Paul's seeming mixture of the similes of
walking, rooting, and building has its explanation
in the spiritual fact that the union witn Christ,

II. 7-10.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

183

Ilis phnse ' in Christ * denotes, is at once
lere within which the life of the Christian

the toil in which it is rooted, and the
ion on which it stands ; so Peter's seeming
on between growth and huildinz is bat a
» of the fact that the edifice of which he

is a living one, which increases b^ the
fMOcess of growth. How much this in-
1 to be built up on Christ by coming ever
I involved for these readers will be under-
however, only if it is remembered that to
o Christ in those days meant for the Jew

00 from the Temple and the fellow.<thip of
lent Church of God, and for the Gentile the
ion of the bonds of national religion and
il social usage. It is not without reason,
te» that at t^ point the writer pauses to
the more than compensation for all such
d dislocation to be found in the honour
locmes through that attachment to Cbriit
^ been depicted as the coming of living
to be built upon a living foundation. This
i in a remarkable series of descriptive terms
led from the Old Testament Israel to the

7. For yon, therefore, who belieye is the
\ The statement of the dignity of the
in standing is introduced in the form both
ifercnce from the revealed will of God as
d by the prophet, and a direct applica-
tlie Old Testament assurance to these New
lent believers. The phrase ' who believe '
1st in the original (=for vou, therefore, is
KXir, for you, I say, who believe), because
dj on the ground of their ^th (which is
4)t as a condition here, but as a fact) that
uance is applied to them. The pronoun
n ' may mean either to your advantage^ or
^ebngf. The margin of the R. V., indeed.
In your sight' But that is to introduce the
ive estimates of believers where Peter deals
seir objective privileges. The difficulty,
ar, is to catch the point of the noun which
es the thing that thus belongs to them or
heir advantage. Not a few interpreters,
)|[ Luther, Calvin, and Erasmus, as well as
ruons of Tyndale, Cranmer, and Geneva,
brist as the subject, and the noun as the
tc. The E. V. follows this, giving * he is
s' in the text, and 'he is an honour" in the
. This is opposed, however, both by the
' the Greek which marks out the noun as
and not as predicate, and by the close
ion with the immediately preceding sen-
liidi is indicated bv the reduplicating of
ho believe' upon the previous 'he that
th.' Most interpreters now a^^ree that the
of the sentence is not Chnst Himself,
^ is called (in reference, that is, to
puty expressed in the former sentence)
onoiir,' i.e. the honour already spoken

1 that the predicate is the 'for you.'
IS also realised, indeed, by WyclifTe and
eims Version. There is some difference,
T, as to the precise reference of the noun.
Grerhard, Briickner, Weiss, Schott, Huther,
ke it to repeat in positive form what was
i in the negative clause, ' shall not be put
mc* Others (Wiesinger, etc.) think it
ick to the definition of the Stone as
us' or 'honourable' (ver. 6), the sense
liat the value which the Stone has in God's

sight is a value which it has for them who believe.
This seems favoured bv the rendering of the
R. v., 'for you . . . is the preciousness. Others
(Alford, Fronmiiller, Cook) combine these refer-
ences, and this comes nearest the truth. The
sentence takes up the whole idea, which has just
been expressed, of an honour in which the
foundation stands with God, and what that fact
carries with it to believers. Mr. Humphry, there-
fore, rightly takes the full sense to amount to this,
' For you who believe in Him, for your sakes, is
this preciousness, this honour which He possesses ;
that so far from being " put to shame " (ver. 6), ye
may partake in it, be yourselves precious in the
sight of God' {Comm, on Rev. Version^ p. 440).
—but for such as are disobedient. The reverse
side of the prophetic assurance is now exhibited,
and, as the omission of the article indicates, the
persons are named now in a more general way,
not as if definite individuals were in view, but so
as to include all of a certain kind. ITie reading
varies here between two participles, both of more
positive import than the simple ' unbelieving,' and
differing slightly from each other. They mean
'disbeUevin^,' or 'refusing belief,' and point,
therefore, either to the state of disobedience
which b the effect of unbelief (Alford), or (as the
form which is on the whole better supported
rather implies) to the mind that withstands
evidence. — The stone which thebnilders rejected,
this was made the head of the comer ; instead
of saying simply that shame, in place of honour,
belongs to the disbelievinjg, Peter gives in the
words of Scripture a less direct, but more terrible,
statement of the lot of such. Two passages are
cited. These are not run into one, however, as
the A. V. suggests, but are given as two distinct
quotations simply connected by 'and,' as the
K. V. puts them. Portions of the sections from
which tnese are taken are fused into one sentence
in Rom. ix. 33. The first, which is given according
to the LXX., is taken from Ps. cxviiL 22. That
Psalm is generally regarded as a post-Exilian com-
position, and its occasion has been variously
identified with the celebration of the Feast of
Tabernacles in the year of the Return, as recorded
in Ezra ilL 4 (so Ewald, etc.), with the laying of
the foundation-stone of the Second Temple, as
described in Ezra iii. ^13 (so Hengstenberg,
etc.), with the consecration of the Temple, as
related in Ezra vL 5-18 (Delitzsch, etc.), or with
the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles which
Nehemiah (viii. 13-18) reports to have taken
place on the completion of the new Temple. In
the Psalm, therefore, the Stone would be a figure
of Israel itself, rejected by the powers of the
world, but chosen by God for a position of
unexampled honour. But the Messianic applica-
tion of the passage has its ground in the fact that
Christ Himself, and only Christ, was personally
and truhr that ' Servant of Jehovah,' tnat ' first-
bom ' of'^God that Israel was called as a nation to
be, and that the destiny which was so partially
fulfilled by Israel was finally realized in Him,
who was of the seed of Israel So Christ uses the
passage in direct reference to Himself (Matt.
xxi. 42-44; Mark xU. 10, ii ; Luke xx. 17),
as it is again applied directly to Him by Peter
(Actsiv. II).

Ver. 8. akd, A stone of stumbling and rock of
oiEuice. The second passage is taken from Isa.
viii. 14, and b given according to the Hebrew,

i84

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. II. 7-ia

not according to the singularly divergent version
of the LXX. What is said there of Jehovah of
hosts, namely, that, while He is a sanctuary to
those who sanctify Him, he will be a ' Stone for
striking against, and a rock of stumbling ' to the
mass of the faithless people of both kingdoms, is
here affinned of Christ. The terms, too, denote
not what the disbelieving feel Christ to be (so
Luther, etc.), or the offence which they take at
Him, but what He in point of fact must prove
objectively to them. Compare Simeon's declara-
tion of what the infant Saviour was destined to be
(Luke ii. 34, 35). — A difficulty has been felt by
not a few interpreters with the positive form in
which Christ is here said to have been made what
these prophetic statements represent Jehovah as
certain to be to particular classes. But Peter Fays
nothing more here than what Paul affirms when
he speaks of the same persons being a ' savour of
life unto life,' and a ' savour of deatn unto death '
(2 Cor. ii. 16), and nothing beyond what had been
expressed — still more strongly, indeed, and in
terms of the same citation by his Lord Himself
(Luke XX. 17, 18)— the truth that God's grace is
not a neutral gift, but becomes its opposite to its
scomers. Special difficulty has been felt with the
statement that Christ was made to the disbelieving
head of the comer. It is proposed, therefore, to
construe the sentence in an entirely novel way,
namely, ' He then who on the one hand is an
Honour to the believing and to the disbelieving,
on the other hand the Stone rejected of the
builders, was made to the one class head of the
comer, and to the other a stone of stumbling,*
etc (Hofmann). Others explain it on the pnn-
ciple that a stone which is not recognised by the
eye becomes an obstacle for the feet to strike
against (Gerhaid, Steiger, etc.). But the point
may simply be that the Divine demonstration of
Christ as made the very thing which the^ refused
to admit in Him, itself puts the disbelieving to
the shame against which the believing are declared
to be secured. ' God thus poured into their own
lx>som the contempt which they had poured upon
His Son' (Lillie).— who stumble, disobeying the
word. This is not an independent sentence,
whether it be construed as='They who stumble
are disobedient,' etc., or as = * These stumble,* etc.,
or (with Hofmann on the uncertain analogy of the
use of the relative as an exclamation m Matt.
XX vi. 30) as= ' As for those who stumble ... to
what a fate were they appointed ! ' It continues
the previous statement, and that, too, not as
appending a reason for it (so apparently the
R. v., \for they stumble'), but in the simple
form of an explanation = * that is to say, to those
who stumble,' or, as the A. V. puts it, ' even to
them which stumble.' The Vulgate and the other
English Versions, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Cranmer,
the Geneva, the Rheims, as also the A. V. and
the older commentators, such as Erasmus, Luther,
etc., agree in making the 'word* dependent on
the * stumble.' Most now, however, following the
Syriac, Bengel, etc, rightly connect the 'word'
with the ' disobeying,' both because the ' stumble '
has been already sufficiently defined, and because
the participle otherwise would be a pointless
addition. The stumbling (again in the objective
sense) and the disobedience are related to each
other as simultaneous things, or as cause and
effect. Christ is what He is declared to be to a
certain class, when or because they disobey the

Word. He is made a stone of stumbling only to
those who, bv rejecting that Word, in point of
fact turn God s grace in Christ to their own hurt.
— wherennto iSao they were appointed. A
solemn expression of the truth that not only is it
so, but it cannot be otherwise. The apparent
severity of the statement has been so acutely felt,
that a variety of expedients have been attempted
with a view to change or mitigate it. loree
classes of interpretations have to be notic^.
There are those entirely unreasonable inteipre-
tations which refuse to see that Peter has God in
view as the Author of the 'appointment,' and
add to the verb ' were appointed ' some such
explanation as ' by Jewbh prejudice ' (Hottinger),
'by SaUn' (Aretius), or 'by Old Testament
prophecy ' (Mason). There are those, again,
which endeavour to make the clause a single
sentence with the preceding. This is the case
with Erasmus, Luther, etc., and also with seven!
of our older English Versions. Thus Tyndale
gives 'believe not that wherein they were set,'
the Rhemish 'neither do believe wherein also
thev are put,' and so substantially also Wydifie
and Cranmer. But the Genevan has ' unto the
which thing also they were ordained*' There are
also those (and this third class embraces the
great majority) which recognise a distinct
assertion of a Divine ordinance. This is
undoubtedly the only valid exegesis. It is impos-
sible to adjust the terms to any less positive idea.
The opening words cannot be softened into ' on
account of which,' but denote the destiny or mi
which is set for the disobedient The verb
means here, as repeatedly elsewhere, ordain^
constitute^ appoint^ and the ' also * has its ascensive
force, indicating that there is something deeper
even than observed fact to be said upon the
subject. The precise thing to which the dis-
obedient are said to be ordained, however, is
differently conceived. Some construe the sentence
as = to which disobedience also they weie
appointed (Calvin preferentially, Beza, etc);
some as = to whicn stumbling, etc. (Grotios,
Bengel, Steiger, Huther, Weiss, etc.) ; and some,
again, as = to which disobedience and stumbling
etc (de Wette, Wiesinger, Leighton, Hofmann,
Lillie, etc). Of these three constractions the
second is the simplest and most contextual. For
the main subject of the section has been neither
the genesis of faith and unbelief, nor their moral
merit and demerit, but the positive honour which
is destined for the believer, and the positive
shame or stumbling which is destined for the
unbeliever. It is to be observed, too, that the
verb introduced here is not the term which bears
the technical sense of foreordainisig^ but one
which (with a single doubtful exception in
I Thcss. v. 9) is always used in the New
Testament of things done in time (cf. John xv.
16; Acts XX. 28; I Tim. ii. 7; 2 Tim. L ll).
There is, therefore, no affirmation here of a
predestination of some to unbelief. Whatever
ordination is asserted, is, as Wetstein briefly pots
it, an ordination 'not that they shall sin, but
that, if sinning, they shall be punished.' Just as it
is said in ver. 6, ' Behold, I lay (or, set) in Zion
a chief comer-stone,' so it is said here (for the
verbs are the same) that they ' were appointed {sat ^
set). ' In the one case it is what God has actually
done in making Christ what He is to the Church ;
in the other it is what He has done in so relating

Chap. II.7-ia] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

i8s

dBobedience and stombli^ that the latter is the
remit of the former. The historical relation
established between these two things has its
noand In the eternal purpose of G<m, and the
New Testament does not shrink from carrying
bade (and in the least qualified terms, cf. Rom.
iz. 21, etc.) the gravest moral facts of history
to the Divine mind. At present, however, Peter
speaks directly not of the foreordaining counsel of
God, but of the fact that thin^ are so ordered in
time, that unbelief carries in its train the turning
to men^s own hurt of that grace of God in
Christ which brings honour to the believer.
Weiss, therefore, deals more fairly than most
with the exegesis of the passage, when he says
that It ' does not speak of the foreordination of
indlviduak to unbelief, or to exclusion from the
ku^om of God ; it states that in accordance
with a Divine arrangement the disobedient are

order or determination of things, however, which
links together subjective aversion to truth and
objective penalty, is a mystery to which, not
le» than to that of the Divine foreordination,
Leighton's words apply : ' Here it were easier to
lead you into a deep than to lead you forth
apun. I will rather stand on the ^ore and
sUemly admire, than enter into it.'

Ver. 9. But ye are an elect race. From these
thonghts of terror Peter returns to the brighter
side of the compensation which the believer has
for temporal loss and trial, and instances in a
single breath four ^eat titles of Christian honour.
These express the mcomparable superiority of the
life of faith over the life of disobedience ; for the
emphatic ' but ye * contrasts the readers not with
the Old Testament Church, but with those just
described as destined to stumble. They exhibit
the Christian life, therefore, in antithesis to a life
rooted in mere nature and nationality. They
recall at the same time the fact that these
scattered sojourners are, according to the Now
Testament standard, that very Church of God
which national Israel was meant to be according
to the Old Testament standard. It is more than
doubtful whether, in the use of the successive
terms race^ naiion, people (which are simply
taken from the LXx.), Peter had in view any
such distinctions as those between people as of
like descent, people as of like customs, and people
as an oi]^ized body (Steiger). But all four
terms pomt to the fact that believers are not a
mere aggregate of individuals, but form a unity,
and, indeed, the only unity worthy of the name.
So they are designated, first of all, in words
suggested probably by Isa. xliii. 20, a raee (not
merely a generaiion^ as the A. V. here, and
only here, renders the term), a body with com-
mnnity of life and descent ; and elect in so far as
they were made this by God's choosing and
separating them out of the world. — » xojal priest-
hood. This second title is taken from the
description of Israel in Ex. xix. 6^ and is of
somewhat uncertain import It is variously
taken to be equivalent to 'kings and priests'
(Lillie, on analogy of Rev. i. 6), ' a magnificent
priesthood ' (Aretius), ' a priesthood exercising
Kingly rule over the world' (Wiesinger), *a

K'esthood serving a kin^ ' (Weiss), ' a pnesthood
onging to a king and m his service * (Hutber),

* a priesthood of kingly honour ' (Hofmann), ' a
kingdom of priests ' (Schott). The form of the
adjective usea here (and probably nowhere else in
the New Testament) means, however, belonging to
a J^tngf or worthy of a king, and never ' consisting
of kings,* or 'having kingly rule.' The phrase
itself, too, represents a Hebrew phrase which is
understood, indeed, by the Syriac Version, the
Targums, the Septuagint, and a few com-
mentators, such as Keil, to denote a kingship of
priests, or a body of priests with kingly honour,
but is held by most to mean a kingdom con-
sisting of priests, a community ruled by a
king, and dedicated to His service, and having
the priestly right of access to Him (see Dillmann
on Ex. xix. o). Hence the import of the title
as applied by Peter depends on the question
whetner he uses it in the proper sense of the
Greek terms, or in the sense of the original
Hebrew as inexactly rendered by the LXX. In
the latter case, it will mean ' a kingdom indeed,
but one of priests.' In favour of this it is urged
that it retains the analogy of the other titles, each
of which names some purely natural or national
community, and qualifies it by a distinctive
epithet. They are named, that is to say, a race,
but are distinguished from others as elect, a
fiation but a holy one, a feo/>le but a peculiar
one, and, in the same way, a kingdom but one of
priestly order and membership. In the former
case, the idea will be simply that of a priesthood
'belonging to a king/ or 'of kingly honour.' — a
holy nation, ue. a commonwealth consecrated to
God, — a title taken again from Ex. xix. 6, and
in the same connection as there. — a people for
possession, i,e» a people whom God has taken
for His own. The A. v., following Tyndale, the
Genevan Version, and the Bishops' Bible, and
induced probably by the Vulgate's rendering,
gives 'peculiar* (as also in Tit. ii. 14), — a word
which, naving lost its etymological sense, is now
an inappropriate rendering. Wyclifi'e gives 'a
people of purchasing;' Cranmer, *a people which
are won; the Rhemish, *a people of purchase'
The noun occurs again in i Thess. v. 9 (A. V.
' to obtain '), 2 Thcss. ii. 14 (A. V. * the obtain-
ing '), Eph. i. 14 (A. V. * purchased possession '),
and Heb. x. 39 (A. V. 'saving'). The cognate
verb is translated purchase (Acts xx. 28; I Tim.
iii. 13). The noun may have either the active
sense of acquiring^ acquisition, or the passive
sense of the thing acquired. It is wrongly taken
in the former sense here, however (Schott, e.g.,
makes it = a people yet to be acquired), because
Peter deals not with what God is to make His
people in the future, but with what He has made
them now. The phrase reproduces, with some
change in the form, the idea expressed in Isa.
xliii. 21, as well as in Ex. xix. 5. The Hebrew
term used in the latter passage occurs again in
such passages as Deut. vii. 6 (A. V. 'a special
people *), XIV. 2, XX vi. 18 ; Ps. cxxxv. 4 (A. V.
'peculiar treasure') ; Mai. iii. 17 (A. V. 'jewels').
It AtTioies property, — ^not, however, mere property
as such, but precious property, or rather perhaps
propertvbelonginjg specially and individually to one.
Here, therefore, it is sufficiently well rendered by
the R. v., 'a people for God's own possession.* —
that ye shonla show forth, or rather, as the verb
implies (which occurs nowhere else in the N. T.),
that ye should tell out. So Wycliffe gives
' t^ll ' And the Rhemish 'declare,' while Tyndale,

i86

Cranmer, and the GencTan have 'show.'-
ezceUenoM. The Greek word b the fomxliar
term for virtues^ and so it is rendered hoe by the
margin of the A. V., as well as by Wyciifie,
Tyndale, Cranmer, the Gene\'an, and the Rhnnish.
It is nsed, however, by the LXX. as eqaiTalent to
the lieh. term for praiu or praises. So it occnrs
in the passage (Isa. xliii. 21) which Peter has in
mind here ; and as the prophet speaks there of
the people whom Jehovaih had formed for Him-
self as having a vocation to relate how He had
glorified Himself in them (see Delitzsch, in loc.),
a is reasonable to suppose that the term here
denotes not the vforJs of praise, bat (as it is used
also by Philo) the things which evoke praise, the
excellences of God, whether in the sense of the
excellent deeds of His grace (so Schott, as most
nearly expressing the idea in Isaiah), or His
excellent eUtributes manifested in these deeds
(Iluther and most). It is with this object that
they are made what they are. If they are what
these titles indicate, it is not with a view to their
own glorification, but to ooalify them and put
them under obligation to publish these excellences
of God to others. This * showing forth' may
apply, as it is largely taken, to the duty of glorify-
ing God by the miits of a new life. But, as the
verb is used regularly of verbal declaration, and as
the LXX. rendering of Isaiah's phrase (xliii. 21)
has a similar force, what is intended rather is that
the N. T. Israel is set to continue the prophetic
vocation of the O. T. Israel, and is made what it
is in order to proclaim Christ to those outside, as
its predecessor was made God's people in order to
be His preacher to the nations. — of him who
called yon, that is, as formerly, Gcd^ not Christ
'Out of darknea into his marvellous light It
is to make too little of the term ' light ' to say that
it refers simply to the Christian life. It is to
make too mudi of it, however, to say that it
points to God's own presence or Being as that to
which they are called. God is light, but He is
also in tlu light (i John i. 5, 7). The familiar
figures point here simply to two contrasted spheres
of existence, to one as that of heathen ignorance
and hopelessness, to another as that of holiness
and serenity. This latter is * His light,' the
sphere of existence which belongs to God, the
new kingdom which also is * marvellous ' (perhaps
Ps. cxviii. 23 is still in Peter's thoughts) to eyes
opened to sec it, as is to ' idle orbs ' the sight ' of

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER- [Chap. II. 7-ia

smi, or mooo, or star thionghoat the year, or man,
or woman ' (Milton),

Ver. la who OBoe were no people, hot sn
BOW God*s people. A solemn and snmmaiy coo*
dnsion, sketchn^ in two bold strokes the vast
contrast between their present and their past
The contrast is drawn in order that in the recol-
lection of their past they may find an incentive to
adhere at any cost to their prophetic vocation of
tellii^ forth to others the excellences of (jod
Once they were not only not God's people, hut
' no people.' National coanectifm they might have
had, bat the unity that makes a people worthy of
the name of a people they had noL Their bdc
of relation to God involvra lack of that rclatkm
to each other whidi merges diflferences of race,
speech, worship, custom, opinion. Now they are
not only a people, with the bonds of a true people's
anion, bat God's people, owned of Him and ad-
ministered by Him. — ^who onee had not obtained
mercy, but now haTO obtained meicj. If thej
were in time past no people, the reason lay here,
that God's mercy had not brought them into rda-
tion to Himself. Two participles briefly express
this, and they vary in tense. The fixmer is the
perfect, as rderring to a state in which they had
long continued previously. The latter is the
historical past, as referring to a definite act of
God which changed the state. Once they had
been in the condition of persons not compissioo-
ated ; now they are persons once for all oom-
passionated of God. The verse b a free adapta-
tion of the prophetic passage (Hos. n. 23X in
which Jehovah, reversing the ominoos names,
Lorukamak and Lo-asnmi, given in the fint
chapter (vers. 6, 9), says of Israel, * I will com-
passion Uocompassionated, and to Not-my-people
I will say My-people, and he will say My Goa !'
Peter's reproduction is of the most general kind,
omitting the characteristic notes which apply
specially to a people who had once beei^ God's
people, and had lapsed in order to be restored.
Though in Hosea, therefore^ the words are spc4ei
of Israel, it does not follow that ther must refer to
Jews here. Paul applies them to Gentiln (Ron.
ix. 25), and that Peter's view-point is the same
appears from the form which he has given to the
contrast, which b too absolute to suit those wbo^
while originally God's people, had ceased to be
true to that vocation, and had lost on that aoooaat
God's favour. (See also the Introduction.)

Chap. 11. II, 12.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

1 87

Chapter IL ii, 12.
Exhortation to Purity of Life in face of the Heathen.

11 "T^ EARLY* ''beloved, I * beseech ^^// as *^ strangers and «ch. iv.xa;
J-^ ' pilgrims,' ' abstain * from -^ fleshly ^ lusts, which war I'ii Vs. Ill

12 against the soul ; having your * conversation * * honest* among xfi iV;
the Gentiles ; that, whereas • they speak * against you as ' evil- a cor.' vh. 1,'

» XII. 19 » HCD.

doers, they may by' your good works, which they shall ^jj^p. etc. ^
*" behold, " glorify God in the day of ^ visitation. H^r'iir*'!^'

wSL 19, S9, etc c Acts vii. 6, 09 ; Eph. u. 19. ^See refs. to ch. i. z. e Acts xv. 29, 30;

I ThOk IT. 3, ▼. aa ; I Tim. iv. 3 ; Jer. vii. 14. yRom. xv. 37 ; x Cor. iii. 3, ix. it ; 3 Cor. i. 13, x. 4.

/-See refs. to ch. L 14. ^ A See rels. to ch. i. 15. i Ch iv. 10 ; Rom. vii. 16, xii. 17, xiv 31:1 Cor. v. 6 ;

Gu. iv. 18 ; Heb. xiii.^ 9 : Jas. iii. 13, iv. 17, etc ^ ^ k Ch. iiL 16 ; Jas. iv. iz ; Job xix. 3. / Ch. iii. 16, iv. 15 ;

Joi. zviiL 30; Prov. xii. 4, xxiv. 19. mCh. iii. az. Cf. also Ps. ix. 34. n Mat. v. 16, ix. 8, etc

0 La. XIX. 44. Cf. also Mat. xxv. 36, 43 ; Lu. i. 68, 78, vii. x6 ; Acts vii. 33, xv. Z4, 36 ; Heb. iL 6 ; Jas. i. 37.

* omit Dearly * sojourners, as in Revised Version

* to abstain, as in Revised Version ^ manner of life, or^ behaviour

* comely, good, ^r, with Revised Version, seemly ® wherein
' ^ as the result of

The mode of address indicates a distinct point
of transition in the Epistle. The writer has
dealt so far with what nolds good absolutely of
Christian privilege and Christian responsibility.
He b^ns now to enforce what Christians are
concerned to be and to do in certain particular
drcnmstances and connections. And before
proceeding to specify their obligations in society
and in the various relations of life, he sets before
them, in the form of an affectionate personal
appeal, the att'tude which they ought to maintain
generally in presence of the loopare and hostile
sarroundings of heathenism. The kind of life
which they are sedulously to cultivate in presence
alike of the temptations and of the misrepresenta-
tions to which th^ are exposed from their Gentile
associates is stated both on its negative side and
00 its positive. It is recommendra, too, by con-
nderations drawn from their own position, from
the injurionsness of the things to which they are
tempted, and from their vocation to glorify God.

Ver. II. Belored, I beseech yon as ■trangerB
and aojonnien. The injunction is given in
terms of tender urgency. The opening designa-
tion occurs no less than eight times in the Epbtles
of Peter, and in every case except the present
the A. V. translates it simply 'beloveo,' not
'dearly beloved.' Paul has a peculiar fondness
for it (cf. Rom. xii. 19 ; i Cor. x. 14, xv. 58 ;
2 Cor. vii. I, xii. 19; Phil. ii. 12, iv. i). Here,
as also at iv. 12, the direct and appealir^ address
marks a turning-point in the Epistle. The verb,
too, embraces at least the two ideas of beseeching
and exhorting, and is variously rendered in
different connections by the A. V. call for (Acts
zxvilL 20, etc.), entreat (Luke xv. 28, etc.),
beseech (Matt. viii. 5, etc), desire (Matt, xxviii.
32, etc), pray (^ultt. xviii. 32, etc.), exhort
(I Pet v. I, 2), comfort (Matt. ii. 18, etc.).
They are appealed to in the character of strangers
and sojourners ; of which terms the latter is the

one used in the first designation of the readers
(see note oni. i, and compare specially Ps. xxxix.
12), and conveys a somewhat different idea from
the 'pilgrims* of the A. V., while the former
denotes properly residents without the rights of
natives. They have manifestly the metaphori-
cal sense here, applicable to all believers as
citizens of heaven. It is doubtful whether any
distinction between them is intended here,
although Bengcl discovers a certain climax in
them, Christians being described by the first as
distant from their own house^ and by the second
as distant even from their own country. Former
exhortations were grounded on their being
' children of obedience ' (i. 14) ; these which
follow are grounded on their being children
whose home is not where temptation works. — to
abstain from fleshly (or, the fleshly) Inata. The
Musts' are, as in i. 14, not merely the fetid
sensualities which had attained such monstrous
strength in the heathenism of the time (though
these may well have been particularly in view),
but all inordinate passions and desires, all that
would come within Paul's enumeration of the
works of the flesh (Gal. v. 19-21), or John's
description (i John ii. 16) of ' the world's accursed
trinity * (Leighton). They are called fleshly (cf.
Pauls 'worldly lusts,' Tit. ii. 12, and Musts of
the flesh and of the mind,' Eph. ii. 3), as being
rooted in, and affected by the quali^ of, the
' flesh ' or nature of man, both physical and
psychical, as now depraved. When Paul (Rom.
vii. 14) speaks of himself as 'carnal,* he uses a
still stronger form of the adjective, one denoting
the personality as more than of the quality of the
flesh, — as having the ' flesh ' for the substantial
element of its being.— which war against the
sonl. The * which ' might be rendered * as they.*
Peter, as the particular pronoun indicates, does
not signalize certain lusts, namely, those which
war against the soul, but takes fleshly lusts as a

i88

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. L<-'hap. IL 11,12.

\\hule, and describes them as being all of a
nuality hostile to the soul, and this quality in
them he makes a reason for abstaining from them.
They may work * in our members * (Rom. vii. 5),
consume our strength, and injure us in our
interests, but the ' soul,' the very centre of the
personal life, is the object of their assault. The
verb is nowhere used again by Peter in this
figurative sense of carrying on a warfare (not
merely = besieging), but has a similar sense in
2 Cor. X. 3 ; I Tim. i. 18 ; Jas. iv. I.

Ver. 12. Having your manner of life among
the Gentiles seemly. The negative abstention
from impurities is now defined as involving a
ix)sitive purity. The life of self-restraint in the
heart of corrupting heathen associations is to be
a life so honesty or rather (with Wycliflfe and the
Rhemish) so gpod^ so fair and honourable, that
even the Gentiles may confess its attractiveness,
—that, wherein they speak against yon as evil-
doera, they may by reason of yonr good works,
witnessing (these as they do) glorify Ck)d.
Their outer life, with all that in their behaviour
which is open to the observation and judgment of
others, is now specially dealt with, and they are
counselle<l to make that a spectacle of good
works which even prejudiced and hostile eyes
shall be unable to contest. With this 'speak
against you ' compare the ' as concerning this sect,
we know that everywhere it is spoken against '
( Acts xviii. 22). The * that ' expresses the object
which is to be aimed at in keeping this seemliness
of conduct. The A. V. (with Bcra, the Bishops'
Bible, etc. ) wrongly renders 'whereas.* Equally
wrong is the * while * or the * since * of others.
The word means * wherein ' (as A. V. in margin),
or 'in the thing in which,' and the idea is that in
the very matter in which they now find ground
for speaking ill of you, they may yet find ground
for the reverse. This matter, which is to be
turned from a ground of accusation to a ground
of honourable recognition, or (as it is here put) a
ground of glorifying God, need not be identified
])articularly with the 'good works* (Steiger),
their * whole tenor of life ' (de Wette), their
Christian profession generally (Hofmann, Huther),
or their abstinence from fleshly lusts. It points
to whatever part of their Christian practice their
Gentile neignbours seized as the occsision of
slander. The term translated ' witnessing * (which
is used in classical Greek as the technical term
for admission into the third and highest grade
of the Elcusinian mysteries) occurs again in the
New Testament only in i Pet. iii. 2, and in
the nominal form in 2 Pet. i. 16 [^^eye-witnesses'*
of His majesty). It expresses here keen personal
observation. The name applied to these believers,
'evil-doers,* is of importance. It is that which
is also given to Christ Himself by the chief priests
(John xviii. 30), and outside Peter's Epistles it
occurs nowhere else in the New Testament except
in that instance. Neander {History of the
Planting of Christianity y ii. p. 374, Bohn) is of
opinion that the * Christians were now persecuted
as Christians^ and according to those popular
opinions of which Nero took advantage were
looked upon and treated as " evil-doers "...
malefici* Whether the name will bear the sense
of state criminals here, however, is doubtful.
The accusations thrown out against them as
practising murder, magical arts, infanticide,
cannibalism, and gross immorality belong to the

later periods of which we read in the Apologists
{e,^, Justin Martyr*s Apol, i., Tertullian*s AfA,
XVI.), and in writers of the age of Eusebtns
{Hist, Eccl, iv. 7, V. i), and Augustine [Ik
Civit, Deif xviii. 53). At an earlier (hte we have
the famous letter of the philosopher Plioj to
the Emperor Trajan, in woich he reports oim
his examination of the followers of Christ in the
very territories here addressed by Peter, admitting
that nothing had been discovered in them worthy
of death, but charing them with a stubbonmess
and inflexible obstinacy which he deemed worthy
of punishment. Earlier still, we gather from the
Roman historians Soetonius {Nero, ch. 16) and
Tacitus {Annals^ xv. 44) how thqr were spoken
against as men of a ' new and malignant saposti-
tion,' as 'hateful for their enormities,* as
' convicted of hating the homan race.' Aod it
is easy to see how at the very earliest period to
which this Epistle may be referred, and befoie
the state had airected its attention to them, tbeir
abstention from such familiar pleasures as the

Enblic spectacles, their non-observance of many
eathen customs, their gatherings for fellowship
and worship, would expose them to p^MiUr
odium and to the misrepresentation of their
pagan neighbours. Peter's exhortation b not to
isolate themselves, but to be careful of their
behaviour in the sight of the heathen till tbey
found a ' silent witness and ally ' (Lillie) in the
hearts of their calumniators theinselves. It is
generally recognised that Peter has in mind here
his Lord's words upon the Mount (Matt. v. 16).
—in the day of Tisitation. Definition of the
time when the heathen will glorify the God wfaon
they at present discredit in dishonouring Ilis
servants. What is this dayt Some take it to
be the day of judicial inquisition, the time when
these Christians would have to stand examinatrao
at the hands of heathen officials (CEcum., Bengd
at first, etc. ). It is, however, manifestly God*s
day, and not man's, that is in view. Is it, then.
His day of mercy, or Hb day of judgment?
The word (either as noun or as verb) occurs not
unfrequently oi gracious visitation {e.g. the LXX.
rendering of Gen. xx. i ; Ex. iii. 16, iv. 31 ;
I Sam. ii. 21 ; Job vii. 18 ; and in the New
Testament, Luke i. 68, 78 ; Acts xv. 14). It is
applied also to God's visitations in chastening ot
punishment (Jer. ix. 24, 25, xliv. 13, xlvL 25,
IX. 9 ; Ps. lix. 6 ; Ex. xx. 5). Hence a variety
of interpretations. Some think the day is meant
when the Christians themselves shall have to
bear God's chastenings in the form of the perse-
cution which even now overhung them, and when
their patience shall turn out (as we know
indeed from history it not seldom did turn in
such cases) to the conversion of their adversaries.
Others hold the reference to be to the tempoiil
calamities by which God now sifts and jud^
the heathen, or to the final adjustments of the
last day. On tiie analogy of I Cor. v. ao^ it is
also affirmed that what is in view is the practical,
though unwitting, confession of God's glory which
will be recognised at the last judgment in the
fact that the goodness of the Christian life was
the tme cause of heathen slanders (Schott). It
is most in harmony, however, with the context,
with the analogy of Matt v. 16, and espedally
with the declaration of James in the Coundl of
Jerusalem (Acts xv. 14), to interpret it (with
Hofmann, Huther, and the great majority of

Chap. II. 13-17] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

189

cnigetes both andeot and modern) of the day (the them to recognise in the pure and unworldly lives of
4f which had already dawned indeed) when God the subjects of their present calumnies a witness to
moM bring His grace to these Gentile^ and lead the liact that ' God was in them of a truth.'

Chapter IL 13-17.

T/if Attitude to Constituted Authority which is implied in the Honest

Conversation or Seemly Manner of Life.

13 *OUBMIT yourselves to every * ordinance of ^man ' for the "^^^J^JJ*

O Lord's sake : whether it be to the king, as '^ supreme ; *

14 or unto 'governors, as unto them that are sent by' him for the
-^punishment of* ''evil-doers, and for the upraise of them that

15 do well. For ' so is the * will of God, that with ' well-doing

ye may put to ** silence the ** ignorance of ^ foolish * men

16 as free^ and not using your ^ liberty • for a ^ cloak ' of '' mali-

17 ciousness,® but as the ' servants of God. ' Honour all men.
Love the * brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

r Real. ji. 19 ; x Cor. ii. 4, 13, iv. 3, x. 13 ; Jaa. iiL 7.^^ <f Rom. xiii. x. Cf. also Phil. iL 3, iii. 8.

€ Mat. n. 16, JC t8» xxvii. a, xi, X4, X5, ax. 33, 37, xxviiL 14 : Mlc xiii. 0 ; Lu. xx. ao, xxi. X3 \ Acts xxiii. 24, 36, 33, 34,

iv. t, xo^ xxvi. 30. /Lu. xviii. 7, 8, xxi. aa ; AxXi vii. 94 ; Kom. xii. 19 ; a Cor. vii. xi ; a The*, i. 8.

Rom. viii. 7,
ao ; Eph. v.
SI, 24 : Heb.
xii.Gi: J as. iv.

i: Ps. Ixi. I.
Ik. X. 6,
xiii XQk xvi.
15 ; Rom. i.
an, 35, viii.

19, 30, 9 f, 23,

39 ; 9 Cor. V.
17 ; Gal. vL
15 : Col. i.
15, 33 : Heb.
iv. 13, ix. II :
3 Pet. iii. 4 ;
Rev. iiL 14.

11. 94
/'ScerdEk OBver. za. A See refs. on du L 7. s'Mati. 18. >lr Rom. xii. 3 j Heb. x. 36.

/ Ch. iL ao^ uL 6^ xj ; Mk. iiL 4 ; Lu. vi. 9* 33, 35 ; Acts xvw, X7. m Mat. xxii. X3, 34 : Mk. i. 35, iv. 39 ; Lu. iv. 35:

a Cor. ix. 9 ; t Tim. v. t8. n x Cor. xv. 34 ; Job xxxv. x6. o Lu. xi. 40 ; Rom. ii. 30 ; Ps. xciiL 8.

/ Ct Ex. vcn. X£; a Kings xviL Z9> _ f See_rcfi. to ver. x^;_ r x Cor. x. 39 j^GaL v. 13, etc.

" rL o.

« I Cor. TiL M ; £ph. vL

/ Ex. XX. za ; Eph. vL a ; z Tim. v. 3.

«Ch. v. zo.

' to every human institution
^ or^ vengeance on
' covering

* sovereign

* the foolish

* ar^ wickedness

• through

• freedom

The relative duties of Christians are now taken
«pai egcntially concerned in that self-restraint
and seemliness of conduct which was to be the
best refutation of mischievous misrepresentation,
and the best victory over adversaries. Civil and
political relations are handled first of all as those
which most expose Christians to the misjudgment
of the heathen, and as containing secret elements
of temptation to Christians themselves. The
pcimary duty of submission is largely dealt with,
and with gfxA reason. The revolutionary aims
of men who were * turning the world upside down '
(Acts xviL 6) seems to have been among the
cnrliest imputations thrown out against the
adherents of the new fiiith. The spirit of resist-
ance to the Roman power filled the breasts of the
Jews of these times, and it was easy to identify
the new sect with the old. There was much, too,
in the characteristic beliefs of the Christians,
their absolute loyalty to Christ the King, their
faith in the equality of men, in a libertv with
which Christ had made them free, in the ap-
proaching end of things, and the like, that rnignt
an too readily provoke in themselves a fsdse
attitude to the powers that were. ' Submission,
therefore, was at this time a primary duty of all
who wished to win over the heathen, and to save
the Church from being overwhelmed in some
borst of indignation which would be justified
even to reasonable and tolerant Pagans as a

political necessity' (Farrar, Early Days of
Christianity^ L 162).

Ver. 13. Submit yourselves. The verb has
this middle sense here rather than the purely
passive force of * be subjected/ or (as the R. V.
puts it) *be subject.' — to every human institn-
tion. The noun is variou.sly rendered in our
A. V. creation (Mark x. 16, xiii. 19 ; Rom.
i. 20, viii. 22 ; 2 Pet. iii. 4 ; Rev. iii. 14),
creature (Mark xvi. 15 ; Rom. i. 25, viii. 19, 20,
21, 39; 2 Cor. V. 17; Gal vL 15; Col. i.
It, 23; Heb. iv. 13), dui/Jift^ {Hth, ix. 11),
and ordinance (only here). In the New Testa-
ment it appears to denote the act of creation
(Rom. L 20), anything created, the creature
(Rom. i. 25, viii. 39; Heb. iv. 13, etc.), the
complex of created things, the creation (Mark x.
^9 139 t9 ; 2 Pet. iii. 4, etc.), mankind as a
whole (Mark xvi. 15, etc), nature as dis-
tinguished from man (Rom. viiL 19-21) ; while
it is also used metaphorically of the 'new
creature.' Hence some {e.g, de Wette, Erasmus,
etc.) take the sense here to be = to every human
creature; which manifestlv would mean too
much. In classical Greek the term, however,
means the act of setting up, founding, or insti-
tuting something, and here, therefore, it is
genendly taken to mean something that is
established^ an institution or ordinance. It is not
to be limited, however, to magistracy only, or to

190 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. II. 13-17.

persons in authority, or to magisterial laws 'supreme* of the A. V. may suggest. He is

( Luther), but is to be taken in the al>solute sense, designated by a title (occarring also in Matt

embracing under it all the different forms, king* x. 18, xiv. 9 ; John zix. 15 ; I Tim. iL 2, etc.)

sliip, magistracy, and the rest, which follow. It which would be appropriate enough on the lipi

is described as ' human,' not exactly in the sense of of non-Romans, as the Greek language had do

bein^ founded on the necessities of human society term exactly equivalent to the Latin word for

(lilhe), or as dealing only with things pertaining Emfiayr, or in subject territories, but not in

to man in contrast with other institutions whicq Rome itself. Horace {Carm. iv. 14) mifi;ht oaoe

deal with things ' pertaining to God ; * bat either the Emperor Augustus lord of the world, but not

(as most interpret it) in the sense of being ' king ' ! The title, though it continued to be

established fy man, or (with Ilofmann, "and now applied to priests in the religious phrascologj of

Iluther, etc) in the sense of apflpng to man, Rome, ceased to be given to the bead of tbe

(■rdering man's social and political life and Roman state from the time of Tarquin's eipqhinB

relations. The latter view is favoured both by (Ctc. /^tp. 2, 20^ 53), and the odium windi

the fact that the cognate verb (the proper force clung to it all through the Repablic followed it

of which reappears in this exceptional use of the into the imperial times. Speaking of the so-called

noun) seems never to be used in the New Testament ' n^'o/ laws ' of the Uter empire^ Gibbon {DxHm

of merely human agency, and t^ the consideration afkt Fall^ ch. xliv. ) says ' the word {fix n^)

that subjection to every ordinance which man was still more recent than the thii^. The dafB

himself may set up seems too wide a charge. — ^for of Commodus or Caracalla would have started at

the Lord*! Bake. The spirit which should the name of royalty.'

animate us in practising such submission is thus Ver. 14. or to govemoo^ i,e, admimstiaton

solemnly added. And that is the spirit which of provinces, procurators, propraetors, procon-

recognises somctliing Divine in human institutions suls, as also Asiarchs and other officials. Wr-

(as Wicsinger perhaps rather vaguely puts it), or cliffe renders it ' dukes ; ' Tjrndale, Cranmer, the

better, the spirit of consideration for Christ, who Genevan and the Rhemish, 'rulers.' — as Mift

would be disnonoured by the opposite (Hofmann), through him, that is, through the kmg; not, s

or more simply, the thought that Christ wills it some (including even Calvin) strungelT i!«ag»«»»,

so. This pregnant statement of motive, there- through tkt Lord, — a reference precioded not

fore, elevates incalculably the duty itself. It only by the parallelism with ' as supreme^' hit

implies that our submission will come short of its also by the choice of the peculiar prepoiitioB

standard if the duty is viewed as a merely secular 'through.' These governors should have ov

thing, or if the Divine purpose in civil institutions submission, because they are the king's ddegitCL

and Christ^s interest in them are not acknow- — ^for punishment of evil-doom and for —

]ed[;ed. It shows, too, that the very thing which mendation of well-doeri. The object, with a

mi^ht seem to weaken the sense of ordinary civil view to which they are sent with their delegated

and {)oIitical obligation, namely the peculiar duty powers, is itself a reason for yielding them re^Md

of loyalty to Christ as Head, makes such obliga- and subjection. They are meant to be on the

lion a more sacred and binding one to the side of order and right, and therdbre on the side

Christian.— whether to the king as sorereign. of God. The idea of their d£oe is the represskn

Peter passes now from institutions in the abstract (the word is a very strong one = vengeance^ ai

to their concrete representation in persons. The Wycliffe puts it ; it is rendered ' revenge ' in the

subjection which is inculcated to the former is Rhemish Version) of the evil, and the protection

inculcated to the latter, and in both cases with and praise, i»e, the honourable nvv^umMiof the

equal lack of qualification. He does not pause to good (this last term, literally = well-doers,

pronounce on different kinds of government, con- ring only here in the New Testament). Peter Siji

stitutional, despotic, or other, or to adjust his nothing of the questions which may be foioed

statement of the duty in relation to the different upon the Christian when the idea of the office is

characters of administrations and administrators, perverted, or when the governor sinks the office

He takes the things and the persons as they then in his person and personal ends. Neither does he

>\ ere, and, on hi^^h spiritual grounds, recommends suggest that the duty of submission extends the

nn inofTcnsive and respectful attitude towards length of abstention from the use of ordinaiy

them. While he speaks of them with the same civil rights in withstanding the unjust action of

breadth of spirit as Paul {e.g, in Rom. xiii. 1-7), rulers. Paul made the most of his riehts as

his standpoint is not quite the same. He does a Roman citizen, and carried his app^ from

not deal with them here as Paul does there, in governor to Csesar (Acts xvi 37, xxii. 25, axv.

respect of what they are as powers 'ordained ii). He speaks, nevertheless, of the heatbai

of God,* but simply in respect of this duty of magistrate as the 'minister of God,' and of the

submissiott. Hence he can speak absolutely, duty of being ' subject not only for wrath, hut

For the duty of submission must stand even when also for conscience* sjJce * (Rom. xiiL 4, 5). The

positive obedience cannot be rendered, and when rule that injures is to be obeyed until It can be

(as in his own case, Acts iiL 19, 31, v. 28-32, amended. The rule that offends morality and

40-42) the mistake or abuse of * the powers that conscience is not to be obeyed ; yet its penalties

be ' forces us to say, ' We must obey God rather are to be submitted to.

than men.' Peter's statement is something Ver. 15. for bo is the will of Ood, f>. the wiU of

essentially different from any so-called doctrine of God is to the following effect (ci. Matt. i. l8^ where

* Divine right * or ' passive obedience.' Writing the same word is rendered • on this wise '), namely.

as he is to Roman provinces, he signalizes that by well-doing ye alienee the ignoranoe of

first of all the Roman Emperor. To him the foolish men. The 'well-doing,' which mi^

submission is due on the broad ground of his mean doing deeds of kindness or mercy (Mark

sovereignty ; for no comparison is meant here iii. 4 ; Acts xiv. 17), has here the more geoeml

between him and other rulers, such as the sense of rectitude or dutifuhiess of conduct. The

IL 13-17.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

191

* means literally to mustlff and
he rendered 'gag.' But it has the
uj tense in its other New Testament
ncei, with the single exception of the two
!t (I Cor. ix. 9 ; I Tim. v. 18) in which
1 Tcitament prohibition of the muvUing of
X that treadeth out the com' is quoted;
berefore, that sense should be retained
Thoie other occurrences are all of pic-
le hiterest — ^viz.. Matt xxiL 12, 34, in
ce to the speechlessness of the man without
dding garment, and the silencing of the
xes ; Mark i. 25, Luke iv. 35, of Christ's

0 the onclean spirit, ' Hold thy peace ; '
V. 39, of Christ's word to the ragmc; sea,
IL The noun used for * ignorance here

1 the idea (which it also has in its only
lev Testament occurrence, I Cor. xv. 34,
It infrequently in the Classics) of wilful,
il ignorance. There is a similar ethical
[n Uie 'foolish,' which here (as in Luke
xiL 20) has the idea of culpable senseless-
which appears in such Old Testament
s as Ps. xiv. I, 2, and which is ex-
i by a different adjective in Rom. i. 21.

pluase, too, may mean not merely 'of
men ' generally (as the A. V. and R. V.
rat it), but of *the foolish men,' with
lar reference to those already mentioned as
ing against them as evilndoers.' The fact,
re, Uut it was God's purpose to make the
Ivet of His servants a means of silencing
positions of their enemies, was a further
for proving themselves loyal citizens and
ti¥e subjects.

i6l m free, and not as having your
Bi for a corering of wickedness, bat as
nriMitB of God. Liberty is apt to de-
« into licence. Milton speaks of those who

' Bawl for freedom in their senseless mood,
d sbU levolt when truth would set them frte ;
MBCe they mean when tbey cry liberty.*

an possessed b^ the new sense of freedom
ist might think it stranee to be the servant
, and of such men as heathen rulers were,
guards his readers against this secret

of making their liberty in Christ a plea
ibordination in the State, and presents it
i a reason for order and subjection,' and

q>irit in which these duties should be
id. Because they were free they were to
missive ; for (the ' and ' introduces an
ition of the ' free ') their freedom was not
Bed as a means for concealing or palliating
nessy and they themselves, while free,
Jk> God's bond-servants and under obli-

to fulfil His will. 'The freedom of
ins b a bond freedom, because they have
1 free in order to be bond-servants to God ;
ree bondage, because they obey God and
rate not of constraint, but spontaneously'
rd). The 'clokc' of the A. V. is apt to
L The Greek term simply means a
ng,' and is used in the Old Testament to

the covering of badgers' skins upon the
de (Ex. xxvi. 14). It has no reference
a strangely supposes) to the cap put on by
itted slaves. Neitherdoes it mean 'cloak,'
in the figurative sense of something that
te true character of conduct. The English
s mostly give ' malice ' or ' maliciousness '

rendering of the other noun, — in this

following, and perhaps misunderstanding, the
Vulgate. The Bishops' Bible, however, gives
' naughtiness,' and, though the word has also the
more specific sense, and not a few interpreters
prefer it here, this more general meamng of
'wickedness,' 'evil conduct,' is more in harmony
with the context. (See also on ii. i ; and for
the idea as a whole, compare 2 Pet. ii. 19 ; Gal.
V. 13; as also i Cor. viii. 10; Rom. xiv. 13. >—
The connection of this i6th verse is uncertain.
Our view of its application will be modified
according as we relate it to what precedes or to
what follows. Some take it as an introduction to
ver. 17, and as stating, therefore, that Christian
freedom means the giving of their dues to all the
four subjects distinguished there (Stciger, Lach-
mann, Plumptre, etc.). But it is not easy to see
how the statement of ver. 16 bears particularly
on such a precept as the third in ver. 17, ' Fear
God.' Otners connect it with ver. 15 ; in which
case its import is that the ' well-doing ' by which
adversaries are to be silenced must be in the
exercise of a liberty implying freedom from deceit,
and rejoicing in service (so Tyndale, Erasmus,
Luther, Calvin, Hofmann, Wiesinger, Alfonl,
etc.). A third connection is also proposed (by
Chrysostom, Bengel, Schott, Huther, etc. ), namely,
with ver. 13 ; in which case it becomes a definition
of the general injunction, 'Submit yourselves,'
which rules the whole section. This last is on
the whole the best, as giving the principle that the
submission which was enjoined in all these civil
and political relations was to be rendered not in
an abject spirit, or with concealed motives, but in
consistency with a liberty in Christ which was
also free subjection to God's will and entire
loyalty to His service.

Ver. 17. Honour all men. A group of four
precepts now follows, which Leighton compares
to 'a constellation of very bright stars near
together.' They are remarkable for the clear-cut
form of expression in which they are cast, and for
their absolute tone. Each is perfectly intelligible
in itself. But it is not easy to discover the
relation, if any, in which they stand to each
other, and the reason for their introduction at
this particular point The first deals with what
is due to men as suck. For the ' all men ' is not
to be limited to 'all to whom honour is due'
(Bengel), nor to all governors such as those
already mentioned. Apart from all questions of
station or even quality, and besides what we
owe them in the distinctive relations of brother-
hood and magistracy, all men are to receive our
honour. By this is meant not exactly the
' submission ' previously enjoined, nor even the
somewhat conditioned esteem which Huther (with
Weiss, Wiesinger, Schott, etc, ) calls ' recognising
the worth which any one possesses, and acting on
that recognition,' but, more broadly still, the
practical acknowledgment of the dignity of man
as such, and of his natural claims upon our
consideration and respect. It is the recognition
of what all men are as bearers of the Divine
image, ' the idea of a dignity belonging to man
as man,' which, as Neander says, ' was unknown
to the times preceding Christianity' (see also
Dr. John Brown in loc,), — love the orotherhood.
The followers of Christ were distinguished by
Himself from the mass of men as brethren
(Matt xxiii. 8), and that name they seem to have
adopted naturally as their own earliest designa*

192

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap IL 18-2 j

tion. The ' brethren * in their sodal or corponte
capacity are the ' brotherhood,' and to this
ieliowship we owe the deeper debt of pcnonal
afiection. The precept has been giren alreadj
in rich detail (L 22), It is re-introduced here,
howerer, in an entirely new connection, — Cear
God. With this compare Christ's own words in
Lake zii 4, 5, and see also note on L 17. The
reTercntial awe which is doe from the snbject to
sapreme aathonty, and from the child to snpreme
perfection, which makes it to the one a dread
and to the other a pain to offend, is what is to be
rendered (cf for its New Testament position, Heh.
xiiL 28 ; 2 Cor. Tii. I, II ; PhiL ii. 12. etc.) to
Ilim who is the Maker of all men, the Father of
the brotherhood, the King of kings. — hooonr
the king. That is, in the practiod form of
fealty, and, where that is impossible, in sab-
mission. The two latter precepts occur together,
and in the same order, m Pror. xziv. 21. — ^Are
these foar precepts so many pearls unstrang?
Or are they a connected series, in which the one
limits or defines the other? By some they are
regarded as four particulars in which the previous
' well-doing ' (ver. 15) is to be exhibited. In this
case, too, a climax is usually discovered in the
first three, while the fourth is taken to be a return
to the relation which suggested the general
statement of * well-doing ' (Huther, etc.>. Others
think the first a general statement, of which the

three following are appllcatioDs (Alford, et&)L
Bat this can scarcely suit the tit'rJ at leuL
Others consider them to cover the two gitit
departments of life, the civil and the reli^oO)
and to show how duty in the former is limited or
defined by doty in the latter (.Schott). If nj
inherent coonection is to be found at all, it is in
this last direction that it is to be soi^t Tie
dosing precept indicates that Peter has still ii
view the civU and political datieib The vene,
therefore, is introduced perhaps as a final aoslifi*
cation or explanation of his statement 01 these
duties It is appended as a safeguard against
the supposition that soch ' submission ' to rukis
must interfere with other obligations. Tbe
general principle of giving to «// their dues, be
means, is unafiected by what has been said.
Honour to men as such, and the deeper senti*
ment of fove to the brotherhood, reverence to
God and honour to the kii^, are in no manner
of confiict The one is not to be rendered at tbe
cost of the other. — The last three precepts are
expressed in the fresemi tense, as dealing witb
habitual modes of conduct. The first precept is
given in a tense which does not express habit or
continuance. The difierence is explained by
some {€,g, Alford) as due to the £act that the
komoMT which b to be rendered to oil wteti is
presented here as a due which is to be given
promptly and at once to each as occasion arises.

Chapter IL 18-25.

Duties of Christian Slaves^ and these specially in the light of Chris fs Example.

18^0 ERVANTS, be * subject ' to your "^ masters with * all fear ; aCcn. i«. n^
Ww^ not only to the good and 'gentle,* but also to the y^;^^'-'»

19 'froward.* For this is -^thankworthy,' if a man for ''con- *see«&.it
science toward God* * endure 'grief,' suffering wrongfully, ^j^^^i

20 For what * glory • is it, if, when ye be ' buffeted for your J^^^^^ . '
faults,* ye shall *" take it patiently ? but if, when * ye do well, tJ'S. ••'*'
and suffer for it, ye take *® it patiently, this is acceptable with ^{Jl'^jJ'

21 God. For even" hereunto were ye * called; because Christ pStlJs!
also suffered for us," leaving us^* an ^example, that ye should -^^Jj.^'

22 ^ follow his '' steps : who ' did no sin, neither was ' guile ^ found '^i^ajV*

23 in his mouth : who, when he was " reviled, reviled not again ; ^^jl;
when he suffered," he "'threatened not, but ' committed ////;/- i{<S?H.'fi

24 self'^ to him that -^judgeth 'righteously: who his own self" Tc^"^'

7, 10. 12 ; I Tim. i. s. etc k i Cor. x. 13 ; a Tim. iii xi. ' '*^*' ** - '^ — *- ' "^

" ' ; Mk. xiv. 65 ; 1 Cor. iv. 11 ; 2 Cor. xii. 7.

h I Cor. X. 13 ; a Tim. iii 11. i Phil. ii. 27 ; Prov. xv. 13. ^ycAt xxviii. aa, xn. S.

( Mat. xxn. 07 ; mk. xiv. 05 ; i Cor. iv. xz : 2 Cor. xii. 7. «KMat. x. 22, xxiv. 13 ; Mk. xiii. xj ; Rom. xii. is;

L'or. xiii. 7 ; 2 Tim. ii. 10, 12 ; Heb. x. 32. xii. a, 3. 7 ; Jas. i. 12, v. i r. m See refa. at ver. 15. 0 dos re& at ver. 9.
/ Cf. 2 Mace. ii. 28. q Mk. xvi. 20 ; i Tim. v. xo, 24 : Job xxxi. 7. r Rom. iv. la : a Cor. xiL xS.

s Jo. viii. 34 : 2 Cor. xi. 7 : Jas. v. 15 ; x Jo. iii. 4, 8, 9. / See refs. at ver. x. « Mat. i. 18 ; Lu. xvii. 18 ; Ads

viti. 40 : Rom. vii. 10 ; Rev. xiv. 5. v Jo. ix. 28 ; Acts xxiiL 4 ; x Cor. iv. 12. wActs iv. 17. jr MaL ▼. iS-

z Lu.

y See refs. at ch. L X7.

xxiii. 41 ; x Cor. xv. 34 ; i Thes. ii. xo ; Tit. ii. la.

' submit yourselves. /?. V, gives be in subjection
2 literally^ in * or, considerate * or, perverse

^ on account of tlte consciousness of God ' pains
^ if, when ye do wrong, and are buffeted ^® shall take
'* you " when suffering ** left it

* acceptable

® credit
*^ omit even
" or, himself

Chap. II. 18-25.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 193

*barc** our sins in his own body "on" the *tree, that we, '^ P«^:.l«- «» :
being dead" to sins, should hVe unto ^righteousness: by ^Actty-ao^
25 whose * stripes** ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going ^^J*i>,
astray;" but are now -^returned" unto the ^Shepherd and If^^^^^
* Bishop *• of your souls. SJ™*""

dtLooL. vL 9. zi ; G«L iL 19. e Isa. liit. ao. /Isa. xlv. m ; Joel iL xa. ^ Ja z. zr, 14 ; Heb. xiiL 90 ;

JDU. 7 ; IfaL sm. 31. A Acu xx, 28 ; PhiL i. i ; i Tim. iii. 3 ; Tit. i. 7.

*' his body
*• or, with R* K, having died

*• tfr, «wM M^ margin ofR, V.^ carried up

*• tfr, Of -^. K andR, K /« margin^ to

*• ^ w/VA /A^ margin of R, K, bruise

•* «r, as R. K, ye were going astray like sheep *' <?r, ye did turn yourselves

•• tfr. Overseer, ox ^ff. K i« tnargin

The hoosehold is next dealt with as an institu-
doo obviously included under the ' every ordinance
of man * (ver. 13). And in the house the duty of
servants is first declared. The bond-servant
fbrmed an extremely numerous class both in
Greek and in Roman society. Rich citizens pos-
seaed slaves sometimes tj the thousand. Pliny
tells us^ for example, of a single proprietor,
CUndins Isidorus, leaving by will upwards of
fsur thousand slaves (Rai, Hist xxxiii. 47).

occupied a position of the most miserable
helplessness. Of himself the slave had nothing,

IS nothing. In the eye of the law he had
110 rights. Varro, 'the most learned of the
Romans,' in a treatise written only between thirty
and for^ years before the Christian era, gives a
classification of 'implements,' and first among
these appears the slave (Dt Re Rustica^ i. 17).
Aristotle defines the slave as a 'live chattel'
(/W. L 4). In his case there could be no such
tiling as relationships. Not till Constantine*s
time did the law begin to recognise marriage and
fiunily rights among this class. His master's
power over him was absolute. No punbhment —
Ihe scourge, mutilation, crucifixion, exposure to
wild beasts — was too much for him. Not tUl
Hadrian's time was the power of life and death
taken firom the master. Though there is ample
leasoQ to believe that often personal kindliness
aecured for the slave what the law denied him,
history has many a page dark with the record of
the cniel woes and tragic wrongs of the slave. It
is no wonder, therefore, that when Christianity
entered with its Gospel of freedom and its abolition
of all distinctions between bond and free in Christ,
and made numerous converts, as we know it did,
lirom this class, questions both grave and numerous
miose as to the relation of the Christianized slave
to the heathen master and the heathen law.
Hence the distinct place given to the slave in
Peter's counsels. Hence, too, the large space
ghren try Paul to the slave's matters, not only in
tne Epistle to Philemon, but in important sections
of other Epistles {i,g. i Cor. vii. 20-24, xii« t3 ;
Gal. iiL 28; Eph. vL 5-8; CoL iiL 11,22-25;
I Tun. vi. I, 2 ; Tit. ii 9, 10) addressed to very
diffierent parties.

Ver. 18. Servants, submit yonxBelves to your
■MSters. The term for ' servants ' here is different
from the one bv which Paul so frequently expresses
the idea of the bond-servant It occurs only
thrice again in the N. T., once in Paul's writings
(Rom. xiv. 4), and twice in Luke's (Gospel,
xvi. 13; Acts z. 7). It means, literally, 'one

VOL. IV. 13

belonging to one's house,' 'a domestic,' and in
Acts X. 7 it is translated by our A. V. ' household
servant. In the best period of classical literature
(i^, Herod, viii. 106 ; Soph. Track, 894), as also at
least occasionally in the Apocrypha (Sirach iv. 30,
vL 11), it is applied not unfrequently to all the
inmates of one^ house, or to the ' family ' in the
present sense. Hence some suppose that in the
present passage it includes all domestics, bond and
tree. Others (Steiger, etc.) think it is selected in
order to cover the class of freedmen who con-
tributed largely to the earliest converts. But as
the more usual sense of the word is that of ' slave,'
as it has that meaning in such passages of the LXX.
and the Apocrjrpha as Ex. xxi. 27, Prov. xvii. 2,
Ecclus. X. 25, and as that idea is certainly most
germane to the context here, it is generally taken
to denote bond-servants in the present passage.
Peter selects it probably with a ccmciliatory
purpose, as a more courteous term than the
common one. It presents the slave in closer
relation to the family, and so conveys a softened
view of his position. The phrase ' submit your-
selves,' or 'make yourselves subject,' is really in
the participle form, 'submitting yourselves,* and
is connected, therefore, either with the ' honour
all men' of ver. 17 (Alford, de Wette, etc.),
with the general injunction of vers. 11, 12, or,
most naturally, with the 'submit yourselves' of
ver. 13. The slave's duty is thus given as an
integral section of the great law of subjection to
'every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.'
The word used for * masters ' conveys the idea of
absolute power. It is used in the present applica-
tion elsewhere only in the Pastoral Epistles (see
refs.). It repeatedly occurs as a Divine title,
'Lord' (Luke it 29; Acts iv. 24 ; 2 Pet. ii. i ;
Jude 4; Rev. vi. 10).— in all fear. Statement
of the spirit or temper in which the subjection is
to be made good. Is the * fear * which is here
intended fear towards God or towards man ? On
the ground that Peter afterwards (iii. 6, 14) warns
against the fear of man, that Paul (Col. iii. 22)
appends the definition ' fearing the Lord ' to
similar counsels to servants, and that the term
occurs at times without any explanatory addition
in the sense of religious fear (i. 17), some good
interpreters (Weiss, Dr. John Brown, etc.) take
the idea here to be = give this submission in a
pious spirit, in reverential awe of God. But the
next clause seems to define the fear here under
the other aspect, as the feeling proper to the
position of subjection, even under trying circum-
stances. It means, therefore, careful solicitude to

194

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. H. 18-25.

give faithful service, * shrinkingfrom transgressing
the master's will * (Huther). This is conBrmed by
the use of the stronger phrase, 'with fear and
trembling,* in the Pauline pandlel (Eph. vi. $),
which (as also in I Cor. ii. 3 ; 2 Cor. vii. 15, and
even Phil. ii. 15) appears to express the broad idea
of watchful, nervous anxiety to do what is right. —
not only to the good and gentle, bnt alBO to the
froward. The * fear ' has l)ecn put absolutely, ' aii
fear,* as extending to everything which can make
demands upon the servant's loyalty and patience.
The same is now required in reference to cases
where it is subjected to the most painful strain.
It is not to be affected by the harshness of the
yoke, but is due equally to two very different
types of master. The one type is described by
two adjectives, which are represented fairly well
by the * pood and gentle* of the A. V. The
second of these, however, means more than simply
'gentle.' Adjective and noun are of somewhat
limited occurrence in the N. T., and arc variously
rendered by our A. V., e.F, gentlenefs, gentle,
here and in 2 Cor. x. I ; Tit. iii. 2 ; Jas. iii. 17 ;
clemency^ Acts xxiv. 4 ; moderation^ rhiL iv. 5 ;
patient^ I Tim. iii. 3. It expresses the dispositicm
which lets equity temper justice, is careful not to
press rights of law to the extreme of moral wrongs,
and shrinks from rigf^rously exacting under all
circumstances its legal due. It micht be rendered
'considerate,' or 'forbearing.* Wycliffe gives
mild; Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Genevan,
lourteous ; the khemish, modest. The other type
is described by an adjective, which means literally
crooked^ twisting {m which sense it is applied, e,^,,
to the river Maeander in Apo//. Mod, 4, 1 541),
and then ethically what is not straightforward.
Besides the present passag^ it occurs only thrice
in the N. T., — in Luke iii. 5; Phil. ii. 15 (in
which cases the A. V. gives crooked) ; and Acts
ii. 40 (where the A. V. has untoward). So here
it means not exactly capricious (as Luther puts it)
or wayward (the Rhemish), or even froward (as
both the A. V. and the R* V. give it after
Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Genevan), but
' harsh * or ' perverse,* the disposition that lacks
the reasonable and considerate, and makes a
tortuous use of the lawful. In ecclesiastical
Greek it is used to denote the Evil One.

Ver. 19. For this is acceptable. The ' this '
refers to the case immediately to be stated. The
Greek for ' acceptable * here is the usual word for
'grace.* Hence some take the sense to be = it is
a work of grace, or a gift of grace (Steiger,
Schott) ; others, = it is a sign of ^ce, a proof that
you are Christians indeed ( Wiesmger) ; others, =
It conciliates or wins grace for you ; Roman
Catholic theologians using it in support of their
theory of works of supererogation. In the present
passage, however, it is evidently used in the non-
theological sense. We have to choose, therefore,
between three ideas, that of gracious or attractive
(as in Luke iv. 22 ; Col. iv. 6), that of favour^
i.e. securing favour with one (so Huther), or that
of thankivorthy^ as the A. V. puts it, or better,
'acceptable,* as the R. V. gives it in harmony
with the repetition of the word in the end of
ver. 20. Though the second of these can plead
the analogy of me O. T. phrase, ' find favour, or
grace with one* (Gen. vi. 8, xviii. 3, xxx. 27,
etc.), and its N. T. application (Luke i. 30^
ii. 52 ; Acts iu 47), the third is on the whole the
best, as most accordant with both the idea and

the terms of Christ's own declaration in Luke
vi. 32, which Peter seems here to have in mind.
For the present, too, the statement is given
generally, such endurance being presented as t
thing acceptable in itself, and the person (whether
God or the master) being left unnamed, ^f on
acoonnt of (his) ooowdoaanflH of God ona
endnxeth pains while ■aftring wxongfially.
Endurance, therefore, is not of itself a ' thank-
worthy ' thing. In the case of any one, slav« or
other, it is so only if it is endurance of wtong^
and only if it is animated by one's sense of his
relation to God, not if it is due to prudential
considerations or of the nature of a sullen, stokal
accommodation to the inevitable. The motive
which gives nobility to endurance is put in the
foreground. By this 'consciousness of God' ii
meant neither exactly the 'consdenoe toward
God ' of the A. V. and R. V., nor ' conscientioas-
ness before God,* far less 'the consdonsnesi
which God has of us * (as some strangely pot it^
but that consciousness which we have 01 God,
which at once inspires the sense of duty and
elevates the idea of duty, lliough the Greek
word is always translated 'conscience' in the
A. v., it cannot be said ever to have in the Bible
precisely the sense which is attached to it in
modem philosophical systems. Neither can it be
said to convey even in the Pauline writings quite
the same idea as in the language of the Stoics,
although it is possible that Faul may have been
familiar with the ethical phraseology of that
school (see Lightfoot's Essay on St, Paul dmd
Seneca in hb Comm. on Philippians). Not
unfrequently, however, it covers much the tame
conception as the 'conscience' of our current
popular speech. The idea at its root is know*
lecfge, — knowledge specially of the moral qmdity
of our own acts. It is the 'understanding
applied to the distinction of good and evil, ts
reason is the same applied to the distinction of
truth and falsehood * (see Godet on Rom. iL 15).
Though it occurs often in the writings of Paidt
repeatedly in the Epistle to the Hemews, and
thrice in Peter (here and iii 16, 21), it is never
found in the Gospels, except in the dubious
section John viii. 9. The Old Testament ex-
pressed a similar idea by a different term, namely
the ' heart. * Hence this word occurs only once in
the LXX., viz. in Eccles. z. ao, and there it has
a sense only approaching that of the moral
consciousness, namely, that of the 'quiet inner
region of one's thoughts.' As this is put
emphatically first, another quality of acoeptahle
endurance b equally emphasized by the ' wrong*
fully* (the only instance of the aidverb in die
N. T.) which doses the sentence. The 'grief'
of the A. V. should be griefs^ gruvamces^ or
/>ains. It carries us back to the ' pained ' of L 6|
and points to objective extenud inflicdons. It
is the phrase used in Isa. liiL 4. The verb
' endure * here (which occurs <mly twice again in
the N. T., I Cor. x. 13; 2 Tim. iii 11) means
to bear up against^ and expresses perhaps the
effort required to withstand the natural impulse to
rise against injustice.

Ver. 2a For what glory ia it (or, what kind ^
giory is it). This particular term for 'gloiy,*
with the general sense of crtdit, though (tf very
frequent use in the Classics, occurs only this once
in the N. T.— if, when ye do wrong and art
bnifeted, ye shall take it patiently. P^er has

CUAP. II. 18-25.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

'95

more in view here than the criminars stolid
endurance of a panishment which he cannot
escape (so de Wette). He means that even
pmHeni endurance, if it is the endurance of what is
deserved, can bring no credit to one. It is the
simple discharge of a duty that is matter of course
(Mmtt. V. 47). The *ye shall take it patiendy,'
dieiefore;, of the A. V. and R. V. correctly con-
icjs the idea. The two phrases, 'do wrong'
and ' are buffeted,' express things in the relation
of cause and effect, fhe latter verb b peculiar
to the N. T. and ecclesiastical Greek. It is not
found even in the LXX. It is peculiarly apt
here, where the treatment of slaves is in question.
It refers literally to blows with the hand, 'the
ponishment, and a prompt one, inflicted upon
slaves' (Bengel).—bnt if, when ye do well and
saffar, ye afill take it patiently, this is aocept-
•lila with God. The A. V., along with various
other Versions, erroneously drops the future,
* shall take it,' here. The ' well-doing ' intended
here seems to be the patient, dutiful l^haviotur of
the slave, although the verb properly expresses
the doin|^ of good to one, or benefitmg one. Some
editors msert ' for ' before ' this is acceptable ; '
in which case we should have to fill up the state-
ment thus : ' This is truly a credit to you, for this
is acceptable in God's sighL' — As the ruthless
system of slaveiy reacted upon ancient society in
forms so terrible that it became a proverb with
the Romans, ' As many slaves, so many enemies,*
so the risk crif a fatal breach between Christianized
slaves and heathen masters was one of the gravest
perib which had to be faced. The new faith
excited so many (questions in the slave's breast,
oaestions as to his personal rights and dignity,
die extent to which he was called to be a sufferer
dT wroi^ the possibility of serving such masters
with a pure conscience, questions fitted to excite
the revolutionary spirit, that his case was the case
in which it was at once least easy and most
necessary to p»lant deep the conviction of the
paramount Qiristian obligation of submission for
the Lord's sake. Hence Peter cannot vet auit
thb matter, but will carry it up to still higher
reasons, to those found in the idea of the Christian
calling and in Christ's own example. He gives
no hmt that the slave should break with his
boodage. Neither does he give him over to
political impotence or social helplessness. He
sets before him principles on wliich he is to quit
himself like a Christian, abiding in his calling,
prindpla which also were to work like solvents
on the system itself, and gradually to secure its
extinction without revolution. ' Nothing indeed
marks the Divine character of the Gospel more
than its perfect fi-eedom from m^ app^ to the
rant of political revolution. The Founder of
Christianity and His apostles were surrounded by
everything which could tempt human reformers to
enter on revolutionary courses. . . . Nevertheless
onr Lord and His apostles said not a word against
the powers and institutions of that evil world.
Their attitude towards them all was that of deep
spiritual hostility, and of entire political sub-
mission' (see Goldwin Smith, Does the Bible
samctiom Ameruatt Slavery , p. 55,—a brief but
invaluable discussion).

Ver. 21. For nnto this were ye caUed. Patient
endurance of undeserved suffering should be
deemed no strange thing (cf. iv. 12). Painful as
it was, it was involved in their Christian vocation.

In being called by God to the grace of Christ,
they were called to take up His cross (Matt. x. 38,
xvi. 24, etc.). The fact appeals with special force
to slaves ; for He Himself ' took upon Him the
form of a servant ' (Phil. ii. 7). For the turn of
expression here, cf. Col. iii. 15 ; I Thess. iii. 3 ;
2 Thess. ii. 14. The A. V. needlessly inserts
even^ as Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Bishops'
Bible introduce a verily which is not in the text.
— becanse Christ also suffered for you. The
best authorities give the second person here
instead of the *for us* of the Received Text
The phrase means here, too, not ' in your stead,'
but *in your behalf,* or *for your good.' The
idea is that the servant cannot expect to be greater
than the Master. They do not stand alone in
suffering. They are only called to endure as
Christ endured. He suffered, and that, too, not
on His own account, but in their cause and for
their benefit.— to yon leaving behind (Him) an
example. The pronoun (which again should be
*yoUt* not *us*)}s put with a strange prominence
first, taking up the immediately preceding 'for
you,' and applj^ng the fact most emphatically to
these bond'servants. The 'leaving behind is
expressed by a verb which is found nowhere else
in the N. T., but which occurs in reference to
death in the apocryphal Book of Judith (viii. 7).
The idea of an example is conveyed by a term,
of which this is the one N. T. instance, and
which denotes properly the sketch given to
students of art to copy, or trace over and fill in,
or the head-lines containing the letters of the
alphabet, which were set for children who were
learning writing. The idea of an example is
expressed by different terms in John xuu 15
(where it = sign, or pattern), and 2 Thess. iii. 9
(where it = type; cf. also i Cor. x. ii). The
object of this bequest is next stated, — ^in order
that ye nright follow ; or, follow closely^ as the
verb strictly means, which occurs again in
Mark xvi. 20 ; i Tim. v. 10, 24 (in this last verse
pointing to the closeness with which some men's
sins pursue them to judgment). — his steps, or foot'
prints. Compare also Kom. iv. 12, 2 Cor. xiL 18,
the only other occurrences in the N. T. The
change of figure from a teacher setting a copy to be
imitated, to a guide making a track to be mtently
kept by those coming after him, is to be noticed.
Huther calls attention to the fact that, except in
I John ii. 6 (where the idea is more general), it is
with particular reference to ' His self-abasement
in suffering and death' that the N. T. presents
Christ as an example, e,g. John xiii. 15, xv. 12 ;
Phil. ii. 5 ; Heb. xii. 2 ; I John iii. 16.

Ver. 22. who did no sin, neither was
guile found in his month. Of all the apostles,
Peter, with the single exception 01 John,
had known the Christ of history most inti-
mately, and had seen Him in the circumstances,
both public and private, most certain to betray
the sinfulness of common human nature, had
such been latent in Him. Peter had felt, too,
not less strongly than others, how the type
of holiness which Christ taught conflicted with
his own traditional Jewish notion of a holiness
bound up with the rigid observance of Sabbath
laws and ceremonial rules of life. But with what
quiet strength of fixed conviction does he proclaim
Christ's blamelessness ! Nor can Peter's con-
fession of that sinlessness, as he lingers over it in
this section, be said to come behind either Paul's

19&

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. II. 18-25.

* who knew no sin ' (2 Cor. v. 21), or John's *in
Him is no sin * (i John iii. 5). It is the affirma-
tion of a freedom not only from open bat also
from hidden sin, a sinlessness not in deed only,
but also ill word, and indeed (as the 'guile'
implies, on which see also at ii. i) in thought.
The language, as Bengel suggests, is peculiarly
pertinent to the case of slaves with their strong
temptations to practise deception. The choice of
the verb 'was found* or ' was discovered * (see also
on L 7) is in harmony with the idea of a sinless-
ness which had stood the test of suspicious sifting
and scrutiny. The statement is given, too, with
the direct and positive force of simple hbtorical
tenses, which may imply (as Alford puts it) that
in tio instance did He ever do the wrong deed, or
say the guileful word. All this, however, is in
the form not of words of Peter's own, but of a
reproduction (taken exactly from the LXX., only
that ' sin ' appears here, while ' iniquity ' or
' lawlessness * appears there) of the great pro-
phetic picture of Jehovah's servant in Isaiah (liii. 9).

Ver. 23. who, when reyiled, reviled not
again ; when suiffering, threatened not. Peter
continues to speak partly under the influence of
Isaiah's description (liii. 7 seems clearly in his
mind, although he no longer reproduces the very
words), and partly under that of personal recollec-
tion of what he had seen in Christ. The tenses
change now from the simple historical past to
imperfects expressive of sustained action. Most
interpreters notice the climax from the reviling,
or injury by word, to the more positive suffering,
and from the abstinence from returning reviling
in kind (the verb ' reviled not again ' is another
word peculiar to Peter) to abstinence even from
threats of retaliation where actual retaliation was
impossible. The sentence, therefore, exhibits
Christ's example in suffering in its quality of
silence and patience, as the former verse dealt
with the (juality of innocence. — but left it to
him that judgeth righteously. The Rhemish
Version, following the singular reading of the
Vulgate, renders 'to him that judgeth him
unjustly,^ as if Pilate were the judge in view.
Here, as in i. 17, God the Father's prerogative

* of judgment ' is introduced. There the impartial
righteousness of His judgment was a reason for
a walk in godly fear. Here it is the ground of
assurance ^r the innocent sufferer. What is it,
however, that Christ is said to have committed to
this Righteous Judge ? Many interpreters {(t,g,
Winer, de Wetle, etc.) and Versions (including
Wyclifle, the Rhemish, and both the A. V. and
the R. V. in the text) supply himself z& the object
of the committal. This, however, is to give the
active verb a reflexive force ; of which there is
no example in the case of this verb, Mark iv. 24,
which is appealed to, not being really in point.
Hence others make it = committed \i\% judgment,
or his cause (so Gerhard, Calvin, Beza, the
Syriac, Tyndale, and the margin of both the
A. V. and the R. V. ), or his punishment (the
Genevan), or his vengeance (Cranmer). The
unnamed object, however, should naturally be
supplied from the things dealt with in the
immediate context. These are clearly the wrongs
patiently endured by Christ With Luther,
therefore, etc., we may best render it indefinitely
'left it,' understanding the '//* to refer to the
subjection to reviling znd suffering just mentioned.
This is better than (with Alford) to make

it = committed H'lsrevi/erssmd injurers; althopgh
we might thus secure an allusion to Christ's
prayer in behalf of His enemies (Luke xxiii. 34).
Ver. 24. who himself bore our liiis in Us
body cm the tree, or, as in margin of the R. V.,
carried up . . . to the tree. From Christ's fellow*
ship with us in suffering, and from His innocence
and patience as a Sufferer, we are now led up to
the crowning glory of the example which He has
left of an endurance not for wrong-doing, but for
well-doing. What He endured was not onlj
without personal cause or personal demerit on
His own side, but in the cause and for the
demerit of others. The vicariousness of Hb
sufferings adds to His example a power and
grandeur higher still than it receives from the
qualities already instanced in iL So far, there-
fore, as vicarious suffering is a possibility to us,
this new statement applies to the example which
we are to study in Christ It is clear, however,
that in taking up here the idea of suffering ' in
your behair with which he had started, and
showing what that involved, Peter speedily
carries us beyond the idea of example, and
into a region in which Christ stands alone as t
Sufferer. He places us now before the Cross
itself, and in words each of which is of utmost
value, touches upon the great mystery of the
relation in which Christ's sufferings stand to
our sins. The phrase ' to the tree ' points us it
once to the climax of His vicarious suffering, Hb
death upon the Cross. In designating the Cross
' the tree,^ Peter is supposed by some i^e.g, Bengel)
to have selected a term which would appeal with
peculiar force to slaves, their class being familiar
with punishment by the tree in various forms, the
cross, the fork, etc. Peter, however, uses the
same term in Acts v. 30^ x. 39, where there is no
such reference to slaves. So here he adopts it
simply as it had been suggested by such Old
Testament passages as Deut xxi. 22. It is
probable, too, that he has in view those ideas of
criminality and shame, and the position of one
under the curse of the law, with whidi the word
is associated in the Old Testament passage. 1^
same great Passional of Isaiah (specially liii.
4, II, 12) is also manifestly in Peter's mind, some
of its characteristic terms, as rendered l^ the
LXX., reappearing here. No interpretati<m,
therefore, can be just which fails to be in harmony
with the prophetic basis of the statement. How,
then, is the central phrase ' bare our sins ' to be
understood? The verb occurs indeed in the
New Testament (see also on ver. 7) in the simple
sense of carrying up, or bringing up, as e.g, of
Christ ^'/i^.y- Peter and James and John up to
the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. xvii. i), of
Christ being carried up into heaven (Luke xxiv.
^i), etc. It has also the sense, frequent enon^
in the Classics, of sustaining. Here, however,
its accessories shut us up to a choice between two
technical meanings, namely, that of offering up^
and that of bearing punishment. Hence some
(including the great name of Luther) take the
sense to be ' made an offering of our sins on the
tree,' or ' brought our sins as an offering to the
tree.' In favour of this, it may be urged that the
same verb has already been used in this sense in
ii. 5 (as it b again in Heb. vii. 27, xiii. 15 ; cf.
also Jas. ii. 21), and that there is a distinct
analogy in the Old Testament formula used of the
priest offering on, or bringing offerings to, the

Chap. II. 18-25.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

197

altar (Ler. xiv. ao ; 2 Chron. xxiv. 16). But
Ibefe are fatal objections to this view, as e,g, the
oneiampled conception of Uie sins being them-
selves the offering ; the equally unexampled
description of the Cross as an altar (notwith-
standing Heb. xiii. 10) ; the fact that it was not
tr/«n but before the altar that sacrificial victims
under the Old Testament were put to death ; and
the difference thus created between Peter's use
and Isaiah's use of the same terms. The other
sense, viz. that of bearing the consequences^ or
faying the penalty^ of sin, is supported by the
weightiest considerations, as e,g. the fact that the
verb in question is one of those by which the
Greek Version represents the Hebrew verb,
mhich (when it has 'sin' or 'iniquity' as its
object) means to bear punishment for sin (whether
one's own or that of others) in numerous passages
lioth of the Pentateuch and the prophets {je.g.
Lev. xix. 17, XX. 19, xxiv. 15 ; Num. v. 31,
xiv. 34 ; Ezek. iv. 5, xiv. 10, xvi. 58, xxiii. 35) ;
the New Testament analogy in Heb. ix. 28 ; the
harmony with what is said of the Servant of
Jehovah in Isa. liiL The addition in His body
brii^ out the fact that this endurance of the
ponishment of our sins was discharged by Him, not
remotely as was the case with the Israelite under
the Law who brought a victim distinct from himself,
bat directly in His own person. The phrase to
(or, on to^ not on) the tree is not inconsistent with
this meaning. It gives the whole sentence the
Ibfce of a picture representing Christ with our
sins upon Him, and carrying them with Him on
to the final act of penal endurance on the Cross.
The statement, tnerefore, is more than a figure
for securing the forgiveness of sin, and means
more than bearing sin sympathetically, burdening
one's heart with the sense of sin, or destroying
the power of sin in us. It involves the two ideas
of sacrifice and substitution ; the latter having
additional point given it by the ' Himself (or, as
our E. V. puts It, 'His own self), which is set
both emphatically first and in antithetical relation
to *our sins.' It can scarcely mean less than
what Weiss recognises when he says : ' It is
plain, therefore, that in consequence of Isa.
liii, Peter regards this sin-bearing of Christ in
behalf of sinners as the means whereby sin has
been lempved from them, and by which, there-
fore, the stain of guilt has been effaced ' {Bib,
Thiol, t p. 233, Eng. Trans.). It gives no
theory, however, of hoiw this sin-bearing carried
soch efficacy with it.— in order that we, having
died onto nnt, might live unto righteonsneai.
The ransom, from the necessity of ourselves
bearing the consequences, or legal liabilities of
oar sins, however, is not an end to itself. It is
done with a view to the killing of the practical
power of sin in us, and to our leading a new life.
A death unto the sins which He bore is given here
as the position into which we were brought once
for all by Christ's |[reat act of sin-bearing.
Hence the use of the historical past ' having died.'
The idea of this death, though it is expre^ed by
a term not found elsewhere m the New Testament
(which some wrongly render 'being removed
away from'), is the same as the Pauline idea
(Rom. VL 2, II). And through this death comes
the new life which is dedicated to the service of
' figbteousness ; ' which term has here, of course,
not the theological sense of justification or a
Justified state^ which some still give it, but the

ethical sense which it has, e,g,f in Rom. vi. 16,
18, 19, etc. — ^by whose braise ye were heeled.
The word rendered both by the A V. and by the
R. V. 'stripes,' occurs only this once in the
New Testament. In the original it is a collective
singular, and means properly a weal, the bruise
left by blows or by the scourge. Hence it is
thought that Peter uses it with reference to the
slaveys punishment. He takes it, however,
simply from Isa. liii. 5, adopting what applies
properly only to the effects of one kind of punish-
ment as a vivid figure of Christ's sufferings as a
whole, and passing at the same time naturally
from the * we ' and * our ' to the direct personal
address 'ye,' which so distinguishes the Epbtle.
Bengel calls this ' a paradoxiad expression of the
apostle.' It gives toe double paradox of grace —
heeded with a stripe, and healed with what is
laid upon another than the patient himself. The
moral sickness of sin is translated into the health
of righteousness by the pain of the Sinless.

Ver. 25. For ye were going astray as sheep.
Continuing Isaiah's strain, Peter adds a reason
for what he has just said of a restoration to
righteousness, or soundness of life. The figure
passes from that of sickness into that of error.
As the better-sustained reading gives the participle
in the masculine (not in the neuter, as if
qualifying the ' sheep '), it is necessary to put the
comparison otherwise than it is given in the
A. V. The readers are compared simply Ko sheep,
not to wandering sheep. That b to say, they are
said themselves to have been once wanderers,
and in that state of estrangement from God to
have been like sheep, — helpless, foolish, and
heedless. Thus the ngure stands in Isa. liiL 6,
and so here it connects itself at once with the
subsequent idea of returning to a Head, The
use of the sheep as a figure of man in his natural
alienation from God is one of the commonest in
the Old Testament {e,g. Num. xxvii. 17 ;
I Kings xxii. 17; Ps. cxix. 176; Ezek. xxxiv.
5, If). So in the New Testament (Matt xviii.
12, 13; Luke XV. 4, etc.); although it is used
also as a figure of docility, etc. Qohn x. 4, 5,
etc.).— But ye turned yooiselves now. On the
ground of such instances as Matt ix. 22, x. 13,
Mark v. 30, viiL 33, John xii. 40, xxi. 20, it
seems necessary to give the verb the middle sense
here, although it might seem more in harmony
with the context to render it 'are returned,' so
as to bring out more clearly what had been done
for them. It is in the past, too, as referring to
the definite act of turning, once accomplished.
He to whom they turned is Christ (not 6i0v/here),
who b designated both the Shepherd of their
souls and the Overseer of their souls. The title
' Shepherd,' indeed, is used of God in the Old
Testament (Ps. xxiii. i ; Isa. xl. 11 ; Ezek.
xxxiv. II, 12, 16). But it b abo applied to
Messiah there (Ezek. xxxiv. 24), while in the
New Testament it is not only claimed for Himself
by Christ (John x. ii), but is given to Him again
by Peter (v. 4). The use of the title * Bbhop,'
or, as it simply means * Overseer ' or * Guardian,'
may be due to the fact that, like ' Shepherd,' it
was a name given to the 'presidents of the
churches, who were, so to speak, the representa-
tives of the One Shepherd and Bishop, the Head
of the whole Church' (Huther), or, as others
suggest, it may have risen from such Old
Testament usages as the ascription to the Lord

19^

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. III. 1-7.

God (in Ezek. xxxiv. 11, 12) of the action of
' seeking ont ' the sheep ; which action is expressed
by the verb cognate to the title. The two designa-
tions are closely akin. The early Greeks spoke
of their princes as shepherds of the people,
transferring the name not from the pastoral
function offecding the flock, but rather from that

of tending, protecting, and directing it. Intbe
New Testament, too, the ' pastors * in hml's
enumeration of functionaries in the Church (Eph.
iv. 11) are 'shepherds,' and the cognate ferb
which our A. V. renders ' feed ' in *such passages
as John xxi 16, Acts xx. 28, i Pet. v. 2, has the
wider sense of ' shepherding ' or ' tending.*

Chapter III. 1-7.

The Law of Christian Order in the Household ^ as applied to the Relation of

Marriage.

1 T IKEWISE,' ye wives, be in * subjection* to your own "^i^*
-L/ husbands ; that, if any *obey not the word,' they also ^^^*
may "" without the word be ^ won * by the ' conversation * of the ^ctlv.^i;

2 wives ; while they -^ behold • your ^ chaste conversation * coupled ^JJjJ; ^^

3 with fear ; whose adorning, let it not be that ' * outward adorn- l?^*^*
ing of 'plaiting the *hair, and of wearing* of 'gold/ or of S'JT.jf*

4 "• putting on of apparel ; *® but let it be the * hidden ' man of ^^,

m

the ^ heart, in that which is ^not corruptible," even the oma- phi^i;
mefit of a ''meek and 'quiet 'spirit, which is in the "sight of #&^'!t

5 God of great price. For after this manner in the old time"/see,^ii
the holy women also, who "^ trusted " in God, "'adorned them- /-ac^.^a;

6 selves, being in subjection " unto their own husbands: even" Ptov^'zks.
as Sarah "*" obeyed Abraham, calling him ^Lord:^' whose «Tim.£!il

'daughters ye are" as

long as

*® ye *do well, and are not «cifK3cxi».
7 afraid with any * amazement.** Likewise,*® ye husbands, dwell** «^'«>i^
with than according to ^knowledge, giving honour unto the ▼. A^-ao;
wife, as unto the weaker ^ vessel," and as being * heirs together " / acu* liL \
of the -^ grace of ^ life ; that your prayers be not ^ hindered. c?s!"*-^

n Rom u. 99 ; I Cor. xiv. 35. o Rom. vii. aa ; a Cor. iv. 16 ; Eph. lit 16. f Cb. i ^^ ; Rom. u. 15, 39;

I Cor. iv. 5, etc q bee refi. at ch. i. 4. r Mat. v. 5, xi. 39, xxi § ; Zech. uc 9 ; Ps. xxxi^ ti.

X Isa. Ixvi. 2 ; i Tim. ii. 2. t x Cor. iv. ax : Gal. vi. i. u Lu. xvi. 15 ; x lim. iL 3, v. 4, etc. vFs. odlv. 15 ;

Prov. t 13 ; Isa. li. < : Jo. v. 45 ; a Cor. L xa See also rers. at ch. i. 13. tolLi^ vn. xx ; Mat xiL 44; xHm.fi.o:

Rev. xxi. 2. jrMat. viii. 37 ; Rom. vi. xa ; Heb. v. 9, xL 8. y Gen. xviii. xa. sGal. iv. 31. aSee rett.

at ch. ii. 15. b Prov. iii. as. c a Pet L 5, 6. tf Rom. iz. ax ; x Thes. iv. 4 ; a Tim. iL ax.

e Rom. viii. \^ ; Eph. iii 6 ; Heb. xi. 9. /See reis. at di. L 13. i PhiL iL x6 ; Jas. i. is.

A Acts xxiv. 4 ; Rom. xv. 2a ; GaL v. 7 ; x Thcs. ii. x8.

1 or^ with R, K, In like manner * literally^ submitting yourselves

* or^ even if any are disobedient to the word

* literally^ shall without the word be won * behaviour, or^ manner of life
« literally^ having beheld ' the ^ literally^ putting round

» golden ornaments, or^ as R, V. puis it^ jewels of gold ^® dresses

^^ literally^ in the incorruptibility ; in the incorruptible adorning^ or^as R, K
prefers ^ in the incorruptible apparel, ^^ aforetime, according to R. K

" or^ hoped ^* submitting themselves ^* omtt even *Mord

^' literally^ whose children ye became ^® <7r, if ^* or^ do not fear any terror
*® or^ Ye husbands in like manner ** literally^ dwelling

2* or^ with R. V, in margin, unto the female vessel, as weaker
*' or, with R, K, as being also joint-heirs

Wlien Paul defines the duties of bond-servants, Col. iv. i). Peter, dealing here s^ially with
he balances his statement by a corresponding the application of the general Christian law oT
exposition of the duties of masters (Eph. vi. 9 ; order and submisshrtt passes at once to the position

. III. 1-7] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

199

wife ts one of subordination in the house-
We are not to infer from thie difference
s& Peter's mode of handling the relative
and Paul's, that there were few Christian
ids in the territories addressed by the
Peter's counsels, while applying to
gienerally, seem to be particularly directed
m married to heathen husbands. In i Cor.
i-15, Paul states the general principle that a
ii^ wife was not to leave an unbelieving
M^ although, if the bond was broken by
sband, she might ' let him depart,' and need
lose the separation. Peter here sets forth
fe's duty under the larger aspect of such a
adjustment of herself to her position as
fenn the best persuasive with the husband,
was much to provoke the Christian wife to
off the heathen husband's yoke. To the
the wife was something more than the
bat much less than the husband's help-
-hit dei>endant In the social system of
, as it originally stood, the husband's power
tlie wife was, like the father's power over
ild, unlimited, irresponsible, checked by no
restrictions, and so inherent that neither
or free act nor insanity could dissolve it.
legal point of view, the family was absolutely
I and governed by the single, all-powerful
f the *' father of the household ^ {pat^r-
«f). In reUtion to him all in the household
destitute of legal rights — the wife and the
no less than the bullock or the slave'
mien's Hiaory of Rome^ Book i. chap. v.).
ist two centuries before the Christian era
toman wife had begun to scheme for her
apation, and a quarrel of the sexes set in
, produced bitter fruit in the days of the
re. 'The latter centuries of the Roman
oowealth,' says Dean Merivale, ' are filled
the domestic struggles occasioned by the
lacy with which political restrictions were
ained upon the most sensitive of the social
»ns ' {The Romans under the Empire^ iv. p.
Among such outlying populations, too, as are
ddr^^sed by Peter, the wife's lot might contain
nts of bitterness peculiarly apt to provoke
rhen the Christian doctrines of equality and
' took possession of her mind, to rebel
It her position of abject subserviencv, against
ishness of the heathen husband's rule, against
in the relation itself which heathenism
ed« but Christian ieeling revolted against.
sw of the social disaster and the danger to
hristian name which repudiation of the ties
lily life would entail, Peter enjoins on wives
it regard to the duties of their station, and
ission for Christ's sake to its inconveniences.
*. I. Ibl like manner, ye wives, submit
elTSi. Literally, it is 'submitting your-
,' this conjugal duty being represented as
I same plane with the former, and simply
er application of the general law stated in
-—to yonr own hnshanda Here, as also in
St two other passages where the same charge
m, viz. Eph. v. aa, Tit. ii. 5 (in Eph. v.
id CoL iii. 18. the reading of the Received
is insufficiently supported), the strong pro-
lal adjective which usually means 'own'
roper ' is inserted before ' husbands. ' There
wever, no such contrast intended, as some
reters (Steiger, etc.) imagine, between those
lom these women were united in marriage

and others. The fact that in the decadence of
the language the adjective lost much of its
original force, makes it doubtful how much
emphasis can be allowed it here. It may point,
however, to the nature of the marriage relation,
the legal claims, the peculiar and exclusive union
which it involved, as furnishing a reason for
submission (see EUicott on Eph. v. 22). — ^in order
that even if any are disobedient to the word.
By the word b meant, as at ii. 8, the sum of
Revelation, or the Gospel. The verb rendered
'are disobedient' denotes, as at iu 7, 8, the
disposition that stands out pc^itively against the
truth. The case supposed is expressed as an
exceptional and trying one. — they shall without
word be gained by the bdiavionr of the wives.
It would be natural to take the ' word ' to mean
here exactly what it meant in the prior clause,
namely, the Gospel, In that case, however, we
should have to put upon the term ' gained ' the
restricted sense (adopted by Schott) of won over
to conjugal affection, to adherence to the wedded
relation ; whereas what Peter seems to have in
view is the possibility of Christian wives winning
over their heathen husbands to the Christian
faith, and that under unfavourable circumstances.
As it would be strange indeed (in view of Rom.
X. 14-17) to find an apostle contemplating the
possibility of a conversion to Christ without the
instrumentality of the Gospel, it is necessary to
suppose that there is a kind of play upon the words
here, the same term being used (by a figure of
speech known to grammarians as antanac/asis) with
different meanings. So Ben^el briefly explains
the term word as meaning ' in the first instance
the Gospel, in the second, talk.* The Syriac
Version here renders it ' without trouble.'
WycliflTe rightly gives 'without word.' Tyndale,
Cranmer, the Genevan, and the Rhemish all
have ' without the word.' Notice, also, how the
old English sense of ' conversation ' (as = conduct)
appears in the A. V. here, and how the verb
wnich our old English versions agree in translating
' won ' here is the one which is used by our Lord
in Matt, xviii. 15 (* thou hast gained thy brother '),
and by Paul in l Cor. ix. 19, 20, 21 ('that I
might gain the more,' etc.). Lei^hton speaks of
a soul thus gained to Jesus Chnst as ' added to
His treasury, who thought not His own precious
blood too dear to lay out for this gain.' The
idea, therefore, is that, even in those most un-
promising cases where the heathen husband
.steeled himself aeainst the power of God's own
Word, the Christian wife might haply win him
over to Christianity by the silent persuasion of a
blameless life, without word of hers. Where the
preached Word failed, the voiceless eloquence of
pure and consistent wifely behaviour might
prevail, without labour of spoken argument or
appcDil. And the possibility of such victories of
patience should encourage the wife to a wifely
submission which midit be hard to natural
inclination. Compare Shakespeare's

' The silenco often of pure innocenoe
Persuades, when spesktng fails.'

^ -.printer' t TaU, il a.

Ver. 2. having beheld your ohasto behaviour
coupled with fear. On the force of the ' beheld,'
as implying close observation, see on ii. 12, where
the same term occurs, llie behaviour is styled
chaste^ not in the limited sense of the English
adjective, but as covering purity, modesty, and

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. HI. 1-7.

wbitercr makes wUcly axdvct not obHj cofrect
bat vinKmie. It is fnrther ddioe-i bj a cxwple
of words which mean literally ' in fear,' bat are
happily paiaphrased by oar A. V., ' coopled with
fear/ after Tyndale, Crajuner, and the GeneraiL
What is meant is not exactly ' the fear of God,'
but ratbfer a sensitive respect for the hssband and
the married relation, fbe chastity or parity of
bdiaviour is exhibited as associated necessarily
with the datifol spirit that recoils from ererything
incon&i&tent with the woman's and the wifers
positifm. Nothing coald better express what is
meant by this ' iinr/ therefore, than Leigfaton's
well-known description of it as 'a delicate and
timorous grace, afraid of the least air or shadow
of anything that hath bat a resemblance of
wronging it, in courage, or speech, or appareL'

Ver. 3. wboM adoniiiig lei it be nol tlM
ontwazd edoniing of pleiting of the hair eiid of
wearing of omemmite of goid, or of pnttiBg on
of appezeL The sentence opens with the relatiTe
' whose ' withoot any noun. It admits, therefore,
of being construed in more than one way. The
' whose ' may be taken in the possessive sense,
and so = whose be not the outward adorning
etc. ; or = whose distinction let it be not, etc ;
or = whose business let it be not, etc (Huther,
etc). Or the relative may have supplied to it
the subsequent noun, and so = whose adorning
let it be not, etc (so both A. V. and K. V. with
Wiesinger, Schott, Hofmann, etc). As the
' adorning ' means properly not the act of adorning
but the adamfftrfU OT ornament itself^ the latter
construction is preferable. The statement, then, is
that the adornment which wives are to value is
not that which is effected by the particular acts
of plaiting or braiding the hair, wearing of gold
(/>., as the form of the noun implies, ^ieca
or amanintis of gold ; see on l 7, 18),
putting on of apparel (literally, dresses). The
terms expressing these acts, ' plaiting/ * wearing *
(literally, putting round cm), and ' putting on,'
occur nowhere else in the New TestamenL
They denote two distinct kinds of female adorn-
ment, namely, what the person itself presents,
and what is put upon it. Hence we have first
the plaiting 01 the natural ornament of the hair,
and then other two modes which are given as
branches (so the ' or ' indicates) of one species of
artificial ornamentation. The arts themselves
had gone to unheard-of excess, as we learn
from literature, coins, and sculpture, among the
heathen ladies of the Emnire. Pliny the elder
h[>eak8 of having seen Neru s mother dressed in a
robe of gold tissue, and Lollia Paulina in apparel
covered with pearls and emeralds costing fifty
millions of sesterces, which would be something
like ;^432,CXX) (I/ist, Nat, xxxiii. 19, ix. 35, 36).
From other writers, such as Ovid (de Art, Am,
iii. 136), Juvenal (Saiir, vi. 502), and Suetonius
{Claud. 40), we learn what extravagance of time,
pains, and expense was lavished upon the dressing
of the hair, how great ladies had slaves carefully
instructed for that one service and specially
assigned to it, how by rows of false curls, curious
braidings, and strings of jewels, the hair was
built up high above the head. (See Smith's
DUt. of Antia, under Coma, and Farrar's Early
Years of Christianity^ i. p. J.) How much
reason Peter had to dread the infection of
(.'hristian women with the same disease of luxury,
we may gather from what appears later in the

writings of acfa leaden of the Chordi as Cyprin,
Jerome;, and dement of Alexandria. The hit
named, in his Pmiagogme or Instructor^ devotes
mnch space to the drfaihrd discnsnon of what
is pmniWble and the censare of what b wnog
in regard to dies, ear-rings, finger-rings, the
binding of the hair, etc It may be infcned,
perhaps, firam Peler^s stafrmmt (and theinficnnoe
IS borne oat by what we know from other soaioa)
not only that many of the first Christian oooreils
were women, bat that not a few were womes of
nteans and poation. He does not, howeiOt
speak of ornaments and faitefiil attire as thiDp
imfit for a Christian woman, bat condemns exoea
of atteatiop to soch things as if they made tk
wife's real attractions. In this, as in other thiB|h
the Gospel is a law of liberty, which dedines to
be boond to one rigid line of applicatioa in ill
drcnmstances. Compare the impoctant panlld
in I Tim. iL 9, 10.

Vcr. 4. Imt the hidden nui of tlM hceit
Thb phrase is taken by some to be pcactidHj
equivalent to what is elsewhere called the ' new
man ' (CoL iiL 10), or the ' new creature ' (2Ca.
V. 17 ; GaL vL 15), ue, the regenerate life itscU
00 its inward side, the new nature that is formed
by the Spirit of God ' in the secret workshop d
the heart,' ' the new way of thinking, willing, and
feeling' (Froomiiller, so also Alford, Wiesingo;
Beza, etc.). It is analogoos, however, rather lo
the other Pauline expiettioos, the ' inner man'
(Eph. ill. 16), or the ' inward man ' (Rom. m
22 ; 2 Cor. iT. 16). Of itsdf it denotes not the
ri^nerate life specifically, bat simply the inner
life, the true self within, the contrast here bein|
between those external accessories of Ofnamenta*
tion on whidi it is Tain to dqiend for power ol
attraction or persuasion, and those inner qoalities
of character which are the secret of all permanent,
personal influence (so substantially Calrm, Baugd,
Huther, Hofinann, Schott, Weiss, etc.). The
term ' man ' is used much as we use the /, the
self^ iht personality. It is described as *hiddc9D,'
in antithesb to those exterior, material adornments
which are meant to catch the eye. And it is
defined as ' of the heart,' as found in the heart,
or identified with iL Clement, in the treatiie
already referred to {Pad. iii. i), defines the
* inner man ' as the ' rational nature which rules
the outer man.'— in the imperialiablene« of the
meek and quiet spiiit. The inner personality
of moral beauty which makes the wife's tme
adorning, which belongs to the heart and cannot
be seen by the outer eye, is further defined in
respect of what it consists in. That is, as the
phrase literally runs, ' in the imperishable of the
meek and quiet spirit ; ' the adjective meaning
not ' without stain,' or ' nncorrupted,' as Grotia%
Luther, Erasmus, take it, bat in accordance with
i. 7, simply 'permanent' in opposition to the
transitory and decaying. This is constraed,
therefore, in several ways ; either as = in that
which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a
meek and ^uiet spirit (so A. V., but with a
certain stram upon the Greek) ; or = in the
incorruptible afparcl of a meek and quiet spirit
(so R. v., witn Hofinann, Alford, etc.; ; or = in
the imperishableness of a meek and quiet spirit,^
i.e, in what cannot perish, namely, a meek and
quiet spirit. This last is most in harmony with
the previous contrast (in i. 7) between proved
faith which is to be fouiid unto praise at Christ's

III. 1-7.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

201

^ and ^(1 that perisheth. So the
sh gives ' m the incorruptibility of a quiet
modest spirit.' The other old English
as are in confusion, e.g. Wycliflfe's 'in
tption and of mild spirit,' Tyndale's ' in-
t with a meek and a quiet spirit * (so also
aievan), and Cranmer's 'witnout all cor-
1, 10 that the spirit be at rest and quiet.'
luality of meekness implies more than
lea* In the old Greek ethics it amounts

0 miifiness, in the sense of the opposite of
iCM and violence (Plato, Hep, 550A, etc.),
bat of the subsidence of anger (Herod. ii«
[t n defined by Aristotle as the mean
n passionate temper and the neutral
.tion which is incapable of heated feeling,

inclining to the weidcness of the latter
SM. iY. 5). In the New Testament it is
te eananimity, but the grace of a positive
of self whidi holds disputings alien to it,
irfas the tendency of nature to passion,
loe. and resentment (cf. also Matt v. 5,
and, above all, Christ's application of it
nself, xi 29). The quality of quietness
les a tranquillity or peaceableness (the
fc is the same as the ' peaceable ' of i Tim.
IS onljr other New Testament occurrence)
has Its deep source within. Together,
fe, the two epithets may describe the
of the spirit which, as Bengel suggests, at
irfaiks from giving trouble by the assertion
e's rights, and bears in calmness the
ices ^ich come from others. — ^which is in
^ of God of great price. The estimate
is put upon such a spirit by Him who has
Himself that He ' seeth not as man secth ;
Q looketh on the outward appearance, but
rd looketh on the heart ' (i Sam. xvi. 7),
be a further recommendation of it to these
L The same epithet is used to describe
VfUBccs/fyii Tim. ii. 9), and the spike-
as very precums (Mark xiv. 3). It is
r, with a similar sense, which occurs in
id is used to describe the pearl (Matt. xiii.
one 'of great price,' and Mary's spikenard
ry costly ' (John xii. 3 ; cf. Matt. xxvi. 7).
Peter's statement of the wife's true adorning,
re above all the picture of the virtuous

1 in Prov. xxxi. (specially vcr. 25) ; and
:lassical parallels as this from Plutarch's
1/ Precepts — * that adorns a woman which
her more becoming ; and this is not done
bjr gold, or emerald, or purple, but by

thines wliich give her the appearance ot
r, orderliness, modesty.'
. 5. For thus in old time also did the
vomen who hoped in God adorn them.
, ■atamiitting themselves to their own
nda. The example of the women whose
ire recorded in the ancient history of God's
furnishes another incentive to the culti-
of the kind of attraction just explained.
irere accustomed to seek in the beauty of
character their best adornment, and one
nridence of their being women of this spirit
!ie respect and subordination which they
:cd in relation to their husbands. These
I are called 'holy' here (as iht prophets
10 designated, 2 Pet. i. 21 ; Luke i. 70 ;
\vL 21 ; Eph. iii. 5) not merely in regard
r personal character, but in a semi-ofhcial
as 'women of blessed memory* (Fron-

muller), occupying a distinct position among the
people whom God had separated for Himself.
The personal character is then more definitely
descrioed when it is added that ' they hoped in
(or, literally, toward) God.' Their eye turned
GcNdward, not earthward ; their life drew its
inspiration not from the present, but from the
future ; their expectation looked to the perform-
ance of God's promises, not to what things as
they were could yield. Hence those material
adornments which had such transient worth as
they did possess only in men's sight, not in God's,
were not to them what the contagion of custom
and fashion threatened to make them to the godly
women of Peter's owi) time.

Ver. 6. as Sarah obeyed Abraham. Why is
Sarah introduced in this connection ? Possibly as
the standard by which the holy women of old
measured their wifely subml^ion. Taking 'as'
in the sense of ' according as ' (with Schott), we
should have in this sentence a new stroke added
to the preceding description ; and the point
would be, that not only did these holy women
of olden time submit themselves to their own
husbands, but they regulated the measure of their
wifely obedience by no lower standard than the
noble example of Sarah. Most interpreters
(Huther, Alton), Bengel, Schott, etc.) retain for
the 'as' the sense of 'as for instance,' and take
Sarah to be introduced here simply as an eminent
example of what characterized the holy women of
the sacred history generally. It is plain, however,
that she is named nere not merely as one instance
out of many, however brilliant an instance, but
as the ancestress of the Israel of God. As
Abraham is the father of all the faithful, so Sarah
is the mother of all believing women, and the
fact that their common mother made herself 10
obedient to her own husband is argument enough
with her daughters in the kingdom of God now,
as it was with her daughters in the kingdom of
God then. The completeness and constancy of
Sarah's ol)edience arc implied whether we read
the * obeyed ' as an imperfect or as the historical
past ; for the authorities differ. The latter
reading (see similar instances in John xviL 4 ;
Gal. iv. 8) indeed gives even greater force to the
idea of completeness, designating the whole
course of Sarah's wifely conduct by the quality
which belonged to it as a finished whole. —
calling him lord. The terms in which she spoke
of Abraham in relation to herself are instance as
the natural expression of the spirit of meek
subordination which animated her. One im-
portant historical occasion on which she recognised
him as her lord (the same title is given by
Hannah to Elkanah in the Septuagint Version of
I Sam. L 8) is recorded in Gen. xviii. 12. It
has been observed that in the Old Testament
Sarah is * the mother even more than the wife,'
the picture of a motherly affection, full of tender-
ness to her own child, and of a zealous regard for
his interest, which made her cruel to others. It
is not less true, however, that she is emphatically
the wife, sinking her own independence in her
husband. The only occasions on which she
asserts that independence are the two expulsions
of Hagar. In tne New Testament she appears
but seldom, once as an example of faith (Heb.
xi. II), twice where she is entirely secondary to
Abraham (Rom. v. 19, ix. 9), and here in the
character which Tennyson depict s in hb Isabel :

202

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. I IL 1-7.

* A courage to endure and to obey —
A hate ofgossiD, parlance, amd of swav.
Crowned Isabel, through all her placid life,
llie queen of marriage, — a most perfect wife.'

—whose children ye became. The statement is
not that these women an* (as the R. V., the
Vulgate, etc., render it) Sarah's children, far
less that they sha// be such, as some paraphrase
it, but that they became or were made such. The
phrase points not to a change from being Sarah's
children after the flesh to being her children after
the spirit, but rather to a change which made
those who were in no sense descendants of Sarah
children of hers in the truest sense. It applies
quite naturally to Gentile readers, Gentile women
now christianized being styled children of Sarah,
just as Gentile believers generally are called
children of Abraham (Gal. iii. 7, etc.). — doing
well. Docs this qualify the * ye * in the previous
* ye became," and so express either a cofidHion or
an evidtftce of the spiritual kinship in which the
women whom Peter addresses stood to Sarah?
Or does it qualify the *holy women* of old, and
so express certain characteristics of their wifely
example? The difficulty of establishing a very
clear connection between these participles and
the past verb *ye became,' has induced some to
prefer the former view, and to treat the first part
of ver. 6 as a parenthesis. Thus, according to
Bengel (Westcott and Hort appear also to
recognise it as possible), the construction would
run — 'obeying their own husbands (as Sarah
obeyed Abraham, calling him lord ; whose
children ye became), doing good, and not fearing,'
etc. The latter connection, however, approves
itself as the more natural to the vast majority of
interpreters. There remains, at the same time,
much division of opinion as to the precise effect
to which this participle and the following qualify
the Christian women whom Peter has in view.
Some take them to express the rec^uiremcnt on
which their spiritual relation to Sarah is suspended.
So the A. V. renders * as long as ye do well,' the
R. V. * if ye do well,' and Beza, Alford, and
many others agree with this. Others (Harless,
Wiesinger, etc. ) think they denote rather the sign
of the spiritual kinship, as if = whose children ye
became, as is proved by the fact that ye do well,
etc. Others (Hofmann, etc.) regard them as
expressing the way in which the kinship was
established, as if = whose children ye became,
and that just as (or, in such wise that) ye did
j;tx)d. There is the further question as to what
is specially referred to in the clause. The * doing
well * does not refer here to a life of beneficence,
but either to the good act of turning to Christ, the
act of conversion (for which very definite sense
appeal is made to the use of the verb in ii. 20),
or, as is most probable, to the good doing ex-
hibited in the loyal discharge of all wifely duty,
— the good which Milton thus commends :

' Nothing lovelier can be found
In woman, than to study household good.
And good works in her husband to promote.'

—Paradise Lost, be. 232.

—and not fearing any terror (or, scare). The
noun used here for fear is one which occurs
nowhere else in the New Testament, although
the cognate verb is found twice, with the sense
of terrify according to our A. V. (Luke xxi. 9,
xxiv. 37). It means any passionate emotion,
any scare or nervous excitement, and may have

either a subjective sense or an objective. The

former is favoured by Luther, our own A.Y.,

etc. The latter, however, is undoubtedly the

sense here, as is shown both by the grammar of

the clause and by the fact that Prov. iii. 2$

(where the objective use is evident) apoeais to be

in Peter's mind. So the older Englisn Vernons

take it, e,g, Wydiffe gives ' not dreading amy

perturbation;' Tyndalie, 'not afndd of every

shadow;' Cranmer, ' not afraid for any terror;'

the Genevan, 'not being afraid of any terror;'

the Rhemish, 'not fearing any perturbation'

The idea expressed by the clause, therefore, is not

merely that they were to do aJl this wiiiin^jt

and not out of fear (Hottinger, etc) ; nor that in

doing all this they were yet not to allow their

submission to carry them tlie length of being

afraid to act on the principle of obeying God

rather than man, when driven to a choice between

the two ; but that they were to do good, specially

in the realm of wifely duty, in spite of what they

might have to fear from hostile surroundings and

heathen husbands. In this superiority to the

weakness of timidity, in this courageous adherence

to all that is dutiful, even under distressing cix-

cumstances, they were also to show themxlves

true daughters of their great ancestress in the

kingdom of faith.

Ver. 7. Ye hnsbaiidfl, in like nuurner, dweO

with your wives. The brief counsels to husbands

which are now appended to the ample expositioB

of the duties of wives are neither a mere parentheai

in the Epistle (Canon Cook), nor simply a

corollary to the forgoing exhortation (CaiMB

Mason). Far less can they be said to be out of

place, as not in harmony with the general idea of

subjection (so Weiss). Both the formula ' in like

manner ' and the participial turn of the sentence

(literally = ehvelitng together) show that what is

now said is ^ven still as an integral portion of

the general injunction ofii. 13, and that it deals

with another t3rpe of submission. There is a

submission which husbands, notwithstanding that

the man is the head of the woman, have to peld,

not less than wives, to the idea and object of the

married state as one form of the ' every ordinance

of man. ' This implies on the side of the husbands

that they are to diveli with their wives. Should

a Christian husband be wedded to a heathen wife,

he is not to consider himself freed on that

account from the claims of family and conjugal

life. Their association in the home life is to be

according to knowledge. This does not mean

according to their knowledge of the Gospd (Grotius,

etc. ) ; neither is it exactly = according to the

Christian recognition of the wife's relation to the

husband (Sc!:ott, etc.). It means reasonably^

ifUeiligently, i.e, with a just recognition and wise

consideration of what the ordinance itself is, and

what the relative positions of husband and wife

are. 'One cannot now prescribe rules,' says

Luther ; ' God brings it home to every man

himself that he must act toward his wife agreeably

to reason, according as may be best adapted to

each wife ' (see also Steiger). So the poet

Thomson describes the husband,

' Who, with superior dignity, with reason,
And manly tendemeiis, wul ever love her ;
Not first a kneeling slave, and then a tyrant.'

— giving honour to the woman as the weaker
vessel, as also heirs together of the grace of
life. ' The who'e of chivalry is in these words,*

. 1-7.1 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

203

i Mason. The construction of the
nrever, b somewhat uncertain. The
led ' the woman * is properly speaking
«9 'the female' qualifymg the noun
rhe ' dwell with * may have its object
e term ' your wives,* which then must
, liom the context, or it may be con-
lediately with the noun ' vessel.* The
ring honour ' also may go either with
Dy' etc, or with the 'heirs together.'
Jirhdle sentence ma^ be rendered as
ch> is the construction adopted (with
r diSeiences) by the A. V., the R. V.,
;lish Versions, etc. Or it may run thus
ocoiding to knowledge with the female
e weaker vessel, giving honour to them
^elher,* etc In either case it is shown
bome life is to be regulated so as to be
to knowledge,' there must be a con-
ognitkm of the natural weakness of the
d a readiness to give her (the verb
don or assign ; this is its only

ipportu
In-the

i-the New Testament) the honour-

wbkh is due to her as the husband's

1 fife and in grace. The term vessel is

1 the figurative sense, in which it is

Slied to men as objects made by
as the instruments of His purpose
u 15 ; Rom. ix. 21, 22, 23 ; 2 Tim.
iko 2 Cor. iv. 7}. This usage has its
the language of the Old Testament
1^. Jer. zviii. 6, xix. 11, xxii. 28,
Ua. xxix. 16, xly. 9, Ixiv. 8; Hos.
t. it 9; ct Rev. iL 27. It is used
mm sense of vessels of God*s wra/A
and Tessels chcsen for His service;
as here and in i Thess. iv. 4 (in
t it seems to desi^ate the wife), in
> the Divine intention in the natural
Husband and wife, too, are both
ere as equally the vessels or instruments
God's purpose is made good in this
province of life, the onfy difference
em being that the one is the weaker
. the other the stronger. This natural
establishes the wife's claim on the
i TKard of the husband. The same
D htt respect and honour is made yet

Lthe fact that all natural differences
the spiritual relation which makes
•beiiB (or. Rom. viii. 17; Eph. iii. 6;
) of Uie grace of life. The exact force
er statement will vary slightly according
:e which is made between two somewhat
lanced readings, one of which puts the
rthor' in apposition to the 'husbands,'
in apposition to the wives. In the
se* the point is that the husband's

consciousness of being on the same platform with
the wife in the inheritance of grace should enlist
his honour and regard for her ; in the other, it
will be that honour is due to the wife not only
because she is the wife, and naturally weaker than
the husband, but also because she has all the
dignity of having in point of fact an equal
interest in grace What thev inherit together is
called 'the grace of life; by which is to be
understood neither the ' gift or dower of natural
life ' which is committed to husband and wife
(Canon Mason), nor the life of Divine favour and
blessing which the married estate is designed to
be (Hofniann). As the immediate mention of
prayer suggests, it means rather the grace which
consists in eternal life, or which brings that life to
us ; or, as Alford and others take it, ' the gracious
gift of eternal life ' — that new life as a whole,
of which the woman is participant equally with
the man. It is not necessary to suppose that
only Christian wives are in view. The clause
deals simply with the fact that God makes no
distmction between husband and wife in regard
to this gift of a life which is at once a glorious
present possession and an object of elevating
anticipation. The idea is not merely that 'the
hope of eternal glory makes men generous and
mild,' as Bengel interprets it, but that the
recognition of another as having the same place as
ourselves in God's offer of grace, above all if that
other has the sacred name of wife, should teach
us to yield the honour which has been enjoined.
— to we end that yonr prayexa be not hindered.
The reading varies here between two furms of the
verb, one which means to be cut off^ ue, in the
sense of being destroyed, or in that of being
debarred from communication with the throne of
grace ; and another (and this is the better
attested) which means to be impeded ox obstructed.
The prayers are taken by many interpreters
(Calvin, Alford, Weiss, etc) to be the conjugal
prayers of husband and wife, social prayers, or
family prayers ; in which case the idea is that,
where the wife is not recognised by the husband
for what she is in God's sight, the two cannot
pray in concert as married people. There will
be nothing to call forth their common prayers,
and the blessing attached (Matt, xviii. 19) to
united supplication cannot visit their home. As
the husbands, however, are directly dealt with in
the verse, it is better to take the prayers to be
their prayers; and the idea will be that the
Christian husband's own prayers will be arrested
on their way to the throne. The injustice done
to the wife will burden their pinions, and check
their rise to the Divine Ear. The possibility of
so disastrous a result is another reason for giving
honour to the wife.

204 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. III. 8-ia.

Chapter IIL 8-16.

General Counsels bearing on the Duties of all Christians one toward awdher^

and on t/teir Attitude to their Adversaries.

8 T7 IN ALLY, be ye all of one mind,' having compassion one 4iEpb.if.^

ID called, that ye should * inherit a 'blessing.* *For he that iPet.£i>
/ will *® '" love " life, and ^ see good ^days, let him ^refrain his y.9j|-^»\*
tongue from evil, and his ''lips that they speak no 'guile: ««■.«•»«

11 let" him 'eschew" evil, and do good; let him "seek peace, l**-^^

12 and *' ensue** it. For" the "'eyes of the Lord are over" the ^^'^9-

iiiHLixT.9;

righteous, and his ears are open unto their Sprayers : '• but the J'Sr*^!'*^

13 face of the Lord is against" them that 'do evil. And who is «?»*';*»•
he that will "harm you, if ye be * followers" of that which is ,-c;i''JiJt

14 good .^ But and if" ye suffer*® for ^righteousness' sake, j^'*-^
''happy ** are ye: and be not ' afraid of their ' terror," neither *J^,^J™*

1 5 be -^ troubled ; but ^ sanctify the * Lord God " in ' your hearts : 'ST^JT* "•
and " be * ready always to £ive an ' answer " to every man that jTbtffi.'i
asketh you a '" reason of the hope that is in you * with * meek- Jft^^^m

16 ncss and fear;"' having 'a good conscience; that, ^whereas «!Sl*j^'i
they speak evil of you,** as of evil-doers," they may ^bc |S?*ii^.^'
ashamed that falsely ''accuse'® your good 'conversation'* in 'JS*!!.^
Christ ^j^J'^

P Kccles. xii. t. q Ch. iv. i ; Pt. xxxvi. 8 ; also Heb. x. a ; Lu. v. 4 ; Acts v. 43. vi. 13 ; Eph. i. 16. r Hos. m, 3;

Ex. V. aa ; i». 1 9 ; Artn vii. 6. ip, xii. i, xiv. a. xviii. la ^ Acts xxi. 90; Tit. iL 74. c Mat. t. io^

</Mat. V. 3-11, xi 6, xiii. 16, xvi. 17: Lu. i. 45 ; Jo. xiii. 17, etc r Jonah i. 10; Isa. viii. 19,13; Mk. !▼. 41; I.a.8.<L

$n c;ii. iv. 5 : Mat. xii. 36: Lu. xvL a; Acts xix. 40; Heb. xiii. 17. u t Cor. iv. 21 ; a Cor. x. i ; Gal. ▼. 93; Jas. i. at, iii. 1^

n Acts xxiii. 1 ; i Cor. viii. 7, x. 95 ; a Cor. i. la^ x. 9 : x Tim. L 5, 19; Heb. ix. 9, x. 99, p Sea refs. at ch iL ta. Ct

alxo Job xix. 3 ; Jos. iv. 1 1. g See refs. at ch. ii. 7. r Lu. vL aJB ; also Mat v. 44 doabtfully. t See re£k at di. n. ij.

* oTy with R, y.f in one word^ like-minded

' sympathizing, or^ with R, V., compassionate ' literally y brother- loving

* £?r, with R. K, etc., tender-hearted * rather, humble-minded

* or^ reviling ' were ® hereunto, or, unto this • or, inherit blessing
'° desires to, or, purposes to " rather, and let him, or, let him, moreover
" or, with R* K, etc., turn away from *' i.e, pursue ** Because

'* upon *^ literally, his cars unto their supplication ^' or, upon

'** father, as in R. V., zealous, literally, zealots

" IJut if even, or. Nay, if even ^^ properly, should suffer, or, were to suffer
** or, blessed '* literally, fear not their fear '^ sanctify Christ as Lord
*♦ rather omit and ** literally, for an answer

*^ literally, a reason concerning the hope, ^r, an account of the hope
*' read rather, but (£7r, yet) with meekness and fear

'" rather, in the matter in which yc are spoken against, or, with R, K, wherein
yc are spoken against *' omit as of evil-doers

^ rather, traduce *' behaviour, or, manner of life

[II. S-id] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER,

205

ijnnctioos on the sabject of the blameless-
oondoct by which Christums should be
shed in their political, civil, and domestic
V are now succeeded by a train of exhorta-
a wider kind. These are given in as rich
the former. They are addressed to all
( without distinction, and without special
i to the particular oiders of life which arc
i by the terms subjects, slaves, wives,
■• They are given, nevertheless, in con-
wtth the same general inculcation of
9B of conduct (chap. iL 1 1, 12), of which
ber counsels were applications ; and they
therefore, various broad and general ele-
1 the kind of life by which gainsayers are
eooed. Heathen eyes would be keen and
■eratiDeers of what Christians were, not
their attitude to ma^tracies, their ideas
^ts of property, their mode of life within
td circle of the home, but also in the
MBpus of their relations to each other and
iond outside. So we have here in the
9e a bird's-eye view of what they ought to
C themselves, and then, in larger outline,
i of what the^ ought to be in face of the
of tarronndmg heathenism. The former
is briefly dealt with. The latter is un-
t Icn^h, and is enforced by appeal both
si principles and to Christ's example.
I Flnalfy, be 70 all ; or, to retain the
le dependence which the previous counsels
Q the general exhortations of ii. ii, 12, or
m/^ Sfm^ aii. It is, says an old Greek
«r, as if the apostle had written, ' Why
nve particular directions ? I say simply
-lika-iniiided. What Peter sets in the
: of this summary of universal Christian
that oneness of judgment and inclination
h PSnl so often touches (Rom. xii. 16,
; Cor. L 10; 2 Cor. xiii. 11 ; Phil. ii. 2,
Epb. iv. 3). It is expressed by an adjec-
ich occurs nowhere else in the N. T. It
the agreement of those whose mind and
set upon the same objects (Schott), or
Kotiment, and, therefore, in faith (Steiger,
It is not to be limited to agreement in
I opinion. It is the harmony of many
hicn ' springs from the sense of a common
rom common relations, and interests, and
ad hopes' (Lillie).— compassionate, or,
f^paiketie. This is the solitary occur-
the sdjective in the N. T., although the
verb is found twice (Heb. iv. 15, x. 34).
:es oneness in feeling, and covers Paul s
with them that do rejoice,' as well as his
irith them that weep' (Rom. xiL 15).
tv of mind and the unity of feeling are
d lugain in Rom. xii. 15, 16, and Phil.
. — wving as brethren, or, loving the
; another adjective found nowhere else
1. T. Sec on i. 22, where the noun is
it is also in 2 PeL i. 7 ; Rom. xii. 10 ;
iv. 9 ; Heb. xiii. i.— compassionate, or,
aidered in its only other N. T. occurrence
, |a), Under-hearted. In classical Greek
:tive and the cognate noun (the former
e) have either a purely physical sense or
toat-heartedness. They owe to Chris-
leir delicate ethical tone, and the sense
idiip of man with man which softens and
than.~hQmble-ininded. So we must
csmI of the very poorly-attested term of

the Textus Receptus^ which our A. V. rather un-
happily renders ' courteous,' as if it referred to
manners, or external demeanour. Lowliness of
mind in the classical Ethics ranked not as a
virtue, but as a £aiult or infirmity, — that of mean-
ness of spirit or faint-heartedness. The adjective
which Peter uses (which occurs only here and in
Prov. xxix. 23) has even in Plutarch's writings an
imfavourable sense. The noun for *humble-
mindedness ' occurs in no Greek writer prior to
the Christian era. In Christianity it becomes a
grace, contrasted with the heathen virtue of
' high-mindedness,' and bom of the sense of un-
worthiness. It is the thinking ourselves little
because we are little. So Bernard defines it as
the virtue whidi teaches a man out of the truest
knowledge of himself to esteem himself lightly.
In the N. T. it denotes humility toward God
(Acts XV. 19) and toward our fellow-men (v. 5 ;
Phil. ii. 3). Primarily it is the former. Hence
it is opposed both to the mock-humility of morbid
feeling which has so often shown itself in the
history of Christ's Church, and to ' slavish defer-
ence to men ' (see specially Neander, Planting
of Christianity^ i. pp. 483-5, Bohn). — The connec-
tion between these precepts is variously under-
stood. Some {e,g, Hofmann, Huther) take the
first three to be notes of what Christians should
be among themselves, and the others to be notes
of what they should be towards all without dis-
tinction of Christian and non-Christian. Their
relations are probably of a less external kind than
that. The primary duty of like-mindedness or
unity in sentiment naturally carries with it the
unity of feeling which makes us enter into the
joys and sorrows of others as if they were our
own ; and this oneness in mind and feeling, when
it is exhibited toward our fellow-Christians, means
nothing less than brotherly affection which takes
a living interest in all that concerns others, ex-
pressing itself in all tenderness of rc^rd for them,
and inspiring us with that disposition to think
others better than ourselves without which love
remains less than it should be. There is a notice-
able analogy between this train of precepts and
the briefer series given by Paul in Col. iii. 12.
In the one, as in the other, humility crowns the
list. And justly so. For it is the safeguard of all
the sociaJ graces, the virtue which makes all other
virtues, lovely in themselves, proof against assault,
and safe from exaggeration.

Ver. 9. not rendering evil for eviL The
transition from the duties of Christians toward
each other to their duties in relation to their
adversaries is made easily through the last-named
grace. An undue esteem of ourselves is incon-
sistent either with the oneness of mind and feeling
which makes genuine brotherliness, or with the
Christian law of overcoming evil with good.
Humble-mindedness is 'essential both to true
gentleness of love and to true patience under
mjuries' (Alford).— or railing for railing ; rather,
revilinzfor reviling^ as in ii. 23; but contrari-
wise blessing, i.e, nay rather, on the contrary,
blessing them ; for the word is a participle, not a
noun. Peter seems to have in mind here his
Lord's words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.
V. 44). It is not necessary, therefore, to go
beyond what is meant there, or to assert for the
term 'blessing' here the sense of expressing kind-
ness in the form of deed as well as word. The
'blessing' denoted by this verb is usually con-

206

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. LChap. III. 8-16.

trastci «i:h cursing or the like (Lake ri. 28;
Rom. lii. 14 ; I Cor. iv. 12 ; Jis. iiL 9 ; as vel]
as Ma:L v. 44^. The retcm which we mie to
render for in; cry done os, whether in the fonn of
the evil deed or the reviling word, is to desire and
pray for ih* g'X>d of the injarers. — bfcama beie>
jmio weie ye called. On the groand of the best
andent acthoriues we must drop the ' knowing '
which U inserted in the A. V., and read as above,
MiA t'..c Re*-i5ed Version, only thai 'bccanse'
represents the ordinal more fairly than the ' for *
c-f that Version. The man who once was quick
enough to take the law of retaliation into his own
hand, ir.ceiing deed of violence with deed of
violence, in-\ taonts and accusations with cnrsin^
and swearing, as in the case of the high priest s
servant and that of the bystanders in the court
;*fa:t. xxvL S'l 73» 74- » °o^ preaches a revenge
which conslsu not only in patient endorance of
wrong, bat in endeavouring to win God*s favour
for the wrong-doers. And this he does on the
high grounl that anj-thing short of this is incon-
sistent with our Christian vocation itself. The
duty which was formerly enjoined on slaves by an
ap(ieal to Christ's example (chap. ii. 23^ is now
repeated as a duty applicable to all Christians,
and as involved in the Divine call which first
makes us Christians. That call, too, is again
expressed as a definite event of the past, carrying
with it once for all, and from the very beginning
of the .Christian life, all that Peter would now
pledgee us to.— in order that ye might inherit m
Dleeaing; or better, simply, inherit blessing.
How does this final clause stand related to the
others? The point will be somewhat different
accordini; as we take the ' hereunto ' to refer to
what precedes it or to what follows it. Some
suppose the • hereunto * to refer to the * contrari-
wise blessing them ; ' in which case the sense will
Ix! that, when they were called to be Christians,
they were called also to the duty of blessing those
who did them wrong, and they were called to this
with the view of obtaining blessing for themselves.
In favour of this construction (which is supported
by such excgetes as Calvin, de Wette, Ilofmann,
etc.) we have the analogous use of * hereunto' in
chap. ii. 21. Others take it to refer to the con-
tents of the final clause itself; in which case the
idea is that Christians were called hereunto,
namely, to an inheritance of blessing for them-
selves. In favour of this view (which is supported
by Alford, Huther, Luther, Bengel, Schott, etc)
it is argued that it is more bil)lical, and more in
harmony in particular with Paul's reasoning in
Eph. iv. 32, to say that we ought to bless others
because wc ourselves have blessing, than to say
that wc are to bless others in order that we may
ourselves get blessing. Peter's use of the formula
* hereunto,' and the consideration that the inherit-
ance of blessing which is spoken of here is more
naturally taken, as is the case with so many of
Peter's phrases, to point mainly to the final, future
inheritance of which the present is but a foretaste,
give the advantage to the former construction.
On either view we have an idea thoroughly per-
tinent to the subject. On the second the point of
the exhortation is that the blessing of which
Christians arc heirs is one not of merit but onlv
of CJod's grace, and this surely should make it
natural for them to exhibit a corresponding atti-
tude to those who deserve nothing at their hands,
but on the contrary wrong them. On the first,

the point is a stm deeper one — ^namely, that it is
Gods purpose, indeed, that Christians shook!
have good, bat in order to have good, they most
be good ; hence He called them to be good (in this
way, as weD as others, of laying aside the evil
im^lses of nature) in order that the heritage
whidi is designed for them mipht come to be
theirs actually, and theirs as a hentage of blessiD|.
This is in harmony, too, with the Old Testament
conceptions of life and good which are next intro-
duced.

Ver. la Yot he that deeiree to love Ubaad
■ee good dajn The kind of beha^oor ufaidi
has been oiged in vers. 8^ 9 is now further recom-
mended by considerations drawn firom the denend
ence of lu4>piness on character, and from uod*}
regardfolness of men's lives, as these are expicsied
in Ps. xxxiv. 13-17. Whether that psahn is
taken to deal {e,g, with Delitzsch and its tnsci^
tion) with the crisis when David saved his hfe
amoi^ the Philistines by acting the part of t
madman, and had to take refnge in the cave of
Adnllam, or (with Hitrig^ Hnpfeld, Obhaasen,
etc) is referred to other times, it records the testi-
mony home to the true secret of a secure anl
gladsome life by one who had learnt that secret
in the school of adversity. It describes what
makes the good of life according to the Old
Testament standard. In takii^ up its vroids,
Peter follows the Greek Version (which is a litenl
rather than an adequate rendering of the Hebrew)^
but introduces certain chances which, while ia
themselves true to the spirit m the original, adapt
it better to his immediate object and to the higher
standard of the New Testament. The openiDg
words, which in the original are in the form of a
question, are given as a direct statement. Instead
of * what man is he that desireth life and lovcth
many days,' accordii^ to our A. V., or, as the
Greek Version renders it, ' who is tlw man who
desires life, loving good days,' Peter pats it thos :
' he who desires to love life, and to see good daya'
The transposition of the word ' love,' along widi
the adoption of the 'good' for the 'many, gives
a new turn to the statement, the effect of which ii
to make the prominent thing not the number of
the days or the length of life, but the kind of life.
The phrase ' lo^-e life ' means more than ' to be
fain to have life^* or 'to shew love fat life'(de
Wette), or even ' to be in earnest as to the love of
life ' (Wiesinger). It is to be taken in the simple
sense of loving life for its good as opposed to
hating it for its emptiness and vexations (Lillie)^ in
the slightly modified sense of cherishing life, or in
the secondary sense (which the verb has also in
the Classics) of being plecLsed with life. So Bengel
makes it=he who wishes so to live as not to he
weary of life. Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Genevan
(not Wycliffc and the Rhemish, however) go astray
here, rendering it, ' if any man (or, he that doth)
long after life and loveth to see good days.' The
term 'sec' has also the intensive force of ex-
periencing or knowing personally what a thing is,
which it often has m the Old Testament, e^.
Ps. xvi. 10, xxvii. 13, etc.— let him refrain ue
tongue firom evil, and hia lipe that th^ apeak
no guile. Turning the second persons of the
Hebrew and the Septuagint into third personii
Peter adopts the conditions on which the Psalmist
suspends the boon of a life of such good and glad-
ness. There is a climax in these conditiom.
They rise from the negative idea of making an

Chap. III. 8-i6.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

207

end of all ml-sffakin^, to the stronger but still
negative idea of taming away from evil'doing^
thence to the positive idea of doing good^ and
6nal]y to the sedulous pursuit of pecue. The sins
of speech are comprehensively indicated by the
two distinct terms evil (which need not be limited
to mere terms of reproach or the like) and gttiU ;
on which latter see ii. i, 22. 'He first notices
what vices are to be guarded against, to wit, that
we are not to be abusive and msolent, then that
we are not to be fraudulent and double. And
then he goes on to deeds ' (Calvin). With this
compare James on the bridling and taming of the
toogne (i. 56^ iiL 1-12).

Ver. II. And let him turn firom eyil and do
good. The best authorities introduce the con-
necting 'and,' or 'further,' which the A. V.
omits. The 'eschew* of the A. V. (comp.
Shakespeare's ' What cannot be eschnocd^ must
be embraced,' Mer, Wives, v. 5; 251), connected
with the old French eschever, German sckeuen,
English sky^ means to shun, and sufficiently ex-
presses the idea, which is that of turning away
lirom something which comes in one's way. See
spedallv Prov. iv. 15. To this avoidance of evil
is added the duty of active goodness, as these two
things are coupled elsewhere in the Psalms
(xxxvii. 27), in the burden of prophetic exhorta-
tion (Isa. i. 16, 17), and in Paul (Rom. xii. 9). —
let him aeek pe^oe and pnisaejt This blame-
lessness and kindliness of life, at once in word
and in deed, should take the still more definite
form of a determination to secure peace. This
indicates that the irreproachable goodness in view
is still that of those who are under peculiar
temptation to the opposite. Those who sufier
lirom slander or other kinds of wrong are not to
tmapiine themselves exempt from these great laws
of Christian duty. All the more are mey called
to guard against every form of evil, to resist the
inclination to take their case into their own hand.
Thcj are to meet evil by doing positive good, and
cultivating all that makes for p^ce. This last is
rquesented as something worth straining every
emrt for. It is to be sought, nay, it is to be
pursued, with the expenditure of strenuous and
nnflaggii^ endeavour which the hunter devotes to
the cuise. The old English 'ensue,' which the
A. V. adopts only in tms one instance (comp.
Shakespeare's ' I know repentant tears ensue the
<ieed,' Lucrtce, 502), comes from the French en-
suivre, and has now almost lost this transitive force.
Vrith the view of the good of life, which Psalmist
and Apostle thus proceed upon in their ethical
connsds, may be compared such parallels, although
they are but partial, as this from Young —

'Tluie life is loDg which answers life's great end ; '

and Bailey's familiar lines —

'We live in deeds, not years ; in thoughts, not breaths ;
la fiselinsx, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.'

Ver. 12. Becanse theses of the Lord are upon
the xightms, and his eanmnto their snpplica-
tioiL This blameless, patient, beneficent, and
peaceable manner of life, which has been recom-
mended as containing the secret of all gladness
in one's life, and all goodness in ones days,
is iiirther urged on the ground of God's observant
interest in our life. He keeps the righteous
ever within the loving vision of His eye and

gracious hearing of His ear. It cannot, there-
fore, but go well with them, however they be
tried by slander or persecution. The word
rendered ' prayers ' in the A. V. is singular in the
original, and is always given as a singular by the
A. V. except in this one passage. It means also
rather prayer for particular benefits than prayer in
general. — bnt the face of the Lord is upon them
Inat do evil. Peter fails to add what the Psalmist
appends here, 'to cut off the remembrance of
them from the earth.' The preposition, also, is the
same here as in the former clause, and should be
translated simply ' upon,' not ' against.' It is
doubtful, too, whether any difference between the
anthropomorphic terms ' eyes ' and * face ' can be
made good, such as is supposed, e.g., by Schott,
who takes the former to be a figure of favourable
regard, and the latter of hostile. The different
meaning which God's sleepless observance must
have to the evil is left as self-understood, and
obtains thereby an intenser force. It is enough for
the righteous to know that God's eye is upon the
evil, and the knowledge of this adds to their own
sense of security in the midst of enemies.

Ver. 13. And who is he that will do you evil,
if ye be zealous of that which is good f The
counsels of vers, 8, 9 are yet again enforced by a
still more pointed statement of the security of the
righteous. This statement is attached to the
immediately preceding thoughts, God's super-
vision of the evil as well as of the good l^eing the
guarantee that no real harm can be inflicted by
the former on the latter. Its interrogative form
adds also to its confidence. Compare not onlv
the great succession of interrogatives in Rom. viii.
3i-35> but such prophetic parallels as Isa. 1. 9,
which latter may perhaps be in Peter's mind here.
The verb rendered * harm ' is interpreted by some
(e.g. Schott) in the more specific sense of making
one out to be an evil-doer. The point then would
be that, however calumniated among men, they
could not be made evil-doers in God's sight The
verb, however, usually means to do evil to one
(Acts vii. 6, 19, xii. i, xviii. 10), and that with
the strong sense of harsh, injurious treatment ;
and the idea, therefore, is that, however un-
generously dealt with, they shall yet sustain no
real hurt ; they shall still be in Ciod s safe keeping,
and the blessedness of the new life within them
will make them superior to the malice and enmity
of men. Instead of the 'followers' (or, as it
should rather be, ' imitators ') of the A. V., the
best authorities read 'zealots,' i.e. 'zealous,' or
'emulous.' Some render it 'followers ol Him
who is good,* but this is less likely.

Ver. 14. Bat even if ye shonld have to
suffer for righteousness* sake, Uessed are
ye. The old formula 'but and if,* which the
A. V. took over here from the Vulgate and
the Rhcmish Version (it is not found here in
Wycliffe, Tyndale, Cranmer, or the Genevan),
is needlessly retained by the Revised Version
in this passage, and in i Cor. vii. 28, although
it is dropped . in Matt. xxiv. 48. In Shake-
speare we find both the phrases 'an if and
' and if.' The word ' and ' or ' an ' seems to have
been used in middle English, both as the copu-
lative conjunction and as the conditional tf, A
distinction then was made between them by the
limitation of ' an ' to the latter sense, and when
this ' an ' ceased to carry its meaning on its face,
the word ' if was added for the sake of clearness.

20S

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. III. S-16.

Tha<; arose the doable form ' an if ' or ' and if/
which is really e<)aiva]ent to 'if-it' Here it
may be rendered even if, or, if motwUkstamding.
It introduces a case which is supposed to be
possible, bat which at the same time is repre-
sented as of small moment in comparison with
what has been just stated. The case supposed
is also differently expressed. It is not that of
having eml done to one, but simply that of having
to suffer ; and, therefore, it is nothing inconsistent
with the fact asserted so confidently in the
previous interrogation. They may have their
afflictions^ but they will be safe against real hurt
or tsi\. Their blessedftess will not be affected by
the former, but will make them contribute to that
sanctified life within, where blessedness finds its
shrine. Matt. v. 10 is prol)ably in Peter's mind.
— but fear not their fear. These wonis and the
following are taken freely from Isa. viiL 12, 15.
They may mean, ' be not afraid of the fear which
they cause,' which might be equivalent either to
' be not afraid of them/ or to 'be not afraid of
what they threaten or inflict ' (comp. Ps. xci. $)•
Most interpreters prefer this sense, and so it is
understood by various of the Versions. Tyndale
and the Genevan, e.g,^ give 'fear not though they
seem terrible unto ; ' Cranmer, ' be not afraid for
any terror of them.' This implies, indeed, a
departure from I.saiah*s meaning, but it fits in
excellently with Peter's present subject. In the
prophet, however, the words are intended to
check the godly from being carried away by the
terrors which troubled their unbelieving fellow-
countrymen. If their original sense, therefore,
is to be retained, they must be taken here, too,
to mean 'fear not what they fear,' 'give way to
no such terrors as agitate them.' The contrast
then will be between the alarms and disquietudes
which the ills of life excite in those who have no
faith in God, and the perfect peace in which those
should l)c kept ' whose mind is stayed on God.' —
neither be troubled : the strong term expressive of
agitation is used here, which describes Herod's
trouble. Matt. ii. 3 ; the trouble of the disciples
on the sea, xiv. 26 ; the trouble of Christ's own
spirit at the grave of Lazarus, John xi. 33, etc
At times the fear of man had been Peter's
deadliest snare and bitterest misery. It is not
strange that he should bear this witness to the
inconsistency of such fear with the life of gladness
and goodness.

Ver. 15. but sanctify Ohrist as Lord in yonr
hearts. The A. V., following Tyndale, Cranmer,
and the Genevan, adopts the reading of the Textus
ReceptuSf viz. 'the Lord God.' The Vulgate,
Wycliffe, and the Rhemish have 'the Lord
Christ,' and this reading must be accepted as
having by far the weightiest evidence on its side.
The Revised Version rightly accepts it, giving it
at the same time greater point by making the term
' Ix>rd ' not a mere name of Christ, but a predi-
catc. The Greek, though not absolutely con-
clusive, is on the whole in favour of this
rendering. Isaiah's words, therefore, are con-
tinued, but with two significant modifications.
Christ takes the place of the Jehorvah of hosts,
who is presented in the prophecy as the object of
sanctification, and the words ' in your hearts ' are
added in order to express the fact that this
sanctification is not to be of a formal or external
order, but to rest in the deepest seat of feeling.
1'hc term ' sanctify ' here means to regard and

honour as holy ; and, as appears from the
explanatory terms. Met Him be your fear' ind
< let Him be your dread ' (viiL 13), it amonots to
much the same as ' fear.' The fear of man is to
be displaced by the fear of Christ, and of Him is
oar true Lord (oomp. Lake ziL 4, 5). Thos
' the Apostle places Wore ns Christ to be ov
Lord, and to be set up in oar hearts as the object
of reverence and godly fear, in words whkh the
prophet of the Old Testament oses with regiid to
the Lord Jehovah ' (Humphrey, Comm, m the
Revised Version^ p. 442).^read7 alwayi to
giTe answer to every mmn Hutt aaketh yon i
reeeon conoeming the hope that is in yoo.
The 'and ' with which the A V. introduces this
sentence is not found in the best manusciipls.
This makes it more probable that what nov
follows is not to be taken as a distinct coonsd,
' be ready,' etc, but as in intimate connectioa
with the preceding statement One waj in whidi
this sanctifying of Christ as Lord will expiesi
itself is in meeting fairly and frankly the difficnKia
and questionings of others. The inwaid hooage
to Him does not absolve from responsibility to
others, or justify disregard of their inqnirieL
What it implies is neither on the one hand the
reticence which fear or indifference may prompt,
nor on the other the propensity to dispute abost
our hope, but a readiness to give an accoimt of it,
wherever it may be necessary or helpful to do
so. The phrase means literally ' ready for aa
apology^ the noun being that which is varkMislj
rendered in our A. V. as ' answer ' (Acts xxv. 16 ;
I Cor. ix. 3 ; 2 Tim. iv. 16 and here), 'defence*
(Acts xxii. I ; Phil. L 7, 16) and 'clearing of
oneself (2 Cor. viL ii). It has been sappoKd
to refer here to official examination, or to legd
processes such as Christians were subjected to
under the Emperor Trajan. The general tenmi
however, in which the inquirers are described
make it clear that what is in view is not readines
to face judicial investigation, but readiness to give
at all fit times to s3l fit persons a reasonable
defence or explanation of the Christian hopCi
The term 'apology' is used not in the popolar
sense of an excuse, bat in that of an apologetic^
vindication. It was afterwards applied to the
early treatises written in defence of the Christian
faith by the so-called Apologists, Tatian, Theo-
philus, Athcnagoras, etc The times are defined
by the 'always,' which covers all fit occasions,
small or great, pleasant or the reverse. The fit
persons are defined as embracing not indeed all
and sundry, but all who ask ' an account ' (a phrase
occurring only here) of this hope, all who demand
to know what can be said on the subject of a
hope in One risen from the dcaul, which so
manifestly makes new men of those whom it
inspires. These are to be considerately met, and,
if possible, satisfied. — bnt (or, yet) with meek*
ness and fear. A qualification of the kind of
satisfaction that is to be attempted, — a cautkm
against an over'readiness, which, instead of ood-
ciliating, prejudices and hurts. The spirit of
truth, says Leighton, is itself the ' spirit of meek*
ness— the dove that rested on that great champion
of truth, who is truth itself.' This 'meekness'
(on which see also ver. 4) is another of those
virtues which have been so elevated and enriched
by the Gospel as to be made practically new
things. In the old Greek system of morals it had,
ind^, a better place assigned it than was allowed

. III. »-i6.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

209

quality of humility (on which see ver. 8).
e ethical teaching of men like Plato,
tie* and Plutarch, it is commended as the
fay which a man retains his equanimity, as
mn between the extremes of passionateness
sensibility, and as the opposite of rudeness,
y, hanhness. So feur, therefore, it had a
■eme, where humility had the reverse. It
led, nevertheless, on a comparatively low
nn, and wiih a value essentially superficial.
isnity carried it far beyond this, giving it a
r MAt than natural disposition, a loftier
; of action than our relation to other men,
ipier connection with humble-mindedness
k Eph. iv. 2 ; Col. iL 12), at onc^ a mor^
id and a more Gofward zspecU Having
lis in the Chri<<tian consciousness of sin, it is
fail a grace with a Godward aspect (comp.
id. J9 ; Jas. L 21), ' the temper of spirit m

wm socepC His dealings with us as good,
thcidbge without disputing or resisting'
A). It is, in the second place, the dbposi-
isuet whatever demand is made upon 11s
! oppositions and sins of our fellow-men in
iiit whidi b bom of the sense of our own
eft in God's sight. So it is set over against
cations spirit (Tit. iil 2), want of con-
lion lor offenders (Gal. vi, 1), an4 harshness
1 opponents (2 Tim. ii, 24), etp. The

vluch is to be coupled with it is best
rtood neither as the fear of God exclusively,
S Um fear of man specifically, but more
llljSf the dread of doing or saying anything
'bsnnony with the solemnity of the interests
«d<— ^that reverential fear,' as Bishop Butler
acs It ' which the nature of religion require^
Iddi Is to hi from being inconsistent with,
: «iU inspire, proper courage towards men.'
I «n are to be roidy with our answer, it is

0 be ^ven in a forward, irreverent, or
int spint Reference is appropriately made
Jfoffo, etc) to the interpretation put upon
XNmsel bf one who haa the best title to
, the hero of Augsburg and Worms : ' Then
ye not answer with proud words, and state
BOSe with defiance and with violence, as if
tMikl tear up trees, but with such fear and
ity as if ye stood before the judgment-seat
d ; so diouldest thou stand in fear, and not
in thy own strength, but on the word and
seofChriit'

'. l6ir kt^infl^ * good conscience, or,
f ffmr i0fudenc€ unimpaired. The term
meg sesnis to make a nearer approach in
masmt than in the previous (see on chap.

to the modem philosophical definitions of
be ' prineiple of reflection in men by which
listingntah between, approve and disapprove,
own actions' (Bishop Butler, Sermon I.)*
( at once exponent of^ moral law, judge, and
lent (comp. M'Cosh, Diu. Govern, p. 2ji,

Even here, however, nothing is said about
stract nature, or its psychology. It is a

piactiod statement of how the moral con-
Bess works. The moral quality of a man's

1 is attested to him, according to the Old
nent, bj the hearty specially as that is aided
(listened by the revelation of God's law, or

' by the application which the prophets
ce of Israel,' as they are called)

make of the facts of redemption. In the New
Testament it is by a light within the man (Matt.
vL 33 ; Luke xi. 34-36), or by this inner witness,
termed conscience in the Epistles, by which is
meant primarily a ' consciousness which the man
has of himself m his relation to God, manifesting
itself in the form of a self-testimony, the result of
the action of the Spirit in the heart' (Cremer).
It may be weak (i Cor. viii. 7, 12), a/i/ (Heb.
X. 22), defiled (Ti^t. i. 15), geared (l Tim. iy. 2).
But on the other hand it may be pure (2 Tim. i. 3),
void of offenft (Acts xxiv. 16), or good (here and
at ver. 21 ; as also Acts xxiii. I ; I Tim i. 5, 19 ;
Heb. xiiL 18). In the last-named passage its
eoodness is express^ by an epithet meting
Tionourable ox fair to see. Here it is described by
an epithet which refers tq intrinsic moral quality.
As there is an awkwardness, however, in attri-
buting moral qualities to the conscience itself (we
c^ scarcely speak, e.g.^ of a holy conscience), in
this connection the adjective may perhaps have
the sense of unimpair. </, uninjured (see Cremer*s
Biblicp-theoU Lex, to the N. /.). The readiness
to 'give an answer' receives thus another im-
portant qualification, It \& essential that it be
given not only in meekness and fear, but in the
calm, clear strength of a mind conscious of
nothing iri the walk to giv^ the \ie to the apology.
In vindicating to others the hope that is in our-
selves, we must be able to point to the witness of
the life in co^firm|ltio^ of the words :

' Our acts our angels are, or good or ill,
Our &tal shadows that walk by us stiU.*

"FUtcfur.

— in order that in the matter wherein ye are
spoken against they may be pnt to shame who
abuse yonr good behavionr (or, manner of life)
in Ohrist. The construction and the sense are
similar to what we have had already in iu 12,
which see. The words ' as evil-doers,' which are
inserted here by the A. V., and some weighty
manuscripts and Versions, are omitted by the
Revised Version and some of the best critics.
There is a similar division of opinion among
textual experts as to whether we should read in
the first clause, * ye are spoken against ' (which is
preferred by the Revised Version), or *thcy
spesdc evil of you,* as in the A. V. The veri),
which the A. V. translates * falsely accuse,*
occurs only twice again in the Received Text
of the N. T., viz. in Malt. y. 44 (where,
however, it is rejectee} by the hpst critics as
insufficientlv attested), and Ljike vi. 28, where it
is rendered ' despiteful ly use.' As in classical
Greek it has the sense of insulting^ acting
insolently to one, abusively threatening one, it is
best rendered here 'abuse,' or (with R. V.)

* revile,* and the reference will therefore be to
coarse and insolent misrepresentation of the way
in which Christians live in the face of heathenism,
rather than to ' accusations ' in the stricter sense.

* Thus, without stirring,' says Leighton, * the
integrity of a Christian conquers : as a rock,
unremoved^ breaks the waters that are dashing
against it. . . . And without this good conscience
and conversation we cut ourselves short of other
apologies for religion, whatever we may say for it.
One unchristian action will disgrace it more than
we can repair by the largest and best framed
speeches on its behalf,'

VOL. IV.

14

2IO

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [CHAP. III. 17-22.

Chapter III. 17-22.

Christian Endurance of Wrong enforced by Christ s constant Gracioustusi to
the worst of IVrong-Doers^ above all to those of NoaKs time.

17 TIJ'OR it is • better,* if the * will of God be so,* that ye suffer 'Jg^p^-f

18 JP for ' well-doing, than for ' evil-doing.» For Christ also ^^^
hath* 'once suffered /for* sins, the ^just for* the * unjust,' -J^^jJ
that he might ' bring us to God, being * put to death in the f^^

19 'flesh,* but * quickened by the "Spirit:* by which"* also he J&iJA.«i

20 ' went and ^ preached unto the ^ spirits in '' prison ; which dmt'^K',

* sometime were ' disobedient," when once " the * long-suffering ^ Jk
of God "waited" in the "'days of Noah, while the ''ark was

ILlfr-

altoaCoivik

•^ a -preparing,** wherein" few, 'that is, eight 'souls, were 16:1 n^'

21 * saved by " water. The like * figure whereunto " ^t/^» 'bap- vL\.il.^s.

tism doth -' ' ' — -^- '— ^^-' ' -^- .l-"^*«^

22

^ filth of
toward God

.to'

' gone into * heaven, and is on the right hand of God ; *• ft •>»

*•!

angels and 'authorities and ^powers being" made ^subject .Actum. i*
unto him. «»^ »

xzm. i;
Mk. xiii. IS, zir. 55 ; Lo. zxi. z6 : Rom. th. 4, TitL 13. 36; « Cor. vi. 9. /Ch. !▼. i, 6; GaL iii. > C£ alto Rob.

i. 3 ; I Tim. iii. 16. m z Cor. xr. 23, 36, 45 ; Rom. it. 17, vitL zz ; Jo. ▼. 91. isCh. iv. 6:1 Cor. ▼. 5 : GoL fi. 3.

o Ver. aa ; Mk. zvl 15. / Mat. iii. z. iv. Z7, 23, ix. 35 ; Rom. ii. si. x. 8, etc. q Lo. xxlv. 3^, 39 ; Acts vnu 39;
Ueb. xiL 93. r Rev. xx. ^. s See refs. to ch. iL 7, 8. / See reu. to ver. 5. u Rom ii. a, ix. as ; s PeL m. z^

V Rom. Tiii. 19, ai. as ; i,Cor. i. 7 : GaL t. 5 ; PhiL ao; Heb. ix. aS. wBCat. zxit. 39 : Lo. zriL s6.

X Mat. xxiv. 38 : Lu. xviL a7 ; Heb. xL 7. y Mat. xL zo ; Mk. i. a ; Lo. L 17, viL vj ; Heb. ui.3,4,ix.a,^JELf»

X Acts xix. 4 ; Philem. za ; Heb. iL 14, vii. 5, ix. zi, x. ao, xi. z6, xiii. 15. « Acts ia. 41, vit. 14, xxviL 37.

b Mat. xiT. 36 : Lu. vii. 3 ; Acts xxiii. 42, xxviL 43. 44, xxviii. z, 4 e Heb. ix. 34. tffMat. m. 7, etc ; akft

Rom. vi. ^, Eph. iv. ^, etc. e Ch. iv. z8 ; Acts ii. 47 ; z Cor. L 18, zr. a ; a Car. iL Z5. ys Pet. L 14.

^ Job xiT. 4 ; Isa. iv. 4. A Dan. iv. 14. ^ ^ i See refs. to ver. 16. k Acts L as : PhD. iii. 10. /Sec fcb.

to ver. 19. at Acts L zt.^ m Rom. viiL 34 ; Col. itL z : Ucb. L 3 ; Ps. xvL zz. 0 Eph. i. ai, m. lo^ vi. u,«fee.

/ Mat. xxiv. a9 ; Rxmu viii. 38 ; Eph. i. 21 ; Isa. xxxiv. 4. q \ Cor. xv. 27, a8 ; Heb. ziL 9, etc

^ or^ preferable * literally^ if the will of God should will

* literally^ to suffer, doing well rather than doing evil * omit hath

* i.e, on account of * i.e. in behalf of
^ OTy 3L righteous one for unrighteous ones

* as regards flesh, or, as regards the lower, bodily life

* as regards spirit, or, as regards the higher, spiritual life *• in which
" aforetime disobedient, or, when they were disobedient (or, disbelieving)

aforetime " omit once ** literally y was waiting

^* was being prepared ^^ literally, into which *• by means of, or, through
" literally, which (water), the antitype, or, which as antitype ; i>. which

antitypically, or, as the R, V, f^ives it in the ^nargin, which in the antitype
** inquiry, or, with R. K, interrogation ** through, or, by means of

2® rather, who is on God's right hand, having gone into heaven
^* having been

\Vc arc now brought face to face with one of
the unsolved, if not insoluble, problems of New
Testament interpretation. The remarkable para-
graph about a preaching to the spirits in prison
has been regarded by many eminent theologians
as the primary proof text for the article of faith
which IS embodied in the creeds in the terms
He d scended into hell, on which so many different
meanings have been put. It is one of three

Petrinc passages (Acts il 25-31 ; i Pet iv. 6)^
which seem to many to be closely related. It is
also one of a larger class, including Matt xiL 40^
Luke xxiii. 43, Rom. x. 6-8, Eph. iv. S-to^
Ps. xvi. 9-1 1, Acts xiii. 34-37, etc, which have
been supposed to bear more or less directly upaa
a dogma for which an important place is claimed
both in the system of Christian doctrine and in
preaching — the dogma of a descent of Christ to

. III. 17-22.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

211

NT Hades. It has been drawn into the
' of a singular variety of theological
iDch as those of a liberation and elevation
mints of pre-Christian times, a purgatorial
ioo and purification, a penal endurance of
tiani^ of God's wrath by man's Surety, a
1 mamCestation of the victorious Redeemer
impenitent dead, renewed opportunities of
iDoe and a continuous ministry of grace in
ber world, llie interpretations put upon
nage have been too numerous to admit of
d statement, not to speak of criticism, here.
mil notice only those of deepest interest
lU at once be allowed that no exposition
i loccccded in removing all the difficulties.
are tome writers {e.g, Steiger) who venture
ik of these difficulties as rather created bv
tt/tn than inherent in the passage itself,
cte are few indeed. Many of the greatest
et and theologians have held a very un-

I pondon OB 4£e jubject, or have confessed
smi baffled by it. Luther, for example,
to be a ' dark speech,' and inclined to very
Mt Tiews of its meaning at different periods

cnicer. It is at best a Question of the
e of probabilities. We snail, therefore,
tamine the various terms separately. When
ige and application of each of the disputed
ire carefully determined, it should be possible
ade on what side the balance of proba-
( lies. The great problems are these:
llie section refer to a ministry of grace, a

? of judgment, or a mere manifestation of
Is the ministry, if such is referred to,
ml took place prior to the Incarnation,
n the Death and the Resurrection, or after
■orrection ? Are the men of Noah's genera-
itfodaced in their proper historical position,
f M examples of a general class ? In con-
ig these problems, two things are too oAen
oked. It is forgotten how precarious it is
ct vpoo one or two of the obscurities of
are a great S3rstem of doctrine, which is not
ident harmony with the general view of
which clearly pervades the Bible. It is
ten, too^ that the passage cannot fairly be
vith as a doctrinal digression, but must be

II the light of the writer's immediate object.
object is the Christian duty of enduring

for r^hteousness' sake, and the advantage
ning for well-doing rather than for ill*doin^.
rith the view of confirming what he has said
. that Peter appeals to Christ's own example*
nestion consequently is, what exposition is
nistained by the detailed exegesis of the
1 terms, does most justice to the plainer
ats in the paragraph, such as the historical
Ke to Noah and the building of the ark, etc.,
in clearest harmony with the writer's design,
jf to arm believers smarting under the sense
ii^gfol suffering with Christ-like endurance ?
. 17. Fto itia better to inffer, if the 1^
1 uwnld will it, doing well thaii doing

This statement resembles that in chap.
It is also followed up, as was the case
by an appeal to Christ's own case. The two
ittions, however, have distinct points of
noe. The present is introduced in im-
te connection not with the crei/ii attaching
irticolar kind of conduct, but with what is
ml to the keeping of a good conscience under
ne oi wrong, and to the iK)siibility of giving

a right account of the Christian hope to inquirers
or revilers. There Christ's own case is dealt
with specially as an example of endurance which
befits Christians. Here it is expounded mainly
with a view to what His sufferings ultimately
brought Him, in the form of a life (quickened,
exalted, and having now in its service angels
and principalities and powers. The word ren-
dered ' better ' here is one which does not mean
exactlpr what is of better moral quality, but rather
what IS of greater power or importance, and so
what \& preferable 01 oi greater advantage. Thus,
looking still at the pressing question of what
Christian duty is under the ourden of suffering
for righteousness' sake, and how a blameless
bc^viour should at all hazards be studied in such
circumstances, Peter meets the feeling which rises
against unmerited suffering by reminding the
suffierers of two considerations. These are, firsts
that nothing can befall them but by God's will ;
and ucondiy, that if it is God's will that they be
subjected to painful things, their sufferings, instead
of being embittered, should be softened and
relieved by the consciousness that they are
undeserved, and by the assurance that they will
work together for their good. This last idea,
namely, the gain which such sufferings will bring
to the sufferers, b what is specially taken up and
illustrated at length in the following paragraph.

Vcr. 18. Becanae also Ohriat died once for
lina, a righteona one for niirighteon« onea, in
order that ho might bring na to God, I'hcre
are two varieties of reading to notice here.
Documentary evidence is pretty evenly balanced
between the verb 'suffered ' and the verb * died.*
Although the Revised Version retains the former,
the latter is preferred by the majority of textual
experts (Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles,
Westcott and Hort, Gebhardt). Instead of
' bring us to God * (which is accepted by the
Revised Version and most critics), ' bring you to
God ' is adopted by Westcott and Hort. Christ's
suffering or dying is represented to have taken
place on account of sin, in the matter i^sin, or in
respect of^n ; for the preposition used here has this
general sense. It is said to have taken place also
* once,' once for all and no more (cp. Rom. vi. 10 ;
Heb. vil 27, ix. 28). This may possibly embody
the idea that this suffering or dying superseded the
necessity of all further suffering or dying of the
same kmd, either on the part of Christ Himself
or on that of Christians (so Schott). It is rather
introduced, however, to suggest the difference
between the suffering or death, however bitter
that was, as finished shortly and once for all, and
the continuous power and blessedness of the life
which was its issue. Still greater force is given
to this by the use of the simple historical tense
Mied,' which throws all that was painful in
Christ's instance completely into the past But
Christ's suffering or dying is also described as
that of ' a righteous O^e for unrighteous ones.' A
different preposition is now used for the * for,' —
o?>e met^ning in behalf of or, to the fuivaniage of
It is possible that ip the present connection,
where the righteous and tha unrighteous are set
so deci^vely over against each othcf, this idea of
suffering in behatf of %i\^tx% may pass over into,
or imply, that of suffering in the place of others.
Weiss, e.g, (so also Huther). recognises the idea
of substitution at the basis of th/e statement, in so
far as ' the contrast, which is piade so prominent

212

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IIL 17-22.

between the rijjhteous and the unrighteous,
necessarily produces the idea that the suffering
which was endured in behalf of these, ought really
to have been endured by the righteous them-
selves * {Bii>. TheoL of the New Testament^ i. p.
232, Clark^s Trans.). The more general idea,
however, is the one distinctly in view here, and
thus there is warning mingled with the encourage-
ment which is conveyed by Christ^s case aS Peter
here presents it If it is right to speak, as Besser
does, of the little word * once * as letting * a beam
of comforting light fall on the sufTerings of
Christians,' this clause reminds them of the
necessity of making sure that their sufferings be
not of the kind which their own fault induces,
but rather of the kind righteously borne with a
view to the good of others. The particular good
which Christ set before Him as the object of His
suffering or dying was the bringing us to God;
by which is meant introducing us to God, giving
us admission, or the right of direct access, Co
God. This is the sense which the cognate noun
has in the few passages in which it is found,
viz. Horn. V. 2, £ph. ii. 18, iii. 12 ; and here,
too, the idea is neither that of presenting us an
offering to God (so the Vulgate, Luther, etc.),
nor that of simply reconciling us to God, but (as
it is rightly understood by Huther, etc.) thatof
introducing us to actual fellowship with God.
This verse, therefore, establishes a certain analogy
between Christ and Christians, in so far as He
was made subject to suffering not less than they,
and was made so not for His own fault but for
that of others. This analogy is used, however,
in support of the previous statement as to its being
a better thing to suffer for good than for evil.
Hence, having immediately in view the advantage
or good which suffering for righteousness* sake
brings with it, Peter goes at once ^as formerly
in chap. ii. 22, etc.) beyond the elements of
similarity which might present the suffering Christ
as an example to suffering Christians. He
touches on more than one thing which gave
Christ's sufferings a value all their own. They
were of the unique order which (as the *once*
implies) neither required nor admitted repetition.
And the gain which they secured, by which also
they pre-eminently illustrate the good which
suffering for righteousness' sake yields, and how
preferable it is to suffer, if suffer we must, for
well-doing rather than ill-doing, was the other-
wise unattainable boon of a direct approach for
sinners to God, a free intercourse with God. —
put to death indeed in flesh, but quickened in
spirit. Two things are here afifirmed to have
taken effect on Christ, when He suffered or died
in order to bring us into this fellowship with
God. These, however, are so balanced that the
one appears simply as the preliminary to the
other, and the attention is concentrated on the
latter. The one is rightly given as a ' being put
to death ; ' for the term docs not mean, as some
suppose, merely being condcmmd to death (com-
pare its use, e.g.^ in Malt. xxvi. 59, xxviL I ;
Rom. viii. 36 ; 2 Cor. vi. 9, etc.). The other
is correctly interpreted not as a * being kept alive *
(which idea is expressed in the New Testament
l)y different tenns), but as a * being quickened ' or
* made alive ; * the word being that which is else-
where (John V. 21 ; Rom. iv. 17 ; i Cor. xv. 22,
etc.) applied to the raising of the dead to life.
To the two things are added definitions of two

distinct spheres in which they severally took
effect These are conveyed each by a single
noun, which has almost an adverbial force here,
viz., ' in flesh,' i.e. fieskly-wise, or, as regards the
natural, earthly order of life ; and ' in spirit,' i.e.
spirit-wisef or, as regards the higher spiritul
order of life. Those two terms are analogoiu to
other antithetical phrases which are ap^iedto
Christ, such as 'according to the flesh' anl
' according to the spirit of holiness ' (Rom. I 3\
manifest ' in the flesh,' and judged ' in the spirit'
(i Tim., iii. 16). They point to two difloeut
forms of einstence, a natural, mortal fbcm of
existence associated with flesh, and a supemttonl,
immortal form of existence associated with spirit,^
in other words, a perishable, corporeal life, ud
an imperishable, spiritual or incorporeal life. Ai
regards the one. He ceased to live it by being pot
to death. As reganls the other, He coBtinued to
live it, and to live it with new power, by bang
quickened. The A. V., therefore, is entirdy H
fault in rendering the second clause 'by the
Spirit,' as if the reference were to the Holy Sprit
and to Him as the Agent in Christ's resnnectioii.
In this, too, it has deserted the versioDs of
Wycliffe, Tyndale, Cranmer, Geneva, and Rheins
which all give ' in spirit' or ' in the spirit.'

Ver. 19. in which alao he ivent uid iBUMbrt
to the ipirits in prieon. Here, again, the A.V.,
following the Genevan alone among these earlier
English Versions, wrongly renders * by whidu'
The sense is, Mn which,' i^. in the spiritual form
of life which has just been noticed* The ^erb
' preached ' is used absolutely here. It is not to
be taken, however, in the vague sense of making
proclamation^ showing Himself, or bearing witnea
to Himself (Schott, etc), far less in the sense of
preaching judgment, but in the sense which
•It elsewhere has in the New Testament, where it
occurs, both with the object expressed (/./*. the
gospel, the kingdom of God, Christ, etc.), oind with
the object unexpressed {e^. Matt. xi. i ; Mark L
38, etc. ), of Christ's earthly ministry of preaching
which was a message of grace. The word
' spirits ' is used here, as in Heb. xii. 25, in the
sense of disembodied spirits. Elsewhere (/./•
Rev. vi. 9, XX. 4) the term 'souls' is used to
designate the departed. On the ground of the
statement in 2 Pet. ii. 4, and the application of
the word ' spirit ' in such passages as Luke ix. 39,
Acts xvi. 18, etc., some have strangely supposed
a reference here to the angels who sinned, — whidi
is entirely inconsistent with the historical notice
which follows. The phrase * in prison * has the
definite force which it has in 2 PeL ii. 4, Jode
6, Rev. Kx. 7, and is not to be explained away as
merely equivalent to ' in safe-keeping,* or ' in the
worKl of the dead * generally.

Ver. 20. aforetime disobedient. The 'dis-
obedient ' means here again, as in ii. 7, 8, iiL I,
disbeliei'iugy refusing belief and withstanding
truth. The clause may describe the 'spirits
according to the conduct which made them
spirits ' in prison.' So it is understood bj
most. It may, however, also indicate the date
of the disobedience. The latter view is more in
harmony with the specification of time which
immediately follows, the ' when ' giving a more
exact definition of the ' aforetime. We should
thus translate it : ' when of old they were dis-
obedient, to wit, at the time when the long-sufiering
of God,' etc., ratlier than (with the R. V., ctc.£

Chap. III. 17-22.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

213

' which aToretiine were disobedient,* etc. — when
the long-wifhriiig of God was waiting. The
'once ' which is inserted by the A. V. has very
little documentary evidence, and is supposed to
have been due to a conjecture of Erasmus.
The * waiting * is given in the imperfect tense to
bring out Its lengthened continuance. It is
czpiessed, too, by a verb for which Paul has a
particular fondness, and which conveys the idea
of the inUnsetuss ox patience of the waiting. It
b applied to the ' earnest expectation ' of the
creation (Rom. viiL 19), the 'waiting ' of those
who have the first-fruits of the Spirit (Rom. viii.
'3» 35)* the waiting for ' the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ* (i Cor. i. 7), or for 'the hope of
righteousness by faith * (Gal. v. 5), the looking
\Ux the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ ' (Phil.
iii. 2o)« Outside Paul it occurs only here and in
Hebu ix. 28. — in the days of Hoah while tho
aik vaa being prepared. Both the date and the
duration at once of the Divine waiting and of the
Bwn's disobedience are thus more clearly defined,
the date being identified with the times imme-
diately prior to the flood, and the duration with
the whole period of warning afforded by the
constmction of the Ark, which is indicated to
have extended to 120 years (Gen. vi. 3). — in
idkich few, that is, eight ionla, were saved
tfarongli water. Literally it is ' in/p which/ t.^.
=bj entering into which, etc By 'souls* are
meant here individuals or persotts. The word
' soul,' meaning life or \ht prifuifle of lifey comes
to mean life embodied^ or the living individual.
Occasionally, however (see above on ' spirits *),
it designates the departed. The mention of the
precise number saved serves to throw into still
stronger light both the disobedience to which the
loDg-snffering of God addressed itself, and the
grace that failed not to separate the believing few.
There is considerable diflference of opinion as to
what is meant by the 'saved through water.'
The * through,* which the A. V. renders * by,*
may have either a local sense or an instrumental.
In the former case the idea will be either that
those few were saved by passing through the
water, or that they were brought safely through
water into the ark. This latter seems favoured
in the margin of the Revised Version, which
gives ' into which few, that is, eight souls, were
brooght safely through water.' In favour of this
local sense (which is preferred by Bengel, de
Wette, etc) we have the analogous phrase * saved,
yet so as ^^ (or, through) fire'(l Cor. iii. 15).
Bnt a*e are left thus with no obvious connection
between this mention of water and the following
notice of a salvation by water. Most interpreters,
therefore, accept the instrumental sense, taking
the thought to be that water was the means by
which these few were saved. As Huther rightly
observes, however, there is nothing to suggest that
Peter meant that the same water which was tiie
means of destruction to the mass was the means
of safety to the few. All that he has in view is
(as the indefinite 'water,' not * the water,'
indicates) that it was by means of water that the
few entering the ark which floated thereon were
preserved. And this relation of water to the
preservation of the righteous at the time of the
Flood is introduced in view of what is to be said
of the relation of water, namely that of Baptism,
to the salvation of Christian believers now.
Ver. 21. wiiich also in the antitype now

■aTes yon, namely baptism. The rendering ot
the A v., 'the like figure whereunto,* follows a
reading which is now given up. llie best
authorities also substitute ' you * for 'us.* Some
interpreters regard both the Ark and the *few *
as having a typical force here. Consequently
they seek for an antitype to the Ark in the Christ
into whose name we are baptized, and without
whom baptism can as little save us as the water
of the Flood could save without the Ark, They
also find an antitype for the 'few' in the 'you,*
as if the idea were that the ' proportion of those
saved by baptism to the unbelievmg is but small '
(so even Huther). But the only things which
Peter sets distinctly in the relation of type and
antitype are water as preserving life in Noah's
generation, and water as saving souls in Peter's
own generation. The comparison, therefore, is.
not between the Flood and Baptism, but simply
between water in one service and water in
another. AVhat antitypical water is intended, is
at once made clear by the appended definition,
'baptism.* Thus, as further explained, the
comparison comes to be not between the saving .
efficacy of the water in which the Ark floated and
the saving efficacy of Baptismal zvaler in the
Church of Christ, but between the saving efficacy
of water in the former instance and the saving
efficacy of Baptism itself now. The latter, like
the former, has in a certain sense an instrumental
relation to a saved state. — not the putting away
of the filth of the flesh. This is thrown in to
guard against any mistake which the comparison
might provoke as to the kind of relation
intended. The saving efficacy is not of a mate-
rial kind like that exerted by water in the case of
the Ark and its eight For the baptism meant is
something different from any merely physical
cleansing, or any of those ceremonial washings
with which both Jew and Gentile were sufficiently
familiar. These two terms 'putting off* and
' filth * are peculiar to Peter. The former occurs
again in 2 Pet. i. 14. What is meant is generally
understood to be the putting off of the filth which
belongs to the flesh. The peculiar order of the
words in the original, however, gives not a little
plausibility to another rendering which is adopted
by Bengcl, Huther, etc., — the flesh's putting off
of uncleanness, i.e. the laying aside of its own
uncleanness by the flesh itself. — bnt the inquiry
of a good conscience toward God. This sentence
has greatly perplexed the commentators. The
difficulty lies mamly in the use of the word ren-
dered * answer ' by the A V. This term occurs
nowhere else in the N. T. The A. V. stands
alone among the old English Versions in translat-
ing it 'answer.' Wycliffe gives *the asking of a
good conscience in God ; * Tyndale and Cranmer
have ' in that a good conscience consenteth to
God ; ' the Genevan has ' in that a good con-
science makelh request to God ; ' the Rhemish
renders it * the examination of a good conscience
toward God.' The only meanings of the word
which can be verified are these two, viz. (i) an
interrogation or question^ which b the classical
sense {e.g, Herod, vi. 67 ; Thucyd. iiL 53, 68),
and (2) a petition, demand, or the thing asked by
petition, in which sense it occurs once in one of
the old Greek Versions of Daniel (iv. 14, i.e, iv.
17 of the English Bible). The question, there-
fore, is — What results from this for the sentence
as a whole? Among other renderings which

214

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. III. 17-22.

have Ijccd proposed are these: ^l) tkt request
{i.e. for salvation or grace) addressed I0 Ced fy m.
^cod efinscinue ; \i\ the qmistianimg, or examima'
tian^ to vkich m. gcod conseienee is subjected before
God; (3) the request wtade to Ccd for m, good com-
science ; (4) the inquiry made fy a good comscietue
aper Cody or, tke act of a good comsciaue im seek'
ing after Cod ; (5) tke fromise, or pUdge^ to keep a
;iood conscience tazMwd God ; (6) tke contract^ or
rclaiion, entered into witk God by a good conscietace,
Tlie last two interpretatioos find (avour with
many of the best exegetes (Grotius, de Wette,
Hother, Plamptre, etc), and are supported more
or less by some of the old ▼ersions. The Syriac,
e.g.^ takes the sense to be ^ vken ye confess Gcd
vitk a pure conscience. The form mentioned last
of all has the andoabted advantage of giving a
dear and pertinent idea, viz., that 'the person
baptized, by the reception of baptism, enters into
a relation — as it were of contract — with God, in
which he submits in £aith to God*s promise of
salvation ' (so Huther, who now prefen this view).
It does not make the phrase a 'good conscience'
a synonym here for a ' reconciled conscience,' but
retains for it the simpler sense which b more in
harmony with similar expressions in Heb. xiii. 18 ;
Acts xxiiL I ; I Tim. L 5, 19, iii. 9 ; i Pet iii.
16, viz., that this is done with a pure intention.
It al^io founds upon the primitive practice of
addressing certain questions to the applicant for
baptism and obtaining certain replies from him,
such, e.g.f as these : Ast tkou renounce Satan ? —
/ do renounce kirn. Dost tkou believe in Ckrist ?
— / do bclieit in Him. So Neander {Ck. Hist.^
vol. i. pp. 424, 427, Bohn) regards this as the
clearest trace within the New Testament itself of
a confession of faith which had to be made from
the first at baptism, and thinks that the passage
according to the most natural interpretation
' refers to the question proposed at baptism, the
word "question " being used here by metonymy
for the "pledge or answer to the question."'
This interpretation, however, is open to an objec-
tion that is almost fatal, namely, that the use of
the word which is rendered 'answer * in our AV.
in this sense of stipulation ^ contract ^ or covenant^
is entirely foreign to the Bible, and indeed to
early Ecclesiastical Greek, and belongs to the
juristic terminology of a later period. More or
less difficulty attaches to the other views. Thus
(4), which is adopted by Alford, etc, and (3),
which is preferred by Weiss, Hofmann, etc., are
both sustained by the analogous use of the cognate
verb in 2 Kings xi. 7, where it is said that ' David
inquired after the peace of Joab.* They also
yield good meanings. But they both do so at the
cost of departing somewhat from the known sense
of the noun, while the former further identifies
the phrase * good conscience* with the more
definite, theological idea of a * reconciled con-
science.' Perhaps the meaning is simply thisi
the infer rotation which is addressed to God by a
good conscience. This resembles the interpretation
numbered (i), which is that of Bengel, Steiger,
etc. It adheres, however, to the strict sense of
the noun, where that is modified by Bengel. It
also gives effect to the peculiar order of the
original, instituting a comparison between the
flesh with the putting off of uncleanness which is
ascribed to it, and the conscience with the inter-
rogation which it is said to direct to God.
Further, it retains for the phrase 'good con-

science ' here the general sense which it has in
the i6th verse of the same chapter. Hence vhat
Peter intends seems to be to explain that, wbn
he speaks of baptism as having a saving efBcMjr,
be does not mean a mere ceremonial washing, bat
one which carries a moral value with it, a btptiaa
which means that in all poreness of consciace
and sincerity of desire the sool's intenogitkn
about salvation itsdf is submitted to God, and
God's response dosed with.— throogli tlie mv*
netkH of Jflm Gliriit This is connected bjr
some (Fronmtiller, etc) with the 'good con-
science,' as if the resmiection of Christ were tbe
basis of the good conscience. By otheis it ii
attached to the 'question,* or to its danse « t
whole, as if it were only on the gionnd of tk
resurrection of Christ that the seal s qoestion co.
be addressed to God. Most, however, unite it
with the ' doth now save jron,' remdii^ all that
comes between as a parenthesis. In this case the
sentence conveys an explmnatioo of the saviif
efficacy which is ascribed to baptism, 9% tv
parenthesis gave an explanatioo of what the
baptism itself was which Peter had in view. Hie
relation in which baptism stands to sadvatton i^
therefore, a relation which it has only in ▼irtne of|
or on the ground of (cf. *by the merdes of God'
in Rom. xii. i), the resurrection of Jesos Christ
What has already been described as the groond
or means of our regeneration (chap, i 1), u now
re-introduced as the ground of the spiritual valae
which belongs to the rite which is a sign and sell
of that r^eneration. Peter speaks of baptisa
here, only with more qualification in his terns,
much in the same way as Paul does when be
terms it the ' washing (or, Uver) of regeneration'
(Tit. iii. 5), or when he describes those who have
been 'baptized into Christ' as having actually
'put on Christ' (GaL iii. 27). «As Pkul, m
speaking of the Church, presupposes that the
outward Church is the visible community of the
redeemed ; so he speaks of baptism on the sap«
position that it corresponded to its idea, that all
that was inward, whatever belonj^ to the holy
rite and its complete observance, aiccompanied
the outward ; hence he could aissert of outward
baptism whatever vras involved in a believing
appropriation of the Divine facts which it sym*
bolized ; whatever was realized when bAptism
corresponded to its original design' (Neander,
Plaftting </ Christianity, vol i. pp. 495, 496^
Bohn).

Ver. 22. who is on the right hand of God.
A familiar phrase expressing ' the regal and JDdi-
ciary power * to which Christ is exalted. Com-
pare such passages as Rom. viii. 34 ; Eph. L 20 ;
Col. iii. I ; Phil. iii. 20 ; Heb. i. 3 ; and the
fundamental O. T. passage, Ps. ex. i. — hftTiBf
gone into heaTen. The verb is the same as the
* went * in ver. 19, — with the important differcnoe,
however, that here the going is not saiid to have
1)een 'in spirit' or 'spirit- wise.' The phrase is
important, as it presupposes, if it does not ex-
pressly state, Peter's affirmation of Christ's Ascen-
sion.—angels and anthoritiee atnd powwi
having been nmde auttiect to him. lliese
terms, and others of a similar kind, are often
used, espedally by Paul, as designations of the
various powers of the heavenly worid (cf. Rom.
viii. 38; Eph. i 21, 22; Col. i. 16, ii. 10; I Cor.
XV. 27 ; Heb. ii. 8). Whether they describe
these simply according to thdr several relatkxis

Chap. IIL 17-22.] THE FIRST -EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

to God And to the world, or aooordinfi; to their
Kvcnl ranks and orders, is not easy to determine.
In lavour of the latter view, however, appeal is
made to Christ's own words in Matt xviiL 10,
which are Uken by many {e.g, Meyer) to assume
di&Tcnces of rank or class among the angels.
The application of these two terms ttuthorities
and pamenXo the angels is peculiar to Paul, the
pKKnt being the only non-Pauline instance.
The three names are used here not with the view
of expressing any particular relation in which
they stand one to another, but simply as names
ooverii^generally all the heavenly powers over
which Christ is supreme. It has been supposed
that the various dauses of this verse came from
aome doxology, or (rom some form of faith pro-
filed by candidates for baptism. Thia^ however,
is oncertain. The point of the verse is to bring
oat the heightened power which resulted to Christ
fraoi His suffering and death, and thus to crown
Ibe train of statement by which the blessing of
sufiering for righteousness' sake is enforced.
The particular climax in the verse is lost to the
Ei^liih reader through the inversion of the order
of the Greek in the A. V. The order is not,
'who is gone into heaven and is on the right
hand of God,' etc, but, as in the R. V., < who is
00 the right hand of God, having gone into
heaven,' etc That b to say, Peter first states
the fiact that He who died in the cause of others
is now exalted to the highest place of honour next
to God Himself, then explains that He came to
this place by |)assing into heaven itself, and finally
adds that being elevated to the place of the
heavenly powers He now has all these powers
sabject to Him and in His service.— In the light
of thb examination of the train of thought and
the usage of the disputable terms which occur in
this verse, what verdict may now be ventured on
the leading solutions of this enigma of the New
Testament ? Several of these are at once and
entirely discredited by the plainest data of the
cxe^iesis. This is the case (i) with the idea,
which has commended itself to interpreters like
Grotins, Dr. John Brown, and (to some extent)
Le^hton, that the preaching affirmed is simply that
addressed by the risen Christ through His apostles
to men of their own time, who were in bondage to
the law or in captivity to sin. — This overlooks the
fiKt that Christ Himself, and not Christ through
the Apostles, is represented as the preacher. It
pots a gloss upon the phrase 'spirits in prison.'
Jt also takes the disobedient of Noah s time
simply as types of the disobedient of apostolic
times. The same holds good (2) of the view
advocated%y many distinguished Lutherans, that
Christ went and proclaimed judgment, or made a
pdidal manifestation of Himself, to the impenitent
in the world of the dead (of whom those of Noah's
time are mentioned as exemplary of all, or as the
worst of all), and that this was done not by the
sonl of the dead Christ, but by the revivified
Christ during the interval between His quickening
and His actual resurrection. This interpretation,
which was that of the old Lutheran theologians, is
inconsistent with the usage of the word 'preached,'
which denotes not a message of judgment or con-
demnation, but a message of grace. It is adhered
to, in so far as regards the assertion of a descent
and message to the world of the dead by Christ
after His restoration to life and before His re-
ascent to earth, by many exegetes who otherwise

215

differ from each other as to the object of the
Descent {e,g, Schott,de Wette, Wiesinger, Huther,
etc). But in all forms it substitutes the Restored
Christ, or Christ in His spiritual body, for Christ
in a spiritual mode of activity (which is what
Peter affirms) as the Preacher who goes with the
message. Not less inadmissible is (3) the
Patristic view, that in the period between His
death and His resurrection Christ went and
preached to the righteous dead of Old Testament
times in their place of intermediate detention,
with the view of perfecting their salvation. This
interpretation 1k^ been connected by Roman
Catholic theologians both with their doctrine of a
; Limbus Patrum, and with that of Purgatory. It
has been adopted in part by some Protestants of
note, including both Zwingli and Calvin ; the
latter of whom takes the ' spirits in prison ' to
mean the spirits ' on the watch-tower, in expecta-
tion of Christ.' But this view does violence to
the sense of the word rightly rendered prison, A
different position must be allowed (4) to another
line of interpretation which has seldom wanted
advocates, and which secures the adhesion of
many of the best expositors of our own time,
namely, that which discovers here a ministry of
grace, in the proper sense of the word, on the part
of the disembodied Christ in the world of the
dead. This is held in a variety of forms. Some
think the passage points to a second grade of
probation open to all, righteous and unrighteous,
in the intermediate state (Heard, Lange, etc).
Others regard it as meaning that after His death
Christ descended to Hades as the herald of grace
to the men of Noah's generation, but only to
those who had repented at the crisis of their death
in the Deluge (Bengel, Birks, etc). There are
those again who see in it a more general reference
to the men of the Flood, as men to whom some
compensation was made through Christ in the
other world for the shortening of their oppor-
tunities in the present. Bishop Horsley, e.g,,
believes it to be one of several passages in which
we may observe 'an anxiety, if the expression
may be allowed, of the sacred writers to convey
distinct intimations that the antediluvian race is
not uninterested in the redemption and final
retribution.' Yet another class of interpreters
recognises in it a bona fide proclamation of the
Gospel in Hades, either in the form of an offer of
grace to those who had it not in this world, or in
that of a renewed offer of grace with renewed
opportunities of repentance to all. It is supposed,
therefore, to furnish some warrant for cherishing
the ' larger hope.' At present it is expounded by
not a ^w eminent exegetes in the interest of
'wider and happier thoughts as to the state of
the dead,' and in support of the belief that beyond
the grave * the love which does not will that any
should perish, but that all should come to repent-
ance, proclaims evermore to the spirits in prison,
as during the hours of the Descent into Ilades,
the glad tidings of reconciliation' (Plumptre).
There are serious difficulties, however, in the way
of this interpretation. Besides the fact that it
cross(^ the analogy of the faith, running athwart
the clear and consistent doctrine of Scripture, that
the present life is the theatre of human destinies
and the scene of probation and grace, it is exe-
getically faulty at various points. It gives the
passage little more than the value of a digression.
It introduces into the important phrase ' in which '

2l6

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. III. 17-21

(ver. 19) a different meaning frdm its antccedenti
making it equivalent not to ' in which spirit/ Or
*in which spiritual mode of b^ing,* but to 'in
which disembodied^ or quickenedl spirit^* irtd
thus representing the Preacher not as Christ in a
particular form of life dnd activity (which is
Peter's statement), but as the disembodied or
quickened Christ. It faih to give any adequate
reason for the exact specification of the time of
the disobedience, and for the mention of the men
of Noah's day only. It reduces to something
like mere descriptive accessories the details about
the building of the Ark, the Divine waiting, and
the salvation of eight souls. The preaching
^hich it affirms is one the results of which are
in no way indicated, and the introduction of
which at this point is m no obvious connection
with Peter's exhortation. What motive to a life
of well-doing and of patience under injury in this
world lies m the statement that, in the other
world, the disobedient and injurious have the
(iospel preached to them through Christ's descent
to Hades ?

There is, however, (5) another method of
interpretation, which has been followed more or
less siiice Augustine gave it the sancticm of his great
name. It has secured the general assent of men
like Aquinas, Hugo of St« Victor, Bede, Beza,
Gerhard, Turretin, and> more recently, of Besser,
Hofmann, Schweitzer, etc. It takes the preach-
ing to have happened not in Hades but upon the
earth, not during the period between Christ's
death and resurrection but in Noah's time. In
one point of importance, however, this interpreta-
lion required, and has recently received, a pre-
cision which it had not in the hands of its older
advocates. The Preacher must be understood to
be Christ Himself, not Noah or Christ speaking
by Noah. What is affirmed, therefore^ is a gracious
activity on the part of the pre-incamate Christ) a
preaching in the form of the Divine warnings
of the time, the spectacle of the building of the
Ark, etc. This we believe to be the exposition
which best satisfies the condition of the exegesis.
The two main objections urged against it are, that
the phrase * spirits in prison * becomes equivalent
to 'spirits MOW in prison,* and that the word-
* went,* which implies local motion, is improperly
useil. But the answer to the latter lies in the Old
Testament metho^l of speaking of Jehovah as
coming, ^iHgt ascendittg, and in the analogous
use of the verb * came ' in Eph. ii. 17. And as
to the former objection, if in this view there is a
difference of time supposed between the preaching
and the state of imprisonment, in the other views
there is a difference of lime supposed between the
preacliing and the disobedience. On the other
hand, the arguments in favour of this interpreta-

tion are numerous and weighty. It retains the
natural sense for all the capital terms— /oi,
j/iV/V, quickened^ preacktd^ prison^ etc It pre-
serves the same Subject all through, nimdr
Christ as the Subject pat to death, Christ as the
Subject qtiickencxi, Christ (not the packeiud
Chnst or the disembodied Christ) as the Sobject
preaching, Christ as the Subject exalted. It
accounts for the definite statement of the time of
the disobedience. It starts not with what is
obscure in the section, viz. the phrase ' spirits in
prison,' but with what is dear and unambigaoos,
viz* the historical reference to the Flood, and lets
that direct the exposition. It seeks the key to
the problem of the passage in Peter's own
writings, particulariy in what he says of an
activity of the pre>incamate Christ, or the Spirit
of Christ, in the O. T. prophets (i Pet l \\\
It gives an intelligible reason for the details about
N(^'s time, the building of the Ark beiiig
instanced as one of the means by which Christ
preached to the men of that generation. It hdps
us to understand why Peter goes on to notice
Christ's present position of power and honour it
God's right hand. It bears most directly on the
injunction to a Christ>like behaviour under wrong,
in relation to which the whole section is broo^t
in. For it points the readers to the giacioosness
which has alwavs been seen in the case of tbdr
Ix>rd, and which He has never failed to exhibit
towards even the worst of wrong-doers. The
strain of the paragraph, therefore, amounts to
this : Be content to sutler. It is a blessing to do
so, provided ye suffer for well-doing, not for fli-
doing. Look to Christ's example — ^how He did
good to the most unworthy and died fur the
unjust. Think, too, what the issue of suffering
was to Him — how, if He suffered even unto
death as regards the mortal side of existence, He
was raised thereby as regards the spiritual to a
life of heightened power. Look back, also^ 00
tlie distant past ; ere lie had yet submitted to the
limitations of the flesh, and when He bad iJuX
supernatural order of being into which He has
risen again. Reflect how Uien too He was tme
to this gracious character, how He went and
preached to that guiltiest generation of the Flood,
making known to those grossest of wrong-doers, by
the spectacle of the Ark a-building, the agency of
His servant Noah, and the varied warnings of
the time, His will to save them. And consider
that He has the same graciousness still, of which
bapti in is the figure — that He can still save
oppressed righteous ones as He saved the believing
souls of Noah's house, that all the more indeed
can He now save such, seeing that in Itis exalted
life He has all the powers of heaven made subject
to llinw

Chap. IV. i-6.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

217

Chapter IV. 1-6.

Further Exhortations based upon tlu facts of Christ s Sufferings and Deaths
and directed specially to tlu Renunciation of all Gentile Impurity,

•F

ORASMUCH then as Christ hath * suffered* for us* in "ST-^V

Co. 111. 10.

the flesh,* arm yourselves likewise* with the same ^f^'^^^Y^; Jg^
mind:* for* he that hath suffered in the flesh' hath ceased <^|^"«^"»-

2 from sin;* that he no longer should *live* the ''rest of ///^ ''dTiLM**
time** in the flesh to" the ''lusts of men, but to" the will of 'SfilSwi.^:

3 God. For ' the time past of our life may / suffice " us to have ^^^%^' ^**
' wrought the * will " of the Gentiles, when we • walked " in ^^l'^;^ Vl
* lasciviousness," ' lusts, ** excess of wine," " revellings, ^ ban- Ij.^ij'^^f'is,

4 quetings," and ^ abominable ** ^ idolatries : wherein *• they
*" think it strange that ** ye ' run not with thei9i to the same

5 excess" of 'riot,** "speaking evil of you:" who shall *'give
account to him that is "'ready to * judge the quick and the

6 dead. For, ^for this cause** was the Gospel preached also to
them that are dead, that they might be judged 'according to

so, XV. 18 :
1 Cor. y. 3 :
9 Cor. iv. 17,
V. 5, vii. 10^
11, ix. iz, xii.
12 : Phil. ii.
12 ; Eph. vi.
13 ; Jas. i. 3.

A Acts xvii. 43 :
Rom. ix. 19.

I Lu. i. 6 ;
Acts ix. 31,
etc

the "flesh, but live ^according to God in" the *Mk. vii.aa;

Rom. xiii. 13;
a Cor. xii. 31,
etc.

/See refs. at ch. ii 11. mDeut. xxi. 30. MRom. xiii. 13 ; Gal. v. ar^ ff Gen. xix. 3, x1. ?& / Actsx. 98.

f I Cor. X. 14 ; Gal. v. ao : Col. iii. 5. *- Ver. 12 ; Acts xvii. 20. ^^ < P^. xlix. 18. / Eph. t. 18 ; Tit i. 6;

Pkov. Kxviit. 7. u Mat. xxvi. 65, xxvti. 39 ; Mk. xv. 29 ; Lu. xxiii. 39 ; Rom. xiv. 6 : a Pet. li. a, 10, etc

'La. xvi. 9 : Ads xix. 40 ; Rom. xiv. la, et(j w Acts kxi. 13 : 2 Cor. xii. 14 : Dan. iil 15. jr Acts x. 4a ;

xiv. 9; a Tim iv. i. ^ J®* *^".l'. 37 • Rom. xiv. 9, etc « Rom. iii 5 ; z Cor. iii. 3, xv. 3a ; Gal. i. 11, iii. 15.

men m
* spirit

s»

Ch. iii 18.

Lom. viii. 27 ; a Cor. vii. 9 ; Eph. iv. 34.

• or, Christ then having suffered ' om/t for i»s

• rather^ as regards the flesh, or^ fleshlywise

• rather^ do ye also arm yourselves ^ or, purpose ^ rather, because

• rather, as regards the flesh * or rather, unto sins

• to the end no longer to live '" literally, the remaining time
** or, according to '* suflices ^^ intent, or, as in the R, V,, desire

** literally, having walked

13

excesses

'^ winc-swillings

*^ drinking-bouts *•• lawless ^* rather, at which, or^ on account of which
*• literally, when, ^r, as -' effusion, or perhaps, sink ** profligacy

" or, reviling you ** to this end ** as regards

This paragraph brings to an end the series of
counsels which began with chap. ii. 1 1, and have
dealt with what is essential to a becoming ' con-
versation among the Gentiles.' Christian duty in
relation to the impurities of heathen associates is
now enforced in the strongest terms and with a
gleam uf gravest irony. Christ's example in
suffering is still the key-note. That example,
having been already used at length to point the
blessedness of suffering for righteousness' sake, is
DOW made the ground for enforcing absolute
separation from the vices of paganism, — a scpara-
tion as absolute as if one were dead to them. The
terms- in which Peter expresses this resemble,
more than anything else in his writings, Paul's
method of speaking of the believer as dead, dead
wi:h Christ, dead to the law, dead to sin, treed
from the law by death as the woman is loosed from

the husband's law by the husband's death, freed
from sin by becoming dead. The section is not a
mere resumption of a statement (t'lat, namely, in
iii. 18), which has been lost sight of for a time
in another train of reflection. It is the natural
continuation of a train of exhortation which has
not been broken, but has turned, and still turns,
on the necessity of seeing that, if we suffer, it be
only for well-doing, not for evil-doing. It contains
one great difficulty, tlie declaration (in ver. 6)
about a preaching of the Gospel to them that arc
dead. That passage has seemed to some inter-
preters so intractable that they have given it up
in despair. Luther imagined that some corruption
had crept into its text. Others have been driven
to regard it as the gloss of some copyist or
annotator. It is undoubtedly akin, however, to
the former paragraph in iii. 19, 20, and the results

2l8

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. tCHAP. IV. i-4

reached oo the one should throw some light on
the other.

Ver. I. Chrift then hATing raffered m regBidf
the flesh. The words * for us,* which the A- V.
inserts, have the support of some good authorities.
They are wanting, however, in the oldest of all
our manuscripts as well as in some important
Versions, and are rightly omitted by the R. V.
and the best critics. The ' suflfered ' is a general
expression here, covering His death as well as
what He endured previous to that. That His
death is in view appears from the definition of the
' suffered * by the * being put to death ' in iiL 18.
What Peter says here, too, is not exactly * in the
flesh,' but *as to the fltrsh' or * fleshly. wise.'
The term used is precisely the same as in iii. 18.
It is introduced twice in this verse, perhaps with
this touch of comfort in it, that, as in Christ's case,
so in the case of Christians, it is only the perish-
able side of being that suffering can hurL The
' then ' does not indicate a return from a di^^ression.
It carries out to further issues a fact which has
formed the ruling idea in all that has been
advanced since iii. 7. — do ye alio aim yonnelreiL
A strong appeal to do on their side what Christ
did on His. The course which they have to run
is one of conflict. They must have an equipment
for their warfare, if they are to wage it worthily,
and the armour or equipment which will make
them ready is that with which their Captain
Himself faced his curriculum of suffering. The
idea of a spiritual armour, which appears
repeatedly in the Pauline Epistles (Rom. xiiL 12 ;
2 Cor. vL 7 ; Eph. vi. 10-17 ; i Thcss. v. 8),
and meets us also in the Old Testament {f^, Isa.
lix. 17), is taken up this once and in briefest
possible form in rcter*s writings. The verb

* arm yourselves ' occurs nowhere aj^ain in the
New Testament, although it is common enough
in Classical Greek, Ix^h in the literal sense and
in the figurative. — with the fame mind, becaose
he who has suffered as regards the fleeh, has
ceased from sin. Although the several parts of
this sentence seem intclli;4il)le enough, the exact
sea«ie of the whole, specially in view of what is
immediately connected with it in the next verses,
is extremely difficult to determine. Some excel-
lent exegetcs have felt a haze overhanging it,
which has tempted them to doubt its genuineness.
The problem, however, is not to be disposed of
in tnat fasliion. The only uncertainties of
reading are these — Are we to read * in the flesh,*
or have we here exactly the same phrase as
before, viz. *as regards the flesh'? And ae we
to read 'from sin,* as in the A. V. and the text
of the K. v., or, as in the margin of the R. V.,

* unto sins * ? In Ixjth ca>cs the balance of
evidence seems on the side of the latter supposi-
tion. The first que>lion is as to the sense of the
word which is rendered * mind * here. It occurs
<mly once again in the New Testament, and there
in the plural, viz. Ileb. iv. 12, where it is
translated 'intents' in the A. V. and K. V. Its
best understood meaning (according to some,
indeed, its only meaning) is ///w;'^/, consideration^
conception. If this is adhered to, the idea which
results may be variously construed. Some take
it to l>e = arm yourselves with the same thought,
that is to say, with the thought of having to
fcuffer according to the flesh as Christ suflcred,
and do so because he who has so suffered has
ceased from sin (so Huther, etc.). Others

r including Calvin, the Genevan, Wiesinger,
Mason, etc.) understand the latter words to
express the comUnts of the thought, and pot it
either in the general form = arm yourselves with
the same thought, namely, the thought that he
who has suffer^ according to the flesh has cased
from sin ; or in the more definite form = ana
yourselves with the same thought, or conceptioD,
of what suffering is, which Christ Himself hid
when He sufier«i, namely, that he who has »
suffered has ceased from sin. But this distnHs
the connection with the opening danse, whidi
speaks not of what Christ or others thought about
suffering, but simply of the £act that He snfferei
In some of its forms, too, this rendering dedi
with the very definite phrase ' the uaiu thoo^'
as if it were ' this thought,' or ' this very tho^pit'
The noun in question, however, has anothcc
meaning, namely, disponlien^ iMiemiion^ expmrfmu
This is a rare use. But it seems capable of
being made out as an occasional occorrcDoe^ bolk
in the Classics {e.g. Xen. Anab. iiu I, 13 ; Flato^
Legf^. 769 £ ; Eurip. Hti. 1026, etc) and m the
Septuagint (Prov. iiL 21, ▼• 2). Here it gim
the clear and congruous idea, that in their conflict
Christians were to arm themselves with the suae
purpose with which their Lord Himself endued
suffering. \Vhat that purpose in His case «ai»
appears from the previous section. It was to do
pood to wrong-doers, by bringing them to God.—
because he who has raffered aooording to tht
fleeh has ceased fhun sin. This is added to
establish and enforce the counseL Bot how it does
that is greatly d isputed. Some suppose Christ Him-
self to be the subject of the sentence, and take it to
mean that by suffering in the flesh He put an end
to sin itself, and brought in an everlasting righteoiit>
ness ; or that He thus made an end of sm-offeriDgi
But this introduces dogmatic ideas, which the coa-
text does not suggest ; while violence is also dene
to some of the terms. Others suppose it meui
that Christ, having once suffered, is now done with
sin, and is ' fortified against its assaults.* The
expression, however, seems to be a general oole^
stating a principle which is not to be limited to
the single case of Christ Others give the
'suffered' an ethical sense, or a metaphoriod,
supposing that it refers either to the crucifying of
the old man (Calvin, etc. ), or to the ideal dying
of the l>eliever with Christ in baptism (Schott,
etc.). But this is inconsistent with the sense of
the same term ' suffered ' in the first clause.
Some of the best interpreters retain the reading
of the Received Text (which admits of being
rendered either 'has ceased from sin,' or 'has
been made to cease from sin '), and hold that this
must be taken in the active sense of a ceasing
from sinning. So some construe it as = he who
suffers on account of his opposition to sin, has
broken with sin and shows that its power over
him is gone (Weiss). And others, in various wavs^
understand it to refer to the influence of snlTenng
in subduing sinful inclination and ripening rooru
character. Even this, however, appears to come
short of the almost axiomatic force of the sentence.
For it is by no means a general truth that suffering
effects cessation from sin. The difiiculty will be
lightened, however, if we adopt the other reading,
' unto sins.' This gives us a phrase, ' is done
with sins,' or 'has been brought to an end as
regards sins,* which may fairly express the
cessation of a certain releition to sin, and present

IV. 1-6.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

219

d to the Pauline formula, ' he that is dead
from sin * (Rom. vi. 7). We have then
ml proposition, which holds good of both
ijects referred to in the verse, Christ and
iristimD, each according to his peculiar
L to sin. And, taking the ' suffered ' to
here, as in iii. 18, the article of death
ve make the import of the whole this —
■a0ered and died, with the purpose of
good ; confront 3rour sufferings with the
■rpoie ; let them not provoke you to evil-
but pledge you to well-doing ; be confirmed
by toe consideration that he who has once
I onto death according to the flesh, is done
I ; Christ thus terminated His relation to
d Ibose who suffer and die with Him should
w tbeir old relation to sin at an end,
if«i done with sin.

X to the end, no longer according to
tMli Imt aoooiding to Ood'e will, to live
Mteingtime in the flesh. Two connec-
epoisible, between which it is difficult to
The verse may be attached to the imme-
. preceding clause, in which case it must be
cd, as in the A. V. and the margin of the
' that he should no longer live the rest of his
!tc. In this case it becomes part of the
proposition as to the end put to one*s rela-
nn by the suffering of death, explainmg the
intention of the change of relation. Or it
jotoed with the counsel *arm yourselves,'
enrening clause being then regarded as a
lesii. in this case it expresses the practical
they are to have in view in facing their
gi with the purpose which distinguished
; while at the same time it indicates how the
proposition is to be applied to their own
The ' lusts of men ' and the ' will of God '
trasted as two opposite services to which
fe may be dedicated (as in ii. 24 Peter has
of living ' unto righteousness ') ; or as two
e pmtiems or statuiards to w.hich one's life
e conformed. The latter idea is more
9it with the longer formula, 'live the
tng time in the flesh ; ' with which compare
Analogous phrases occur in Acts xv. i,
nciicd c^ter the manner of Moses,' and
. 16, 25, • Walk in the Spirit,* * live in
fording to) the Spirit.' This also makes
ible that the ' lusts of men ' here are not
]% of human nature in the readers them-
or in the man described as suffering), but
Its indulged by the heathen around the
. These are an objective standard of life
di ther are not to conform. Their standard
t God s wilL Bengel notices the contrast
a the ' lusts ' which are various, and tiie
»f God ' which is one. Compare Paul's
t between the ' tuorks of the flesh ' which
MMxiant and make life itself a discord, and
mit* of the Spirit which is a unity, and
life a unity (Gal. v. 19, 22). Neither of
words here rendered ' remaining ' and
occurs elsewhere in the New Testament.
.ter, too, is never applied to any order of
er than the intelligent life of man. The
' in the flesh * means simply ' in the mortal,
life.' Peter never uses the word * flesh *
it in this Epistle), in the ethical sense
it often has in Paul, as denoting the sinful
oi roan or the 'principle and realm of

Ver. 3. For enffident ia the time past to
have wronght the will of the GentOee. Here
the A. V. inserts two phrases, viz. ' of our life *
and ' us,' which weight of evidence compels us
to omit. According to the best authorities, too,
the idea of ' will ' is not expressed, as the A. V.
leads us to imagine, by the same word as in the
previous phrase 'God swill.' Here it might be
rendered the 'inclination,' ' intent,' or (with the
R. V. ) ' desire * of the Gentiles. The verb
' wrought ' is of a fonn and a tense, which serve to
throw the action entirely into the past as now Anally
done with. The adjective ' sufficient ' occurs onl^
twice again in the New Testament, viz. in Matt vi.
34 ( * sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof '),
and X. 25 ('it is enough for the disciple that he be
as his Master '). It is here the note of pained
feeling uttering itself in irony. The sentence is
an example of what grammarians call litotes^ less
than the reality being said in order to suggest the
more. ' The past may suffice ; there is a figure
in that, meaning much more than the words
express : It is enough I 0\i\ too much^ to have
so long, so miserable a life' (Leighton). The
allusion to the ' desire of the Gentiles ' (which is
practically equivalent here to the desire of the
he€Uhen\ especially as that desire or intent is
interpreted by the following catalogue of sins,
suits Christians who had been heathen, rather
than Christians who had been Jews. — ^walking,
or rather, as the perfect tense implies, walking aa
ye have done ; in reference to a continuous course
of life now done with. The A. V., following the
readings which we have seen cause to reject,
makes it ' when we walked,' as if Peter courteously
included himself in the description, in order to
soften its edge. — in excoBSoa; not, as both the
A. V. and the R. V. render it, in laBoiyionsneaiL
No doubt uncleanness is the foremost thing in view
in these excesses (cp. Rom. xiii. 13 ; 2 Cor. xii.
21 ; Gal. V. 19). 13ut Peter begins with a wide,
plural term, sufficient to include unbridled
conduct of all kinds, and then goes on from the
general to the particular. — lusts ; pointing
specially to fleshly lusts and appetites strictly
so called, although the term is not confined to
these (see on i. 14). — wine-swilUngs. The word
is of rare occurrence even in the Classics. In the
New Testament this is its solitary occurrence.
The cognate verb, however, is used in the Greek
Version of Deut. xxL 20, in the sense of being a
drunkard. The noun denotes both the thirst for
drink and indulgence in drink. Here it is in the
plural, and means 'debauches,' or, as the R V.
renders it, * wine-bibbings.* — revellinga. Wycliffe
strangely renders it, ' immeasurable eatings ; '
Tyndale, ' eating ;' and Cranmer, 'excess of
eating.' The term occurs again only in Rom.
xiii. 13 ; Gal. v. 21. It is the word which is so
familiar to us in the Classics as the name given
to the drunken merry-makings of various kinds,
which were so considerable an element in Greek
life. They were recognised entertainments,
celebrated on festal days, in connection with the
worship of Bacchus and other gods, or in honour
of the victors at the national games. Those of
the last-named class were of a comparatively
orderly kind. The others were attended with
great licence, and generally ended in the revellers
sallying out into the streets, and wakening the
echoes with song and dance and noisy frolic. —
caroosinge. Another word of which this is the

220

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IV. i-d

only New Testament instance. It means social
drinking-bouts or roysterings^ rather than merely

* banauetings/ as the A. V. makes it — and l»w-
leai idolameiL Here, as so often elsewhere,
idolatry and immorality are associated as goin?
hand in hand with each other. The ' abominable
of the A. V. and R. V, scarcely conveys the
point of the adjective. It describes the idolatries
as unlawjulf outside the pale of Divine law. In
the only other passage of the New Testament in
which it occurs (Acts x. 2S) it expresses the idea
that fellowship between a Jew and a man of
another nation was contrary to Jewish law. This
mention of ' idolatries ' as the last and worst of
the tilings after which the * desire of the Gentiles *
ran, clearly indicates the Gentile extraction of
Peter*s readers. From the time of the captivity
idolatry was the sin which the Jew specially
forswore. It could not with any semblance of
justice be spoken of as a characteristic Jewish
vice in Peter's day. The passage in Rom. ii. 22,
which is often cited in support of the opposite
view, deals with an entirely diflfercnt matter, —
the inconsistency on the part of one who professes
to hate idolatry and yet commits sacrilege.

Ver. 4. on which aooount they think it
strange that ye run not with them into the
■ame effusion (or, slongh) of profligacy, speak-
ing evil of you. The * wherein * of the A. V.
(which the R. V. also retains) is so far misleading,
as it naturally means to the English reader 'm
which Ibices.* The sense, however, is not = they
think it strange that ye run not with them in their
vices into the !>ame slough, etc. The construction
of the sentence, which is somewhat dubious, may
be put either thus — *at which matter they are
astonished, namely, the matter of your not running
with them,* etc. ; or thus, — * at which state of
affairs they are astonished, seeing that you do not
run with them,* etc ; or best, i>erha]», thus, — * on
which account [i.e, on account of tne fact that ye
(lid once walk in these excesses) they are astonished
when ye do not now run with them,' etc. The
several terms are remarkable for their force and
vividness. The first verb, which occurs repeatedly
in the N. T, with its primary sense of * receive a
stranger,* * lodge,* etc. (Acts x. 23, xxviii. 7;
Heb. xiii. 2), has here the secondary sense of
'counting strange' or * being astonished,' which it
has also in ver. 12, and in Acts xvii. 20. The
second (comp. also Mark vi, 33; Acts iii. ii)
conveys the idea of eager companionship in
running. The noun rendered 'excess* by the
A. v., and the text of R. V., is not found else-
where in the N. T. In the Classics, where also it
is of very rare occurrence, it seems to mean
j»rimarily effusion or outpourings and secondarily
an estuary. Different senses are proposed for it
here, some prefeiring the local sense of *sink,'

* slough,' 'puddle* (Alford, Fronmliller, etc.);
others that of 'stream* (Schott, etc.), or 'flood*
(margin of R. V.) ; others the more general sense
of * overflowing' (Huiher, Hofmann) ; others again
the sense of 'softness' (Gerard)or ' wantonness (de
Wette). The old Greek lexicographers explain
it as =* slackness,* 'looseness,* etc. The other
noun, rendered 'riot' by the A. V. and R. V.,
means rather dissoluteness or lewdness. In Greek
ethics it denotes the prodigal squandering of one's
means, and then a profligate, dissolute mode of
life, the two ideas of wasteful expenditure and
expenditure on onc*s appetites being near akin.

It occurs again in Eph. ▼. 18 (A. V. 'excea*),
and in Tit L 6 (A. V. * riot *). The adverb is
found once, viz. Luke xv. 13, in the phrase 'with
riotous living. * — speaking evil of yon, Le, slaiider<
ing, reviling you. It is the term which, when
used of God, is rendered blaspheme. With wbit
power do these few bold strokes depict the rash of
the mass of the heathen over all barrien that
stand in the way of vicious indulgence, and their
haste to drag others with them on to the saae
goal of a life of appetite ! Wordsworth thinb
the point of the comparison is the idea of 'fool
streams flowing together into one and the same
sink ; * a metaphor which he considers pccnliaily
expressive ' in countries where after violent laiii
the gutters are suddenly swollen, and poor their
contents together with violence into a cooubm
sewer.' With this N. T. pictoie of the btnded
troops of the Gentiles ' rushing together in a fiUhy
confluence for reckless indulgence and efiuskm is
sin,' compare such pictures in the polite litentue
of the heathen as that which Ovid draws of the
Bacchic orgies {Met, iii. 529, etc. ; see aboDi;
John Brown, in toe,),

Ver. 5. Who shall give aooount; the suae
phrase as in Heb. xiii. 17, Acts xix. 40^ sad
found on Christ's own lips, i.g. Matt xil 36;
Luke xvi. 2. — to him tfakt is ready to Jadgn
The formula ' ready to ' (which b used again only
in Acts xxi. 13 ; 2 Cor. xii. 14), along with the
tense in which the ' to judge ' is cast, points to
the last judgment as certain and near, and to the
Judge as prepared to judge once for alL This
Judge, too, as we may infer from the general con-
clusion to which chap. iii. 17-22 led upu is
Christ, — the Christ who is reviled when Chrisbaas
are reviled, the Christ who, in the time of His
own suffering, committed His case to Him Ihit
judgeth righteously. — the quick and tlie dead, or
simply, qui^k and dead. Here, as in a good
n\any passages of Scripture {e,g. Lev. xiiL 10;
Num. xvi. 30; Ps. Iv. 15, cxxiv. 3; Acts x. 42;
2 Tim. iv. I ; Heb. iv. 12), the adjective 'quick'
has its ancient sense of ' living,' which is now for
the most part lost. Compare Shakespeare's

' 1 had rather be set quick i' the earth.'

Merry H^'tnet, iiL 4, 90^

and the still current 'cut to the quick,* 'quickset,*
' quicksilver,* etc The universality ana impar*
tiality of the judgment are thus expressed. For
the phrase ' quick and dead ' is not to be limited
either to the heathen slanderers, or (with SchoCt)
to the Christians who are to get their rights^
whether alive or dead, at Christ's coming. It
is for the comfort ofsuflcring believers to jcdow
that there is a judgment in waiting for their
revilers, and that this judgment is in the hands
of Him who will impartially give their rights Co
all, whether alive or dead, whether heathen or
Christian.

Ver. 6. For to this end waa tlie goapel
preached also to the dead, in order that iSttf
might be judged indeed according to men •■
regards the flesh, but Uyo according to God •■
regards the spirit. There is much differeDce of
opinion as to the sense of individual terms in this
obscure passage. The main points in dispute,
however, are the timet scene, and subjects of this
preaching. The preaching itself can be under-
stood only as an offer of grace. It is expressed
by the well-known verb which always means to
' bring good news,* to 'publish the Gospel,' etc •

Chap. IV. i-6.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

221

Does the passage, then, speak of an offer of grace
made to men after they nave entered the world
of the dead? Many of the most influential inter-
preters of the present day hold strongly that it
does. Not a few affirm that only dogmatic pre-
possession can account for the contrary opinion.
It must be admitted that the prevalent view fairly
meets some of the most pressing requirements of
the ez^^s, and that it establishes an easy con-
nectioa with the preceding verse. For the whole
statement then takes this fonn — ' Christ is ready
to judge quick and dead ; and with justice shall
the dead, no less than the living, be judged by
Him ; for His Gospel is preached to all, — in the
other world, if not in this.' This interpretation,
nevertheless, is burdened with very senous diffi*
cnlties. Either this preaching in Hades is
identified with the preaching mentioned in iii. 19 ;
in which case it is open to the ol^jections already
taken to the theory of a presentation of the
Gospelt by the disembodied or quickened Re-
deemer, to the souls of the disobedient of Noah^s
time in Hades. Or it is supposed that Peter now
states the general truth, of which that was only
a particular illustration, namely, that, through
Christ's vbit to Hades, the Gospel is proclaimed
to all, and that upon this basis Christ can
T^teonsly judge all, whether dead or living.
But there are various considerations which tell
against thb reading of the verse. It does injustice,
for example, to the time to which the preaching
is referred. It disposes of the historical tense
'was preached* as if it were 'is preached,* or
'shall be preached,' and of a Gospel ministry
which is distinctly described as past, as if it were
a continuous process. It involves the assumptions
that the term ' dead ' must mean all the dead, and
that what is given as the statement of an already
accomplished fact is the statement of a general
principle. It overlooks the circumstance that the
act of being ' judged according to men ' is repre-
sented as subsequent to the preaching. It intro-
duces an irrelevant idea, when it introduces the
idea of its being a ri<;hteous thing that all men
should be judged by Christ because, in the other
world, if not in this, the Gospel shall first have
been preached to all. For Peter is not dealing
with any such question as to how it shall stnnd
with those who have not heard the Gospel in this
world, but with a plain case where the Gospel is
known, — the cose where Christians are slandered
by their heathen neighbours for their fidelity to
the Gospel. It is difhcult, too, to see how the
idea in question bears upon the exhortation which
Peter is pointing. How should the mention of a
Gospel preached to the dead in the under world
bear upon the position of living Christians who
are misrepresented by living detractors in the
upper world? What encouragement to patient
enanrance of heathen slander should Christians
find in the information that their heathen perse-
cutors are assured of a new period of favour m the
other world? Or how should the mention of
Clirist's graciousness towards the unrighteous
dead incite the righteous living to a persevering
separation from heathen impurity? These con-
siderations, and others of like kind, render this
g>pu1ar view of the passage very doubtful indeed.
n the other hand, it must be frankly confessed
that it is far from easy to make out an entirely

satisfactory interpretation. All would nm smoothly,
indeed, if we could follow Augustine in taking the
' dead ' here in the sense of the spiritually dead.
But, in spite of the twofold use of the term by
our Lord Himself in the saying, * Let the dead
hwry their dead * (Matt. viii. 22), it is impossible
to give it a different meaning in ver. 6 from what
it has in ver. 5. The use of the word * judge * in
the one clause, is also the natural key to its use in
the other. This makes it unlikely that Peter's
'judged according to men ' is parallel in sense to
Paul's * delivering men to Satan for the destruction
of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the
day of the Lord Jesus' (i Cor. v. 5), and 'when we
are judged, we are chastened of the Lord that we
should not be condemned with the world ' (i Cor.
xi. 32). It is generally agreed, therefore, that the
judgment spoken of must mean more than either
the fnortification of the flesh, or the chastening of
God, and that what is referred to is physical
death as the penalty of sin, the judgment from
which none, not even the saved, are exempt.
Subjection to this judgment, however, merely
qualifies the proper object of the preaching. The
two things have something like this relation to
each other — *in order that, though once judged
indeed, as other men arc, as regards the flesh,
they might, as regards the spirit, have an enduring
life such as God lives.' The terms * in the flesh,'
* in the spirit,* are used here as in iii. 19. Taking
all this together we have to choose between two in-
terpretations, of which the one regards the heathen,
the other the Christians, as the parties first in
view. On the former interpretation the argument
becomes this — * Be not disturbed or led astray by
your revilers ; they have their account to give to
Christ Himself, all of them, whether they 1^ dead
or living when He comes; for the object with
which the Gospel was preached to those now
departed, as it Is preached to those now living,
was to lead them to the life of God ; and if they
frustrate this object, it will only make their con-
demnation surer/ On the latter it amounts to
this, — ' Have done for ever with the vile, pagan
life ; the heathen will persecute you, and justify
their persecutions by reviling your character ; be
not moved by that. Christ is Judge, and the
cause of all is safe with Him, of those who die, not
less than of those who survive. Your brethren
who have died have their case, nevertheless,
secure with Him ; for the very object with which
the Gospel was preached to them was that,
though m their bodies they met the doom of
death which is common to men, yet in their
spirits they should have a life like God's ; and,
should you have to suffer even unto death, it will
be with you as it is with them.' This latter inter-
pretation is on the whole to be preferred. It fits
m with the idea of the previous verse and the
counsels of the whole section. It does justice to
the prominence given to this * life according to
God in the spirit ' as the great aim of the Gospel.
It also points to feelings which (as we gather
from Rom. viii. 10; I Thess. iv. 13-18, etc) were
apt to disquiet the 6rst converts, kindling as they
did with the prospect of Christ's speedy return,
— namely, the perplexity caused by the non-
exemption of Christians from death, * the wages
of sin,' and the fear that those who died befoie
Christ's coming should somehow suffer loss*

232

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. L^hap. IV. 7-11

Chapter IV. 7-1 1.

Personal and relative Duties of Christians in view of the End,

7 T)UT the *end of all things is ^ at hand: be ye therefore «iijtim.<^

8 JJ ' sober,* and '^ watch ' 'unto prayer.* And/ -^ above all U.'ij^«L
things,* have ^ fervent charity among yourselves : • for ' charity * RoiLii5.iV:

9 shall * cover' the " ' multitude of sins. Use * hospitality " one iji.T.i.eit

10 to another without ' grudging.** As every man hath received ^^j»«:.»|
the '^gift" even so "minister" the same one to another, as jj^'u;

1 1 * good ^stewards of the ^ manifold grace of God. If any man ^Q»-y3.».
speak, let him speak as the ^ oracles of God ; " if any man J^J^'j,

' minister, let him do it as of the ' ability which God * giveth : " '/^^^^
that God *' in all things may be ^ glorified *' through Jesus J ViVi;
Christ; to whom be "Upraise and ^ dominion *• for ever and ^.™'"-'*-

ever.'' Amen.

Eiduxsni.
18.

Tit. i. 8. Cf. aUo Heb xiii. 9. etc. /Jo. tu. 19 : Acts vi. x : Phil. ii. 14 : Ex. xvi. 7, ^ wHon. i. 11, u. 6;

z Cor. i. 7, etc. n See refit, at ch. i. 13. « Jo. s. xi : 1 '11m. iv. 6 : 9 Tim. ii. 3. / 1 Cor. vt. 1 ; TiL i 7.

g See refs. at ch. L 6. r Acu vii. 38 ; Kom. iii. 9 ; Heb. v. 19 ; Isa. t. 94. s i Tim. iii. 10, 13, and rc&.at^Lia.
/ Mk. xit. 30, 33. » 9 Cor. ix. 10 ; 9 Kings iv. 7 ; also a Pet. i. 5, zi ; GaL iii. 5 ; CoL iL 19. vx Tim. ui il

ivVcr. 16 ; Lu. V. 95, 96 : Acts iv. 10 : Gal. i. 94, etc, xLu. ii. 14, xviiL x8 ; Jo. ix. 94 ; Acts xiiL 33; Rool svl

97 ; Jude 95, etc y Ch. v. it : z Tim. vu 16 ; Jude 95 ; Rev. L 6, v. 13.

* or^ sound-minded • rather^ as the R, V, puts it, sober

' literally, prayers * omit And * before all things

* having your love one to another intense ' because • love

* read rather, covers *® a " rather simply, hospitable
^' or^ murmuring *^ Even as each man received a gift

'^ ministering ^' or, if any man speaketh, as oracles of God

^* or, if any man ministereth, as of the strength which God supplies

'^ that in all things God may be glorified

^* to whom is the glory and the might ^^ unto the ages of the ages

The thought of Christ's readiness to judge Iwth
quick and dead leads naturally to that of the close
ot the world. Peter passes thus to a new series
of counsels bearing on what befits men who see
the Judge approaching and the end at hand.
While the former exhortations dealt mainly with
the external relations of believers, these are
occupied with the life within the Church itself.
They fall into three scries, all more or less
influenced by the idea of the trials which the
present order of things brings with it to Christians.
In the first series certain personal and social
duties are stated, which afiect the inner life of
the Church, and become urgent in view of the
rapidly advancing end.

Ver. 7. But tbe end of all things is at hand.
This indicates another turning • point in the
Epistle. The subjects which are now introduced,
however, are not unconnected with the previous
section. The * end * is the new view-pomt from
which they are offered to the eye, but the graces
themselves are such as relate specially to what
Christians should be in face of temptations to
heathen vice and under the burden of heathen
persecution. In speaking of the 'end,' Peter
refers neither to the mere destruction of Jerusalem,
nor to the end of the lives of individuals, but to

the termination which awaits the present system
of things as a whole when Christ returns. The
death of the individual believer has a very seoood-
ary place in apostolic teaching;. The event with
which the New Testament is accustomed to fill
the Christian's vbion of the future, and which il
proposes as a supreme motive to a circumspect
walk, is an event of universal, not of mcnly
personal, importance — that Second Coming oif
Christ which is to put an end to the present world
itself. This * end,' too, is ' at hand ' — a rendering
which occurs again in Rom. xiii. 12, PhiL iv. 5^
and l>etter conveys the impending imminence of the
event than the ' draweth near * or ' draweth nigh,*
which appears elsewhere (Luke xxi. 8 ; Jas. ▼. 8).
The same expressive term is applied to the advent
of the kingdom of heaven (Matt iii. 2, iv. 17,
X. 7 ; Mark i. 15 ; Luke x. 4), to the approach
of the traitor and the ' hour ' of the Son cm man
(Matt. xxvi. 45, 46), to the entrance of the 'day'
(Rom. xiii. 12), etc This vivid realization of
the nearness of the end, which appears in all the
apostolic writings, is specially characteristic of
Peter. To all the New Testament writers, hot
perhaps specially to him, and his comrade Jesuit
their own time was the ' last time,* the dispensatioo
beyond which there was to be no other, and tbe

IV. 7-1 1.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

223

irhich was so near that nothing seemed to
tween them and it Yet the chronology
endy' as Christ Himself had taught them

7)» was not disclosed to them, and there
ings which they knew must intervene
hat time (2 Thess. ii. 3, 7)- 'This
t is to be held fast/ says Calvin, ' that
« Christ first appeared, nothing is left to
i bat with minds in suspense to be always
Km His Second Advent.'— be therefore
dnded. The word here rendered ' sober '
A. v., after Cranmer and the Genevan
» jfives 'prudent,' Tyndale 'discreet,'
aluh ' wise '), means literally ' sound-
' and is so used in the description of the
emoniac as 'in his right mind' (Mark
Jake viii. 35). Then it comes to mean
miait discrtd^ self-controlltiL It points
Jeremy Taylor calls ' reason's girdle and
I bfidie,' the healthy self-restraint which
le cnrb on appetite, extravagance, and
ipente feeline or action. Its cognates
Boet exdnsively in the Pastoral Epistles,
n itself is found only thrice in the New
Dt, — in Acts xxvi. 25 (of Paul's ' words of
I soberness ') ; I Tim. il 9, where ' shame-

and 'sobriety' are coupled, the former
\ the ' innate shrinking from anything
ling,' the latter the 'well-balanced state
i resulting from habitual self-control'
) $ and I Tim. iu 15, where it is the
'charity and holiness.' In the Classical
it was opposed to licentiousness and
and was defined by Socrates as the
loo of manly virtue.'— and fober. This
ea nearly akin to the former, though
more limited. It is better translated ' be
um ' watch.' Only in two out of the six
itament occurrences of the verb does the
epart from the rendering ' sober ' (here
Tim. iv. 5). The primary sense is that
oai from drunkenness, fhe secondaty
that of ttforiftesSf and thus in the
Itament it comes to have a much larger

than that of the mere denial of gross
It is more than doubtful, however,

it ever means vigilance in the sense of
Mxr. See also on i. 13. — onto prayers.
! reading here is neither ' prayer,' nor ' the

(as if the social prayers of the Church
:lasively in view), but 'unto prayers.'
fall kinds, therefore, whether private or
lenonal or social, seems to be in view.
the end to which the cultivation of the

graces should look, the great interest

should advance. Soundness of mind
letv are essential to the prayerful frame,
ialJy so where the believer suffers from
agioo of vicious surroundings and the
m of trial. Tyndale*s rendering, there-
xesscs the point most happily, 'Be ye,
f, discreet and sober, that ye may be apt
fu* The prayerfulness which sustains
ver under heathen revilings, and brings
» the life of the Church itself, must be fed
td lifted above the agitations of passion
This circumspect walk, too, in which
er onder control and prayer ever in view,
latical excitement or retreat from duty, —
should be fostered by the thought of the
ce of the end.
I, B^fdre all thingi having your love

one to another intense. The ' and ' of the
A. V. is cancelled by the R. V. and ♦he best
authorities. This exhortation and the following
are put in the participial form, as being imme-
diately connected with the broad counsels of
ver. 7. The preference which is given to brotherly
love is not given as if it were superior to prayer
and the other virtues, or as if these were to be
subordinated to the interests of that, but because
without it nothing else can make the inner life of
the Church what it should be. Neither is it
brotherly love in itself that is enjoined (for that
is taken for granted), but the duty of giving it
fullest scope. It is to be cultivated with 'perse-
vering intensity ' (Huther), as the disposition to
which the soul without risk can surrender itself
entirely, and which, the more it is cherished, adds
new grace to sobriety and the other virtues, and
deepens the life of the Church. On the * fervent '
of the A. V. see L 22. — ^because love oovereth a
mnltitade of sinB. A reason for the pre-eminence
assigned to unreserved brotherly love. The reason
is found in what love does now and naturally,
within the Church. The better reading is the
present ' covereth,' not the future 'shall cover.*
The sentence recalls the similar statement in
Prov. X. 12. Although Peter's version varies
somewhat from it {e.g. in introducing a ' multitude'
for 'all,' using a different term for ' sin,' etc.), it
is plain that he has the Old Testament statement
in his mind, whether he is quoting directly from
the Book of Proverbs or using what had come to
be a current saying. The parallelism in which
it is set with ' hatred * makes its point quite dear.
It is that love works for concord, throwing a
covering over sins, forgiving them, excusing them,
making as little of them as possible, while the
genius of hatred is the opposite. — * Hatred stirs
strife, aggravates and makes the worst of all, but
love cavers a multitude of sins : it delights not
in undue disclosing of brethren's failings, doth
not eye them rigidly, nor expose them willingly
to the eyes of others ' (Leighton). This also is
Peter's idea. What he has in view b the influence
of love upon the life of the Church. He speaks of
it, therefore, as being of the nature to act as Paul
describes it in his great hymn of charity, when he
says it 'beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things' (i Cor.
xiii. 7). Thus the sins referred to are our neigh-
bour's sins, and the covering meant is the veil of
charity. The passage says nothing of the effect of
love on ourselves. Far less does it lend any
countenance to the Roman Catholic notion of a
justification on the ground of a faith informed and
animated by love. Neither is Peter's meaning
quite the same as that of James. The latter, also,
makes use of this proverb (v. 20), in illustration
of what love is in relation to the sins of others.
But the case which he has in view is that of the
erring brother, and the covering of sins is that
which love effects when it seeks and secures the
brother's reclamation.

Ver. 9. hospitable one to another without
mnrmnring. The duty of hospitality occupies a
very notable place in the New Testament teaching,
in respect both of private Christians and of those in
office (cf. e.g. Rom. xii. 13 ; i Tim. iii. 2, v. 10 ;
Tit. i. 8; Heb. xiii. 2; 3 John 5-8, etc.).
The characteristic Eastern virtue became of still
more urgent importance among Christians in the
early times of their uncertainty and trial, when

234

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IV. 7-11.

families were broken op, friends divided, and
homeless wanderings made a necessity. Taking
it for granted, however, that the laws of hospitality
are honoured, and that believers who have the
power will be ready to open the door to every
needy brother, Peter deals here with the spirit in
which all should be done. It should be ' without
gnid^ng,' or rather (as the Rhemish Version
and the Revised render it ; while the A. V. has
the support of Wycliffe, Tyndale, Cranmer, and the
Genevan), 'without murmuring,' that is, without
giving vent to hard or sellish thoughts about the
cost and trouble. The word (which is strange to
Classical Greek) occurs again in John viL 12,
Acts vi. I, PhiL iL 14, in all which cases the
A. V. renders it murmuring. Only when hospi-
tality is offered in this spirit does it answer to tnc
hi}>h strain of love which should prevail among
Christian brethren.

Ver. la Even ai each man receiTed a gift,
ministering the same one to another. The
possession of gifts being taken for granted, the
love which nleilges all to open-hearted hospitality,
pledges each also to use his gift ibr the good of
others. The ' gift ' is to be understood general Iv,
— not of official gifts merely, but (as in Rom. aii. 6 ;
I Cor. xii. 4, 28) of spintual gifts of all kinds.
The receipt of the gift is represented as having
taken place at a definite period in the past —
•received,' not *hath received* as the R. V. puts
it. It is not explained, however, whether the
period referred to is the time of one's first entrance
mto the truth, or the time of baptism, or that of
the laying on of hands, in connection U'ith which
the special spiritual gifts of the A))ostoIic Age seem
usually to have been communicated (comp. Acts
iii. 20, viii. 18-20, xix. 5, 6 ; I Tim. iv. 14).
The law of love is to be fulfilled by ' minister-
ing' (on which word see chap. i. 12) what is so
received. The gift is not to be 'rendered un-
fruitful through neglect, or perverted to the
purposes of a selfish o.Nteotation (Lillic), but is to
be used as a store at the service of the Church's
need. And * even as ' it was received, so is it to
be ministered. This ' even as ' is understood by
some to refer to the spirit of the ministering ; in
which case it would mean that as the gift was
freely bestowed, so it should be freely and un-
grudgingly used. Others think it implies that the
gift was to be used according to the intention of
its bestowal. The point, however, seems to be
that the recipients of spiritual gifts should serve
the Church each according to the measure of what
he had received, or (and this seems more con-
sistent with such parallel statements as Rom.
xii. 3-8 ; Eph. iv. 7) each according to the kind
of gift received. — as good stewards of the
maiufold grace of God. The character belonging
to believers as the possessors of gifts is hereby
added. They are stewards, not owners, of what
they have, and they are to use it as * good, ' that
is, honourabU, stewards, against whom there shall
be no reproach. What is virtually entrusted to
their keeping is the * grace * of God itself, from
which all their particular * gifts * are derived. In
reference to the variety of |;ifis that grace is fitly
termed * manifold ' — on wluch see chap. i. 6. It
is possible that Peter's mind goes back here upon
his Lord's parables of the Talents and tlje Unjust
Steward (Matt. xxvi. ; Luke xvi. ),

Ver. II. If any man speaketh, as oracles of
God, The words cover all the various gifts of

speech, — prophesying, teaching, exhorting, etc,
which were known in the Church, whether official
or non-officiaL They are enumerated in Rom.
xii. 6-8, and I Cor. xiL 8, 28. Such gifts are 1
part of the stewardship. They who speak in tbe
Church are to do so, therefore, as 'oracles of God.'
The term ' oracles,' which in the Classics means
oracular responses, is used in the New Testament to
designate Divine utterances or revelations, spedilly
those of the Old Testament (Acts vii. 38 ; Rom. iii. 2).
Once it is applied to those of the New Testament
itself, viz. in Heb. v. 12, where it seems to denote
the Divine testimony to Christ, or Christian doctrine
as derived from revelation. It is not meant here,
however, merely that those who spoke should see
that what they said was accordant with Scriptnie
or the Word of God, but that they should SKik
as if they themselves were oracles of God,
utterers not of thoughts of their own, hot d
thoughts which they owe to Him. — If any mia
ministereth. This gift, too, is not to be limited
to the official ministry of the deacon. It indndcs
all those kinds of service, in relation to the poor,
the sick, strangers, etc, which are associated with
the £ifts of teaching in such passages as Rook
xii. 8 ; I Cor. xiu 28. Nothing more dis-
tinguished the primitive Church tnan its sdf-
denying, enthusiastic attention to such interestSb
Tertullian of Carthage (a.d. 160-240) speaks of it
as one of the chief felicities of marriages in Christ,
that the wife was free to care for the sick and
distribute her charities without hindrance, and
as one of the greatest disadvantages of mixed
marriages that the Christian wife was not allowed
by the heathen husband to visit the house of the
stranger, the hovel of the poor, the dungeon of
the prisoner. (See Neander, Ch. Nisi. L 354,
Bohn.) Such gifts, however, were to be used ••
of the strengui whioh God snppliM, that is,
with the faithfulness of stewards, and with the
humility befitting men who were conscious that
they drew not from stores of their own, but from
what God Himself furnished. The term, which
the A. V. renders 'giveth,* is the one whidi
in Classical Greek expressed the muni&cent act of
the citizen who undertook to bear the heavy
expense of supplying the chorus for one of the
great dramatic representations. It then came to
l>e applied, as here, to other kinds of liberal
ministering or fumishine.~in order that in, aH
things God may be ^orified throngh Jens
Christ. The object is finally added which the
lx)ssessors of gifts are to set before them, and with
a view to which .they are to use these various gifts
in the spirit already enjoined. It is that not theT»
but God Himself, may have the glory. God will
l>e honoured ' in all things,* Le, specially in all
the ^ifts and ministries within the Churc^ just as
Christian stewards recognise that all these things
come to the Church from God through Christ, and
are therefore to be Tendered to God again throi^
Christ in the form of service to His Church.-^
whom is the glory And tha dominion anto tha
ages of .th^ ages. Amen. Tlie form of thb
sentencCf And the addition of the * Amen,' lead
some ;to suppose that Peter repeats here some
familiar liturgipal formula, perhaps one of those in
use in the Jewish services. Whether that is the
case or not, we have the same doxology in Rev.
i. 6, and there it is applied to Christ. Here,
however, most interpreters rightly recognise God«
who is the ppocipal subject ofthe whole sentence

Chap. IV. 12-19.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 225

as also the subject of the doxology. The 'glory* is* or *to whom is,' rather than *lo whom be,*

of the R. V. is a better rendering than the the sentence is introduced not as a mere ascrip-

*pnae' of the A. V., as the term answers to the tion of prafsc, but as giving the reason why tne

lorified.' The idea of the everlasting is glorifying of God should be the great object of the

according to the Hebrew conception of exercise of gifts. God is to to glorined in all
demitj as the measureless succession of cycles of thin^, because the glory in all belongs to Him,
tia& If the whole is taken in the form ' whose and it is the Church*s honour to realize this.

Chapter IV. 12-19.

Renetued Couftscls on the Endurance of Suffering, specially in view of Hie End.

12 *T3EL0VED, * think it not strange concerning the ^^^0^ *^Jj^^f;**

-iJ trial* which is to ''try you,' as though some' ^strange *scire(s.'at

13 thing -^happened unto you : but rejoice, ^inasmuch* as ye are ^J*,TrJJ^*-
^partakers of* Christ's ' sufferings ; that,* when his glory shall /{^^\^l\

14 be * revealed,' ye may be glad also with ' exceeding joy.' If ]J^iS!!^*^
yc be* ** reproached for the *name of Christ, ** happy are ye; ^Aai'^iis,
for the Spirit of glory and of God ^resteth upon you : on their f^^-^^^
part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." "mJIpS;

15 But " let none of you ^ suffer as a *" murderer, or oj " a thief, or ^Romiviijae;
tfj" an 'evil-doer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Ai5Si'.*p^iT;

16 Yet" if any man suffer^'' as a 'Christian, let him not be Phiu;.U

17 "ashamed ; but let him "glorify God on this behalf." For the iseiliSIai
time is come^^ that *' judgment must begin at the "'house of /&!;«£. at
God : and if it first begin at us, what shall the ' end be of them ^Mat. v! n,

18 that ^obey not the 'gospel of God? And if the righteous «Mk. ix 41 :
* scarcely" *be" saved, where shall the 'ungodly and the Rev. i^x.

19 sinner appear?" Wherefore let them" that suffer '^ according /i^Vii'i.*
to the will of God ' commit the keeping of their souls to him in lu. x. 6;
well-doing, as unto a ^ faithful Creator." Hom. ui. ai.

f Oh. iii. 18. r Mat. xxii. 7 ; Acts Hi. 14, vii. 53, xxviit. 4 ; Rev. xxi. 8, xxii. 15. t See refs. at ch. il xa.

/ Acts xi. 96, xxvL aS. n Rom. i. 16 ; a Cor. x. 8 : a Tim i. 8, 17. v Acts xxi v. as ; Heb. vi. a ; Rev. xx. 4 :

ftor. xxL 15, etc. wi Tim. iii. 15 ; Heb. x. ai. jrPhil. iii. 19 ; Heb. vL 8, etc. y See refs. at ch. 11. 7.

m MIl i. 14 ; Rom. i. 1, xv. x6 ; a Cor. xi. 7 ; x ITies. ii. a, 8, 9, etc. a Acts xiv. 18, xxvii. 7, 8, x6 ; Rom. v. 7.

#Clu tiL 91 ; and AcU iL 47 ; x Cor. xv. a. c Rom. iv. 5. 6 ; x Tim. i. 9 ; a Pet. it. 5. >"• 7 \ Ju<l« 4> i5-

^Ch. iii. 17, 18. , « La. xxiii. 46 ; Ft. xxx. 5 ; also AcU xiv. a3, xx. 3a. /x Cor. 1. 9, x. 13 ; a Cor. l x8 ;

t TImi. ▼. m • ' Thet. iiL 3 : a Tim. iL 13, etc

• literally^ burning * rather^ which comes upon you with a view to probation

• a ^ in as far as, or^ in proportion as • or^ share in

• rather^ in order that also ' or^ in the revelation of His glory

• iUerallYf ye may rejoice, exulting • are

>• omit the clause, on their part . . . glorified " For " omit as

>• But ** suflers " rather, in this name

'• For it is the season that the judgment begins *^ or, with difficulty

!• is " the ungodly and sinner— where shall he appear '^ insert also

'1 commit their souls to a faithful Creator in well-doing

In this second scries of exhortations to Christian lude. It gathers into a focus various thingp which

duty as that is affected by the prospect of the end, have been previously said on the subject of sufler-

Petcr takes up again the case of persecution which ing, particularly at the hand of the slanderous

he has touched on more than once already. The and persecuting heathen (t 6, 7, ii. I9-2I» >"• i^»

present statement, however, is neither a simple i7» iv. 1-4). It offers at the same time a still

ictteiation of former statements, nor a mere inter- deeper insight into what tribulation endured for

VOL. nr. 15

226

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IV. 12-19

Christ's sake means, and gives additional reasons
for regarding it neither as a perplexity nor as
loss, but as a discipline which is both intelligible
and honourable now, and which will yield a
priceless return when Christ reappears. The
truths, therefore, now brought under the eye of
those threatened Christians are such as these—
that the trials of the righteous come only by God*s
will, that their object is the probation of faith,
that they bring with them the honour of fellow-
ship with the suffering Lord, and that they are
the earnest and measure of a glory yet to be
revealed. But if they have the promise of such
blessedness, it is, as Peter urges again in the most
pointed terms, only if indeed they are not induced
by our own fault, but borne simply for righteous-
ness' sake.

Ver. 12. Beloved, think it not strange oon-
cemkig the fiery trial. So far the translation
of the A. V. is a very happy one. ITie
same verb is used here as in ver. 4 (which
see), and with the same sense. The affectionate
address, ^ Beloved,* which has been used already
at a serious turning-point in the Epistle, is re-
peated here in token of the writer s sympathy
with the readers, and to conciliate their attention
to what he has yet to sav on a painful subject
What he says first of all is to deprecate their
looking on their trials as things beyond under-
sti^ding or expectation. The heathen thought it
strange that Christians adopted a manner of life
so different from what prevailed. And they were
wrong in so thinking. Christians themselves
were equally wrong in yielding to the sense of
mere bewilderment at their persecutions, however
strange it might seem at first that they, who were
tat^t to r^ard themselves as God^ elect ones
and His heirs, should l>e left to suffer as they did
at the hand of His enemies. The trial itself
is expressed by a term which is well represented
by the * fiery trial * of the A. V. In the Classics
it means a burning, or 2, firing, and is used of the
material processes of cooking, roasting, etc., but
also at tmies metaphorically of burning desire,
proving by fire, etc. In Prov. xxvii. 21 it is
rendered ' furnace,' and the cognate verb is used
of tlie trial of character as being like the smelting
of metals (cf. Ps. Ixv. 10 ; Zech. xiii. 9). The
only other passages of the N. T. in which the
noun occurs are Rev. xviii. 9, 18, where it is
rendered ' burning.' This 'burning ' is said to be
among yon, — a clause which is overlooked by
the A. v., and which represents the fiery process
as not remote but already at work in their midst.
— which comes npon yoa with a view to proba-
tion (or, as the R. y. paraphrases it, to prove
you). The * which is to try you ' of the A. V.
makes that future which Peter gives as present
The trial was then taking place, as the terms
implv, and that with the object of proving and so
purifying them. The idea, therefore, is so far
the same as in chap. i. 7. — as though a strange
thing were befalling yon. The 'some' of the
A. V. is uncalled for. Tyndale's rendering of
the verse deserves notice — 'Dearly beloved, be
not troubled in this heat which is now come
among you to try you, as thoi^h some strange
thing had happened unto you.^ The picture Is
that of sufferings already in operation or imme^
diately impending. As to the apparent strangei-
ness of such a lot Jeremy Taylor says : — ' Jcstis
made for us a covenant of suf&ruig. Ilis docfrtnei

were such as, expressly and by consequent, enjoia
and suppose suffSerings and a state of alBiction ;
His very promises were sufferings ; His Beatitudes
were sufferings \ His rewards^ and His alignments
to invite men to ibilow Him, were on^ taken
from sufferings in this lUe and the reward of
sufferings hereafter.'

Ver. 13. But in as far as ye partake in tk
BuiEeringB of the phiut, xejoice. The artick
' the ' is prefixed to ' Christ ' here, as if Peter had
now in view His official character, or widied to
call special attention to Christ's as the only su£Ee^
ings of interest in the present connection. It u the
simple ' Christ * in the previous notices of His
sufferings (chap. i. 11, 19, ii. 21, iii. 18, iv. i).
In any case it is not the sufferings of the mystical
Christ, but those of the personal Christ moX are
meant. The fellowship intended is fellowship
with Christ in the things which He Himself sai-
fered. Peter is not referring apparently to the
deep mystery of a fellowship or life between
Christ and believers in all tningSi which b the
theme which Paul expounds (GaL iL ao; PhiL
iii. 10, etc. ), but to the simple fiict thoit the worM
hates Christians because it hates Christ in thei^
and they, therefore, have to endure the same con-
tradiction of sinners which He had to oidore.
In this sense they share in ^is suffetingL and
because this b the case theur trials may well be t
cause of joy to them, ai^4 POt of amasemenL
' The point goes higher,' saj^ Leighton. ' Thoagli
we thmk not the sufferings strangi^ yet may we
not well think that rule somewhat strange, to*
rejoice in them ? No, it will be found as reason-
able as the other, t>eing duly considered ; and it
rests upon the same ground, which is well aUe to
bear both. . . . But add we this, and truly it
completes the reason of thb way in cor saddest
sufferings, that in them we are partaken of the
sufferings of Christ,* The term rendered 'inas-
much as ' by the A. V. means in a Cor. viiL l^
however, /;/ proportion as; and in Rom. viiL ro
it seems to have the same sense (= we know not
what we should pray for, in proportion to the
need, to the propriety of the case). Here, there-
fore, the idea b prolxibly ^hat we should rejoice in
our trials not merely because we are participants
in what Chrbt suffered, but in so far as that b
the case with us. The only sufferings which can
bring us joy are those which we share with Him,
sufferings like His. And the measure of the par^
ticipation b the measure of the joy. — in OKdar
that also in the revelation of his poiy ye mf
rejoice exultant. The particular expressioai
'the revelation of His glory,' b peculiar to tlib
passage. The same idea, iiA in part the same
phrase, have met us, however, already in chapw
L S. Peter had Ibtened no doubt to his Loffirs
own prophecies of the time when ' the Son of
man snail come in Hb^ory ' (Matt xsy. 31^ etc).
He speaks here, therefere, of two joys which are
open to the Christian. He distinguishes between
them, and at the same time indicates the rdatign
in which the one stands to the other. Th^ b a
present joy, a ^ light sown for the righteoms^ affod-
ness fur the upright in heart* (Ps. xcviL iiy, whiek
sufioring, instead of quenchii^ it, should kindle*
And there is the joy which the unTeiliiffi of ||ia
glory of the once sufering Christ shall bru^ wkh
it,— a joy ' exultant ' (on whi^ term see chain L 8)
surpassing thb life's measure. When the lofiner
b enjoined in the ' rejoice ' of the first half of die

Chap. IV. ia-19.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

ycne, U is expressed in the present tense ; what
k meant bei^g a disposition of joy which has to
be maintained all through the burdened present.
When the latter is presented in the ' rejoice ' (un-
fcfftnnatdy changed by the A. V. into ' be glad/
as if there had been a change in the term) oif the
Moond half it is given in a different tense, which
points to a joy destined to enter once for all in
connection with one great event, the revelation of
Christ's gjpry. And the former is m order to the
httor. The capacity for finding a softened, holy
jof in th(( sufferings of the present, in so fioj as
teie are shared with Christ, is the condition of
dw oqncity for entering into the radiant joy of
the fatnre glory.

Ver. i^ U ye an reproached in the name of
Ohzirtt MOMOd (are ye). A reassertion, but with
a more definite reference to sufferii^ for Christ's
Mk^ of the blessedness alreadv amrmed in chap.
in. 14. The sentence is another echo of Matt.
V. II. The phrase 'in the name of Christ,'
iriitch is paraphrased by both the A. V. and
the R. V. as */or the name of Christ,' is best
interpreted, as is done by most, in the light of
Christ's own explanation in Mark ix. 41 — in my
tumtt Ucause yt bdat^g to Christ. It covers,
therefore, all kinds m reproach endured on
account of bearing Christ's name and belonging
to Him. — beoanie the Spirit of glory and of God
rHteth upon yon. The form of this sentence in
the ordinal is uncommon, and has led to different
interpretations. According to some, it means,
'the tUmetU of glory and the Spirit of jQod rest
vpoo yon' (Plumptre, etc.) ; a possible rendering
and one yielding a good sense here. According
to others the sense is, ' the name of glory and the
Spirit of God rest upon you ' ( Hofmann) ; a ren-
dering which gives the pertinent idea that the
name of Christ, which is the cause of reproach, is
nevertheless the name of honour. Bengel, sup-
posing that in Jas. it i we should translate ' the
tsith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glory ' (instead
of ' the Lord of glory '), suggests that the tenn
*glory' here maybe a title of Christ, as if = the
Gloffious One ; a partial analog to which may be
foond in Simeon's designation of the infant
Savionr — ' the glory of Thy people Israel ' (Luke
ii. 33). The sentence, however, is understood by
most to contain two titles (some of the oldest
manuscripts, indeed, make them three, by insert-
ing the words ' and of power ' after ' glory ') of
the same Spirit He is first describe as the
Spirit ofglcry^ i.e. to whom glory belongs, whose
nature is g^ory, and whose gift, therefore, is also
glory; as God also has the titles 'the God of
gtory ' (Acts vii. 2), and ' the Father of glory '
(Eph. i. 17). And it is then added that this
Spirit is God's Spirit. His relation to suffering
Cmistians is described as a resting upon them.
The word is one which, either in itself or in a
compound form, occurs in several suggestive
passages of the O. T.,— in Num. xi. 25, 26, of
the prophetic Spirit resting on the seventy elders ;
in 3 Kings it 15, of the spirit of Elijali resting on
Elisha ; and above all in Isa. xi. 2 (which b pro-
bably in Peter's mind here), of the Spirit of the
Loia that was to rest upon Messiah. It is found
alio in some interesting connections in the N. T.,
as 0^. of the resting apart awhile which Christ
enjoined on the Apostles (Mark vi. 31) ; in His
charge to the slumbering three in Gethsemane
(Matt zz\'i. 45 ; Mark xiv. 41) ; of the resting of

«27

the blessed dead from their labours (Rev. xiv. 13,
etc). It implies, therefore, the restful com-
placency with which He makes His abode with
them. This is the reason why even in reproach
and persecution they are 'blessed.' They whom
the Spirit thus visits, though the shame of the
Cross in heathen eyes may be theirs, have glory
already with them ; for He is the Spirit whose
nature glory is, and where He enters, there the
earnest of all glory is. They with whom the
Spirit is pleased to dwell, have God Himself with
them ; for He is the Spirit of God, and where
that presence is, there is rest. It is possible
that reter's designation of the Spirit here is
shaped by his thoughts going back to the abiding
presence of God as witnessed of old to Israel by
the glory-cloud in the Holy of Holies. The words
' on their part . . . glorified ' have such we^ht
of ancient documents, both Manuscripts and \^r-
sions, against them as to make it more than
doubtful whether they belong to the original text.
They seem to have been a marginal explanation
or addition which found its way at an early period
into the text.

Ver. 15. For let none of yon snffer as a
mnrderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer. The
' but ' with which the A. V. b^ins the verse is
wrong. Peter's word is 'for; which b used
here with an explanatory force, going back
generally u{>on the ruling idea of the preceding
verse. It is as if it had run thus — 'It is (S
reproach in the name of Christy and of that only,
that I speak ; for let no one suppose that he can
suffer with just cause as an evil-doer, and yet have
the blessedness that I affirm.' The 'as,' there-
fore, here has again the sense of ' in the character
of.' Four different forms of evil are named, of
which these first three go together as of one kind,
'llie first two terms denote well-known specific
forms of sin which deserve all the reproach that
they entail. The third (on which see chap. ii. 12)
is a general term covering other like offences,
which would give just occasion for the reviling of
heathen neighbours. — or as A busy-body in other
men^s matters. The fourth form of evil is marked
off, by the repetition of the ' as,' from the former
three as of a different kind and gravity. The
word is one which is found nowhere else in the
New Testament. There seems, indeed, to be no
other independent occurrence of it in the whole
range of Greek literature, except once in the late
writings of the so-called Dionysius the Areopagite,
where it is applied to the man who n^ly
intrudes into a strange office. Some suppose it,
therefore, to have been constructed by Pete*
himself for his present purpose. The Vulgate,
and some eminent interpreters^ including Calvin,
take the sense to be ' one who covets what belongs
toothers.' So Wycliffe gives 'desirer of other
men's goods,' and the Rhemish Version 'coveter
of other men's things.' Others take it to denote
an 'informer' (Ililgenfcld). These meanings,
however, are scarcely consistent with the elements
of which the word is composed. Etymologically it
may mean ' one who assumes oversight of matters
not within his province,' or 'one who pries into
other men's matters.' The R. V. rightly adopts
the less official of these two senses — ' a meddler
in other men's matters.' Tyndale, Cranmer, and
the Genevan agree with this, all translating
' busy-body in other men's matters.' The term
points, therefore, to an offence, which came as

228

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IV. n-rg.

dose to the peculiar temptations of Christians, as
the other three forms of evil (although these may
have been once all too familiar to some of the
early converts from heathenism) seemed to lie at
a distance from them. It is that of officious
interference in the affairs of their Gentile neigh*
hours, in excess of zeal to conform them to the
Christian standard. How this might be a
temptation to some Christians may be seen from
the appeal made to Christ Himself by one who
heard Him — ' Master, speak to my brother that
he divide the inheritance with me ' (Luke xii. 13).
That these busy* bodies were already troubling
some of the churches, at least in tnc form of
triflers bustling about what was not their own,
may be gather^ from what Paul had to say to the
Thessalonians (i Thess. iv. 11 ; 2 Thess. iii. 11).
Ver. 16. Bnt if (any man goffers) as a
Christian; that is, in the character of a Christian,
or on account of his being a Christian. The verse
is of creat interest as one of three passages (Acts
xi. 20, xxvi. 28, and this one) to which the
occurrence of the name Christian in the New
Testament is limited, and the only passage of the
kind in the Epistles. The history of the name
is a question of importance. It has been held by
some to have originated with the Roman autho-
rities (Ewald). It has also been supposed to have
been at first a term of ridicule (de Wette, etc).
The generally accepted account of it, however,
is that it originated with the Gentiles at Antioch,
that it was formed on the model of other party
names, such as Hcrodians, Marians, Pompeians,
etc. (as = the followers of Herod, Marius,
Pompejr, etc.), and that it designated those to
whom it was applied simply as followers of the
party>leader, Christ That it arose outside the
Church is inferred from such facts as these, that
in the New Testament itself other names, such as
* disciples,' * brethren,* ' saints,' * those of the
way/ appear in use within the Church ; that even
Luke, who tells us where the disciples *were called
Christians first' (Acts xi. 26), aoes not himself
apply it to believers ; and that in at least two of
the three New Testament instances (Acts xxvi.
28, and the present verse) it appears to be a term
used by those outside. As it is in the highest
degree unlikely that the Jews (to whom the new
religionists were Nazarcnes^ etc., Acts xxiv. 5)
should have coined a word out of the well-known
Greek form of the name of their own Messiah in
order to designate those whom they so bitterly
opposed, it is necessary to suppose the Gentiles to
have been the authors of the term. There arc
certain reasons, too, why it should have emerged
first in Antioch, and there at the particular
juncture noticed in the Acts. The Gentile
element in the Church of Antioch seems to have
been large enough to prevent the Church of
Christ (for the first time, too, as far as can be
gathered) from being easily identified with any
Jewish sect, and to make it necessary for the
Gentiles to find a distinctive name for it. And
the time at which the Book of Acts states this to
have taken place coincides with the time when
Paul and Barnabas devoted a whole year to work
in Antioch, and when, consequently, the growing
Christian community there could scarcely fail to
draw public attention to itself. The name which
was thus made for the Church by those outside
it, was soon adopted by Christians themselves, and
gloried' in as their most proper title, while it as

soon became a term of obloquy with others. By
the time of the great Apologists, and probably
before the close of the second century, a play
upon the name had become common, ' Christians'
being pronounced 'Chrestians,' /./. followeisaf
the Gwxi^ or Kind^ Otu; which form appean
occasionally in the manuscripts. — ^let him not be
ashamed; or, think it a shame (cf. spedally
Rom. i. 16 ; 2 Tim. i. 8, 12).— bnt g^orttSr God
in this name. The reading *in this name 'is
better supported than the one which the A. V.
renders 'on this behalf,' and which means simol^
' in this matter ' (it occurs again in the ' in Uus
respect ' of 2 Cor. iiL 10, and the ' in this bebalf *
of 2 Cor. ix. 3). The phrase 'in this name 'goes
back either upon the term ' Christian,' or on tbe
' in the name of Christ ' in ver. 14. Those vbo
were called to suflfer for being Christians were to
regard that not as a shameful thing; but as i&
honourable, and they were to suffer not in tbe
spirit which took honour to themselves, bat in
that which gave all the glory to the Crod wbo
counted them worthy of such a vocation. Hoiw
soon in the history of the Church was martyrdom
courted for its own sake in the spirit of the
subtlest glorification of self !

Ver. 17. Becanse it is the season for Hm
judgment to begin with the honae of Ood. A
reason why, under persecution and in all cirorai-
s'ances, they shoula so conduct themselves as to
glorify God. The reason lies in the thought
that the judgment by which God is to search all
is already on the wing. The judgment is con*
ccived of as a process which makes the bouse
of God its starting-point, which is even now
commencing there in the Church's baptism of
suffering, and which cannot stop there. The
language is scarcely consistent with the idea that
the destruction of Jerusalem was already an
accomplished fact. To a Jew like Peter that
event would be too great a catastrophe to make
it likely that he should speak of it as a ieginnimg
only of judgment. The phrase 'house of God'
has the same sense here as the ' spiritual house '
of chap. ii. 5, and is immediatdy identified with
the living members of the Church in the next
clause — * if it first begin at us.' To the 'hoose of
God ' itself this judgment was a process of sifting
and separation, a judgment like that referred to
by Paul (i Cor. xi. 31), which had for its object
that those tried by it should not be condemned with
the world. But if so, what must it be to that
outer, heathen world ? — bnt if first with ns,
what (shall be) the end of them that dJsobejr
the gospel of Oodf The term translated
' disobey ' has the same strong, positive sense
here as in chap. ii. 7, 8 (which see), and in chap,
iii. I, 20. The 'end' is meant in the literal
sense of the conclusion which shall come to them,
or the goal they shall be brought to, not in the
metaphorical sense of the recompense. Peter
seems to have in his mind the sense, if not the
very terms, of the solemn declarations of the
prophets, e.g, Jer. xxv. 15, 29, xlix. 1 2 ; Ezek.
iii. 16 ; Amos iii. 3. The judgment of God
works its searching course out of the Church into
the world of heathenism. And if it visits even
the household of faith as a refining fire, what end
can it portend for those who withstand the Gospel
of Him whose prerogative judgment is? The
question is like Christ s in Luke xxiii. 31. Tbe
answer, most eloquent of awe, to the question

IV. 12-19.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

229

e 'end' is the answer Icfl untold. 'There
dking of it : a curtain is drawn ; silent

expresses it best, telling it cannot be
d. How then shall it be endured?'
o).

[& And if the lighteoua with difficulty
, the ungodly and linner, where shall
Mr I These words are taken from the
Bnslation of Prov. xL 31. As they stand
Hebrew text, their sense is somewhat
. According to some, they mean simply

the righteous man has his reward on
inch more shall the unrighteous man have
iHhment.' According to others, they
at ' if the righteous man is recompensed
b lor his sins, much more shall the
on man be requited for his sins.' It is
r idea that appears in the free translation
mCuagint, and it b this that Peter follows.
nt 'in the earth ' show that in Proverbs
dial in view is that which comes in the

temporal blessings and chastisements.
eids are omitted in the Greek Version as
lere. The word rendered ' scarcely * fyy
\f the R. v., and most of the old English
I, has the sense of hardly, not quiU^ in the

although its primitive sense was ' with
'with toiL' In the New Testament it
> mean 'with difficulty' (Acts xiv. 18,

8 ; perhaps even Kom. v. 7), as also in
k of Wisdom (ix. 16), where it corresponds
I labour.' Here, therefore, it does not
iny uncertainty or incompleteness in the
f salvation, but indicates with what
' and at what cost even the man who b in
elation with God, is made secure in the
t. And if that is so, how shall it be with
who, as being both careless of God and
ce a sinner, is in a wrong relation to the

The utmost emphasis is given to the
on of the person, by putting the words
"odly and sinner ' before the interrogative
Again the question is left to surest its
ann answer, — an answer which is given
5. It b observed that the term ' sinner '
oat a synonym for ' Gentile '—one outside
: of God's people. Interrogations like
e hard indeed to square with the idea
*eter's view the end of the despbers of
IS to be restoration.

9. Wherefore let them also that auffer
ig to the will of God commit their
A lUthfnl Creator in well-doing. The

' wherefore ' introduces thb advice as an inference
from what has been said about suflfering, the
relation of suffering Christians to their persecutors,
the feelings of Christians in reference to their
sufferings, and especially the hastening iudgment
of God which already begins in the trials of His
House. In view of all this, the advice with
which the train of thought b brought to a close
worthy of it, b to fearless faith and earnest well-
doing. The word 'also,' which the A. V.
wrongly omits, b taken by some (Huther, etc.)
to qualify the ' wherefore,' as if the sense were —
' For thb reason, too,' etc But the analogous
statement in iiL 14, and the fact that throughout
the present paragraph the strangetttss which
Christians are tempted to discover in their own
subjection to suffering, indicate rather that the
' abo ' qualifies the persons. The sense, therefore,
b, ' let those also wno have to suffer, strange as it
may seem to them that they should have to suffer,
commit their souls,' etc. The 'according to liic
will of God' does not refer to the submissive
spirit in which the sufferers endure, but to the
animating consideration that their sufferings come
only by God's purpose. Their soub are r^^arded
as a deposit which they should be willing to leave
confidently in God's hands, the term rendered
' commit ' (which the A V. renders ' commit the
keeping of ') being used of entrusting persons or
objects of value to one's care (Luke xii. 48 ; Acts
xiv. 23, XX. 32 ; I Tim. i. 18 ; 2 Tim. i. 12, 14,
ii. 2). It b the word which Christ Himself used
upon the Cross — ' Father, into I'hy hands I com-
mend (or, commit) my spirit ' (Luke xxiii. 46).
The God who is to be confidently trusted with so
precious a deposit b designated a faithful Creator
(the ' as ' of the A. V. must be omitted on the
ground of documentary evidence) ; Creator (which
particular term is used onlv thb once in the New
Testament, and b to be taken in the literal sense,
and not as if = possessor, or as if = Creator anew),
and, therefore, One who has an interest in the
work of Hb own hands ; and faithful Creator,
One whom we have every reason to regard as
absolutely reliable.— in well-doing. The neces-
sary accompaniment and evidence of a true trust
in God, here put emphatically last as a caution
against all indolent or immoral presuming on our
special relationship to God. Thb b the single
occurrence of the noun in the New Testament.
' To do well and to suffer well should be the only
cnre of those who are called upon to suffer ; God
Himself will take care of all else ' (Bengel).

230 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. V. 1-5.

Chapter V. 1-5.

Exhortations on tfte subject of the Relations bettveen Office-bearers andotiwti

in tlie Church,

1 'T^HE ** Elders which are among you^ I * exhort, who am «][«'• 5?^ .

X also an Elder,' and a ^witness of the ''sufferings of »Tn»:^7:
Christ,' and also a 'partaker of the -^ glory* that shall b^ ^j^^^*^

2 ^revealed.* *Feed* the 'flock of God which is among you, ^^-^^J'.
taking the oversight thereof J not by constraint, but * willingly ; fgj^^|i

3 not for ' filthy lucre, but of a *" ready mind ; neither • as being fj^^***
ji. "lords over God^s * heritage,* but being" >ensamples to the ^{j^J^

4 ' flock : and when the "" chief Shepherd shall ' appear," ye shall Jlt.'SJ'.^l

5 'receive a" ** crown of glory that fadeth not away." Like- JStiTiif
wise,'* ye ^ younger, "^ submit yourselves unto the elder : " yea, |j; ^;S;2
all of you be subject one to another,** and " be clothed " with J^^^
'humility: for" ^God 'resisteth the ''proud, and"^ *giveth jfe"*^
grace to the "" humble. ^^\^^

€ I Cor. X. 18 ; 9 Cor. !. 7 ; s Pet. i. 4. etc /Ch. iv. 13. ^Rom. viil x8 ; Gal. ii. aj ; also rd*. at cik i. s>

h Mat. u. 6 ; Jo. xxt. 16 ; Acts xx. 28, etc. ; also x Kin. xxv. 16 ; Isa. xl. ai, etc. i Ver. 3 : La. xiL 3a ; Acts sb

98 ; also Zech. x. 3. etc h Heb. x. 96. /Cf. Tit. i. 7, zi.^ m% Chron. xxix. 34. n Biat. xz. 35 : Mlt. a. 4a;

Acts xiz. x6 ; also Num. xxi 94, etc. o Deut ix. 99 ; Isa. iiL i9. Cf. also Mat xxvii. 35 ; Mle. xv. 34 ; La xziH. 34:
Jo. xix. 94 ; Acts i. 17, 96, viii. 9z, xxvi. z8; Col. i. i9. / Phil. iii. 17 ; i Thes. I. 7 ; 9 Thes. iiL o ; i Tim. ir. ta;

Tit. ii. 7. q Cf. refs. at ver. i. r 9 Kin. iii. 4. Cf. also Heb. xiii. 9a « 9 Cor. ▼. xo ; Col. iiL 4 ; s Jo. Ii. aB.

/ See refs. at ch. i. 8. mx Cor. ix. 95 ; a Tiixu iv. 8 ; Jas. i. 19 ; Rev. ii. xo : Pror. iv. ql cr Acts v. 6 ; t Tim.

V. I, 9, xz, 14 : Tit. ii. 6. wSee refs. at ch. iL 13. jr Acu xx. 10 ; Eph. iv. 9 ; PhiL iL 3 ; CoL ii. 1^ 33, uL is.

Cf. also ch. iii. 8. y Prov. ftl ^4| ; Jas. iv. 6. a Acts xviii. 6 ; Kom. xiiL 9 ; Jas. iv. 6 ; x Kin. xL ^4 ; Hoc. iL 6k.

a Lu. i. 57 : Rom. i. 30 ; 9 Tim. iii. 2 ; Jas. iv. 6. b Ex. iii. 9X ; Eph. iv. 99 ; Jas. iv. 6. c Pk xxznL 18 :

Mat. xi. 99 ; Lil i. 59 ; Jas. L 9, iv. 6 ; Kom. xii. x6 ; 9 Cor. vii. 6, x. 1.

* read rather^ Elders therefore among you I exhort

* literally^ the fellow-elder and witness * or^ of the Christ

* literally^ the partaker also of the glory • or^ destined to be revealed

* rather^ tend ' omit taking the oversight thereof * nor yet

* as lording it over the congregations ^^ becoming ** is manifested
" the " or^ amaranthine ^* In like manner

^* or^ elders *® yea, all one to another *' omit and

18 gird yourselves *• because •• but

We come now upon a brief series of injunctions, large a space of the second and third chapten» is

dealing with the spirit in which the members of heard again here.

Christ s Church should occupy their respective Ver. I. Elders, therefore, among yon I ezlmt.

positions, and bear themselves toward each other. Instead of ^ the elders,' which the A. V. and

These counsels are remarkable for their point and R. V. both (though probably for different reasons)

precision. They are not less remarkable for their adopt, the better supported reading is simply

tenderness. They are offered as the recommend a- 'elders.' The omission of the article perhaps

tion of one who, though entitled to speak in some generalizes the statement, as if Peter had said,

respects of superior privilege, meekly identifies 'Such as are elders among you I exhort.' The best

himself with the persons to whom they are authorities also insert ' therefore, ' which the A. V.

addressed. These persons are in the first instance omits. This implies that what is to be said of

those who are charged with ofBce and special the duties of elders is to be urged specially on the

ecclesiastical duty, and in the second instance the ground of the considerations with which the

whole membership of the Church. What con- previous chapter has closed, and as involved in

cems the soundness of the inner life of the Church that ' well-doing ' which is to accompany fearless

is still in view. The exhortations are given in trust in God under the pressure of fiery triaL

immediate connection with the preceding state- The next verse makes it clear that the term

ments about the end, the judgment already ' elders,' or (to reproduce the Greek word itsdf)

beginning with the house of God, and the 'presbyters,* is used in the official sense. The

necessity of earnest well-doing in all things. The New Testament gives no account of the rise of

watchword of submission which rang through so this office in the Christian Church. When it first

Ghap, V. 1-5.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

nentioos Cliristian elders, it simpfy refers to them
at the recognised persons in the Church of
Jmsalem to whom the contribntions of the
Chsrch of Antioch for the relief of 'the brethren
which dwelt in Judaea,' were sent ' by the hands
of Bomabos and Saul ' (Acts xL 30). When it
next mentions them, it is to state that Paul and
Barnabas 'ordained elders in every church' in
the coorse of the first missionary journey in Aaa
(Acts ziT. 23). It has been a question, tnerefore,
wiiether the Apostles proceeded from the first on
the definite plan of organizing the Christian
Church on the model of existing institutions, and
at once took orer this office and others from the
ijnagogoe, or whether, without setting out with
anjr definite plan, they simply adopted the
farious offices as circumstances and experience
ftom time to time made it wise or necessary to do
to (on which see Neander, Hist, of the Planting of
CkrisOamty^ toI. i. p. 30^ etc, Bohn). On the
term * exhort ' — a term WiUi a folness of meaning
(oovering persuasion^ entreaty ^ admonition, con-
mittiom^ etc.) which no sinj^fe English word can
rcnrodnce — see on chap, iu ii. — your fellow-
•ioar : or, co-presbyter. This compound word
occms only here. So John calls himself simply
' the elder ^ (2 John I ; 3 John i). Any claim to
prioacj is nx enough removed from Peter's meek
asBodatioQ of himself with the men of these
scattered Asiatic churches as simply an elder like
thiemselves. Even apostolic autnority is waived
for the time.— «iid witnen of the sn£foiingB of
ttw Ohristw One distinction, and only one, is
alluded ta It is that of havixig seen what Christ
auBered. Among all these fefiow-eklers he was
the one who had witnessed that. . The dbtinction
did not give him lordship over Ihero, but it did
give him a title to speak to Christians who were
Id suffer, and who were tempted to think their
trial a strange thing. This word 'witness' is
used in the N. T. not only in the simple sense of
' spectator ' (^^. Acts x. 41, etc.), in the extended
sfense of 'one who testifies of what he has seen '
{e.f. Acts i. 8, etc), and in the forensic sense
of one who gives evidence at law {e.g. Matt
xzvL 65), but also in the ethical sense of ' one
who seals his faith in Christ by suffering,' or
•martyr* (Acts xxiL 20; Rev. (1. 13, xvii. 6).
Hence some think that in designating himself a
witness of the sufferings of the Christ, Peter
means here that ne was a sharer in Chris fs
sufferings. But the expression is to be under-
stood rather in the light of what the Apostles were
declared to be to the Church^^e-witnesses of
what they preached. It is the nearest approach,
iberelbre, which Peter allows himself to make at

Sesent to an appeal to his apostolic authority. —
a p^aMaBt abo of the glory destined to be
ivfealed. The ' glory ' is presented here in the
same large and inclusive sense as in Rom. viii. 18 ;
Cbl. liL 4 ; I John iii. 2. Peter speaks of himself
ii heir of that. But in so doing ne also suggests
Ihat those associated with him in faith have the
Kke honour. If fdt a moment^ therefore, he dis-
tioffuish^ himself from them, he at once places him-
edf again on common mund with them. Neither
here, nor in what foflows, is there any allusion
eien to the distuiction so solemnly given him by
fib Lord (Matt. xvL 18, 19). Having encaged the
faiterest and sympathv of the elders oy the three-
fold desigi»tlon of himself, he now speaks freely
and emphatically of their duties and dangers.

231

Ver. 2. Tend the flock of Ck>d. The 'feed* of
the A. V. is too limited a rendering. In the
memorable scene by the sea of Galilee (John
xxiL 15-17), which is probably in Peter's mind
here, Christ ^ve three commissions to the restored
Apostle Of these the first and third dealt with
the duty o{ feeding in the strict sense of the word
(the verb used in vers. 15 and 17 being one which
convejTS that idea only) ; but the second (in
ver. 16) referred to a wider range of ministry
than that, and was expressed by a different verb.
It is this latter term that is taken up by Peter
here. The idea is that of acifhg all the shepherd* s
part, Including protection, rule, guidance, etc., as
well as the providing of pasture. The charge
reminds us also of Paul's counsel to the Ephesian
elders (Acts xx. 28). In the oldest of the classical
writers the relations of ruler to people are
familiarly described as the relations of shepherd to
flock. The same figure occurs frequently both in
the Old Testament and in the New. In the
former it is used of Jehovah, of Messiah, and of
the political heads of the theocratic people
(Ps. IxxviiL 71 ; Jer. iii. 15, xii. 10, xxv. ^;
Ezek. xxxiv. 2). In the latter it is used of Christ,
and of those in office in the Church. The designa-
tion ' the flock of God ' expresses both the unity
of the Church and the fact that it is God^s
possession, not that of the elders. — whidi i8 in
yon. It has been felt singular that the flock
should be described as among or (as the word
literally means) in the elaers. Hence it has been
proposed to render the phrase rather ' as much as
m you is' (so the margin of the A. V., also
Calvin, etc). Others explain the form of the
expression as due to the wish to bring out the
peculiar intimacy of union between the elders and
the members, as the same preposition is used in
the analogous charge in Acts xx. 28 — ' take heed
... to all the flock over (literally in) the which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.' The
ordinary local sense, however, is quite in point,
whether it be taken 2&— which is in your districts;
or zs—rvhich is tuithin your recuh (Luther, etc.), or
Vis-=.which is under your care (Hofinanri, Huthcr,
etc.). The idea is that this church of God,
which is the flock, is to be tended by these
particular elders, so far as it exists where they
themselves are settled and have it thus put under
their charee.— taking the oveisight thereof. It
is doubtfuT whether this clause belongs to the text.
The R. V. retains it in tne form * exercising the
oversight.' It is omitted, however, by the two
oldest manuscripts, and by the most recent editors.
If it is retained, it states one direction which the
tending is to take, namely, that of overseeing the
flock. Ihe verb is the one with which the word
bishop (i,e, overseer) b connected. We find it only
once a£;ain in the Bt. T., Viz. in Heb. xii, if,
where it is rendered ' lookihg diligently.' If it is
omitted here, the tending is defined directly by
the three adverbial and participial clauses which
follow. Each of these, too, consists of two parts,
the thing to be avoided beinp: in each case first set
solemnly over against the thing positively enjoined.
Greater force is thus given to the statement of. the
spirit in which the tending is to be discharged. —
not constrainedly ; or, as the K. V. gives 1i, 'not
of constraint. The adverb occurs nowhere else in
the N. T. It is of the rarest possible occurrence
in Classical Greek.— but willingly : a term found
only once again in the N. T., viz. in Heb. x. 26,

832

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap.V. t V

where it is rendered * wilfully.* The R. V. adds
here the words 'according unto God/ on the
genuineness of which the divided state of the
documentary evidence makes it difficult to pro-
nounce a decided opinion. This first definition
describes the elder^s duty as one which is not to
be taken up like an unwelcome burden imposed
on one, or a task from which one cannot retreat.
In such circumstances there will be, as Calvin
suggests, a dull and frigid discharge of the work.
We have a similar antithesis in i Cor. ix. 17, and
Philem. 14.-1x01 yet for filthy Inoxe. The
negative is more than the simple 'not* of the
A. V. It has the force of a climax — *nor yet.'
The adverb * for filthy lucre,' which denotes the
corrupt motive here, has also a veiy strong sense.
It means in sordid greed 0/ gain. This is its only
occurrence in the N. T. Its idea is otherwise
expressed in i Tim. iii. 8; Tit. i. 7, 11. The
support which those are entitled to receive who
preach the Gospel, or otherwise devote themselves
to the service of Christ's Church (Luke x. 7 ; 2
Cor. ix. 14), becomes base gain, if it is made the
motive of the service. — but of a ready mind.
This again is an adverb found nowhere else in the
N. T. The adjective describes Paul as ready to
preach the Gospel(Rom. i. 15), and is used by Christ
when He says to Peter himself and his drowsy
comrades in the garden, 'the spirit indeed is
wiliing* (Matt. xxvi. 41), or, 'the spirit truly is
ready (Mark xiv. 38). Here the word expresses
the prompt alacrity which marks the service which
is undertaken for love of the work — 'a mind
forward of itself, not measuring its efforts bv the
prospect of external advantage, but quickened and
impelled by its own inward and Divine principles '
(Lillie).

Ver. 3. nor yet as lording it ; or, in (he
character of those who lord it. The expression
is again a very strong one* An uncommon com-
pound form of the verb ' to rule ' is chosen, which
conveys the idea of high-handed rule, or a rule
which is detrimental to the interests of the flock.
Bengel notices how, as the elders in course of
time assumed lordship, the Latin word Senior,
elder^ became the Italian Signore, Lord^ Sir,
Rule and office are recognised in the N. T. Church,
and those who guide its af&irs receive a variety
of names (comp. Luke xxii. 26 ; Rom. xii. 8 ;
I Thess. v. 12, etc.). But they are never
described as being lords over the flock (Luke
xxii. 25). If loixlship, therefore, is nowhere
recognised, much more is oppressive rule, or
' overruling * as the margin of the A. V. gives
it, repudiated. — over the congregationB. The
Greek noun used here is that {cleros) from which
our English word clergy comes. It means a lot,
then what is apportumed bjf lot, and so anything,
such as an omce, a heritage, or a possession,
which is assi^ed to one. Strange meanings have
been given it here, €,g, church property, the
possessions of worldly rulers, the province of the
Koman proconsul, etc. Some eminent Roman
Catholic interpreters have held it = the clergy ;
and both Wycliffe and the Rhembh Version
actually render it ' the clergv,' apparently making
a simple transference of the term used in the
Vidgate. It has bem also taken to mean estates,
ns ifthe idea were, ' do not rule haughtily as men
do who exercise rule over estates belonging to
themselves ' (Hofmann). But while the word has
that sense in Classical Greek, it does not seem to

have it in Biblical Greek. In the Old
it is one of the terms by which Israel is desi,_
God's heritage or inheritance (Deut. ix. 29, et-
Hence it b supposed that the term is chosen '
in order to express the fact that the Chu
Christ is now that heritage of God which
originally was designed to be. So the A
following the Genevan, translates it
heritage.' The plural form is then exp
be due to the circumstance that the one fl
Church of Christ is conceived as distribu
among the various churches in which these el
laboured. And the point of the phrase lies
in the idea that these churches were God^s
sion, and not at the disposal of the elders.' I
most natural, however, to take the word
practically equivalent to 'congregations.' Th(
were the lots^ or charges, assigned to the
So the word ' charge has come to mean
gregation in ecclesiastical phraseology,
and Cranmer are not far astray in rendering ^__
' parishes.' The R. V. comes short only ^
translating the plural noun as a singular — '
the charge allotted to you.' The use of the t
is due perhaps to the pastoral ima^ry
underlies the whole paragraph. The whoV
pastoral wealth of a great proprietor would mak
one flock, over which there would be a
Shepherd. But the flock would be broken op
into various contingents, pasturing in different
localities. Each of these would be a cUros, or Ut^
over which would be a shepheri responsible
to the Chief Shepherd (see Dr. John Brown in
Av.).— but becoming examples of the ilodk.
Peter uses three different terms for the idea of a
model or pattern* In chap. iL 1 1 the word is one
which means literally a writing^copy. In the
Second Epistle, chap. ii. 6, we &ve another
(occurring also in John xiii. 15 ; Heb. iv. 11, viiL 5,
ix. 23 ; J as. v. 10) which b used particularly d.
the sculptor or painter's model. In the present
passage the word (the same as in i Cor. x. 6;
Phil. iii. 7; I Thess. i. 7 ; 2 Thess. iiL 9;
I Tim. iv. 12; Tit ii. 7; Heb. viiu 5) b the
term type, which has a wide range of application,
from a mere mark or footprint up to tne living
likeness of the father which appears in the child.
It is the word which Thomas uses when he speaks
of the 'print' of the nails (John xx. 25). The
elders, therefore, were themselves to be what
those under their charge should be. The secret
of their rule was to lie not in a lordly spirit, bat
in the persuasion of a consistent life. The things
which they are cautioned against in these two
verses are tne three vices which, as Calvin observes,
and as Church history too plainly shows, are wont
to be most injurious to the Church.

Ver. 4. And when the OhiefShephttrd if mani-
fested. The title < Chief Shepherd ' b nowhere dse
given to Christ. It b appropriate here, where the
duties and rewards of those are dealt with who
are called to act the Shepherd's part of tending
Christ's flock for Him on earth. In chap. iL 35
He b called simply 'the Shepherd;' in HeU
xii. 20 He b ' that great Shepherd ; ' in John
x. II, etc, He names Himself 'the good
Shepherd.' The word 'manifested' is the same
as in chap. L 20, as also in John i. xi ; Col. iiL 4 ;
I John u. 28, iiL 2, etc. — ye shaiu reoeiTe ; 00
this see on chap. i. 9. — the amaranthine orofwn
of glory. In this passage, as also in Rev. iL 10^
the A V. overlooks the article^ and gives 'a

-3ti

a

. I-S-] tHE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

333

P^er speaks of 'M/ crown' — the one
ra to Christian hope. He calls it * the
^t^jt meanii^ by that not merely that
fioui ooe^ but that it consists of glor^.
id^ and nothing less than that» will
» lietds of the elders as their reward for
: discharge of their vocation. Isaiah
'a crown of beauty * (lii. ^) ; Paul of ' a
ri^ktiomfuss * (2 Tim. iv. 8) ; James
nd John (Rev. ii. 10) of ' the crown of
is doobtful whether the figure is drawn
1 the wreath with which the victors in
k games were crowned, from the diadem
le heads of kings, or from the wreath
\ Jews themselves made use of on festal
. It is less likely in the case of Peter
bat of Paul, that the imagery should be
iin the heathen spectacles. For these
lonent to the Palestinian Jews. The
ten lor ' crown,' though different from the
term for a diadem^ appears to have that
ii'skmally (e,g. Rev. iv. 10), and it is
therefore, that here, as also perhaos in
o^ the idea is that of kingship. £ut it
raibable on the whole that Peter's term is
lirom fiuniliar Jewish practice, and that
: of the ' crown ' points more generally
MMT and joy into which Christ's faithful
shall enter when He returns. The
K further described by an adjective
flfeis but slightly from tne one already

0 the 'inheritance' in chap. i. 4. It
anslated, therefore, simply umvithering.

. however, rather to be formed immedi-
m the noun which denotes the flower

1 the 'amaranth.' We should translate
we, amaranthine, the figure being that of
constructed of immortelles, which change
n contour nor in colour. So Milton
f the 'blbbful bowers of amarantine
'hence ' the sons of light hasten ' (P, JL
L Compare also the description in Uie
k of Flaradiu Lost :

' And to the ground
I solemn adontion down they cast
r crowns inwove with lunarani and gold ;
KHTUl mmarani, a 6ower whidi once
teadise, UcA by the tree of life,
in to bloom.'

rpcr's,

t oti:f amaranthine flower on earth
rfatne ; th' only lasting treasure, truth.*

Task, B. ill.

Ih like manner, ye younger, submit
M to the elden. The exhortation clearly
dicrishing of a spirit of deference on the
le dan to another. But the question is,
wo classes introduced here in respect of
f, or in respect ot office t Seemg that in
Dg veise the term ' elders ' is used in the
it is natural to suppose it to have
here. It is not less natural to
he correlative term ' younger ' to have a
fidal sense. And this is supported by
nstance that in connection with the nar-
Ananias and Sapphire (Acts v. 5, 10) we
le ' young men ' as if they were a distinct
iiged with certain manual services to the
woo accordingly rise up at once and per-
immoned the duty which had to be done
I this case, the exhortation would bear
relations of tlie junior and subordinate

office-bearers (not necessarily identical with the
deacons), or the recognised servants of the Church,
to the presbyters or elders. It is alleged on the
other hand, however, that there b no historical
notice of the institution of any such lower order
of church officers, and that the passage in Acts v.
does not necessarily imply the existence of a dis-
tinct class known officially as the 'young men'
or the 'younger men.' Hence the phrase 'ye
younger' is taken by some (Wiesinger, Alfora,
etc) to mean the general membei^ip of the
Church, its members as distinguished from its
office-bearers. Others (Huther, etc.) understand
the official sense to be dropp^ here, and both
the ' elders ' and the 'younger ' to be designations
of age only. Others (de Wette, etc.) suppose the
' elders ' to mean the office-bearers proper, and
the 'younger' to denote neither a junior order
nor the entire non-official membership, but only
those members who were young in yeajrs and con-
sequently under stronger temptation to show
themselves insubordinate to their ecclesiastical
rulers. The term ' elder ' in the Hebrew Church
was first a title of age and then a title of office.
As those who were dders by age were in ordinary
circumstances chosen as elders by office, the word
combined both ideas, and with these it probably
passed into the Christian Church. And even
before there was any direct creation or recognition
of distinct offices, the young men would naturally
be looked to for the aischarge of such duties in
the Christian Church as they had probably been
accustomed to in the Synagogue, and this would
have a ^tfoji-official position. — yea, all one to
another. The 'be subject,' which the A. V.
inserts after 'yea, all of you,' must be omitted on
the authority of the best documents. This leaves
it open to connect the clause either with what
precedes or with what follows. In the latter
case (which is adopted bv the text of the R. V.,
and by Alford, etc. ) the idea is — ' Vea, all of you,
in reference one to another, gird yourselves,' etc.
In the former case (which is the more grammatical
construction) the clause extends to the whole
body of Christian people, without distinction of
office or age, the same exhortation to mutual
deference and submission which has already been
addressed to a particular class. — Gird yonnelves
with humility. The 'and' of the A. V. does
not belong to the text As to the grace of
humility see on chap. ili. 8. The verb translated
' be clothed with ' by the A. V. occurs nowhere
else in the N, T. The precise idea which it
conveys has, therefore, been variously understood.
Some give it the sense of 'adorn yourselves'
(Calvin, etc), and so the Genevan Version renders
it ' deck yourselves inwardly with.' Others think
that it is formed from a noun meaning ihtfroch or
apron of a slave, and would render it ' tie yourselves
up with humility as with the slave's cape.* To
put on such a cape was to prepare for discharging
the duties of a servant. Tne word would thus b«
chosen in order to indicate 'the menial service
which they were to render one to another ; in the
same way as our Lord showed it in His own
example and person when He girded Himself
with a towel and washed the disciples' feet'
(Humphrey, Comm, on tht Rev, Vers,, p. 446).
The Vtdgate and the Rhemish Versions, again,
translate it ' insinuate humility.' The word seems
to be derived, however, rather from a simpler
noun denoting a band. It thus means to fasten^

«34

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap.V.6-il

not merely to tut on^ but to prd tightly on; the
grace of humility being not the eirdie that Hastens
other things, but the thing whTdi is girt firmly
about one. It is therefore a stronger form of
Paul's ' Put on . . . humbleness of mind ' (Col.
iii. 12). Bengel paraphrases it admirably thus :
' Indue and wrap yourselves about with it. so that
it may be impossible for the covering of nttmilitr
to lie torn from you by any force.* Tyndales
rendering is, 'Knit yourselves together in lowli-
ness of mind.'— because Ck)d roilneth the proud,
bnt givetb grace to the humble. The ' resisteth'
indicates a strong and deliberate opposition. Its
idea is that of setting oneself in array e^nst one.
The imi^rtance of the duty of humility is enforced
by a sentence taken (with the substitution of Cod
for the Lord) from the Greek text of Prov. iii. 34.
This sentence b introduced in a similar connec-

tion in Jas. iv. 6. It states a principle on wiiidi
God acts. It is the principle which is recdgniRd
in the Magnificat (Luke L 51-53)1 and of vUdi
a figure has been seen bv many in the adin of
rain or dew on hill and VAle. Le^htoo, f#.,
says — * His sweet dews and lowers of ^rscem
off the mountains of pride, and fall 00 tbe low
vallejrs of humble hearts, and make them pkaok
and fcrlil^' But in this he is antkipatedfay
Augustine, who speaks of grace descending iilo
humble souls as 'the Water flows together towod
the lowliness of the valleys and flows down fiw
the swelling hUl' Compare abo J. D. Bans*
rendering of the same principte r^

* The dew that never wets the iliBty moimtain
Falls in the valleys free ;
Bright verdure frinf^es the naaU dcaett-lbmrtaiB,
lint banen sand

Chapter V. 6-11.

General Exhortations and Encouragements on the subject of the Chasteninp

of God and the Temptations of tfte Devils

6 ""IT UMBLE yourselves therefore under the * mighty hatid •J'gJJ^^:

Jl of God, that he may "" exalt you in ^due time, ,{g;|J^.

7 'casting all your -^care' upon him, for* he ''carelh for you. Sj^^

8 *Be sober, be * vigilant: because* your * adversary the devil, 'i3Si}i£k
as a 'roaring lion, walketh about, ** seeking whom hd may ^igtladr!^

9 "devour. Whom * resist ^stedfast in the faith, 'knowing that rpH^i^tH
the ^ same afflictions are ' accomplished in your ^ brethren that /!&.%«;

10 are in the world. But the God of "all grace, who hath* Id^^
*' called us* into* his "'eternal glory by Christ Jesus,' after ^joT^ 13,'
that ye have suffered a 'while,® make® you ^perfect, 'stablish, a &^ !«&.«.

1 1 strengthen, settle " you. To him 6e glory and * dominion for 1 Uat.m^
ever and ever." Amen. 3^4<\i>:

Mk. 3UU. 31;

Col iv. a ; I Thes. v. 6 ; Rev. iii. 3, etc k Mat. v. 95 : Lu. xii. 58, xviii. 3 ; x Kin. ii. 10. / Jod. xhr. 3I

Ps. xxi. 13 : Zech. xi. 3. m Mat. xii. 46, 17 ; Acts xiiL 8 ; GaL L xo. n Mat. xxiii. 34 ; x Cor. xv. 51 ; 9 Oar. u. 7,
V. 4 ; Heb. xi. 29 ; Rev. xii. 16. 0 Mat. v. 35 ; Eph. vi. ly, Jas. ir. 7. > s Tim, ii X9 ; Hefc. t. xe, 14.

q Ch. i. 18. rt Cor. xL 5. s Rom. xr. a8 ; a Cor. vu. x, viiL 6 : Heb. viii. 5. / Ch. iu xy.

«3 Cor. i. 3 ix. 8. &See refs. at ch. ii. 9. tva Tun. ii. xo; a Cor. iv. 7. jrSee re&. at cli.1. &

y I Cor. i. 10 : a Cor. xiii. xx ; Heb. xiii. ax. » Lu. xxii. 3a ; Rom. i. xr, xvi. 95. a Ch. iv. ti ; i Tim. n.

16 ; Jude «5 ; Rev. i. 6, v. 13.

* because • omit because

• unto ^ in Christ
• will Himself make *• omt settle

^1 read simply^ to whom be the dominion unto the ag^s

* anxiety

• you

* omit hath
» a litUe white

, The grace of humility closed the foregoing series
of counsels. It appeared there as the safeguard
a^inst a lordly spirit on the side of those in
office in the Church, and a spirit of insuhordi-
nation on the side of the memhen and senrants of
the Church. It is reintroduced as th<i fitst of
atiother brief succession of counsels addressed to
all. It is enjoined now ta a grace to be cherished
toward God Himself, to be studied in cispecial
under His afflictive dispensationsi and to be

valued is the condition upon i^hich He suspkods
the hohoiir which comes through suffering It
opens the way to other kiildred dutieSy-rii^bnety,
▼igilancej stedfastness in faith. The exhortatioM
are then crowned by a deiroui jassuraiice of t6e
^ciousness of God^ ihtentioii Ih all the iriils 01
the time.

Ver. 6. Humble jrounelTfiA, ther^n, nodtrir
the migh^ hand of CKkL Once more is ihe
(juestion of affliction touched, and the doty of

/.6-II.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

235

3a luged. Thb time, however, the

pfOMd in connection with the statement
jencnl principle on which God acts in
M to the humble. The phrase ' mighty
* God occurs nowhere else in the NT 1 .
^ T. it is a figure both of man's power

19) and of God's (Deut. iii. 24 ; Job
etc.). It is not limited in the O. T. to
»wer in afflicting or punishing. Neither
limited here. The Hand that lajs low
ti. The reason why the irresistible power
Hand is exerted in chastening is that it
leasQiiably exerted in exalting.— in order
naj exalt yon in due time. God has
lOfe in laying His Hand heavily upon
It miipose can be given effect to only on
I that we be to Him what He b to us.
tation will frustrate His purpose. But if
de ooiselvcs as He humbles us, we shall
! * interest of tears' and be glorified
sorrow. ^ God has His own time, never-
or (nlfilling the purpose of His chasten-
bat time, whether it come late or early,
ir own hour, for which, like Mar^ at the

in Cana, we are so apt impatiently to
b the ' due time,' the fit season.
. CSMting all yonr anzie^ npon him,

he careth for yon. While the A. V.
he one term ' care ' in both clauses, the
hai two distinct terms, the former mean-
imts care,' the latter • interest ' or * con-
fhc A. V. follows Tyndale, Cranmer,

Genevan. Wycliffe gives *cast ye all
iness in to Him : for to Him is cure of
lie Rhemish has ' casting all your careful-
•n Him, because He hath care of you.'
tma to have P& Iv. 22 in mind, although

the second clause a different form from
baa in the Psalm. Compare also Ps.
L The fact that God retains a loving
for us is our reason for rolling the burden
uudeties upon Him. This we do by
nd He shows His care for us by helping
row off the weight, or by sustaining us
Humility of mind b a chief protection
nxiety. Where there b the dFbposition
le ourselves beneath God's hana, there
Dsition to trust Him will also appear.
ety b described here as a burden ( = 'your
dety *) which b to be cast as one whole
id— -'not every anxiety as it arises; for
1 arise, if thb transference has been effec-
ade' (Alford). In the present instance
en b not the affliction itself, but those

carking thoughts about affliction which

s pain. Compare Shakespeare's

re is DO cure, but rather a corrosive,
r thiogs that are not to be remedied.'

^Henry VI. i. 3. 3,

remarkable words of the Stoic slave,
\ (Dissert, ii. 16), 'From thyself, from
ghts, cast away grief, fear, desire, envy,
Dce, avarice, effeminacy, intemperance.
not possible to cast away these things in
r way than by fixing our eyes upon God
turning our affections on Him only, by
lacerated to Hb orders ' (Ramage's ren-

. Be Bober ; see on chap. i. 13, where
I noticed as a condition to the highest
Ihristian hope. In chap. iv. 7 it appears
aration for prayer. In this third recom-

mendation, it b enjoined as a protection against
Satan.— be w»tohfnL The verb rendered ' vigi-
lant* here, and in i Thess. v. 10 ' wa^e,' b else-
where (in some twenty-one occurrences) always
rendered * watch * by the A. V. Its use here per-
haps indicates painful, personal recollection on
the writer's part. It b the word which Jesus
addressed to Peter and hb comrades in the
garden — ' What, could ye not watch with me one
hour?' (Matt. xxvi. 40). — yonr adveiBary the
deril, as a roaring lion, walketb abont, aeeking
whom to deTonr. The 'because' which b pre-
fixed by the A V. , is not found in the best manu-
scripts. Its omission gives a nervous force to the
whole statement. The word 'adversary' means
primarily an opponent in a lawsuit, and then an
opponent generally* It b much the same as the
O. T. term Satan. Thb is the only N. T. pas-
sage in which it b a name for man's great spiritual
enemy, who b immedbtely designated also the
' devil,' or accuser. While thb adversary b else-
where described as a serpent in respect of hb
cunning, he b here appropriately compared to a
'roaring lion,' where threatenings and persecu-
tions are in view. The Hebrews had several
terms for the terrible roar of the lion. They had
one (used also of thunder) which expressed in
particular the roar of the hungry creature in quest
of its prey. It b that one which seems to be
represented by Peter's word here. There b great
force also in the other descriptions, — 'walkcth
about ' (cf. Job L 7» ii* 2), as if the wide earih
were his range, and 'seeking whom he may
devour ^^ or, as it literally is, swallow, or gufp
down, in his fambhed rage. The fury and vigi-
lance of this enemy, the dread means which Tie
employs and the end to which he applies them,
make sobriety and watchfulness imperative on our
side. The vrriter who pens these words, so
bluntly expressive of hb own belief in the exbt-
ence of a personal spirit of evil, is the disciple to
whom Jesus specially addressed the mingled
warnings and assurances which Luke records
(xxiv. 31, 32) — ' Simon, Simon, Satan hath de-
sired to have you, that he may sxiiyou as wheat :
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.'
Ver. 9. Whom reaiBt, atedfaat in the faith.
The 'stedfast' means stable or Jirm, It b
translated 'sure' in 2 Tim. ii. 19, and 'strong'
in Heb. v. 12, 14 (its only other New Testament
occurrences), while its verb is rendered ' establish '
in Acts xvi. 5, and 'receive strength,' 'make
strong,' in Acts in. 7, 16. Bj * the faith ' here
is meant not the objects beheved, but the sub-
jective conviction, the power or principle of faith
(cf. I John V. 4, 5). The spiritual adversary
is neither to be fled from nor to be supinely
regarded, but to be withstood. He >^ill be faced,
however, to little purpose where he is met by
weak and wavering conviction. Only he who is
strong in the faith which makes him a Christian,
is strong enough to vanquish this foe in the
assaults whidi he makes with the engine of perse-
cution. Compare Jas. iv. 7, and above all, Paul's
view of the shield of faith and its efficiencv in
Eph. vi. 16.— knowing that the same anfferingB
are behig accompllBhed in your brotherhood
who are in the world. The phrase ' the same
sufferings ' means, literally, ' the same things of
the sufferings,' or * the identities of the sufferings.'
The construction of the sentence is also otherwise
peculiar. Hence it b variously rendered, e.g..

23^

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. V. 6-11.

as ss considering that the same sufTerings are
accomplishing themselves in your brotherhood,
etc. (Iluther) ; or as = knowing that ye are
accomplishing the same suflferings with your
brotherhood, etc ; oras = considering how to pay
the same tribute of suffering as your brethren in
the world ; or simply as = knowing that the same
sufferings are being inflicted on your brotherhood,
etc. (Wilke). The idea in any case is sufficiently
plain. Their courage in withstanding, with a firm
faith, the devil's attempts to seduce them through
their sufferings, should be helped by the considera-.
tion that they occupied no singular position (cf.
I Cor. X. 13). They suffered only as the whole
Christian brotherhood suffered. The same dis-
pensation of tribulation was fulfilling itself in
them and in the brotherhood, the same tribute of
suffering was being paid by them and by the
brotherhood, and for the same reason. They
were both * in the world.* On the phrase *the
brotherhood' see on chap. ii. 17. Compare
Gray's lines :

' To each his sufferings, all are men.

Condemned alike to groan :

llie tender for another's pain.

The unfeeling for his own.'

Ver. 10. Bnt the God of all grace, who called
yon onto his eternal glory in Christ, after that
ye have suffered a Utile while, will himself
perfect, stablish, strengthen yon. Several
changes must be made upon the A. V. here,
which have been rightly recognised by the R. V.
Weight of documentary evidence displaces ' us '
by 'you,' turns the tenses into futures, inserts
'himself before these verbs, and excludes the
final ' settle.' It is also probable that we should
read 'in Christ' or 'in the Christ,' instead of
'in Christ Jesus.' The verse, therefore, is an
assurance, not a prayer. It thus conveys far
greater encouragement to those who have to face
persecution, and resist the devil's roarings and
seductions. This assurance is introduced as a
contrast with, or qualification of, what has been
said of the burdens of believers. Hence the
opening ' but,' or * moreover ' (not * and '). Such
things they must expect from the adversary, duf
what may they not expect from God ? They are
themselves appointed to the trying duty of
strenuous resistance ; ^/, if so, God also will
act with them in the perilous situation. As it is
Goifs part that Peter is now urging for the final
comfort of his readers, that name is set emphati-
cally first, and the solemn 'Himself (which is
missed by Tyndale, Cranmer, and the A. V. , but
caught by Wycliffe and the Versions of Geneva
and Kheuns) is brought in before the verbs which

state the things which He is certain to do (d
I Thess. iiu 1 1, v. 23). Tlie designation of God
as the ' God of all grace,* the God who is so rid)
in grace that all grace comes from Him, adds to
the strength of the assurance. The title is itself
a consolation. Still higher, if possible, might
these drooping saints be lifted into the rare
atmosphere of a gracious confidence, by the thought
of what God had done for them in the dedive
change which first gave them Christian hope.
He had called them in His Son (by uniting them
* with Him), and that with the very object o(
bringing them in the end to His eternal gkxy.
So great an act of grace was the pledge offoither
gifts of grace. Unless so great an object is
to be frustrated, it must be that God will cany
them through their suffering and make these
the means ^ perfecting^ stabluhing^ and sirw^
ening them with a view to that glory. The
plory, indeed, into which they were called is to
be theirs only after suffering. Yet the space o(
suffering will be brief. The 'a while' of the
A. V. does not fairly represent the origipaL
Tyndale is better — ' after ye have suffered a little
affliction.* What Peter has in mind is not the
need of suffering at least for a time, but the short*
ness of the suffering. The idea conveyed by ttie
' perfect ' is that oi preparing completely, eqmf^l
fully , bringiHi intojcudt ess order, so thatnotning
shall be wanting. It is the term which is used
for ' perfect ' in such passages as Luke tL 10^
I Cor. L 10, I Thess. iii. 10, Heb. xuL 21;
and it is applied to the mending of broken nets
(Matt. iv. 21), and the restoring of one m findt
(Gal vi i), etc. The 'stablish^ means to >M
firmly, to make fast, so that there shall be no
tossing or overturning. The ' strengthen ' recalb
Christ s commission to Peter himself, the 000-
mission which he was discharging by this very
writing, ' When thou art converted, strengthen thy
brethren ' (Luke xxii. 32). Some have suppoied
the terms in which Peter, with a confidenoe
touched with emotion, rapidly unfolds what God
may be trusted to do, to be all figures drawn fhxn
the one conception of the Churdi as a building
the ' house ' already noticed in chap. ii. 5.
Bengel speaks of them as ' language worthy of
Peer (a rock)/ and gives the points bridQy thns—
perfect — so that no defect can remain in yon;
stablish — so that nothing shall shake yoo;
strengthen — so that ye may overcome every oppoi-
ing force.

Ver. 1 1. To him be (or, if) the dominion VBto
the ages. Amen. A doxology similar to that In
chap. iv. II, but briefer. The longer version of
the A. V. is not sustained by sufficient e^enoe.

2-14.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

237

Chapter V. 12-14.
Closing Explanations and Salutations.

' Silvanus, a* faithful brother unto you,* (as I "suppose,*) '^pg^'ia^ia^*
I have* written* * briefly, * exhorting, and testifying that ^Ej^uI;!?'
i the true grace of God wherein ye ''stand.* The Church ' J'ca?'iv. 13:
I at Babylon, elected together with you,' ^ saluteth you ; Jt?"' *^* *'
> doth Marcus * my ^ son. Greet • ye one another with a ''^cS^/iv.'x.
of charity.*® * Peace be with you all that are in ' Christ ' ^t'^l^' ^'
'* Amen. fi^elS"^

IIhu La;* Tun. La. g^ Rom. xvi. x6 ; x Cor. xvi. ao ; a Cor. xuL za ; i Thes. v. ao.

|a x^ t Rom. tuL x, xvi. 7 ; a Cor. v. 17.

* omit unto you ' as I account him * literally , I wrote

ito you ® recut rcUher^ the true grace of God ; in which stand ye
^, She that is in Babylon, co-elect, saluteth you ^ Mark

*• or^ love " recut simply^ in Christ ; omit also the Amen

etftik are now appended 9& to the
and transmission of the Epistle. The
which it has been written is stated
tNrerity and point. Salutations then
I have an important bearing on the
Epistle, and have been the subject of
e. The conclusion is given in the
lenediction which has a simplicity
tself.

ty Silvftnufl. In all probability this
known friend and fellow-labourer of
k as Silas in the Book of Acts, but as
he Pauline Epistles (i Thess. i. i ;

; 3 Cor. i. 19). He is noticed first
) as one of the ' chief men among the
the Church of Jerusalem, sent as such
Paul, Barnabas, and Judas Barsabas
er from the convention of apostles ^nd
itioch ; next as a prophet exhorting
» with many words' (Acts xv. 32);

return from Antioch, as chosen by
s companion on his second missionary
ts XV. 40^ xvii. 40) ; next, as left
Timothy at Bercea, while Paul went
ns (Acts xvii. 14) ; and, finally, as
^anl at Corinth (Acts xviii. 5). From
; we gather that along with Timothy
instructions to join Paul at Athens,
w no information either as to the
of these instructions, or as to the way
became associated with Peter. It is*
: he went with Timothy from Athens
lica (I Thess. iii. 2). As a missionary
he was most familiar with the Asiatic
nd knew well the territories now
' Peter. The * by Silvanus * does not
nply that he acted as Peter's amanu-
n the subscriptions to some of the
(ties (Romafts and Corinthians), and
eer form * by the hand of (Acts xv.
3ie A. V. translates it simply * by
phrase may designate the bearer of
—the faithful brother, m I account
K, V. is at fault here both in giving

*a faithful brother,* and in rendering 'as I
suppose,* The verb indicates not a mere supposi-
tion in the ordinary sense of the word, but (as in
Rom. iii 28, vi. 1 1, viii. 18; Heb. xi. 19) a
settled persuasion, an assured judgment. Some
indeed attach this 'as I suppose to the next
clause, as if it expressed Peter's opinion of the
brevity of his own letter. It belongs, however, to
the present clause, and expresses Peter's view of
what he had himself found Silvanus to be. This
comrade of Paul was a suitable messenger, both
because he was known to the churches addressed,
and because he had been to Peter as faithful a
brother as he had been to Paul. The ' unto you '
is so connected by the A. V. as to denote the
persons to whom Silvanus proved himself faithful.
It belongs, however, rather to the verb, and
indicates the persons to whom the Epistle was
addressed. — ^I wrote unto you. Where we in
English would say ' I write ' or * I have written,*
regarding the yet unfinished letter as still in the
writer's hands, the Greeks might sa]^ ' I wrote,'
the letter which was being finished bemg regarded
from the view-point of the recipient who was to
read it as a completed thing. So here, although
Peter says, literally, ' I wrote ' (not ' I have
written,' as in A. V.), he refers to the present
Epistle, and not, as some have suppose^l, to the
Second Epistle, or to another which is now lost.
For similar instances see Gal. vi, 11; Philem. 19,
21 ; Heb. xiii. 22; and possibly, although not
quite so certainly, i John ii. 14, 21, 26, v. 15.
— briefly ; literally, ' through few (words),' a
formula analogous to that in Heb. xiii. 22. As
compared with Epistles like those to the Romans,
Connthians, and Hebrews, this Epistle would not
be considered a ' brief ' one. But in view of the
weight anl variety of topics touched on, and as
compared with what could be conveyed by oral
discourse, it might well seem to the writer that all
that he had been able to say, in the letter which
he was now closing, was a very limited statement
indeed. At most points, too, the Epistle is
remarkable for its conciseness and condensation.

238

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. V. 12-14.

— exhorting : on the force of this verb see on
chap. ii. II.— and testifying: the verb used here
is a compound form of the usual verb. This is its
only occurrence in the N. T. Some hold that it
should be rendered * giving additional testimony,'
as if Peter meant that what he had done was
simply to add his own testimony to what the
readers had already been instructed in by Paul
and Silas. The compound verb, however, give^
the same idea, only with greater strength, as the
simple verb. The two participles are not to be
taken to refer (as they are understood by dc.
Wette, etc.) to separate portions of the Epistle.
We cannot say that so much of it is exhortation^
and so much of it testimony. It is throughout an
Epistle of the twofold character expressed by
these terms, its exhortations rise upon the solid
basis of its testimony to the grace of God, and
its testimony is determined with a view to the
practical statement of duty. — that this is the true
grace of God. The ' grace of God ' here means
much the same as 'this grace' in Rom. v. i.
What is in view, therefore, is not the ^ state of
grace/ as contrasted with the state of nature.
Neither is it the pure preaching of the gospel as
contrasted with a false gospel or erroneous
doctrinal teaching. It is the^i/? of grace whereof
God had made them possessors through the
preaching of the Gospel. Peter affirms, therefore,
that what they had come to know and enjoy
through the Gospel was no imaginary or sup-
posititious thing, but real grace, God's own grace,
which they might rely on without hesitation in
spite of all their sufferings, and by which they
ought firmly to abide. He regards the readers
as already in that grace. But by whose means
they had first been introduced to it, he does not
specify. So far, however, as they had been
introiluced by Paul into * this grace ' of which
Peter had been writing, Peter sets the seal of his
own testimony to that form of the Gospel which
Paul had made known to them, and by which
they had become what they now were. — in which
stand ; or, as the R. V. amplifies it, stand ye
fast therein. Thus we must read, on the
authority of the best documents and editors,
instead of the * wherein ye stand ' of the A. V.
The charge, too, is of the form (literally = into
which stand ye) which recognizes the entrance
into the grace, and enjoins its sedulous retention.
It is therefore ' a short and earnest exhortation,
containing in it in fact the pith of what has been
said by way of exhortation in the whole Epistle '
(Alford).

Ver. 13. The church in Babylon, co-elect,
salnteth you. The original runs simply ' the
co-elect one in Babylon saluteth you,' or, as the
R. V. renders it, * she that is in Babylon, elect
together with you^ saluteth you.' Hence some
good expositors, including Bengel and Alford,
are of opinion that Peter names in this way his
own wile, (to whom there is also supposed to be
a reference in i Cor. ix. 5), as uniting with him in
these greetings. Others think that some notable
Christian woman belonging to the Babylonian
church itself, is in view. The grounds on which
thb interpretation is urged are such as these :
the unlikelihood of the whole Christian com-
munity, designated as it is with so strange an
indefiniteness, being united in these parting
salutations with a single individual, who is
distinctly described by his name Mark ; the pro-

Ixibility that in an Epistle addressed to 'elect
strangers' individually, and not to chordies
named as such, the ' co-elect one ' should also be
an individual ; the necessity of supplying a torn,
viz. churchy which nowhere occurs m the Epistk
itself. The great majority of interpreters, hoiKm,
including Luther, Calvin, and most of those oif
our own day, prefer the other view ; and there is
an obvious fitness in giving the greetings of (be
Christian community, within whose bounds Peter
was at present resident, as the greetbgs of a
church which, though widely separatedgeognphi*
cally, was 'co-elect with those 'elect sojoomen'
in other countries to whom he was writing. Om
of our two oldest manuscripts, the Sinaitic, indeed
inserts the word 'church,' as does a^ the
Vulgate. WyclifTe gives ' the church that ii
gathered,' etc ; Tyndale, 'the companions o(
your election,' etc. ; Cranmer, ' the congregitioii
of them which at Babylon are companions (Jyoor
election.' The A. V. follows the Gooevan and
the Rhemish. But what is to be understood fay
Babylon here? Some few, including Vitiin^
and our own Pearson, have supposed the pUae m
view to l)e an Egyptian Babylon^ a military station
mentioned by Strabo, Others have imagiBfld it
to be a mystical name for Jerusalem, or for the
house in which the apostles met on the da^ of
Pentecost. Passing over these eccentric opiiuQiv,
however, we have to choose between two news
nameljr, that which takes the term liteially and
as designating the well-known Babylon on the
Euphrates, and that which takes it figniatiftlf
and as designating Rome. The latter is va-
doubtedly a very ancient opinion. It was bdd,
for example, by Jerome, Clement of AlexandiV^
and others of the Fathers. It b carrkd badi
indeed by the historian Eusebiiis to Papias of
Hierapolis in the second century. It has been
the prevalent Roman Catholic interpretatiofit hot
has also won the adhesion of Refonnen like
Luther, and of not a few eminent Protestant
cxegetes belonging to our own time^ r.^. Hofinun,
Ewald, Schott, etc. In favour of this allqgoiicat
interpretation it is urged that there are other
occurrences of Babylon in the N. T. as a mystical
name for Rome (Rev. xiv. S, xviii. a, 10) ; that it
is in the highest degree unlikely that Peter sfaooki
have made the Assyrian Babylon his residoice or
missionary centre, especially in view ol a state-
ment by Josephus indicating that the Emperor
Claudius had expelled the Jews from that dty ttid
neighbourhood ; and that tradition connects Peter
with Rome, but not with Babylon. The fiict,
however, that the word is mystically usc4 in a
mvstical book like the Apoodypse, — a book, too^
which is steeped in the spirit and terminokigy of
the Old Testament, is no aigument for the
mystical use of the word in writings of a diflferent
type. The allegorical interpretation becomes still
less likely when it is observed that other geo-
graphical designations in this Epistle (chap, l l)
have undoubtedly the literal meaning. The
tradition itself, too, is uncertain. The stateaent
in Josephus does not bear all that it is made to
bear. There is no reason to suppose that, at the
time when this Epistle was written, the city of
Rome was currently known among Chrbtians
as Babylon. On the contrary, wherever it is
mentioned in the N. T., with the single ezceplioo
of the Apocalypse (and even there it is distin-
guished as ' Babylon tht great \ it gets its uml

Chap. V. 12-14.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

239

mmt, Rome. So far, too, from the As<iyrian
Babylon being practically in a deserted state at
tha date, there is very g|ood ground for believing
that the Jewish popiuation (not to speak of the
heathen) of the city and vicinity was very con-
siderable. For th«e and other reasons a succes-
sion of distinguished interpreters and historians,
from Erasmus and Calvin on to Neander, Weiss,
Renss, Huther, etc., have rightlv held by the
literal sense.— and 80 doth lurk my aon.
Bengel and a few others think that this Mark was
Peter's own son according to the flesh. But in
all probability he is affectionately designated in
this way because he was Feter^s spiritiud son in
the iiuth. The Mark referred to, therefore,
appears to be the well-known John Mark, the
wnter of the Second Gospel, of whom we read in
Acts xiL 12, 25, xiii. 5, 13, xv. 37, 39, Col.
iv. 10^ Philem. 24, 2 Tiro. iv. 11, and who has
been connected by tradition with Peter as his
companion and interpreter. It vras to the house
of Mary, the mother of this Mark, that Peter
repaired on his deliverance from prison (Acts
ail. 12). The old friendship, therefore, is found
still alive after a long and cnangeful interval. It
was this Mark who was the occasion of the sharp
contention between Paul and Barnabas, which is
noticed in Acts xv. When these two set out on
their second missionary tour, Barnabas desired to
take his kinsman (CoL iv. 10) Mark along with
them, as had been the case when they started on
their £rst missionary journey. Paul resolutely
lelitsed, however, to accede to this in consequence
of Mark's having left them during the former
tour (it may be under the influence of Peter's
vacillation. Gal. ii. 13) at the Pamph^lian Perga
(Acts xiiL 13), and gone back to his mother's
house at Jeriualem. The result was that Paul
•ad Barnabas separated, the latter taking Mark
with him and proceeding again to Cyprus, the
Conner assodatmg Silas with him and journeying
through Syria and Cilicia (Acts xv. 39-41).
Heie^ however, in Babylon, the scene of so much
decayed greatness, Silvanus and Mark are found
toj^ether once more, acting along with Peter, the
ftiend of PkuL Near the end of his career Paul
bean witness to Timothy that Mark was ' profit-
able to him for the ministry' (2 Tim. iv. 11).
'Peter here,' says Wordsworth, 'joins Mark with
Silas^ who had once been preferred in his room.
So may all wounds be healed, and all differences
in the Church of Christ. So may all

falterers be recovered, and Christian charity
prevail, and God's glory be magnified in all
persons and in all things, through Jesus Christ.'

Ver. 14. Salnte one another with (or, dy means
of) a kisB of love. What Peter speaks of here as
the ' kiss of love ' is alwajrs spoken of by Paul as
the ' holy kiss ' (Rom. xvi. 16 ; i Cor. xvi. 20 ;
2 Cor. xiii. 12 ; I Thess. v. 26). The Christian
Fathers, too, speak of it as the ' kiss of peace,' or
the 'kiss in the Lord.' The practice of saluting
with a kiss was as common in the ancient East,
and specially among the Jews, as is the custom
of saluting with hand-shaking in the modern
West. This gave rise to tlie Christian practice,
which was a token of brotherly love, and had ' the
specific character of Christian consecration' (see
Meyer on i Cor. xvi. 20). These remarks of
Richard Hooker on apostolic practices which arc
not to be held binding, are worth notice : —
'Whereas it is the error of the common multitude
to consider only what hath been of old, and if
the same were well, to see whether it still con-
tinue ; if not, to condemn that presently which is,
and never to search upon what ground or con-
sideration the change might grow ; such rudeness
cannot be in you so well borne with, whom
learning and judgment hath enabled more soundly
to discern how far the times of the Church and
the orders thereof may alter without offence.
True it is, the ancientcr, the better ceremonies of
religion are ; howbeit, not absolutelv true and
without exception ; but true only so far forth as
those different ages do agree in the state of those
things, for which at the first those rites, orders,
and ceremonies were instituted. In the Apostles*
times that was harmless, which being now revived
would be scandalous ; as their oscula sancta.
Those feasts of charity, which being instituted by
the Apostles, were retained in the Church long
after, are not now thought anjrwhere needful' {EccL
Polity^ Preface, iv. 4).— Peace to yon all that
are in Christ. The closing words ' in Christ '
(which reading must be accepted instead of the
' in Christ Jestis ' of the A. V. ) are peculiarly
Pauline in tone. Paul himself, however, is not
in the habit of defining the subjects of his bene-
dictions by that phrase, although it is elsewhere
in frequent use by him. The benediction itself
somewhat resembles that in Kph. vi. 24. Else-
where Paul usually gives * grace ' where Peter has
'peace' here. The 'Amen' of the A. V. is
insufficiently supported.

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF

PETER.

Chapter I. i, 2.

Address and Salutation.

^ QIMON' PETER, a ** servant" and an apostle of Jesus «Rom..«.i:
O Christ, to them that have' ^obtained like precious faith Tit.i.i:fas.
with us ^ through * the ^ righteousness of God, and our ' Saviour ^cr'^aiWtu

5 Jesus Christ:* -^ Grace and -^ peace be '^multiplied unto you j-9; Jo.xix.
through * the * knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. ^ S!?"*,.^' '*

i^Rom. i. 17, iii. 5, 31, 93, x. 3; Jas. L 3a e Ver. xx ; di. ii. 30, iii. 3, x8 ; 3 Tim. i. 90 : Tit. i. 4, ii. X3» iii. 6.

/See refik at i Ptt. i. 3. g Mat.- xxiv. is : Acts vL r, 7, vii. 17, ix. 31, xii. 34 ; 3 Cnr. ix. xo ; Heb.^ vi. 14 ;

Jl JPlet. i. 9 ; Jade 3. ^ A Vers. 3, 8 : ch. ii. so : Rom. i. 38, iii. 3o, x. 3 ; Epn. u 17, iv. 13 ; PhiL L 9 ; CoW i. 9, 10,

^ a, uL xo ; s Tim. iL 4 ; a Tim. iL 95, iii. 7 ; Tit. i. x ; Phileao. 6 ; Heb. x. 36.

* &rperhi»pSy Symeon * bond-servant • omit have * in

' of our God and the Saviour Jesus Christ, or^ according to the R. K, of our
Qod and Saviour Jesus Christ

There is a marked diflference between the open-
i^ of this Second Epistle and that of the First.
1 ne one inscription, indeed, is not less remarkable
than the other for wealth of thought and tender-
Hen of feeling. The benediction, too, with which
the readers of this Epbtle are greeted, has the
nme peculiarity of expression as the former. But
there is more of the personal now in the descrip-
tion of the writer, and more of the catholic in the
description of the readers. The writer*s name is
^ven with greater familiarity. His official title
IS given with greater fulness, and more in the
Pauline form. The local desip;nation of the readers
is omitted, and they are descnbed simply in respect
of what they are by grace. This may be due to
the fact that the former letter and the oral com-
munications of its bearer, Silvanus, had brought
the author into closer relations with the recipients.
In contents and in phraseology the Introduction
has also a character of its ovm. It points to
Gentile Christians as the persons immediately
addressed. It starts, too, with at least two ideas
which bulk largely in the body of the Epistle,
namel;|r, that of spiritual knowledge as opposed to
what 18 taught by seductive pretenders, and the
Urdship of Christ as opposed to the licence which
detfises ggvemment and speaks evil ofdignilies,

Ver. I. Simon Peter. In the First Epistle the
writer designates himself simply by the new name
of grace, Feter^ which he received from Christ.
VOU IV. 16

Here he gives the combined name which is found
occasionally in the Gospels (Luke v. 8 ; John
xiiL 6, XX. 2, xxi. 15 ; cf. also Matt. iv. 18, x. 2 ;
Mark iii. 16 ; Luke vi. 14 ; Acts x. 5, xi. 13).
The change in the personal designation of the
author has been held by some to betray the
spuriousness of the Epistle. By others it has
been taken as a clear, though minor, witness to
its genuineness. It can scarcely be said to have
much weight either way ; although it may go so
far to establish the independence of the composi-
tion. It would certainly be less likely that a
forger should adopt this style of address, than that
he should make it identical with that used by the
writer for whom he gives himself out. Some,
again {i,g, Besser), think the change due to the
fact that the full name, Simon Peter, has a * kind
of testamentary form,' and suits one who feels the
end of his life near. Others {e,g, Plumptre) ex-
plain it as occurring perhaps simply through a
change of amanuensis. The reason, however,
may be that the writer has it in view to emphasize
in the present connection his own Jewish origin,
and enlist sympathetic attention to his admoni-
tions, by exhibiting at the outset the common plat-
form of grace on which Jewish Christians like
himself and Gentile Christians like his readers
stood. This becomes clearer it we read Symeon
instead of Simon, The best ancient authorities
vary so much between these two forms that it

242

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. I.i,t

is difficult to say which is to be preferred.
The form Simon is used both by Christ (Matt,
xvii. 25) and by Peter's fellow-believers (Luke
xxiv. 34). Occasionally it seems as if Jesus
fell back upon that name as the old name of
nature, which excited humbling thoughts of the
past in the mind of the Apostle (cf. Mark xiv. 37 ;
Luke xxii. 31 ; John xxi. 15, 16, 17). Symcon is
the distinctively Hebraic or Aramaic foim, the
one probably in familiar use among the Jews
themselves. To Peter himself it is given only
once elsewhere, viz. by James, the six^kesraan of
the Jerusalem Convention (Acts xv. 14). .In the
N. T. it is the form used in the case of the aged
saint who received the infant Jesus into his arms
in the temple (Luke ii. 25, 34), in that of the son
of Juda (Luke iii. 30), in that of Niger (Acts
xiii. i), and in that of the Israelite tribe (Rev.
vii 7). In the Greek translation of the O. T. it
is regularly employed as the name of the patriarch
Simeon.— bond-servant and apostle of Jesus
Christ. The official designation. It differs from
its parallel in the former Epistle in setting the
general title, which covers all kinds of oflice or
service, before the definite title which marks the
particular dignity of office held by Peter. The
combined designation, in this form, is peculiar to
the present Epistle. It most resembles that
adopted by Paul in Rom. i. I and Tit. i. i. In
his other Epistles Paul styles himself either simply
'servant* (Phil. i. i), cr simply 'apostle* (i Cor.
i. I ; 2 Cor. i. i ; Gal. i I ; Eph. 1. i ; Col. i. I ;
I Tim. i. I ; 2 Tim. i. i) ; and in the Epistles of
James and Jude ' servant ' is the one title em*
ployedV It is questioned whether the term has
here the official sense or the non>official. On the
ground of the general application of the word
' servant * or ' bond-servant * in such passages as
Rom. vi. 22, Eph. vi. 6, etc., it is argued that
here too it expresses nothing more than depend-
ence on Christ, devotion to His cause, and readi-
ness to serve Him as any Christian may serve
Him. In the N. T., however, the word occurs
not only as the title used in inscriptions, but also
in connections where it seems interchangeable
with the term 'minister* (Col. i. 7, iv. 7, 12).
In the O. T., too, the title 'servant of Jehovah'
is a familiar official description {e,g. Josh. i. I,
xxiv. 29; Jer. xxix. 19; Isa. xlii. i, etc.); while
Moses is designated distinctively the 'servant of
God * (i Chron. vi. 49). Hence it is most pro-
bably intended here to express the general idea of
office, of which the apostleship was a special and
distinguishing instance. ' It has been also pro-
perly renuurked that, as the expression, servant of
Christ, implies implicit obedience and subjection,
it supposes the Divine authority of the Redeemer.
That IS, we find the Apostle denying that he was
the servant of men, rejecting all human authority
as it regards matters of faith and duty, and yet
professing the most absolute subjection of con-
science and reason to the authority of Jesus Christ '
(Hodge on Rom. i. i). — to them that obtidned
like precious faith with ns. From chap. iii. i
we may perhaps infer that the Epistle was meant,
in the first instance at least, for the persons ad-
dressed in the former Epistle. They are desig-
nated here, however, neither by their territorial
distribution nor by their election, but by their
community with others in faith. It is possible
that by the 'fiuth* here we are to understand
faith in the objective sense, the deposit of truth,

the sum of the things believed. So it is taken bjr
not a few excellent interpreters (Hutber, Alfoni,
Wiesinger, etc.), who suppose it borne out by the
objective use of the term ' truth ' in ver. 12, and
the similar use of the term ' faith * in Jude 3. Tbe
subjective sense, however, seems more in accord-
ance with the statement on the subject of tbe faith
of the Gentiles made by Peter hinaself before tbe
convention at Jerusalem (Acts xv. 9). It is also
more in place here, where the writer proceeds at
once to deal with the experience of the readen
and their duty to grow in grace. It is therefoce
of the grace of faith in Christ that Peter speaks.
And of this he affirms first that it came to them as
a gift of God. This verb ' obtained ' is one wbidi
occurs again only thrice in the N. T. (Luke 1 9;
John xix. 24 ; Acts i. 17), in which last passage
Peter himself is the speaker. It means propeny
to have by lot or assignment. It is put in Ae
simple past ('obtained,' rather than '>(asv ob-
tained*), the gift of grace which brought with it
this new belief being regarded as a thing definitely
l>estowed at a former crisis in their life. The
faith in possession of which they were thus placed,
neither by their own power nor of their own right,
is affirmed secondly to be for that reason ' equally

{)recious,* or 'of like worth,' with that of othos
ike the writer himself. This compomid adjectire,
'like-precious,' occurs only here. It may be
compared, however, with the repeated appearaaoe
of the idea of preci(msness in the former Epistle
(I Pet i. 7, 19, ii. 4, 6, 7). The A. V. Ibikvs
the felicitous rendering of Tyndale, Cranmer, and
the Genevan. Wydiffe gives 'the even fiuth.'
The Rhemish not less unhappily tianslates it
'equal faith.* But what is asserted is not the
possession of the same measure of iaitb, hat the
possession of a faith which, by whomsoever en*
joyed, has the same value in the sight of Him
from whom it comes as a gift of grace. The
persons referred to in the phrase ' with ns * are
not the apostles as such, but the class of Christians^
Tcwish-Christians to wit, to whom the writer
himself belongeil. There is nothing in the New
Testament to indicate the existence of ideas which
made it necessary to assert that with God the
faith of ordinary believers was not inferior in
worth to that of apostles. But there is much to
show (cf. Acts xi. 17, xv. 9-1 1, etc.) how alien it
was to primitive Christian thought to regard
Gentile Christians as occupying in grace the self-
same platform with Christians gathered out of the
ancient Church of God.— in Uie righteoaniMB.
The ' through * of the A. V. is an inexact renderiqg.
The preposition used points to that (the sphete,
e.g.y or the spirit) in which a thing is done. The
term 'righteousness* is not to be diluted into
'goodness,' or transformed into 'faithfulness.*
^ieither has it here the theolo^cal sense of
justifying righteousness ^ the gift of righteousness
(Luther, etc), or imputed righteousness. That
is a Pauline rather than a Petrine use. It is
inconsistent, too, with the ascription of this
righteousness both to God and to Christ Nor»
again, can the term be taken as equivalent to the
state of justification (Schott, etc ). For this woold
represent the faith as coming by righteousness
instead of the righteousness as coming by fiuth.
Other glosses upon the word, e^. the righteous
life of conformity to God's will (Briickner), the
kingdom of righteousness (Dietlein), are still leas
in place. The only sense that will suit the

'.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

243

^c equality of Tew and Gentile
' in view) is the broad sense of
hteous impartiality^ of God
'00, is an idea entirely
Compare his statement
"t of persons with God
assertion of the same
? admission of the
phrase, therefore,
♦he 'faith,* as if
. ihe righteousness
.c-precious,* as if Peter
ui Gentile Christians had the
.ai that of Jewish Christians in the
^ a justified state or righteous life. It
fanmediately with the ' obtained,* and ex-
let the fact that this faith became theirs by the
of Him with whom there is no favouritism, no
jqg of arbitrary distinctions between class and
u,—^ our Ood and the Sayiour Jeani Ohriat.
• a question whether Jesus Christ is simplv
aeiated here with God, or is identified as both
d and Saviour. The old English Versions
ior to the A. V. adopted the latter idea,
adcring not 'God and our Saviour,' but 'our
od andSaviour.' The R. V. adheres to this in
s text, bat prudently inserts the rendering of the
L V. in its margin. The decision turns upon the
ipplication of a nice principle in the use of the
ureek article, namely, that when two nouns of
the Mune case, and under the rule of a single
aitide prefixed to the former, are united by
'and,* Uicy describe one and l^e same object.
laitaaces of this are seen in the designations of
Christ in ver. 11 and chap. iiL iS. Grammatically
this principle might seem to apply very distinctly
to the present case, and so it has been understood
by many interpreters, including Schott, Hofmann,
iftetlein, Wordsworth, etc The last -named
expositor argues further, that a declaration of
Christ's Divinity was very pertinent here, because
the Epistle ' was designed to repel the errors of
those who separated Jesus from Christy and
dmiidtAi Lord thai bought theni^ and rejected the
doctrine of His Divinity.' The rule is subject,
however, to certain checks which make its appli-
catioD here, as also in Tit. ii. 13, somewnat
donbtfnL Peter does not elsewhere call Christ
directly Cod^ althoiu^h he repeatedly names Him
Lord, The term God is nowhere attached im-
mediately to Christ, or Jesus Christ, as is the
case witia Lord in the plurasc ' the Lord Christ,'
'the Lord Jesus Christ, ' our Lord Jesus Christ'
In the very next sentence, too, Peter distinguishes
the two sabjects, Cod and Jesus our Lord, It is

precarious, therefore, to insist upon the grammatical
principle here, and so the larger number of
mterpretcrs (Calvin, Huther, Alford, Fronmiiller,
Wiesinger, Lumby, Mason, etc) hold that two
subjects are in view here, God the Father and
Jesus Christ the Saviour, although Peter speaks
of a righteousness of action which belongs to both.
Ver. 2. Grace to yon and peace be mnltiplied.
So four the opening benediction is exactly the same
as in I Pet. i. 2 ; see note there. — in tiie know-
ledge of God and of Jesni onr Lord. This
addition to the formula adopted in the previous
Epistle is in admirable harmony with the scope of
the letter. It defines the conditions on whidi
this increase of ^race and peace is suspended.
These blessings will abound in the readen only
as the readers themselves abide and advance in
Divine knowledge. The strong, compound term
for ' knowledge ' is used here, whicn meets us
so often in Paul's Epistles, particularly in the
Pastoral Epistles and those of the Captivity.
How characteristic of Paul the use of this word
is, appears from these occurrences — Rom. i. 28,
iii. 20, X. 2 ; Eph. i. 17, iv. 13 ; Phil. i. 9 ; Col.
i. 9, 10, ii. 2, iiL 10 ; I Tim. ii. 4 ; 2 Tim. ii.
25f iiL 7 ; Tit. i. i ; Philem. 6. It is almost
e<iually characteristic, however, of the present
Epistle (chap. 1. 2, 3, S, ii, 20). Elsewhere it
occurs only in Hebrews (chap. x. 26). It means
more than simple ackfuntdeagmepti. It denotes
an intenser, more complete and intuitive know-
ledge than is expressed by the simple noun. At
times it gives the idea of the intimate reco^ition
which love takes of its object ' It is brmging
me,' says Culverwell, ' better acquainted wim a
thing I knew before ; a more exact viewing of an
object that I saw before afar off' (see Trench, sub
voce). This intimate ' knowledge ' is also defined
as the knowledge not only of God, but of Jesus
our Lord; because, as Calvin suggests, it is only
by knowing the latter that we can rightly know
the former ; cf. John xvii. 3. The phrase 'Jesus
our Lord ' occurs only here and in Rom. iv. 24.
This spiritual knowledge, therefore, which brings
us into loving acquaintance with God Himself
through Jesus our Lord is exhibited as the secret
of grace and peace, and is at once opposed here,
at the outset of the Epistle, to that unspiritual,
pretentious teaching which seems to have given
itself out as the perfect knowledge within the
circles addressed by Peter. It is possible that the
Apostle of the Circumcision had now to cope with
the same boastful, vapid, and unpractical specula-
tions which Paul contends with in his Epistles to
the Colossians and Timothy.

244 THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. 1. 3-1 1.

Chapter I. 3-1 1.

Growth in Spiritual Cltaracter recommended on tlic ground of tJu Endowment

of Grace, and as the Security agaimt Falling.

3 A CCORDING as* his "divine power hath given unto us" '^^^^
-t^. all things that pertain unto life and ^ godliness, through *^*fai^!l
the '^ knowledge of him that hath ''called us* to glory and frLffi."';

4 'virtue.* Whereby are given unto* us exceeding great and TkA,*^*'
•^precious ^promises,* that by these you might be' * partakers ^^S.**!!
of the divine nature, having 'escaped the * corruption that is ^s^'^^

5 in the world through* Must. And besides this,' giving" all ^v2!**5P^
*" diligence, "add to your faith ''virtue;" and to" virtue, /s^^tSt

6 ^knowledge; and to knowledge, ^temperance;" and to ^ch-uLx?"

7 temperance, ''patience;** and to patience," 'godliness; and <ai.^''^n '
to ** godliness, ' brotherly kindness ; " and to brotherly kind- Roi^m.?t:

8 ness, "charity." For if these things *'be in you, and "'abound, 50:0*1^^
they ' make you that ye shall neither be ^barren nor * unfruit- /sceil!fi?i

9 ful" in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But'* he«Kom.jdL^
that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off," and ««<^

Kl Vyy I X *

hath forgotten that he was "purged** from his *old sins. a,cir.u.to;

e Cj*L iu. 5;

10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence" to make coLii.19;

0 j^c vds* Oft

your ''calling and 'election ^sure: for if ye do these things, ^%3i-_

1 1 ye shall never ^ fall." For so an * entrance shall be * ministered ^ Actix«v.^
unto you * abundantly" into the everlasting kingdom of our ''rJJ[^***

Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. v. 3,4,tui.

as. ^▼^tj;

2 Cor. i. 6y vL 4, xii. i3 ; Col. i. n ;, i Thes. i. ^ ; 3 Thes. L 4, iii. 5 ; z Tim. vi. it ; s Tim. iii. xo ; Tic. iL a : Heb. x. 36^
xii. I ; Jas. i. ^. 4, v. ix ; Rev. i. 9, ii. 2, 3. xg, iii. 10, xiii. xo, xiv. xa. * See refs. at ver. 3. ^ / Rom. xii. zo ; i tueu
iv. 9 ; Heb. xiii. x ; i Pet. i. 92. u i Cor. xiii. x, 2, 3, 8, 13, etc v Acts iii. 6, iv. 37, xxviii. 7. wRom. ▼. so,

vi. X ; 3 Cor. iv. 15 :,Phil> iv. 17. etc jrMat. xxiv. 45, 47, xxv. ax, 2^ ; Lu. xii. X4, 4a, 44 ; Acts vi. 3, vii. zo^ 97, 3s* xviL
xs ; Rom. v. X9 ; Tit. i. 5 ; Heb. ii. 7, v. x, vii. 28, viii. 3 ; Jas. iii. 6^ iv. 4. y Mat. xiL ^6, xx. ^ 6 ; z llni. ▼. 13;

Tit. L xa : Jas. ii. ao. z Mat. xiii. 33 ; Mk. iv. X9 : x Cor. xiv. X4 ; Eph. v.* ti ; Tit. iii. 14 ; a Pet. i. 8 ; Jode la.

a Mk. i. 44 ; Lu. ii. 22^ v. X4 : Jo. ii. 6, iii. 25 ; Heb. i. 3. ^^ ^ Mat. xt. 2x ; Mk. xv. 44 ; Lu. x. Z3 ; a Cor. xiL 19;

Heb. i. X : Jude 4. ^ c Gal. ii 10 ; Epb* iv. 3 : x Tha. ii. X7 ; a Tim. ii. X5, etc dKota, xi. 99 ; i Cor. i. ad^

vii. ao ; Eph. i. x8, iv. x, 4 ; Phil. iii. 14 ; a Thes. i. xx : a 11m. i. 9 ; Heb^ iiL x. e Acts ix. X5 : Rom. Ix. zi^ xL 5,

7, a8 : X 'llies. i. 4. / Rom. xi. ao ; Eph. i. x8 ; Phil. iii. 14 ; Heb. iii. x. /^ Rom. xi. xx ; Jas. ii. to^ m. »•

A Acts xiii. 34 ; x Thes. i. 9, ii. x ; Heb. x. 19. > See rels. at ver. 5. k Col. iii. x6 ; x Tim. vi. 17 ; Tit. m. 6.

* rather. Seeing that, as in R, V. ^ or, hath gifted us with
^ rather, that called us

* through glory and virtue, or, by his own glory and virtue

* rather, he has given o or, the precious and very great promises
' rather, become ^ literally, in

^ rather. And for this very cause then, or, as the R, V. gives it, Yea, and for
this very cause •'° applying on your part, or, applying besides

" rather, furnish in your faith virtue " in the

^^ in the knowledge, self-control " in the self-control, patient endurance

^* in the patient endurance *® or, brotherly-love

^' or, in the brotherly-love, love

^® literally. These things subsisting in you, and multiplying, make you neither
idle nor yet unfruitful in relation to *" For

•® short-sighted, or, as the R, V* puts it, seeing only what is near

** having forgotten the cleansing

** Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence ^^ stumble

** rather, for thus shall be richly furnished you the entrance

Chap. I. 3-11] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

a45

The writer starts at once, and in a somewhat
abrupt and nervous fashion, with the great theme
of advance in the spiritual life. He regards this
as essential. He takes it for granted 3iat it can
be nuuie good only from the standpoint of £edth.
He exhibits in detail the process of such an ad-
▼mnce, and urges it by considerations drawn both
from the advantage which it carries with it and
the peril and loss involved in its neglect. We
can the better understand why he should insist
with such rugged force upon the necessity of a
constant increase in gracious attainment, and that
specially in relation to the knowledge oi God, if
we mre neht in supposing that he had in view a
spurious Kind of knowl^ge, or g^wsis^ which de-
Teloped in the next century into the heresy of the
•o-cmlled Gnostics or 'knowing ones.' For that
pouty pretended to reach a religious height from
wliich the3r looked down in proud pity upon the
ordinary life of faith and the ordmary require-
ments of a growth in grace. Peter uses woids as
lofty as the loftiest language of that party. He
speaks of the destiny of the Christian as nothing
short of participation in the Divine nature. He
describes in the strongest terms the grsmdeur and
afflaenoe of the gifts conferred bv Christ. But he
makes both the magnitude and the intention of
these gracious endowments the ground of his ex-
hortation to aim at spiritual advance, and the
reason why believers should practise all diligence.
Thooffh the style seems involved and the grammar
irregular, the paragraph is distinguished by the
rich elevation of its style, its dignihed march, and
the onlerly progress of its argument.

Ver. 3. Benng that his divine power has
giflod US. This verse and the next are attached
by the A. V. immediately to what precedes. They
are thus made part of the opening benediction.
TUs was once almost the acceptol connection.
It was retained by the great critic Lachmann, and
it appears to be favoured by the punctuation which
is acfopted in the most recent critical edition of
the original, namely, that by Westcott and Hort.
Alford, too, holds that the connection viith the
former verse should not be broken, as it is charac-
teristic of the writer of this Epistle *to dilate
further when the sense seems to have come to a
dose.' There is much, nevertheless, against this.
The inscriptions of the Epistles are short, com-
pact, and self-contained. That of the former
Epbtle of Peter is decidedly so. In a few of the
Epistles (Hebrews, James, i John, 3 John) there
is no introductory greeting, or at least no benedic-
tion. Where there is such, it closes the inscrip-
tion. Even in the case of the Epistle to the
Galatians, which might seem to be an exception
to the general form, the longer inscription is con-
cluded bgr a doxology. This being the general
model ot the inscriptions, it is better to connect
vers. 3 and 4 with what follows. They thus lay
the deep foundation for the exhortation, which
follows m ver. 5. That foundation is the liberal
grant of grace which believers have received h'om
Him in whom they believe. The grant, too, is
described at some length, as regards its source, its
extent, the means of its attamment, the object
with which it is bestowed. So Bengel conceives
that in the present paragraph we have the truth
which b enshrined in the Master's parable of the
Virgins (Matt xxv.) expounded without the para-
bola form, the 3d and 4th verses dealing with
the>fow^, that is to say, with that which is simply

conferred by God without action on our side, and
the subsequent verses dealing with the oil, that is
to say, all that which we ounelves have to contri-
bute in order to maintain, extend, and utilize the
flame. The A. V., therefore, somewhat misses
the point by its ' according as/ which gives the
idea of a standard to which our efforts are to con-
form. What is intended is neither this, nor a
mere explanation such as is supposed by some \e,g.
Bengel, Mason) on the analogy of 2 Cor. v. 20,
but the emphatic statement of a fact, which is
thrown into the strongest relief at the outset.
They had received a great endowment of grace,
and this at once made them capable of acting out
the lofty pattern of character immediately depicted,
and laid them under obligation to do. Hence the
opening phrase should be rendered 'considering
that,' 'forasmuch as,' or (with the R. V.) 'seeing
that.* The verb rendered 'given* in the A. V. is
not the ordinary verb, but a richer form which
may be translated 'gift* or 'grant.' It occurs
only once again in the N. T., namely of Pilate's
|ra;f/ of the body of Jesus to Joseph (Mark xv. 45).
The bestowal of this endowment of grace is
ascribed to ' His Divine power.* Whose ? GotTs,
say some; Christ's, say others; while a third
party say it is the power of God and Jesus in the
oneness of their nature and activity. On the
whole, the second view (which is that of Calvin,
Huther, etc. ) seems most likely. It would be
somewhat superfluous to describe the power as
Divine^ if the Subject in view were God the Father.
It is not superfluous, if the Subject in view is that
'Jesus our Lord ' who was ' crucified in weakness '
but also ' raised in power,* and who puts forth the
'power of His resurrection* (Phil. iii. 10) in the
imparting of all needful gifts to His servants.
This epithet 'Divine,* indeed, occurs only twice
again m the N. T., namely in ver. 4 and in Acts
xvil 29. The power of Christ which works in
behalf of Christians, secures for them this wealth
of spiritual privilege only because it is a power of
a Divine order. — with adl things pertaining to
life and godlineaa. The sense might perhaps be
more adequately given thus — ' with all things, to
wit all those pertaining to life and godliness.'
The grant is represented as a universal one, so far
as these particular objects are concerned. By
' life and godliness * we are not to understand
man's temporal interest on the one hand and his
spiritual interest on the other. Both terms refer
to the latter interest. As the subjoined statement
shows, ' life ' has here the wide sense of life truly
so called, the eternal life which Christ (John xvii. 3)
identifies with the knowledge of the only true God
and Him whom He sent. The term for ' godli-
ness ' is one in which the original idea is that of
reverence, or the fear of God. It is of somewhat
peculiar usage in the N. T., being found nowhere
but in the Pastoral Epistles (i Tim. ii. 2, iii. 16,
iv. 7, 8, etc.), and on the lips of Peter (Acts iii. 12 ;
2 Pet. i. 3, 6, 7, iiu ii). It has a distinctively
Old Testament tone. The two words, therefore,
express two distinct things, the former denoting
the new, inward condition of the believer, the
latter the attitude toward God which corresponds
with that condition. It is to be noticed, however,
that what Peter describes believers to be gifted
with is not the life and godliness themselves, but
all things pertaining to these. The new ' life '
itself is also a Divine gift. But that ' life ' admits
of being regarded under the aspect of a thing

246

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. L 5-1 1.

appropriated and used by the recipient of it, as
well as a thing communicated by grace. It is with
the latter that Peter deals at present. Taking it for
granted that the gift of life is there, he will have it
understood that this is not to lie dormant, because
the Divine power of Christ has furnished with the
new life itself also all that is serviceable to our
living it out for ourselves, and giving effect to it
in a type of conduct ruled by the fear of God. —
through the knowledge of him who called na
through glory and virtae. The same intense
term for * knowledge ' is used here as in ver. 2.
The calling is given as belonging entirely to the
past ('called,* not 'hath called '), the first definite
introduction into Christ's kingdom being in view.
The Person who * called us * is in all probability
God; although some {e.g. Schott) take Christ to be
intended in the present instance, holding that at
least occasionally, as in Rom. i. 6, the usual
N. T. practice of ascribing the * call ' to Goil the
Father is dcp.irted from. The A. V. is entirely
in error in rendering the last clause * to glory and
virtue.' In this it has followed the ' unto ' of the
Genevan ; Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Rhemish
rightly give *by.' Othen^'ise the reading varies
between two forms which have much the same
sense, viz. 'through glory and virtue,' and 'by
hb own glory and virtue.' By the 'glory* we
may understand the sum of God*s revealed
perfections. As to the term 'virtue,' see on
I Pet. ii. 9, where it is used to express the
txceUtncies of God. It occurs again m ver. 5
of this chapter, and in the N. T. its use is con-
fined to the writings of Peter, with the single
Pauline exception of Phil. iv. 8. In the Classics
it denotes excellence, whether physical or mental.
In the Greek Version of the O. T. it represents
the Hebrew term for the majesty (Hab. iii. 3 ;
Zech. vi. 13, etc.) and the praise (Isa. xlii. 8) of
God. Here the combined terms appear to
describe the Divine perfections both as revealed
and as efficient. What is meant, therefore, is that
this grant of 'all things serviceable for life and
godliness,* which Christ's Divine power has
secured for us, becomes actually ours only as we
know the God whom Christ has declared, and
who called us out of darkness by revealing His
own gracious perfections and making them efncient
in our cose. There is a measure of resemblance
to I Pet. i. 21, where it is said to be /^ Christ
that we believe in God.

Ver. 4. Whereby he has gifted us. The
verb is to be put thus, as already in ver. 3, rather
than in the passive form, 'are given,' as the A V.
renders it. The * whereby ' may refer either to
the ' all things ' or to the 'glory and virtue,' more
probably to me latter. The Person said here to
' gift us ' is, according to some, the Christ whose
Divine power has been already described ^^ gifting;
according to others (and this is on the whole more
likely), it is the Go<l who 'called us.' — with
the preoiouB and exceedingly great promiara.
What are we to understand by these ? Some say
the promises recorded in the O.T. Others say
the promises uttered by Christ Himself, or more
generally those promises about His Second Advent
and the end of the world which are given in the
N. T., and to which also reference is supposed to
be made in chap. iii. 13. The term 'promise,*
however, means at times not the verbal promise
itnelf, but its fulfilment (comp. Luke xxiv. 49 ;
Heb. ix. 15, X. 36, xi. 13, 39). This sense is

supported here, too, by the particular word mcd
(occurring only once again m the whole N. T.,
viz. in chap. iii. 13), which differs firom the
ordinary term in being of a more concrete form.
The 'promises' in view, therefore, may be
especially the two all inclusive fulfilments of God's
engagements, namely, the Advent of Messiah
(comp. Luke i. 67-75), ^^^ ^^ fi^ ^^ ^^ Spirit
(which is described as ' the promise of the Father,*
Acts i. 4). And these are defined as ' exceeding
great and precious,* or rather, in accordance with
what is on the whole the better supported read-
ing, as ' precious and exceeding (or very) great'
These two epithets combined exhibit tbe objects
as at once indisputably real, and of the highest
possible magnitude. The ' precious ' (an epithet
which meets us in more than one form also m the
First Epistle, i. 7, 19, ii. 7) seems here to point
to the tact that these ' promises ' are more than
pleasing words, and have been found indeed to be
things tangible and of the most substantial worth.
The clause as a whole, therefore, bears that by
means of those same revealed and efficient perfec-
tions by which He called us, Grod has put us in
actual possession of those incalculable bestowals
of grace which are identified with the Coming of
Christ and the gift of the Spirit— in order ttiAft
through theee ye might beoome paTtaketi ef
the divine nature. Some take the 'throu^
these ' to refer to the 'all things pertaining to hie
and godliness;' others connect it immediately
with the ' glory and virtue.' It is most natoially
referred, however, to the immediately preceding
'promises.' The sentence, therefore, states the
object which God has had in view in gifting us
with the endowments of grace which are bound
up with the Coming of the promised Christ, and
the outpouring of the promised Spirit His
object was tliat through these (for only through
these was it possible) the servants of the floh
might have a new life and a new destiny. The
verb is so- put (' might become,' rather than either
'might be^^ as in A. V., or * may become,' as in
R. V.) as to imply that the participation in view
is not a thing merely of the niture, but realized so
far in the present. The expression given to the
life and destiny themselves is as singular as it is
profound — ' partakers of the (or perhaps 0) EKvioe
nature.' This phrase ' Divine nature ' is peculiar
to the present passage. It is not to l)e regarded
as a mere synonym for 'justification,' 'regenera-
tion,' or the ' mystical union.' On the other hand,
it is not quite the same as the phrase ' tlie being
of God.' As the phrase the 'nature of beasts
(comp. Jas. iii. 7) denotes the sum of all the
qualities characteristic of the brute creatton,
strength, fierceness, etc ; and the phrase ' hnman
nature ' denotes the sum of the oualities distincttve
of man, so the ' Divine nature denotes the sura
of the qualities, holiness, etc., which belong to
God. What is meant, therefore, b a Divine
order of moral nature, an inward life of a God-
like constitution, participation in qualities which
are in God, and which may be in us so far as His
Spirit is in us. Not that the believer is deified, as
some of the Fathers ventured to say and Mystics
have at times vainly dreamed, nor that there is
any essential identity between the human nature
and the Divine ; but that God, who created us at
first in His own image, designs through the
Incarnation of His Son to make us like mmsdt,
AS children may be like a father, putting on us

Chap. I. 3-1 1.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

'cbe new man, which after God is created in

ngfateoosDOB and true holinesi' (Eph. iv. 24;

oomp. also John i. 12).— haTing escaped the

csomiptkm that is in the world in lust Luther,

^ith some others, translates this ' if ye escape,' as

if it cxppeascd a condition on which participation

its the Divine nature depended. It rather states,

tsowererv simply the other side of the Divine

iotentioQy and might be rendered 'escaping,' or,

* when ye escape. The verb transhited 'escaped'

occurs only here and in chap, it 18, 2a It

implies a complete rescue, and * this is mentioned, '

as Bengel lastly observes, ' not so much as a dutv

towards, bat as a blessing from, God, which

accompanies our communion with Him.' Tlie

tcnn * corruption,' or ' destruction,* is one which

occurs twice again in this Epistle (diap. ii. 12, 19 ;

for the idea comp. also i Pet i 4, 10, 23, iii. 4).

Ontside this Epistle it is used only by Paul

(Rom. viii. 21 ; I Cor. xv. 45, 50 ; Gal. vi. 8 ;

Col. it 22). It denotes the destroying, blighting:

principle of sin ; which also is said to have the

* world * for its seat or sphere of operation, and

Most' (on which see on i Pet i. 14) for the

dement in which it moves, or perhaps, as the

R. V. prefers, the instrument fy which it works.

Bcngd notices the contrast between the esca^

and ibtpariMt^, and between the c^nipiion in

tke wmdin lust and the Divine nature,
Ver. 5. And for this Y«ry oanie then. The

A. V. erroneously renders 'and beside this.'

The fomnila does not introduce something which

tt to be added to the former statement, but makes

the former statement the ground for what b next

to be said. The R. V. renders it well by ' yea,

and for this very cause.'— ^plying on your side

an diliCMioe. The idea of ' diligence ' is con-
veyed by the term which means also 'zeal,' and

is rendered 'earnest care' in 2 Cor. viii. 16.

The Terln which is inadequately represented by

the ' giving ' of the A.V., is a rare compound

form, of which this is the only New Testament

instance. It is taken by some to mean ' edging

in,' or 'bringing in modestly' (Bengel) ; by

others^ 'bringing in on the other hand (Wics-

inper, etc). The idea, however, seems to be that

01 'contributing on ^our side' (Huther, etc.),

' cootributing what might seem to be superseded '

(Hofauuin), or 'applying besides' (Scott). In

the Classics it expresses the bringing in of some-
thing new or additional^ as e,g, the introduction

of a new bill to amend an old law. Here it

introduces what the readers have to do on their

skle, in response to, and in virtue of, that which

Christ has done on His side. The fact that

Christ's Divine power had so richly endowed

them, and that God had privileged them to see

the accomplished realities whioi had been tlie

safaj^ts of His promises, was not to be made an

aignment for anything else than strenuous effort

00 their part. It was to be the reason and motive

for applying themselves with sedulous care to

aims and exertions which the Divine gift might

seem to have rendered unnecessary. 'Rest not

satisfied, then, with a mere n^ative exertion, or

with any low, fragmentary measure of accomplisli-

ment, Imt, co-operating to the full extent of tlie

Divine purpose, go on unto perfection ' (Lillic).

— Aimiah in yonr faith virtne. The A. V. is

entirelv at fiiult with its rendering, ' add to your

faith vurtne,' in which also it unhappily followed

Boa, and fonook the earlier English Versions,

247

Wydiffe and the Rhemish give 'minister ye in
your faith, virtue ; * Tyndale and Cranmer, ' in
your faith minister virtue ; ' the Genevan, how-
ever, has 'join moreover virtue with your faith.'
The verb itself is a compound form of the one
rendered 'give* by the A. V. in i Pet. iv. 11 ;
which see. The sense is that of supf lying or
furnishing besides. It occurs again in ver. 1 1,
and in 2 Cor. ix. 10 ; GaL iii. 5 ; Col. ii. 19.
In the New Testament it has lost the technical
sense of the simple verb, namely, that of bearing
the expense of a chorus for the dramatic exhibi-
tions, and is used in the sense of furnishing
generally, not in the special sense of discharging
office. In harmony with its original idea of
performing an act of munificence, it is usually
applied to what God furnishes. Here it is
applied to what man has himself to furnish in
order to make his life correspond, in the free
development of the spiritual character, to the
liberal endowment of Divine grace. Followed
here, too, by the preposition 'in,' it expresses
something different from the mere addition of one
thing to another. It represents this development
of the spiritual character to which the gift of grace
pledges the believer as an internal process, an
mcrease by growth, not by external junction or
attachment, each new grace springing out of,
attempting and perfecting, the other. The life
itself is e3cnibited as a unity ; all its elements and
possibilities being already contained in frith. It
IS a unity, however, intended to grow up out of
this root of faith, and unfold itself into all the
sevenfold breadth of the varied excellencies of
the Christian character. The 'faith' itself,
therefore, is taken as already existent. They are
not charged to supply it. But having it, they are
charged to furnish along with it, and as its proper
issue, seven personal graces. The several ele-
ments in the ideal spiritual character are given
in pairs, as if each lay already implicit in its
immediate predecessor, and belonged to its life
and genius. The first thing thus enjoined is
* virtue,* — a word very sparingly used in the New
Testament. It is the same term as is applied to
God in ver. 3. It occurs also in i Pet. ii. 9
(which see), and outside the Epistles of Peter it is
found onlv once, viz. Phil. iv. 18. Here it can
scarcely have the sense of our English word
' virtue,' or moral excellence, which would take
from the precision of the statement, and reduce it
to the vague advice to add to virtue so many other
virtues. As in ver. 3 it expressed not mere
excellence of character in itself, but the efficiency
of such excellence, so here it conveys the definite
idea of mighty energy^ or moral courage-^'^\xBX
Ben^el ^ptly terms ' a strenuous tone and vigour
of mmd.' This is to be furnished in and with our
faith, or in the exercise of our faith ; so that our
faith shall not be an uncertain, feeble, and
timorous thing, but a manly and powerful thing
with a touch of heroism in it. — and in the
virtne knowledge. The simple term for ' know-
ledge' is used here, not the intense, compound
form used in vers. 2, 3, and a^n at ver. o. It
is the same word as is used in i Pet. iii. 7, and
means here, as there, not the knowledge of
doctrine, but the knowledge which consists m the
recognition of what is dutiful and appropriate in
conduct. This practical knowledge is to accom-
pany the exercise of the ' virtue,' or moral heroism
of faith, lest it run into unregulated zeal, incon-

248

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. L 3-11.

sidcratc obstinacy, or presamptuons daring.
Peter's recollections of bis own bold protestations,
and of tbe hardy venturesomeness which foiled
him so sadly at the pinch in the ' high priest*s
palace' (Matt xxvL 58, 69-75), would give a
special pungency to this article in his counsels.
This faculty of * understanding what the will of
the Lord is ' (Eph. v. 17), which is necessary to
qualify and soften the ' virtue,' has also its own
roots in the same. ' An evangelical fortitude is
favourable to the enlargement of evangelical
knowledge ; which, in its turn, is essential to the
regulation and safe exercise of fortitude' (Lillie).
So it forms an essential step in the progress
towards that full * knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ ' which b represented in ver. 8 as the gnal
of all.

Ver. 6. And in the knowledge self controL
This is the grace which appears also as the
'temperance* of which Paul reasoned before
Felix (Acts xxiv. 25), and as the last thing
notice<1 in Paul's enumeration of the fruits of the
Spirit (Gal. v. 23). The noun occurs onlv in these
three cases. It denotes 'temperance in the
largest sense of self-government in all things.
This virtue of self-control is so related to ' know-
ledge,' that the one should not be in exercise apart
from the other. Extravagance is the child of
ignorance. A right estimate of oneself and
mastery over oneself should be fostered by the
knowledge which consists in the practical recog-
nition ofduty ; and this latter should be help^
by the former. — and in the eelf-oontxol patient
endurance. The grace which is rendered

* patience ' both in the A. V. and in the R. V.
is of a stronger and more positive character than
the familiar English term, and might be more
fitly translated patient (or, persevering) endurance.
It is a quality never ascribed to God Himself.
Where He is spoken of as the ' God of patience,'
it b in the sense of the Giver of patience to others
(Rom. XV. 5). In the New Testament it seems
always to carry with it the idea of manliness,
expressing not the mere bearing of trials, but tlic
courageous, persevering endurance of them — ' the
brave patience with which the Christian contends
against the various hindrances, persecutions, and
temptations that befall him in his conflict with
the inward and outward world ' (see Ellicott on
I Thcss. i. 3). So, while the A. V. generally renders
it 'patience,' it grasps at times the lar^^er sense,
translating it, /.,^., by ' enduring ' in 2 Cor. i. 6,
by * patient waiting * in 2 Thess. iii. 5, and by

* patient continuance ' in Rom. ii. 7. It occupies
a great place in the New Testament. Christ
Himself gives it as the grace in which the soul
itself is to be won (Luke xxi. 19). James (chap,
i. 3, 4) speaks of it as the grace which, when it is
allowed its perfect work, makes believers them-
selves perfect. It is specially frequent in the
Pauline Epbtles and the Apocalypse ; in which
latter it appears and reappears at marked turning-
points (Rev. i. 9, ii. 2, 3, iii. 10, xiii. 10, xiv. 12).
In coupling it here with self-control, Peter gives
the Christian version of the Stoic summary of
morality. As the latter amounted to ' bear and
forbear,' the former says 'forbear and bear.'
Chrbtian self-control b to be practised in and
along with the spirit of patient endurance, which
saves it from harshness and fitfulness, confirms it
into constancy, and mellows it into tenderness and
humility. Like the ' meekness ' and ' temperance'

which stand side by side among the fruits of the
Spirit (Gal. V. 23), these two are sister graces,
not to \x. separated, but enriching each other. —
and in the patient endurance godIi]iei& The
fame term b used for ' godliness ' here as in yer. 3 ;
see note there. It b to be furnished in ov
practice of endurance, in order to secure the latter
from hardening into a stoical, self-oentred sub-
mission, and to make it the purer constancy
which draws its inspiration from reverent regaid
for God and things Divine.

Ver. 7. And in the godlinea brothedy-Iova.
See note on I Pet i. 22. In the former Epistle
the ^ce of brotherly-love has a still more
pronunent place assigned to it ( I Pet. i. 22, 23,
li. 17, iii. 18, iv. 8). Here it is the complement
to ' godliness,' keeping it in living connection with
what b due to our brethren, and saving bur regard
for God and His claims from becoming an apology
for neglecting Hb children and their interests,
—and in the farotheily-love lore. Thb b not a
repetition of the exhortation to an intense degree
and unfettered exercise of love to the brethren,
which b given in I Pet. i. 22. Our love, it b
meant, strongly as it should beat within the
Christian household, ought not to be confined to
that, but should enlarge itself into a catholic
interest in all men. So Paul chaiges the
Thessalonians to 'abound in love tO¥rard the
brethren, and toward all men ' (i Thess. iii 12).
— Thb ' rosary and conjugation of the Chrbtian
virtues,' as it b called by Jeremy Taylor, diftn
lx)th in its constituents and in its arrai^gement
from Paul's delineation of the spiritual diAracter
in Gal. v. 22, 23. The one begins where tbe
other ends. With Paul, love stands at the head,
and naturally so. For Paul b drawing a picture
of what the spiritual character b in contrast with
the ' works of the flesh ' and in our relations to
our fellow-men. Hence he b^ins with love as
the spring of all other graces in our intercouise
with our fellows, and introduces faith in the centre
of the Ibt, and in the aspect of fiaithfnlness in our
dealings with others. Here Peter ij engaged with
the growth of the spiritual character, and there-
fore begins with faith in Christ as the foundation
of all. Elsewhere Paul varies the order, giving
love, e.g,^ the first place in Rom. xii 9-21,
Phil. i. 9 ; and the last place in I Cor. xiii. 13,
Col. iii. 12-14. It is hazardous, however, to
make more than this of the particular arraitfe-
ment adopted here. There b no doubt a logical
order in the list, and it is possible that it b laid
out, as b supposed, e,g,^ by Canon Cook, so that
we get first those graces (virtue, knowledge^
temperance, patience) which 'form the Christian
character viewed in itself,' and then those which
'mark the follower of Christ (i) as a servant of
God, and (2) as a member of the brotherhood of
the Church of Christ, and (3) as belonging to the
larger brotherhood of all mankind.' Lut it ii
enough to notice how these graces are made to
blend into each other, each l^ng in the other
' like adjoining colours of the raintxiw, — mingled
with it, and exhibited along with it ' (lillie). It
is also worth observing that all the graces which
are presented together in living union and inter-
dependence here, are separately expotmded wiUi
more or less fulness in the First Epistle ; cf. i 6^
13* Ht I5» 16, 22, ii. II, 21, iii. 4, 8, 15, iv. 8.

Ver. 8. For theee things ■uhriatfng to yon
and omltiplying. The A. V. throws thb into

Ohap. I. 3-n.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

249

tlie hypothetical form — * if these things,' etc The
'^writer rather speaks of the graces as already in
t.be readers^ and thus gives both greater courtesy
suxi greater force to his recommendation. The
suggestive courtesy of the statement appears also
mn the phrase which the A. V. renders ' be in you/
smd the R. V. ' are vours,' but which means rather
* subsisting for you. The word selected there is
not the simple verb ' to be,' but another which
impliet not only existence but continuous exist-
ence, and looks at the possession of graces as
m thing characterizing the readers, not merely
now, but in their original spiritual condition.
It is the phrase which is used, e,g., in Phil.
iL 6 of Christ as ' being in the form of God ; '
in Acts viL 53, of Stephen ' being full of the Holy
Ghost ; ' in I Cor. xiii. 3, of ' all my goods ; ' in
Matt. xix. 21, 'sell all that thou heist,' In these
and similar cases, it implies rightful, settled
possession, and looks back from the present
moment to the antecedent condition of the
subjects. The A. V. also misses the point of the
other participle, the idea of which is not that of
abaundingy but rather that of increasing or multi'
piying (cf. Rom. v. 20, vi. I ; 2 Thess. i. 3).
What is taken for granted, therefore, is not that
these graces are in these believers in profusion, or
in larger measure than in others, but that, being
in them, they are steadily growing and expanding,
and exhibiting all the evidence of vitality. — make
yoo not idle nor yet nnfroitfaL The ' make '
is here expressed by a term which means to
establish or constitute. The two adjectives are
dealt with by the A. V. as if they meant the same
thing. There is a clear distinction, however,
between them. The latter means 'unfruitful.'
The former, however, means not 'barren' but
(as Cranmer, Tyndale, and the Genevan render
it) ' idle.* It is applied, e.g.^ to the ' idle word *
(Matt. xii. 36) ; to the useless idlers in the market-
place (Matt. XX. 3, 6, — a parable which may
nave been in Peter's mind when he penned the
passage) ; to the younger widows who are do-
schliel as ' itile^ wandering about from house to
house * (i Tim. v. 13). The idea, therefore, is that
where these graces are one's permanent inward
property, at his command, and growing from
strength to strength like things that live, they put
him m a position, or create in him a constitution,
under which it cannot be that he shall prove
himself either a useless trifler doing no honest
work, or an unprofitable servant effecting what is
of no worth even when he gives himself to action.
— nnto the knowledge of onr Lord JesuB Christ.
The A. V. is again astray in rendering * in the
knowledge,' etc. This ' knowledge ' (again with
the intense sense of /z///, mature knowledge, as in
vers. 2, 3) is represented not as the thing in which
they are to be * not idle nor yet unfruitful,' but as
that with a view to which all else is enjoined, —
the goal toward which all else is meant to carry
us. The sevenfold symmetry of the spiritual
character, and the furnishing forth of all these
varied graces, are recommended not as ends to
themselves, but as means toward the higher end
of an ever enlarging, and at last perfect, know-
ledge of Christ l^iimself. The fact that these
graces minister to so blessed a result is one great
reason why we should set ourselves to cultivate
them with 'all diligence.' They require for their
cultivation both the Divine endowment of 'all
things serviceable to life and godliness,' and

sedulous application on our side. But the object
which is set before us is worth all the expenditurci
both human and Divine. The dependence ot
knowledge upon holiness, or of vision upon
purity, which is stated in the most absolute form
m such passages as Matt. v. S, Heb. xii. 14, and
in relation to practical obedience to God's will in
John vii. 17, is presented here in connection
specially with the need of completeness in the
Christian character and fruitfulness in the Christian
life. So, in Col. i. 10, Paul speaks of being
* fruitful in every good work, and increasing in
the knowledge of God. '

Ver. 9. For he who lacketh thefe things.
This is one of two instances in which the A. V.
strangely mistranslates the Greek causal particle
'for' as 'but.' The other is I Pet. iv. 15. In
Rom. v. 7 it erroneously renders the same causal
particle by * yet. ' In the present case it has followed
Wyclifie, Tyndale, and Cranmer, who all have
'but,' rather than the Genevan and Rhemish,
which give 'for.' It thus entirely misconceives
Peter's meaning. He is not simply setting one
thing over agamst another, but is adducing a
second reason for the course which he recom-
mends. The reasoning may be understood in
more than one way. It may be taken broadly
thus — these graces are to be cultivated ; for, if we
have them not, we become blind, and ' sink back
into a want of power to perceive even the
elementary truths of the kingdom of God '
(Plumptre). Or it may be put thus, in immediate
relation to the nearest idea, — these graces are to
be cultivated ; for, wanting them, we want the
capacity for this perfect * knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ.' A different expression also is given
now to the idea oi possession. Instead of saying,
as before, 'he for whom these things do not
subsist,^ another phrase is used which runs
literally, * he to whom these things are not present J*
Thus the idea of a possession habitual, and settled
enough to warrant its beingspokcn of as belonging
to the person's past as well as his present, gives
place to that of a possession which, however it
may have been with his past, at least cannot be
affirmed of his present. Wherever this is the
case with the man as he now is, there that state
has entered which is next dcscril>ed. — is blind,
being near-sighted. As the A. V. renders this
clause 'is blind, and cannot see afar off,' the
latter epithet may seem at first only to repeat, in
a weaker and almost contradictory form, what is
already expressed by the former. Hence it has
been attempted in various ways to make a sharp
distinction between the two terms. The latter
(which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament)
has l)een rendered, e.g., ' groping ' (so substantially
the Vulgate, Tyndale, Erasmus, Luther, Calvin,
etc.) — a sense, however, which cannot be made
good. It has also been rendered * shutting his
eyes ' (Stephens, Dietlein, etc.) ; and the idea has
thus been supposed to be this — ' he is blind, and
that by his own fault, wilfully shutting his eyes.'
The word, however, seems to describe not one
who voluntarily shuts his eyes (although the R. V.
gives * closing his eyes ' in the margin), but one
who blinks, or contracts the eyelids in order
to see, one who is short-sighted or dim-sighted.
Thus the second epithet defines the first. He is
'blind,' not seeing when he thinks he sees, not
seeing certain things as he ought to see them.
And he is this not in the sense of being * blind *

2S0

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Ckap. L 3-if.

to all things, but in the sense of being ' near-
sighted/ seeing things in false magnitudes, having
nn eye for things present and at hand, but none
for the distant realities of the eternal world. The
rendering of the A. V., therefore (which follows
the Genevan), expresses the correct idea ; which
the R, V. (in its text) gives more clearly as ' seeing
only what is near.' With what is said here of
blindness compare such passages as John ix. 41 ;
Rom. ii. 19 ; i Cor. viii. 2 ; Rev. iii. 17 ; and
especially i John ii. 9-1 1.— having forgotten the
purification of his sins of old. The sins referred
to are the sins of the man's own former heathen
life, and the purification is that which covered the
whole sin of his past once for all when he first
received God's grace in Christ. The idea of a
purification occupies a prominent place in the
Epistle to the Hebrews (cf. chap. i. 3, ix. 14, 22,
23, X. 2). There not only sins are said to be
'purified,' but also the conscience, the heart, the
heavenly things, the copies of the heavenly things,
the flesh. The purification is effected by the
blood of Christ, and its result is not mere moral
purity, but the removal of guilt, or of the sense
and conscience of sin. So here the ' sins of old '
are said to have been purified in the sense of
having had the uncleanness belonging to them
clean^ away, or their guilt removed. The phrase
carries us back to the Old Testament custom of
sprinkling blood on objects which had become
oefiled, and so relieving them of the disadvantages
of their ceremonial uncleanness. The 'having
forgotten ' is expressed in a way of which we have
no other instance in the New Testament, but
which resembles the phrase rendered 'call to
lemembrance' in 2 Tim. i. 5. It means literally
'having taken (or, ifuurred) forgetfulness,* It
gives a graver character to the condition, repre-
senting it perhaps as one which is voluntarily
incurred or willingly suffered, or, it may be, as
one which is inevitable where there is neglect to
cultivate grace. The sentence is introduced as a
further explanation of the blindness. The man
is ' blind,' in the sense of having eyes only for what
is near and tangible, as the consequence or
penalty of his forgetting the great change effected
m the past, and living as if he had never been the
subject of such grace.

Ver. 10. Wherefore, brethren, be the more
diligent to make yonr calling and election sure.
The ' wherefore the rather^ of the A. V. suggests
that the course now to be recommended is one to
he preferred to some other course dealt with in
the context. This is a legitimate interpretation,
the Greek word meaning either * rather ' or
* more,* and being used {e.^, i Cor. v. 2) in order
to put a contrast or opposition. It is adopted, too,
by not a few interpreters. »Some construe the
idea thus — instead of trying to reach * knowledge '
apart from the practice of Christian grace, rather
be diligent, etc. (Dietlein). Others put it so —
instead of forgetting the purification of your old
sins, rather be diligent, etc. (Hofmann). Most,
however, take the term in the sense of 'more,*
connect the sentence immediately with what has
been stated in vers. 8, 9, and regard it as taking
up anew the exhortation of ver. 5, and urging it
for these additional reasons with greater force.
The meaning then is = the case being as it has
been explained in vers. 8, 9, let these grave con-
siderations of what is to be gained by the one
course and what is to be lost by the other, make

you all the more diligent, etc This is the one
mstance of the use of the address ' brethren ' in
the Epbtles of Peter. In I Pet. ii. If, iv. 12,
and in 2 Pet. iii. I, 8, 14, I7, we get 'beloved.'
But what is meant b^ making the calling and
election sure? Many mterpreters give the theo-
logical sense to both the nouns. So the ' calling '
as the act of grace, which takes effect in time, is
distinguished from the ' election ' as the eternal act
or counsel of the Divine Mind. Or the former ii
defined as that by which we are called in time to
the kingdom of grace, and the latter as that by
which we are chosen in eternity for the kingdom
of glory. Thus the sentence is understood to be
an exhortation to make that sure on our side
which God has made sure on His (Besser) ; or, to
' confirm the inference as drawn especially by our-
selves from the appearance to the reality . . .
from a good life to a gracious condition ' (LiUie) ;
or, to make it clear that we 'have not been
called in vain, on the contrary that we have been
elected ' (Calvin). But the fact that the 'election '
is named after the ' calling,' and the awkwardness
of speaking of the immutable decree of God as
capable of being made sure by us, indicate that
what is in view here is noi the etemid election,
but the historical, — ^that is to say, the actual
separation of the readers from their old life, and
their introduction into the kii^om of Christ.
So it is taken by many of the best expositors,
including Grotius, Huther, Hofmann, Schott,
Mason, Lumby. Those acts of God*s grace which
called them through the preaching of His Son's
Gospel, and took them out of the world of
heathenism, were to be made ' sure ' (the adjective
is the same as in ver. 19 ; Heb. iii. 6^ 14), or
secure, by following them up by diligent atten-
tion to all the virtues into which thev had
ushered the readers.-— for, doing these tmngB,
ye shall never stumble. The verb which the
A. V. renders ' fall ' is the same which it renders
' offend ' in Jas. ii. 10, iii. 2, and ' stumble * in
Rom. xi. 1 1. It is true, therefore, that it indicates
a 'step short of falling' (Plumptre). It is so
represented in Paul's question, ' Have they
sVdmWed that they should /alt f (Rom. xl ll);
and James (iii. 2) sjieaks of a stumbling or
offending which is not hopeless. Ilere^ however,
it manifestly refers to the final issue of a forfeiture
of salvation (Hofmann, Huther, etc). By the
' these things ' we may understand again, as in
ver. 8, the graces dealt with in the original
exhortation. Not a few, however, take the
phrase to refer simply to the duty last mentioocd,
viz. the making the calling and election sure.
The plural form is then explained as due to the
fact that the writer regards this ' making sure ' as
a ' many-sided act ' (Dietlein), — as ' not a single
act, but multiform ' (Mason).

Ver. II. For so uiall be richly Aunlshed for
you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Another
reason, and one rising far superior to the former,
for the careful cultivation of these graces. 'A
good life can never be a failure. It may be a life
of many storms ; but it is not possible that it
should end in shipwreck ' (LilUe). That was the
import of the former statement. ' Nay more^' it
is now added, ' such a life shall have a gtorkyos
ending.' The future of which the believer is heir
is here designated a ' kingdom,' In First Peter it
is an ' inheritance.' Nowhere else in the N. T. if

'Hap, I. 12-21.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

'kioffdom * described by this adjective, which
A. V. translates ' cYerlasting.' As the word

JDS much more than simply the mver'ending
^t^ioo^ it includes that), the R. V. more
^idoosl^ renders it •eternal.* The A. V.
5tfaer gives *aH entrance,' where Peter speaks

*^ entrance,' — the well-understood entrance
taich formed the ol)ject of every Christian's hope.
'laterve also the balance which is maintained (the
£vb bdng the same) between what we are to/i/r-
isk in our faith (ver. 5), and what is to htfitmished
» iHk It is not the mere fact that the entrance is
I icaefve for us that is asserted here, but the kind
r entrance which is secured by a life of growing
aciousness. Neither is it exactly the doctrine of
!Srccs of future blessedness that is touched on
rre. It is supposed by many that the truth
nick here is that which appears in such passages
Mmtt X. 15, Luke vi. 58, xii. 47, John xiv. 2,
Cor. ix. 6, Gal. vi. S, via. that 'according to
ir diffkrent degrees • of improvement of God*s
mce bere, will 1^ our dijfertnt degrees of participa-
Ml in His everlasting f^kry hereafter ' (Words-
nrth ; see also Bishop Bull's Sermon, vii. vol. L
168, as there referred to). But what is

251

immediately dealt with here is not the eternal
blessedness itself, but the entrance or admission
into it. Of this it is said that it shall be given
'richly,' — a term which is to be taken in its
ordinary sense, and not to be paraphrased into
' certainly ' (Schott), or ' in more than one wav,'
or * promptly,' etc The entrance is to l)e of a
kind the reverse of the * saved, yet so as by fire *
(i Cor. iii. 15). It will be liberally granted,
joyously accomplished, richly attended — "so that
at any time,' as Bengel well expounds it, ' not as
if escaping from shipwreck, or from fire, but in a
sort of triumph, you may enter in with an un-
stumbling step, and take delight in things past,
present, and to come.' Milton s 14th Sonnet has
oeen compared with this. See specially the lines
in which he speaks thus of the ' works and alms
and all thy good endeavour ' of the deceased
friend : —

' Love led them on ; and Faith, who knew them best.

Thy handmaids, clad them o'er with purple beams
And amre wingn that up they flew so dresr.

And spake the truth of ihee on glorious themes
Before the judge ; who thenceforth bid thee rest.

And driuk thy fill of pure immortal streams.'

Chapter L 12-21.

The Writer's intention to provide for the Remembrance of these things^ specially

in view of the Certainty of Christ's Coming.

2 T T 7HEREF0RE I will not be negligent to put you always' '*l^"-5*"Jl*

VV in '"remembrance of these things, though ye know ?t»™:»-,«4-

A !(• Ill* 1 f

3 them, and be' Established in the ''present truth.' Yea, I ^J^;"'
'think it meet,* as long as I am in this ' tabernacle, to -^ stir ^'P«'- 7'° J

' ** ' Rom. I. IX,

14 you up, by ^ putting you in remembrance : * knowing that J^It,^^ v. ^
* shortly I must put off this my tabernacle,' even as our Lord y \ « 71>«!-.

15 Jesus Christ hath ' ' showed me. Moreover, I will * endeavour,® it^.'i'.i® ;.
that you may be able after my ' decease to have these things *" H^b.'^'xIiVi,

16 always in remembrance.' For we have" not "* followed coi!f.6.
"cunningly-devised ''fables," when we ^made known unto you ^Artiiii-V
the power and 'coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were ^c<i*J. ,.4.

17 eye-witnesses of his ''majesty. For he received*' from God ^mJ^vI/sIv;;
the Father 'honour and glory, when there 'came such a voice jo.*viI"i8!^'

jrCh. iu. s ; a Tim. i.

I Tin. ii. i

m. I. 5.
5. nr. 9, 31 ; Tit.

zvi. 30 ; rtuL iv. 6, etc. ^
iu S9, iii. 13, ir. 15, v. 23
s Rom. ii. 7, xo.

A Oh. ii. X. (See refs. at x Pet. i. xr. /(Gal. ii. 10 ; Eph. iv. 3 ; x Thes. ii. 17 ;

UL 13 ; Heb. iv. ix ; a Pet. i. xo, iii. 14. _ ^I'U. ix. 31 ; Ueb. xi. 92. mCh, ii. a, 15.

m* Tun. ui. ik. o i Tim. i. 4, iv. 7 ; 3 Tim. iv. 4 ; Tit. i. 14. / Lu. ii. 15 ; Ja xv. 15 ; Acts ii. 38 ; Rom. ix. 33,
36 ; PhiL iv. 6, etc. q Mat. xxiv. 3, 27, 37, 39 ; x Cor. xv. 23, xvi. 17 ; 3 Cor. vii. 0, 7, x. 10 ; Phil. i. 36, ii. is ;

; 3 Thes. ii. x, 8, 9 ; Jfas. v. 7, 8 ; 2 Pet. iii. 4, 12 ; x Jo. ii. 28. r Lu. ix. 43 ; Acts

ojL n

t Vers. t8'» 90 ; Acts ii. 2.

* rather^ Wherefore I shall always be ready to put you ' are

* the truth which is with you * or^ But I consider it right
' in the wav of reminder

* liieralfyy knowing that quick as the putting off of my tabernacle

' omit hath * rather^ But I shall also diligently provide

* rather^ that at all times after my decease ye may be able to call up the
memory of these things

*• did " or^ myths *' literally^ For having received

252

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. 1. 12-21.

to him'* from the excellent glory, *This is my beloved Son,'* «MatiyiLs;

18 in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from La.ix.35!
heaven we heard," when we were with him in the ''holy mount j^^-i'-,

19 Wc have also a more "'sure word of prophecy,^* whereunto ye^^A^jl
do well that ye take heed, as unto a "'light" that shineth in a {j^f^'*'
dark" place, until the day dawn, and the day-star ^ arise in "^^^^-^

20 your hearts : knowing this first, that no prophecy of the *• ,|£?^S.

2 1 Scripture is of"® any * private ** interpretation : for the prophecy JS'^jlti.
came not in old time" by the '^will of man ; but holy men of ¥J,^'ec
God spake as they were * moved by the holy Ghost." ^jiL!"i,«.

» Jo. i. XX, 41, iv. 44 ; Rom. viii. 32, x. 3 ; Acts iv. 23, etc ajtr. xxiii. 26 ; lit. i. 13. * Ver. 17.

*5 rather^ when such a voice was borne to him by the sublime Glory

" or^ my Son, my beloved " or^ And this voice we heard borne out of heaven

** OTy And we have the word of prophecy more sure ^' lamp

^^oryos in margin of R, K, squalid '• omit the

*^ cometh of; also omit any '* or^ as in the margin of the R, F., special

'* literally^ for not by the will of man was prophecy ever borne

*^ £?r, but being borne by the Holy Spirit men spake from God.

The writer next expresses his resolution to use
the brief portion of life now remaining to him in
recalling the attention of his readers to the great
truths to which he has been referring, and in
making provision (or the recollection of them after
his own decease. He avows the deeu solicitude
wliich he feels in regard to this, and his anxiety
that the gift of Divine grace, and the obligations
connected with it, may not be forgotten or thought
little of, when the living voice of apostolic teaching
ceases to admonish and remind. He is at pains
to explain why he has made such a resolution
and entertains such anxiety. It is because of
the certainty and gravity of that 'power and
coming' of the Lord, which had been proclaimed
by his brother Apostles and himself. He is
desirous to have the minds of his readers filled
with this above all things, and their lives coloured
and directed by it, because every other Christian
interest and all Christian duty are bound up with
it. In words touched with the light which is shed
by the solemn recollection of the past, the aged
writer speaks of the witnesses to which he can
appeal in behalf of the certainty of these things
which had been preached with respect to the
Lord's Coming, and the manner of life which
befitted its anticipation. These witnesses are
found in the transfiguration scene and the voice of
prophecy. The verses form a paragraph complete
within itself, with a character and with contents
entirely its own. It comes in, however, quite
appropriately as an intermediate section. It
makes a natural appendix to the first division of
the Epistle, which is itself a kind of summary of
subjects handled at greater length, but with much
the same phraseology^ and in much the same
spirit, in the First Epistle. It also prepares the
way, particularly by tnc prominence given to the
* power and coming * of the Lord, for the very
different paragraph which follows in the next
chapter.

Ver. 12. Wherefore I shall always be ready
to put yon in remembrance regarding these
things. The * wherefore* represents the resolution
now expressed as having its reason in what has been

already said. That may be cither the immediatdy
preceding thought or the tenor of the prerioiis
section as a whole. The motive lies in the
responsibilities connected with the endowment of
grace received from Christ, or, more particolarly,
in the consideration that the entrance into tbe
eternal kingdom of Him who bestows that endow*
ment can be 'richlv furnished' only to tbosewbodo
the things which have been recommended. Tbe
phrase * these things ' is taken by some to refer to
what follows, namely, the statement in vex. 16
about the Lord's Advent ; by others its lefemoe
is limited to one particular subject, such as the
graces enumerated m vers. 5-7 (Hofmann), or Ihe
kingdom and its future (de Wette). It is best
taken, however, as pointing back to the whole
burden of the opening statement — the duty of
Christian progress, the necessity of Chrbtbn
diligence, the blessings secured by the r^
course, the loss entailed by the opposite. The
writer Drofesses his constant readiness (the
'always^ qualifies the 'ready' rather than tbe
'put in remembrance') to preserve in them a
loving recollection of these facts and respoosi*
billties. Greater point, too, is given to Ihe
resolution bv adopting, instead of the negative
reading of the A. V. and the Received Text, 'I
will not be negligent,' the positive, and far better
supported, reading of the K. V. and most ciiliad
editors, ' I shall be ready,' or, as it also may be
rendered, 'I shall be sure,* 'I s^all proceed.'
The formula occurs only once again in the N. T.,
viz. in Matt. xxiv. 6, where the A. V. trandatcs
it simply ' ye shall hear.'— though ye know thMi,
and are established in the truth whieh ii wHh
yon. Again, as in ver. 8, with something tike
the courteous tact of Paul (comp. e.g' Rom. xv. 14,
etc.) and John (i Tohn ii. 21), tfaie writer spaks
as if his anxiety after all were superfluons. The
term rendered ' established ' is the one which we
have already had in I Pet. v. la It is the word
which Christ used in forewarning Peter (Luke
xxii. 32, although the A. V. varies the transbukm
there — * when thou art converted, strmpJUm thy
brethren '). The cognate noun appears in tbe

. ia-2i.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

253

idered ' sted&stness ' in 2 Pet. ill 17.
^., by adopting the literal translation of
woras, 'tiie present truth,' is apt to
in erroneous idea. What is meant is
le tnith which specially suits the present

the truth which is at present under con*
i» nor even (as Bengel puts it) the
truth of O. T. promise and prophecy,
ruth which is present withyou^ which has
> their possession through the preaching
loipel. The idea is much the same as
rested b^ Paul in i Cor. xv. i. The
Wilis again in Col. i. 6, where ' the word
ath of the Gospel ' is spoken of as that
I come unto you.'

J. Bat I coitfider it right, so long m I
& tabernacle, to ttir you np in the way
d«r. ' But ' represents the sense better
* And ' of the R. V. Although he gives
dit for knowing these truths already, and
nly grounded in them, he deems it, neTfer-

ivXy not to be silent or r^ard them as
langer. Their danger, on the contrary,
re that he must speak to them as long as

(comp. Phil. i. 7) ; and this with the
ibject of stirring them up, or rousing
e verb occurs again in chap. iii. i, and
e in the N. T. only in the Gospels, and
rays with the literal sense, Mark iv. 38, 39 ;
L 24 ; John vi. 18), and keeping them, by
at reminders, awake to all that spiritually

them. The body is here figuratively
1 as a tent or 'tabernacle' by a word
ccurs again in the figurative sense in the
te^ and once in the literal sense, viz. in

4i(5i It b a longer form of the term used
in 2 Cor. v. i, 4, and of another which
speatedly elsewhere, e,g, in the record of
>wii woids at the Transfiguration (Matt.

Mark ix. 5, etc.)< The figure was a
It common one in later Classical Greek,
ily in medical writers. It conveyed the
t the body is the mere tenement of the
I a fragile one, erected for a night's sojourn
kly taken down. In the Book of Wisdom
wt have the same figure, with a somewhat
application — ' a corruptible body weighs
le soul ; and the earthen tent burdens
i-thinking mind.' The Christian Father
BS uses it thus : ' This, which b presented
res» is not man, but is the tabernacle of
hose quality and figure is seen thoroughly,

the form of the small vessel in which he
iiiedy but from his deeds and habits'
amah's rendering). Here, according to
'the immortality of the soul, the briefness
lode in a mortal body, and the ease of
e in the faith, are implied. '
4. Knowing that quick is the putting
ay tabnmacle. There is a mixture of
r here. The idea of a 'putting off'
id occurs only here and in i Pet.
or denuding^ which is applicable to a
, takes the place of the striking or
'own which holds good of the ' tent ' or
de.' We have a similar mixture of
ft in Ps. civ. 2, 'who coverest thyself
tit as with a gartnent : who stretchcst
leavens as a curtain * {i.e. the curtain of a
rhe same occurs also in 2 Cor. iv. 1-3,
suggested that it may have come naturally
It loist, through his familiarity with the

tent of Cilician haircloth, 'which might almost
equally suggest the idea of a habitation and a
vesture.' (See Dean Stanley's Comm, on the
Epistles to the Corinthians ^ p. 413.) There is
some doubt as to the precise point intended by
the 'quick.' The epithet is a rare form (in
Classical Greek purely poetical, and in the N. T.
found only here and in chap. ii. i) of the ordinary
adjective which means either swift or sudden.
It may indicate either the speediness of the
approach of death, or the speediness of the work
of death. In the one case Peter's motive for
stirring them up is hb knowledge of the brief
interval that had separated him from death.
In the other it is his knowledge of the fact
that he b to have a swift and sudden death,
a mode of death which admonbhes him to leave
nothing to be done then which can be done
now. The latter idea b favoured bv the reference
which immediately follows to what had been
made known to Peter by Christ Himself. It
would be superfluous for one who was already
far advanced in life to adduce a declaration of
Chrbt's as the ground of hb knowledge of the
nearness of his own end. It is quite in point
for him, however, to cite such a declaration
as the ground of hb knowledge of the kind
of death he was to die. And we see plainly
from the narrative of the incident which in all
probability was in Peter's mind, — an incident
which it was left to hb brother in the apostleship
and companion in the scene itself to record at
length and to interpret (John xxi. 18, 19), that
what was communicated was hb destiny to die a
sharp, sudden, violent death. The la^tter view,
therefore, is adopted by WyclifTe (alone among
the old English Versions), the Vulgate, and
many of the foremost interpreters (Bengel, Huthcr,
Schott, Hofmann, Plumptre, Alford, Mason,
etc.). The former, however, b preferred by
Dr. Lumby and others, as well as by the A. V.,
Tyndale (who gives ' the time is at hand that I
must put off,' etc.), Cranmer, the Genevan, and
the Rhemish. — even as oar Lord Jesus Ghiist
showed me. Not ^hath showed me,' as the
A. V. puts it, but * showed me ' (comp also
I Pet. i. II, where the word is rendered * signify '),
the reference being to the one memorable intima-
tion made by the Sea of Galilee. It is entirely
unnecessary to suppose, as is done by some, that
Peter had received another special revelation,
bearing on the time of his death.

Ver. 15. But I shall also give diligence (or,
diligently provide) that at all times ye may be
able after my decease to call up the memory of
these things. The A. V. b slightly at fault here
both as to terms and as to arranj^enient. ' More-
over ' less correctly conveys the idea than ' but ' or
(as in the R. V.) *yea.' For the writer is rather
resuming and amplifying the statement made in
ver. 12, than explaining some additional provbion
which he meant to make. The ' always,' which
the A. V. connects with the ' have in remem-
brance,' rather defines the * may be able after my
decease.' The word, too, properly speaking,
means ' on each occasion,' or ' at all times as they
rise.* The phrase rendered 'have in remem-
brance ' b one found nowhere else in the N. T.
In Classical Greek it means to ' make mention
of.' It b possible that it has that meaning here,
and that the writer expresses hb desire to make
it possible for hb readers to report these things to

254

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. I

others. It is generally taken, however, in the
modified sense of recalling to memory ; which has
the analogy of similar modes of expression {e.g, in
Rom. i. 9 ; Eph. ii. i6), and is in harmony with
the thought of the previous verses. Various
views are entertained of what is exactly referred
to in this promise or resolution. It is supposed,
e.^., that Peter alludes to the two Epistles as a
written provision he was to leave biehind him.
But the form of the resolution, ' I sAaH give
diligence/ does not easily fit in with that It is
supposed, too, that he mav have in view the
training and appointment of teachers to succeed
him, or the transcription of copies of his Epistles for
wide distribution, or the preparation of a Gospel
(namely, that of Mark) under his direction.
Most probably, however, he is simply expressing
his intention to continue to . communicate with
them, as he had already been doing, on the great
truths of the Gospel as long as opportunity
presented itself, and thus to arm them to the
utmost against the peril of forgetfulness. Not a
few Roman Catholic interpreters, including some
of the very best, have construed this into a state-
ment of Peter's permanent supervision of the
Church, and even his heavenly intercession in
behalf of it. Notice that the word rendered
'decease' here means literally 'exodus,' and is
the very term used in Luke's account of the
Transfiguration (ix. 31). Elsewhere it occurs only
once, and that in the literal sense, viz. in
Heb. xi. 22, where it is translated 'depart-
mg.

Ver. 16. For we did not follow cunningly
devised mytbe, when we made known to yon
the power and coming of onr Lord Jesus Ohrist
The change from the * I ' which the writer has
used through vers. 12, 13, 14, 15, to ' we * here b
to be noticed. He is to speak now not of his own
personal resolutions and expectations, but of what
he had preached in conjunction with other apostles,
and specially of one significant scene which he
had witnessed in companv with John and James.
The ' follow ' is expressed by a strong compound
verb which occurs m no other book of the New
Testament, and indeed only twice again (chap. ii.
2, 15). It b supposed by some to convey the idea
of following a false lead. But it expresses rather
the closeness of the following. The phrase ren-
dered * fables * by the A. V. and R. V. is the term
' myths ' which is so familiar in the Classics. In
the New Testament it occurs only here and in the
Pastoral Epistles (i Tim. i. 4. iv. 7 ; 2 Tim. iv.
4 ; Tit. i. 14). The ' myths are defined (by the
participle of a verb which is used here in the bad
sense, out which has the good sense of making
wise, in the only other New Testament passage
where it occurs, viz. 2 Tim. iii. 15) as ' cunnin^y
devised,' or cleverly elaborated, Wycliflfe and the
Rhemish give ' unwise,* ' unlearned,' which is an
inadequate rendering. Cranmer gives 'deceitful ;'
Tyndale and the Genevan 'deceivable.' There
has been much dispute as to the particular myths
which are in view. Some have advocated the
extraordinary opinion that they were Christian
myths, — legends like those which the apocryphal
Gospels, and other curious products of early
Christian literature, show to nave become con-
nected, within a comparatively brief period, with
the history of Christ's birth and opening life.
Others take them to have been fancies of the kind
which afterwards took shape in the Gnostic specu-

lations about wisdom and the aeons and ea
from Deity. Others identify them 1
ordinary heathen myths, spedallv those 1
descent of the gods to earth. Many ttgk
to be Jewbh myths, — such monstrous n
embellbhments of Old Testament lii
appear in the apocryphal books. Fv
lies, on the whole, on the side of this Is

Particularly if the parallel statements
astoral Epistles are found to suit best asi
against the ' common Judaizing tendency
unspiritual, Pharisaic study of ue Old Te
dbputatious, cleaving to the letterv an
itself in useless hair-splittinjgs and n
fables ' (Neander, Planting ojChrittktm
342, Bohn). In this case we may th
understand, perhaps, why so much of the
of thb Kpbtle and that of Jude turns 1
oldest portions of the Old Testament hisl
mav be that these, along with others ool
Ola Testament itself, but dealing w
Testament personages and events, were the
of the rabbinical, legendary embellbhrnen
they were made use of by the false tei
whom Peter refers ; and that, as Canoi
suggests, Jude and he, therefore, woe '
these seducers with their own weapons.'
Question to which different answers are 1
tnis— What communication b alluded ti
statement, 'we made known to yon thi
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ'
term 'coming,' which means literallj *p
does not denote, as b supposed by son
interpreters, either Chrbt s eartkfy H^
Nativity, Here, as in chap. liL 4, Mai
3, 27, I Cor. XV. 23, I Thess. iiu 19^
expresses His Second Advent^ His it
judgment. Thb teaching, therefore^
' power ' (or ' fulness of the might of the
Ix)rd') (Iluther) and 'advent' of a
identified by some with that which is |
Peter himself in hb former Epistle ; ai
suggested then that the novel and m]
declaration about ' the spirits in prison * n
exposed Peter to misunderstandings w1
wished to remove (so Plumptre). But
writer uses the plural ' we,' and obvionsl
ates himself with others in what he procc
to say, it seems best to understand Mm
generally to what he and his comrade
apostleship had proclaimed on the subject,
by oral communication or by writta
teaching, however it may have read
parties immediately addressed here, wi
known to them to carry the weight of 1
authority with it.— but were cye-witnw
majesty. This term for 'j^e-witness* is
to the present passage, lue cognate t
is used in the New Testament onlr t
(I Pet. ii. 12, iii. 2 ; which see). They
technical words in Classical Greek fiMr I
stage of initiation into the Eleusloisn n
The noun may carry with it here the
privileged spectators, or eye*witnesses of so
which was hidden from others. The oUm
' majesty,' applied here to the glorious ap]
of Christ in the Transfiguration, is fea
twice again in the New Testament, vis. fa
account (ix. 43) of the amazement lidt
people at 'the mighty power' (as it
rendered) of God seen in the mirad
followed the Transfiguration; and in d

Chap. I. 12-21.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

^writer's description of the ' magnificence ' (as the
same term is here transkited) of Diana (Acts xix.
27). In the original the whole sentence has a
Cum which may be represented thus — ' For it was
not ms having followed cleverly-contrived myths
that we made known to you the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but as having
toccome eye-witnesses of His majesty.'

Ver. 17. Eor he leceived from God the
JPk*h«r honour end fjUaj. In the original it
is 'For having received/ etc, the sentence being
liroken by what U said about tlie voice, and the
writer hurrying on to the conclusion unmindful
of tlie fact. The title * Father' is anpropriatcly
introduced here, as the testimony which Christ
leoetved from God was one to His own Sonship.
The same conjunction of ' honour 'and 'glory,' or
'praise,' occurs in Rom. ii. 7, 10. In i Pet.
i. 7 we have the richer coniunction of ' praise and
honour and glory,' or, as the better reading gives
ity 'praise and glory and honour.' Certain
distinctions are attempted between the two terms
here, the ' honour ' being supp<»ed to refer, ^^.,
specially to the honourable witness borne by the
voices and the 'gloiv' to the /i^f that shone
aboat Christ, or broke forth from Him. Such
distinctions, however, are precarious. The thing
dwelt on is not thesplendour of Christ's own appear-
ance on the occasion, but the tribute which came
by the voice. The two terms, therefore, are
generally descriptive either of the magnificence of
the scenes or 01 the miuesty of that particular
Iribnte. Compare with this &e words of another
eye-witness of the same event; John i. 14.—
wiien ineh a ydoe waa home to him by the
■abilme i^orj, Thie is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. The voice is called *sucA a
, voice,' that is to say, 'such as I am now to
recordy' or perhaps ' a voice so wonderful in kind. '
It is also described, both here and in the next
vertey not as 'coming,' but as being ' borne ' or
' brought ' to him, the verb employ^ being that
which is applied again to the i)rophets as ' moved '
or *6ffnu hythe Holy Spirit (in ver. 21), and
also to the * rushing (as it is there rendered)
mighty wind, noticed by Luke in his narrative of
the Pentecostal descent (Acts iL 2). The next
u-ofds are rendered ' from the excellent glory ' by
the A. V. ; in which it follows Cranmer and the
Genevan. Tyndale gives ' from excellent glory ; '
WyclifTe, ' from the great glory ; * the Khemish,
'firom the magnificent glory.' 'Excellent' is a
somewhat weak representation of the adjective,
which means rather ' magnificent ' or 'sublime.*
This is its only New Testament occurrence. The
'from' also is in reality 'by,' the preposition
being the one regularly used with that sense after
passive verbs. Hence many of the best recent
mterpreters r^ard the words as a designation of
Cody and translate them ' by the sublime majesty.'
In npport of this. Matt xxvi. 64 is referred to,
where the term ' power ' is taken to be a title of
God. It is possible that the peculiar phrase is
due to Peter mentally likening the cloud out of
which the voice broke to the glory-cloud of tlic
Skeckhtak^ which was to Israel the visible sign of
the Divine presence. The testimony uttered by
the voice aiflfers very slightly from the form in
which it is reported in Matthew's Gospel. A
shorter form is given in Mark (iz. 7) and Luke
(ix. 35). Here the reading which is preferred by
the most recent editors gives it still greater

255

intensity. It may lie represented thus — ' My Son,
My l)eloved One, this is, — in whom I am well
pleased.' The ' well pleased * is given in the past
tense (='on whom I set My good pleasure '), as
expressive of the changelessness of the satisfaction
once for all placed in Him.

Ver. 18. And this voice we heard borne ont
of heaven, when we were with him in the holy
mount The character of the Divine testimony
to Christ is thus yet more carefully described, in
reitpect both of its own directness and of the
credibility of the report which was given of it. It
came immediately from heaven. It was reported,
too, by those who were present with Christ
Himself on the occasion, and were Ixtth eye-
witnesses and ear- witnesses of what took place,
not only seeing with their own eyes the scene, but
hearing with their own ears the voice. By the
' holy mount ' is to be understood not the temple-
mount (as if the voice referred to were, as Grotius
imagined, that recorded in John xii. 28), but the
Mount of Transfiguration. Peter does not identify
it with either Hermon or Tabor. He gives it,
however, the same honourable title that Zion
enjoyed in the Old Testament The sacred
associations now connected with it, and the fact
that it had been the scene of a manifestation of
Divinity, had made it 'holy' ground. So, as
Calvin notices, the spot where Jehovah appeared
to Moses ])ecame ' holy * ground. — It is interesting
to observe how in his old age Peter's mind
is filled with the wonders of the Transfigura-
tion, and how he finds in the glory which he
witnessed there a presage of the glory in whidi
Christ was to return, fi may be asketl why he
singles out this particular event, and only this one,
when he feek called to assert the historical l)asis
of his teaching, and to repudiate all suspicion of
legendar)' mixture. The answer is obvious. The
truths which at present he is pressing on the atten-
tion of his readers, are those relating to the Second
Coming of Christ, that Coming in power and
judgment which was doubted, denied, and scoffed
at. It was natural, therefore, that he should
instance the sudden glory which he had witnessed
breaking forth from and encircling Christ's person
on the Mount. In that he recognised an earnest
of the power in which Christ was to return. It is
rightly observed, too, that this entire statement,
given as it is independently, with variations of its
own, and not professing to be quoted from any
written narrative, is an important confirmation of
the truth of the Gospel narrative of the Trans-
figuration (so Plumptre, etc.).

Ver. 19. And we have more snre the pro-
phetic word. Such is the literal rendering of a
clause the exact point of which is not a little un-
certain. The context, specially what is said in
vers. 20, 21, chap. it. I, shows that we are to
understand by * the prophetic word ' here (cf. the
phrase * the Scriptures of the prophets * in Rom.
xvi. 26), neither the Gospel (Luther), nor the
written or spoken prophecies of the New Testa-
ment, nor these along with the Old Testament
prophecies (Plumptre), but Old Testament Scrip-
ture itself as a whole, or the sum of Old Testa-
ment prophecy regarding Christ. It is clear, too,
that a comparison is instituted. For the adjective,
which is elsewhere used to describe the ' promise '
as sure (Rom. iv. 16), the *word spoken by
angels' as stedfast (Heb. ii. 2), the anchor of the
soul as 'sure and stedfast* (Heb. vL 19), etc., is

256

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. 1. 12-21.

not to be rendered 'very sure,' as some have
imagined, but means 'more sure/ or 'more sted-
fast.' The question, therefore, is whether the
prophetic word is compared with itself or with
something else. There is much to be said on
both sides. Some, indeed, who favour the latter
view, take the comparison to lie between the pro-
phetic word and the 'cunningly devised myths,'
which have been already repudiated. This, how-
ever, is unlikely. With much better reason others
conceive the prophetic word as it once was to be
compared with the same word as it now is, the
point being that its entire testimony on the subject
of Christ's ' power and Coming ' has been made
surer than before by the historical accomplishment
of so much of its witness to the Messiah, or (as
others prefer to put it) by the confirmation lent it
through the record borne to Christ in the voice
and the glory of the Mount of Transfiguration.
The clause might then be rendered, ' and we have
the prophetic word made more sure.' So it is
paraphrased by Mr. Humphry — 'having been
witnesses of His majesty and hearers of His voice
from heaven, we have the word of prophecy made
more firm (as a foundation of our faith) by the
fulfilment which it has received ' {Comm. on the
Revised Version ^ p. 450). Among the English
Versions, the Khemish and the Revised adopt
this view. The A. V. itself is wrong. The
clause, however, admits another meaning, which
may be freely given thus : ' and we have a
more sure ivord, namely the prophetic word ; '
or, ' we have something surer still, namely the
prophetic word.' In this case the testimony
of the Old Testament is referred to as of
greater certainty, or as carrying in it greater
power of conviction, than even the voice hbard at
the Transfiguration. The comparison thus be-
comes one between the exceptional testimony of
the heavenly voice and the familiar testimony of
Israel's ancient Scriptures. The advantage is
given to the latter as a ground for confidently
expecting the Lord's Coming. Why this is the
case the writer himself does not say. Various
reasons have been suggested. Peter has been
supposed to assert this greater sureness for O. T.
prophecy, e.g,^ because it was more venerated on
account of its age (Calvin, Whitby, etc.); or
because it was a permanent witness and one open
to all, while the witness borne through the Trans-
figuration was transient and seen only by a select
three (Scott, etc.); or because it was a direct
witness to Christ's Coming, while the Transfigura-
tion was merely a historical scene, amounting at
the best to a type or presumption of that event
(Sherlock, etc.) ; or because it was not a single
testimony and one dealing with only a part of the
truth, as was the case with the voice, but a cumu-
lative and continuous testimony, and one covering
all that l)ore upon Messiah's sufferings and glory
(Alford). Be the reasons what they may, it
would ht natural enough for a Jew like Peter to
claim for the Jewish Scriptures a superiority over
all other forms of testimony. And on this view,
which is now followed by many excellent inter-
preters, we get a sense entirely germane to the
context. The writer has expressed his wish to do
all in his power to secure their perpetual regard for
the truths in which his readers had been instructed.
His own belief in the certainty of his Lord's
Coming is at the foundation of this anxiety. He
desires to see his readers equally assured in the

same expectation, and with tliat view particalarizes
two reasons for the belief. The one is what he
himself saw on the Mount ; the other is what
others have as well as he, namely the prophetic
testimony of the Old Testament. Each of them
he puts forward as a valid witness. But he gives
the preference to the one which could not be
regarded as limited or exceptional. — ^wheramto
ye do well giving heed. With the fonnula
compare the similar usages in Acts x. 33 ; FhiL I

iiL 14 ; Heb. ii. i ; 3 John 6. It implies caidiil,
earnest, believing attention. — M unto a luip
whining in a d&k plmce. The term rendend
'light' by the A. V. means 'lamp' or *toi^*
It is the one used in Matt v. 15 ; Mark iv. Hi
Luke viii. 16, xi. 33, 36, xv. 8 ; Rev. xviiL 23>*
xxii. 5 (in all which it is rendered 'candle' in t^
A. v.); and also in Matt. vi. 22; Luke xi. >4«
xil 35 ; Rev. xxi. 23 ; John v. 35 (in which last **
describes the Baptist). With its application*^
the prophetic wonl compare Ps. cxix. 105. I^^*^
epithet * dark ' (of which this is the only N. "f^
example) means literally dry, arid, and tbg^^
dingy. It perhaps combines here the two lA^i^^^y
of squalid (as the R. V. gives it in the margin >^
and gloomy. This ' dark place,* the squalid gloon^^
of which is being pierced by the prophetic wofd,^^
is understood by some to refer to a low state 01^
spiritual knowledge and experience, which is to
yield to a higher state of illumination and assur-
ance in the case of Christians. It is best taken,
however, as a figure of the world itselfl Compare
the prophetic description oi darkness covering the
earth (Isa. Ix. 2, etc.).— nntil (the) day Siiall
dawn and the day-star arise in your heartu
Two of these words are peculiar to the present
passage, namely dawn and day-star, llie former
(which is different from the term in Matt. xxviiL i;
Luke xxiiL 54) means to shim throttgk, and is
therefore peculiarly in point where the idea to be
expressed is, as here, that of the moming^ligfat as
it first breaks through the darkness. The latter
is to be taken in the strict sense, — not as equiva-
lent to the suHy or generally to the light, but as
referring to the day-star, the ' light-bringer ' (as
the term literally means) which ai>pears with the
dawn. How are these figures, therefore, to be
interpreted here ? Many of the best commentators
are of opinion that, on account of the definition
' in your hearts,' and for other reasons, a subjec-
tive application must be given to the whole sen-
tence, and that it is to be connected immediately
with the previous 'giving heed.' In this way the
idea is taken by some to be, that the prophetic
word must be attended to until the present im-
perfect measure of grace and knowlexige in the
believer gives place to an immediate perception
and clear assurance, which will supersede the
necessity for such prophetic light. The analogy
of similar figures elsewhere, however (see speciaUy
Rom. xiii. 1 1, etc.), is in favour of the objective
sense. The reference, therefore, seems to be to
the day of Christ's Second Coming, in oomparison
with which the present state of the world is the
time of night and darkness. The prophetic word
to which believers are to give earnest heed is a
lamp which is to go on shining until the Christ of
whom it testifies appears. The fact that this is
the ministry it is meant to serve is the reason why
they ought to give such heed to it. And when
the day of the Lord's Advent, which shall be like
the rising of dawn upon the world, is about to

I. 12-21.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

^S7

% enter it certainly shall, its signs shall
lemsdYCS known to Christ's own flock — in
9tfts shall rise a light and assurance like
4Ury which comes with the day and attests
ntnuice. Those, therefore, are right who
\mX the particular point of time in view is
mediately heralding the Second Advent
the tsme when the sign of the Son of man

(Matt zxiv. 30), when believers are to

their heads because their redemption
L nigh (Luke xxi. 28), when accordingly
ming-star which ushers in the day sludl
their hearts * (Huther).
ML Knowing this fizat, that no prophecy
ptozo oomes of private interpretation.
itenoe states a fact which is to be recog-
a the heed which should be given to the
ic word, or a reason why such need should
1 earnestly. It is by no means easy, how-
» determine what that fact or reason is.
se hu been largely taken advantage of b^

Oitholic divines in the interest of their
li the relation in which Scripture stands
Church. It has been regarded as a protest

the right of private judgment. Some
ut commentators read it as a caution

interpreting particular prophecies sepa-
y themselves, instead of interpreting them
nil lipiit of prophecy as a whole. Others
r in It a re-statement of what Peter has

said in the former Epistle (chap. i. 11, 12)
he inability of the prophets to understand

was in the propheaes which they uttered.
ioppose it to mean that prophecy b not its
teipreter, but can be fully understood only
light of the event Not a few (including
, Erasmus, Besser, Schott, Hofmann, etc.)

in one way or other, to be an assertion of
: that Uie readers of prophecy are not able
' own understanding to interpret it, but are
ent for its interpretation upon the Holy

It cannot be said, however, that any one
e Tiews falls in naturally with the context
r must be sought more in harmony with
in of thought. The terms themselves, at
le time, are for the most part sufficiently
md the following verse makes the ruling
I the writer^s mind eoually clear. The
'prophecy of Scripture means a prophecy
p^ to Scripture, or as Dean Pluroptre puts
rophecy 'authenticated as such by being
led as part of Scripture.' The ' is of the
■nd the R. V. does not quite fairly repre-
5 original, which means rather arises, corms
istetuey or originates. The interpretation
pon the sense of the adjective 'private,'
nay mean either ' special ' (as in the margin

of the R. v.), or 'one's own;' and still more
upon the sense of the noun rendered ' interpreta-
tion.' This noun is found only this once in the
N. T. It is used, however, by one of the ancient
Greek Versions of the O. T. in the sense of the
' interpretation ' or reading of a dream (Gen. xl. 8).
The cognate verb, too, occurs in Mark iv. 34
(where the A. V. renders it 'expounded'), and in
Acts xix. 39 (where it is translated ' determined ')•
The verse, therefore, seems to mean that prophecy
does not originate in the propheCs own private
interpretation of things — that it is not the mere
expression of his own reading of the future. This
explanation (which Bengel suggested, and Huther,
Alford, etc., have followed) connects the verse
easily and clearly both with what precedes and
with what follows. The fact that prophecy is
something so different from man's own view of
events or forecast ings of the future b to be known
'first,' that is, it b to be recognised as a fact of
primary importance. It b a reason why we should
give that earnest heed to it which was enjoined in
the previous verse. And in what sense prophecy
is something more than the expression of the pro-
phet's own ideas or prognostications, b stated in
the next verse.

Ver. 21. For not by man's will wai prophecy
borne at any time. The statement b more
absolute than it b made to appear in the A. V.
The phrase ' not of old time ' means ' never,' or
' not at any time.' The verb rendered ' came ' b
the one which was used already in vers. 17, 18,
and means sent or communicated in the sense of
being borne on. It points here, therefore, not to
the utterance of prophecy, but to the prophetic
afflatus, or to the prophecy as a gift imparted by
God, and in relation to which man himself was
simply a recipient — bnt, being borne on by the
Holy Ghost, men spake from God. Docu-
mentary evidence b in favour of thb reading,
which is both shorter and more expressive than
that of the A. V. It drops the official title of the
prophets as ' holy men of God,' and, in harmony
with the emphatic denial of the agency of ' man s
will' in the prophetic message, speaks of the
bearers of prophecy simply as ' men. ' It describes
them further as men who became prophets only
by receiving an impulse from the Holy Spirit
which bore them on, and as speaking, therefore,
'from God,' that b to say, as commissioners from
Him, having the point of issue for their message
not in their own will but in God's will. On the
term 'borne on ' compare Acts xvii. 15, 17, where
it is used of the ship driving before the wind,
llie A. V. misses the point when it renders ' as
they were moved.* The statement is, that they
spake because they were so moved.

VOL. IV.

17

258 THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IL 1-16.

Chapter IL 1-16.

Warfiitigs against False Teachers,

1 TDUT there were* ''false prophets also among the people, «MaL*n.is,
-U even as there shall be false teachers among you,* who* {JJ^^fli?'
privily shall bring in * damnable ^ heresies,* even *' denying the f^^,^.*
Lord that ' bought them, and -^ bring upon themselves' ^ swift ^T-*^'*

2 destruction. And many shall * follow their ' pernicious ways ;* ^^'Ji;^
by reason of whom the. *way of truth' shall be 'evil spoken *JxtoUiV

3 of. And through* ** covetousness shall they with feigned words ^5Sst. 17,
* make merchandise of you : ' whose ''judgment now of a ^ long ^\t^\
time ^lingercth not,** and their damnation" slumbereth not. '^^i,;

4 For if God ''spared not the'* angels that" sinned, but cast ^Si/x.^;
them down to hell, and 'delivered them" into chains** of f^Tv'i:

5 'darkness, to be** "reserved unto ''judgment; and spared not i,: jSdTl.
the "'old world, but ''saved Noah, the eighth person^'' a '^^^'jliS
•^preacher of righteousness, 'bringing in the "flood upon the/v^^'**"

6 world of the ^ ungodly ; ** and turning the cities of Sodom and G^^I^
Gomorrha into ashes, ^ condemned them with an '^ overthrow, 'ch. l 14.

h See fCM. at

'making them an ^^ensample unto those that after should live di.L]6.

, i See i«& at

7 '^ ungodly ; *• and * delivered just** Lot, 'vexed with the jp«.hr. i>

8 * filthy conversation of the ' wicked : ** (for that righteous man »x. 9^ •>
dwelling among them, in seeing and ** hearing, * vexed his « p«*- j^- 4.
righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds:") «cor.ii.5;

0 the Lord ''knoweth how to ^deliver the ^ godly out of ^, .

temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto 'the day of *'g^»-«»:
ID judgment to be * punished:** but chiefly them that " walk J«|-.»- »•

q Mat XXV. c ; F& cxxi. 3, 4. r Acts xx. 99 ; Rom. vlii. 33, x\, 31 ; i Cor. vU. 38 ; Jer. xiii. 14. 9 Lu. xxiii. ts,tlc.
t Ver. 17 ; Hcb. xiii. 18 ; Jude 6, xx. ^ « Jo. xii. 17 ; Acts xxv. ai ; x P«, i. 4. r Mat z. 15 ; 3 lliet. i s» etc

IV Mat. V. 3x ; Acts xv. 3i. xjo. xvii. 13 ; Jude 34. y t Tlia. ii. 7 ; • Tim. L ti. c See tefik al ver. i.

« Mat. xxiv. 38, 39 ; La. xviL 37 ; Gen. vi. 17, etc. h Rom. iv. 5, r. 6 : x Tim. L 9 ; x Pet tv. t8 ; fade 4, is.

e Mat XX. x8, etc d^ Tim. ii. 14; Gen. xx. 39. e Rom. iv. 17 ; x riau ii. 7 ; 3 Tim. i. 11 ; Ueb. i. ».

/Jo. xiii. 5 ; Jas. v. 10 : Heb. iv. ix. i' Jude 15. h Lu. i. 74 ; Rom. viL 34 ; 3 Cor. L \o, etc i Acts vu. 34.

>(Sse refs. at x Pet. iv. 3. /Ch. iii. X7. mi Cor. xii. X7. «Cf. Mat xiv. 34. o iMat vii. xt ; La. rii. 56:

Phil. iv. xs ; 3 Tim. iii. 5 ; Jas. iv. 17. i» See at ver. 7. g Acts x. 3, 7 ; Isa. xxiv. x6. r See reft, at x I^ 1. (Sw

1 See at ver. 4. /Ch.iii.7: Matx.x5; x J0.iv.17: Rev.xiv.7; Jude6. MActsiv.3x. vCh.iii.3; Jude 16,18; Jcr.m9,tA.

* rather ^ as in the R, K, arose

' better^ with R, K, as among you also there shall be

' or^ the which * literally^ heresies of destructioo

^ literally^ having brought upon themselves, omitting and

• literally^ wantonnesses ^ or, of the truth ® in • or^ make gain of you
^® litercUly^ for whom the sentence from of old is not idle

** destruction " omit the ^' or, when they

^* £7r, but casting them into Tartarus, committed them ^* or, pits

^* ^;;i// to be ^^ or^as in the R, K, with seven others ** of ungodly men

^^ literally, having laid down an example of those who should live ungodly

*^ or, righteous

^^ better, sore distressed by the walk of the lawless in wantonness

*3 or literally, for by sight and hearing the righteous man dwelling among

them day by day tormented his righteous soul with their lawless deeds
2'' temptation
'* rather, as the R, V. puts it, to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto

the day of judgment

Chap. II. 1-16.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 259

after the "'flesh in the """lust of uncleanness," and ^despise ^|j^j^^^

'government: * presumptuous are they, self-willed," they are^jj;^-^-^.
X I not ^ afraid to speak evil " of ^ dignities : whereas " angels, f-fSLViC

which are greater in power and might, ^ bring not ' railing , g^f; "^^^^
K2 -^accusation** against them before the Lord. But these, as SiiV^'

^natural * brute 'beasts,** made to be taken and destroyed," *^'xEi.3;

speak evil of" the things that they * understand not, atid^^ shall ferS.,;'
■3 utterly** 'perish in their own corruption; tf«rf»' shall "receive" ^ui^uvl'i

c Jude 8.

the "reward of unrighteousness, as they that ''count it ^plea- d\o.xriix.^'.

sure to 'riot in the daytime:" ''spots tJuy are*^ and rASJi'iV?*
'blemishes, ^sporting themselves'* with their own "deceiv- JrSliLi;

14 ings •• while they ' feast with you : having eyes ^ full of / jp/ia? 24.**
'adultery,** and that cannot cease ** from sin ; ^ beguiling ' un- JUV9;.
stable souls: an heart they have ''exercised with ^ covetous jrRom.'i!^s7.

15 practices;** 'cursed '^ children:** which have 'forsaken the 'Hcb.^n;
-bright way, and are gone ^astray,** following: the *way of Rev.iiAetc.

X% * t f -n % % It f .« ifexC0r.xiv.38.

Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteous- '&f**g;

16 ness; but was 'rebuked for his * iniquity:** the dumb 'ass,.** l^-*-®-
""speaking with man's voice, "forbade*' the madness of the ^^«vLa;

*^ ** ' Phil. M, 25 ;

prophet ^cb. X. 99,

* *^ ». ij, a6.

/fas. iv. I, 3, et& f La. vii. 95. rEph. v. 27. $ Ler. xxi. x6-a3, etc #I«u Iv. a, IviL 4.

y Ver. z8 ; Jas. L 14.
I Pet. L 24.

leb. liL 13, etc. pjudt xa. ' w Tas. u. 18', etc. ;r Jas. iv. 4l etc.

a Ch. iH. z(SL « neb. v. 14, etc. S Ver. 3. c Heb. vi. 8, etc. dSet refs. at

tfActsvLa. /Ln. iii. 3, 4; Acts viiL ai, ix. ii^xiii. zo. j? See re& at di. i. z6. A Jude zi.

/Job zxL 4, xxiu. a. kPtov, v. aa. / Mat. xxi. 5. iwVer. z8 ; Acts it. z8. m La. xxin. a ; Ps. xxxix. 9.

** or, pollution ** rather, self-willed darers, or. darers, self-willed

*' or, they tremble not when speaking evil of ^^ literally, where

^ literally, an evil-speaking judgment ^ as irrational animals

^ or, bom naturally with a view to capture and destruction

•■ speaking evil in matters *• omit and ** even

•• receiving as they shall, orjberhaps, as in the R, V., suffering wrong

** or, reckoning revelling in tne davtime pleasure

•' omit they are •• revelling

** in their deceits, or perhaps, as in the R, V,, in their love-feasts

^ literally, of an adufteress *^ or^ that cannot be made to cease

^* having a heart practised in covetousness *^ children of a curse

^ having forsaken the right way they went astray *'^ transgression

*• literally, a dumb beast of burden *' better^ with R, V,, stayed

The second chapter of the Epistle stands entirely
bjr itself. It is of so peculiar a character, that
some have doubted whether it belonged originally
to this Epistle, or could have been written by the
same hand. It abounds in uncommon or entirely
exceptional phrases, and is marked by a singularly
broken style. It introduces a subject, and is per-
vaded by a tone, which are very different from
what the previous diapter presents. The subject,
however, is not absolutely unconnected with what
precedes. The writer's anxiety that his readers
should remain established in the truth, after his
own decease, prepares the way for what he has to
say about the dangers of the future. And the
change in the tone is not inconsistent with the
change in the theme. The coloiurs, however, in
which he gives the outline of the future are of the
darkest, and the terms which he uses are of the
strongest. He speaks of the rise of false teachers

in the Chnrch as a certain thing, if not indeed a
thing aheady realized. He describes their efforts,
their pretensions, their successes, their lives, their
fates, in a long train of passionate utterances,
which have been compared to ' blasting volleyed
thunder.' Tbe terrible picture of the working of
this ' mystery of iniquity ' within the Church is
unrelieved, too, by any reference to the ultimate
victory of the kingdom of Christ, or to tlie larger
issues of the conflict between good and evil. The
gloom of the description is mitigated only by the
assurance that the Lord knows as well how to
deliver the godly themselves as to brine swift and
awful destruction upon their enemies and seducers.
The relation in which this chapter stands to the
Epistle of Jude is also a matter of some interest.
The points at which the two writings meet are too
numerous and too marked not to draiand explana-
tion. Some argue, accordingly, in iavoor of the

26o

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IL i-i6.

priority of Peter ; others with equal decision
assert the priority of Jude. The question whether
the peculiarities of the case are to be explained on
the theory of Peter's dependence on Jude, on that
of Jude*s dependence on Peter, or on that of the
dependence of both upon a common source, is far
from being settled, it indeed it admits at all of
anything like conclusive settlement. We shall
find, too, that along with very striking and con-
tinuous resemblances to Jude, this chapter exhibits
some remarkable variations.

Ver. I. But there aiooe alao false prophets
among the people. Israel is obviously meant by
'the people* here (comp. Rom. xv. ii ; Jude 5,
etc. ). As in the former Epistle, therefore, so here
Peter regards the N. T. Church as the Israel of
God, and finds in what took place within the
O. T. Israel an image of what is to take place in
the N. T. Church. The * but * introduces a con-
trast with what was stated at the close of the pre-
vious chapter. There were prophets in Israel who
'spake from God,* but there arose in the same
Israel false prophets, and so it shall be in the
N. T. Israel. The term ' false prophet ' occurs in
the O. T. {e,g, Jer. vi. 13), but is of much
commoner occurrence in the N. T. The form of
the word leaves it somewhat uncertain whether it
means precisely one who prophesies false things^ or
one who falsely pretends to be a prophet. The
latter sense is preferred by some of the best inter-
preters. The class of false prophets is dealt with
m Deut. xiii. 1-5.— as also among yon there
shall be false teachers. The term 'false teachers*
occurs nowhere else in the N. T. As in the case
of the ' false prophet,' it b uncertain whether it has
the sense oi pretended teachers, or that of teachers
of falsehood. Both amount, however, to much the
same. Christ Himself foretells the rise of * false
prophets ' (Matt. xxiv. 24), and Paul warned the
elders of Ephesus of men who should arise within
the Church 'speaking perverse things to draw
away disciples after ihem * (Acts xx. 30). — ^who
shaU privily bring in destructive heresies. The
' who * means here rather ' such as,' pointing not
merely to the fact that they shall so act, but to
their character as such. The verb (which occurs
only here) means literally to bring in by the side.
It may convey the idea of secrecy or insidioitsftess^
which both the A. V. and the K. V. represent by
* privily bring in.' Compare Paul's use of the
corresponding adjective, ' false brethren uttawarcs
brought in * (Gal. ii. 4). Jude (ver. 4) uses a
different term to express the same idea, and
speaks of the event as already accomplished
(' crept in unawares '), while Peter speaks of it as
still future. The ' damnable heresies ' of the
A. V. is an unhappy rendering of the original,
which means 'heresies of destruction,' that is,
heresies which lead to destruction, or, as the
R. V. rives it, 'destructive heresies.' It is
doubtfiil whether the word ' heresies ' is to be
understood here in the sense now attached to it,
namely, that of heterodox^ self chosen doctrines,
or in the sense of party divisions. The latter is
undoubtedly the regular sense of the term in tlie
N. T. ; comp. Acts v. 17, xv. 5, xxiv. 5, xxvi. 5,
xxviii. 22 (in all which it is rendered ' sect * in the
A. v.), and also Acts xxiv. 14; I Cor. xi. 19
(where it goes with schisms)^ and Gal. v. 20
(where it ranks with divisions). There is nothing
to necessitate a departure here from the stated
use. For the idea of party divisions created by

false teaching suits the context well enough.
Some good interpreters (Huther, etc.), however,
are of opinion that the matter in view is the
opinions themselves, that this is more in keeping
with the phrase ' privily bring in/ and that the
word, therefore, in this one instance at least,
approaches the modem sense. — even denying
tne Lord that bought them, having brought
upon themselves s^dft destruction. The con-
struction of these clauses is uncertain. It is
possible that one or other of the participles stands
instead of the finite verb, and that the wholes
therefore, takes the form, 'and shall deny the
Lord that bought them, briiigiiig on themsdves,'
etc., or better, 'and denying the Lord • . •
sludl bring upon themselves,' etc. It is best,
however, to retain all the participles as such,
we have then an intensijication of the
statement. In bringing in these heresies
destruction the false teachers will be even
the Lord, and their doing so will mean that the
have brought doom upon themselves. If Pet
writes this Epistle, this reference to the dttnal ot
Christ as the climax of all possible evil in fiutb^
becomes doubly significant. The name given t
Christ here is the term Master ^ which is repeated!
used to designate the head of a house in hi
relation of authority over, or in his rights ol
possession in, the members of his house (com;
I Tim. vL I, 2 ; 2 Tim. ii. 21 ; TiL ii 9 Sb-
I Pet. ii. 18). Christ's claims upon them
further described as the claims of One who
made them His own by purchase. Jwlc (ver. 4
omits this notice of the purchase. The purchase
price, which is elsewhere stated to be His blood
(I Cor. vi, 20, vii. 23 ; Rev. v. 9), b left un-
explained. The passage is one of several, in
which Christ's death is presented in its worid-
wide attitude, as the means of instituting new
relations between God and all mankind. These
are balanced by others which ascribe a special
effect and a particular design to His douh in
relation to Hb own, who have been given Him of
His Father. Both must find a place in our doctrine
of His reconciling work. As to the ' swift,* see on
chap. i. 14. As there, so here it means sudden —
a destruction speedy, inevitable, ' like the light-
ning's stroke' (Lillie).

Ver. 2. And many shall follow their wanton-
nesses. The A. V. gives 'pernicious ways,'
following a reading which b now given up. On
the noun see on i Pet. iv. 3. The same strong
term is used for following^ as in chap. L 16. It
denotes completeness or closeness of pursuiL
Here again the immoral life b represented as th'
natural result of the false belief. So too, and
still more positively, in Jude 4. — by reason of
whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken
of. As to the verb see on i Pet. iv. 4. Chris-
tianity is designated ' the way of the truth * as
being a mode of life which results from, or betrs
the qualities of, the truth. The term ' way * in
this particular application occurs with marked
frequency in the Book of Acts (comp. ix. 3, xvL 17,
xviii. 25, 26, xix. 9, 23, xxii. 4, xxiv. 14). The
connection leaves it ambiguous whether the
persons referred to here are the false teachers
themselves, or their followers, or both together.
The most natural reference on the whole would
be to those who have been immediately spoken of
as certain to follow these teachers. In thb case
the point may be, as it b understood, r^., by

II. i-i6.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

261

that greatest injury b done to the cause of
amoitt those outside by men who, while
H^ to be in the way of truth, yet favour and
al9e teachers.*

3. and in ooyetovunete by feigned
■ tbey will make merchandke of yon.
tb rendered ' make merchandise of occurs
X a^ain in the N. T., viz. in Jas. iv. 13,
it IS translated 'buy and sell.' In
taadttl Greek, and also in the Septuagint
Prov. iii. 14), it occurs with the sense of
^ #crr. Hence some interpreters think
»e it expresses the desire of the false
i to win adherents. The more usual sense

v»b» however, is to make gain of an

The idea, therefore, is rather that the
sacheis, known for their life of sheer
mess, and having greed for their great
will nse their deluded followers for
Si of gain, employing artful speeches
m on the subject of Christian liberty, as
igeest) as their weapons in the base traffic
mn. The sentence thus uncovers darker
in the corruptness of their character and
oeiiess of their aims. This evil dis-
k appears again in vers. 14, 15. It is
1 terms not less strong by Jude (vers. 1 1, 16).
re also the indignant declarations on a like
•tate of matters, which are made by Paul
. vi. 5 ; Tit. i. 11). The epithet ' feigned '
iliar to this passage. With these 'made

'craftUv constructed' speeches, compare
le ' good words and fair speeches ' with
Pul tells us some who caused divisions
ficnces deceived the hearts of the simple
ztL 18). — ^whoee judgment now firom of
iMrefh nol Literally it runs thus : ' for
the sentence now from of old lingereth not'
ntence of a righteous Judge b represented
ng been pronounced against them from of
on the wing now, and as certain to descend.
irase here translated ' from of old ' occurs
ere and in chap. ilL 5. The verb rendered
«th' is peculiar to thb passage. Its
e adjective, however, occurs m chap. i. 8 ;
see Note.— and their destmction elnm-

not The verb 'slumber' occurs only
igain, viz. in the parable of the Virgins
XXV. 5). Literally it means ta nod. The
action ' (the ' damnation ' of the A. V. is
t) is represented as a living thing awake and
int. ' Long ago that judgment started on
troying path, and the fate of sinning angels,
le deluge, and the overthrow of Sodom
omorrah, were but incidental illustrations
power, nor has it ever since ** lingered"
low it had no work on hand, or for a
It slumbered on the way. It advances
Toog and vigilant as when Brst it sprang
lie bosom of God, and will not fail to reach
jk to which it was pointed **from of old" *

I.

4. For if God ipared not angels when
Inaed. This rendering (which is adopted
R. V.) comes nearer the original than that
A. V. It b not merely that those of the
who did sin were not spared, but that even
M of angeb as such were not spared when
«red among them.— bnt casting them into
HI committed them to pita of darkneas in
0 onto Judgment. There b a little un-
ity here both as to the connection and a^ to

the reading. Some good interpreters arrange the
clauses thus : ' having cast them down into hell
(bound) with chains of darkness, committed them
as in reserve unto judgment.' The preferable
construction, however, b the other. Ancient
authorities, again, vary between two slightly
different forms of the word which the A. v.
renders ' chains.' One of these means what the
A. V. makes it — 'chains,' ropes, or cords (comp.
Prov. V. 22). Thb reading gives a sense in
harmony with the companion statement in Tude
(ver. 6), as also with another in the Book of
Wisdom, ' they were bound with a chain of dark-
ness ' (xvii. 27). The best manuscripts, however,
support the other form, which means caves,
dungeons, or, as the R. V. puts it, 'pits.' The
term itself, in either form, occurs only thb once in
the N. T. The word here used for ' darkness ' b
found again only in ver. 17 and in Jude 6, ij.
The verb rendered 'cast them down to hell by
the A. V. b alK> peculiar to the present passage.
It is the heathen term for consigning to Tartarus ;
that b, the dark abyss, as deep beneath Hades as
heaven b high above earth, into which Homer
telb us (Iliad, viii. 13, etc.) Zeus cast Kronos and
the Titans. In later mythology it denoted either
the nether world generally, or that region of it to
which gross offenders were condemned. Here, as
the immediately following words indicate, Peter
has in view neither Hades, the world of the
departed generally, nor Gehenna, hell in the sense of
the place of final judgment, but the intermediate
scene or state of penalty. As the participle is in
the present tense, the appended clause should be
translated not* to ^ reserved,' but ' being reserved '
or ' in reserve unto judgment.' The Vulgate and
all the old English Versions go astray here. — The
case of the angels is introduced as the first of three
historical events to which Peter appeab in proof
of the certain judc^ment of the false teachers. It
has been supposed by many that Peter b pointing
here to the sin dimly indicated in Gen. vL 1-7,
the ' sons of God ' being taken there to be a
synonym for angels. Others regard him as
referring to ideas on the subject of the sins and
penalties of angels, which were traditional among
the Jews and became embodied in such books
as that of Enoch (vii. i, 2). The passage itself,
however, deab chiefly with the punishment of the
angeb, and simply mentions the fact of their sin,
without explaining its nature. Tude gives no
more definite account of it than that they ' kept
not their first estate, but left their own habitation '
(ver. 6). And over the whole question of angelic
sin Scripture offers little or nothing to satbfy
curiosity. With Peter's description here compare
Milton's :

' Here their prison ordained
In utter darkness, and their portion set
As far removed from God and light of heaven.
As from the centre thrice to the utmost pole.'

— Parmdiu Lost, u 71- 74*

Ver. 5. and spared not the old world, bnt
preserved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher
of righteousness, when he bronght a flood upon
the world of the nngodly. The second historical
instance of the penal justice of God does not
appear in Uie companion statement of Jude. On
the other hand, Jude introduces as his first case
another hbtorical event to which Peter niakes no
reference here, namely the Divine punishment of
the unbelieving Israelites who had been delivered

262

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IL i-id.

out of Egypt. The ' flood ' is described here by
the term (= catacljrsm) which is used in Matt
xxiv. 38, 39, and by the Greek Version of the
O. T. (Gen. v. 17). The r^ion of the flood b
termed not only * the old (or, * ancient *) world/
but also ' the world of the ungodly,' the fact that
it had practically become the absolute possession
of the ungodly being the reason for God's act of
judgment Noah b designated ' a preacher (or,

* herald') of righteousness,' in explanation of his
exemption. He is styled * the eighth person,' or
as it may be rendered (with the K. V.), 'with
seven otheiv,' simply in reference to the hbtorical
fact. There is nothing to suggest that Peter
intended the phrase to convey any mystical mean-
ing, as if, e.g., it served as a symbol of the com-
pleteness of the saved Church. It expresses,
nowever, the fewness of the righteous in compari-
son with the world-wide multitude of the ungodly.
The number of those saved from the Deluge is
specified also in i Pet iiL 20. Perhaps in men-
tioning this case, and the following, Peter had in
mind nb Lord's own words (Luke xvii. 26, 29).
The verb rendered ' saved ' by the A. V. means
simphr to kre^f or guard, and is supposed by some
to refer particularly here to the words * shut him
in ' in the narrative of Genesis (vii. 16).

Ver. 6. and tnming the cities of Sodom and
Chnnorrah into aahee, condemned them with an
orerthrow, having made them a type of thoee
that Bhoold live nngodly. The term used for
the 'overthrow' (=catastrophe) which constituted
the punishment in this third historical instance is
the one which b employed in the narrative of the
event itself in Gen. xix. 29. In the N. T. it
occurs only once again, and there in a figurative
sense, viz. in 2 Tim. ii 14. The brief descrip-
tion here is remarkable for its force and vividness.
The word 'turning into ashes,' or, 'burning to
ashes ' (which occurs only here), b itself a strong
and ^phic expression. The retribution, too, b
exhibited in all its righteous severity as a condem-
nation to an absolute overthrow. The destruction
of the cities of the plain is regarded by the pro-
phets (cf. Isa. i. 9, 10 ; Ezek. xvi. 48-56), as well
as by Peter, as an illustration or typical instance
of the judicial principles on which G<>d acts. The
scriptural references to these cities and their fate
are uncommonly numerous.

Ver. 7. and delivered lighteoni Lot, soxe
difltreeeed by the behavionr of the lawless in
wantonness. Here again we have some unusual
words, 'i'he verb which is rendered ' vexed ' by
the A. v., but which has the stronger sense of

* sore distressed ' (as the R. V. puts it), or * worn
tlown,* occurs only once again, viz. in Acts vii. 24,
where it is translated 'oppressed.' The adjective
which the A. V. translates * wicked,' but which
has the more definite sense of * lawless,' occurs
only once again, namely in chap. iii. 17. As to
the word 'conversation* or 'behaviour,' see on
I Pet L 15 ; and as to the term 'wantonness,' see
above on ver. 2. Jude omits this notice of the
deliverance of Lot, which in Peter serves to throw
into still stronger relief the unerring penal judg-
ment of God, but also to prepare the way for the
assertion of God's knowledge of how to * deliver
the godly out of temptation."

Ver. 8. for by sight and hearing that right-
eous man, dwelling among them from day to
day, tortured his righteous soul with their un-
lawful deeds. A parenthetical explanation of

how it was that Lot was 'sore distressed.' The
Vulgate, Erasmus, etc., strangely take the 'sight
and hearing' as definitions of the directions in
which Lot was ri^eous. The point, howem,
manifestly b, that toe soreness of nb distress wis
due to the fact that, living among these widoed
men, he had the protracted pain of seeing with
his own eyes and hearing with hb own ears day
after day things against which hb soul revolted.
The strong term 'tortured' or 'tormented' (cC
'Such occurrences of the same term as Matt vin.
6, 29 ; Mark v. 7 ; Luke viii. 28 ; Rev. ix. 5,
xi. 10, xiv. 10, XX. 20, etc), and the repetition of
the moral epithet in ' that righteous man ' and 'his
righteous soul,' exhibit the oain as the acute pais
due to natural repulsion. Nothing b said here of
the faultiness ascribed to Lot's action by the nsr-
rative of Genesis, or of the way in which he oubm
to live among these men. Everjrthing is done to
present a telling picture of a righteous man thrown
into godless society, and not suffering the eitee
of hb righteous feeling to become blunted uf
lengthens familbrity with the coarse lioentioas-
ness of neighbours who mocked at the restfiiiils
of all law, human and Divine^ but undeiBofa^
daily torment from sights and sounds whidi he
was helpless to arrest

Ver. 9. The Lord knoweth bow to deliwr tti
godly out of temptation, and to rsasrro tti
unrighteous under punishment unto tlie day af
Judgment. The knowledge which b here in
b the Divine type of knowledge, which
both the perception of the wst and the
of the ability. ' Temptation^ b used here in the
sense which it has in i Pet i. 6 (on which see
Note), as including not only temptation in the
limited sense, but all species of trial. The *i» U
punished ' which the A. V. gives (in thb IoUowiik;
the Vulgate) b an incorrect reading The para-
ciple is present, and the idea b that the uniigihteous
are sustaining now a certain measure of punbfa*
ment, in the state in which they are held in reserre
for the final judgment of the great day. Tins
sentence gives, in a somewhat free form, the con-
clusion which b expected for the series of con-
ditional statements which began with rer. 4. It
b as if the writer had said, ' If it has alwajrs hap-
pened, as I have stated it to have happened m
these several historical instances with whidi all
are familiar, b it not plain that the Lord will act
on the same principle with these false teachers?'
But while the previous context would lead us to
look simply for a statement of the penal side of
God's righteousness, Peter introduces here the
other side as well. His notice of God's rtt^eous
care for the godly, however, b only for the
moment In the next verse he takes up onljr the
punitive principle, and proceeds to make a pointed
application of that to a particular class.

Ver. 10. but ohiefly those who go after tta
flesh in the lust of pollution, and despise knd-
ship. Darers, self-willed, they tremhie not to
speaking evil of dignities. The parties aimed
at appear to be the false teachers. 1* ormerly they
were described as only about to arise. They are
spoken of now as already exbting. The change
from the future to the present may be due simfNy
to the definite realization of the future in the
writer's prophetic vision. But it is to be accounted
for rather by the fact that the first movements of
the evil, which was afterwards to prove so p^
were already discerned within the Churdu retcfi

Chap. II. 1-16.J THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

263

tlievefoie, brings the geneni principlo which he
lias illmtnted to hear above all upoo a dass now
vuidei' his own eye. These were the men, he
■asani, Ibr whom there could least be exemption
Urom the sweep of God's pmiitive judgments.
He proceeds to complete his account of what
these men are* adding stronger colours to the
pictare of their scorn of law, their hostility to
Chriirit, their oovetousness, their sensuality. The
description of their imniorality is nuuM more
generml than in Jude (ver. 7) by the omission of
the epithet 'strange' which qualifies the 'flesh*
in the latter. The phrase 'go after' occurs in
the hterml sense in Mark L 20^ and in the meta-
phorical in Jade 7; Jer. iL 5. The lust of
poUntion (the latter word occurs only here) means
the lust which pollutes. The term which the
A. V. renders ' jpresumptuous,* and which occurs
again only in 'nt L 7, means rather 'daring,'
or 'daren.' Instead of 'presumptuous mrt thty,
self-willed' (which' latter adjective occurs only
here), therefore, we should translate either ' self-
willed darers,' or (wUh R. V. ) ' darii^, self-willed/
The difficulty is in determining the sin alluded
to in the two phrases 'despise lorddiip' and
'speaking evil of dignities,' which reappear in
almost the same terms in Jude 8. Many interpre-
ters, specially those of older date, have understood
the onence to be that of contemptuous disregard
of kuMOH authorihr, whether of that generalljr in
all its foims, or of ecclesiastical rule, or of civil
and political rule (Calvin, Erasmus, etc.), in par-
ticniar. Recent commentators, again, have for
the niost part taken other than human authorities
to be intended. Some, e^,^ think that good angels
are referred to in both the 'lordship' and the
'dyiitics;* others, ihvXnni angels are denoted
by both ; othen^ that Ggd or Ckritt is meant by
the former, and either good angels (Kitsch!) or
evil angds (Wiesinger) l^ the latter. In the only
other N. T. occurrence of this term ' lordship ' or
'dominion' (Eph. L 21 ; Col. L 16), it is usied of
angeliL In Jade 8 (the only other instance of the
wmd in each an application) the term ' dignities '
is pnt, along with the whole statement, in imme-
diate connection with what is said of Michael.
The present passage, too, leads at once to direct
mention of angels. These facts give probability
to the view that bv both terms aneelic powers, in
the character of God's agents in me authoritative
administration of earthly things, are intended.
All that is meant, however, may be a general
mention of authority as such, and of the contempt
of that, in all its forms, human, angelic, and
Divine, as a characteristic mark of the class dealt
with. In Rom. ziii. 1, 9, we find the word
' power ' in an equally indefinite, though perhaps
las extensive, sense.

Ver. 1 1. Where angels, greater as they are in
■tvtngth and power, bring not against them
hefiure the Lord a railing judgment The
phrase ' before the Lord ' is omitted by some good
authorities, and is bracketed by the most recent
editors of the teat The ' railing ' is expressed by
an adjective connected with the verb, which is
tnmslated 'speak evil of in ver. 2. In Acts
vL II, I Tim. i. 13, 2 Tim. iii. 2, it is given as
'blasphemous' or 'blasphemer.' The word ren-
dered 'accusation' by the A. V. means 'judg-
ment' and is so given in all the earlier English
Versions. The opening relative, which the A. V.
translates ' whereas,' means simply ' where,' and

may be rendered ' in cases where,' or ' in matters
in which.' The verse has received very different
interpretations. The good angels, #.^., .ire sup-
posed to be contrasted as a class with the evil
angels in point of strength, and with the false
teachers in respect of reverence. Or those angels
who, like Micnael, are supreme among all angek
are understood to be referred to, and to be
contrasted either with the ' darers ' or with the
'dignities.' The most reasonable explanation,
however, seems to be that even aneels, who
so far excel men, do not presume thenoselves
to speak in terms of railing judgment against even
offenders like these 'darers.' The redcless, im-
pious audacity of the latter is thus presented
m the darkest possible colours by being set over
against the reverent regard for authority which in
all circumstances characterizes the former. The
statement which is given here broadly and gene-
rally, is connected with the eminent instance of
Michael in Jude. Peter's words here may take
their form from the description of the scene
between Joshua, Satan, and the angel of Jehovah
in Zech. iii. 2. It is not improbable, however,
that for their present purpose both Peter and Jude
make use of some tradition or current belief on
the subject of the angels, which was familiar
enough to his readers to need no explanation at
the time. From the Rabbinical writings and the
Apocryphal books we can gather how large a
mass of popular and traditional lore grew up from
an early period around many points of Old Testa-
ment doctrine.

Ver. 12. But these, as irrational animals, by
nature bom for capture and destruction. The
string of epithets here is soniewliat difficult to
represent adequately. The latter phrase runs
literally 'bom natural,' etc., and may convey the
idea either that they are not born spiritual crea-
tures, or that in point of natural constitution they
are intended only 'for capture and destruction.'
The rendering of the A. V., ' but these as natursl
brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed,'
expresses the sense sufficiently well, only that it
connects the 'natural' with the ' beasts,' instead
of with the *bom.' The order given by the l)est
authorities is followed by the R. V., ' but these,
as creatures without reason, bom mere animals to
be taken and destroyed.' These last words repre-
sent substantives in the original. Hence some
take the sense to be 'to take and destroy,' the
idea Uien being that the irrational creatures are
made to get their own maintenance by capturing
and killing other creatures. The passive sense,
however, 'to be taken and destroyed,' is more in
harmony with the context. — speaking evil in
tibings of whioh they are ignorant The ' speak-
ing evil,' or ' railing,' refers back to the ' railing
judgment ' of the previous verse. The senseless
and malignant reviling indulged in by these men in
matters which they are incapal)le of understanding,
and in which ignorance should command silence,
shows how like they are to the irrational beasts.
And as they resemble these in their mode of life,
Peter goes on to say, they shall resemble them in
their destiny. — shall in their destruction also
be destroyed. Many good interpreters give the
ethical meaning to the word ' destruction ' here.
In this case the sense will be, as the A. V. gives
it, ' shall utterly perish in their own corruption,'
or (as it is more fully put, €.g,^ by Alford), shall
go on practising the corrupt life to which they

264

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IL i-i

have sold themselves with increasing appetite
until they are themselves destroyed by it. The
idea, however, is rather this: in the destruction
which they bring upon others, they shall yet bring
destruction upon themselves. So Humphry
{Ccmm, on Revised Version^ p. 451) makes it=
while causing destruction to others, shall accom-
plish their own destruction; with which non-
etldcal sense of the verb and noun he compares
(with Wordsworth) i Cor. iil 17, *If any man
destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God
destroy.*

Ver. 13. BatEBring wrong as the wages of
wrong-doing. The reading re[)resented by the
•shall receive* of the A. v., is displaced by
another, meaning ' suffering wrong,' which has the
support of the oldest documents, is accepted by
the R. V. and the most recent critical editors, and
gives us one of those 'emphatic and vehement
repetitions of words' which are recognised as
distmctive of this Epistle (see Humphry, tU sup.).
It is observed that the phrase 'wages of un-
righteousness* is peculiar to Peter (here, in ver. 15,
and in his speech in Acts i. 18). — reokoning
loziirionB living in the day a pleasore. It is
doubtful whether the first noun here can mean
altogether so much as either the 'riot* of the
A. V. or the * revel * of the R. V, It occurs once
again in the N. T., viz. in Luke vii. 25, where it
is translated ' live delicately.* The cognate verb,
too, is translated ' live in pleasure * in Jas. v. 5.
The term denotes luxurious or delicate livin::^.
The phrase ' in the day ' is understood by some
(Bexa, the Dutch and Italian Versions, etc.) to
mean daily. But that is erroneous. Others (the
Vulgate, Schott, Huther, Calvin, Alford, etc.)
take it to mean for a day, or the temporal^ tran*
sient^ so that the idea would be ' reckoning the
luxurious living which lasts but the little da^ of
man's life a pleasure.' The best interpretation,
however, makes the phrase equivalent to in the
daytime (Hofmann, etc.). The sentence then
exhibits these men as pressing da^ and night alike
into the service of luxurious delights. It is also
in harmony with Peter's own statement in Acts
ii. 15 on tne scandalous profligacy which would
be implied in men becoming drunken by 'the
third nour of the day.' Compare also Paul's
words in I Thess. v. 7. — ^The train of parti-
ciples, nouns, and adjectives which begins here
and goes on through the next verse may be con-
nected either with what precedes (so Huther and
the majority) or with what follows (so Hofmann,
etc.). In the former case they bring out the
shamelessness of the ' unrighteousness ' or * wrong-
doing ' for which they are to receive their wages.
In the latter case they begin a new sentence which
finds its verb in the 'have forsaken' of ver. 15,
and runs on to the end of ver. 16. They form
a ' series, or rather torrent, of short exclamatory
clauses ' (Lillie), disclosing the dark elements of
the reprobate character which makes such a
judgment as has been asserted inevitable. — spots
and blemishes. The former term occurs again
only in £ph. v. 27, although another form ofthe
same is found in Jude 12. The verb, too, occurs
in the 'spotted' of Jude 23 and the 'defile' of
Jas. iii. 6. The latter term, which means
properly blame, and then blemish, occurs only
here. Its verb is found in 2 Cor. vi. 3, viii. 20.
We have the negatives of these two terms in the
description of the Iamb 'without blemish and

without spot ' in I Pet L 19.— sporting in theiK:
own deceits, while they feast with yoo. IT
' sporting,' as the A. V. gives it, is expressed b^<
a compound verb connected with the nooa-
rendered 'luxurious living' above. It majr '
translated, therefore, luxuriating^. There b
remarkable variation among ancient docament^
between two readings, differing from eadi
only by a single letter. One of these
' deceits,' as the A. V. gives it, or * deoeivi
as it is put in the margin of the R. V. ; the
means ' love-feasts,' as it is given in the text
the R V. In the latter case it b meant
these men pervert to their own advantage
enjoyment even the social meal% the ^af^
' loves,' as they came to be called, which were
expression of Christian brotherhood. That
crept into this institution at a very early
simple as in all probability it was, appears
I Cor. xi. 2. In the former case (and the bahmc

on the whole is on that side) the idea is
they luxuriate in deceits by which they seek
base ends, for this purpose taking advantage eves
of opportunities unsuspectingly offered them c:
social intercourse and entertainment with tb*-
Christian brotherhood.

Ver. 14. having eyes tuSi of an adoil
The noun rendered ' adultery ' both by the A^-'
and by the R. V. means really an adulteress,
phrase 'full of also means, at least occasiomdl;
m the Classics, 'engrossed by.' Thus the sef**"
may be either hewing eyes for nothing du but
adulteress, or revecUing in their very ^fes I
adulterous object 0/ their desire. It is possiUe, as
has been suggested, that Peter is recUling here
his Lord's words recorded in Matt. v. 28. There
is no reason to suppose, however, that any
particular temptress occupying a prominent
position is in view. The phrase is simply a boM
method of expressing the sensual passion of the
men, — men wnose ejres burned with impure fires,
whose adulterous lust gleamed in their eves. — and
that cannot be made to cease firam nn. So it
may be rendered rather than simply ' unsatisfied
with sin,' or 'that cannot cease from siiL* The
clause adds the strokes of restlessness and persist-
ence to the picture of their sensual profligacy. —
enticing nnstable sonls. The verb occnis again
in ver. 18 and in Jas. L 14, and is a more
picturesque term than the 'beguiling' of the
A. V. It means to allure by holding out a bait
to one. — having a heart exercised in ooretoas-
ness. The N. T. more than once brings greed
and sensuality into very inlinuite connection
(I Thess. iv. 6; i Cor. v. 11 ; Eph. ▼. 3, J),
and hence some eminent interpreters (Calvw,
Plumptre, etc.) suppose that the sin of impnrity
is meant here. But as covetousness has abtady
been introduced in ver. 3 as a prominent character-
istic of these men, there is no reason ibr departing
from the ordinary sense of the word here. Three
great vices, therefore, which go naturally together,
being onl^ so many types of the same selfiunesi,
viz. luxunousness, sensuality, avarice, are ascribed
to them here. — children of a onne; that is to
say, men who are devoted to the curse, who are
of the quality or character so described. On this
formula see note on I Pet. L 14; comp. also
John xvii. 12 ; Eph. iL 2 ; 2 Thess. ii. 3. The
description given in this verse as a wh^e does
not meet us again in Jude.

Ver. 15. forsaking tlie itraifl^t wftjr tlMf

-ar

:hap. II. 17-22.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

265

PMii Mtiay, having followed the way of Balaam
he eon of Boeor, who loved the wages of un-
il^leouenetB (or, toroftg-doing). llie strong
lerb lor a foUowing which amounts to close
mniiit or imitation is used here again, as in
hap^ L 46, ii. 2. The form Bosor, for the Beor of
be Old Testament, is explained as due to the pecu-
iarityof the Galilean pronunciation. Peter's own
Sainean speech ' bewrayed ' him (Matt xxvi. 73).
>n the phrase ' loved the wages of unrighteous-
csa' see on ver. 13. Some good documents
zhibit a different raiding here, which connects
his dense not with Bakuun, but with these men,
is. 9 'following the way of Balaam the son of
loeory tkey loved the wages of unrighteousness.'
t is to be observed, too, that in Acts xiii. 10
^eter is represented as using the phrase 'right
rays,' or ' straight ways,' in his denunciation of
Slymas the sorcerer. The word 'way,' too,
neets us very often in the O. T. story of Balaam
Nam. zxii.). It is supposed by some that
ciierence is made here to Balaam's counsel in the
natter of tempting Israel to sensuality (Num.
juu. 16). The dennition given, however, in the
ist clause points rather to covetousne&s as the
hstacter in which Balaam is brought in. llie
nt of gain which Balaam formally denied was,
s the tenor of the O. T. narrative clearly shows,
be thin^ that shaped hb action. The fact that
a Rev. iL 14, 15 the Nicolaitans are mentioned
a connection with Balaam, leads some to the con-
lenon that Peter also had that party in his view
Kfe. Jude makes use of the cases of Cain and
Cotah as well as that of Balaam.

Ver. 16. but he was rebuked for his trans-
tiesstoii. The phrase means literally, 'but he
lad a lebuke for his transgression.' The word
aed here for 'his' may mean 'his own,' and

hence some suppose that it is emphatic here, the
pomt being that he who was a prophet to others
had himself to be rebuked for a trespass of his
own. It is precarious, however, to assert such
force for the word in the N. T, The trans-
gression referred to is Balaam's yielding to curse
Israel for the sake of gain, under the proviso that
God's permission should not be withheld. — the
dumb ass, speaking with man's voice, stayed
the madness of the prophet The ass is desig-
nated here, and again in Matt xxL 5, by a general
term which means simply a ' beast that b^rs the
yoke,' or a 'beast of burden.' The 'madness'
charged against Balaam is expressed by a term
which is found only here, although the co^ate
verb appears in the ' as a fool ' of 2 Cor. xi. 23.
The 'forbade' of the A. V. does not fairly
represent the sense of the original. The meaning
\& prevented^ checkedy or, as the R. V. very happily
gives it, 'stayed.' The offence was interdicted,
but not left uncommitted. It has been held by
not a few that Peter gives an incorrect report of
the O. T. narrative, in so far as the latter repre-
sents the angel, and not the ass, as uttering the
rebuke. Peter, however, does not afHnn that the
rebuke was spoken by the ass. What he states is
simply that the prophet was rebuked, and that
the dumb ass, speakine with man's voice, stayed
his madness. And that the O. T. narrative
represents the beast as bringing the prophet first
to a stand is clear. The dinicult questions about
the credibility and- interpretation of the story of
Balaam belong, however, to the criticism and
exegesis of the Old Testament. It is referred to
by the writer of this Epistle as a stor^ well known
and accepted in his time, and furnishing a parallel,
which all might understand and feel, to the
terrible picture which he has been sketching.

Chapter IL i7-22.

T/ie False Teachers furt/ier described.

\7 T^HESE are * wells* * without water, ''clouds* that are «m^v=9;

• I Jo. IV. 6, 14 :

X '^ carried* with a 'tempest;* to whom the -^mist* of ;»*••"•.»>.";

*^ ' Rev. VII. 17.

18 darkness is reserved* for ever.' For when they ^ speak* great ^j^d^'^H*^'
* swelling words of 'vanity, they * allure through* the 'lusts ^joti^wii.
of the flesh, through much '"wantonness,** those that were ^J^^ui^^^.

19 clean "escaped** from them who ''live in terror. While they ipijfit*;;.
promise them ^liberty, they themselves are the ''servants of 'JJJ'Jiii.W-

• • •

corruption : ** for of whom " a man is overcome, of the same /Vlr^T'^^'
K) is he 'brought in bondage. For if after they have "escaped ^^;j?.*,6^*

A Ex. xviiL aa ; Jude 16. i Rom. viii. 30 ; Eph. iv. 17. kVtr. i^. / Gal. v. 16 ; Eph. it. 3 ; x Jo. ii. 16.

mVct. a. n See refs. at ch. L 4. o Heb. xiii. 18. / Rom. L 9^, iii. 17 ; Jude xi. qi Cor. x. ap : Gal. ii. ^.
'. 1, 13. r Rom. viii. ax. s Jo. viii. ^4 ; a Cor. xiL 13 ; Rom. vi. 16. / Gen. xv. 13 ; Acts vii. 6 ; Rom. vi.

S, aa; I Cor. viL 15, ix. 19 ; Gal. iv. 3 ; Tit. li. 3. m See refs. at ch. i. 4.

' ar^ spnngs

* or, whirlwind

• ar^ for speaking

* rather^ as in R. V.y and mists • driven

* blackness • literally ^ has been ' omit for ever

m

*® literally y by wantonnesses

11 those who are just escaping, as in R, V,
" rather^ promising them liberty, while they themselves are bond-SQrva,nts of
:orxuption ^^ or^ of what

366 THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [CHAP. II. 17^

the ** pollutions of the world, through" the "'knowledge of the rEiA.tmL
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again * entangled »^.»^«
therein, afid 'overcome,'* the 'latter end is * worse with them 'fgTilJf-

21 than the beginning.*' For it had been * better" for them not '^\^^
to have "" known the ''way of righteousness, than, after they ^JJJJj^^.
have known it, to 'turn" from the -^holy commandment ^5iZ!fa.l^

22 ^ delivered unto them. But " it is * happened unto them Jrif.!;
according to the 'true proverb,** The *dog is 'turned" to ^gj"^^
his own vomit again ; and the '''sow that was * washed to her" ccS'if;'''
"" wallowing in the ^ mire. i^vS^"'*

i'Actt XYi. a; I Cor. xL a; Jwle}
Jk Mat. vii. 6 ; Lu. xvi. ai ; Phil n. »;
M Jo. xiiL ro; Acts \x, 37, xvl33;H^
/ jer. xlv. 6.

e Lu. iii. 20 : Acts viii. 25 ; Gal. L 17 ; Hcb. vil x. /Rom. vii. tt.

A See refs. at i Pet. iv. la. • Jfa x. 6, xvi. 25, 29 ; Prov i. i, etc

Rev. xxii. 15. / Mat. xii. 44 ; Gal. iv. 9 : jer. xi 10. m Prov. xi. a«.
x. as : Rev. i. 5. 0 Prov. ii. x8. Cf. also Mk. ix. ao.

14

or, in

" ^r, but having again become entangled in these, they are overcome

^* literally^ the last thing^s have become to them worse than the first

" or^ it were better *^ or^ turn back *• otnit But

3® literally^ there has happened to them that of the true proverb

'* rather^ the dog turning again '' ofnit her

The description of the parties destined to spring
up within the Church, which has been partially
interrupted by the summary cf Balaam's case, is
resumed in direct terms. New points are pressed
with the utmost sharpness. These are the deceit-
fulness of what is offered by the false teachers, and
their position as apostates from the truth. It is
upon tnis last fact that the chapter concentrates its
force as it nears its close. What is meant by this
state of apostasy is expressed in a few bold words
which arc endorsed by two familiar proverbs.

Ver. 17. These are springs without water.
The noun is the same as that used of Jacob's xoell
in John iv. 6. It means, however, a spring-well
or fountain. It is possible that the figure points
to the apostasy of the men * who bear the semblance
of teachers, just as, for a little time, a place in
Eastern lands where water has flowed will continue
green, but disappoint the thirsty traveller who
may be led by a little verdure to hope for water *
(Lumby). But it is rather in respect simply of the
pretence which they make, and the deception
which they practise, that they are likened to water-
less springs. The force of the imagery, which has
a special appropriateness in Eastern lands, will be
seen by comparing those passages in which God
Himself is designated a ' fountain of living waters '
( fer. ii. 13), or those in which men who turn from
sm are likened to a 'spring of water, whose
waters fail not' (Isa. Iviii. 11) ; but best of all by
comparing such passages as those in which the
' mouth of the righteous ' is said to be as a ' well
of life,' and the * law of the wise ' is described as
*a fountain of life* (Prov. x. 11, xiii. 14). See
also the imagery used by Christ Himself in John
iv. 10, 14, vii. 37.~ana mists driven by a storm.
The R. V. rightly follows the best critical
authorities here m substituting for the * clouds * of
the A. V. a more expressive term (not found else-
where in the New Testament) meaning * mists * or
* mist-clouds.' The noun rendered * storm ' is the
one which is applied to the ' storm ' on the Lake in
Mark iv. 37 ; Luke viii. 23 (its only other New

Testament occurrences). It denotes properiy >
whirlwind sweeping upwards. Hence the sp^
of the description *dnven,' not merely 'cuiied'
as in the A. V. Wycliffe*s rendering is mj^
expressive — 'mists driven with whirling wtad*.'
It is doubtful, however, whether tbissecondfievc
is intended to convey the idea that these )«*
teachers are wanting in consistency (Hatber^
The point of comparison is simply the deoepti^
ness of what they offer. Like the drifting nirt*
clouds, presaging rain to refresh the eaith tf^
enrich the husbandman, which suddenly vaifflk
and leave bitter disappointment to the expectaiitt
when they are caueht up by the tempest, so these
teachers excite dcuusive hopes by lofty promiMS
which leave nothing behind them. Compare tke
Old Testament figure—' whoso bossteth himself
of a false gift is like clouds and wind without nis'
(Prov. XXV. 14). See also Paul's figoie in Epk.
iv. 14.— for whom the Uaoknen of ileilni
has been reserved. The best authorities omit the
' for ever ' of the A. V. The phrase is the same
as in Jude 13, and should, therefore, be rendered
the ' blackness,' etc., not the * mist,' etc. It
asserts the Divine certainty, the hopelessness, the
perpetuity of the doom of these apostates. Com-
pare Jeremiah's description of the false piopbcl%
whose ' way shall be unto them as slippery ways is
the darkness ' (xxiii. 12). For the conceptioQ of
the Divine judgment, whether of Uie righteous or
of the unrighteous, as reserved or frefand, see
also Matt xxv. 34, 41 ; i Pet L 4, etc.

Ver. iS. for speaking great swelUag tUiMp
of vanity. The writer proceeds now to jott^
what he has just said, dtoer as to the doom of the
false teachers, or as to their character as pretenders
and deceivers. The verb used for ' speaking ' i*
one which occurs in the New Testament onhr ^
Acts iv. 18, and in these two verses (16, lo) of
the present chapter. It usually expresses loud
utterance, e.g, the scream of the eagle, the nefehing
of the horse, the speech of orators, the batue-oy
of wfirriors, the recitative of a chonis. Hepee itt

k

17-22.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

267

I in reference to men who indalge in
ing, emplT, grandiloqnent statements.
« rendered 'great swelling things' is
r here and in the parallel passage in
ksciibes what is ever-large or immodc'
is applied in the late Classics to a
fvrnur style. As to the 'vanity/ see

Pet. i. 18. The noun occurs again
m. viii. 20 ; Eph. iv. 17. — they entioe
to of the fleeh by wantonneaees. The
le flesh ' (with which compare especially
e formulae, Gal. ▼. 16 ; Eph. ii. 3) are
within which they live and act. The
lies,' or 'acts of lasciviousncss ' (on
I Pet. iv. 3), are the instruments which
ithin that sphere. The action ascribed
that of enticing as with a bait; such is
f the verb, the use of which in the New

is limited to those two verses in the
apter (14, 18) and Tas. i. 14.— those
A esGftping fhnn tnem who live in
le A. v., following the Received Text,
wt that were clean escaped.* This
ist yield now to another which may be
who are just escaping ' (so the R. V.,
who 'are but a little way escaped'
I* By those ' who live in error ' are to
M)d not the false teachers themselves,
hristians generally. The phrase, too,
leatkens. The guilt of those apostate
berefore, b exhibited as aggravated by
It the persons whom they plied with
it of sensual indulgence were those least

it, not men who were established in
faith, but men who had but recently
iirom the ranks of heathenism, or who
: got but a few paces, as it were, in
s of separating themselves from theiir
life. The verb used here for ' live ' is
rhich denotes the ntamter of life, the
id is connected with the noun for ' life '
aation,' which meets us most frequently
I PM. i 15, 18, ii. 12, iii. I, 2, 16';
7, iii. II); occasionally in Paul (Gat.
IL iv. 22 ; I Tim. iv. 12) ; and else-
r in Heb. xiii. 7 ; Tas. iii. 13.

pramising them liberty, they them-
tng (all the while) bond-servants of
U The loud-sounding engagement to
fty,* — a new liberty worthy of man,
one of the 'great swelling things of
e of the ' baits ' with which they would
wary. The kind of liberty to be given
jdged of, however, from the character of
led givers. From those who were them -
"es of corruption what kind of liberty
e, but a liberty defiant of law, a liberty
an occasion to the flesh ' (Gal. v. 13)?
fill whether even here the term rendered
II ' has the purely ethical sense of
Retaining the usual sense of ' destnic-
book! have the idea that only a liberty
ied to destruction could come from
were themselves bound to the service
100. — for of whom one has been over-

liim has he been brought unto
or, made a bond-servant). A justifi-

the statement that these men are

; bond'Sirvants of corruption, or dc-

As the phrase states a general

lome prefer to give it the form — ' for of

las been overcome, to that has he been

made a bond-servant.' The same principle is
affirmed by Christ Himself (John viii. 34), and by
Paul (Rom. vL 16). It is easy to see how the
fi[ospel doctrine of a new libertjr through the truth
yohn vitL 32), and especially the Pauline
teaching on the ' liberty of the children of God '
(Rom. viii 21), the libierty which exists wherever
the Spirit of the Lord is (2 Cor. iii 17), the
liberty 'wherewith Christ hath made us free'
(Gal. V. i), might be misinterpreted and turned
to licence. But it may be, as Dean Plumptre
suggests, that Uie dangerous cry for liberty, and
the pretentious teaching on the subject, which are
referred to in the Epistles, found their peculiar
occasion in the restrictions imposed by the Con-
vention at Jerusalem (Acts xv. 29), and aimed at
securing freedom not only from the things from
which that Convention relieved the Gentile Chris-
tians, but also from the abstinence which was en-
joined from 'meats offered to idols, and from blood,
and from things strangled, and {toxafontication,^
Ver. 20. Fmr if, having escaped the pollutions
of the world in the knoidedge of the Lord and
Savionr Jesns Ohrist, bnt having been again
entangled in these, they are overcome, the last
things have become to them worse than the
first. To whom does this description apply?
Some {e.g, Bengel, Hofmann, etc.) take the
persons in view to oe the dupes of the false
teachers. Beyond the fact, however, that the
same term 'escaped' is used here as in ver. 18,
there is little to favour so remarkable a change
from object to subject, llie false teachers them-
selves are still the subjects, and what is affirmed
of them is a state of relapse into the ' pollutions '
(the word b peculiar to this passage, although
another form of it occurs in ver. 10) of heathenism
from which they had once separated themselves.
In terms unmistakeably recalling, if not literally
repeating, our Lord s own words in Matt. xii. 45,
that state of relapse is declared to Xnt worse than
their original state of paganism — worse because no
longer excused by * ignorance ' (cf. i Pet i. 14).
The expression 'entangled' is a strong and
significant one, being used e,g, by -^chylus of
being entangled in the net of ruinous infatuation
(Prom. 1079). It is in admirable harmony, there-
fore, with the previous ' entice in the lusts of the
flesh* (ver. 18). The 'knowledge' of the L^rd
and Saviour Jesus Christ which is attributed here
to these apostates is the same kind of knowledge
as has been already spoken of in chap. i. 2,
3, 8. Hence it is urged that the statement is
entirely antagonistic to the doctrine of the perse-
verance of the saints, and indeed that there is,
' perhaps, no single passage in the whole extent of
New Testament teaching more crucial than this
in its bearing on the Calvinistic dogma of the
indefectibility of grace ' (Plumptre). The bearing
of the passage, however, upon that doctrine is by
no means so deflnite and absolute. It institutes
a solemn comparison between two diffisrent con-
ditions of the same individuals. It contrasts two
different stages of impure living, and pronounces
the one worse than tne other. But b«yond that
it does not go, neither can it be regarded as of
decisive importance in regard to tiie diflerent
views of grace advocated by diflerent schools of
theology. The whole statement is introduced
simply in conflrmation of what was said in the
previous verse of the bondage in which those live
who are overcome of sin.

268

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. III. i-.|q,

Vcr. 21. For it were better for them not to
haye known the way of righteouBnefls, than,
having known it, to tnm back from the holy
commandment deliyered to them. The ' better '
here, as in I Pet. iii. 17 (see note there), means
more to their advantage. The * way of righteous-
ness ' is not quite the same as ' the Gospel,' or
* the way of salvation.' It is a term for Chris-
tianity specifically on its ethical side, as a new
moral life. Other phrases, such as ' the way of
truth,' descril)e it more definitely on its doctrinal
side. The * holy commandment ' is not to be
limited either to the commandment known as the
' new commandment ' (John xiii. 34), or to the
Sermon on the Mount. It is the ethical require-
ment of the Gospel as a whole, the law of life
which Christ has left. Here, too, the description
moves entirely within the sphere of character, and
resembles the picture given by Christ Himself
of two moral states, in His parable of the unclean
spirit and the seven more wicked spirits (Matt.

xii. 43-45).

Ver. 22. There has happened unto them that
of the true proverb. Two proverbial sayings
follow. As having the same import, however,
they arc dealt with as if they made but one. The
term is the one which is applied to the Proverbs
of Solomon by the Greek Version of the Old
Testament. It means an^ kind of common
saying or saw, however ; and m the New Testament
it occurs only here and in John's Gospel (x. 6,
xvi. 25, 29, where it is translated both parable and
proverb). Instead of the simple expression ' the
true proverb,' we have the periphrasis ' that of the
true proverb,' or * the matter oi the true proverb,*
as it might be rendered ; a form found also in the
later Classics, as well as elsewhere in the New
Testament (Matt xxi. 21 ; cf. also Matt. viii. 33,
xvi. 23 ; Rom. viii. 5). The * but * which the
A. V. introduces is not sufficiently supported. —
A dog turning again to his own vomit So the
original gives the proverb in the abrupt form of a
participle without a finite verb. The word ' vomit '
occurs only here. In Prov. xxvi. 1 1 we have a
saying apparently so similar to this, that it has been
usual to speak of Peter as quoting it here. The
actual terms in the original, however, differ so
much as to make it more probable that he was

simply repeating a well-known popular maxioi..

and, A sow having washed herself, to wallop,
ing in the mire. The reading varies betv«^^
two forms of the term rendered * wallowing* qq^
of which would mean the wallowing-iliAiA\ \^
other (which is the better attested) the cut (/
wallowing. The term occurs only here, and (j^
same is the case with that for ' mire.' This secootf
proverb has no definite parallel in the Old Tcsti.
ment, and is taken, therefore, from the mouth cf
the people. Compare, however, the compaiuoo
of a ' fair woman without discretion ' to a 'jewel
of gold in a swine's snout ' (Prov. xL 22), anidoor
Lord's word, ' neither cast ye your pearls befoie
swine' (Matt. vii. 6). Compare also Horaces
' he would have lived a filttiy dog, or a bog
delighting in mire ' (Epistles^ Book u 2, line 26).
The repute of the ^og and the sow, notooljriD
Tudea but generally throughout the East, is well
known. The former, as an unclean animal and
the scavenger of Oriental towns, became a term
of reproach, a name for one's enemies (Ps. uiL
16, 20), a figure of the profane or impure (Rev.
xxii. 15 ; cf. also Matt xv. 26 ; Mark vii. 27).
The latter was forbidden to be eaten not only
amon^ the Jews, but also among the Arabs, the
Phoenicians, and other Eastern nations. To the
priests of Egypt, too, swine's flesh was the most
hateful of all meats. If these verses are pressed,
as is often the case, into the controversy oa the
nature of grace as indefectible or othenrise, the
two proverbs would certainly favour the Calvis-
istic view rather than the Arminian. For thdr
point is, that the nature of the creatures was not
changed, but that each, after a temporary sepan*
tion, returned to the impurity which was aooordiog
to its nature. So the idea is taken to amount to
this — ' Let us not be stumbled or disma^td.
" The sure foundation of God " has not gtvn
way. These wretched men were never whit
they professed to be. They had, indeed, under-
gone a process of external reformation; hnt
It was external merely, their heart all the fdule
remaining unchanged, ** like the washing of a
swine, which you may make clean, but can never
make cleanly'^' (Lillie). But in point of 6ct
these doctrinal questions are not (airly in new
here.

Chapter III. i-io.

Warnings against prospective Deniers of Christ s Advent.

1 " I "HIS second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you;* in «Sec.wfc.i«

X both which * I * stir up your ^ pure ' ^ minds * by way of 'I5?-A|*

2 ^remembrance;* that ye may be 'mindful of the words* ^jj^'>
which were -^spoken before by the ^holy prophets, and of the ^ ^^J*

* commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour : ' ^g2j.^.*

Heb. iv. 7 ; Jude 17. ^ La. i. 70 ; Acts iii. ax. h Mat v. 19, xv. 3 ; Ja xiii. 34, xiv. 15, ai ; Ron. vii. 8^ %'as:

I Jo. ii. 3, 4> 7> 8, iii. aa, a3, etc

* rather^ as in R, K, This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write
unto you * literally^ in which * or^ sincere * mind

* in reminding (you) ® that ye should remember the words

' literally y and your apostles' commandment of the Lord and Saviour ; or, with
R, K., and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour tlirough your apostles

Acts iiu 13,
viL xo, xiu.

i2f xxvu 6 :
loin. ix. 5,
xi. a8, XV. 8
Heb. i. x.^
a Mat. xxvii.
52 ; Acts vu
60; X Thea.

Chap. III. i-ia] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 269

3 'knowing this first, that there shall come in the *last days* i^^\^

4 scoffers,* 'walking after their own lusts, and saying. Where is /jud^jg^Vs.
the promise of his ** coming ? for since *" the * fathers "^ fell '"^•^Si "
asleep, all things ^continue as tAey were" ^from the beginning "Jg^ jo?yL***

5 of the creation. For this they ''willingly are ignorant of,"
that by the 'word of God the heavens were 'of old, and
the earth "standing out of the water" and in the water:"

6 whereby " the world that then was, being ^ overflowed with

7 water, perished : but the ^ heavens and the earth which are
now," by the same word are 'kept in store, •'reserved unto ^lu'i'm?*
'fire against the *day of judgment" and ^perdition" of Ga"*u. i;

8 ^ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ^ignorant of this one ^Mk.x!'6)iiii.
thing," that ' one day is ^ with the Lord as a thousand years, il^m. i! iT

9 and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not ^ slack *® * Heb. i. 3.

VI. 5 XI* 1.

concerning his promise, as some men count slackness ; but t ch. li. 3. '
is * long-suffering to us-ward, not 'willing that any should «'P''«vhi.ao

».-- 111117 WaC0r.VUI.l4;

10 *pensh, but that all should 'come to repentance. But the iTim iv. s

* jrMat. VI. 10,

day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;*' in 2o;Lu. xh.

' ° ' ax: Kom.11.5:

X Cor. xvi. 2 ;
2 Cor. xii. 14 ;

ias. V. 3 :
lie. vi. xo.
y See refs. at
ch. ii. 4.

« Jade i> a See refs. at ch ii. 9. 5 Ver. x6 ; Rom ix. aa ; Phil. i. 38, iii. 19, etc. c Ch ii. 5 ; Jude 4 ;

jm. iv. 5, V. 6; 1 Tim. i. q; i Pet. iv. 18. </Ver. 5. * Pi. xc. 4. /Mat. xix. 26 ; Lii. ii. ^3 ; x Pet. 11. 4, ao,

uL 8 ; Jmm, L 17. 4; I Tim. iiu 15 ; Deut. vii. xo. A Mat. xviii. 26, 29 : Lu. xviii. 7 ; x Cor. xiii. 4 ; x Thes. v. X4 ;

Hdk. vk IS ! J*** ▼• 7t ^* *' > Cor. xii. xi ; Heb. vi. X7 ; Jas. i. x8. ik Mat. x. a8 ; Rom. xiv. 15 : x Cor. viiL ix,

XT. iS^Tas. IT. IX / Mat. xv. x^. w Joel ii. 31 ; Acts ii. ao ; 1 Thes. v. a. ■ m Lu. xiiL 35 ; Jo. ii. 4.

0 1 Tnes. V. a. ^ Mat. v. x8, xxiv. 34« 35 : 2 Cor. v. 17 ;J»s, L xa ^ g Ver. 12 ; Gal. iv. 3, 9 ; Col. li. 8^ ao ;

BMk. V. IS. r Vers, it, la : Jo. iL 19 ; Eph. ii. 14 ; 1 Jo. iii. 8 ; Rev. i. 19. s Ver. xa. / Heb. i. 10, iv. 3.

srEfdL jcz. 47 : Mat. ii*. xa ; Rev. viil 7.

• literally^ in the last of the days • rcUher^ mockers in mockery

*• from the day when ^* literally^ continue thus

'• rather^ as in R. K, for this they wilfully forget ; literally, for this escapes

them of their own will
'' better, as in R, K, that there were heavens of old, and an earth compacted

out of water ^* and by means of water, or, as in R. V,, and amidst water

** "by means of which *® but the heavens which now are, and the earth

" or, have been treasured up for fire, reserved unto the day of judgment
" destruction *® or. But let not this one thing escape you, beloved,

•• or, tardy ** omit in the night ** or, rushing

*' ar^ as in margin of R, V,, heavenly bodies
** literally, being scorched up shall be dissolved
** and the earth and the works '* or, shall be discovered

the which the heavens shall ^ pass away with a great ** noise,
and the ^ elements " shall ^ melt with ' fervent heat,** the earth
also, and the 'works** that are therein, shall be * burned up.*'

It has been supposed by some that the opening
woids of this third chapter indicate the beginninjg
of a new Epbtle. What we have, however, is
ooljr the beginning of a new division of the same
Eputle. 1 he great subject now is that ' power
and Cofning of our Lord Jesus Christ,* of which
the writer nas spoken in chap, t 16. He has
alfcady expressed his concern to see his readers
firmly cstal>lished in this great expectation. He
has given them to understand that the last labours
of his life were to be directed to this end. He
now makes plain the reason which he had for his
great anxiety on the subject. He knew that this
truth of the Lord's Sctx>nd Advent was to be
assailed by the keen shafts of mockery and scorn.

Wishful to see bis readers armed against the
scoffer, in this first half of the chapter he predicts
the rise of this subtle temptation, describes the
form which it will assume, and refutes the reason-
ing which it employs.

Ver. I. This 18 now, beloved, a second epistle
that I write nnto you. The sentence might be
rendered literally thus : ' This already second
epistle, beloved, I write unto you.* The expres-
sion seems to imply that a comparatively short
time had elapsed since he wrote them before.
This is referred to as an ' evidence of his affec-
tionate solicitude, as well as of the importance
and urgencv of the subject-matter * (Lillie). The
First Epistle is thus incidentally claimed to be by

\

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IIL i— !<►

270

the same hand. The author pre&ces what he has
now to say about the scoffers of the last days by a
personal statement, as was the case also with the
solemn affirmation made in chap. i. 12-15. "^^^
Epistle also deepens notably in the loving urgency
of its tone, as it now approaches its conclusion.
Hence the repeated appeals to the readers as
'beloved' which distinguish this chapter (vers.
I, 8, 14, 17).— in which; that is to say, 'in
which Kpislles,' or *in both which.* The plural
relative is used, as if the First Epistle as well as
the Second had been specified. — ^I stir up your
sincere mind in reminding (or, in tlu way of
reminder). On the formula see Note on chap,
i. 13. The adjective rendered 'pure' by the
A. V. occurs only once again in the N. T., viz.
in Phil. i. 10, where the A. V. translates it
'sincere,* as the R. V. does here. It is derived
by some from a root expressive of the clear splen*
dour of sunlight ; by others from a root denoting
that which is parcelled off by itself; by others
still from one signifying that which is purified by
rolling or shaking. It seems to mean primarily
.unmixcdf distinct. The cognate noun is found
three times in the N. T. (i Cor. v. 8; a Cor.
i. 12, ii. 17). The term has a definite ethical
sense in the N. T., which goes beyond anything
it has in Classical Greek. With a near approach
to a complete account Archbishop Trench defines
it as a grace which 'will exclude all double-
mindedness, the divided heart (Tas. i. 8, iv. 8),
the eye not single (Matt. vi. 22), all hypocrisies
(I Pet it I).* While the A. V. ^ves the plural
'minds,* the original has the smgular 'mind.*
On the word itself see Note on i Pet. i. i^

Ver. 2. in order that ye may remember the
words spoken before by the holy prqpheia.
The importance of the testimony of prophecy
(obviously^ here O. T. prophecy, and specially
those sections of it which spoke of the Advent of
Messiah) is again pressed, as was already the case
in chap. L 19, etc In the parallel passage of
Jude (ver. 17, etc.) this reference to prophecy,
which is so characteristic of Peter, does not
appear.— and the commandment 01 the Loxd
and Sayionr by your apostles. Instead of the
pronoun of the first person which leads to the
rendering of the A. V., 'the commandment of ut
the apostles of the Lord and Saviour,' the best
authorities give the pronoun of the second person.
\Vc thus get a sentence which is variously trans-
latcd. Some, e,g,^ render it 'your command-
ment of the Lord of the apostles,* meaning by
that ' the commandment given you by Him who
is the Lord of the apostles.' Others put it thus :
' your commandment of the apostles, of the Lord,*
that is to say, 'your commandment, which the
apostles, nay, the Lord Himself, gave.* Literally,
however, it may be rendered, ' and your apostles*
commandment of the Lord and Saviour,' i,e, the
commandment given by the Lord and Saviour,
and made known to you by your apostles. This
is sufficiently in harmony with the parallel in
Jude 17, and yields on the whole the most perti-
nent sense. The expression 'your apostles may
point to Paul and those who were united with
him in the original evangelization of these parts.
The 'commandment* means here neither the
Gospel generally (which is a sense too broad for
it); nor £e particular injunction directed by Christ
a^inst fidse teachers in such passages as Matt.
viL 15, xxiv. 5, II (which is too narrow a sense) ;

far less the preaching of the prophecies as adaflil^
committed to the apostles (Dietlein). It ^
substantially the sense which it had in diap. is.^ ll*
— the new evangelical law of life, or the Gc^^pd
on its ethical side. The only di^erence is 'K^iSt,
as the great sabject now in hand is the frivc^lott
denial of the likelihood of Christ's ReturKm to
earth, this new evangelical law of life is picsr ■ ited
specially in its opposition to the kind of liS^ to
which such a denial served as a temptation.

Ver. 3. knowing this %aX\ the same fonoK'^
with the same force, as in duipi. L 2a — Iha^ i|
the last of the days ; so it shoold be rendesfi^
in accordance with a reidingwluch is piefeigjtf
by the best critical editors. That followed \iw ffte
A. v., though it is translated ' in the last dsaj^'
would mean literally 'at the end of the days,' aatf
is not altogether identical with the other. Cb
these phrases see Note on i Pet. L 5. Here tk
'last of the days' mean the times immediatdff
preceding the Second Coming of Christ, and on-
mediately introducing the Messianic Age^ other-
wise described as the 'age to come.' TlMt new
Messianic Age of the Church had begun, indeed,
to enter with Christ's First Coming, but was to
enter finally with that Second Conung whidi tlie
quick faith of the first believers realized as ni^^it
hand.— moeken shall came in mockny. Tlas
longer reading has documentary support whidi is
not to be resisted. The A. v., by omitting the
phrase ' in mockery,' which is quite in consooaaoe
with the Hebraic cast of much else in the Petiise
Epistles, strips the statement of its roost gn^pkic
stroke. When these mockers come, they w31
come in character. Both nouns are nniunil is
the N. T., the former occurrine again only is
Jude 18, the latter (although another form of tk
same is found in Heb. xi. 36) only hm. — waft-
ing after their own Inati. The expression as
very strong one. The ' lusts ' are described as
thiir very otun^ and as the one rule or aim recog-
nised in their life. The lustful life and the scoffing
voice are not associated here without a prnpoKi
Sensuality and faith, coarse self-indolgence tnd
clear spiritual apprehension, cannot coexist. The
mocking spirit is the sister or child of the undeia
spirit It is to be noticed that this passage b
made use of in a treatise attributed to mppohrtai^
' unquestionably the most learned member 01 tbe
Roman Church' in the early part of the third
century.

Ver. 4. and saying. Where is the pnmSm ef
his oomingf The 'coming' is again cxntcised
here by the word parousta^ 'presence;' as to
which see on chap. i. 16. The qnestioo^ pot
with triumphant scorn by these moocerL lepols
the cherished terms used by believers — the '1x0-
mise' in which they trusted, the 'coming' wnldi
they looked for with vivid expectanqr, die veqr
form {^His Coming,' not * Christ s Coming' or
the * Lord's Coming') in which they were acc«*
tomed to refer to Him who was so much the cae
object of their thoughts as to need no identifica*
tion by name amonp; them. ' Those who believe^*
says Bengel, 'havmg the heart filled wtA the
memory of the Lord, easily supply the name.'
John repeatedly exhibits this style of lelerenoe le
the common Lord of Christians, withoot naming
the name, e,g, 1 John iL 6, iii. 5, 5, 7, 16^ tT. 17 ;
3 John 7. With the scornful incredulity expieswd
in the question compare such O. T. passages ai
Isa. V. I9» MaL ii. 17, which cccord similar gibs

Chap. HI. i-ia] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

271

flung out agdnst the words of the propheti in the
ancient IsraeL For the intenqgatiTe torm, which
imperts the tone of mocking trinmph to the denial,
compere also Fb xliL 3, Izxix. 10 ; Jer. xviL 15.
— ftr ftoBi fho day man the liathaiB fell aaleep
mil fhlnci oontinna fhoa from the beginning
«f UiA ciaattoL These words mdicate how the
acoBfeis will reason oat their rejection of the pro-
mise. Their aignment will be taken from the
delay in the fulfilment of 'diat blessed hope'
(Tit. iL 13) of the Christian brotherhood, and from
the unbroken uniformity of things. The idea
seems to be that, taking it for granted that some
great distarfaance in the system of the world will
be necessarily involved in such an event as the
Advent of Christ, and failing to see any signs of
an interruption in the old oraer, they will deride
the event itselC The precise force of the terms,
however, and the exact relation in which the
several parts of tlie sentence stand to each other,
are very differently interpreted. The 'fathers'
are variously understood as the patriarchs of the
hnman race, the patriarehs of the Jewish nation,
all those to whcmi the promise was given, the
men of the first Christian generation, or generally
those who preceded each particular generation.
Undoubtedly it would be most natunu, did other
things permit, to suppose that the patriarchs of
Isrml were meant ; m which sense the phrase
Mhe fathers' occurs, c^., in Rom. ix. 5; Ueb.
L I. But as the writer speaks here of a state of
things which belongs still to the future, and as
the tact that the O. T. patriarchs died before the
liilfilment of the promise of the Lord's Return
wottM be a strange argument for these mockers to
wge against the Christian hope, it seems necessary
to understand liy *the fathers' here those who
stood in a relation to the Christian Churdi resem-
bling that occupied by the Jewish patriarchs to
the Chureh of Israel. The first generation of
Christian believers received this promise (Acts
L II, etc), and lived in the hope of its sure and
speedy fulfilment. They died without witnessing
that, and this would be us^ with their children
as an argument lor discrediting the promise itself.
The second specification of time seems to be added
in onler to give emphasb to the first, and to
exhibit in the strongest possible form the con-
stancy of the natunl order of things. The mean-
ing is the same as if the sentence had taken this
more rmlar form: 'In spite of this promise,
your fathers to whom it was given have passed
away, and all things still continue the same since
then, as indeed they have continued from their
fifit creation.' Greater vivacity is added to the
ameition of unbroken uniformity by the use of the
prcMnt tense 'continue' (the verb itself also is a
compound form expressing continuance persisting
through an indefinite lenM of time), and by the
simnU ' thus ' by which the idea of ' as they are,'
or 'as we see them,' is conveyed. The A. V.
taoMt down the abrupt confidence of the utterance
by insetting the words or they were after the ' con-
t&ne.' lie phrsse 'fell asleep' (with which
eompare John xt 11 ; Acts viL 60, xiiL 36 ; i Cor.
XV. 6, 18^ 20 ; I Thess. iv. 14, etc.) is now to be
■otioed. Tbe expression, frequent as it is in the
Panline writings, is found only this once in Peter.
On the lips of scoffers here it may be, as is sup-
poaed bv some {e.g, Lillie), another instance of
'irooical accommodation to the dialect of faith
and of the hope of the resunection.' The com-

parison of death to sleep is one which lies near at
nand, and is by no means peculiar to Scripture.
In Homer (//. xiv. 231, xvL 672, 682) Sleep and
Death are twins ' of winged race, of matchless
speed but silent pace,' and the goddess Aphrodit6
is represented as hasting over the sea to the island
of Lemnos in quest of the cave of Death's half-
brother. Sleep. In the literature of many nations
sleep is recognised as 'death's image.' What is
peculiar to the New Testament use of the natural
figure (and in part also to its Old Testament use)
is the new conceptions with which Revelation has
filled it — the hopeful conceptions of rest, continued
life, and, above all, reawakening in newness of
energy. So to the Christian the grave has become
the cemetery\ ue. the dormitory or sleeping-plocc.
'AH the bodily pains, all the wants of human
svmpathy and carefulness, all the suddenness of
the wrench from life, in the midst of health and
strength, all this shall not prevent the Christian's
death from deserving no harsher name than thai
oi sleep' {J, Arnold).

Ver. 5. For this escapee them of their own
will. So may the sentence be translated literally.
The rendering of the A. V., 'for this they will-
ingly are ignorant of,' is somewhat weak. Better
is that of the R. V., 'for this they wilfullv
forget.' The ' this ' then refers to the fact which
is to be stated immediately. Some good inter-
preters (including Schott, Huther, etc) suppose,
however, that the ' this ' refers to the preceding
question of the scoffers, and give the sense thus :
' for, while they assert this, it escapes them that,'
etc But the sense of cuserting which is thus put
upon the word rendered 'of their own will'
(literally 'willing it'), though found in extra-
Biblical Greek, seems to be strange to the N. T.
. . . The ' for ' by which the statement is intro-
duced shows that it is given in explanation of the
mockers venturing to speak as they do. The
point then is this : ' they speak so, because they
wilfully forget such a break in the constancy of
nature as that caused by the Deluge.' Or it may
be in refutation of their reasoning, the point then
being: 'this argument from the unbroken uni-
formity of things is but the argument of scoffers,
for, though they may choose to forget it, tliat
uniformity has been already disturbed by one
great catastrophe, and therefore may be by an-
other.'— that there were heayens from of old ;
that is, from the very l^eginning of things. The
A. V. makes it *the heavens.' But the article is
wanting in the original. — and an earth ; not ' the
earth ' as the A. V. again puts it. — comiMUited out
of water and through water. The idea here is
by no means clear, and the renderin|;s conse-
quently vary considerably. The A. V. is in error
in supposing the words to refer to the position of
the earth, and in making it, therefore, ' standing
out of the water and in the water.' In this it has
so far followed Tyndale and the Genevan, who
give ' the earth that was in the water appeared up
out of the water.' Wycliffe has 'the earth of
water was standing by water.' The Rhemish
Version comes much nearer the sense when it
translates the clause, ' the earth out of water and
through water consisting.' The verb means
brought together^ made soiid, competed (as the
R. V. pnits it), or consisting (as it is rendered by
the A. V. in Col. L 17, and in its marginal note in
the present passage). What is in view, therefore,
in the phrase 'out of water,' is not the situation

272

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. III. i-ia

occupied by the earth, nor merely the fact that the
earth was made to rise out of the waters in which
it lay buried during chaos (so Hofmann, Schott,
Bengel, etc.)> but the material out of which an
earth was constructed at BrsL The second phrase
is taken even by the R. V. to refer to the position
of the earth, and is accordingly rendered ' amidst
water. * And this may seem to be supported by such
passages as Ps. xxiv. 2, cxxxvi. 6. Most naturally
and literally, however, the phrase means 'through '
or 'by means of* water. And this sense is in
sufficient accordance with what was in all pro-
bability in the writer's mind, namely, the account
of creation in the Book of Genesis. That record
represents water as in a certain sense both the
mcUerial and the instrumenialUy employed in the
original formation of an earth out of chaos, or at
least as both the element out of which and the
element by the agency of which the dry land
was brought to light. It is far-fetched to suppose
that the writer is speaking in terms not of the
Mosaic record, but of some of the popular or
philosophical cosmogonies of the time. ' Quite in
harmony with the account in Genesis he regards
the heavens and the earth in their original form as
proceeding by the creative Word of God from the
waters of chaos (Gen. i. 2), and this in such a way
that the origin of the heavens was brought about
by the separation of the waters (vers. 7, 8), and
the origin of the land bv the gathering together of
the waters (vers. 9, 10) (Weiss, Bib, TfuoL ii. p.
224, Clark's Trans.).— by the word of God. In
reference to the * God said * of the Mosaic record,
and resembling the statement in Heb. xi. 3, but
not equivalent to the ultimate identification of the
creative word with the personal Word or Son
which we have in John (i. 3 ; as also in Heb. i. 2).
The Hnal explanation of the origin of the earth,
therefore, was to be sought not in the water,
much as that had to do with it, but in the ex-
pressed Will of a Creator. From this Will the
* all things ' at first received their form, and upon
it they depended for the constancy and per-
manence to which the scoffers would appeal.
The relation in which this statement on the
formation rf a heaven and an earth in the
lieginning stands to what follows, is somewhat
uncertain. The connection of thought may be
that, as they owed their first construction to the
Word of God, they owe their continuance entirely
to the same Word of God, and their present
constancy, therefore, is no argument against their
being yet broken in upon by the Lord's Advent.
Or it may be that the origination of the existing
heaven and earth out of the prior chaos is itself
adduced, before even the Deluge is referred to,
as an instance, which ought to be well known to
these scoffers, of that chan|;e in the established
order of things which they will wish to deny. Or,
as is suppo^ by many, the point may be that
there was at least one vast inroad upon the apparently
changeless system of the world of which these parties
could not be ignorant, but by wilful purpose, namely
the Deluge ; and that the very element which the
Word of God used in first preparing that solid
earth and ' all things ' was employed by the same
word in destroying them.

Ver. 6. wherel^ the then world being flooded
with water periahed. The term used for ' world *
here is the one {cosmos) which describes it as a
system of order and beauty, and presents it (in
distinction from another tenn cteon^ which deids

with it under the aspect of time) under the aspect
of space. It has a wide variety of application in
the N. T., being equivalent, e^g,^ sometimes to the
whole material universe (Matt. xiii. 35 ; JohnzviLS,
xxi. 25; Acts xvii. 4 ; Rom. L 20), sometiiDeito
man's world or the system of things of which be ti
the centre (John xvi. 21 ; i Cor. xiv. 10; l John
iiu 17), sometimes to the totality of men ocopy-
ing that system (John i. 29, iv. 42 ; 2 Cor. v. \^\
and sometimes to the ' world ' in the ethical senx
of the totality of men living without God and out-
side His kingdom (John i. 10 ; I Cor. l ao^ 21 ;
Jas. iv. 4 ; i John iiL 13). Here the phrase need
not be restricted to the idea of the world of mm,
or of living crtcUures^ but may cover the whole
order of things, with the men occupying it, whkh
existed prior to the Deluge. As the paiticipk,
which is rendered * overflowed * by both the A. V.
and the R. V., is a form cognate to the noon fix
* flood ' (^.^. in chap. ii. 5), it should be translated
' flooded ' here. When it is said that the 'thenvorld
perished^ it is obvious that the meaning is not that
it was annihilated, but that it was broken up, had
its ' order ' destroyed, and was reduced to anotha
form. The verb is the one for which the advocates
of annihilcLtion or conditional ifnmortalUy^ as the
Scripture doctrine of the end of the unr^teoos,
claim the sense of absolute destruction, or final
extinction — a sense not accordant with sach
occurrences as the present llie main difficnhy
here, however, is in the statement of the iw<0ul7
which this perishing came upon the oldvodd.
The * whereby ' of the A. V. represents a phwl
relative, ' by means of which things,' the vf^
cedent to which is not apf>arent Some take it to
refer to the 'heavens' and the 'earth,' the idea
then being either that the antediluvian world of
living creatures was destroyed by the heavens md
the earth uniting to overflow them with their
waters (Hofmann, Beza, Fronmiiller, etc.), or that
the material system perished by means of the teiy
things of which it consisted, in so iar as the
heavens and the earth, which made its constitoeiits,
broke up (Bede). Others (Calvin, Lnmby, etc)
suppose it to refer to the before-mentioned ' water,*
the writer using the plural relative instead of the
singular, because he had in his mind the two
several relations of water, as substance and as
instrument, to the formation of the old worid, or
the two several waters, namely, those from above
the firmament and those from beneath. In
support of this interpretation (which on the whole
is the most widely accepted) appeal is made to
the Mosaic record, which represents the windows
of heaven as opening as well as the fountains of
the great deep as being broken up. On the
analogy of the indefinite ' whereunto * in I Fet
ii. 8, some give the ' whereby ' here the general
sense of ' by means of which circumstances,' or
' in consequence of which arrangement of things.*
Probably the best explanation, however, is to
regard the relative as referring to the two things
last mentioned, viz. the water and the Word of
Cod ; the point then being this, that the old and
seemingly constant order of things perished by
being overwhelmed with water, the agents of the
destruction being the agents that first formed our
earth and heavens, namely, the creative word of God
and the element of water on which it acted. And
this unquestionable fact was sufficient lefatation of
the argument from all thirigs havinff cootinoed
without change since the beginning (tf tne creatioB.

CHAP. III. i-ia] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 273

Vcr. 7. but the hMTUU which now are and supposed constancy of the order of things to that
Urn Mrth bf the nine wand haaw bean atored of the apparent deUj in the realization of the

up te lira, baittg raaanrad nnto tha day of promise. He calls the attention of his readers

Jadgmant and daatraotion of tha ungodly men. first to a single fact, the difference between the

The * whkh now are ' is in direct antithesis to Divine measure of duration and the human, which

'the then world. ' The form of the phrase also would be sufficient refutation of the scornful

that the worid of which the writer has incredulity of such scoffers. — that one day is with

been speakibs; consists in his view of both heavens the Lord as a thooaand yean, and a llionaand

and earth. Instead of ' by the same woid ' there years as one day. As the writer seems to make

is another reading, ' by Hit word,* which is also use of the words of the 90th Psalm here, the

weightily attested. But the sense is practically designation ' the Lord,* both in tliis verse and in

the same, namely, that the same creative Word of the next, should be taken in its Old Testament

God which first made the old heavens and earth, sense, jaad, therefore, not as = Christ, but as =

and afterwards overwhelmed the order pf things God or Jehovah, without reference to the personal

which it had constructed, is still the sovereign distinctions which belong to the Christian doctrine

agenqr that maintains the present heavens and of the Trinity. While the Psalmist (Ps. xc. 4),

earth and prepares for them their future destiny, however, speaks simply of a thousand years as

The ' stored up ' gives the same idea as in the being in Jehovah's sight ' as yesterday when it is

^inasurest up^ nnto thyself wrath,' etc, ia past,^ Peter throws the statement into a form

Rom. iL 5. The ' for 6re ' admits of being oon- which presents also the converse truth that one

nected either with the ' stond up ' or with tlic day is as a thousand years, if a thousand years are

' reserved,' hot on the whole more naturally with as one day. His object is not to exhibit the

the former as in the R. V., than with the latter as brevity of human life over against the eternity of

in the A. V. As to the ' reserved ' see on God, as is the case with the Psalmist, but to

I Piet. ^ i. 4, and 2 Ppt ii 4* The idea of express how inapplicable to God are all those

'perdition,' as the A. V. puts it, or 'destruction,' ideas of time, those estimates of long and short,

as the R. V. gives it, is expressed by the noun of hasting and delay, by which man measures

connected with the verb ' perished ' in the previous things The Ct T. triew of the eternity of God,

mse^ and has tlje some sense. The subjoets of however, is not merely this comparatively abstract

thu 'judgment and perdition^ are described idea of everlasting duration, which seems to be on

definitely as ' the ungodly men,' the article point- the surface of the Psalmist*s words, but the deeper

ia^ either to the moocers who are in the writer's idea of changelessness of being which makes God

■md all through, cr serving simply to mark off the object ofHis .people's feaf kss irust. ' Whilst

fsouk men generally one particular dass, namely* God as Jehovah is the etemai, God's eternity is

that of the tmfpdly or impious. As to the epithet defined as the unchangeableness .of His being,

tee on I Pet iv. 18 ; 2 Pet ii 5. — This statement persisting throughout every change of time, and

en the destiny of the present system of things is thus it becomes the basis of human confidence.

the foUest and most precise of its kind in the Therefore Moses, in the midst of the dying away

N. T. It has parallels so far in the N. T. doctrine, of his people, addresses God as the Eternid One,

m snch passages as Matt. v. 18, 24, 29 ; i Cor. Ps. xc. i ; therefore, Deut. xxxii. 40, the idea

iiL 13 ; 2 Thess. L 8 ; Heb. xii. 27 ; Rev. xxi i. that God is eternal forms the transition to the

In speaking of fire as the agent in the second announcement that He will again save his rejected

jndinal destruction of the world, as water was in people ; therefpre Israel, when sighing in misery,

the first, it founds on the history of the cities of is comforted, I&a. xl. 28 < ''knowest thou not, and

Sodom and Gomorrah as typical of the final hast thou not heard, that Jehovah is an eternal

jvdgment of the impious, and on the O. T. con- God ?" ' (Oehler). Hence, while Peter meets the

oeption of God as accompanied by fire when He scomer by asserting God to be superior in all His

cones forth to judge (Ps. 1. 3, xcvil 3 ; Isa. modes of action to human reckonings of time, he

IxvL 15, 16, 24 ; Dui. viL 9, 10). Other O. T. also exhibits the ground of His people's continued

{e^, Ps. cii. 26^ 27 ; Job xiv. 12 ; Isa. faith in Himself and His promise through post-

jnodv. 4, Ii. 6^ Ixvi. 22) speak more generally of ponements of their hope.

the passing awav of the present system. And as Ver. 9. The Lord is not slack oonceming his

the O. T. for the most part connects that event promise, as some connt slackness. The apparent

with the judgments of Jehovah and the day of diilayintheperformanceof the Divine engagement

His 'recompense,' Peter connects it with the is capable of a siill more Assuring explanation. It

day ofChrists Coming. * The present form of the has a gmcious purpose. Some construe the sentence

world is protected by God's word of promise.(Geii. thus-f-' the Lord of the promise is not slack,' etc.

is. II) against any recurring flood* V^tifit, to<^ But this is less satisfactory. The 'slack' here

is to perish, there remains now only fire as the (the verb occurs oaly^nce again, in i Tim. iii. 15,

element to bring about this destruction ; and as« where it is rendered ' tarry ') means tardy,

on the ground of Old Testament nepresentations^ dilatory, late. With the idea compare Hab.

the wrathful judgment of God is regarded as « Ij. 3.— as some oonnt slackness. Ihe persons

oonsnming fire, it is easy to think that the destnic- referred to are supposed by some to be still the

tkm of the world resulting from the da^ of false teachers. In view of the very general nature

judgment will be brought about by fire in a of the statement, others, with more reason, deem

qiecial sense, for which this present form of the them to be believers of weak spiritual perception,

iforki is, so to speak, reserved ' (Weiss, Bib, or doubtful faith. Simple as the words seem, the

Thiol. iL pp. 246, 247, Clark's Trans.). precise point of the clause is not quite clear. It

Ver. 8. But let not this one thing escape yon, may be understood in the more definite sense— < as

balovad ; the mode of expression which has been some consider it (that is, the Lord's mode of

already used in reference to the mockers in ver. 5. action in relation to the promise) to be slackness.'

The writer passes now from the idea of the Or it may be taken more generally thus— 'as
VOL. IV. 18

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. III. i-ia

274

some explain slackness,* or, 'according to the
ideas which some form of slackness.' — but is
long - Buffering to you -ward. The reading
adopted by the R. V., •toj'iyw-ward,* or in
relation to you, is much better attested than the
* to «j-ward * of the A. V. It is also more in
Peter's style, and gives greater force to his
explanation, bringing it home immediately to his
readers themselves. This conception of the
Divine * long-suffering>' which is so frequent in
the Old Testament, is prominent in the Pauline
writings (cf. such passages as Rom. ii. 4, ix. 22,
I Tim. i. 16). It appears a second time in this
same chapter (ver. 15), and also in I Pet. iii. 20.
When a human promise fails to be fulfilled
according to expectation, those to whom it has
been made are in the habit of attributing the
delay to a slackness which betrays unwillingness
or some personal end. But if the Lord seems to
l>e slow in fulfilling His promise, that is not to be
explained, Peter means, as men are tempted to
explain such slowness on the part of their fellow-
men, as due to forgetfulness, lack of interest,
procrastination, or anything personal to Himself
only. Its explanation lies in something which
touches our interest, and illustrates His grace. —
not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. This is added to
show what is meant by this long-suffering. This
sentence has been dragged too generally into the
controversy about the Augustinian view of pre-
destination, and the Calvinistic doctrine of the
limited extent, or rather the definite design, of the
Atonement. On the one hand, theologians like
Beza have interpreted it of the elect only. On
the other hand, exegetes like Huther regard it as
adverse to the Calvinistic theory. The passage,
however, has little bearing on the question, the
subject dealt with being not the elective purpose
but the long-suffering of God, and the 'willing'
referred to being not * will * in the sense of the
Divine decree or determining volition, but * will '
in the wider sense of disposition, desire, or, as
the R. V. puts it, 'wishing.' For the thought
itself compare Paul's parallel declaration in
I Tim. ii. 4, and, above all, the Old Testament
statements which Peter may perhaps have had in
view (Ezek. xviii. 23, xxxiii. 11). For the phrase
'come to,* compare Malt. xv. 17, where it has
the literal sense and is rendered 'enter into/ In
the Greek Tragedians it occurs often in the sense
of moving on to, advancing to,

Ver. 10. But the day of the Lord ; the day
which in ver. 12 is called ' the day of God,' and
elsewhere * the day of Christ ' (2 Thess. ii. 2),
' the day of the Lord Jesus ' (2 Cor. i. 14). The
expression carries us back to the Old Testament
prophecies oi Jehovah* s day, or the day 0/ the Lord
(Joel i. 15 ; Isa. ii. 12 ; Ezek. xiii. 5), zudithe/iay
of His Coming (Mai. iii. 2). There it designates
Messiah's Coming, or Jehovah's own Coming in
connection with the realization of Messianic hope,
and that as an event of judicial as well as gracious
consequence. In such passages as the present
it is transferred to the day of the Second Advent,
and to that specially as a day of judicial sifting
and decision. This clause affirms the certainty
of the approach of that time, notwithstanding the
facts just noticed, and the order of the words gives
great emphasis to the statement. Though some
deem it so late of appearing (the writer means),
that it may never appear, and though it is true

that God in His long-safTering delays the ereDt,
' yet oome will (or, ' on you shall be *) the day of
the Lord.' The suddenness with which it will
enter is next asserted. — as a thief: the best
authorities omit the words ' in the night ' wbidi
are added in the A. V. Peter had been taogbt
the figure by Christ Himself (Matt zxiv. 43;
Luke xii. 39). It appears also in Paul (2 Thfls.
V. 2) and in the Apocalypse (chaps, iii 3, xrl 1$).
It does not properly convey the idea of drmi, bat
simply that of the swift and unexptcteL-^
which the heayens with a rushing noise ihall
IMua away. The phrase 'with a great dqIk,'
which is given by both the A. V. and the R. V.,ist
prosaic rendering, which entirely faUstodojnsdce
to the singular vividness and force of the origioiL
Peter uses an adverb which is not found elsevbere
in the New Testament, and which, indeed, is ot
rare occurrence even in the Classics. Itmoos
' with a rushing sound ' (or, ' motion '). Hieida
expressed by its cognates is that of the wkhsx^
or hurtling of arrows, the whistling of die
descending scourge, the whirring wing lad
rushing movement of the bird in night It is t
term to stimulate the imagination, conveying by a
single stroke a conception which it takes wasi
words to reproduce in English, of the dieid
facility with which the change shall be effected,
its unerring suddenness and rapidity, the cnsh
of its instantaneous coinpletion. The renderinii
ol some of the older English Versions desene
notice. Wycliffe, e,g,, gives 'with great bin;'
Tyndale, 'with terrible noise ;' Cianmer, 'in
manner of a tempest ; * the Rhemish, ' with gieit
violence. ' As to the ' pass away ' (the same fob
had been used by Christ in His prophecy of the
end. Matt. xxiv. 35), compare such passages ai
Rev. xxi. 1 1 ; Isa. xxxiv. 4 ; Ps. di. 27. — ttl
elements, moreoyer, shall be dianlTed, eoa-
sumed by intense heal The connecting woid
here is not the usual 'and,' but a oonjunctkm
which implies contrast or distinction as wdlts
connection. It should therefore be rendoied
* but,* or 'moreover.' The 'melt ' of the A. V.
should rather be, as in ver. 1 1 (where the same
verb b employed), ' be dissolved ' (or ' loosed 7*
The phrase * with fervent heat,' which is given Iqr
the A. V. and retained by the R. V., represents
a participle which means 'burning fiercdy/ cr
'consumed with fierce heat' The question of
^difficulty here, however. Is what we are to under-
stand by these 'denents.' Some {e,g, Bengel,
Alford, Plumptre, etc. ) suppose that the kemfenfy
bodies are meant« these being, as it were, the
elements making up the heavens. This view is
held to be supported by such considerations ss
these : the fact that the sun, moon, and stars are
introduced into other biblical descriptions of the
day of Xhe Lord (Isa. xiii. 9, 10, xxiv. 23, xxxiv. 4,
etc.), and especially in Christ's own announoe-
ment of it (Matt xxiv. 29) ; the relation in which
this clause stands to the preceding statement
about the heavens themselves ; the employment
of the term by early Christian writers {e.g. Justin
Martyr^ Afiol. iL 5, Trypho, xxiiL) in this sense;
and the apparent distinction drawn here between
tliese elements and both the heavens and the
earth. Others (Bede, etc.) take the four elements
of the physical universe, earth, air, water, 'fire^ to
be in view. In this case there is the awkwani*
ness of representing the writer as speaking of the
dissolution of fire by fire ; hence it is proposed to

III. 11-18.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

275

eipKSsion to three of these elements or
lirand water alone (Estius). All these
swever, as well as other modifications of
ch #^. as the idea that the stars in parti-
neant), attribute to Peter a more sharply-
meaning than was probably intended.
ftt objection to the first view is that the
lei not appear to denote the heavenly
n any other passage of Scripture. In
.Gredc it seems to mean primarily the
parts of a series, the components which
^ lomething ; whence it came to be used
imple series of sounds which form the
; of language, the first principles or
aj daia of science, such as the points,
s. of geometry, and, in Physics, the
sit parts of matter, which were reduced to
Ifae philosophical schools. In the New
nt it occurs only seven times, viz. in the
icne and again in ver. 12, in Gal iv. 3
1 CoL it 8 and 20, and Heb. v. 12. In
tine passages it clearly has a physical
B the others an ethical. Here it is
with no reference to scientific or philo-
ideas, but in a broad and popular sense,
uts of which the heavens in particular,
vtem of things generally, are made up.
denote, therefore, much the same as is

by the phrase 'the powers of the
' in Matt xxiv. 29 (so Hulher), the idea
bat these heavens shall pass away by
their constituent parts dissolved. Or it
Tin the wider sense to the whole frame*
the world, as that world was conceived
(t of heavens and earth (so Wordsworth,
md tho earth ; so it should be rendered,

* the earth also.' — and the works that
nin shall be bnmt up. The 'works'
to be limited either to the results of man's
rtivity (as in i Cor. iii. 13, 15), or to his
dents in general. The phrase is better
lody as is done by most interpreters, in the
nse given it by Bengel — ' works of nature
rt' As Peters language, however, seems
ny points here to be steeped in the terms
Bcient prophecies, it is still more likely
» \m simply his equivalent for the Old
nt phrase 'the earth and the fulness
In that case it would point to God's
ither than to man*s— ' to the creations of
ich belong to the earth, as they are related
story of creation, cf. Rev. x, 6 ' (Huther).

Instead of 'burnt up,' some of the very best
documentary authorities, including the two most
ancient manuscripts, give another reading, which
means ' shall be found. ' It is supp<»ed, however,
that this reading is one of those in which the
earliest documents themselves have gone astray,
and that, as the reading followed by the Received
Text is supported by far inferior authorities, this
is one of a few passages in which the original text
has not been preserved in any of our existing
authorities. The reading of the oldest manu-
scripts is supposed by the latest critical editors to
have arisen from a corruption of another, which
would mean ' shall flow (or, melt) away ' (see
Westcott and Hort, vol. ii p. 103). Those who
retain the reading which tne ordinary laws of
evidence would lead us to adopt, get a satisfactory
sense out of it by interpreting it ' shall be dis-
covered,' that is, found out judicially, or made to
appear as they are. This would fit in very well
with the idea of the next verse, which is that of the
manner of life which the thought of the judicial
end should recommend. Some propose to hold
by the ordinary sense of the verb, and to turn the
sentence into an interro^tion — ' Shall the earth
and the works that are therein be found (ue, shall
they continue) then ? ' There is no uncertaintyas
to the sense which is meant to be conveyed. The
uncertainty attaches only to the particular ex-
pression which was given to that sense. But this
forms, in view of the singular results which are
shoi^'n by the documents, one of the most per-
plexing problems in the criticism and history of
the text. One of the primary manuscripts has
another reading, which means ' shall disappear.'
A later Syriac Version inserts the negative, and
giyes 'shall Qot be found.' The wide variety of
reading is a witness to the early uncertainty of the
text here, and to the difficulty felt with the term
which was transmitted by the oldest documents.
It is well to know, on the testimony of those who
have devoted their lives to such questions as
these, that the passages affected by anvthing
amounting to substantial variation 'can hardly
form more than one*-thousandth part of the entire
text,' and that ' the books of the New Testament
as preserved in extant documents assuredly speak
to us in every important respect in language
identical with that in which they spoke to those
for whom thev were originally written * (Westcott
and Hort's flew Testament in Greeks ii. pp. 2,
284).

Chapter III, n-i8,

actical Appeals in view of the certain Advent of the Day of t lie Lord.

^EEING then' that all these things* shall be "dissolved,* -see^fe. at
what * manner of persons ought ye to ^be in all holy ^^^^^t^;}
onversation and 'godliness;* /looking for and ^hasting \^XT

1. i. 3.

I.

e See reft, at ch. i. 8. ,. ^'See refs. at 1 Pet L 15.
V9, 50 ; Lu. u 21, vii. 19. ao, xii. 46 ; Acts iii. 5, etc

* See refs. at ch. i.
g Lu. ii. 16, xix.

/Vers. 13, 14 ;
Acts XX. x6.

Hi then * insert thus * literally ^ are being dissolved

Orally ^ in holy modes of life and pieties

276 THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IIL

unto* the * coming of the day of God, wherein* the heavens, AjQ
being 'on fire, shall be * dissolved, and the 'elements shall tt

13 ""melt with * fervent heat ? ' Nevertheless we, according to his 'ig
'promise, ^look for* a ^new heaven and a new earth, wherein Ig

14 ''dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that yc ^&J
' look for such • things, be ' diligent that ye may be * found of ^gj

1 5 him ^ in peace, ** without spot, and blameless : *• and ** account J^
that the ^ long-suffering of our Lord is salvation ; even as our ^|jj
'beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom * given ^gj

16 unto him, hath written" unto you ; as also in all his epistles, y^*
speaking in them of these things : in which are some things ^ |!^
hard to be understood, which they that are ^unlearned and ^
'unstable ''wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto ^Sp;

17 their own 'destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye *J2
■^know these things before, beware lest ye also, being ''led 'dTi
away by the * error of the ' wicked, * fall " from your own *pS

18 ' stedfastness : but **grow in *gr^ce, and in the 'knowledge" *j2u
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be ^ glory both *j«u
now and for ever. Amen. job

jrSee reft, at ver. 9. y See refs. at i Pet. iL ao. n EpiL vL 91 ; CoL ir. 7, 9 ; also i Cbr. sv. j|

16, 19, iL 5. « Rom. zii. j, 6, zv. t^ etc. b Ps. xli^ii. 11. c Ch. ii. 14. d% Kia. lodL f

* See refs. at ver. j, /Kct% xxvl 5 : Rom. viii. 39, xt. 2 ; i Pet. i. ao. £■ Rom. xii. 16 ; Gal ii. 1 3 ; B

h S«e reft, at ch. u. x8. i See reft, at cp. ii. 7. k Gal. v. 4. / Ita. iii. x. mMat. vL a8 ; EfiL W

m X P^ V. to : Jude 4. 0 Phil. iiL 8. / Rom. xv. 36 ; Eph. iii tx ; Rev. L 6.

I ua K. ■ . u

* hastening, or perhaps^ with R, K., earnestly desiring • by reason of which
' literally^ and the elements burning with intense heat are melted

* or^ with R, V., but, according to his promise, we look for * these
^^ rather, found in peace, spotless ^d blameless in his sight

" rather y wrote

^' beware lest, carried away with the error of tbe lawless, ye fall

^* in the grace and knowledge

The closin|[ verses are devoted to the pressing of Text in omitting the ' these ' of the A*

certain practical injunctions, which are closely inserting * thus.' The verb is given in the j

connected with the Christian view of the end. tense,— not ' shall be dissolved ' as the A. ^

Tliese are given in a strain as tender as it is it, or even *are to be dissolved' at the

solemn and pointed. Thev are based in part renders it, but 'are dissolving,' or, 'are

upon the consideration of the catastrophe which dissolved.' The certainty of the end it

comes in the train of the Lord's Aavent As doubly vivid by the process of dissolntioi

they are appeals directed to believers, however, represented as having already set in •M 1

they are bsised to a larger extent upon the brighter working towards its final revelatioii. —

aspect which that Coming of the Lord presents to manner of peiaons onght ye to be Ini^

the Christian, and particularly upon the new and conduct and godlineea. The ' be ' n era

holier system of things which shall then take the as in chap. i. 8 and chap. iL 19, by tn

place of the present. l*he counsels deal with the which conveys the idea of subsistence imtbi

posture of earnest and expectant waiting as that mere existence. Here it points to estal

which best befits the Christian, with the propriety character, or permanent possession of qa

of labouring so as to prepare the way for the The qualities themselves are denoted hf

Lord's Coming, with the duties of watchfulness nouns meaning literally ' holy modes 01

against seductive error, constancy in the Christian and 'godlinesses,' in reference to all the 1

faith, and progress in the Christian graces. The forms in which the holy walk and 00

explanation which has been already offered of the exhibit themselves. They are theielon

Lord's apparent delay is repeated, and what well rendered by the A. V. ' all holy convci

Peter says on the subject of the Divine long- and godliness.' Some take this verse to

suflering is sustained by affectionate reference to question, and the next verse to give the lo]

the teaching of Paul. is more consistent, however, with N, tT

Ver. II. Seeing that iheee things are thiiB all (which deals with the word rendered

dlMOlving. The rendering which is sustained by manner of persons ' as an exclamation ; d

the best authorities differs from the Received cially Mark xiii. i ; Luke L 29 ; i Joha SL

AP. III. II-I8.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.

^^>lce the two verses as forming together a single
^■^lemn exchunation. To give still sharper point
^^^ the expression, some of the best interpreters
inect the clause 'in all holy living/ etc., not
ith what precedes, but with what follows it,
the whole nm thus : ' What manner of
ought ye to be, looking, in all holy living
godliness, for ... the day of God 1 '
Ver. 12. lookiiig for and hastening the oom-
of tha day of God. This is the only instance
»f the 'day' bein^ designated 'the day of God,^
rhe * looking for ' is expressed by the term which
is rendeied 'wait for in Luke i« 2i, viii. 40,
.Acts z. 24, ' »pcct * in Acts iii. 5^ ' be in expec-
%atioo' in Loke iii. 15, etc Following the Vul-
S;ate and tht older English Versions, the A. V.
cmres 'hasting unto* This is certainly wrong.
3^\yt question is, which of two interpretations is to
"be substituted, whether the simple 'hastening'
Cor * hasting,' as the A. V. puts it in the margin),
CIV * eamesUy desiring ' (as the R. V. gives it in
tlie text). The Classics may be said to present
instmnces of both meanings. But it is rather the
idea of '^t(Xfiif/aii«f^^ earnestly about a thing'
than that of merely ' expecting ' it that the Classiod
usage illustrates, and that sense suits objects which
are present rather than things which are yet pro-
spective. The other meaning, 'hastening, or
* niging on,' is well sustained, and has the special
advantage of agreeing in a remarkable way with
the appod made by Peter (which otherwise is of
an entirely exceptional kind) in his discourse in
Solomon's Porcn — 'Repent ye, therefore, and
turn again, that your sins ma^ be blotted out, th<U
j» there may come seasons of refreshing from the
presence of the Lord ; and thcU He may send the
Christ who hath been appointed for you, evai
Jesus; whom the heaven must receive until the
times of restoration of all things,' etc (Acts iii^
19-21). The idea, therefore, is that of accelerat-
img the advent of that decisive day through our
hcMy lives and our labours for the advancement of
the Gospel, causing that day to ' come the more
quickly, as Archbishop Trench explains it (On
tki A. y,, p. 131), 'by helping to fulfil those
conditions without which it cannot come — that
day being no day inexorably fixed, but one the
arrival of which it is free to the Church to help
and hasten on by faith and by prayer, and througn
a more npid accomplishing of the number of the
decL' Tnat Uiis idea, though seldom expressed
io the N. T., was not unfamiliar to Jews, is proved
by the occurrence of such rabbinical sayings as
this : ' If thou keepest thi^ precept, thou hastenest
the day of Messiali.' But it is enshrined, indeed,
in the second petition of the Lord's Prayer — Thy
kii^om come. — by reason of which the heavens
bsiiig OB fire shall be diaaolved, and the sle-
naats burning with intense heat are melted«
The • wherein * of the A. V. is entirely wrong.
The ' which ' may refer either to the ' Coming '
or to the 'day;' and the meaning is that this
event of the 'Coming,' or this ' day of God,' will
teauwn the change or catastrophe which is re-
affirmed here. The one thing will inevitably
cause the other. The idea b something like that
in Rev. xx. 11. The tense changes from the
future, 'shall be dissolved,' into the present, 'are
melted ;' \hit effect of which b to give yet greater
force to the assertion of the certainty of this
destiny, llus last verb is one which denotes
wtMng in the most literal sense— the melting, e^..

277

of snow, of metals, of salt in water, etc. Some
stumble at the application of this to the elements.
Others point to tne £act that the recsrd of the
rocks bears witness to a process of liquefaction by
fire to which the material of the exbting earth has
been subjected, and ask why the present system
may not undergo a like process of fiery renovation
at the great day« The use to be made of the
passage, however, must be a very guarded one, so
tar as theorizings about the nature of the end are
concerned. Peter b speaking in terms of the
lofty prophetic imagery of the O. T. Compare
such passages as Mic. i< 4, Mai. iv. i, and above
all, Isa. xxxiv. 4« Classical literature has antici-
pations of a similar kind. Cicero, e.^. , says that
' it will hap])en, nevertheless, one day that all
this world shall be burnt up with fire' {Acad.
Quicst, iii. 37).

Ver. 13. But, according to his promise, we
look for new heavens and a new earth, llie
rendering of the R« V* b decidedly superior here
to that of the A. V. The latter throws an em-
phasb upon the ' we,' where the original throws it
upon the ' new.' The ' look for ' b expr^sed by
the same term as in ver. 12. The 'promise'
referred to (the word is the same as in chap. i. 4)
is the promise of God in the O. T. The passages
particularly in the writer's mind may be those in
Isaiah (xxx« 26, Ixv. 17, Ixvi. 22). The same
hope, couched in the form of vision, meets us in
John (Rev. xxi. i). The nrumess of the future
heavens and earth is expressed by a term which
denotes what b fresh as contrasted with what b
exhausUdt and deals with the condition rather than
with the agt of an object. — wherein dwelleth
righteonsness. The 'righteousness' b to be
understood in the broad, ethical sense of con-
formity with the Divine will ; and this is to
'dwell* (cf. Eph. iii. 17), to have its home there,
and not to be as on earth 'a wanderer and
changeful guest' ^Mason). Compare again the
prophetic visions m Isa. Ixv. 17-25, Rev. xxi.
3-27, and also the Pauline doctrine of the partici-
pation of nature in the restoration of man as well
as in hb fall ( Rom. viii. 20-22).

Ver. 14. Wherefore, beloved, looking for
these things, give diligence to be found in
peace, spotless and nnblameable in his sight.
The 'looking for' (again the same term as in
vers. 12 and 13) may give the reason for the duty
which b enjoined, as it is understood by both the
A. V. and the R. V. — ' seeing that ye look,' etc. ;
or (less probably), it may form a part of the duty,
' look for these things and give diligence ' (Huther,
etc). As to the *give diligence' see on chap,
i. la The ' spotless b expressed by the adjective
which b applied to Christ as the Lsiinb in I Pet,
I 19, and the ' unblameable ' by another form
(which occurs also in Phil. ii. 15, where it b ren-
dered ' without rebuke ') of the adjective translated
'without blemish' in the same passage. Here
the epithets represent the qualities which should
distinguish the faithful as directly opposed to
those which mark the false teachers, who have
been described as ' spots and blemishes ' (chap,
ii. 13). It b supposed by some {e.g. Alford) that
the ' parable of the wedding garment was floating
before the Apostle's mind,' especially as the state-
ment in chap. ii. 13 refers to the /vj/j of the early
Christians. Some good expositors (e.g, Huther)
suppose that the writer deals here with what the
readers were to be during their lifetime of expec-

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IIL

use of the phrase ' found * (cf. prior questions, those, nanacly, touching tl

jects immediately in view and the persons
diately addressed. Those who think tl
verse deals only with the subject Ust men
namely the ' long-suffering of our Lord,' m
look for statements made by Paul on that pa
theme, and identify the writing with the
to the Romans which, in such passages i
ix. 22, takes that strain. Those who rcgi
Second Epistle as directed not so ihacfa to
Christians as to Christians genenUlT* o
that the writing intended may be soch an
OS that to the Hebrews, especially in riev
declarations in chaps, ix. 26, etc* s. i
Others fix on First Corinthians, in which a
is said on the subject of wisdom (chapt L y->
Others, who take the mysterious snbjed
Second Advent as the special diflicnltj 01
Peter appeals to Paul, are of opinioa tl
Epistles to the Thes^onians are meanl
because their early date affords time Id
general circulation even among remote Chi
and because they are so much engaged
I Thess. iv. 13-18, v. 2, and the Seooid
throughout) with the Lord's Cominfi^ 1
little reason, however, to suppose that Peter
only to the one subject of the Divine long^i
as that is specified in the same vene^ '
itself but a part of the general ezhortatioa i
14, 15. It IS most reasonable, therefotey to
him as referring, in this remarkable tril
Paul, to the general subject which lie hi
engaged with — the end <k the present wp
things, the Lord's Coming, the duties to
ferr^ from the prospect, and the sedactivn
of the false teachers. The ' wrote wU9jmt
also clearly to identify the writing or writin
communications made to the same circle of
as Peter himself addresses, and these reai
the Epistle itself indicates (chap. iiL I), a
stantially those to whom the former E|lis
directed. Among the Pauline Epistles «
several addressed to this Astatic circle, IBpl
Colossians, Galatians, not to speak of the
to the Laodiceans (Col. iv. 16). And of t
wc are entitled to identify the writing with
the extant Epistles, those to the Coloasis
Ephesians best fulfil the conditions. In the
(^.^. chap. i. 22, ii. 8) we find exhortation!
subject of the Christian life like those m
by Peter, and warnings like his anms
teachers and a pretentious type of Icnoi
In favour of the latter we have also the
derations, that it was probably a kind of «
letter, and that there are many points of
between it and the Petrine Epistles (sped
First).

Ver. 16. as also in all (his) eplatlo^ mp
in them of these things ; a statement Iron
we are not entitled to infer that the !
Epistles already formed a collection whid
be spoken of as one whole. — in whieh ni
things hard to be nndeiatood. The ' in
refers, according to the best reading, not
' things ' of which Paul spake, but to the 1
themselves. The adjective *hard to be
stood* occurs only here. Some sappo
reference to be particularly to Paul's ood
the Second Coming, as given in such pan
his Epistles as I Cor. xv. 12-58, I Thess.
etc. ; others to his doctrines of justificati
Christian freedom, which engag^ so n

2/8

tation. But the use of the phrase * found ' (cf.
I Pet. I 7) points clearly to the time of Christ's
judicial return, l^hey were to labour so to live
that, when He appeared, they might be i/is-
ccvered or adjudged (such is the sense of the
' found *) spotless and unblameable * in His
sight,' or 'according to His judgment' (so we
should render what is incorrectly given as ' found
cf Him* in the A. V.); and this discovery or
adjudgment should be * in peace.' Where spot-
lessness and unblameableness form the verdict,
the Lord's controversy with His people will cease
and the voice of judgment will be the voice of
peace.

Ver. 15. And acoonnt the long-snflEiBring of
onr Lord salvation. If Christ is referred to here,
the passage becomes one of great importance in
relation to the doctrine of His Person, as it speaks
of Him in the same terms as have been already
applied to God, and indirectly claims for Him
Divine prerogatives. And this is made on the
whole the more probable reference both by general
N. T. use, and by the phrase, 'our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ,' which comes in subsequently
in the same paragraph (ver. 18). On the other
hand, it is argued that the application of the title
'Lord,' in vers. 8, 9, 10, 12, 14^ rules its applica-
tion here, and points to God in the large O. T.
sense as the subject The Divine delay is to be
interpreted not as ' slackness ' (ver. 9) or procras-
tination, but as long-suffering, and the long-suffer-
ing is to be interpreted and valued as 'salvation/
— as the suspension of judgment with a view to a
prolonged offer of rrace. See also Rom. ii. 4. —
even as also our heloyed brother FauL In con-
firmation of what he himself writes, Peter refers
to what had already been addressed to these
Gentile Christians by the great Apostle of the
Uncircumcision. On the difficulties raised by the
disappointment of the expectation that Christ
woula speedily return, on the dangers likely to
arise in the Church, on the attitude to be main-
tained in the prospect of the end, Peter was giving
only the same explanations and counsels as had
been given by Paul. The phrase 'beloved
brother' is understood by many (Huther, etc.) as
an official term rather than a personal, indicating
the ministerial intimacy that subsisted between
the two. It is doubtfiil, however, whether it is
meant to describe Paul specially as a valued asso-
ciate of Peter's in the Apostleship, or even as a
fellow- worker. The 'our' links Peter with his
readers, and gives the title 'beloved brother'
rather the force of a term of personal affection.
Jewish Christians like Peter and Gentile Christians
like his readers had this, among other thingSi in
common now — that they regarded Paul as a dear
and trusted friend. Paul himself gives the title
'beloved brother' twice to Tychicus (Eph. vi. 21 ;
Col. iv. 7). The man who now speaks thus
fondly of Paul is he who at an earlier period was
' withstood to the face ' by Paul ' because he was
to be blamed' (Gal. ii. 11). — aooording to the
wisdom given unto him. Paul's counsel was
more than his own personal opinion. As the
expression of a ' wisdom ' which he received (cf.
I Cor. iii. ID ; Gal. ii. 9 ; Eph. ii. 2, 7, 8 ; Col.
i. 25, etc.), it is the weightier confirmation of
Peter's teaching. — ^wrote unto yon. To what
Pauline writing or writings may Peter be supposed
to refer ? The question has been keenly deoated
and very variously answered. It turns upon two

Chap. III. II-18.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 279

^** (etchings tnd were peculiarly open to per-
^'^^c^'oD. It b also suggested that the more
f^^sticad sections of his doctrine, those found, e.g,^
i^ £ph. ii. 5, etc., Col. it 12, may be specially
^^ view, as U^ese were capable of being turned to
^«^« advanta^ both of the party of immoral licence,
^dd of erronsts like Hymenseus and Philetus, who
^^«^t that the resurrection was past already
CK^oliiiami).~whioh the ignorant and unstable
■^iwiL These three words * ignorant,' * unstable,*
^ wrest,* are peculiar to this passage. The first,
which is rendered * unlearned ' by the A. V. and
* ignoiant ' by the R. V., has not quite the same
ycnic as the ' nnleamed ' applied to reter and John
in Acts vw. 13. Here it means ufiskilUd^ or uniii'
,^mnm£d in Christian truth. With the second
oompafe chap. ii. 14. The third means primarily
to tmisif €.g, with a windlass, or with a screw, or
apoo an instrument of torture like the rack, or to
\ as €,g» in the case of a dislocated limb,
e it comes to mean to twist or distort the
of words. — as they do the other scriptnres.
Those who wrest particular statements in one
section of the Scriptures are next represented as
apt to make the same perverted use of Scripture
Ijenerally. In the N. T. the phrase * the Scriptures '
u regularly applied to the O. T. writings. The
sii^iular may be used of a particular passage or
pmtian of Scripture, as in John xix. 37 ; and is once
cmplojred where the words in question cannot be
identified with any in the Bible as we have it
(Jas. iv. 5). But in some fifty occurrences the
^mral seems never to be used but of the O. T.
ihis b a strong reason for supposing that the
O. T. Scriptures are also meant here, and that
Piaol's Epistles, therefore, are already ranked
along witn them. On the other hand, it is urged
that Peter would scarcely have placed the O. T.
m this unqualified manner in the same category
with the Epistles of a contemporary of his own,
and that it is probably other writings of the New
Testament period that are referred to. Even thus
it appears tnat there were already so many writings
whicn were recognised as Christian Scriptures,
and spoken of in terms similar to those applied to
the ancient and venerated collection of the O. T.
ScriptureSy and that the Epistles of Paul were
reckoned among these. The implicit testimony
contained in this statement to the authority of
certain writings as Scripture also deserves to be
noticed. It is observea that, as Peter closes his
Epistles with this testimony, so Malachi brings
the O. T. to its end with a charge to ' remember
the lawef Mosis with the stitutes and judgments ;^
John concludes the four Gospels with a similar
testimony (John xx. 31) ; Paul closes his Epistles
with a solemn statement on the profitableness of
inspired Scripture (2 Tim. iiL 14-17) ; Jude closes
the Catholic Epistles with an injunction to re-
member the words sfoken before by the apostles of
oar Lord Jesus Chnst (Jude 17) ; while the Apoca-
lypse ends with the promise of blessing to those
wDo keep, and of Uie opposite to those who take
fixmi or add to, the sayings of the book (Words-
worth).— ^to their own &8traction. The words
carry ns back to the 'heresies of destruction'
mentioned in chap, ii i, the emphatic ' own,*
however, intimating that in this case the destruc-
tion comes upon the men not by the seductions
of others, but by their own misuse of Scripture.
The passage has been seized on in support
of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the obscurity

of Scripture, its possible injuriousness to the
private student, and the danger of leaving it
in the hands of the people without an autho-
ritative interpretation, what Peter b warning
against, however, is the perils of a misuse of
Scripture. What he states is not that Scripture is
unssife in the hands of the people, but that there are
certain things in it which are capable of being
perverted by a particular class. And while he
gives this caution to the Mgnorant and unstable,'
he speaks of Paul as writing * according to the
wisaom given unto him,' and earnestly enjoins upon
all these Gentile Christians scattered throughout
the Asiatic Churches * to be mindful of the words
which were spoken before by the holy prophets,
and of the commandments of us the apostles of
the Lord and Saviour ' (chap. iii. 2).

Ver. 17. Ye therefore, beloyed, knowing
these things before, beware lest, carried away
with the error of the lawless, ye fall from yoor
own stedfastnees. The epithet 'lawless' (not
merely * wicked,* as both the A. V. and R. V. put
it) is that which was formerly applied to the men
of Sodom in chap. ii. 7. It pomts, therefore, to
the licentious character of the errorists. The

}>hrase ' carried away with * is an extremely
orcible one. It is the phrase which Paul applies
to the action of Barnabas when he dissembled
with Peter himself at Antioch (Gal. ii. 13). It
may suggest the picture of the ' error * as a
powerful current sweeping what it can into its
bosom, and snatching the unwary off with it from
the rock of their st^fastness. In Rom. xii. 16,
which is its only other occurrence, it has a
different sense. This particular term ' sted fast-
ness ' occurs only here, out belongs to the same
class with the previous 'unstable (vcr. 16), and
the adjective used in I Pet. v. 10 ; 2 Pet L 12.
With ' fall from ' compare Gal. v. 4.

Ver. 18. But grow in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Sayioor Jesns
Christ. The R. V, prefers the rendering 'grow
in the grace and knowledge,' etc. — a rendering
which may mean either * in the grace and in the
knowledge which Christ gives,' or ' in the grace
which Christ gives and in the gift of knowing
Ilim.' The A. V. keeps clear of this ambiguity,
as well as of the special awkwardness of the
second construction, by taking the grace as a thing
distinct from what follows it. The great duty
finally urged is thus the duty of progress, and that
in two particular articles, namely, the gracious
life or the Christian graces generally, and that
special grace of a personal knowledge of Christ
which holds so fundamental a place in the Epistle.
In this way, too, the writer returns at the close
of his letter to the thought with which he
started. His opening salutation had been a praver
that 'grace and peace ' might be ' multiplied to
them * in the knowlege of God and of Jesus our
Lord * (chap. i. 2). And now, * as the conclusion
of the whole matter, and as the only effectual
preservation from the assaults and seductions of all
forms of a science falsely so called, this same
blessing of spiritual enlargement, and that through
the same means, is laid on their own consciences
and hearts as a most solemn obligation ' (Lillie).
—to him be (or, is) the glory both now and for
eyer. The final Amen, which is retained by
the R. v., is of very doubtful authority. The
idea of eternity is expressed here by an altogether
singular phrase, which means literally 'unto the

28o THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [Chap. IIL 11-18.

day of the aeon/ and which may be chosen to those hymns which Pliny says were song by the

denote the beginning of the new, the eternal age, — Christians of his time to Christ as God. It closes

* the day on which eternity, as contrasted with time, the Epistle, too, in its own simple majesty, unac-

begins' (Huther). The doxology b addressed to companied and undiminish^ by any statement

Christ, and is significant of Peter's conception of personal to the writer, or even by any of the usual

His Person. It Ls, as Afford suggests, like one of valedictory salutations to the readers.

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF

ST. JOHN.

THE First Epistle of St John may be said generally to belong to that sphere
of revelation in which we have 'pressed on unto perfection' (Heb. vi. i). It
akes us into the ' most holy place ' of the Divine mysteries ; and, as has been before
observed, the reader must seek admission with the words in his ears : ' Put off thy
hoes from oflf thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground' We
tnd ourselves, indeed, in the same inmost sanctuary into which St John's Gospel has
sd us ; but, while in the Gospel we see the highest glory^ of the High Priest who came
rem heaven and re-entered it for us, in the Epistle we are taught what the Christian
ife is upon earth that most fully represents and honours the Saviour's work in heaven,
nd makes us partakers of His glory. Its matter is the highest and deepest mystery
»f Christian doctrine reduced to practice ; its tone is that of the assured and tranquil
onfidence of Christian experience ; its style is that of childlike simplicity, combined
nth the most matured contemplative grandeur. St John here leaves us his final
cffucy ; and his final legacy— confirming all that has gone before — supplements and
xmsummates the entire revelation of God, and may be said to be the final voice of
he inspiring Spirit It may be expected, therefore, that he who would understand it
Dttst connect its teaching with all that has gone before, must carefully collate it with
he Gospels and the other writings of the New Testament, and above all must yield
linoself up to the supreme guidance of the Spirit whose unction ' teaching all things '
8 so specially honoured in the heart of the Epistle.

The questions which meet us at the outset, and belong to the Introduction, are
lew and simple. We have to consider the testimony, external and internal, to its
ipostolic authorship ; its relation to the other writings of St John ; the readers for
vhom it was designed ; its pre-eminence in the doctrine of the New Testament generally,
IS its close and consummation ; the integrity of the text ; and, finally, the order of
bought traceable in it These topics will be briefly considered: briefly, because
nany of them have been more fully discussed in the Introductions to the other
[obannine writings, and, moreover, because the exposition itself will render much
lifiuse preliminary matter needless.

L The Epistle, like the Gospel, does not bear the name of its author. But the

iarly Church, with all but perfect unanimity, ascribed both to the Apostle John. The

evidence of this, in relation to the Epistle with which we now have to do, is without

I flaw, since the few slight exceptions that may be found do, when fairly looked at,

eally support the argument. Every generation in the first three centuries, and

ilmost every decade, furnishes some distinct evidence of the common sentiment

?olycarp, one of the sub-apostolic Fathers, and a disciple of St John, quotes the

^ery words of i John iv. 2, 3. We have the testimony of Eusebius that Papias, in

281

282 INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN.

the first half of the second century, expressly quoted it Justin Martyr, or thi
anonymous author of the Epistle to Diognetus, again and again refers to it So d«
Clement of Alexandria, TertuUian, Cyprian, Origen, Dionysius of Alexandria, an(
Irenaeus ; some of these giving the words of the Epistle — and those among its mos
distinctive words — mentioning, too, the author by name. A list of New Testameo
writings, drawn up towards the close of the second century, and known as tlu
Muratorian Canon, cites the first words as St John^s, speaks of his using his owi
Gospel, and refers to the two smaller Epistles as St John's, and as * general' (h
* catholic' About the same time the Peshito, or old Syriac Version, bears the sanu
testimony. Eusebius placed our Epistle among the Homologoumena, or ' writing!
universally accepted.' Subsequent witnesses continue the uninterrupted tradition
and, in fact. East and West, Europe and Asia and Africa, agree for many ages ii
ascribing the three Epistles, or at least the First, to the Evangelist and Apostk
St John. It has been remarked already that the exceptions only strengthen thi
chain of evidence. The Alogi, who, as enemies of the Logos doctrine, were said bj
Epiphanius to have rejected the Gospel and the Revelation, rejected the Epistle also
Marcion did not include it in his list ; for some few expressions in it were deemec
contradictory to his views of the Old Testament. On the whole, therefore, it may 1h
said that no document of the New Testament is better attested in antiquity. Jennm
sums up its general consent : * Ab universis ecclesiasticis viris probatur ' {JDe vir, iU
c. 9). Modern criticism has Ttad nothing to plead against this catena, but has foundec
its objections on internal evidence alone. This leads us to our next section.

IL The relation of the Epistle to the other writings of St. John, or to the Johannini
literature generally, is a very interesting one. Omitting at present the Apocalypse^ i
needs only a casual glance to show that there is a certain style, whether literary oi
theological, common to the Epistles and the Gospel : a style that is so marked am
characteristic as to separate these writings from all others in the New Testament
This absolute unity of conception pervades both the documents, and moulds then
throughout It extends from the highest objects of thought, God and Christ, life anc
death, down to the slightest peculiarities of phrase and construction. The similarity
or rather the identity, is so obvious that we may dispense with the lists of doctrina
and verbal coincidence usually given, and leave the reader to mark them for himseUj
especially as we shall have to dwell on some of these leading ideas for anotha
purpose. Now in ancient times, as we have seen, there was never any doubt thai
St John wrote both. But the exigencies of hypothesis in modem times have required
the abandonment of this notion, which is regarded by a certain class as unworthy d
scientific criticism. The Apostle St John is supposed by many to have himseli
written nothing, but only to have furnished an honourable name on which to hang
the results of pious fraud. Others think that the Apostle wrote the Gospel, but that
the Epistles were written by a certiin * John the Presbyter,' whom tradition, according
to Eusebius, mentions as having lived at Ephcsus at the same time with the apostle;
There are some, again, who think that the First Epistle is simply a spurious document,
feebly imitating the Gospel, and using the name of *the presb}ter' even as the
Gospel tacitly assumed the name of the apostle.

A close examination of these writings will further show that they were written,
by the same author indeed, but on very different occasions and for very difTerent
purposes. It has become almost habitual to regard the Epistle as a companion
document or appendage to the Gospel : a view for which there is no justilicatioii.
There is not a single sentence which, fairly interpreted, points that way. On the
contrary, there is much which indicates another class of readers, a new order ol

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. 283

^■txumstances, and a considerably later date. The Epistle speaks in the style of a
"^^ore advanced development concerning the * manifestation ' or * coming ' of Christ
*^ the 'day of judgment' and 'the last time.' It is another class of readers which
""^ridcred appropriate the reference to the 'many antichrists;' and, generally, the
yinostic errors obviously combated throughout the Epistle are more distinctly viewed,
*^ not actually much nearer, than they appear in the Gospel. There is no hint in
^Hc latter that Docetism, or the heresy that made the Son of God a phantom
Combination of human nature with an emanation descending upon the man Jesus
ft>r a season, was directly combated. The Gospel rises sublimely above all transient
heresy. But this particular error is directly confronted in the Epistle : more directly
than any other error which the New Testament mentions. All this points to a later
<late, but by no means to a different author. There is not a word about the incarna-
tion, the material judgment or coming of Christ, the antichrist, the person of Satan,
or any other leading doctrine in the Epistle, the germ of which is not found some-
'where in the Gospel Contrariety between them there is absolutely none. But
diifferent and new aspects of the Logos, the Comforter, the propitiation, the nature
and penalty of sin, there doubtless are. The Logos or Word is the Word of life ;
and surely this is not a lower conception of the Son of God, nor one that essentially
diverges from that of the Fourth Gospel. The Paraclete is certainly in the Epistle
Jesus Himself; but there is no opposition between this and the Gospel doctrine of
the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete: the heavenly Paraclete of the Epistle and the
internal Paraclete of the Gospel answer to each other, as they do in Romans viii.
The same may be said of the alleged absence of the Spirit's personality in the
doctrine of the Epistle as compared with that of the Gospel. In both He is the
Spirit of Christ: in both, 'the anointing from the Holy One;' and in both, the agent
and element of regenerate life. The later document — as we believe it to have been
— ^introduces two new terms, Sperma and Chrisma, which certainly no one can
prove that St John might not have used, especially if we regard him as vindicating
those terms from Gnostic perversion. And it is not an unfair argument to plead that
whatever is said of the Holy Ghost is said to those who are supposed to have the
Ix>rd's last discourses in their hands : no one can doubt that the writer of the Epistle
writes with those last discourses before him, and uses their language very often. The
doctrine of the atonement is different, but does not differ from the earlier statements.
It makes Christ as the High Priest Himself * the Propitiation,' and that in a unique
expression; but this is only a strict development of the high-priestly prayer, and
certainly in harmony with all apostolic doctrine. There is nothing in the later
doctrine of sin which contradicts that of the Gospel. Its relation to Satan, its
universality in human nature, its removal by the atonement, are the very same ; and if
St John introduces the * sin unto death,' all we can say is that he has given us a
new aspect of the same revelation given us in the Synoptics and the Epistle to the
Hebrews. The symbolism of the ' water and the blood,' rightly interpreted in both
documents, has in both the same meaning. Failing in their objections, the objectors
are reduced to such generalities as the inferiority of tone in the Epistle. But here
they render defence needless by differing among themselves. One class follow Baur,
calling it a 'weak imitation' of the Gospel; another, following Hilgenfeld, call it a
'splendid reproduction' of the Gospel. For ourselves, we feel in reading the Epistle
after the Gospel that we are listening to the same writer, but rather as ' John the
theologian * than ' John the evangelist ; ' that he is no longer writing, so to speak,
under the overpowering influence of his Master present in the flesh and chaining
him to the simple record of what he saw and heard, but, still in the presence of the

284 INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN.

same Master exalted to heaven, is calmly reviewing the wonderful past, and giving
his own and his brethren's experience of its present effect, and exhorting all to the
perfection which the work of Christ has rendered possible. The current allusions to
the monotony, repetition, and illogical dogmatism of the paragraphs desenre no
comment : the soul that is formed by the Gospel will feel that the Epistle wants no
commendation or defence of man. But what we would say has been better said by |
Ewald, in an oft-quoted sentence of his work on St John's writings : * Here, as in the i
Gospel, the author retires to the background, unwilling to speak of himself, and still
less to base anything on his own name and reputation : notwithstanding that he meets
his reader, not as the calm narrator, but as writing a letter, in which he exhorts and
teaches as an apostle, and moreover the only surviving apostle. The same delicacy
and diffidence, the same lofty calmness and composure, the same truly Christian
humility, cause him to recede as an apostle, and to say so little about himself: his
only aim is to counsel and warn, reminding his readers sitilply of the sublime troths
they have already received. The higher he stands, the less disposed is he to depress
his " brethren " by the weight of his authority and commands. But he knew himself
and who he was : every word reveals plainly that none but himself could thus speak
and counsel and warn. The unique consciousness which an apostle growing old
must have, and which the " beloved" apostle must have had in a pre-eminent degree;
the tranquil superiority, clearness, and decidedness of all his views of Christian troth;
the rich experience of a long life, steeled in victorious struggle with every unchrisdan
element ; the glowing language, concealed under and bursting through this calmnesSi
the force of which we instinctively feel when it commends love to us as the higjiest
attainment of Christianity, — all these are found so wonderfully united in this Episde
that every reader of that age would, without needing any further intimation, discern at
once who the writer was. But, when the circumstances required it, the author plainly
indicates that he once stood in the nearest possible relation to Jesus (chap. L 1-5,
V. 3-6, iv. 16), precisely as he is wont to give the same indication in the Goq)eL
And all this is so artless and simple — so entirely without the faintest trace of imita-
tion in either case — that all must of necessity perceive the self-same apostle to be the
writer of both documents.*

Another quotation may be added : * Let it be noted how admirably the character
of the Epistle accords with what we otherwise know of the character of the apostle.
On the one side, there is a keen severity in the severance of light from darkness,
and of the world from God's kingdom, which betrays the son of thunder ; indeed*
we find such an ethical sharpness of definition as makes every sin an evidence of
the Satanic nature (comp. chap. iii. 4-1 1), such indeed as occurs nowhere die
throughout the compass of Scripture. But, on the other side, and concurrently
with this, we feel a breath of most pathetic and most inward affection, from a spirit
overflowing with love, and strong in peaceful rest, such as corresponds with those
traditions concerning his old age which appeal so forcibly to our hearts. . . . That
the aged disciple, who through a long life had by faith and love attained so close
a relation to his Lord, was so thoroughly pervaded by the riches of the grace that
came to him through Christ that all the hatred of the world and raging of antichrist
failed to disturb his deep repose, that he could not indeed well understand how
their influence could be felt at all, is perfectly imaginable in his case. Simon
Peter before this, in his Second Epistle, when the times were disturbed and the lie
had raised its head aloft, felt himself impelled with all the energy of his love to
transpose himself back into the days when he had his Master's society, and also
with all the energy of his hope to propel himself forward to the time of the perfected

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. 285

Idngdom of God. So also our apostle, following his character out, and in harmony
with his deep interior nature, must needs, in his old age especially, have still more
abundantly felt himself impelled, while enemies raged around him, and the more
diey raged, to fasten his deep thought upon the glory of Him whom he had seen as
He was, and whom he hoped to see as He is. Thus, in conclusion, it may be said
that it is perfectly clear how St John, with such a personality as his, was precisely
so affected as the Epistle reveals him, so full of peace in a time of fiercest conflict,
so much more occupied with positive construction than with defensive polemic
i^nst enemies' (Haupt, The First Epistle of St, John^ p. 366, Clark's Translation).

A long list of parallel phrases might be exhibited, such as could not be drawn
up from any other two books even of the same writer. More than thirty such
passages are literally common to the two \ more than half of them linking the Epistle
with the Farewell Discourses, John xiL^xviL As Mr. Sinclair says : * There the tender,
loving, receptive, truthful, retentive mind of the bosom-friend had been particularly
necessary; at that great crisis it had been, through the Spirit of God, particularly
strong ; and the more faithfully St John had listened to His master, and reproduced
Him, the deeper the impression was which the words made on his own mind, and
the more likely he was to dwell on them in another work instead of on his own
thoughts and words. The style may be his own both in Gospels and Epistles,
modified by that of our Lord ; the thoughts are also the thoughts of Jesus ' (Introd.
to this Epistle in Bishop EUicott's Co mm.). In the Introduction to St John's Gospel
in the present work it has been said, on the general question of the relation of St
John's style and our Lord's : ^ Nor, further, is the supposition with which we are now
dealing needed to explain the fact that the tone of much of our Lord's teaching
in this Gospel bears a striking resemblance to that of the First Epistle of Joha
Why should not the Gospel explain the EpLstle rather than the Epistle the Gospel ?
Why should not John have been formed upon the model of Jesus rather than the
Jesus of this Gospel be the reflected image, of himself? Surely it may be left to all
candid minds to say whether, to adopt only the lowest supposition, the creative
intellect of Jesus was not far more likely to mould His disciple to a conformity
with itself, than the receptive spirit of the disciple to give birth by its own efforts to
that conception of a Redeemer which so infinitely surpasses the loftiest image of
man's own creation.' This opens up a subject of deep interest, which may be
profitably pursued in that Introduction. We have another purpose here. The
quotations are not simply quotations, even if they may bear that name at alL In no
case are they such as an imitator or forger would have employed. They are the
writings of the same man ; but not of one who has his own earlier document before
him. Here we may refer to Canon Westcott's Introduction to the Gospel (Speaket^s
Commentary)^ who says : * The relation of the Gospel of St John to his Epistles is
that of a history to its accompanying comment or application. The First Epistle
presupposes the Gospel either as a writing or as an oral instruction. But while
there are numerous and striking resemblances both in form and thought between
the Epistle and the Evangelist's record of the Lord's discourses and his own narrative,
there are still characteristic differences between them. In the Epistle the doctrine of
the Lord's true and perfect humanity (sarx) is predominant ; in the Gospel, that of
His Divine glory (doxd). The burden of the Epistle is " the Christ is Jesus ; " the
writer presses his argument from the Divine to the human, from the spiritual and
ideal to the historical. The burden of the Gospel is " Jesus is the Christ ; " the
writer presses his argument from the human to the Divine, from the historical to the
spiritual and ideal. The former is the natural position of the preacher, and the

286 INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN.

latter of the historian.' Then, after mentioning some of the differences we have
dwelt upon, Dr. Westcott goes on : * Generally, too, it will be found on a comparison
of the closest parallels, that the apostle's own words are more formal in expression
than the words of the Lord which he records. The Lord's words have been
moulded by the disciple into aphorisms in the Epistles : their historic connection
has been broken. At the same time, the language of the Epistle is, in the main,
direct, abstract, and unfigurative. The apostle's teaching, so to speak, is " plain,"
while that of the Lord was " in proverbs " (John xvL 25). . . . Generally it will
be felt that there is a decisive difference (so to speak) in the atmosphere of the two
books. In the Epistle St. John deals freely in the truths of the Gospel in direct
conflict with the characteristic perils of his own time ; in the Gospel he lives again
in the presence of Christ and of the immediate enemies of Christ, while he brings
out the universal significance of events and teaching not fully understood at the
time.' Besides being illustrative of what has been laid down, such extracts as these
are the best material for an Introduction to our Epistle.

III. But when we come more specifically to the relation between the apostle and
his readers, we are left very much to conjecture. Ancient tradition tells us that St
John, after the death of St. Paul, 64 a.d., laboured, or rather exercised an apostolical
pastorate, in Ephesus for many years. It has been thought not improbable that during
his banishment to Patmos, and for some reason not known, he wrote this encyclical
or catholic Epistle to the churches from which he had been separated. Had that been
the case, however, there would almost certainly have been some reference to his
banishment ; we must therefore assume that he wrote it from Ephesus either before
or afler that exile. In the Apocalypse the seven leading churches of his apostolical
district are mentioned, but mentioned as ad3ressed by the Lord through the Spirit ;
hence it might almost seem as if the aposde reverently abstained from mentioning
by name the churches to which he wrote in person. There can be no question, how-
ever, that the communication has the character of an Epistle, though without the form
impressed upon the majority of other similar writings of the New Testament In
this respect it is only a little more free than the Epistle to the Hebrews and that
of St James. The absence of the epistolary form is observable only at the outset
and at the close : throughout the course of the communication we have more addresses
and more epistolary hints than in any other book of the New Testament In feet,
it was an encyclical Epistle, the inscription of which was different for every church
to which it was sent, and has not been preserved. It may be sufficient merely to
mention the strange tradition which originated with Augustine, or to which he gave
permanence, that it was addressed ad ParthoSy * to the Parthians.' As the Greek
Church has no trace of this inscription, and it was unknown to the West before the
time of Augustine, the only concern we have with it is to account for its origin. That,
however, is not easy. It has been conjectured that the term Parthos is a corruption
of the Greek parthenous^ or virgins ; and that the inscription given by the
allegorizing Clement of Alexandria to the Second Epistle, * to the virgins,' was by
degrees attached to all the Epistles. But the matter is little more than a curiosity
of early literature : suffice that all indications point not to Parthia but to Asia Minor
for the circle of readers whom St John addressed.

There is no indication in the Epistle itself that may be relied on for the
determination of its date and circle of readers. The * last time ' has no significance
here; the absence of reference to Jerusalem only suggests that the catastrophe
had long taken place ; persecutions are not referred to as present or impending ;
Jewish opposition is a thing of the past, and the only distinction is between the

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. 287

Church and the world; and finally the writer, addressing no particular church,

writes as one far advanced in age, who had pastoral relations to his readers of long

standing. All these point to a time coinciding with the banishment to Patmos. A

few sentences from Haupt's able General Review, at the close of his work on the

Epistle, may incline the reader to study his whole discussion. 'The churches of

Asia Minor, and especially the Ephesian, to which we are directed by early tradition,

had been introduced into Christendom through the long and assiduous activity of the

apostle of the Gentiles, with advantages beyond most others. We at once understand,

therefore, why our Epistle has no organizing character, but rather that of nurturing

establishing. Further, that the distinction between Judaism and heathenism

two defined hostile camps is so entirely absurd, is natural enough at the end of

the iirst century, and so long after the destruction of Jerusalem ; for, after that

event, the power of the Jews in persecuting the Christians lay simply in their hiding

themselves behind the Gentiles as the "world" . . . The enemy of these days

in a peculiar sense, the spirit of false prophecy. We know, indeed, that even

the lifetime of the apostle heresy had been in PLphesus matured by Cerinthus ;

and not only so, but the very omissions of the Epistle may be perfectly understood

"when it is referred to the Corinthian Gnosis. All this proves that the Epistle must

liave been written later than the other New Testament Scriptures, and that it might

urell have been written by St John. ... If, on the ground of the tradition that the

apostle was a long time in Patmos, we assume that he wrote his letter from that

island, the hypothesis will lighten up the whole. ... In it there is neither any

greeting from any church, nor any greeting to one. The absence of the latter may

be accounted for by the encyclical character. But how shall the absence of the

former be accounted for ? It was natural that the apostle should omit that, if he

happened at the time to be located in no church whatever. . . . He lived in

relative seclusion, separated at least from all the excited movements of the outer

world. For, on this small island, he could only to a slight extent exercise any

influence, or carry on any work of an external character. To him at his age it would

be matter of doubt whether he could win back that larger influence, whether the

time of active work was not for ever gone. Then, the great concern was to wait

upon the blessed manifestation of the Lord. The more he was shut in from exterior

life, the more did he retire into the depths of his own being, and draw upon that

which his faith gave him for his own good, and what he, with the whole Church,

was called to attain through that faith. Thus the internal and ethical characteristics

of the Epbtle are no less explained than the apocalyptical tendency of its strain.'

These remarks may not carry conviction as to the Patmos theory, but they
corroborate what appears to be the only conclusion from a general review, that the
Epbtle was written after the Gospel and independently of it ; that it was, although
the writer might not fully know in how complete a sense, an encyclical or catholic
Epistle for the Ephesian Churches and the whole Christian world ; and that it was
a pendant not so much to the Fourth Gospel as to all the Gospels and the whole
literature of the New Testament.

IV. To whose who fully accept the overruling providence of the Holy Spirit in the
construction and arrangement of the New Testament, it will appear a matter of no
small importance that St. John's First Epistle is the last doctrinal treatise of Divine
revelation. This being so, we may expect to find in it certain characteristics
appropriate to a position of such dignity. These characteristics we certainly find.
The historical disclosure of truth, continued so long in a series of wonderful
dispensations, reaches its close. The faith delivered to the saints is now delivered

288 INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN.

in its consummate form : development of doctrine comes to an end in the Bible,
that development of dogma may have its beginning. Following this hint, we may
glance by way of introduction at some of the dogmatic features of this final document
of the Bible.

It may be said, generally, that here we have the complete theological system of
St. John himself before us : condensed into a few chapters. What is sometimes
called the Pauline Christianity — the Christian doctrine which St Paul was inspired to
unfold — is diffused through a great number of writings, issued at intervals during a
generation, and for the most part in the midst of manifold labours. The Johannine
Christianity — the Christian doctrine which St John was inspired to unfold — was
given in a few chapters and once for all. In the Gospel and in the Revelation he
does not speak in his own person as a teacher ; though in them, and especially in
the Gospel, the essentials of his peculiar view of Christianity are to be found. The
Prologue of the Gospel alone contains the writer's own theology: in all the re^
he is silent and the Lord speaks. But in the Epistle we have himself as a teacher
throughout ; and in no part of the New Testament does the voice of personal authority
sound so clearly and emphatically. There is no portion of the New Testament in
which are more of the * signs of an apostle,' The beloved disciple, and the elect
apostle, has so to speak his supremacy here. He gives his own system of truth in all
its completeness. Though there is a remarkable recurrence of one or two themes —
so much so that the Epistle has often been charged with monotony and repetition — ^we
perceive, if we examine it carefully, that it contains an entire compendium of the
Gospel as it was poured into the mould of the last apostle's spirit God, the Triime
God, Evil in the universe and in man, the person of Christ the Redeemer, the
atonement as a propitiation of God and the destroyer of sin, righteousness and
sonship and sanctification, perfected and perfecting love, antichrists and the coming
of the Christ for their destruction, the eternal death of the reprobate and the high
privileges of the saints, are topics that run through the whole round of cardinal
fundamentals, and they are all presented in their final and perfected form under the
hand of the apostle. He does not say that he is giving the sum of Christian
verities ; still less that he is supplementing and perfecting those given by others ; but
he is really doing this without saying so, and the result is a body of Christian truth
more complete on the whole than any other one document of the Christian faith
presents. Probably any of the doctrines, taken alone, may be found more fully
developed elsewhere; but nowhere else are they all combined as in this Epistle.
The Beginning and the End are linked in a most emphatic manner : in a manner almost
peculiar to St John. And between them is every prominent truth of evangelical
revelation in brief but distinct outline.

And it is the voice of a teacher of doctrine as the foundation of morals. It is
customary to speak of St John as * the apostle of love,* who shows us the supreme
importance of practical in opposition to theoretic religion. Biit this is not the right
view of the matter. This Epistle enforces no ethics which are not based upon revealed
doctrine. The reader will observe everywhere that the exhibition of duty has not
far of, generally hard by, the foundation of revealed truth, a fact on which it rests.
This Epistle is the most perfect example in the New Testament of the indissoluble
connection between doctrine and duty : the doctrine always underlying the duty ;
doctrine and duty being exhibited together; and duty being ever the end and
consummation of doctrine. Other parts of the N^w T/estament, however, contain
all this. But St John's Epistle is pre-eminent as making Love the bond of perfection
between doctrine and ethics. Love is perfected here in every sense: it has its

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. 289

perfection in God, for in this Epistle alone does revelation say that ' God is love ; '

and it has its perfection in man, for ' perfected in us ' occurs again and again. There

is no grander sentence in the Bible than this, when connected with those just quoted :

^ Hexeby know we love, because He laid down His life for us ; and we ought to lay

down our lives for the brethren.' The doctrine of the atonement is the foundation

of the ethics of perfect self-sacrifice. The entire Epistle— with the two smaller

Spistles as its appendages — ^perfectly illustrates St PauFs saying that Move is the

fulfilling of the law.' The perfection possible to the disciples of Christ is exhibited

as the supreme triumph of the love of God in us. First, * Whoso keepeth His word,

in him verily hath the love of God been perfected : * the Epistle makes all obedience

a manifestation of love, and in all obedience only is the love of God perfected. Again,

* If we love one another, God abideth in us, and His love is perfected in us : ' the

innumerable obligations of charity are not dwelt upon, but they are all summed up

as the outgoings of God's own love, or God Himself, from the heart into the life.

Finally, we read : *He that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in Him.

Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of

judgment ; because as He is, so are we in this world.' Nothing less than the entire

consecration of the soul in fellowship with the indwelling Trinity is here ; and

such a consecration as opens to human desire and hope the most enlarged prospect

ol the triumph of perfect love. Let these three passages be studied in their harmony,

and it will be seen that the view they give is one that is not so distinct in any other

part of Scripture, and one that gives a character of its own to this final document

V. The text of the Epistle has come down to us in good preservation Only a few

questions of textual criticism have occupied much attention. These are referred to

in the commentary ; but three of them may be briefly noticed here. One is the

passage, chap. ii. 23, which has commonly been italicised in our translation as ot

doubtful genuineness. Its right to a place in the text has been abundantly vindicated.

The second is the reading which changes 'confesseth not' in chap. iv. 3 for

' annuUeth : ' seeming to mean, as quoted by Latin Fathers, soivtf, as if the error were

the dissolution of the two natures in our Lord's person. It seems hard to resist the

evidence in favour of this highly theological reading. But the latest revision has put

it only in the margin. The third is of course the well-known passage of 'the three

witnesses,' hitherto John v. 7. This passage will be found still within brackets, and

it is not dismissed without notice in the exposition. But it is now all but universally

admitted that it is spurious.

The case, in fact, is very strong indeed against the passage. It is found in no

Greek codex earlier than the eleventh century ; and had it been extant in the East

in any form, it would certainly have been used in the Arian controversy. Its first

insertion into the Greek Testament was simultaneous with the beginning of the

printed text ; it was honoured with a place in the great edition printed at Complutum

A.D. 1522. During the sixteenth century it crept into a few Greek codices.

One of them was a copy of the Complutensian Polyglot ; the others seem by internal

evidence to have been translated from the Vulgate. Among these is the Codex

Britannicus (preserved in Dublin), which may be said to have indirectly procured the

verse its place in our modem editions. Erasmus was induced by it to give the

passage a place in his edition; and his example was followed by other editors and

the Textus Receptus. The Old Versions down to a.d. 600 do not contain it ; the

Vulgate itself in its earliest and best editions being without it. The most recent

editions of the Greek Testament altogether exclude the passage.

Its origin is a problem that will probably never be solved. Possibly some Greek
VOL. IV. 19

290 INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN.

gloss in the margin kept its place until it was in some copies attracted into the text
There is a remarkable passage in Cyprian (de Unit Eccles,\ which may shed some
light on it : * Dicit Dominus, Ego et Pater unum sumus (John x. 30), ei iferum de
Patre et Filio et Spiritu Sancto scriptum est^ et tres unum sunt, et quisquam credit,
hanc unitatem de Divina firmitate venientem, sacramentis coelestibus cohaerentem,
sdndi in ecclesia posse.' In these words Cyprian might have been giving a Trinitarian
explanation of ^ the Spirit and the water and the blood ; ' but he might also have been
quoting from an old Latin Version. In any case, this only gives 0 riint as to the way
in which the reference to the Trinity might have been placed in the margin as an
interpretation of the subsequent allegorical verse, and thence have crept into the
text For the rest, we may say with Ebrard : * Granted it not to be impossible that
Greek codices may be yet discovered which shall contain the clause, we must direct
our critical judgment by the evidence of the documents which we have ; not of those
which we have not, and of the existence of which we as yet know nothing.' It is
usual to lay much stress on the internal evidence which condemns the passage.
But that is a precarious argument ; and one that is hard to maintain against a large
number of divines and commentators who have, not only in the Roman communion
but among Protestants, maintained the obligation of retaining them. Here we may
quote Ebrard again : ^ On the internal arguments against the authenticity we do not lay
any great stress. That St John, who wrote those passages in the Gospel, chap. L i, x. 30,
XVL 15, could not have given expression to the thought that the Father, the Son, and
the Spirit are ane^ is no more than the unwarranted assertion of subjective hypercriti-
cism. Again, that he who elsewhere opposes God to Word, and Father to Son, should
here insert Word between Father and Spirit, involves no direct impossibility. It is
indeed strange, as also is the adjective Holy, omitted from chap. iv. i downwards.
There is nothing in the interpolation directly conflicting with the order of thought,
especially if we adopt the arrangement confirmed by the oldest citations in Vigilius,
Fulgentius, Cassius, and Etherius, which inverts the order of the verses. According
to the right exposition of the witness which refers it, not to the demonstration that
Jesus and no other is the promised Messiah, but to the testimony as to whose
might it is through which the world is overcome, St. John would first mention the
three factors of God's power on earth. . . . After these, he would introduce the
Three-One in heaven, Who from heaven sustains the testimony of His church.* We
will close with the words of Haupt (the First Epistle of St John, Clark's Translation,
p. 312): 'In spite of my private conviction of the genuineness of the reading
ofinulleth Jesus, chap. iv. 3, I could not decide to put it into the text; for our
editions must keep close to the substance of the manuscripts. But to preserve chap.
V. 7 cannot be justified by any means. The most acute argument that has to this
hour been adduced in its favour is represented by the venerable Bengel, who asserts
that here the analysis of the Epistle is summed up in one point, the Trinity being
the governing principle of its arrangement. ... As to the dogmatic shortsightedness
which bewails in its loss the removal of a prop for the doctrine of the Absolute Trinity,
this might be expected in lay circles, but ought not to be found among theologians.
A doctrine which should depend on one such utterance, and in its absence lose its
main support, would certainly be liable to suspicion. Omitting the verse, we have
in this very section the doctrine of the Trinity in the form in which Scripture
generally presents it : the Father, who witnesses, ver. 9 ; the Son, who is attested,
ver. 6 seq. ; the Holy Spirit, through whom the Son is witnessed by the Father, ver. 6 :
the passage being thus very similar to the narrative of our lord's baptism.'

VI, Perhaps no book of the New Testament has suffered more than this Epistle

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. 291

fiom arbitrary attempts to force upon it an order of thought and subject it to analytical

arrangement In this, however, there have been two extremes. The ancient

expositors, and the earlier ones of modem times, thought too lightly of St John's

order : Augustine led the way by speaking of the Epistle as speaking many things

xnainly about love. To them the writer was a contemplative mystic, who followed

the sacred impulse whithersoever it led him ; and wrote down his meditations, partly

about sound doctrine and partly about pure charity in aphoristic sentences. The

commentators who have annotated the Epistle during the last hundred and fifty years

have been disposed to go to the other extreme, and to find too exact and minute a

distribution. Certainly the apostle has a train of thought in his mind, and writes

according to a plan ; but it is equally obvious as we read that he turns aside here

and there from his main current, and also that he revolves round occasionally to the

same ideas and words. Too much stress has been laid upon the specification at the

beginning, ' These things we write that your joy may be fulfilled : ' it is not necessary to

regard this as indicating a plan in St John's mind. So with the purpose mentioned

at the close, 'that ye may know that ye have eternal life : ' the apostle does not mean

to say that it has been his one leading design to lead them to this experimental

knowledge.

It is plain enough that there is an exordium ; and equally plain that the concluding
verses of the Epistle are a peroration, gathering up the whole into a few final sentences.
Between these two the idea of the fellowship of Christians with God seems to rule
the whole : first, as a fellowship in light and holiness, viewed under a variety of
aspects down to the close of the second chapter. Then the fellowship is rather that
of the life in and with God which the Christian sonship imparts : this governing the
Epistle in the third chapter. Then follows the fellowship in faith down to the con-
cluding paragraph. But the vindication of this order must be left to the exposition
itself.

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF

JOHN.

Chapter I. 1-4.

The Exordium.

1 •" I ^HAT which ''was from the beginning, which *we have

A heard, which '^we have seen with our eyes, which we
have looked upon, and our '^ hands have handled, of the Word

2 of life;* (For* 'the life was manifested, and we have seen //,
and ^ bear witness, and shew ' unto you that eternal life which

3 was ^ with the Father, and was manifested unto us ;) That which
* we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also
may have fellowship with us : and truly * our fellowship is with

4 the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things
write we unto you, * that your* joy may be full.*

^ which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life
• And ^ declare * our * fulfilled

aja i. r.
b Acts iv.
c Ja xix. 35 :

a Pet. i. 16.
d\M, xxiv. 39:

Jo. XX. 97.
r Jo. i. 4 :

I Tim. uL i6i
yCh. ir. 14;

Jo. XV. «7.
^ Jo. L I, «-

k Acts IT. 90W
(Jo. XIT.

»-«3;

X Cor. L 9b

*Jo. XV. 11 ;
a Ja ft.

Contents. The apostle introduces this catholic
Epistle by a compendious description of the object,
nature, and design of the apostolical announcement
concerning the Incarnate Word of life. Its object
is the Eternal Logos who was manifested as the life;
its nature is the testimony of personal witnesses uf
the incarnation ; and its design is the establish-
ment of fellowship with the Father and the Son.
The immediate purpose of the present communi-
cation is the perfecting of the common joy cf
writer and readers. This Introduction resembles
the Prologue of the Gospel ; but with such varia-
tions as the one writer of both would himself be
likely to make, when addressing readers of both.
The construction is peculiar, but perfectly regular :
its peculiarity being that the whole mystery of the
incarnation, and its evidence to the apostles, is
poured forth in one long contemplative sentence,
which has the secret of the incarnation itself as
the manifested life in its heart as a parenthesis.
But over the whole sentence as well as the paren-
thesis hovers always the idea that the apostles are
witnesses : the Gospel Prologue being in this
respect altogether different.

Vcr. I. The object of the apostolical announce*
ment may be said to be complete in the first verse :
what is added afterwards in the parenthesis limits
that object or more closely defines it by expanding
one term which occurs in it, * the life.* Remem-
bering that * we declare * rules the paragraph in
the distance and is coming, we must begin with the
words conoeming the Word of life: the Ix>gos who
is Himself the life eternally and to the creature
imparts life. In the Prologue of the Gospel there
is no 'concerning,* because the Person of the
Incarnate is there the immediate subject : here
and throughout our Epistle it is not so much His
Person as the blessedness and benefits of fellow-
ship with Him which are the immediate subject-
Again, remembering that the parenthesis is also
coming with its closer explanation, we distinguish
the announcement as twofold. First, concerning the
eternal being of the Logos that which wae mm.
the beginning: the ' was' is really, as in the Gospd,
opposed to 'became flesh,* though this latter is
here unexpressed ; ' from the banning * we
shall find used in various senses, but here its
meaning is determined by the first words of the

292

1. 1-4.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.

^3

as also by ' with the Father ' in the next
it is 'from the depths of eternity/ as in
I's ' chosen from the beginning ' (2 Thess.
nd St John b as it were unconsciously look-
t from the moment of the incarnation. In
. 13 we have ' Him that was from the be-
,* bat here the neuter ' that which ' is used
the thought of the supreme mystery combines
lie verse mto one great object of contempla-
Secondly, concerning His whole historical
nee on earth, seen of men as well as of
of which the apostles were the ordained
idal witnesses, we read : that which we
BMd, that which we have seen with our
lull which we beheld, and onr hands
L These clauses must be taken together,
wed in their various relations. The first
sr to the entire manifestation as one great
ent whole, in the perfect-present; the
wo refer to certain express manifestations
rere in the apostles* memory for ever, such
tpedal revelations of the ' glory as of the
igotten ' before and after the resurrection.
re must note the ascensive order : from
to seeing with the eyes, to contemplation
eeper mjrstery behind, and the actual con-
h the Incarnate One. Yet the testimony
id falls as an arch : it springs from the
iiearing, which certainly includes the testi-
r others such as the Baptist, to the much
teeing with the eyes and beholding as it
thout the eyes, and then descends again
oaching, which was limited to individuals
ited generally.

k We term this a parenthesis; but the 'and *
fggest that it is not a parenthesis in our
sense, as it includes and condenses the
abject in its completeness. And the life
nuested: it is not here ' the Word became
but the life which inheres eternally in the
IS the fountain of existence to the universe,
irth into visibility as the eternal life, so
» distinguish it from the life simply that had
inifestra apart from the incarnation. The
one, however, in the personal Logos, for
sr, the eternal, is even the life, the same
ieh was with the Father and was mani-
nto nsw The three verbs of testimbny, if
f allotted, explain this more clearly. We
ten and bear witness refer to the 'Life*
Hf I the apostolic complete eye-witness be-
n official testimony to the Person of Jesus.
ef thing, however, here is not that, but the
sement which follows : and declare onto
I atsmal life. Our Lord is never once
eternal Life,* but ' the Life.' ' Even the
ch was with the Father* singles out the
a the compound term, and expresses, as
a human words can express it, an eternal
of personality to the Father corresponding
temporal relation to us. ' With God ' in
}pt\ becomes 'with the Father* here, to
e personality of that relation.
\, The great sentence goes on by selection.

J>recedes is resumed and summed up as
eth we have seen and heard — seen
fint, because of the word in the previous
Uolaie we nnto yon also, as it was mani*

fested to us. There is no reference yet to his
readers specifically. Witness, testimony, declara-
tion, either generally by the Gospel or by writing
in particular, are the order : muoi of the dedara-
tion is universal ; and out of that rises the special
Epistle. The object of the univer^ announce*
ment, which these readers had already heard and
rejoiced in, was in order that ye may have —
not obtain or hold fast or increase in, but have
generally— fellowship with ns. Fellowship is
union in the possession or enjoyment of sometning
shared in common : that common element being
variously viewed as God Himself, imparted dirough
the knowledge and eternal life ana hopes of the
Gospel ; or the external seals of communion of the
Church ; or even the spirit and gifts of its charity.
In our Epistle we have only the first ; and in this
sentence it is fellowship with the apostles in their
experience of the manifestation of the Son, in their
enjoyment of the supernatural, true, eternal life
which united them with God.

But, as if to preclude any perversion of this
thought, it is added : and indeed onr feUowddp
is inth Uie FaUier and with his Son Jesus
Christ. It is evident that the apostle does not
linger for a moment on any fellowship that falls
below the highest. ' Our fellowship,' still
spoken generally of all Christians, is with the
I'ather through His Son Jesus Christ, that is, His
Son as Mediator, and therefore common to the
Father and to us. He is the element as well as
the bond of the communion ; and ' the fellow-
ship of His Son Jesus Christ* (i Cor. i. 9) Is
through His Spirit, common to Him and to us, of
whom mention will be made in due course, whose
common possession by believers is ' the com-
munion of the Holy Ghost* (2 Cor. xiii. 14).
But all this is not in the text. That simplv ex-
presses the Saviour's pr^er in another form: ^that
they may all be one, as Thou Father art in Me, and
I in Thee, that they also may be in us.' What is
common to the Father and to us, and common to
the Son and to us— for the 'and* introduces a
distinction — is not here said ; but in the Lord's
Prayer we read, ' All Mine are Thine, and Thine
are Mine ; ' and again, ' I in them, and Thou in
Me ;* and once more, ' That the love wherewith
Thou lovedst Me may be in them, and I in them *
(John xvii. 21, 23, 20). It is observable, and the
observation is our best comment, that the term
' fellowship ' in this supreme sense occurs no more ;
but always reappears in the form of the mutual
indwelling of Uie Trinitv and the believer who
'abideth in Him, and He in him. And hereby
we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit
which He gave us ' (chap. iii. 24). Here are all
the gradations of the fellowship in God and among
the saints with God.

Ver. 4. Now follovrs the specific design of this
Epistle. And these things we write, that onr
joy may be fulfilled. 'Our* joy, our common
joy, as in the same prayer : ' that they may have
^ly joy fulfilled in them* (John xvii. 13). Joy is
the utmost elevation of ' eternal life ' viewed not
as purity or strength, but as blessedness ; and here
again the best comment is the fact that the word
never recurs, but we find, where that might have
been expected, always ' eternal life.'

294 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [CHAP. I. $-11. a8.

Chapter I. 5-II. 28.
Fellowship with God as Holiness or Light.

5 *nr^HIS then is the message* which we have heard of him," «cii.iu.ii.

JL and declare unto you,* that *God is light, and in him ^Jm-Lij.
is no darkness at all.

6 ''If we say that we have fellowship with him, 'and walk in * 41^^^

7 darkness, we He, and 'do not the truth: But if we walk in the *Jo. uL.i.
light, as he -^is in the light, we have fellowship one with -/^'"nii^ »«•»«.

another, ''and the blood of Jesus Christ* his Son cleanseth us ^Acuxx.«i:

' "^ H«b. UL t4.

8 from all sin. * If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our- AR0m.ia.19:

' Joo snr. 14.

9 selves, and the truth is not in us. ' If we confess our sins, he /Pi.kxsiLs.
is faithful and ^just^ to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us ^^J]^*'*

10 from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,

' we make him a liar, and ^'his word is not in us. iS^J' a

Chap, il i. ** My little children, these things write I unto you, that "a.'^gi
^ yt, sin not. And if any man sin, we have ^an advocate with S^HLr.***

2 the Father, Jesus Christ ^ the righteous : And he is '' the pro- ^ r^^^^.
pitiation for our sins : and not for ours only, but also for the sins ^icoTi «.
' of the whole worid. ''^^^''

3 And hereby we do know* that we^know him, if we keep his '^^^'

4 commandments. ' He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not '^aJ;^

5 his commandments, "is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But »jajifi.44;
whoso ** keepeth his word, in him verily "'is the love of God rjaivJts.

6 perfected:* hereby ^ know " we that we are in him. He that ^cilItIi^
saith •'he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, *even 'fr"V-'
as he walked.

7 Brethren," I write no new commandment unto you, but an

*old commandment which ye had from the beginning. *The Jjjj^^r
old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the

8 beginning." ^ Again, a new commandment I write unto you, «jo.sitt.j4.
which thing is true in him and in you : ''because the darkness ^Roai.xiiLni

9 is past," and the ' true light now ** shlneth. ^ He that saith he Oo. l^ '
is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in ** darkness even until

10 now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, ^and ^J<^»«,«»;

1 1 there is none occasion of stumbling in him : ^ But he that hateth iiak.ifi.w-ti
his brother is in*^ darkness, and walketh in" darkness, and
'knoweth not whither he goeth, because that^ darkness hath '^?^^'
blinded his eyes.

^ And this is the message ' from him ' announce unto vott

* insert the * omit Christ • righteous ^ onait the sins of

* perceive we • hath the love of God been perfected *• perceive
" Beloved *' which ye heard *• passing away ** already
" insert the " the

Chap. I. 5-IL 28.3 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. 395

12 I write unto you, little children, because *your sins are for- alu. xxiy.47:

13 given you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fatliers,
because ye have known " him ' that is from the beginning. I ' ch. i. i.
write unto you, young men, because ** ye have overcome the "•^l^It * '
wicked one." I write *' unto you, little children, because * ye ^\^]^i^'

14 have known" the Father. I have written unto you, fathers,
because ye have known " him t/iat is from the beginning. I

have written unto you, young men, * because ye are strong, and *Kph.TL 10.
the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the
wicked one."

15 ^ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. / J?«".-..»»- « ;

•' ' ** Col. UL I, a.

'If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in ^jjj*i^'*'

16 him. For all that is in the world, ''the lust of the flesh, and r)^tim.xaix^,
'the lust of the ey^s, and 'the pride" of life, is not of the \^^X^\il'

17 Father, but is of the world. * And the world passeth away, and ~ "***•
the lust thereof: "but he that doeth the will of God abideth sIS'^'A'*
for ever. 's.

18 Little children, ^ it is the last time : ** and as ye have heard " "'H***- »•..?;

' 'a PcL m. 3.

that 'antichrist shall come,*' even now are there** •'many anti- *ch^]*;**"'^'

19 christs; 'whereby we know that it is the last time.** *They -^^i^ ***''•*•
went out from us, but they were not of us; for *if they had Jirtlf^x!''^*
been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but *J^*^*"*
they went outf^ ^ that they might be made manifest that they ^ 1 Cor. «. 19.

20 were not all of us." But ye have *^ an unction " from the ' Holy ^'v^ a;:

21 One, and -^ye know all things. I have not written unto you '**'^^'.^*
because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, an,d that iu<*«.5;' ^

* ' 'Jo. XIV. 26 ;

22 no lie is of the truth. Who is a"* liar but ^ he that denieth that /JF^.'^- '• s-

^Ch. IV. 3;

* Jesus is the Christ } He is antichrist,'® that denieth the Father . *>• ^'

^ ^ ' h Ch, V. T.

23 and the Son. ' Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not »ch. iv. 13,

V X.

the Father : \bnt'\ lie that acknoivledgeth the Son hath the Father

24 also}^ Let that therefore" abide in you, which *ye have'* *ch iu. n;

^ , 2 Jo. 6.

heard from the beginning. If that which ye have** heard from

the beginning shall remain '* ia you, ' ye also shall continue** in '^J-^^:^

25 the Son, and in the Father. And '"this is the promise that he *';[Jii*;f®'

26 hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written <^*>- »• »•

27 unto you concerning " them that seduce you." But the anoint- »»ch. ui 7;
insT which ye have received** of him * abideth in you, ^and ye <»ch.'ui.*24.

** ' • ' y /Heb.viu. II.

need not that any man teach you : but as the same*^ anointing
teacheth you of all things, ^and is truth,** and is no lie, and f Jo.»v. 17.

*' ye know *• the evil one " have written

•• the vainglory •* hour *• heard •• cometh

** have there arisen ** we perceive that it is the last hour

*• but this came to pais *' that thev are none of them of us

*• and ye have an anointing '^ the *"* This is the antichrist, even he

'^ he that confesseth the Son hath the Father also '^ As for you, let that

^ omit have '^ abide *^ would lead you astray

•• And as for you, the anointing which ye received . •' his . •* true

296 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. I. 5-II. 28.

28 even as it hath '• taught you, ye shall abide *^ in him. And now,

little children, abide in him ; that, ''when he shall appear,** ' we ''q^ ^jj '•
may have confidence, and not be ashamed" before him 'at his *^j^"'
coming. tf^iL%

«» omif hath

^Mf he shall be manifested

«> ye abide

** shrink with shame

Contents. First the apostle announces bis
message that God is light and only light (vcr. 5).
Then follows (down to chap. ii. 2) a universal state-
ment of the evangelical conditions of fellowship
with Him in holiness. In chap. ii. 3-6 the know-
ledge of God is exhibited as a stimulant to perfect
obwlience. From ver. 7 to ver. 1 1 the walk m light
is viewed with special reference to brotherly love.
Vers. 12-14 bear emphatic and redoubled testi-
mony to the reality and truth of the Christian
life generally, and of that of his readers in par-
ticular : this being introduced because of the
stem contrasts which have preceded and will
follow. Then comes an exhortation against the
love of the world in its darkness, vers. 15-17.
From ver. 18 to ver. 27 believers are warned and
protected against the doctrinal errors of the
world. And, lastly, in ver. 28, the whole is
wound up by a reference to the coming of Christ
and the Christian confidence before Him. It
may be said that in the seven sections of this Brst
part the whole sum of the Christian estate, from
the revelation of sin to full preparation for judg-
ment, is found, with its perfect opposite. But it
is governed by the idea of the holiness of the
Gosi^el as a sphere of light ; and two points in
it, regeneration and faith through the Holy Ghost,
are afterwards more fully evolved.

T/i^r Message^ which is the cotnpetuiittm of Christ's

teaching.

Vcr. 5. And, resuming the * we have heard *
in the Introduction, this is the message which
we have heard from Him : from ' His Son Jesus
Christ' (ver. 3), the *Him' being enough if we
rememl)er the 'fellowship* Ijetween the Father
and the Son. As the apostle condenses the whole
of the revelation of Christ's Person into one word
* was manifested,' so he condenses the sum of His
teaching into one word * message : ' this word
occurs again only in chap. iii. 1 1, there concern-
ing love as here concerning light. And an-
nounce nnto you— or, as it were, * re-message'
to you ; the word being different from declare, —
that God is light, and in him is no darkness
at all : the positive and negative assertion of a
truth, so characteristic of this Epistle, here begins ;
and the two clauses must be combined in one
concept. The subject is fellowship with God ;
that Is the possession of something common to
God and to us. This is hereafter love, *God
is love ; ' here it is light, or unmingled and
diflusive holiness. All interpretations that refer
this to the essence of God are superfluous. God
in His moral nature is to us light : * light '
is one of the predicates of God, as related to
moral creatures. It is purely ethical, as love is
in the other passage : the Epistle does not con-
tain one reference to the essence of God, or the
manifestation of His essence. It is only said
that ' no man hath seen Him at any time ; ' and

it is remarkable that the 'glory' so common in
the Gospel and Revelation is absent here : the
only revelation is in Christ, and as sudi only a
revelation of holiness and love. Holiness in God
repels evil, and that to the sinner is its first
aspect : ' in Him is no darkness * of sin that
can be common to Him and us. But holiness in
Him is diffusive, as the light is, or it could not
become common to Him and to His saints. Both
aspects unite in the atonement which is near at
hand with its explanation.

Th^ atoning provision for fellowship in the light
of Gody viewed generally cutd with specific
referetue to the Christian life.

Vers. 6, 7. If we say: this is a keyword
throughout the section, and marks off the utterly
unchristian or antichristian spirit from the perfect
opposite which in each case follows it. Surely
there is here no union of the apostle with his
hearers, any more than in St. Paul's 'shall
we continue in sin that grace mav abound?*
' We ' is the universal we of mankmd, though
it may have special allusion to the Gnostics, who
said precisely, in their theory and practice, what
is here allied. They affirmed that, the seed of
light being in them, they might live enveloped
in darkness and sensuality without losing the
prerogative of their knowledge.

That we have fellowdiip with him, and
walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the
truth : we lie in the * saying,' and in the
'walking 'do not the truth; 'the truth' being
the outward manifestation, * as truth is in Jesus
(Eph. iv. 21), of the light of holiness, its revealed
directorv of word and deed. But if we walk in
the light, as he is in the light Mark the de-
corous emphasis on ' walk ' and ' is : ' our * walk '
is the fellowship with His 'being.' We have
fellowship one with another: our fellowship
with God is not a lie, but a reality ; we ' have '
the fellowship that it is supposed we also ' say *
we have. And our walk does not impeach us ;
for provision is made to enable us 'to do the
truth.'

And the blood of Jesus his Son deanaetli na
ftom all sin. The ' and ' does not mean ' for,'
in the sense that the cleansing is the fellowship ;
nor 'and therefore,' as if the fellow^ip were
the condition of the cleansing. The converse of
that would be nearer the truth. The two clauses
are simply co-ordinate; the 'and' as it were
explaining and obviating objection. We have
feUowship with God— we, the universal • we,* —
but how can these things be, seeing that the
light of Divine holiness detects in us nothing
but sin? Here then comes in the counterpart
or undertone of the great message. We have
fellowship with God through His Son, but
through Jesus the crucified Saviour, His Son,
who 'came by water and blood.' the blood.

I. 5-IL 28.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.

297

r, being made prominent now as the
al expiation carried into the sanctuary for
liis is the first of many allusions to the
sot, and must be remembered diroughout
istle : the blood itself— not the Person of
xre, nor faith in Him, nor faith in it —
ibjective ground of our deliverance Arom
s use here is explained by the leading
the holiness of God, the sphere of which
ively is not the judicial court of satisfac-
or the household where regeneration is
xdy but the temple where the sacrificial
iras offered. Tbe link between it and
ansinp is not yet exhibited. The term
eth' IS to be similarly explained. It in-
n the phraseology of the temple the whole
e of deliverance from sin viewed as the
n detected and repelled by holiness : it is
ctification internal as opposed to justifica-
pated, but cleansing as including both in
as of the altar economy. It is the present
lowever ; and simply preaches a perpetual
I of all sin as pollution in the sight and
ightofGod.

8» 9. If we Bay that we have no sin,
itn oanelTea, and the trnth is not in
another * if we say,* strictly co-ordinate
e preceding ; the phrases here being varia-
pon those contained in the former, but,
t. John's manner, with some additional
of iorce. What b falsely asserted by the
istian spirit is the absence of that which

an atonement necessary in order to walk-
the light. Sin has been for the first time
ced, as that within us which answers to
9, its external sphere : it is wrong, there-
> interpret it as meaning that we may
^ 'walk in the darkness,* although we

remaining sin within us. The two are
Doos : they who say that they are without
by that very token in the darkness ; for
ht of God's holiness cannot be diffused
I the soul until it has first revealed its
rhe rebuke runs parallel with the former,
}propriate change of phrase. Instead of
imply, we are now self-deceivers, with

emphasis on this : not without great
e could the perverters of the Christian
have brought themselves to deny the sin-
of their nature. In fact, none who have
itn Christians could assert this ; at least,
iristian revelation as truth cannot have
9d in them, even if it had ever entered.
cnth is not in us,* nor we in it.
a ocmfiBH our sins : here we have the uni-
preamble of the Gosi^l. This confession
onsenting together of^ the soul and the law
xmyiction and acknowledgment of sin. It
antithesis of the ' saying that we have no
mt, as the antitheses are never strictly co-
ts this confession may include, and indeed
idude, more than a mere internal senti-

Two things are to be remembered here :
bat the confessing of 'sins,* not 'sin,*
aqpression used in the New Testament for
i repentance that precedes the acceptance
Gospel ; and, secondly, that the word is
y Sl John only in two senses, for the
tental confession of sin and need, and for
damental confession of Jesus the Saviour
n and need. He speaks of 'confessing
ad 'confessing Christ:' he alone has

this combination, and save to express these two
he does not employ the word. Accordingly, St.
John now introduces in the most full and solemn
manner the whole economv of the Gospel as a
remedy for sin : in an enlarged statement, and
including now another idea, that of righteousness.

He is foithfol and ris^teouB to forgive ns
onr Bins, and to deanae ub from all nnright-
eooBneflB. The two attributes of God, the Ad-
ministrator in Christ through the Spirit of the
redeeming economy, correspond to each other
and to the blessings which they guarantee. He
is ' faithful * to His holy nature, as it is revealed
in His Son, and to the covenant which in Him
pledges for^veness and renewal, and to the ex-
press promises of His word : the ' covenant of
peace ' came to St. John from the Old Testament,
and is as much his as St. PauPs, though he never
introduces the idea. Hence its antithesis is the
making Him a liar ; and its counterpart in us is
our faith, not here expressed but implied. He
is ' righteous ' also : this term r^^rds the
holiness of God under a new aspect, that of a
lawgiver; and declares that His universal faith-
fulness is pledged in a particular way, namely,
as He imparts righteousness to the faith of those
who trust in Him. St. John does not adopt the
Pauline language, though he implies the Pauline
teaching, when he says that God is riehteous
in order that He may forgive our sins. We re-
ceive this release from condemnation from His
righteousness; for 'He is just, and the justificr.'
He also imparts righteousness, — that point St.
John keeps stedfastly in view throughout the
Epistle, — but as to that he changes the phrase ;
and, blending the holiness and righteousness of
God in one sentence, declares that He is faithful
and righteous also ' that He may cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.' This is a remarkable com-
bination : the ' cleansing ' is strictly from pollu-
tion ; but here its meaning is enlarged beyond
that of ver. 7, and it is a cleansing from the very
principle in us that gives birth to sin, our devia-
tion from holy right or our ' unrighteousness.*

Ver. 10. In a third use of the universal If we say,
the great anti-christian lie is once more repeated,
but as usual in a strengthened form, — that we have
not Binned — that we are not in fact sinners, as the
result of a life of which sin has been and is the
characteristic. We make him a liar, and his
word is not in ns : the rebuke is also repeated
but deepened. We contradict the God of holi-
ness ; and His revelation. His word of truth, has
absolutely no place in us. This third description
of the unchristian nature has no counterpart : that
follows immediately, but in another form. In all
these sentences, let it be observed once more, the
apostle has been laying down great principles.
Ihe 'we say' has no specific reference to his
readers. But he would not have used the phrase
'if we say,' had he not included a universal
application. While he does not declare that sin
must remain in those who walk in the light, and
that they must have sin in them, he warns them
against the ' saying * that they have it not. He
does not declare that it is true of all that they have
sinned in their renewed life down to the present
moment ; but he forbids their ' saving ' that they
have not sinned. Supposing his later testimony
concerning the destruction of sin as a principle,
and the absence of sin from the regenerate, to be
taken in its highest and deepest, that is, in its

198

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. I. s-ILjI

most natural sense, still all the sanctified avow
themselves sinners who need the atonement until
probation ends ; they never separate between their
new selves and their old in their humble confes-
sion ; they still identify themselves with their sin,
though this may be gone ; and ' say ' with the
sanctified Apostle Paul (i Tim. i. 15), 'sinners, of
whom I am chief,' ' looking for the mercy of our
Ijord Jesus Christ unto eternal life' (Jude, ver. 21).

Chap. ii. 1-3. My little children: instead of
giving the antithesis to the third *if any man
say/ St. John, the father of the churches of that
time, directly addresses those whose character
formed that antithesis ; and changes the calm state-
ment into affectionate exhortation. These things
I write onto yon — that is, the whole letter, resum-
ing the * write we * of ver. 4, but with the usual
ciiange. Before, it was the afx>stolic *we,* and
in the presence of the whole Church, with all its
heresies around it ; now St. John himself begins
a more personal address. That ye sin not:
iK'fore, it was the fulness of joy ; now it is the
utter sejxiration from sin, the negative condition
of that. The last tense that had been used was
the perfect, referring to the whole life of sin as
needing atonement ; the aorist is now used : * that
ye sin not at all/ not as a habit, nor in any single
act. The antithesis might have run on, * If we
are for^vcn and cleansed, wc have for ever ceased
from sin.' Dut it does not ; for the saint must
ever be a sinner as touching the past, and if not
dealt with as such it is only through merciful non-
imputation ; moreover, he may sin again.

And if any man dn. The *if' docs not
suppose it nccessar)', but it clearly implies that
*one' — meaning *one of us,* though here only
used in the Lpi^tle— may commit sin. Yet this
will be, in the high teaching of the apostle, a

The word propitiation occurs only here and in da9>
iv. throngnout the New Testament : it is iciil]f
the counterpart of the ' blood of Jesos Hb Soa'
in chap. L 6, the administration oif the atonemc^
coming between them in chap. i. 9. Christ is ^
the New Testament ' set fortli as a propitiatioD^ ^
His blood' (Rom. iii. 25) : a sacrifiaal ofleri*^
that, as on the day of atonement to which ^
refers, averted the wrath of God from the peofF»^
He also as High Priest made atonement or ' p#^^
pitiation for the sins of the people' (Heh. ii. l^r\
which is here, as in the Septoagint, 'propitiat
in the matter of sins' the C^xi ot holii
Uniting these, He is in the present passage
self the abstract ' propitiation ' in His own gtoril
Person. His prayer for us, issuing from the
treasure-house of atoning virtue, most be
able ; and, uttered to the Father who ' sent Him
as the propitiation (chap. iv. 14), is one that Ha
*hearetn always' (John xi. 42).

It is then added : and not for can only, 1ml
also for the whole woild. And why? Firrt,
because the apostle would utter his
testimony, on this his first mention of the
to the absolute universality of the design of tl
mission of the ' Lamb of God who taketh ai
the sin of the world :' his last mention of it,
second time he sajrs ' the whole world,* will beof i
severer character (chap. v. 19). SccGVMlly, hetl
intimates that the pro|>er propitiation, as
was the reconciliation of the Divine holiness
love in respect to all sins at once and in their unity^^
while the advocacy based upon it refers to sped
sins : on the one hand, no oilier atonement

necessary ; on the other, that must avail if peni-
tence secures the advocacy of Him who offered it
once for all. Lastly, as we doubt not, the ajpostle
thus ends a discussion, the fundamental object oT
peculiar case, and demands a new application of which was to set forth universally and in geneial
the atonement to meet it. We have an advocate the way in which the Gospel offers to all mflnlrinrf

with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
' We have,* as the common possession of believers
- -not of the Church ; but of every one, for his
defence against sin and recovery from it — as
certainly ours now as our sin can be. Advocate or
I*araclcte is the same word as the Comforter of the
Gospel. That 'other' Comforter, the Holy
Spirit, is in the midst of the Church and in the
hearts of believers as a Heli^jr and Teacher,
* making intercession within us;' this Advocate
is towartls the Father, with allusion to the previous
words, *t<> forgive us our sins.* He is in a
juridical sense the pleader or intercessor of the
l!^pistte to the Hebrews, who must be *holy,
separate from sinners,* * the Righteous.* The
apostle does not say *the Holy One,' l)ecause the
very term Advocate makes the heavenly temple as
it were a judicial court, and in that court satisfac-
tion and nghteousness reign. As ' cleansing from
unrighteousness' combines the two ideas, so do
Advocate and Propitiation. The third leading
idea of the Gospel, our sonship, is involved in
*wilh the Father.*

And he is the propitiation for our sina Mark
the * and ' which here once more introduces a new
tliought intended to obviate perversion. Though
Christ is not said to l)e a * righteous Advocate,'
yet His advocacy must represent a righteous cause.
He pleads His own atonement ; that is Himself,
for He 'is' in His Divine-human Person the
propitiation : the advocacy is distinct from the
atonement, is based upon it, and appeals to it.

fellowship with the light of God's holiners.

FellarMship in the knmoiedgi of Cod: obedUmce^
iove^ and union.

The best account that can be given of this
section— more aphoristic than anv other — is that it
la3rs down certain principles, and introduces ocrtain
terms, which become the keynotes of flie remainder:
each b^ns here, and returns again and again,
while few are afterwards added.

Ver. 3. The word fellowship now vanishes from
the Epistle. The first substitute is knowledge;
a term that is not without allusion to the Gnostic
watchword, but soon passes beyond the transitoiy
reference. It is the gnosis of the anti-christtan sect,
which St. Paul, not renouncing the term, cndtcd
intoepignosis: St. John retrieves it, and stamps it
with the same dignity that he impresses on the
word love.

And hereby know we that we know him, if
we keep his commandments. "The knowii^ is
a word which may be said to be in this Epistle
sanctified entirely to God and the cx|>erience of
Divine things : the knowing Him and the know-
ing that we know Him, or, m St. Paul's langnsgie,
' knowing the proof of Him. We cannotbetter
explain the word to ourselves than by closely con-
necting it with the fellowship that precedes. All
knowledge is the communion of the mind with its
object : the object as it were and the knowiqg
subject have in common the secret natore of the
object* To ' know Christ ' is to enter into the

Chap. I. 5-II. 28.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. 299

* fcUowihip of His suffering and resurrection.' To the possession of its perfect influence within us as

IE.110W God is to have that which may be known of the active power ot holiness in one that has

God made common to Him and to our minds: His been passively delivered by it from sin. Hence,

iMily natme^ His truth. His love. Obviously this secondlv, it b added, 1^ ihii we know that we

knowledge of God is its own evidence to ourselves; are in nim : not by spiritual enjoyments ; not by

thic Tcsy wocd says that. Yet the apostle adds, in ecstatic absorption into the Divine abyss, such as

^ phraae quite unique in Scripture, 'we know later and de^erate mysticism delighted to de-

thmt wt know Him :' we know our own know- scribe ; but by the power to do His holy will in

Bedije ; that is, the secret of our true knowledge, absolute self-surrender and consecration, do we

mte cAedy is conmion to our experiencing and our know that we have union with God. It may be

mcflecting mind, to our consciousness as the union objected that on this view it should read ' that

the two. That secret as deliverance from sin He is in us : ' now precisely this we do read

m already been dwelt on : now the positive side when next the perfect operation of the Divine love

brought in ; we are pninr to our obedience as is referred to : ' God abideth in us, and His love

from the nature of God in us, 'if we keep is perfected in us' (chap. iv. 12). It is not our

His commandments.' These were given us by consummate love to God that assures us of our
Christ; Christ is God and the 'Iiim' of this union with Him, but the blessed experience of
in the unity of the Father. His perfected love in us. Thirdly, this is con-

Ver. 4. Hence ne that laitih, I know him— firmed by what follows : He that saith he abideth
the 'we' has become 'he,' according to St. in him, onght himself also to walk even as he
John's habit of changing the phrase and making walked. There is no stress on the ' saith,' as if
Its Ootct more keen and direct,— and keepeth not the meaning were that the profession ought to l>c
Mi eonunandments, is a liar, and the truth is confirmed by practice. True as that is, the truth
aol In him. We are sent back to chap. L 8, 10 ; is deeper here. The profession before was, ' I
9M he lied who said that he had no sm, and the know God ; ' now the phrase changes, ' that he
trath of God was not in him, so he lies, and is abideth in Him.' The stress is on the 'abid-
WfidkNit the indwelling truth, who, professing to ing,! which now enters the Epistle for the first
Jbdow God in His Son, obeys Him not. time to go no more out ; and as this continuous
Ver. 5. Bnt vhoao keepeth his word : this fellowship with Christ is no other than the life of
pluase is our Lord's, both in St. John's Gospel and the Vine producing fruit in the branches, he who
m the Apocalypse. Examination will show that has it is bound to exhibit in himself the hoIincs>
the 'keeping u more interior than the 'doing,' of Christ, and walk as He walked. The know-
including that sacred reverence for the principle ledge, the life, the love of Christ is perfected in
of obedience which is its permanent or abidmg this, that we live as He lived. In fact, there
safiqgiiard in the soul : ' l)ecause thou hast kept are two obligations : being abidingly in Chi ist
My word, I will keep thee ' (Rev. iiL 8, 10). absolutely involves a Divine necessity of righteous
Bnt Sl John never speaks of the law : it is the obedience ; and the profession of it binds the
'word' as the central expression of the mind of professor to do his own port to imitate Ilim.
God which as fvecept is 'the commandment,' 'If I then — ^ye also ought. For I have given you an
and brsAchei out into 'the commandments.' example, that ye also should do as I have done'
Obsenre that the 'if* has now vanished, while (John xiii. 14, 15). This suggests the Master's
the individual ' whoso ' remains, and it follows, in self-sacrificing love as the specific characteristic
Um Terily hath the lore of God been perfected, of His pattern, and leads to the next section.
'If ye continue in My word' — interchangeable But, before passing on, we should observe the
with ' My word continuing in you,' — ' then are ye wealth of new terms and thoughts which crowd
verihr My disciples ' (John viiL 31) : the same into the present verse : knowledge, indwelling,
frnpltiitif on tne 'truly' responding to *the abiding; all these being perfected love ; auvl all
trath is not in him.' But we cannot help feeling issuing in our being ' even as He.' Each one
that thb ' verily * — ^here alone made his own by of these recurs again and again.
SLjohn — enieaMS the solemn joy vrith which the «-, j j t - 1. ■ t tj
writer appioaSies a new. word Lii a new thought ^^ ""ZiT'fT T"' / " '^'^ '^"^^
that wla throb throughout the remainder of the ^^''^ 0/ brotherly lave.

Ver, 7. Beloved — introducing a new view of
Ftetponing the study of ' love ' until we hear the subject by a term appropriate, — ^no new corn-
that 'love is of God,' we must mark the 'per- mandment write I onto yon, but an old com-
fected love.* Five times the thought occurs; mandment which ye had £rom the beginning,
and, while always the fellowship of love with The apostle bad spoken of 'commandments' and
God is the undertone, there is a distinction, of the one ' word,' but he had not as yet said ' corn-
Twice it is of God's love in or to us ; once, in the mandment.' Now, our Lord had associated the
middJe^ it is obviously the love common to God latter with brotherly love as a ' new command-
and ns; and in the rest it is no less obviously love ment' Qohn xiii. 34) : hence he distinguishes
perfected in ourselves. What it is here let three between his Master's ' giving ' and his own ' writ-
oonsidefatioosshow. First, the Divine love in the ing.' 'What I now write b not new, as He
nissian and at<ming work of the Son has been gave it : for the old commandment is the word
eidiibited as effecting the forgiveness and soncti- which ye heard in the ever memorable saying
ficatioD of the soul ; but that does not constitute that lived in the Church from the beginning ^
the fiiD knowledge of God in Christ : His love in the Christian revelation.'

as attains its perfect operation only when it be- Ver. 8. Again, resuming and as it were correct-

the fml power of a simple and pure ing, there is a sense in which a new command-

obedience to His word ; that is its finbhed work ment I write nnto yon, which thing is tme in
in oi. We know God when we luiow His love ; him and in yon : ' my saying that it is new is a
and the knowledge or fdUowship of His love is true thing both as it respects Him who "gave" it

300

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. I. 5-II. d:

and you who read what I ** write." * It was new
with reference to the old law, which the Saviour
fulBUed and consummated and re-enacted in the
supreme self-sacrifice rehearsed or anticipated in
the feet-washing at the time when He gave it ; the
law of love was perfected and proclaimed anew,
and with an illustration never given to it before.
It is new in us, who fulfil it with a new spirit, after
a new example, and with new motives, as in short
a commandment which is the fulfilment and the
fulfiller of all law or word of God. Because the
darkness is passing away, and the True Light
now shineth. When St. John said * true in Him,'
he referred to Christ, whose *walk' had been
spoken of, as also to the Speaker of the new com-
mandment unnamed. He still defines Him with-
out name as the ' True Light : ' light as opposed
to the darkness of sin, and true, as the reality of
which all former revelation was the shadow and
precursor. But the Person of Christ is now lost
ill His manifestation : the perfect revelation of
law and of love in their unity is fully come ; the
darkness of self and sin is only in act of passing.

Vcr. 9. It would require a long sentence to
supply the unexpanded tnought here. In nothing
is the newness of the evangelical teaching more
evidently seen than in the diametrical opposition it
establishes between loving and hating. There is
no middle sphere : in the Gospel, love is taught in
its purity and perfection as the light of life m the
soul, which leaves no part dark, no secret occasion
of sin being undiscovered and unremoved; and
hate is taught as the synonym of not loving, being
the secret germ of all selfishness. Hence ne that
saith he is in the light, and hateUi his brother,
is in the darkness nntil now, notwithstanding
the light shining around, and notwithstanding his
profession, and notwithstanding his possible dwell-
ing among Christians whom he calls brethren.

Vers. 10, II. Here there is no *but:* we
have a pair of counterparts strictly united. He
that loveth his brother — his brother being every
living man, in this passage as in some others —
abideth in the light It is presupposed that he
is in it ; but for the sake of what follows the
abiding is emphasized ; as indeed the * abidine '
always follows hard on the ' is : ' and there is
none occasion of stumbling in him. Stumbling-
block or offence is sometimes what makes others
to fall either intentionally or innocently or in-
advertently. But here it is that secret selfishness
which takes manifold forms, almost all the forms
of sin : the light from Christ entering through the
spiritual eye makes the whole spiritual body full
of light, and nothing remains undiscovered or un-
removed that could cause the fulfiller of this law
to fall. It is the high ideal of the *new com-
mandment;' but one that is here said to be
realized in him in whom ' the love of God is
perfected ' or has its full effect. But — now comes
in the awful antithesis, containing the whole his-
tory of the loveless spirit — he uiat hateth his
brother — who does not love his neighbour as
himself— is in the darkness, and abideth in or
walketh in the darkness— it is his sphere, and he
both receives and diffuses it — and imowetih not
whither he goeth : 'whither,' because he is in
the darkness, and it hath not yet been revealed
what the end of that will be, 'how creat is that
darkness!' *he goeth,' because the darkness
•hath blinded,' as it were once for all, his eyes
to the path on which he is.

Ttstimony to the reality of their religion; addretsti
to the church generally^ oftd specially under
two aspects.

Vers. 12, 13. I write nnto yon, littteehildns,
becanse your Bins are foz^Ten yon for Ui
name's sake. The apostle, in the act of writio{
the Epbtle, now ceases to distingiiish between
true and false Christians ; he affectionately bki
the same appellation which he had nsed in tk
first verse when pointmg his readers to the inter-
cession and atonement of Jesus Christ; tn^
taking up again that truth, says that he wrote tp
them with the confidence that for the sake of )^
name, on the ground of His finished woik ^
earth and presentation of His Person in hettc^
they had the for^veness of their sins. *'f^
My name's sake ' m the Old Testament beooc^'^
now ' for His name's sake ,* ' but it occurs o*^^
here, and is parallel with St. Paul's 'God ^1
Christ's sake,' or 'in Christ hath forgiven
This confidence b expressed here first simply
the utterance of joyful congratulation.

Continuing the same strain, St. Tohn, to
all were 'little children,' reg^ards them asdivi
among themselves into two classes : the

mature, whom he congratulates on that _^ ^

knowledge of which he had spoken in ver. ^/m
I write nnto yon, fathers, beoanae js know kv^
that was from the beginning : ' that which
in chap. i. i becomes here ' Him that
that is, the same Jesus through whose name
were all forgiven was, in His Divine Person as
ultimate secret of the virtue of His atonement, fall;
revealed to them in the faith which they had
ceived and studied and continued to know«— -
This was true concerning all ; but it was
special characteristic of the more advanced,
same may be said of the next clause. I
nnto yon, yonng men, because ye haye
the evil one. The head of the kingdom of dark'
ness, alluded to in ver. 8, in whom 'the whole
world lieth ' (chap. v. 19), elsewhere ' the Prince
of this world' (John xiL 31), had been overcome
by all the ' little children ; ' but the struggle in the
case of the fathers had issued in the otlm certi-
tude of 'the full assurance of understuidiiig'
(Col. ii. 2), while in the young men it was a ooo-
fident but recent victory. Let it be observed, be-
fore proceeding, that hitherto the church had bees
addressed as children by regeneration; in what
foHows they are rather children by adopCkNii
Hitherto the Divine Son has been pre-eminent :
His name. His eternal personality, His opposttioa
to the wicked one. Communion with Him kai
been chiefly in the apostle's thoughts.

Vers. 13, 14. Here the apostle takes npagsia
the strain which had been suspended, if aot
actually, yet in thought. The word 'I write'
is changed for ' I wrote : ' first, becanse the
three great principles dwelt on — ^redemption fnm
sin and from the world's ruler by knowledge of
God — are absolutely fundamental, and mast be
repeated emphatically; secondly, because the
writer sees fit to r^ard his Epistle as now in the
hands of the readers, and ' I wrote what I am
now writing' becomes simple enough; thirdly,
because he is about to commence two solemn ex-
hortations for which he would doublv prepare them.

I have written nnto yon, obilaren or soiib of
God, becanse ye know the Fatliar. 'Sons,'
the new designation, corresponds here with ' tht

S-II.28.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.

Tbe Father becomes now pre-eminent,
wship with Him through the Son. For-
is connected with regeneration in the
it respects the Father, it is the knowing
beriy name, and we 'are called the
of God : ' in the order of thought this is
I hf the knowledge of the 'name' of

• J write to yon, fftthera, beoanie ye
In the! is firom the begiiming. This

r'tion is veiy impressive. To the
apostle has nothing to add, for to
irist is to have all knowledfi;e ; through it
cr is known, on the one hand, and the
s overcome, on the other. I write to
ng men, becaiue ye aie strong, and
d of God ahideth in yon, and ye have
m the eyil one. Re-writing what went
he apostle reminds the young men both
strength and of the source of it. They
3iig or 'valiant in fight' (Heb. xi. 34),

• waxed' or become such through con-

S; not, however, in their own power,
'Him that strengthened' them,
mself through His word was the in-
and abiding source of their conquest,
r is He that is in you than he that is in
d ' (chap. iv. 4) : hence it is difficult to
ihether the personal Lotos is here meant
living word, ' the sword of the Spirit : '
' not one without the other, though
Mr use of the phrase suggests that the
aspel Is signified here. Note with what
I the last clause is repeated. He who
red into fellowship with the Son has an
victory over the enem^, and this conscious
Be of triumph over him, not only in par-
wndts but over him, the conqueror has
maintain by 'keeping himselt' so that
my may approach, but touch him not

• 18). This is not a promise only, nor
ttation, but the present reality of the
Christian life.

0fiM€ world : renounced in the Fellowship
he Father, This exhortation is addressed
i/f, the tone of cofttrast being now again
med.

15. Love not the world, neither the
hat are in the world. If any man love
id, the love of the Father is not in him.
lip with God, and walking in darkness,
metrical opposites in chap. i. ; the same
laid of the love of God and fellowship
) world. Here is an exhortation, and
9D for it ^ The emphasis is in this verse
love,' which only in this passage is used
God and the world : elsewhere we have
bip with the world ' (Jas. iv. 4), ' mind*
ily things' (Phil iii. 19) ; but the strong
ve^ the giving up of the whole being,
nd heart, and will, we have only here.

the nature of things, and by the evan-
iw, must be reserved for God alone ; two
etory perfect loves cannot be in the same
lereiore, he who thus loves the world
lave the love of the Father. This reason

explains the eidiortation. The ' world '
ffcted by it, just as mammon is inter-
yj the impossibility of double service :
mot serve God and mammon.' The
I the sphere of the unrcgenerate life,
1 hf another god, fallen from God, and

301

consequently swayed by self, which is separation
from God. It is not therefore the whole ecortomy
of things; which man cannot love, though he
may make it his god. It is not for the same
reason the earth as the abode of man. It is not
the aggr^ate of mankind, whom we must love
as ' God loved the world.' But it is the whole
sum of evil which makes up the principle of op-
position to the holiness of God, the 'world
which lieth in the wicked one.' In distinction
from this universal sphere of sin, which has the
whole heart of the unconverted, ' the things that
are in the world ' define the particular directions
which alienation from God may take, and the
special objects which self may convert into objects
of love.

Ver. 16. F6r all that is in the world, the Inst
of the flesh, and the Inst of the eyes, and the
vainglory of Ufe, is not of the Father, but is
of the world* Now, the apostle defines the
nature of the world, more particularly in its utter
contrariety to the nature of God. The world is a
sphere of life ; it has a unity, and ' the whole that
is in it,' as it is occupied by man, may be distri-
buted into a trinity. First, 'the lust of the
flesh : ' in its more limited sense, the living to
gratify the desires of the fleshly nature; in its
deeper meaning, the gratification of the fallen
nature generally in opposition to the Spirit, for
St. John, like St. Paul, defines 'that which is
born of the flesh' as 'flesh.' Then 'the lust of
the eyes ; ' all the manifold desires that arc
awakened by the eye as their instrument, or that
connect the flesh with the outer world. This also
has its profounder meaning: the desire of the
world's eye rests upon the sum of things
phenomenal, or the ' things that are seen ; *
and its sin is the universal sin of dependence
on the creature, and not beholding, rejoicing in,
and being satisfied with the Creator and invisible
realities. Thirdly, ' the vainglory of life : '
life being here the way or means of physical
existence, and not the life which is the glory of
this Epistle; the vainglory is the pride and
pomp that exults in itself, and gives not the glory
to God. This trinity is a tri-unity, making up
the 'whole' that is in the world of mans
estrangement from Divine things. And, with
reference to this whole, the apostle says, twice
repeating 'is,* that it springs not from God.
It is not of that new life which is * from God ; *
but is its perfect opposite. It cannot love God,
because it is not 01 His nature ; it cannot go to
God, because it came not from Him. Whence
then came it originally and comes it now ? The
apostle does not say from sin, nor from Satan.
He is thinking and about to speak of its empti-
ness and transitoriness : he could not therefore
say that 'it cometh of evil,' or of sin, or of
Satan; for these do not pass away. But he
limits his words, 'it is of the world,* the em-
phasis being on this, that 'it is not of the
Father,' the Father of that Son in whom we
have eternal love and eternal life.

Ver. 17. And the world paaseth away, and
the Inst Uiereof ; bnt he that doeth the will
of Ood abideth for ever. The world as a system
of desires contrary to the Divine will, governed
by its one 'lust' that makes it what it is, is
even now in the act of passing. Its sinners will
remain, and the consequences of its sin ; but as
a complex 'world of iniquity,' ordered in its

302

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. L 5-IL 2^

disorder, it will pass away, it is even now pass-
ing. Then there is a change to the i^ersonau in-
dividual, who knows no lust, but only the one
will : abjuring the lust of the flesh, he doeth that
will which is his sanctification ; renouncing the
sight of his eyes, be walks before Him who is
invisible; and forsaking all glorying in self, he
gives glory to God supremely and alone. He shall,
like God, and with God, and in God, abide for ever.

The antichrists as errors of the darkfiess: their
mark and character^ with the protection
agaifut them,

Ver. 18. Little ohildren : the address is to
all ; and with reference to the several characteris-
tics acknowledged in them, their knowledge of the
Father and of Him who was from the begiiming,
and their victory over the evil one. While the
knowledge and the victory run through this whole
section, it is more immediately linked with the
preceding * passeth away.*

It is the last time. This is St. John's final
and only expression for the Christian dispensa*
tion as answering to the ' last days ' of Isa. ii. 2,
the *end of the days* of Deut. iv. 30, the
*aften»'ard* of all the prophets. When our
Lord introduced the * fulness of time,' another
'afterward' began: in His own teaching, for
He spoke of *ihis world' and the 'world to
come (Matt xii. 30) ; and in that of His
apostles. Each of them uses his own phrases
for the distinction : St. Paul speaks of ' the
present time ' and * the coming glory ' (Rom.
viii. 18), and St. Peter of 'the last days ' or * the
last of the days,' and ' to be revealed in the last
time' (I Pet. i. 20, 5). St. John's is *the last
time * here at the beginning of the section, and at
tlie end of it ' His appearing ' (ver. 28), which
closes the ' time.' The passing away of the world,
and the continuance of the hour or time, run
on coincident ly : ' when He shall be manifested '
will end both. During the old economy, and in
the rabbinical interval with its ' the present world '
and 'the coming world,' the division of history
was the advent of Messiah ; now that He has
come, the dividing point is His second coming. It
is important to remember that the apostle first
speaks solemnly of this ' last time ' as dis-
tmguished from the passing world. Its relation
to antichrists comes in afterwards, and gives a
new colouring to the thought.

And as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even
now have arisen many antichrists; whereby
we perceive that it is the last time. Our Lord
had predicted not one 'false Christ,' but
'many,' as coming, not immediately before the
end of the world only, but from the time of His
departure (Matt xxiv. 4, 24). And St. John
pays homage first and pre-eminently to his
Master's word, referring, however, rather to His
'false prophets,' and callmc[ them by a name
used only by himself 'antichrists,' not as taJctng
the place of Christ, bat as opposing Him. He
includes also, of course, the many predictions of
his brethren, to the effect that 'false teachers
would bring in damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord that bought them' (2 Pet il i). This
is the pith of his argument : we discern that we
are in the last revelation, because side by side go
on the development of truth and error concerning
the one Person who is the sum of revelation.
But, in his way to this argument, St John in-

troduces an allusion to what they had heard frocn
St. Paul, interpreting Daniel, concerning ooe
antichrist, whom he mentions onlv to show that
his predecessors are already in the world. As
he is not, like St Paul, referring; to the signs of
the ' last days ' in the ' last tmae,' but oatj of
the last time generally, he does not dwell on the
future personal antichrist He does, howevei^
set his seal to St. Paul's teaching that a ' man of
sin will be revealed,' exalting himself ' above all
that is called God,' that is, as St John internets
it, 'above all that is called Christ ' who is God,
' denying the Father and the Son ' in a fonn of
opposition which only the fulfilment will explain.
Though he does not define his own word moie
fully, and its explanation must be sou^t in St
Paul's Epistles and the Apocalypse, he here gives
a new name to St Paul's 'man of sin, the
' antichrist ' or opponent of Christ pre-eminentlj,
and he adds that 'he cometh,' or, in soleaw
Biblical language, is still 'the coming one,' as
opposed to the antichrists who 'have become'
such or arisen.

Ver. 19. lliis verse stands alone, as containing
a preliminary encouragement. They went on
from ns, bnt they were not of na. Thej
literally left us, for they were in our fellowsli^
and received in the Church the doctrines they
perverted ; but they had not the life of our doc-
trine, and were not of us in the sense of that
fellowship of which the first chapter had spoken.
For if they had been of ns, in this latter sense,
they wonld have continned with na, in the
former sense. Bnt — the apostle is hanying
from them and hurries them away, In an elliplical
sentence, 'this came to ptass'— ^tttat thajfldWht
be made manifeat that they an not all of w.
The consequence is a purpose : they have goiie
according to the fixed purpose of God's Spirit
that heresy should be purged out of the Chnidi.
It is true that by their going[ out they show die
possibility of some being ' with ns ' who are not
' of us.' But the words, which are not so in-
volved in the original as many think, do not say
this. They only declare that such here^ camioC
and must not continue in the Christian fellowship^
— continue, that is, as maintained by teachers : as
members of the fellowship all need the subsequent
exhortation to ' abide in Him,' and the wanung
against being 'ashamed before Him at His coming/
The reason of the necessary rejection of heresy is
given in the next verse.

Ver. 20. And ye have an nnotion fmrn. Iht
Holy One, and ye know all thinga. There is no
' but ' here : the verse introduces a new consola-
tion ; and that is the fact of the impartation of the
Holy Ghost to all the members of the spiritaal
fellowship, as a Spirit of consecration genefaOvy
and particularly as a teaching guide into all tiutL
*Ye have,' as the result of having 'reoeived*
(ver. 27), your part of the common Pentecoilal
gift This was received from the 'Holy One:'
that is, ChrUt, who is ' the life,' or ' the Son ' as
the source of our sonship, ' the Ri^teous ' as the
source of our righteousness, and ' the Holy One '
as the source of our sanctification. Tne term
'unction,' or chrisma, like that ot 'seed' or
sperma, refers to the Holy Ghost, whoae name
has not yet been mentioned. It goes back to the
Old Testament, which St John never formally

auotes, though he habitually incorporates itt
lere the ' anointing oil ' or ' the oil of

Chap. I. 5-II. 2a] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.

303

iac* (Ex. nix. 7, 31) is the symbol of the Holy
GMtp first as setting tpirt for God i^atever
v«s toQcfaed by it, secondly «s roedfically conse-
crating the priests and kings and prophets of the
old economy. The antitype was poured out on
Christ ' without measure ' mat it might flow upon
all His members, consecrating them to God, and
making them representatives of His three official
lelations. In its first meaning which certainly
is included here, it signifies that those who
receive the chii>m belong to Christ as opposed
to all antichrists : this indeed suggesting the
word. In its second meaning it signifies that
the members of Christ's mystiosl body share His
vnction as the Prophet: they have His Spirit
tcadiing them ' all things,' that is, < all the truth '
as 'tmth is in Jesus.* The chrisma becomes as
it were a charisma : the gift of spiritual know-
ledge in all that pertains to (he doctrine pre*
lently made prominent. St. John, as his manner
is, lays down the high and sacred privilege in all
its perfect ncss : the qualifications are inserted after-
wards, and indeed are suggested in evexy sentence.

Ver. 21. The promise of the '-Spurit of the
tmth ' is evidently in St. John's thoughts, and
these words are in indirect allusion to that pro-
mise as fulfilled in the community. The Saviour
laid stress on ' the truth ' as one : the truth em-
bodied in His own person. That central truth
all who receive the anointing must know, and the
apostle, with the same feeling that dictated the
previous words, ' I have written to you, children,
bccaoae ye know the Father,* acknowledges their
heavenly instruction even while he is instructing
them himself.

I wiite not unto yon because ye knownot the
tmth, but because ye know it His purpose here
is to show them that the truth is not only a revela-
tion of the Christ, but a revelation of antichrist
also. And that no lie is of the truth : he takes
it for granted that they know ; that is, in the
form of taking it for granted, he urgently exhorts
them to remember that there can be no peace
between the truth and any form of the lie what-
ever. The same absolute contrast and diametrical
opposition that he establishes between r^enem-
tion and sin, the Father's love and love of the
world, light and darkness, he establishes between
tmth and error. We often trace theological error
to a perversion of lesser tmth ; and in many
lesser matters rightly. But 'the troth' as it is
explained in the next verse cannot shade off into
lesj true, and reach the false that way. Hence
the abmpt question that follows.

Vers. 22, 23. Who is the liar, but he that
fadeth that Jesne is the Christ f If every lie
comes frcun another source than the troth, what is
that source ? Our Saviour said of one : ' He is a
liar, and the fiuher of it * (John viii. 44). And
this was preceded by, ' Ye are of your father the
devil,' who 'abode not in truth.' Hence here
we have first the great error viewed in respect to
its author, the representative of the central lie :
that lie being the denial that the Jesus of the
Gospels was or is identical with the Christ. To
this formula niight be reduced most of the heresies
of the age ; but especially that of the Jews, and
that of Gnosticism which made Christ an JEaa
who Joined the man Jesus for a season. This last
was m the apostle's mind, and he thought of the
exceeding plausibleness of manyarguments adduced
in its fiivoor; hence the earnestness with which he

changes the abstract lie into the concrete liar, and
reminds the anointed Christians that they must
remember the fiitherhood of every form of error
on this subject. Denying the Christ,— This is the
antiohritt: he deserves that name, though his
error in this respect is only a branch of the great
lie. He deserves it well, for he is really a member
of the family that denieUi the Father and the
Son. This last is the essence of antichrist : the
sum of all passible error, denying and renouncing
conjointly the Godhead and the Revealer of the
Godhead. It is the heaviest charge brought
against the false teachers in the Epistle, and
therefore the apostle solemnly explains and sub-
stantiates it.

Whosoever denieth the Son, neither hath he
ihe Father: he that oonfesseth the Son hath
the Father also. The liar and the antichrist is
now reduced and yet extended to 'whosoever.'
The denial that Jesus is the Christ is identified
with denying the Son in His eternal relation to the
Father, in His incarnation which made Him the
Christ, and in His sole supremacy as the revealer
of the Godhead. He *hath not^ the Father; for
* no man knoweth the Father save the Son, and
he to whom the Son shall reveal Him' (Matt.
xi. 30). He that *confcsseth* the Son, in the
creed of his heart and lips and life, * hath ' in
loving fellowship 'the Father also' as well as
the Son. Such being the great issue at stake, the
anointing from the Holy One cannot fail to keep
you from error, at least on this vital question.

Vers. 24, 25. As for you, let that abide in
yon which ye heard frtan. the beginning. If
that which ye heard from the beginning abide
in yon, ye shall also abide in the Son and in
the Father. And this is the promise that he
promised ns, even life eternaL The false
teachers introduced novelties : their doctrine was
opposed to the stedfast message or promise of the
Gospel ; and the apostle introduces a new element
here; that is, the apostolic teaching as the standard
to which every form of doctrine, goo<l or evil, must
be brought. The unction of the Holy One gives
spiritual discernment to every sanctified believer,
by which he can perceive the contradiction of
error. But the security is deeper even than that.
The apostolic doctrine is an indwelling word which
is the condition of abiding in the Father and the
Son. This abiding in God is the whole substance
of the truth as a promise : ' this is the promise
which He promised ;' and this promise is
'eternal life.'

Vers. 26, 27. The blessedness of * eternal life *
has brought this sad protest against error to an
end. But the writer's heart is full, and he intro-
duces a final exhortation and encouragement, in
the same tone that has been felt Uiroughout, that
of confidence in his readers.

These things have I written nnto yon con-
cerning them that are seeking to lead you
astray: they, rather than the anointed Christians,
gave occasion for all he had said. And as for
you, the anointing which ye have received
abideth in you, and ye need not that any one
teach you. There is no side-glance here at the
teachers who would introde ; but it is the old
troth that the abiding of the interior Teacher in the
heart is the supreme source of knowledge : how-
ever important the instraction of ministers, even
of that which the apostle is himself here p;iving,
may be, it derives all its value from the inward

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. IL 29-in.n

3<H

demonstration of the Spirit. His unction must
sanctify reading and hearing and meditation, and
all the subordinate means of learning. There is
danger, of course, that this may ^ perverted.
Hence the concluding words are very strong;
compressing into three clauses, not united with
perfect conciimiky, all that had been said. Bnt,
as his anointiiig — His Spirit who is the truth, —
teacheth yon oonceming all things — in all the
means He adopts, this letter being among them, —
and is true, and is no lie— thus again does the
apostle glory against the false teachers, — and even
as it taught yon, ye abide in him — thus he rejoices
over his people safe from the seducers.

Ver. 20. But throughout this Epistle the human
side is never forgotten, while all is referred finally
to the indwelling of the Son.

And now, my little children, abide in hlu;
that, when he shall be manifested, we msykii«'
boldness, and not be aahamad from Idm at hk
coming. This ends the whole section wfakb
began with the 'last time.' The 'comii^'
of the Lord is His coming to judgment ; but St
John here uses, and here only, a gradoos woid
that si^ifies His presence, though marking the
beginmng of that presence by the word tint
signifies its continuance, ' His comiog.' No
reference is made to the time of His retain, or to
the possibility of their living on earth till He
should come. We are exhorted to 'abide in
Him ;' and whether we meet Him or are bioogbt
with Him, the confidence will be the same. Its
opposition is the ' speechlessness ' of the mirriage
guest, ' ashamed from Him ' or His presencep

Chapter II. 29-III. 22.

Fellowship in Regeneration.

29 T F ye know that " he is righteous, ye know* that every one that «ch.a7.
J- doeth righteousness *is born* of him. Chap. III. i. Be- '^^'J;
hold, ^what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, ^J;J'ii[.^6;
that we should be called ^ the sons ' of ' God ! * ^ therefore the ^^^"'^^

2 world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, ' now yfc JS^"
are we the sons ' of God ; * and it doth not yet appear * what we '^iiU^
shall be : but we know that, when he shall appear,* ' we shall *fS;> *

3 be like him ; *for we shall see him as he is. And every man ,.Roa.,s.a9;
that hath this hope in him ' ' purifieth himself, even as he is k^^n\
pure. /rcor.tii.«.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for
sin is the transgression of the law.® And ye know that "he'^^jj*^*
was manifested to take away our' sins ; and *in him is no sin. "SJ^lSJ;***

6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth *f-*»>^»'*

I2«

7 'hath not seen him, neither known " him. Little children, ' let ^3 j^.f*
no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, -fli^J^^:

8

4
5

nt

even as he is righteous. ^ He that committeth sin is of the ^^f;^
devil ; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this pur- ***** "^^
pose the Son of God was manifested, 'that he might destroy *g^|^^l
0 the works of the devil. Whosoever is born " of God ' doth not \^ «: "fJ

^ Jo. XII. 31.

commit sin; for his seed remaineth" in him: and he cannot 'Sik'i'i*.
10 sin, because he is born " of God. " In this the children of God .&J*f'^*
are manifest, and ''the children of the devil: whosoever doeth "Vtr.s.

* perceive * begotten • children * insert and such we are
' It is not yet made manifest ^ if he shall be manifested

^ And every one that hath this hope set on him

^ Every one that committeth sin committeth also lawlessness ; and sin is
bwlcssness.

• omit our ^^ knoweth " begotten " abideth

a4-

»i.

Cbap. II. 39-III. 22.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. 305

not righteousness is not of God, ^ neither he that loveth not his wCh. w. s.

brother.
II For this is *the message that ye heard ^from the beginning, *g; !: Sj^
13 that * we should love one another. Not as * Cain, wAo was of * JJf 5 'V

' CD* IT* 7*

that ^wicked one," and slew his brother. And wherefore slew 2iS^l^ 19,
he him? ^because his own works were evil, and his brother's ^^J-***^*-

13 righteous. *^ Marvel not, my " brethren, ' if the world hate you. f\^ ^J;^

14 -^ We know ' that we have passed from death unto life because -J j^' v!*,
we love the brethren. He that loveth not /its brother " abideth

15 in death. * Whosoever hateth his brother is a ' murderer : and *!!*'• ^'
ye know that * no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. i^Q^y]'^

16 Hereby perceive we the love 0/ Gody^ ' because he laid down ^fj; ^ ,.^
his life for us: and **we ought to lay down our lives for the ,Th«i^iLV.

17 brethren. But* whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his "^fj*^""''*
brother have need,*' and ^ shutteth up his bowels of compassion " ''^^'* *^ '*

18 from him, 'how dwelleth *• the love of God in him ? My little >ch. w. ».
children, ' let us not love in word, neither in ^ tongue ; ^ but in 9 E«k. xxxiii.
deed, and in ** truth. r 2 jo. 1 ;

3 Ja I.

19 And hereby we know ** that we are of the truth, and shall

20 assure our hearts before him. For if our heart ** condemn us,**

21 God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved,

' if our heart condemn us not, then ' have we confidence** toward J ci?!; I'J.**

22 God. And * whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because ^ we «ai?vriir
keep his commandments, and *' do those things that are pleasing paJl^iiTi ^*
in his sight ^^ J^ ^"- ^

*• the evil one ** omit my 1* omit his brother

*• hereby know we love *' beholdeth his brother in need

*• his heart or compassion *• abideth *<^ with the ** omit in

•* Hereby shall we know *• before him, whereinsoever our heart
*^ insert because *' boldness

Contents. The apostle now introduces a new
onler of thought, eovemed b]r the idea of regenera*
tkm as the gift otlife in Chnst to individual man.
He first (down to chap, iil 3) dilates on its glory
as a l»rth of God ; as the design of His love ; as
faiclnding both the privilc^^ and the reality of
noship ; as awaiting its full dignity at the revela-
tioo ot Christ ; and as inspiring through hope the
eneigy of pen<mal sanctification. Then (to ver. 10)
be dweUs on the absolute incompatibility between
the regenerate life and sin : as the destruction of
fin is the ol]ject of Christ's atoning manifestation;
as sin is inconsistent with abiding m Him ; and as
rin is the mark of communion with the devil. By
an easy transition he passes to the essential con«
section between regeneration and brotherly love
(down to ver. 18) : showing that the great message
to the regenerate was the injunction to love one
another ; that this involves the abiding difference
between the righteous and the unrighteous,
between the world and believers, as proved from
Cain downwards ; that brotherly love is the mark
of regeneration ; and, finally, that our love to each
odier has one supreme standard, the sacrifice of

VOL. IV. 30

Christ for us. The apostle winds ujp the subject
(to ver. 22) by showing the practical issue of
obedience to this commandment in the confidence
which it inspires towards God as the Judge of our
hearts and tne Hearer of our prayer.

The glory and dignity of regeneration and adoption^
both here and hereafter.

Ver. 29. If ye know that he is righteous, ye
perceive that every one also who doeth right-
eonsnefls is begotten of him. This sentence is
strictly transitional, and therefore of necessity may
be interpreted with reference as well to what pre-
cedes as to what follows. Connected with the
words immediately going before, the pronouns
must refer to Christ, from whose righteous nature
the r^enerate receives his life, his righteous con*
duct declaring the fact of his new birth. Perhaps
it is better to connect them with the whole of the
preceding context. 'If, after all that has been
said, ye know that God is righteous with whom
ye have fellowship, then mark the inference that
ye who abide in Him, and are righteous also,
must be begotten of Him. You cannot abide in

3o6

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [CHAP. IL 29-III. 21

Him but as ye are bom OF Him.* What this
new aspect of life in Christ means, the apostle
proceeds to show. This verse looks forward to
all that follows : it is in some sense the stxper-
scription of the remainder of the Epistle, but
especially of the chapter we now approach. It
may seem remarkable that St. John does not
begin a new section with a special address to the
' little children ;' but that address has been heard
just before, and will be presently repeated. A^in, it
may appear strange that he should pass from God to
Christ and from Christ to God with no mark of the
change, using the same personal pronoun through-
out. But we must remember that tiie apostle regards
the Father and the Son as one : especially here lo
soon after the words, ' He that confesseth the Son
hath the Father also.' There would indeed be
no impropriety in referring both pronouns to
Christ : He is the Righteous, and the regenerate
may be said to be 'begotten of Him,' just as He
Himself spoke of their being 'begotten of water
and of the Spirit' But the begetting, which is
the word usea by St. John alone for the infusion
of a new life into the soul, is commonly referred
to the Father or to God. Lastly, though the
' doing of righteousness ' leads off the sentence,
the emphasis is not on it, but on the ' begotten
of Him.' We shall see in the next chapter that
the new birth must be approved in righteous con-
duct; here the order is inverted, and practical
righteousness infers and points to the new birth.

Chap. hi. i. Behold! as an exclamation, and
thus standing alone, occurs only here. It is the
tranquil expression of adoring wonder. What
manner of loYe the Father has bestowed npon
lis: this expression also is peculiar. It is the
kind of love that is meant, not its greatness, nor
its unmerited goodness. The gift of love, nowhere
else said to be given, should not be limited in
meaning; to demonstration or proof or token: it
is love Itself which is made ours ; and as this gift
is hereafter bound up vrith the mission of the Son,
being indeed jealously restrained to the atonement
as its channel, we must needs think here of that,
though unexpressed. * Herein is love.*

That we snonld be called children of God; and
such we are. 'God' indeed 'so loved the
world,* ' in order that whosoever believeth should
not perish, but have everlasting life.' But that
purpose of mercy to the world is actually reached
m believers; and the design ('that' means 'in
order that*) in their case can hardly be distin-
guished from the result. Still, the design is
uppermost ; and the apostle woold have chosen
another form of expression if he had meant only
the great love sho¥m in our being called sons.
Observe, however, that 'sons* is not used, but
' children;* St. Paul uses the former in the same
connection, but St. John limits it to One. Note
also the manifest distinction between the ' being
called * and the ' being ' children : good authorities
support the addition to the text of 'such we are,*
the change of tense simply marking the emphasis
of the distinction. Although in the Hebrew idiom
'to be called' and 'to be* mean one and the
same thing, a careful examination will show that
there is a slight shade of difference. Even in the
supreme instance, ' He shall be called the Son of
God,' the Incarnate who ' is ' eternally the Son is
' called * such with special reference to His relation
to us. St. 'Paul expresses the distinction as
adoption and renewal : the latter signifying the

restoration of the Divine image, the fonner lit
accompanying privileges of liberty and inbeiitiBoe.
St. John himself illustrates bis .own meaniog is
the Gospel : ' To them gave He pririlege to
become the children of God, who were ban lot
of blood but of God.' Bat the one cannot toA
without the other. The two unite in the Chiistifli
sonship, an estate which has a glorious a^fuam
and development in time and in etemi^: the
development of regeneration being into the perfect
image of the Saviour's holiness, that of sdopdon
being into the fiill enjoyment of the etenudiobent-
ance. To this the apostle now proceeds; bat,
before doing so, he adds a reflection in barmoof
with his meditative style. Tar tbls mm thi
world knoweth ns not, becanae it knew hfai
not. So far as this is a parenthesis, it is casDy
explained. The apostle's mind is still occapied
with the unanointea world of the last chapter, nd
he is about to return to it almost immediateij:
hence the echo of the past and the antidpatioii of
the Aiture. But it is not strictly a parenthess.
It is the writer's manner to think and wnte m.
contrasts : known of God, we are unknown to the
world. ' For this cause ' gives the more genenl
reason : because our new birth is a mpUxj ^
Divine gift and grace, the world, not having ^
gift, understands it not. 'The natond mtt
knoweth not the things of the Spirit ;* and tka
secret of regeneration is beyond the search of ^
unregenerate foculty : life alone nndenttndB ^
The second ' because * gives a profoonder icfsc*
for the former reason itself. ' It knew Him not
points to the world's rejection of the Fathermaitt*
tested in His Son as one great act of wilfol ignoj^
ance at the time of the incarnation, which ii stitt
continued. The world's ignorance of God Im
assumed a new character. ' O righteoos Father,\he
world hath not known lliee,' the Lord said on the
eve of His fmal rejection. He added, ' But theK
have known that Thou didst send Me.' Ani
again He said, ' If the world hate yon, ye know
that it hated Me before it hated yon. The groaad
of the world's n^ative inability to understUKHhe
children of God and positive hatred of them is its
rejection of their Lord.

Ver. 2. Beloved, now are we childrBB of God
This new address is appropriate to the sharers ia
common of the love of God. The affirmatiQB
that follows, repeating ^the solemn 'children of
God,' is most emphatic : ' we possess this sacred
privilege, though the world acknowledge as not ;
nor look we for anything higher ; there can be 00
greater title in earth or heaven. ' But it mast be
remembered that the apostle has just spoken of
the comin^r of our Lord, and ot oar aUdiw
spiritually in Him till then, lest we be athimen
to see His countenance. As He had this in Hii
mind in writing, we must not forget it in oar
exposition of what follows.

And it hath not yet been manifeotad irtial
we shall be: we know that, if ha ahall ha muti^
f ested, we shall be like him, ainoe w ihall •••
him even as he is. There is no contrast betweca
the now and the then : the thought natursUy
passes onward ' to see the end.' Yet there is 00
aid from experience : ' it hath not been maai-
fested ; ' that is, what kind of inheritance awaits
us has never yet been seen, nor wUl it be seen
until He appear. 'But' — though thoe is no
' but ' in the terse sentence — ' we know faj ccrtshi
inference what we know not by actoal fisct, thity

11.2^111.22.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.

[« appears, our highest hope will be satis*
oar perfect conformity, in body and soul
rit« to His im^e. This we know ; for we
e promise of His prayer that we shall be
im where He is and behold His glory.
re diall see Him as He is, which is our
iMpfrfness, we must needs be perfectly like
Idm b our utmost blessedness. Although,
been said, St John does not carefully dis-
I between the Father and the Son who
Him, we must suppose the vbion of Jesus
lefe meant. Goa 'dwelleth in light un-
[inble ; ' Him ' no man hath seen, nor can
ff CBoe the beatific vision of God ' face to
ilBBi to ' the knowledge of the glory of God
(aoe of Jesus Christ.* Of the eternal City
d : *Tlie glory of God did lighten it, and
nb is the Lamp thereof.' Note that the
h does not rest upon the 'seeing,' but
be 'bdng like.' Further, that the final
itiOD into the image of Christ is never said
the result of seeing it ; but, conversely,
I to Him, the prerogative of the resurrec-
the preparation for seeing. The transfor-
wUch follows from ' reflecting as a mirror
7 of the Lord ' has to do with the sanctifi*
M ibis life ; and will be found in the next

Lastly, the likeness here spoken of is left
te : it IS not equality, it is not identification,
)t absorption. It is not the same word
s used concerning the ' sons of the resurrec-
ho shall be ' equal to the angels ; ' it is not
le word which is used concerning Christ's
f with the Father ; but it is the same that
of His taking the ' likeness of man.' And
It profoundly touches its meaning here. - He
vant was ' like as we are,' but He is now
i. We shall be hereafter Mike Him as
Meditation and faith and hope must fill
Ihoiftght

3. Juid every one that hath this hope set
I pnrifieth himself, even as he is pnre.
le 'calling' and the 'being,' the privilege
5 reality, may be hereafter eternally one
istinguishable, the children of God must in

become like the Son in His purity : the
gift will be consummated as a gift when
n is revealed ; but it is consummated

world not without human co-operation.
ikme St. John calls in the energy of
in hope : its object is the appearing of
it is ' set on Him ; ' within the soul it is
stive: the faith which worketh by love
1 by hope also. The meaning of the word
!th hiniself' will best be understood by
g it with ' doeth righteousness : ' the latter
oplete conformity with the requirements of
t former is the deliverance firom all interior
« latter is our finished justification, the
is our entire sanctification. Christ is the
d of both: 'even as He is righteous,'
IS He is pure.' Neither the one nor the
nmotes the idea that He became what He
le IS pure,' and that is the same as say-
: the Divine holiness is essentially in Him :
holy, for I am holy.' That He is called
ittd not ' holy ' has two reasons. First, it
from the idea of our ' purifying ourselves.'
J, it is more limited than ' holy,' and re-
His human nature as free from the stain
other human nature has. It is never used

bat is strictly appropriate to God incar*

307

nate. Then our purifying ourselves has reference
to the gradual attainment of that entire deliver-
ance from the stain of sin — not unchastity or any
specific form of it — which is represented in the
first chapt^ as the effect of Christ's blood. The
word there used St. Paul adopts to express our
own evil : ' Let us cleanse ourselves from all defile-
ment.' St. John keeps that for the Divine work,
and uses a term which St. Peter and St James
agree with him in adopting for the human act :

* Seeing ye have purified your souls * (i Pet L 22);

* Purify your hearts, ye double-minded ' (Jas. iv. 8).

Kegemraiion and sinnifig incompatibU : first cott'
sideftd with rtfennce to our union with
Christ as manifisted to taki away sin, and
our trui knawledgt of Him; and then secondly
with reference to the utter abolition of our
fellowship with the DeviL

In the former part of the section the thought of
the Son of God predominates ; in the latter, the
thought of the author of evil. The same truth is
then referred to the indwelling of the Spirit
And the whole is closed by a summary assertion
of the contrariety between the children of God and
the children of the devil.

Ver. 4. Every one that doeth sin transgresseth
also the law : and sin is transgression of law.
And ye know that he was manifested to take
away sins : and in him is no sin. The apostle
reverts to the proposition that b^an this second
part, that the regenerate as bom of God doeth
righteousness because God is righteous. In the
interval he has dilated on the privileges, present
and future, of the state of sonsnip ; ending with
the sanctifying effect of the hope of being like
Christ at His manifestation in glory. Now, he
comes back to the first manifestation of Christ, the
effect of which was to render righteousness possible
by His atonement and obligatory by His example.
But righteousness is something different from
purification : to be righteous as He is righteous
is more than being pure even as He is pure.
Righteousness is tluit ' keeping of His command-
ments' (chap. ii. 4) and 'doing His will' (chap,
ii. 17) which had been spoken of before. To be
pure from sin is to be cleansed from its indwell-
ing; to be righteous is to be conformed to the
requirements of law : it is the opposite of ' law-
lessness' here, which contradicts express ordin-
ance, and of 'unrighteousness' in cnap. v. 17,
which is the absence of the internal principle of
right. Collating these passages, we learn that sin
and violation of law (tor ' lawlessness ' does not
express the full idea) and the principle of wrong
within are s3monymous and co-extensive terms.
Now in the phraseology of Scripture, ' the Lamb
of God beareth away the sin of the world ' (John
i. 29), ' was manifested to put away or annul sin '
(Heb. ix. 26). St. John refers to the Baptist's
word, and the testimony of all the witnesses, as well
known : ' Behold,' said the forerunner ; and the
exclamation pointed to that Son of God, the Only-
.begotten who was in the bosom of the Father and
was manifested ' to take away ' — not to bear it by
imputation, though that is implied — sin as un-
rigntcousness : to abolish in His people the very
principle of opposition to law and deviation from
right. For this is the real connection between the
two verses. We shall see presently that St. John
has the Antinomian in view, who.asserted that the
abolition of sin meant the abolition of law. Here,

3o3

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. IL 29-III.2J.

that sinneth/ as the characteristic of his liie, and
sinneth while professing to believe in Jesus, 'hath
not seen Him, never saw Him nor sees Him oov,
with that spiritual eye that 'beholds the parjd
the Only-begotten, nill of grace and troth, -for it
seems evident that St John is thinldog of his m
Prologue ; nor indeed has ever come to anyBvng
knowledge of Him whatever. So hi fromabid*
ing in Him, he has never had any roiiitoil feUov-
ship with Him : the order with St. John ii to
know, to see, and to abide in the Son of God, who
is eternal life. With regard to the hitter decep-
tion, St John adopts the positive tone, thoog^ a
n^ation is implied : declaring what had been die
issue in his mmd from the Ixsinniogof tfaissec*
tion, that the righteousness ot Christ is thioogh
regeneration imputed to the believer. VHiat tha
was the delusion to which they were exposed?
That, evidently, of supposing that a man might be
in a state of righteousness, accepted as 'righteous,*
without doing the works of righteousness. Heie
then the apostle identifies the works of ligfateoe-
ness and tne character of righteousness ; sdll in
such a way as to make the deeds evidenoe of the
state. He whose practice, inward and outwud,
in thought and word and spirit, is conformed to
the law, and only he, is in the si^ of God
righteous. There is some difficulty m the final
words 'as He is righteous.* We cannot sappo«
that they are intended to obviate pcrveisioo 01
the Pauline doctrine of our 'bdng made W
righteousness of God in Him,' as if the meioiBg
were that we are as well as are accounted rig^iteotf
in Jesus, that is, through seeing Him and knowing
Him and abiding in Hun. Ihe simplest view »
that Christ is the standard, as of our hoUncssiin
of our filial dignity, so also of our rigfateoosDesi.
' Even as He is ' refers to all the three, and mtfae
most marked manner. How hi we may OQi-
form to that standard is a question that most be
answered with caution : ' as He is ' does not nfa

however, he only declares that the design of the
Saviour's manifestatiou was to take away not law,
but transgression of law. The manifestation in-
cludes the whole process of Christ upon earth.
' In Him is no sin,' of unrighteousness as defined
above, which would have prevented His offering
from being that of perfect obedience : this, how-
ever, is an undertone supplied by the Epistle to
the Romans ; St. John s sublime view of the
atoning work does not linger upon any vindica-
tion of its perfection.

Vers. 5, 6, 7. And in him is no ain. Whoioever
aUdeth in him ainneth not : whoeoeyer dnneth
hath not seen him, neither knoweth him. My
Uttle children, let no man lead yon astray: be
that doeth righteonsneBs is righteous, even as he
is righteons. Here first enters the apostle's high
testimony to the sinlessness of the estate of
fellowship with Christ : a testimony which re-
curs again and again, and is finally made one
of the three summary points of the whole
Epistle. Interpretations of his testimony differ
according to the doctrinal views of those who
offer them : their classification is needless here,
as each will appear in its place. Suffice it to
say that St. John in every case explains his
own meaning in the context ; and we shall find
that the leading methods of exposition have each
its measure of truth when itself is rightly ex-
pounded. In this passage the kevnote is the danger
of being led astray. St John addresses his
readers by the affectionate term which bespeaks
the solemnity of the subject, and warns them
against a deception which he regards as even in
their case possible. The deceiver is no other than
the worker of iniquity who thinks himself released
from law, and would and might induce them to
follow him. To say ' that we have no sin ' is in
chap. i. 8 self-deception ; to say that we may
know Christ and 'continue in sin' (using St
Paul's phrase) is, after being saved, to be deceived
by another : in the former case the Christian life
has not b^^n, in the latter it is endangered from
without. The deception looks back to the nega-
tive assertion of ver. 6, and forward to the positive
assertion of ver. 7, and might "have occupied its
own verse between them. With regard to the
former, the whole argument is in that grand n^a-
tion : * in Him there is no sin,' the 'is' is the eternal
present of that Son of God ' whose elory is that of
the Only-begotten, full of grace and truth.' The
deceiver might not challenge that : although both
in ancient and in modem times a certain germ of
unrighteousness has been supposed to have been
taken with our fallen nature which the Redeemer
expelled from Himself; or it has been deemed
necessary to maintain at least the possibility of
sinning in the tempted Saviour. We may be
sure that neither of these notions ever beclouded
the apostle's apprehension of his Lord, the Son of
God manifest^ in flesh. ' Whosoever abideth in '
this sinless Being himself sinneth not : ' out of
His fulness he receives grace upon grace,' in con-
tinuous and sufficient measure to keep him from
sin : the abiding is the condition, and it is the
explanation of this wonderful word. This is
admitted by many, who speak of it as the ideal
state of a man in Christ : an ideal it is, just as; it is
an ideal in Christ ; but no more. The word is in-
appropriate, however true in itself, if it is regarded
as distinguished from the realization. The con-
verse follows, as usual with changed terms ; ' he

to a participation in the Lord's perfect rigfateonsp
ness m the most absolute sense ; but, on the other

hand, the righteousness as a principle of
obedience to the law is by the whole strain of the
present argument supposed to be reflected in as.
As our regenerate life is His life inns, so our pmi-
fication is to be as He is pure, and oar righteous-
ness as He is righteous.

Vers. 8, 9. A that doeth sin is of ihA d«ffl;
for tiie devil sinneth from the beginniiiff. fft
this end was the Son of God manif erted, tibal h0
might destroy the works of the de'vlL This psi-
sage is, taken altogether, unparalleled in Scriptore:
as deep in its mystery as it is clear in its ezpe^
sion. As the doing of righteousness was in auqpi
ii. 29 made the proof of a birth from God, so now
the doing of sin, as the characteristic of the life^
is made the evidence of an origination, thongh not
a birth, from Satan. St Jonn here, as almort
everywhere, reproduces the teaching of Christ in
his own Gospel : * Ye are of your iamer the dev3,
and the lusts of your father it is your will to do*
(John viii. 44) ; where the same ' of ' is used. Hie
following ' begotten of God ' renders it needless
that he should mark the difference between the
relation of the regenerate to God and the relatioo
of sinners to the wicked one. Moreover, that
difference is more than hinted at in the words
ensuing, ' The devil sinneth from the beginnings
which means that all sin had its origin in him,
and that, as sin began with him, and came amoi^

11.29-111.22.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.

309

XMi^ his temptation, all who commit sin

said to depend upon him and belong to
ilT, adopted into it, as it were, though not
■in or from below. Wherever there is sin
B regards it as a work of the devil, using
imtniments: 'He sinneth alwa^ and every-
The relation to sin, and sin m its relation

'the Son of God' — thus solemnly intro-
s the antagonist of Satan — ^was manifested
troj,' that is, to dissolve or do away or
ip as an organized fabric or organizing
c He came not * to destroy ' the law of
isiie88» but to fulfil it ; He came to destroy
w of sin,' the Satanic law. The accom-
nt of both designs runs on in parallellines :
mcr it accomplished in him that doeth
Hness; the latter in him who ceases 'to
Nothing can be more express than the
tion of the pertonality of tne devil ; and

can be plainer than that the destruction of
ks is strictly limited to the abolition of his
over man through the redemption of the
nd of his power in man through the Spirit
Mntion. St. John keeps the words of
Q new in every word he here writes. For
^ he altogether abstains from allusion to
tery of the origin of evil in Satan, as also
InsKm to the final issues in relation to him :
inized works, as a system of anti-righteous-
laU be dissolved — for Christ cannot have
d in vain — ^and that is all that is said. In
is dark subject is introduced solely to

the fiict that they who are Christ's are by
ryiact removed from the sphere and the
cnT sin.

^ Whoaoeyer is begotten of God doeth no
OMiae bia aeed abideth in him : and he
iln beoanae he is begotten of Ood. This
ew of the contrariety between sin and the
df regeneration somewhat changes the
The Divine Spirit comes in, here called
I or principle of the Divine life in the souL
not been mentioned as yet in the Epistle ;
be second chapter He was the chrisma or

upon believers ; now, by analogy. He is
ma or seed within them. The abiding of
>lrit of life in Christ Jesus' within the

perpetual freedom from ' the law of sin
ith ' (Rom. (viii. 3). This central word
ick to the former clause and forward to the

He who has in him the indwelling Spirit,
not sin :' he abhors the remainder of it in
ore, he has renounced the works of Satan,
itains his fellowship with Christ, and his
ovemed by righteousness. He may grieve
rit, and may fall into sin, ns the. apostle

says in chap. ii. i ; but living in the
ind walking in the Spirit, this he will not
e sinneth not,' and abstinence from the act
( his mark and his privilege. When it is
hat 'he cannot sin, we are tu understand
d 'cannot' as referring to the moral impossi-
'a regenerate soul viokting the principle or,
fe, mstinct of his new life. The child of
; but the act of sinning, so far as he is

ed, suspends his life ; and, as we are told
i, y. 10, life must be given to him again
e ains not unto death. The three usual
s of relieving the difficulty of the passage
rertain measure of truth in them as applied
iree clauses of this verse. The first certainly
le CHuistian ideal, that a regenerate soul

'sinneth not:* this, however, is the normal
Christian state of one who lives in the Spirit, a
realizeid ideal. The second allows us to say that
the regenerate as regenerate sins not, though he
may suffer sin : the possible antinomian abuse of
this truth does not mvalidate it The only sin
St. John considers possible to a pure Christian is
the act which he mourns over as soon as com-
mitted, which he carries to his Advocate with the
Father, and which, being forgiven and washed
away, is not followed by the withdrawal of the
living Seed, who still preserves in him his better
self. The third lays them upon the perfect tenses,
' He that has been and still is in a confirmed
regenerate state cannot sin.' Undoubtedly an
abiding and consummated regeneration tends to
make sin more and more impossible ; St John's
perfect regeneration, however, is not such as
improving on or perfecting itself, but as the true
Divine hfe of the Son consummating the pre-
liminary spiritual movements that lead to it

Ver. 10. In thla the children of God are mani.
feat, and the children of the deyil: whoaoever
doeth not lighteonaneaa is not of God, nether
he that loyeth not hia brother. Three things
are observable here. First, this conclusion of the
whole matter shows that the apostle's pre-
dominant aim has been to establish clearly the
signs and tokens by which the world may be distin-
guished from the church. The ' manifest ' is not to
me eye of God alone, though to His supremely
and infallibly, but to all who have eyes to sec.
The 'doing sin' and the 'doing righteousness' are
the works of the ' children of God ' by regenera-
tion, and ' the children of the devil ' by imitation.
St John knows no third class ; and the fact that
he speaks of the broad characters that stamp the
two must throw its influence back upon the mter-
pretation of all that precedes. Secondly, he
makes it plain that his chief polemic is against the
spurious Christians who strove to reconcile know-
ledge of Christ with relaxed morality. And,
thirdly, he introduces at the close the idea of
'brotherly love,* not as strictly synonymous with
righteousness, but yet as in a certain sense the
pith and compendium of it This point is now
taken up in what follows.

TAi relation of regeneration to brotherly love,

Ver. II. For this is the meeaage which ye
heard fitnn the beginning, that we should love
one another. There is deep emphasis on the
word 'message,* which seems here, as in the first
utterance concerning the God of light, to introduce
a fundamental truth ; and it will be observed that
this message is in what follows dwelt upon in its
contrasts and deductions just as that early message
was : it is like a second and a new great announce-
ment The ' commandment ' of chap. ii. 7 is as
it were carried higher: it is the fundamental
principle of religion 'from the banning' delivered
m successive proclamations. ' That we should love '
must have its force : this has been the design of all.

Ver. 12. Not as Cain was of the evil one, and
slew hia brother. And wherefore slew he him?
Becanae hia worka were evil, and hia brother* a
righteona. The construction of the first clause
should not be mended by any additional words.
Cain and Abel were the first historical examples
of the difference between regenerate love and
unrcgenerate hate. But the opposite to love is
alone here exhibited. The first reason that he

3IO

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. II. 29-IIL12.

slew his brotlier is that he was * of the evil one :'
he was not ' of God.' The second is the former
in another form : as righteousness is the fruit and
test of the new birth, Cain's evil deeds may be
said to have been the reason of his murderous
violence. Thirdly, in this condensed sentence is
included the thought that the righteousness of the
children of God evokes for ever the hatred of the
unrighteous. The devil is here 'the evil one,'
because of the 'evil works' following; and it
must be noted that St. John here gives his
authoritative interpretation of the Old Testament
both as to the devil's relation to Cain and the
reason of Cain's hatred.

Vers. 13, 14, 15. Cain becomes 'the world,*
and Abel ' you ;' the emphasis resting on these two
words.

Ver. 14. There is no exhortation in this. Faith-
ful to the thought of the great message, the
apostle says : We know that we have passed out
of death into life. Here the transition is re-
garded as perfect ; and the evidence to ourselves
is, — because we love the brethren. Not, ' We
are now in the life because we love ;' but, 'Because
we love wc know. ' Love is not the cause, but the
fruit and evidence of regeneration. He that
loveth not abideth in death : the love is here
general But in the next verse it is made specific in
two ways : first, it is whosoever hateth his brother
— not to love is to hate ; and, secondly, he who
hateth is a murderer — with allusion to Cain, and
to one behind Cain who ' was a murderer from the
beginning.' The remainder of the verse must be
regarded as an appeal to the Christian or human
instinct: Ye know that no murderer hath
eternal life abiding in him. The abiding is
simply an echo of the former : it says nothing
about his having had it and lost it, or as to his
not retaining it hereafter ; but is quite general, as
when our Lord said, * Ye have not My word abiding
in you.* The argument is an apostrophe : ' No
man who would destroy life can have life in him-
self.' Mark, finally, that the last words declare
' eternal life' to be the true Divine life of regenera-
tion or fellowship with God, not life as mere con-
tinuance in being. There would be no meaning
in ' hath not abiding life abiding in him/

Vers. 16, 17, 18. Nothing in the whole Epistle
is more impressive or more affecting than the
point of juncture in the following words. Against
the hate and the murder is set the supreme
example of self-sacrificing love. But behind this
there IS the transition from the principle that the life
of sonship must be a life of charity to the thought
of that love which gave us the life in the gift of the
Son. We may here resume the words, * Behold,
what manner of love 1' Here we have the
standard of the charity which we must set before
us as our aim.

Hereby know we love, beoanse he laid down
his life for ns. Not ' the love of God 'or * of
the Father ' as yet, though that will come ; but
love in its eternal essence and solitary manifesta-
tion, as the last expression and first source of all
charity. ' Because He ' — there is only One to be
thought of here — ' sacrificed His life for our ad van*
tage: this expression, occurring only in St. John,
is chosen out of many that might have been used
in order to combine His pattern in men with our
imitation. 'Which thing is true in Him and
in us.' And we ought refers not merely to our
duty of imitation, but to the obligation resulting

from the fellowship of the love common to Him
and to His people. The essence of love is tht
impartation of self to others ; towards those wlio
need it, it is self-sacrifice : in Christ there wss the
laying down or pledging His soul as in expiatory
sacrifice or ransom price ; but these last idets are
not expressed here, because the apostle is hasten*
ing to our imitation, which mnst simoly he the
' mtving laid down our individual lives' m vill and
intention for the brethren, the consummate act of
self-devotion being left to the will of God.

Then follow two clauses, one of contnst, the
other of exhortation. ' How aUdath tiie hm of
God, thus shown in Christ, as a proof of regenera-
tion in him who, having the wosla's sostentncrflf
life, shntteth his heart against his hroOMf'iiMd
— which he beholds sensibly appealing to hon?'
The strength of the terms must not be overlooked.
So far from giving himself he will not gire hit
mere earthly goods; and he closes his heart
instead of openmg it for the sacrifice of life. This
betokens the utter absence of the ideal life. Bot
the exhortation is a warning to those who haie it
Let ns not lore in word, nMther witii the tOBgne,
but in deed and trath:— Christ loved in hoth,
and so must we love. But more than that : the
word may be a sound theory, uttered only inidk
I^u^S^^c, without reality; therefore ' ki « not
love in tongue only, but in truth.'

The priviUge ofcanfidenci.

Vers. 19-22. Hereby : this looks back, talda^
up the word ' truth,' according to the wdl-knowa
habit of the writer in begiiming new theme.
But he deepens the meaning of the woid : tf
everywhere, the particle 'of' points to a sonce,
the streams of which flow into the sod. The
truth is the life of God viewed as a perfect re-
velation : ' the truth in us ' and 'we are d the
truth * are counterparts. Shall we know keeps
up the running thought of the chapter, the per-
sonal evidence of regeneration, but with reference
to a future contingency refeired to in the not
verse. And shall assure onr heart : shall po-
suade our doubting heart to give up its doubt,
or our accusing heart to appeal to God against its
own accusation. Before him, whereuisoefer
onr heart condemn ns. * Before Him ' is not in
His fiiture judgment, but in His sight before wlrace
awful presence the Christian always lives, the
supreme Lord whose vicegerent conscience b in
the soul. The ' heart ' as nere used is the ' coa-
science ' of St. Paul and St. Peter ; but with this
difference, that they use a word which maJkes pro-
minent the knowledge in the moral consdousness
(which is conscience), while St. John ^^mphasifw
the feeling or the pang of that knowledge.
' Whereinsoever : ' a caraul consideration (the
detail of which cannot here be entered into) will
lead to the conclusion that this is the right reading
of the word translated ' For if in our Venioa ;
and that there is no stop before it, but that ' we
shall assure ' runs on to the next verse.

Three things must be remembered before we
proceed : first, that the word is ' accuse' and not
'condenm,' for there is an appeal to a h^;her
court ; secondly, that the accusation, while more
or less limited to defects in brotheriy love, has
a universal reference, as the last words of ver.
22 show ; and, thirdly, that the whole tone dT
the passage is consolatory from beginning to end.
Beoanse God is greater than onr aeart : this is

XAP. III. 23-V. 17.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.

3"

noft affecting, and nnique^ expression of the
aaed truth that God b the evangelical economy
the Controller of conscience : it is He who
illj 'persuades' it, though St John, as his
mncr is, gives to man's faith the office of
id's mercy. And knoweth all thingt. ' And '
■ an obvious force : He who searcheth the
lit knoweth what is the deep, hidden, inex-
goUiable mind of the heart. St. John heard
ig before an anticipBitory commentarv on his
m words: *Lord, Thou knowest all things;
knowest that I love Thee.' Our little heart
measure of compassion for the suffering
I Hb greater heart will not fail to have
Bimirion on us in our sincerity. It is as if
B words were chosen to signify this : ' con-
nn' ia 'to know against myself;' God mav
sajd ' to know for us.' Finally, God knoweth
m own Go^el of atonement, the mystery of
licb is that the righteous charge of conscience
rfgliteously silenced. But this posses from
re exposition to the function of the theologian
d the preacher.

Vcr. 21. Beloved : this appeal does not mark
chaiige in the persons spoken of; it is St.
hn's way of introducing a matter of deep ex-
rimcntal importance. He is apofoachinj; the
most sanctuary of religious privilege. If our
mat condemn na not : the alternative case is
m marked, and it is supposed that, like St Paul,
s 'know nothing against ourselves;' but St.
bn never intrwluces an antithesis without
mewfaat enlarging his meaning; and here the
lot accusing includes the 'assuring our
«its ' as its ground, not without an anticipation
tbe fiuth in Jesus Christ, and the testimony of the
pirit in ver. 23. It is essential to remember this.
We have boldneM toward Ood. Four times
e find this word, which is the outward expres-
oo of St. Paul's ' full assurance : ' twice in a more
neial sense as the confidence of hope as to the
ly of judgment ; twice with its more exact
eaning of 'free speech' in relation to prayer.

Here the apostle passes from the negative sooth-
ing of the conscience to the positive and higher
pnvilege which the children of God, approving
their regeneration by works, have in approaching
God. Their confident speech in prayer is, how-
ever, omitted : the confidence is marked by the
result of it. Whatsoever we ask, we receive of
him. In the whole Epistle prayer is mentioned
only twice. It is the'privilege of sonship ; and,
passing over everything intermediate (though ' if
we confess our sms ' underlies all), St. John in
both cases leaps to the conclusion which our
Lord teaches: 'All things, believing, ye shall
receive.' We receive in asking, the present
askuif; is the present receiving : this is the
confidence, of which more hereafter. Becanae
we keep his oonunandmentB in the spirit of
filial obedience, and do the things wmd^ are
pleaaing in hia sight in the spirit of filial
zeal. This is a unique combination : the latter
clause is also unique, though it b an echo of
the Lord's words, ' do always the things that
please Him.' In tbe light of these it is evident
that the heart's ' not condemning ' may have as
its positive side such a testimony of the Father's
complacency as makes prayer very bold. Thus
we have a very high testimonv to the possible
character of the communion of the soul with God.
But we must remember the ' working in us that
which is well • pleasing in His sight' (Heb.
xiii. 21). The next verse, beginning a new sec-
tion, will show that this high obedience includes
faith in the Lord Jesus, and therefore is not itself
the meritorious ground of our acceptance as
petitioners. The same is taught by the mystical
union that follows, Christ abiding in us, and we
in Him : ' Apart from Me ye can do nothing.'
But, after all, St. John teaches that the Hearer of
prayer has a special complacency in His children's
reverent obedience and endeavour to please Him.
Wrought in Christ, our works are rewarded by
His approval : we give our Lord what He is pleased
to seek, and He gives us what we ask.

Chapter IIL 23-V. 17

Fellowship in Faith.

AND this IS his commandment, That we should beh'eve on « J<>- ^»- ^
the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another,

4 ^ as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his com-
mandments ^ dwelleth * in him, ^ and he in him : and hereby we
know that he abideth in us, 'by the Spirit which he hath
given us.*

'hap. IV. I. Beloved, ^believe not every spirit, but 'try* the
spirits whether they are of God : because * many false prophets

2 are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God : ' every spirit that confesseth that * Jesus Christ is come

3 in the flesh is of God : ' And every spirit that confesseth not

* abideth * gave us ^ prove

3Ch ii. 8.
c Jo. vi. 56 :

ch. ii. 27,

iv. 12, 13.
ifja xiv. 20,

xvii. 21.
€ Ch. iv. i^ ;

Rom. viii. 9 ;

1 Thes. iv. 8.
/Jer. xxix. 8.
g\ Thes. V. 31 ;

Rev. ii. 2.
ACh. il 18:
Mat vii. 15 ;

2 To. 7.

I X Cor. xii. 3.
*2jo. 7;
Jo. I. 14.

/Ch.U. 83.

3ia THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. IIL 23-V. 17.

that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God :^ and this
is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should

4 come;* ""and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of "««^*«-'^»
God, little children, and *have overcome them; * because "gjj^jg;

5 greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. ' They |J • J^^
are of the world ; therefore ' speak they of the world, and ^ the ^"- '■•

6 world heareth them. We are of God : ' he that knoweth God
heareth us ; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby ' ]^^^^*
know we the ' spirit of truth, and * the spirit of error. i{ TbST'iiJi.

7 Beloved, *'let us love one another: for love is of God ; and rCh-nuii.
every one that loveth is "'bom* of God, and knoweth God. "'^^"^

8 He that ' loveth not knoweth not God ; for ^ God is love. /^.*5i'**"

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us,' because

' that God sent* his only-begotten Son into the world, that we 'ii.",o;'**

10 might live through him. Herein is love, * not that we loved ^2om! "s,
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be* *the pro- ^SiuTsL**

1 1 pitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought

12 also to love one another. *No man hath seen God at any*ver.«a
time. '^ If we love one another, God dwelleth " in us, and ' his ^gb. au h.

' ' r Ch. u. 5 :

13 love is perfected in us. -^Hereby know we that we dwell" '^^ /S!!'ii\^^'

14 him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And

^ we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son /^ rCh. l a.

1 5 be the * Saviour of the world." ** Whosoever shall confess * that *i?" !?• *'•
Jesus is the Son of God, ' God dwelleth " in him, and he in ' rJj^jJ^^

16 God. And we have known and believed the love that ** God *§; S^^
hath to us.' " God is love ; and he that dwelleth *• in love « vSi t

17 dwelleth"* in God, and God»» in him. > Herein is our love;^.^?*-
made perfect," ^that we may have boldness in the day of ,aL*k^

18 judgment: ''because as he is, so are we in this world. There »'Ch-»s.i.
is no fear in love; but 'perfect love casteth out fear: because 'fci"*'?;
fear hath torment He that " feareth is not made perfect in

19,20 love. We Move him," because he first loved us. If a /ver. 10.
"man say, I love God, and *'hateth his brother, he is a liar: for «9>!>

V Ch. u. 9, It.

he ^ that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can *'^*- »"• »7-
he love God " "* whom he hath not seen ? jr jo. l isl

21 And ^ this commandment have we from him, * That he who ^oaL n. «.
loveth God love his brother also. CiiAP. V. i. * Whosoever *J^i:'"!
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is * born " of God : and every * ^en. 4. a
one that loveth him that begat loveth ^ him also that is begotten c jo. ▼■&. 44?
2 of him. ^ By this we know that we love the children of God, ^'Ch. u. $.

* which confesseth not Jesus. Some authorities r^^annulleth Jesus
^ Cometh * begotten ' in us ^ hath sent

» as *• abideth " abide

^' and we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son
as the Saviour of the world
" love made perfect with us ** hath punishment, and he that

^^ onut him ^^ Some authorities read cannot love God ^' begotten

Chap. III. 23-V. 17.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. 313

3 when 'we love God, and keep" his commandments. For 'Jo. 5-".
-^ this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments : and /•!<>• .6;

' * To. XIV, 15.

4 hb ^ commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born " t "»• »• a*
of God overcometh the world: and this is the * victory that Ajaxvisa.

5 overcometh " the world, *" even our faith. Who is he that over- « Eph. vi. xc
cometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son

of God ?

6 * This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ ; * > ««• 34.
not by water only, but by water and blood'*^ And ' it is the 'Jo- «^- »^

7 Spirit that beareth witness, "* because the Spirit is " truth. For «*Jo- «^- «7.
there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the

8 Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And
there are three that bear witness in earth," the spirit, and "the «vcr.6.

Q water, and the blood : and these " three agree in one. "^ If we *» J.9: ^- 34. 36.
receive the witness of men, the ^ witness of God is greater : for >ver. 6.
this is the witness of God which" ^he hath testified of* his ?Mat.m. 17.

10 Son. He that believeth on the Son of God ''hath the witness rRoiii.viu.i6;

Gal. IV. 6.

in himself : *• he that believeth not God hath ' made him a liar ; * ch. i. la
'because he believeth not the record that God gave of" his /jo. v.38.

1 1 Son. And this is the record," that God hath given to us "

12 eternal life, and * this life is in his Son. ^ He that hath the Son «Jo. j:.4.

rio. 111. 16.

hath life ; " and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

13 ■'These things have I written unto you "^that believe on the wJo- ?*• 3».
name of the Son of God," that ye may know that ye have
eternal life, and that ye may" believe on the name of the Son

of God.

14 And this is 'the confidence" that we have in him," that, >' ^- "»• "•
if 'we ask any thing ''according to his will, he heareth us. iR^niii^i";^.

15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know

16 that we * have the petitions that we desired " of him. If any h ch. m. aa.
man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, ^ he shall ^ J"- ^- *s.
ask, and he" shall give him life for them that sin not unto

death. "^ There is a sin unto death : ' I do not say that he shall ''JJ^Mk.* Jj;

17 pray for it.'^ All unrighteousness is sin : and there is a sin not JJ j HUb!"^.

unto death. ^}

" do *• hath overcome

^ not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood '^ insert the

•• omit from in heaven to in earth ** the ** in that

•* borne witness concerning *• within him

*' because he hath not believed in the witness that God hath borne concerning

*• And the witness is this *• gave unto us ^^ the life

*^ omit that believe on the name of the Son of God '* unto you that

•• boldness •* toward him ** have asked •• God

" not of that do I say that he should make request

-6.

er. vil 6.

Contents. The mling idea of the third part is and the Spirit. In chap. iv. 1-6 the two opposite

Faith in the Spirit*s testimony concerning the Son confessions, resulting from two opposite hearings

of God incarnate. The close of chap. lii. intro- of two opposite classes of spirits, arc dwelt upon,

duces the theme by the first explicit mention of faith with the exhortation to apply the test referred to

314 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [CHAP. IIL 2hV. 17.

in the second chapter. The remainder of chap, on the belief of which that assunmce is based,

iv. is occupied with the relation between the love Believe not every spirit^ but prove iba tgaik

of God manifested in the atonement and ito per- whether they be of Ood: becaine many bim

feet reflection in those who received the evan- prophete are gone out into the worid. The

gelical witness of that love : the confession of ' spirits ' and the ' fidse proi>hets ' are one. Thq

the Son of God being still the leading principle, are 'antichrists' in chap, it ; bat the predomi-

Down to chap. v. 5 we have the victory of nant reference to the Holy Ghost in this secdoo

faith in Jesus as the only source of that love to gives occasion for the use of these two tenn:

God in the strength of which we can love our 'spirits' as professing to be His oiguSi and

brethren and overcome the world : these two * false prophets ' as professing to be moved by

being strictly interwoven. From ver. 6 to ver. Him. As teachers they are not to be beliewd

13, the apostle gives his full and final teaching until tested : hence we are not to sjpttk hoe of

as to the Spirit's witness to the manifested Christ, the gift of ' discerning spirits ' (i Cor. xiL 10),

and the nature of that witness. The remainder, but of the universal duty incumbent on evoy

from ver. 14 to ver. 17, is occupied with the con- Christian, of trying the doctrine brought coQCcm-- •

fidence in prayer inspired by this faith. ing the Son of God. Many men profe9DD|U)

^ . be inspired had gone out — not as in diapi U. ffom

Jransttton. ^^ church— from the invisible realm, and torn

Ver. 23. And this is his oommandment : the the one spirit of the lie into the world ; not from

one commandment which, as it contains all the dburch into the world, bat from the vorid

others, is especially the unity of faith and love, into the church.

In this Epistle the sum of faith is in the name Vers. 2, 3. Hereby ye knofw the Spirit of God:

of Jesus, and the sum of dutv is love. It is that is, the voice of the one Holy Ghgst in the

the Father's will that we ahonld believe on the various ' spirits ' prodaiminpr a amfessioD. The

name of his Son JesoB Ohrist : the name stands personal faith must have its oatward avowal ;

here for the whole person and work of Christ, every teacher or ' spirit ' most teach on the basis

not without reference to the confession that of a confession of Jesus. In chap. \L the test of

follows; and the peculiarity of the phrase here, antichrist was the refusal to believe that 'J<

* believe the name' with the dative, connotes was the Christ' or 'the Father and thewi:'

strongly the ethical feeling of trust. And love the divinity and Messiahship of our Lord. Hoe

one another even as he, Christ, gave as oom- the true faith is that Jeana Qhziat ia ooma in tlw

mandment. Out of the Father's command to flesh : not into the world simply, not simply into

believe sprang the commandment of Jesus to the flesh, which m^ht connote its fallen ooncutioiH

love. ' And ' implies the energy of faith pro- but ' in flesh,' that is, in a true humanity He sp-

ducing love ; and * even as ' is more than ' ac- peared who existed before as the Son of God,

cording to His commandment,' signifying the and so 'came' that it may be said as of

kind of love that He exemplified and prescribed, abiding presence. He ' is come.' The tme lead-
This foundation of faith must be remembered ing of the antithesis, every spirit that

throughout the Epistle. not JesoB is not fA God, is most fordUe in its

Ver. 24. And ne that keepeth his command- simplicity : the name of Jesus is eno^h, for tlie

ments — the commandments are plural again, and confession of a man as come from God means

the obedience is individual — abideth in him, and nothing. With the next words, tUa ia that oC

he in him. The mutual indwelling is here and antichrist, that ' matter ' or that ' spirit ' of anti-

in chap. iv. 12 introduced : in the earlier portion christ refers back to chap, it ; thoap;fa ye have

it was ' we in him ' chiefly, as it will be again at heard indicates a well-known doctnne. A re*

the close. But these two passages — one indi- markable reading of the Vulgate, ' which an-

vidual and the other collective, one said of nulleth' or 'dissolveth Jesus,' points to the

Christ and the other of God — in the heart of the severance of Jesus from the Chnst, a Gnostic

Epistle are the perfect expression of its keynote, notion, or the separation of Jesus into two per-

And hereby we know that he abideth in us by sons, a Nestorian error ; but this reading is not

the Spirit which he hath given ns : ' hereby ' confirmed. It can hardly be denied, however, that

refers to the obedience ; according to the Lord's this confession alluded to the Dooetic Yautsf

own word, who promised, John xiv. 20-24, to which denied the reality of the Lord's homsn

manifest Himself to him, and dwell with him, nature ; though that was only a tempoiaiy Ibna

who has His commandments and keepeth them, of opposition to an eternal truth, toe fum and

Having that passage in mind, the apostle singles standard of all truth.

out the indwelling of Christ and makes that Vers. 4, 5, 6. The apostle makes some strong

supreme. But there is higher testimony than assertions which have for their object to Unk a

the works, that of the Holy Ghost whose direct sound confession with a true religion. Fiist,

assurance is added. He who ' gave ' the com- with reference to his Christian hearers, he con-

mandment ' gave ' the Spirit of o^dience, whose nects their personal victory over tfa^ world,

indwelling presence is tne indwelling of Christ through the strength of Him who b gieatec than

and the perfect assurance of it. he tiukt is in uie worild, — that is, its prince,

jr,.. , ^t c^- V. i- ^ ji J ^r ^- -^ -r the spirit who sent the antichrists, — idxtk their

Ep^ode on ik€ Spirit of truth aud the sptnt of soun/ faith. The indwelling God of diap. liL 24

error; the test to be applied; and the sure ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^c victo^r over all ^Incen.

application of it, ^jj^^gl^ ^^^ ^^^^ 5^j,l ^^ ^e warned. Taking

Chaf. IV. I. Beloved introduces an afTec- up the term ' world,' he goes on to show that the

tionate interlude, in which the apostle passes same antichristian error which had come into the

from the personal assurance of fellowship with world is really of the wrarld : doctrines firam

God given by the Holy Ghost, to the assurance below which take their fashion from the earthly

given by the same Spirit concerning the doctrine kingdom of darkness, breathe the spirit of ikri4y

Chap. III. 23-V. 17.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. 315

tenoning, and Uuj^t by men whom tbe wodd Here the emphasis is on ' in us ;' but the life

htmHi, because it loves its own. The unre- must here include, on account of Uie next verse,

fenerate have no sympathy with the truth ; they deliverance from condemnation as wdl as the

quIt who are bom of God can know Him, and eternal life itself: hence not 'in Him/ but

macrstand the things concerning Him. Bat he ' through Him.' The apostle then goes back

thfti is of God hMieth va : the apostles and from the manifestation to the love itsdt. Herein

teachers of the faith are chiefly meant ; but the it love : its origination is not in or through the

is true of all who witness a good confession, mission, but in God Himself. Our response is in

Bf lliii ve know, or distinguish, the Spirit of his thought throughout; but it is only as response:

toaih, and the apizit of error, or the deceiving ' love is of God.* Not that we love God, but that

ipiriL At the outset St John spoke of the test he loved na, and leni— going back again to the

of the orafession of Jesus ; now at the close the past— his Bon as the propitiation for our sins :

test is the religious and irreligious character of thus impressively does St. John show what he

the teaching. He conjoins nimself with his meant by 'not that we loved.' Pie provided and

readers. Anally, we here have the answer to sent what not our love but our sins required.

every ar^ment against the universality of the test- Not 'to be ' a propitiation ; but ' He sent His

iog privilege and duty : every Christian can discern Son,' whose mission dating from heaven was

between the true and the false confession of the atonement Beloved — always ' beloved ' in this

Incarnate Son ; and every Christian has the in- connection,— since God so loved us, we also

tcmal qualification of the indwelling Spuit that ought to love one another : not 'so to love/ as

separates firom the world. if the example prescribed the kind of love ; but wc

—-- r.t.r-r'.^i. i .. are bound by tne nature of the love common to

Tk€ kfve whuh thu Fatth^hraces and knows: ^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^ . jj ^i^s been manifested ' in us ' to

tif Us ongin ; Us suprtnu manifestahon ; Us ^^ ^^^

pnfectrifitctioninus; tht whole stctim being Ver. 'i2. This verse contains three clauses,

begun, continued, and ended xn this. ^^^^y^ ^^ severally dUated on, though in a rather

Vers. 7, 8. Two sentences which exhibit the different order, in the seven verses which follow :

' oommandment ' of brotherly love in a stronger the invisibility of God as the object of love ; His

light than hitherto shed upon it The former is invisible indwelling nevcrthlcss ; and the perfect

positive. Love is of God : love absolutely and in operation of His Love in our hearts as the repre-

Itself in its own nature and apart from any object, sentative of His invisible self.

isfircmi the very being of God. This 'out or is Vers. 13-16. Remembering that this whole

said of nothing but u>ve and regeneration : here section has to do with faith in Jesus as the root

the loving in the present is evidence of a birth in of brotherly love, we need not be surprised that

the past that stUl continues; and the present the apostle goes back to the introductory wunis

knoweth God is the same love discerning and of it. Those words, however, are amplified, as

deligfating in its source. The latter is negative, usual : the gift of the Spirit is the seal and assur-

sad, as usual, still strengthens the thought All ance that we abide in him and he in ns : our

kve in man, all love everywhere, is from God ; being in Him and His being in us are, so to speak,

hut, more than that, God is love: a word that convertible terms: the Holy Ghost being the

had never before been spoken since revelation common term, common to Him and us. God the

began. It closes and consummates the Biblical invisible is seen and known only by the Spirit's

testimony concerning God as knowable to man : it indwelling. But He abides in us as the seal of a

■Mst be remembered that it is connected with he great truth confessed. Hence the apostle, before

that loveth not knoweth not— literally, ' never proceeding, pays his homage again to that truth,

has come to the knowledge of — God. Observe his own and his fellow-apostle's : And we have

that it is not said 'love is God,' any more than it bcdield — in His Son the Invibible God 'whom nu

was said 'light is God.' God is light in His man hath beheld at any time/— and hear witness

revealing and diffusive holiness ; God is love in that the Father hath sent the Son, the Saviour

His dimsive self-impartation : both, however, in of the world: the apostolic beholding is followed

relation to His creatures. His eternal essence by their special witness ; and this, again, by the
IS unfathomable and behind both. Love is the confession of the whole Church. Here St. John
bond of His perfections as revealed to the created returns back to the Father and the Son of the
univeise. It is also the bond of the intercom- earlier chapters, and adds what occurs only here
munion of the Three Persons in the adorable as a confession of faith that Jesus is the Saviour of
Trinity ; and in this sense His absolute nature ; the world : as in chap. ii. 3, so here it is remark-
but this goes beyond our exposition here. able as introduced in the midst of a special refer-

Vers. 9, 10, II. God is love ; and in this was ence to the benefit of believers.
the lofve of God manifested in ns : it had its Whosoever has confessed that Jesus is tho

one siroreme expression 'in our case,' 'in us' as Bon of God — this shows that the leading theme of

its sphere. This explains what follows, in the ver. 2 is still in the mind of the apostle, — God

perfect. That God hatti sent as the permanent ahideth in him, and he in God : the indwelling

token of His love his only-begotten Son into is individual as well as mutual, and answers to the

the WQsld that we might live through him. ' no man hath seen ' and every man who ' keepcth

Here only is the ' Only-batten ' in the Epistle. His commandments abideth in Him and He in

He was sent as the etemiu Son, the mystery of him ' (chap. iii. 24); the commandments were faith

whose filial relation is expressed by this word : in Jesus or confession of Him and love : the

introduced here partly to indicate the greatness of former is in this verse connected with the abiding,

the love bv the measure of the gift, partly to con- in the next verse the latter. But, instead of pro-

nect our life with His. In the Gospel the Only- ceeding immediately to the love of our obedience,

begotten is given as a proof of love to the world ; St. John once more — as if never weary of it— pays

but the life is given to those only who believe, his tribute to the love of redemption.

3i6

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. III. 23-V. 17.

And we have known and belieyed : this of all
believers, answering to ' And we have beheld and
bear witness ' of the apostles. At the basis of the
apostolical announcement are beholding and bearing
testimony : at the basis of the Church's confession
— for the apostle joins the Church in confessing
what he had witnessed to the Church — are know-
ing and believing, which in its proper order is,
according to John vi. 69, believing and knowing :
abiding faith confirmed in abiding experience.
Once more God is love: the sublimity of this
repetition is inexpressible; and the clause that
follows is answerable. In the former case, be-
lievers received 'out of* His fulness love; now
the believer that abideth in lore abideth in God,
and God abideth in him. The triple repetition
of 'abideth' speaks for itself: the love which
God hath in xlb must have its full meaniiig ; and
the sentence as it stands carries the privilege of
fellowship with God to its highest point ; there is
nothing beyond it, scarcely anything equal to it,
in all revelation. It leads at once to the word
perfection.

Vers. 17-19. Here enters the second point of
ver. 12 : * His love is perfected in us.' The
' His ' is omitted ; herein is love made perfect
with ns, that is, in all that concerns our estate.
Love is once more absolute and without object
specified. ' Herein,' in our living and moving and
having our being permanently in love, and in God,
is our love * made perfect : * before we had * per-
fected,' now 'made perfect,' afterwards 'perfect,'
This is the design of the indwelling Spirit, in
order tiiat we may have boldness in the day of
judgment : the same ' in order that ' and the
same ' confidence ' as in chap. ii. 29, but ' His
appearing' is now 'the day of judgment. ' Because
as no is, even so are we in tnis world : this also
goes back to chap. ii. 29, and its sequel : from the
last day the apostle returns to our life 'in this
world,' not witnout emphasis on the wonder that
we should be made through faith in Him work-
ing by love pure 'as He is,' and righteous
' AS He is,' even in the midst of this present evil
world. The next words are doubly linked with the
preceding : first, they are the negative perfection
of which being like Christ is the positive ; and
secondly, they refer to the great essential for con-
fidence in the final dav.

Thue is no fear in love : this is true of the
nature of love generally. But — admitting that
' the heart may accuse ' even lovers of God —
perfect love casteth out fear. This is the only
instance of ' perfect love,' without any qualifica-
tion or abatement And the apostle's condensed
argument shows that he is speaking of its present
triumph in the economy of grace. Because fear
hath punishment : that pain of which it is said that
' these shall go awajr into everlasting punishment '
is already inherent m fear ; and he that feareth
hath not been made perfect in love : then he
may ' in this world ' be ' as He is ' in holiness,
and therefore without the least lingering vestige
of fear to meet Him. Observe the change of
phrase: as love b perfected in man, so he is
perfected in love. The Holy Ghost, ' working by
love,* brings the believer — * we have known and
believed,' chap. iv. 16 — to that permanent abode in
the atmosphere of love to God and man from
which fear is excluded because sin, the cause of
fear, is excluded. Going back to ' in this world,*
and remembering that 'boldness in the day of

judgment ' means confidence in the expectation of
His appearing (chap. ii. 29), and further that it
is not said of the heavenly dty, ' there shall be no
more sin,' as if only there sin is absent, we are
bound to understand St John's last testimooy od
this subject — for he uses ue word no more— in its
highest meanine.

Ver. 19. we lore became lie first loved
us. Looking back, this sublimdj shows the
possibility that our love — here once more absolute
or without object, our 'perfect love' — maj
become supreme : the aimunent of ' because ' is
almost equal to ' even as, which is, however, not
said. But the words look forward to the next
verse, and that again looks back to the first of the
three points in ver. 12, which has been in sasptaat
during the interim.

Ver. 20. If a man say, I lo^e CM, and halstt
his brother, he ii a liar. All the words here
point, as we have seen before, to an utterly sporiooi
Christianity, which knows nothing of the revdsp
tion of the unseen God in His Son : the firrt
phrase and the last are used only of such &]se re-
ligion. The ' hating * of chap. iL 9 became ' not
loving' in chap. iii. 10; they are united as synony-
mous in this passage alone.

F6r he that loTeth not his hsothar wbook he
hath seen, cannot lore Ood whom he halh aol
seen. There are two condensed ai]^uments hcR^
First, recalling ver. 10^ that the mvisible God
perfects His love in us by the Spirit through our
brotherly love, it is simply a strong repetitioD :
the invisible Fountain of love abides in us, and
has its perfect operation in our love to its visible
objects, embracing all our fellow-regenerate (chap,
v. i). But we have alwa3rs noted uiat Sl Johns
repetitions include something more, and here
something is added which the former passage did
not contam ; that is, the inverted argument from
the easier demonstration of love to objects before
our eyes. Some copies read, 'How can hef
which would be only a more Tivid form of the
argument : not ' how or in what way can be love
the unseen save as He is rei^resented In^visibk
objects ? * for it is the glory of religion that God
can be loved in Himsdf ; but ' it may be merdy
inferred that he who, supposed to be regenerate,
loves not the first and most obvious claimants of
his charity, cannot be a lover of the supreme
source of all love.' He proves himself to be unre-
generate. The more general truth that practical
charity is in no case absolutely dependent upon
seeing its object b not involved here, nor most
the apostle's simple apostrophe be embarrassed
by the consideration of it

TA€ victory of Faith in JtsHs as tht xnctory ^

Love.

Ver. 21. And this commandment luiTe ws
from him. That he who knreth CM love
his brother also. The three poinU of chap,
iii. 12 having been discussed, a new subject
beeins. That is the precept of love fiven I7
' Him,' that is, Christ, whose name neeli not to
be mentioned, as the second part of the theme of
chap. iii. 23 : ' And thy neighbour as thyself' is
the primitive commandment ; but the next vene
answers the question, ' Who is my ndghbour ? ' ss
our Lord does, by inverting the order.

Chap. v. i. whceoerer beUeyeth that Jesos
is the Ohrist is begotten of Ood, and whoaoever
loveth him that begat loveth him also that is

Chap. III. 23-V. 17.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. 317

bigottan of him. Faith in Jesus as the Christ has ' he and only he '—he that helieveth that Jeans

hoe the only meaning that St. John ever gives it : if the Son of God f He who in union with ' the

that divinely wron^t trust in the work as well as Son of God '—the name that always opposes Him

the person of Jesus which the Spirit produces, to the world and its prince, — partakes His victonr :

though He does not say, and which the Spirit seals, ' 1 have overcome the world ^ rfobn xvi. 33). So

whidi He does say (chap, iiu 25). The exact much for the words : theology both dc^[matic and

link between faith and regeneration is untouched, practical takes them up, and finds in them its

In both members of the sentence our brother is richest material. Observe that the discussion of

meant. The argument is, like that of chap. iv. ao^ our external relation ends here : the apostle's warn-

derived from the general nature of the case ; but ing against love of the world, and his encourage-

it is carried to the nighest region, and here has the ment of opposition to the errors in the world, closes

anphasis. It may be true generally, but it must with finished and abiding victory over it.

vS? 2. This is the converse of chap. iv. 20, ^^ ^^J Tf^j^^l ^? 7^. ^^^l ff ^^'
and as such stands here alone : we know that we ground of faith : this u first viemd objectively,
Jove God by the token that we love the brethren ; ^ a witness tnhutory; then subjectively, as
bat we also know that we love God's children by ^ «^'^^ ^-^^^ ^ ^^^ ^^^^•
the very fiu:t of our loving Him. The two cannot Ver. 6. This is he that came by water and
be separated. Still, remembering that the com- blood, even JesoB Christ ; not in the water only,
mandment is now uppermost, we must closely bat in ^e water and in the blood. And it is the
unite wImii no love God and do his cornxDand- Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit
Maiiti. The last words introduce the customary is the trnth. It must be remembered in the
enlai]gement upon ver. i, which is otherwise only exposition of this difiicult passage, first, that it is
repcmted. We love all that are begotten of Him TOvemed by the idea of testimony, human and
because we love Him : the consciousness of loving Divine, that 'Jesus is the Christ' (ver. i), and
God is guarantee that wehave in us all that brotherlv ' that Tesus is the Son of God ' (ver. 5) ; secondly,
love means ; espedalljr as that love feels in itseu that the very terms used imply a s3rmbolical
the energy of all obedience. meaning underlying the literal, for we cannot
Ver. 3. P6r, the lore of CM is this — ^it is in understand ' water ' and ' blood ' as pointing to
us for this end,— that we ahoald keep his com- merely historical facts ; thirdly, that the apostle
nandmaiitiL Here, as constantly, some truths has in view the errors of his own time concerning
are suppressed. The apostle bad seemed to the manifestation of Jesus in the flesh. 'This
assert that the love of brethren seen was easier Person Jesus Christ ' who ' came ' not into the
than the love of God unseen. But there are some world, but into His Messianic office as the Christ,
who might and who did pervert that principle : 'by water and blood.' There are two leading
baving a speculative, transcendent, emotional love interpretations of those words. One of them
of Godf they might and the^ did undervalue the understands by the ' water ' the baptismal in-
security, the depth, the umversality of the self- stitnte of John, which inaugurated Jesus into His
renouncing devotion to others that brotherly love Christly ofiice, and by the ' blood ' the passion
as the commandment of Christ includes. But he and death. The other regards St John as fixing
whose love of God is a love of universal obedience, his thought upon the mysterious ' sign ' that he
knows that such brotherly love, as the 'fulfilment beheld alter the Saviour's death : when the pierc-
of the law,' is in itself difficult : it is indeed the ing of His side was followed by the double stream
'hard ' part of the love of God. And hia com- of blood and of water — the blood of expiation and
nandmttnti axe not grievoos is the reply to the water of life — which flowed to^etner as the
every suggestion of the fiuling heart : this is an ^mbol of one eternal life from the living death of
axiomatic saying, standing here alone ; of deep the sacrifice. The latter we hold to as the true
importance and ooundless application. The laws meaning. But let us do justice to the former : it
of God are reasonable, and m harmonv with the runs thus.

purest ethical principles of reason, even tne severest The error of antichrist concerning the incama-

of them. But apart from what follows, Uiey are tion of the Son of God has been already con-

intcderable. demned. The witness borne to this Son of God

Vets. 4, 5. For whosoerer is begotten of God as the perfected Christ or Saviour b now adduced ;

—a new form of words, the ' we ' of the previous and the two great events are made prominent

verse with ' that which is bom of the Spint ' (John which rounded the Messianic history : the Baptism

liL 6)— overeometh the world : is victorious over with its testimony to the Son of God, and the

the kingdom of evil eenerally, and particularly that atoning death with its testimony. Jesus came

sphere of the natural man and of self in the atmo- 'by' them as the accompanying media through

sphere of which the commandment of brotherly which He discharged His ministry and the ac-

love weighs hoivily. And this is the victory compaiwing seals which authenticated Him : these

thai haw overoome the world, even our faith, being first viewed as one, giving unity to the

Not love here, for fiiith is the leading thought : design of His coming into His office. St. John

fiuth IS the victory, its strength for that habitual might have said, ' He came in the baptism which

overcoming of every obstacle to obedience which to Him was the sealing of the Spirit, and in the

wasinitasanoriginalgerm,andof the final attain- atonement which finished the work to which He

ment of which it is the pledge. The past and the was sealed,* but he is using symbols, and makes

present and the future are really here ; but the stress the word * water ' stand for the whole transaction

IS on the present. How it conquers, not in an at the Jordan, and ' blood * for the whole mystery

ideal but a present and perfect victory, then follows of the passion and cross. The readers of this

in a sentence which takes a negative form but in- Epistle are supposed to have the Fourth Gospel in

dudes the positive reason. And who is he that their hands, and the doctrine of the Epistle to the

ovarcxwnetn the world, bnt^for no other can, Hebrews in their minds : moreover, Ephesian

3i8

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [CHAP. III. 23-V. i;.

Christians knew well the relation of John's
baptism to the baptbm of Jesus (Acts xix.). ' Not
in the water only, but in the water and in the
blood.' The 'by' now becomes 'in,' to mark
more impressively the essential connection between
the Messiahship of Jesus and that which the water
and the blood signified.

Now let us turn to the other interpretation*
We mark that the two elements are separated,
and each has the article : noting not merely the
sacredness of the well-known symbols, but their
distinction and relations. No intelligent reader
could fail to think of what the writer had certainly
had in his thoughts, the mysterious and miraculous
effusion of blcwd and water when the Saviour*8
side was pierced. That signified, not the fact of
the real hdmanity or real death of the Redeemer,
but that the fountain was now opened for the
removal of guilt by the blood, and of death by the
Spirit, of the crucified ; baptism and the Lord's
Supper being the abiding emblems and pledges of
these gifls. But St John leaves these reflections
to his readers and to us. He simply declares that
Jesus came 'not by water only,' but 'in the water
and in the blood : not only was there one stream
of life flowing from His death for us, but life
under two essential aspects. Eternal life is the
removal of the death of condemnation : that is
symbolized by the ' blood ; ' for it is the blood of
Christ that deanseth from all sin. Eternal life
is also the ' well of water springing up within the
soul unto everlasting life,' of which the Saviour
spoke to the Samaritan woman (John iv.) : in
other words, it is the life of Christ Himself im-
parted, and of that the water is the s^bol. It is
usual to sav that the ' water' symbolizes the wash-
ing from sm, and the ' blood ' the sprinkling firom
guilt. But since the death of Christ the onlv
washing both firom sin and from guilt is by blooa.
The water signifies here the very well-spring of
eternal life itself in Christ opened up within the
souL

The advocates of the other interpretation thus
expound ' not by water only.' John the Baptist
bore witness to himself as baptizing ' only with
water,' and to Christ as ' the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world.' The Redeemer
was not only authenticated in His baptism as the
Son of God, the revealer of the Father and His
will, but as the Lamb of God who should die for
mankind : not the one without the otfier. He
came at the Jordan that He might go on to Cal-
vary. The apostle silently protests against those
in his own day who united tne Christ to Jesus in
His baptism, but separated them at the cross ; and
He openly protests against all who limit our own
baptism into Christ to mere disdpleship of obedi-
ence, and forget that He is our master only
because as an atonement ' lie died and revived
that He might be Lord of the dead and the
living.'

'And it is the Spirit that beareth witness,
because the Spirit is the truth.' Hitherto the
water and the blood have not been termed vrit-
nesscs : they were &cts themselves witnessed by
men. But the Supreme Witness of Jesus is the
Holy Ghost, to whom the Saviour Himself bore
witness as 'the Spirit of the truth.' St John
singles out His testimony as the only and abiding
one, ^ ith express reference to the Lord's words :
'not we, the Baptist, the apostles, but the Spirit.'
And the tense is changed : the Son of God ' came '

onoe in the great ministry of which water and
blood were the symbols ; bat in the Gospels, and
in the preached word, and in the nomments, the
Holy Ghost gives abidins: testimony.

Vers. 7, 8. Tor there an thiM wlio hew wii.
nam [in heaven, tlie IMier, tiie Wovd, and the
Holy Ohoet: and theae thiee are one. ^1
there axe three that hear witnes on eartii], the
Spirit^ and the wftter* and the hlood: and the
three agree in one. The bracfceted wovds» if
genuine, would, in their present position, be ■■-
connected with the context, making a sodden
ascent to the testimony borne by the Three IVs^
sons of the Trinity in heaven or firom heaven to
the Incarnate Son : by the Father generally and
at the great crisis of the history of the Redwnwr,
by the Son to Himself in His exalted estate, and
by the Holy Spirit in the administration of t»*
demption. These heavenly Witnesses arc hot one t
and to Them ' the testimony of God ' in vcr. 9
refers. Then the three witnesses on earth matt
be snpposed to be, in relation to that otlier testi-
mony, ' the witness of men : ' testi^nOS to the
perfected Gospel of the ascended Lord under tlie
influence of the Spirit, to the baptism of oor Lori
and our baptism, to the finished atonemeat and
the sacramental commemoration of it. This intio-
duces a veiy violent abruptness into the aposde's
strain. Without these words the sense ran
smoothly on. The Spirit now takes pccoedenoe as
being still the one and onlv witness, who bears the
testimony throughout reveUtion and in tiie histoiy
of the Christian Church. But He bears His wit-
ness to Christ now and continooosly throog^ the
records which eather round His baptism 'in
water* and His baptism ' in blood ; ' andi throqf^
the effects of the faith in His name as the ds-
penser of pardon and renewal ' And these flnee
agree in one : ' thejr had been made tlnee, sod
two of them personified as witnesses, beoune of
the supreme importance of the anointing of the
human nature otChrist by the HoW Ghost and of
the pouring out of His blood, u these is uj
alluaon to the ' two or three witnesses* fay wlna
truth must be established, that allnsion is ireiy
faint The apostle hastens to say tibat the three-
fold witness conveiges' to one tmth, that Jesas
Christ is the Son of God, fiuth in whom oforeoaei
the world.

Ver. 9. If we reoeive the witnev of bm,
the witness of God ia greater : for tfaie k the
witness of God, that he halh bonke wltBHi
oonoeming his Son. The 'three witnesses'
suggested the perfection of merely human testi-
mony. The apostle supposes as a general tratfa
that we receive the testimony of credible wit-
nesses. But he does not set the Divine witnos
over against tlie human: the human and dM
Divine concur, the divine being 'greater* as
accompanjring and rendering infallible the hnaaa
witness to the Saviour's Mfsshihshig and salva-
tion. For, the entire series of attestations home ia
the Old Testament and in the New fay evar^iils
and apostles is no other than one grand attesta-
tion of God Himself, who witnesseth one thing
only, that all Hb witness by man's agency is coa-
ceroing His Son. But the Divine testmiopy is
given through the Spirit; '.we are witnesses el
these things, and so is also the Ho^ Gfaoit'
' Concemhdg His Son ' is snblimely gencraL What
the witness is we find afterwuds : htit it is
deckired that all the objective testimony of levds-

Chap. III. 23-V. 17.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.

319

tion hu bat one object, the establishment of the
cbdm d the Son of God to human fiuth.

Ver. la He fhftt belieTVfh on the 8cm of CM
hath the wiinea in himeeli: The testimony
has become tabjeethre : the ' three ame in one '
within the believer's consciousness. He has — lor
wt must anticipate ^er. ti— eternal life within
him : the gift of the Spirit of life recdved by
Christ tor tis at His baptism^ the forgiveness 01
sin or release from the condemnation of death
through His blood, and the Holy Ghost effecting
ind assnring both. Faith is foUowed by fuU
sisnrance ; mit the assorance is here the possession
oflifeitseU:

Bat he thai baUereth not God hath made him
aUar : beeanaa ha hftth not balieTadthe witnesi
that Qod halh home ooaoeming Hia Son. He
ii not only without the internal testimony, but
he has also rejected the external testimony, which
has been given to one who hears the Gospel record
10 abundantly that he is without excuse. Once
before St John had spoken of making God a liar:
he who denies that he has sinned is a liar himself,
and contradicts the express testimonies of God.
Similarly, he who believes not the witness given
by God concerning Hb Son rejects the utmost
possible evidence that God, knowing man's
necessity, could give him. It is suppled that
he has the evidence before him, and that in the
form of spoken or written evidence ; it is further
supposed that he ddiberately rejects the testimony,
knowing it to be Divine. There is nothing
stronger, scarcely anything so strong, in all the
Scriptures, concerning the moral wilimness of un-
belief. It is not said that he who refuses to ac-
cept the testimony to the divinity and incarnation
of Ae Son loses the benefit ; nor simply that he
blinds his own mind 1 but that he hears the voice
of God and makes Him a liar. Nor are the last
words, as has been thought by some, mere vehe-
ment repetition. God is made a liar by the man
who rejects the eternal life which has been once
fer all givoL The witness rejected is not this or
tbtt saying or miraculous demonstration, but the
whole stram of proof brought by the Christian
retelation that both light and life are come into
the world as the heritage of every man who does
not wilfully reject both.

Vers. II, IS. And the witnaas ia thia, that
God gaTO nnto na etamal life, and thia life la in
fate Bon. These closing words concerning that
ffstimony of which the beginning of the Epistle
spDke, go beyond anythmg yet said. They de-
clare that the witness of the apostles concerning
' iht eternal life which was with the Father and
was manifested to us' is the witness of God
Himself and moreover that it is the one supreme
testimony, the sum and substance of all testi-
monies. Here we have the close of the whole
section ; and this last saying must throw its light
bade upon alL The witness of the water and the
blood was simjdy this, that One had come who
was the gift of eternal Ufe to man : His baptism
with the Spirit was His reception of the Spirit of
life for us ; His baptism of blood was our aeliver-
ance from death. The witness of the blood and
water which flowed from His side was simply the
testimony of heaven that deliverance from death
and the unpartation of new life were the one gift
of His atoning passion : the one mingled stream
for ever flowing from His Person liftra up. He
who rejects this, resists the drawing of the Son of

man, and makes the Lord who cave the seals a
liar. The next words really ena the Epistle by
an emphatic aphoristic saying that repeats the
words concerning the subjective vritness, the pre-
sence and absence of wmch is the final test of
truth for all profession of Christianity. St. John
knows no 'believing in God' which is not
' trustinjr in the witness ; ' and he knows of no
trusting m the witness which is not followed by
'the witness in himself;' and the internal wit-
ness is not to have the knowled^ of forgiveness,
or the assurance of sonship, as m St Paul, but
these as contained in the possession of ' the
life ; ' and, finally, the life is with him nothing
less than the Son Himself possessed. The Son
of God hath life in Himself eternally ; He is the
source of redeemed life ; and He is the author or
Prince of that life in evenr believer. The closing
testimony of the Bible — ror there is nothing after
these words — ^is that he that hath the Son hath
the life : the life which is fellowship with God,
which sin forfeited, is given back to him in union
with Tesus. It can by no other means be restored
than by union with the Divine life which has been
given to man * bodily ' in Christ : the disbeliever
or unbeliever, who rejects the witness of God
concerning His Son, is in this testimony said to
abide in death, or rather to be without the life. He
that hath not the Son hath not the life. There
are many terrors threatened elsewhere against the
despiser of God and the rejecter of Christ ; but
here in the final witness, the sad issue of all is
stated in its awfiil negation, 'the life he has not.'
Ver. 13. St. John returns now to his one great
design, the fulfilling of the Joy of those who be-
lieve. Theae things have I written to yon— the
whole Epistle, that is,— that ye may know that
ye have etemal life, nnto yon that believe in
the name of the Son of God. It was not his
purpose to establish their assurance, and on that
to superinduce a challenge to faith, or to a higher
faith, as the reading of our present translation
might suggest. Assurance is the final point, and
all the bli^sedness that assurance brings. ' That
ye may know : ' this is one of the watdiwords of
the Epistle; and it is here finally introduced in
such a way as to show that, while it is the gift of
God's Spirit, it is the bounden duty and pririlege
of every Christian to live in the enjoyment of it

Tke confidence in prayer which this faith in Jam
inspires; with its one exciptum.

Vers. 14, 15. A second time the apostle dwells
on the boldness of prayer : this closed the second
part as the confidence of obedient love ; it closes
nere the third part as the confidence in the Son
of God, which was there introduced as the transi-
tion to the third part, and is now resumed.

And thia ia tne boldness, the more specific
characterization of the confidence before roerred
to, that we have toward him, toward God,
whose children we are in virtue of the etemal life,
the life of regeneration. Throughout the New
Testament, confidence towards the Father in
prayer is represented as the first privilege of the
adoption : we have received ' the Spirit of adop-
tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father* (Rom. viii.
15). St. Paul says of that Spirit that He ' belpeth
our infirmity ; for we know not what we diould
pray for as we ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh
mtercession witft groanings which cannot be
uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts

320

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [Chap. IIL 23

knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because
He maketh intercession for the saints according
to the will of God. * This, and our Lord's word,
' All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, be«
Ueving, ye shall receive ' (Matt xxL 22), furnish
the bttt commentary on our passage. As Jesus,
the Intercessor in hoiven, presents with confidence
for us the prayers which the Spirit, the Intercessor
in the heart corresponding with Him, teaches us
according to the will of God, we mav be assured
that, if we ask any iMag ftoooroing to his
will, lie heaxeth in : He in fiict heareth the voice
of His own Spirit within us, and we do not really
prav when we ask not according to His mind. This
is the sublime perfection of the only prayer which
St. John knows ; and it is in harmonv with the
tenor of the whole Epistle, always and in every-
thing making real the highest ideal.

And, if we know that he heareth m whatio*
ever we ask, all forbidden and doubtful petitions
being left out of consideration, as being suppressed
before they are uttered, we know — for the hearing
means hearing with acceptance — thai we haTe
the petitioni that we haTo aaked of him.
These last words are very emphatic. We have
in the very asking; there is a blessed sense in
which the highest prayer is the very experience of
the thing prayed for ; such asking for forgiveness
and peace and holiness is the enjoyment of holi-
ness and peace and pardon. Moreover, ' we have,'
and not, as before, 'we receive ; ' for the Christian
life is no other than the constant inheritance of
multiplied prayers 'that we have asked' from
the beginning, that have been the sum of past
supplications. Observe here, without being re-
mmded by the apostle, that the ' fellowship with
the Father and the Son,* the main subject of the
Epistle, reaches here its highest consummation, so
far as the present life and its privileges are con-
cerned.

Vers. 16, 17. The transition from prayer in
general to intercessory prayer seems to be abrupt ;
but it must be remembered that brotherly love b
made identical with Christian life, and its offices
with doing the will of God. Passing by innumer-
able other objects of intercession on behalf of a
fellow-Christian, the apostle at once rises to its
highest function, prayer for his sinning soul. Two
phrases just used are still in his thoughts : 'what-
ever we ask' and 'eternal life,' which the re-
generate has in himself, and may obtain by prayer
for others.

If any man see his brother sin a sin not
nnto death : already the exception is stated, the
solemnity of which requires enlargement upon it
afterwards. The sin not unto death is supposed
to be seen in a brother, as an act and a state in
which he is continuing. He ahall ask : this is the
imperative future, and implies more than is ex-
pressed, the admonition and penitence of the
offender and the joining him in prayer ; these are
omitted because the great point is here, as with
St. James, the power of one in close fellowship
with God, who is supposed in this wonderful
sentence to be the very administrant of the Divine
will. And shall giye— the same he in union with
God shall give — him life : according to the high
doctrine of the Epistle, he who sins at all is by the
sin cut off from'spiritual life ; that life is, as it were,
suspended. The words that follow, for them tliat
>in not nnto death, do not simply repeat and

generalize the former words, but at the w
Qualify the 'life' given and preoare k
follows; the life is only suspended in tl
The 'him' is changed into 'them,' to si
commonness of the &nlt and the nnhren
intercession.

There ia a >in nnto de«th ; whidi b 1
suspended life, bat the actual rejection of
of God in whom the life is, ana whoae 1
has been the supreme sin aimed at thronri
Epistle. It is not asserted that the Chns
know that sin to be committed ; nor was
that he knows the brother for whom^he ]
have sinned not unto death : He shall give
if he have not so sinned. The fellowship w
in prayer does not imply fellowship wid
omniscience. The sin unto death is mite
death, as Uie opposite of 'eternal life,'
death and eternal are never combined, f
death is mentioned once in this Epistle ; ni
apostle referring, as St James does in hk
close of his Epistle, to bodily sickness and 1
of physical health. As there was in our S
time an unpardonable blasphemy ani
Holy Ghost, which was unto death oei
rejected the Spirit's appeal on behalf of
and as in the Epistle to the Hebrews tift
rejection of the atonement which cats ci
sarily all hope, so in this Epistle the san
referred to in the light of its final issue.
who harden themselves against the SpiiitV
tion of the Son are sinning unto death ; an
for them is unavailing, becanse tb^ hi
their hearts against the only power that 1
them.

Not of that do I say that he ahoah
request. With deep tenderness the apo
eludes this object ot intercession, two di
his expression pointiiug to his deep ledi
changes the ' asking into ' requesting^
the awful urgency of the esse might pi
stronger prayer, which would be unaTailii
he simply says, ' Concerning that I do nc
in what I say concerning interccsaoij
Now the difference of sins seems to reqi
planation, especially after what Uie apos
said in chap. iii. 4, ' Sin is transgression <
and ' He was manifested to take away sii
' He is faithful and just, to cleanse as f
unrighteousness.' Hence St. John qaotes 1
inverting the phrase, and says h«ne^ i
righteousness is sin, substituting the
word 'unrighteousness' for 'lawlessness.'
the slightest deviation from law and fri
perfect principles of right is sin, whether
believer or in the unbeliever ; and therel
possessor of eternal life must never think
of it, but must abhor it as contrary to the ]
is in him. Nevertheless there may be ti
death that must be cleansed away, tad i
a sin not nnto death. In the old lav
was 'sin unto death,' tran^ression whii
punished with loss of life (Num. xviit 29
the Rabbins made the very distinction wl
John here makes. The apostle, however,
it into the eternal sphere ; and leaves the
with a consolatory word which is itself ver
He does not say that ' all unrighteousness
but there is sin not unto death. What he
that such sin only as is forgiven and c
away is not unto death.

Chap. V. I8-2I.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN.

321

Chapter V. 18-21.

Conclusion,

18 \TS/E know that whosoever is born' of God sinneth not;
VV 'but he that is begotten* of God ^keepeth himself,

I Q and ^ that wicked one ' toucheth him not. And'^vft know that
we are of God, aitd 'the whole world lieth in wickedness.'
And we know that the Son of God is come, and -^^hath given /Lu. xxiv.4s.
us an understanding, that we may know him that is true ; and
we are in ^him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. * This
is the true God, and eternal life. ' Little children, * keep *
yourselves from idols. Amen.

a Jo. L 18.
^Jo. xviL II.
c Ch. ii. 13.
d\tT. 15.

e Jo. xii. 31.

g To. xvii. 3.
AVer. II.
i Ch. ii. I.
k I Cor. X. 7,

14 : Gal. V.

30.

^ b^^tten
* the evil one

' Some read he that was begotten of God keepeth him
^ guard

The Epistle winds up with three summarizing
^cdfltxmtions, each of which repeats the watchword,
* we know,' taken, but in a better sense, from
^^ Gnostic ' we know : ' the first, ver. i8, asserts
%lie londamental opposition between life and sin ;
^lie second, ver. 19, the fundamental opposition
l^etween the regenerate and the world ; tne third,
ao^ pays its final homage to the Son of God,

in whom we are through an intelligent faith

'^rrought of God. These three are hnked, as

miwajTS, one with the other ; the evil one toucheth

V3S not in the first, but in the second the world

lieth in his arms, and in the third we, rescued

from him, are in God and His Son. The final

^irords close the whole, and close the Bible, with

mn exhortation aeainst every false conception of

Ood. Hence fellowship with God is the keynote

into which all melts at the last t individually, it

is commnnion with His holiness ; collectively, it is

perfect separation from the world ; and both these

CO np to the Son in whom we are one with God,

and safe from idols. This final 'we know' is

therefore an exhibition of the Christian privileges

in their highest form.

Ver. 18. We know that whosoeyer is begotten
of Qod finnethnot ; bnt he that was begotten of
God keepeth himself; and the evil one toucheth
him not Having admitted that the children of
the Divine birth may sin, both unto death and not
unto death, the apostle reminds them most
solemnly of what had been established before,
tlttt the regenerate life is in itself inconsistent
with both kinds. The characteristic and privi-
Im of a child of God is to live without violiation
of law : all sin is of death, and there is no death in
the regenerate life. This is a repetition of what
had been said in chap, iii., but the apostle never
repeats himself without some change in his thought.
Here is said for the first time, Uiat not only he
who has been and is bom of God, but he who has
been once bom of God, sinneth not. He has not
been, therefore, all along speaking of the un-
sinning state as the fruit of a finished regeneration,
however true that may be. Again, as his manner
is, he gives a specinc reason for the assertion.
The act of regeneration sundered the Christian
VOL. IV, 21

from the empire of Satan ; and it is his privilege to
keep himself, in sedulous watchfulness and depend-
ence on the Keeper of his soul, from the approach
of the tempter; not from his approach as a
tempter, but from any such approach as shall
touch him to his hurt. It is wrong to limit this
great saying bv interpolating 'sin wilfully' or
* sin unto death ' or * sin habitually ; ' it must
stand as the declaration of a privilege which is an
ideal, but an attainable ideal, that of living with-
out that which God shall call sin. St John does
not rise to the word which only One could say,
'He hath nothing in Me.' Concupiscence is in
the Christian still, and it may conceive and
bring forth sin ; not, however, if the wicked
one toucheth him not. And the concupiscence
that the enemy has in us must die if it have
not its desire in the soul — 'purified as He is
pure.' This ' we know * to be the privilege of the
Christian estate, as in the middle of the Epistle
the apostle has established it. ' We know ' is not
without protest against all future doubt ; it is like
one of the ' faithful sayings ' with which St. Paul
sealed his final doctrine. To understand ' he
that is bom of God * of the Only-begotten who
keepeth the saint, is contrary to the analogy of
New Testament diction ; and to suppose that the
principle of regeneration keepeth him, introduces
a certain harshness without obviating any diffi-
culty. There is indeed no difficulty to the
expositor who remembers that St. John never
disjoins the Divine efficiency in man from man's
own co-oj)eration.

Ver. 19. We know that ^e are of God, and
the whole world lieth in the wicked one. The
exquisite propriety of the words must be noted
here. There is no ' but,' as before : we know
by infallible assur^ce of our regenerate life that
we are of God. This is all we are assured of, and
there is no emphatic ' we ' opposed to the world :
it is as if the apostle would avoid even the sem-
blance of exultation against the ungodly. But
the awful contrast is laid down. It is the same
' wicked one ' as in the preceding verse holds
the entire world, so far as the new life has not
transformed it, in his power. It is not said that

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [ChaP.V.

322

the world is * of the wicked one : ' if the
' children of the devil ' had been spoken of in a
similar connection (chap. iii. xo), that is here ex-
plained and softened. The men of the world are
* in him that is false ; ' but the ' in ' is not used
in its bare simplicity, but 'lieth in,' a phrase
nowhere else occurring, and to be interpreted
according to the tenor of the Epistle. The
' whole world ' is not, however, the men of the
world only ; but its entire constitution, its entire
economy, its lusts and principles and motives, and
course and end : all that is not ' of God ' lies in
the power and bondage of the wicked one. This
the apostle adds as an old truth, never so fearfully
expressed as here. The diametrical contrariety
between the regenerate who have fellowship with
God, and the unregenerate whose fellowship is
with Satan, could not be more keenly defined.

Ver. 20. And we Imow — moreover, we know
finally — ^that the Son of God is come : this word
' is come ' St. John reserves for the end. He
who was sent and was manifested is here said to
' be present ' with us ; and His abiding presence is
as it were a sim which reveals and approves itself
to all who have eyes to see. We are reminded of
the only occasion on which the word is used in
this sense, when our Lord declared to the Jews in
one sentence the mystery of His eternal Sonship,
His presence in the world by incarnation, and
His mediatorial mission : ' I proceeded forth
from God — I have come — He sent me * (John
viii. 44). The children of God know with an
assurance that is above all doubt that the Son of
God is incarnate with the human race and 'dwells
among us : ' this is the triumphant close of the
Epistle, both as it is a testimony to the manifesta-
tion of the eternal life, and as it is a protest
against all anti-christian error. Keeping both
these objects still in view, the apostle goes on :
and hath given ns an nndentanding that we
may know him that is tme : this new word
'understanding' signifies the inner faculty of the
Spirit which discriminates in order to know, which
is the result of the ' unction from the Holy One.'
Thus inwardly enlightened by Him who is the
Truth, through His Spirit, we know ' Him that is
true,* that 'only true God * whom thus to know,
in His unapproachable distinction from all false
gods or objects of hope, is eternal life. In the
words of Jesus, which St John here quotes, ' and
Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent,* is added.
But He 'is come' as the revelation* of the
Father, and St. John hastens from the spiritual
knowledge to the spiritual experience of fellow-

ship with that Father, not 'and J(
but ' in Him.' And we are in him tbai
in his Son Jesns Christ The absence
' and,' leaving the plain assertion that m
the true God by being in His Son — ^thns
the true God and His Son one— is the so
the question to whom the next clause refia
is the trne Qod and eternal life. Thb
Jesus Christ is Himself the tme God, Hi
tion and presence with us; nor know
other. Those who see not God in Hli
He has come, serve a god of their own i
tion. When the apostle adds 'and eten
he turns from the protest against sntin
error, which was silently involved in tb
part of the clause, to the happy privikf
believing Christians. They have m the I
perfect Ufe ' which was with the Father
manifested unto us.' Thus the end of tfai
revolves back to the beginning. Christian
is the revelation of the true God in Qui
Christian blessedness is life everlastiqg
Father and the Son.

Ver. 21. Little children, keepyouMl^
idols. This brief but all-comprehensive 1
closes the Epistle, the entire apo|Stolicsl te
and probably the entire revelation of Go
cordingly it must have a large intopi
It is a solemn warning, most affectionate 1
rigorous, against everything that may im
supremacy of ' the true God ' as revealed
Son Jesus Christ, whether in the docb
worship of the Church or in the afTectiaa
regenerate heart. External idols, as still i
in heathenism, though fast passing awsf,
excluded from the exhortation of conn
there has been no allusion to them throi^
Epistle, nor did the danger of the ' little d
lie in that direction. Though St Jc^ d
use the Pauline expression that Christians
temple of the Holy Ghost, the idea of tl
vades his whole doctrine. He that dwe
love dwelleth in God and God in him : tl
every thought of the mind, every feeling
heart, and every movement of the will i
faithful in all homage to Hinu As addn
the first readers of the Epistle, the wami
against the false theosophy of the Gnostic
prophetic exhortation, it foresaw and |
against all violations of the doctrine of the
torial Triunity; and, as spoken to the
S3ul of every regenerate Christian, it pfods
one immutable principle of the Christian r
that God must be to him All in alL

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND AND THIRD

EPISTLES OF ST. JOHN.

I. — External : Authorship and Apostoucity.

IT may be taken for granted that these Epistles were written by the same author.
According to the almost unanimous tenor of tradition, this was the Evangelist
John. For instance, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, Dionysius, and Alex-
ander of Alexandria expressly quote from them as his. Origen and Eusebius refer
to the two Epistles as suspected by many, but apparently without sharing the doubt
themselves. Jerome mentions a current opinion that they were written by a Presb)rter
John, of whose existence we b^ve only the insufficient witness of Papias as quoted
by Eusebius. While it is easy to understand how such a man as Papias should con-
fuse the tradition, it is hard to believe that two writers of the same name should so
closely resemble each other in style and tone and authority. Erasmus revived this
idea, which had never during the Middle Ages disturbed the tradition of the apos-
tolical origin ; and in later times it has been maintained on the ground of certain
phrases occurring in the two smaller documents which are absent from the larger one.
But in familiar Epistles to individuals such new phrases might be expected ; and,
though they are striking, they are lost in the multitude of express coincidences in
phraseology. The term * Presbyter ' applied to himself by the writer has also been
pleaded against the apostolical authorship. 3ut without reason : St. John rarely
mentions himself, never his apostolical authority ; and the term Presbyter might be
used as St Peter used it, or as St. Paul called himself * Paul the elder' or * the aged.'
Granting that St. John wrote these Epistles, we may suppose that they were written
after, but not long after, the First 5 and from the same place, Ephesns.

II. — Interna^. : Characteristics.

I. The Second Epistle stands alone in the New Tes^ment as addressed to a
Christian household. It is written to a Matron of note and her children, commending
the piety of some members of the family whom the apostle had met, and warning
them against the intrusion into their circle of false teachers. Hence it is the worthy
pendant of the Third Epistle, which is written to a Christian man occupying an equally
important position in his community. It was held by some in ancient times, and by
many in later, that the Mady' was a symbolical expression for the church, or a par-
ticular church. A preliminary objection to this is that there is no precedent for such
an allegorical mode of expression, nor any obvious reason for it ; and then a careful

comparison of the two Epistles will suggest that individuals are addressed in both.

323

324 INTRODUCTION TO SECOND AND THIRD EPISTLES OF JOHN.

The other controversy, as to whether the term rendered * lady ' ought to be regarded
as a proper name, cannot easily be settled : the balance preponderates in favour of
Kyria being the name of the matron who receives the letter.

II. The Third Epistle sheds an impressive light upon the state of the Church when
about to lose the light of inspiration and the apostolic presence. St John's authority
in a church probably not founded by himself, was contested even as St Paul's had
been, though for a different reason : it is possible that the extreme age and YeDe^abl^
ness which should have secured him honour encouraged a factious and bigoted
enemy of the missionary Gospel to oppose him. The immediate occasion of the
resistance of Diotrephes and his company was the apostle's recommendation of ceitam
evangelists to the hospitality and general help of this community. St John's request
might have been sent by the hands of Demetrius, whose character, as opposed to that
of Diotrephes, is stamped with the most emphatic approval The issue we do not
know, nor indeed anything further about the controversy. But we have a ridi side
light thrown on the virtue of hospitality, on the missionary activity of the chuidi, and
on the apostle's consciousness of high authority. The term church itself, mentioued
so often, is important against those who misconstrue the absence of it from the Fiist
Epistle : in both the all-essential matter is fellowship with the Father and the Sou in
and through the Spirit ; but in both there is evidently an organized fellowship among
Christians, though in the Second only is it called a Church. It is, however, the ex-
hibition of what may be called Family Religion that gives this Epistle, by the side of
the Second, so deep and lasting an interest at the close of the canonical Scriptures

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF

JOHN.

Vers. 1-13.

Invocation. — Exhortation to Love, and Warning against False Doctrine. —

Conclusion.

1 * nPHE elder unto the * elect ^ lady and her children, "^ whom ** J ]»^/;. ,.

A I love in the* truth ; and not 1 only, but also all they *Rom'x>li.i3.

2 that 'have known -^the truth; For the truth's sake, which ^yy^^j. ^^ .

3 dwelleth • in us, and shall ' be with us for ever. ' Grace be ^ }2*wh. 32.
with you, mercy, and peace,* from God the Father, and from ^^im.*!.';;
the Lord^ Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, *in truth and ?ud;a/'

love AVe«.i,4.6;

Auvc Eph. IV. 15.

4 'I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children • walking in « 3 Jo. 3,4.
truth, as we have ' received a ® commandment from the Father.

5 And now I beseech thee, lady, *not as though I wrote a new *ijo. u. 7.
commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the

6 beginning, ' that we love one another. ** And this is love, that ' ' 1^- «"• "•
we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, J®- "^- "s-
That, *as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk ««Jo.ii. 84.

7 in it 'For many deceivers are ^entered into* the world, who *«Jo"->8.
confess not that Jesus Christ ^is come'** in the flesh. This is ^'.j^j^/;

8a" deceiver and an " antichrist. '' Look to yourselves, ' that rw^ xUl 9.

* * Gal. lu. 4 :

we " lose not those things which we have wrought, but that Heb. x. 35.
9 we" receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth," and

abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, ' hath not God. He that ' » Jo- «• «3-
abideth in the doctrine of Christ,'* ' he hath both the Father

10 and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this
doctrine, * receive him not \vi\.o your house, neither bid him God "^^X'-^^Vj

11 speed : " For he that biddeth him God speed " is *' partaker of jj^*^'"*-^.

12 his evil deeds. "'Having many things to write unto you, I^sJoI^i^'"*

* omit the * abideth ' and it shall

* Grace, mercy, peace, shall be with us * omit the Lord

• I rejoice greatly that 1 have found of thy children ' omit have

• omit a • gone forth into ^® they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh
^1 the ** ye *• goeth in advance " omit of Christ
" and give him no greeting " giveth him greeting

325

326 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF JOHN. [Vers. 1-13.

would not write with paper and ink : "^but I trust to come unto *3 Jo- 14.
13 you, and speak face to face, -^that our joy may be full." The •''jJ*^^**
children of thy ' elect sister crreet thee. Amen. '^'«'- '•

greet
*' your joy may be fulfilled

I. — Address and Greeting: Frcn the weU-knarum
Elder to a well-known Lady,

The greeting, with its invocation, fills a large
space. It is framed after the manner of St. Pam,
and remarkably incorporates the two points of
truth and love which occupy the whole Epistle*

Vers. I, 2. The elder — the aged Apostle John,
who gives himself this title because it was the
only one that combined authority with age — to
the elect Eyria and her children: nothing is
known about the two sisters introduced at the
beginning and the end, save that they were influen-
tial persons, probably widows with large families.
St. Paul speajcs of Rufus as ' elect in the Lord/
and St Peter of * elect strangers : * no higher term
could be suggested by Christian courtesy. Whom
I loye in mith : the ' whom ' in the masculine
embraces all of the household addressed. They
were elect or loved of God, and therefore elect and
beloved of the apostle ; according to his own axiom
in I John v. I. Again, according to his own axiom,
he declares that his love was not 'in word and
Mnth the tongue,' but ' in deed and in truth :^ with
special reference, however, to the severe caution
which he is about to administer. And not I
only, but aLao aU Uiey that have known thft
truth : this Christian matron and her children
were well known at home and abroad, bearing the
same relation in their own spheres as the Gains of
the next Epistle bore in his. It is obvious that
knowing the truth is an expression that has two
applications here. On the one hand, it defines
religion as the experimental knowledge of the
revelation brought mto the world by Christ, who
said ' I am the Truth : ' a definition the force of
which was more felt in early times than in later.
On the other, it prepared for that distinction be-
tween believers in the truth and all false teachers
on which the writer purposed to insist. For the
tmth*8 sake which abideth in Us and shall be
with ns for ever. Obviously the common truth
is, like regeneration, regarded as the bond of love.
But there is an undertone of allusion to the fact
that holding fast the truth is the test of religion,
and that their common fidelity endeared the raith-
ful to each other. Hence the change to ' us,' and
the quotation of the Lord's words, which applies
to the truth what He spoke of the Spirit of truth,
' He abideth with you and shall be in you : ' with
the change, however, that here the 'abiding' is
* in ' us, and the ' being * is ' with 'us. It is like
a preliminary triumph, in prospect of the subject
that is coming.

Ver. 3. Grace, mercy, peace, shall be with 110
from Qod the Father, and from Jesus^Gbrist, the
Son of the Father, in truth and love. ' This is the
old invocation, with which the other apostles have
made us familiar, but in its fullest form as found in
the Pastoral Epistles. It had become the sacred
benediction, as including the whole compass of the
Divine blessing in the Gosp>el : grace refers to the
fountain of &vour to undeserving man revealed in
Christ ; mercy to the individual application of that

favour in the forgiveness of sins and the snccour of
all misery ; peace to Che result in the tranquillity of
a soul one with God. These blessings come from
the Father through the Son of the Father ; but
the repetition of the ' from ' makes emphatic the
distinctness and equality of the Two Penoos.
There is here an observable deviation frcmi St
Paul's formula ; as also in the addition of ' truth
and love ' the two spheres or characteristics of the
Christian life in which, though not on aocoBDt
of which, these blessings are imparted. These
last words also explain the ' shall be ' of the invo-
cation : they express the apostle's confidence that
his friends, livixi^ in truth of doctrine and chtxity
of fellowship, will ever enjoy this benediction in
common with himself.

IL—TA€ substance of the Utter JoUmos: mtrmbiced

tcongrahtUUion^ it contains am emmest €»*
iatian topracticallaveandwamimgagaimt
false teachers,

Ver. 4. I rejoiced greatly that I 'hasf% fxmxA
of thy children waUdng in truth. As St Pkal

always prefaced his warnings by praisine what be
could praise, so St. John expresses his <feep joy at
having found — ^his now present joy at having found
during his past acquaintance with them— certain of
her children walking in the full truth of the Chris-
tian religion. Even as we received oommanrtm— t
frdm the Father. 'And this is His command-
ment, that we should believe in the name of His
Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as
He gave us commandment ' (i John iiL 23). This
great preliminary commandment omits die name
df the Son because the reception of Him is iti
substance ; and the particular commandments ne
presently to be mentioned.

Ver. k. And now— this is the poiport of the
letter— I beseech thee, Kyria : the request has in
it a tone of dignitv as well as of courtesy ; the
mother is addressed, though some of her children
who walked not in love are aimed at : the apostle
urges his request, which is sheltered behind tlie
evangelical law, not as though writing to tibsa a
new commandment, but that which we had
from the beginning, in the first person, thai wi
love one another. ' Let us all walk in love:'
this, as well as the whole strain, shows the same
ex(}uisite courtesy which pervades St Paul's letters
to mdividuals.

Ver. 6. Here we have once more St. John's
familiar tribute to the ethical supremacy of love^
the new revelation of which by Christ ' in the be-
ginning ' sways his thoughts with a peculiar power.
The verse is remarkable for its circular argument :
love is the walking in all the commandments, the
strength to keep them all being in love, and love
being their compendium ; again, the one com-
mandment heard from the beginning is ' that ye
should walk in it,' that is, in love.

Ver. 7. There is no love which is not based 00
truth : the love which keeps the commandments
keeps the doctrinal as well as the ethical com-
mandments. And, as love is the strength of

Vers. 1-13.]

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF JOHN.

327

obedience, so it is the guardian of the truth.
lience the ' for ' that follows : for many deceiyen
Aie gone forth into the world — from the spiritual
world, the sphere of the lie — they tliat confefls not
thmt Jeens Christ cometh in the fleah. The
supreme truth — as truth is in Jesus — is the incar-
nation. This is the deoeiTer and the antichriBt,
of whom the former Epistle spoke : the deceiver as
it regards 3rou, the antichrist as it respects Jesus.

* Cometh in the flesh ' refers in the most general
-vray to the incarnation itself : not as a past fact,

* came in the flesh ' (i John v. 6) ; nor as the fact
-with its results, 'hath come' (i John iv. 2) ; but
in its widest universality, though without reference
'to the second coming.

Ver. 8. Look to yoonelyes : a rare expression,
intimating the deep earnestness of the warning.
That ye loee not the things which we have
'wnmght : the apostles were God's labourers ;
l>ut, with refined delicacy, this apostle represents
the reward of apostolic work, not as to be re-
ceived by themselves, but, as to be received by
their flocks. But that ye receiye a full reward :
of our work and your own fidelity. The reward
of Christian labour is a familiar idea in the New
Testament ; and the last chapter of the Apocalypse
represents the Saviour as coming with His 're-
ward' 'to render to each man according as his work
is,' Rev. xxii. 12. But the labourers' reward is not
dependent on the fidelity of their converts, though
the converts themselves lose it if unfaithfuL Ine
wt»d reward here seems to refer to the other
world ; but, before mentioning that, St. John depre-
cates their losing the benefits of apostolic labours,
whidi listening to ' evil workers ' would occasion.
Thane is a beautiful contrast in the original
words : ' See that ye let not slip all the fruits of
our teaching, and all the benefits of your Christian
disdj^ine, in the present world ; see that hereafter
ye be found worthy of the completed rewards of
Christian fidelity, as it is written, "Every one
therefore who shall confess Me before men, him
will I also confess before My Father which is in
heaven " * (Matt. r. 32). The word ' full ' has no
necessary reference to degrees of recompense : it
b used as a most mighty stimulant, and what it
means the next verse shows.

Ver. 9. Whosoever goeth forward, and abideth
not in the doctrine of Ghrist, hath not God.
This seems beyond doubt the true reading, and
the verse thus becomes one of the utmost im-
portance and interest To abide in the doctrine
of Christ is to remain content with His teaching
or what He teaches ; to go beyond it is to follow
an imaginary development, and afiect to be wiser
than £e Master Himself. The penalty is an
awfd one: one step beyond the commandment
received in the beginning leads to the loss of God.
INit he that abideth in the doctrine, the same
hath both the Father and the Son: the change
b in St John's manner, from God generally to

the Father and the Son. The Lord Himself
declared that ' all things ' were delivered unto Him
for the instruction of men ; and the * all things '
He explained as the knowledge of the Father
through the Son (Matt. xi. 27). On this rests
the whole 'doctrine* or doctrinal system of the
Church, afterwards spoken of generally as 'the
doctrine.'

Vers. 10, II. There is no more impressive word
concerning the importance of holding fast the
simple truth of the Gospel than what we have
just read ; and its force is deepened by what
follows. If there cometh — as come there does
and certainly will — any nnto you and bringeth
not this doctrine : a professed teacher, therefore,
coming for hospitality, after the manner shown in
the next Epistle. It is important to guard the
interpretation of these wordis on both sides. In
mitigation of their severity, it must be remembered
that^ the apostle is speaking of an antichrist
coming with a doctrine opposed to Christ, and
such a man ought to be excluded from the house
of every servant of the Lord, whether coming in
person or by his writings ; but it is in his teaching
capacity that he is to be excluded. But, on the
other hiand, and in vindication of its real strictness,
the prohibition of salutation, and g^ve him no
greeting, does not by any means refer to formal
Christian salutation, but forbids every kind of
intercourse with him that implies friendly fellow-
ship. The reason is expressly given, and in such
a way as to show that fellowship such as hospitality
is meant : a courteous salutation, or any act of
charity, might be bestowed on him without in-
volving complicitv with his evil. But no such
friendlmess is to be shown as might further him
on his way in the very least 'He that is not
with Me is against Me:' there is nothing in
this rigour, so often branded as bigotry, that goes
beyond the ordinary teaching of 3ie New Testa-
ment.

III. — Conclusion,

Vers. 12, 13. The apostle, writing on this
subject, has more to say than he can wnte ; hence
this letter is not an accompaniment of the larc^er
Epistle. He was writing on paper or Egyptian
papyrus, the pressed coatings of the plant, with
inK, a preparation of soot and burnt resin and oil :
the Third Epistle omits the paper and says yen
instead, the pen being a split reed. The brief
Epistle was in fact the forerunner of his personal
presence ; the apostle hoped soon to speak all that
ne had to say, and to hear all he wished to hear,
that their joy might be filled. This was the
desicpi of his writing the First Epistle ; this short
one had not that purpose, but needed the supple-
ment of free conversation. The greeting from the
children only of the elect sister seems to indicate
that their mother was not alive, and that St John
was a guest in their house.

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF

JOHN.

Vers. 1-14.

Goodwill to GaiuSy and Commendation of him. — The Factiousness ofDiotnfkSt

and the good Example of Demetrius. — Conclusion.

1 T^HE elder unto *the well-beloved Gaius/ whom I love *in jf^i^

2 1 the" truth. Beloved, I wish above all things that* thou •J**'*
mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

3 For ^ I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified ^"J**-
of the truth that is in thee,* ^ even as thou walkest in the truth.

4 *" I have no greater joy than to hear that ' my children ' walk ^}^d*

5 in truth. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whaEtsoever thou doest

6 ' to the brethren, -^ and to strangers ; * Which have borne • wit- nSuSi
ness of thy charity before the church : whom if thou bring
forward on their journey after a godly sort,^ ^thou shalt do^^^!**

7 well: Because that *for his name's sake' they Went forth, ^j^***

8 'taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to 'jCor.ii.fl»

9 receive • such, that we might be fellow-helpers to the truth. I
wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, *who loveth to have *«Jo>

10 the pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not Wherefore,
if I come, I will remember " his deeds which he doeth, prating
against us with malicious words; and not content therewith,

' neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth /Ver. $.

1 1 them that would, and casteth them out of the church. Beloved,

*" follow " not that which is evil, but that which is good. * He ■'J^J;*'^
that doeth good is of God : ^^ but he that doeth evil hath not »V*- -.

*^ • t JO. ■• ■»

12 seen God. Demetrius hath ^good report" of all men, and of Jj^j?\*.
the truth itself: yea, and v/e also bear record ;" ^and ye know -jj^'li.''

13 that our record" is true. ''I had many things to write, but I *'»Jo.««»

' unto Gaius the beloved ' omit the ' I pray that in all things

* when brethren came and bare witness unto thy truth

' thou doest a faithful work in whatsoevep thou doest to the brethren, and,
moreover, to them as strangers • who bare ' worthily of God

• For, for the sake of the Name • support *• bring to remembrance
^^ imitate " the witness ^' witness ^* thou knowest that our witness

32S

L-14.] THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN. 3^9

1 not" with ink and pen write unto thee: 'But I trust I *jo.x.3.
ill shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace
to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

** am unwilling to write

-Address and Expression of Goodwill.

I, 2. Three men called GaiuB, the Latin
ire mentioned by St. Paul, and one of
Htk. the same acknowledgment of his large
i^ ; but these lived in an earlier genera-
Nothing is said as to his holding any
le is Mlored only, the ordinary term of
a fellowship, thoueh evidently used here
XHigest meaning, wnom I love in truth,
>hatically repeated in several verses. In-
the ordmary greeting we have an expres-
goodwiU, I w&b, which however is really,
r Christian good wish must be, prayer to
IS. ▼. 15). Concezning aU things must
MCted with the prosper, or make good
ment ; and one particular is singled out
Hj because Gaius had been sick, — and
iMdth. The prosperity of the soul is the
I of all prosperity: even as thy soul
eih, or makes good advancement.

II. — Substance of the Letter*

mbstance of the letter is, first, a tribute to
jacter and work of Gaius, especially his
ity to Christ's servants, with exhortation
inne this fidelity ; then follows the special
of Diotrephes, the contrast of his conduct
lat of Demetrius, and an exhortation to
1 relation to both.

3, 4. The commendation of Gaius is first
: the apostle rejoices greatly to hear from
a testimony to his interior religion, unto
^ as it was openly shown, even as thou
\ in truth. The apostle has no greater
1 to hear that my children — the members
Christian family specially committed to his
ze walking in the truth. Truth and
I in both these Epistles the twofold and yet
<ere of all religion, llie love with its fruits
in the next verse.

, 5-8. Thou doest a faithful work: the
a Gaius* love is said to be faithful, as corre-
Iff with the commandment of love and true
Towards the brethren, and moreover
m : not both brethren and strangers, but,
sequel shows, brethren who came from
* Thou doest ' marks that the conduct of
s supposed to be habitual, though a special
e had been brought before the apostle,
bare witness to thy love before the
I : being evangelists, they gave an account
r travels in the presence of the church
the apostle dwelt ; and returning to Gaius
Jier travels, they are commended to him
her support, to be set forward worthily of
heir Master and the Head of their cause.
follows a tribute to the dignity of their
ind the high claim it gave them. For the
f the Name, the name of Christ who is
hey went forth, from the church into the
though in a very different sense from the
lut of the antichrists (i John ii. 19), taking
g of the Gentiles : this is stated as their
principle, to receive nothing from the

Gentiles as such, before they were formed into
churches; but it contains no maxim for the
missionary work generally. It is introduced here
for the sake of what follows. We therefore
ought to support such, that we may be feUow-
workers with them for the truth : an important
sentence, as showing that they who provide of
their substance for the maintenance of the labourer
are partakers of his work.

Ver. 9. I wrote somewhat to the church : not
meaning either important or unimportant, but
touching the maintenance of the evangelists ; this
commimication, probably intercepted by Dio-
trephes, is lost or superseded by die present
Epistle. But Diotrephes, who loveth to have
the pre-eminence among them, the members of
the diurch, receiveth us not : we know nothing
about this man but what is contained in this
graphic sketch of him. The evangelists had
reported to St. John that neither his authority nor
his letter was honoured by Diotrephes; that he
rejected both, and spoke against the apostle
publicly in a church which was almost entirely
under his influence, being oppc^ed by Demetrius
and his selecter company, and Gaius keeping aloof
probably through sickness.

Ver. 10. We mark here the same tone of faith-
ful sternness which pervades the two other
Epistles : in these, however, as against those who
assailed the truth, in this against one who in-
vades the order of the church. It is more than
probable that Diotrephes was of the Tudaizing
faction which strove to thwart the pubhcation of
the Gospel to the Gentiles; ana this would
account for the apostle's severity. I will bring
to remembrance before the church, his works
which he doeth : not merely his prating against
us with maUcious words, as reported by the
evangelists, but his actions, of more importance to
the apostle than any words spoken against himself
merely. He casteth them out who would receive
the brethren : by using his influence to have them
cut off from the Christian sode^, whether by
formal excommunication or otherwise.

Ver. II. Beloved, imitate not that which is
evil, but that which is good : this is character-
istic of St. John, to trace all conduct to its highest
source. The spirit and acts of Diotrephes, and
those like him, are not of Ood, not fruits of re-

generation : he that doeth evil hath not seen
lod, hath no spiritual knowledge of Him. Writing
to Gaius, and writing to all who might possibly be
swayed by such infmence as that of Diotrephes,
the apostle utters a strong warning: to what
extent needed by Gaius we can only conjecture.

Ver. 12. The good to be imitated has its
example in Demetrius, whose report had reached
St. John concurrently with that of Diotrephes:
< Demetrius hath the witness of all who know
him, and of all my reporters : and of the truth
itself : for the truth of^ the Gospel reflected in his
character is before yourself.' xea, we also bear
witness : the verv strong testimony to Demetrius
was doubtless of the greatest importance at this
juncture, and the apostle adds his own witness to

330

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN.

[Vers. 1-14.

that of men and to that of the truth itself : ftnd
thoa knowest that onr witness is true is an
affecting appeal to his own personal authority,
accepted, if hot bv Diotrephes, yet by Gaius. St.
John probably knew Demetrius, who receives
from him as high a commendation as is received
by any individiml in the New Testament. These
men stand here as individuals, to whom the apostle
gave his testimony, not only from the evidence of
their works, but also from his sure discernment of
their character. But they are also representatives
of me» like-minded who play their part in every
age and in all communities, llie apostle's warning,
commendation, and exhortation therefore are, and
were meant by the Spirit to be, for all the future.
And this gives our Epistle its permanent value.

III. — Conclusion,

Vers. 13, 14. We know not the issue of this
Epistle. It was evidently written amidst drcum-

stanoes which allowed no delay. Though the
apostle would shortly visit the church of Gaius,
Diotrephes, and Demetrius, he seods this message
for the present emergency.

Ver. 15. Peace be to thee : the only instance
of this personal formula in the New Testament
The Mends salute thee : again the onlr instance
of the brethren being called friends. Uute the
friends by name : as if their names were men-
tioned. The familiar character of the letter may
explain these peculiarities; but it must not be
forgotten that tnese several terms carry us Inck to
the Lord's first use and sanctification of them.
There can be no higher salutation than the peace
which came up out of the Old Testament to receive
its deeper meaning in the New. And the Eposes
of the New Testament worthily end with Peace to
the individual saint, and the Salntation of the
Brethren who are also 'the Friends' of J(
individually and by name.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JUDE.

JUDE, the writer of this Epistle, calls himself the * brother of James ; ' and as
in the list of the apostles there is James' Judas (the same word in Greek as
here), 'the son* or 'brother' being unexpressed, many commentators have
concluded that the author of this Epistle was the apostle. This is the view of
Jerome, Origen, and TertuUian among the ancients, and that of Calvin, Lange,
TregeUes, and others among the moderns j and they naturally identify him with Jude
the son of Alphaeus, called also Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus (Matt x. 3 ; Mark iiL 18).

Whether he were the apostle or not, he is widely believed to have been 'the
Lord's brother' of that name (Matt xiii. 55), a view adopted by Jerome and Origen,
and by Bengel, Olshausen, Lange, Hofmann, and Tregelles.

These views are not absolutely inconsistent ; but to hold both is to hold opinions
not easily reconcileable. The latter is probably true; the former is questionable.
There is no real evidence that Jude the apostle was brother of the James mentioned
in this Epistle. Generally, the expression ' Jude of James,' or ' James' Jude,' would
mean in Scripture language 'Jude the son of James.' If Jude the writer of this
Epistle were an apostle, there seems no reason why he should not have called
himself apostle, or why he should have distinguished himself, as he seems to do,
from the apostles (ver. 17). We are expressly told, moreover, that our Lord's
brethren did not believe on him ; and though after the Resurrection and Ascension
they formed part of the company of believers (Acts L 14), they could hardly have
believed at the beginning of His teaching, or have been appointed as eye-witnesses
of His ministry.

From this and similar considerations, it is inferred that the James who was Jude's
brother is the James who is called 'the Lord's brother' (GaL i. 19), and who after
the death of James the apostle (the son of Zebedee and brother of John) became
the representative of the Jewish tendency of the Christian Church (Acts xii. 17),
and rose to something like apostolic dignity ; being, like Barnabas, reckoned among
the apostles (Acts xiv. 14; compare Rom. xvi. 7, and the Greek of PhiL ii. 25,
and 2 Cor. viii. 23). In the Apostolic Council held at Jerusalem, James' judgment
was accepted as final (Acts xv. 13). He is supposed to have written the Epistle
of James; and of course, if Judas was brother of this James, he held the same
personal relation to our Lord.

On the whole, the most probable conclusion is, though not free from difficulties,
that the author of this Epistle is Jude, one of the brethren of Jesus, not the brother
of James the apostle, who was the son of Alphaeus, but of James the Bishop of
Jerusalem, of whose influence in the Church he availed himself to introduce his
Epistle to his readers.

332 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JUDE.

Of his life nothing is known, as nothing is certainly known of the life of Juda^
the apostle. Eusebius gives an interesting tradition, transmitted through Heg^^
sippus, that two grandsons of Jude, who * according to the flesh ' was brother ^^

our Lord (see i Cor. ix. 5), were seized and taken to Rome by order of DomitiaiF--^
whose fears had been excited by what he had heard of the progress of Christ'i
kingdom. When, however, he found from their replies to his inquiries, and from th<
appearance of their hands, that they were plain men supporting themselves by their
own labour, and that it was a spiritual kingdom they sought to set up, he dismissed
them and stayed the persecution he had planned They are said to have lived till
the time of Trajan. The wife of this Jude is said (Nicephorus, L 23) to have been
Mary.

The relation of the Epistle of Jude to the Second Epistle of Peter has led to
much discussion. The parallel passages of the two Epistles are Jude 3-18, and
2 Pet L 5, and il. i~i8. Their resemblances both in thought and in language
are close and obvious (though there are differences in every verse), and the writers
must have been in communication, or one must have seen the Epistle of the other.
Internal evidence is in favour of the prior authorship of Jude. The terseness of the
style, the freshness and vigour of the imagery, the close coherence of the thought,
the very peculiarity of the words, there being in the twenty-four verses of the Epistle
some eighteen found only here in the New Testament, are against the supposition
that the Epistle was borrowed ; whilst, on the other hand, the parallel passage of
Peter appears to differ from Peter's usual style. If this view be accepted, the
probable date of the Epistle is between a.d. 64 and 66. It must have been written
late, and yet prior to the date of Peter's Epistle ; and that apostle died about a.d. 6S.
A later date, subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem, makes it necessary to
suppose that it was taken in part from 2 Peter, and adds the difficulty that no
note is taken of the destruction of Jerusalem, one of the most striking inst^nrg^
of the punishment of the * ungodly.* It addresses the same class as the Second of
Peter — false teachers who pervert the Gospel, the advocates of that gnostic anti-
nomianism which formed many sects and devastated the churches of Asia Minor,
as it did other churches throughout the farther East On the probable supposition
that Peter wrote with a view to the Jewish Christians in Asia Minor, while Jude
addressed those of Palestine and Egypt, whence indeed we have one of the earliest
recognitions of the authenticity of his Epistle, we have a reason for the repetition of
the same teaching in the two Epistles.

The evidence on its canonicity is as follows. It is wanting in the common
Peshito-Syriac, though found in the ms. in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and
is quoted as apostolic by Ephrem the Syrian. It is found in the Muratorian Frag-
ment (about a.d. 170). Clement of Alexandria is the first writer who speaks of its
authority. Eusebius tells us that it was among the canonical books that were
expounded in public, while some regarded it as spurious. Origen refers to it as
the work of the Lord's brother, and quotes it several times as * filled with vigorous
words of heavenly grace.' Tertullian and Jerome quote it as the work of an apostle.
And it is contained in most of the lists (Laodicaean, a.d. 363 ; Carthaginian, 397, etc).
The difficulties felt as to its canonicity originated in the uncertainty of its authorship
and of its author's standing in the Church, the nature of the contents and their
resemblance to those of 2 Peter, and the supposed quotations from apocryphal books.
The preponderance of belief, however, both in ancient and in modem times, is
decidedly in its favour.

INTKODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF JUDE. 333

Contents and Argument.

After the usual salutation and prayer (vers, i, 2), there comes a statement of the
lesign of the Epistle (ver. 3), with the reasons for writing (ver. 4). Then follows
?9it L, giving in section (a) examples of the punitive justice of God — when dealing
fidi such ungodly and corrupt persons as are described — in three leading examples :
!srael (ver. 5), the fallen angels (ver. 6), and the Gentile people of Sodom and
jomoirha (ver. 7); and giving in (H) a more particular account of those men and
heir deeds : they defile the flesh ; they despise and rail at authority ; they copy the
ins of Cain, and Balaam, and Korah (vers. 8-1 1). Their detestable character is
uzther described in vers. 12, 16, and 19, with a parenthetic description of them and
)f their destiny and of those like them, as foretold in the prophecy of Enoch (vers.
14, 15). Their voluptuousness, selfishness, discontent, their pride and flattery, their
tendency to create separations from the faith and purity of the Church, and their
jpross carnality, are all set forth in terse and strong language.

Part II. calls upon believers (a) to show mindfulness of the words of the apostles,
irho foretell the coming of such deceivers and scoffers (vers. 17, 18); (d) to con-
dnue in faith and prayer and love and hope (vers. 20, 21); (r) to exercise a kindly,
prompt, and earnest treatment of those who may be led astray by these false teachers,
locording to the character of each, yet with earnest hatred of their sin (vers. 22, 23);
ind concludes with the usual doxology, expressed in words which abound in con-
solation.

Dean Alford has well described the Epistle as an * impassioned invective, in which
die writer heaps epithet on epithet, and image on image, and returns again and
again to the licentious apostates against whom he warns the Church, as though all
language were insufficient to give an adequate idea of their profligacy and of his own
ibhorrence of their perversion of the grace and doctrines of the Gospel' It may be
idded that the Gospel is still abused and perverted through the selfishness and worldli-
ness of professedly Christian men, and that the admonitions of this Epistle and the
soming judgment of which it speaks are well fitted to arouse men to watchfulness and
repentance. The practical comments of Perkins, Jenkyn, Bickersteth, Stier, and
^ers show how rich it is in lessons which apply to every age.

Note.
Other Commentaries of this Epistle may be named and characterized :

Manton, Thomas, D.D. — A Practical Commentary ^ delivered in weekly lectures at Stoke-

Newington. Lond. 1658. Practical and characteristic
WiTSius, H. — Comm, in Epis, Juda, Meletemata Leidensia (first published in 1703). Basel,

1739- Written with learning and judgment.
Langb's Biblical Comm,, voL ix. — Translated from Fronmttller, with useful additions by Dr. J. I.

Mombert, 1867.
LiLLiB*s Epistle of Judas, — Translated from the Greek, with notes. New York (Amer. B. Union),

1854. An able and careful work.
MuiR, W., D.D. — Discourses Explanatory and Practical. Glasg. 1822.
Gardiner, F. — A Commentary on Jude, Designed for the general reader and exegetical student.

Boston, U.S., 1856.

THE EPISTLE OF

JUDE.

(NaU.^M\ passages with (*) prefixed resemble in words the panUlel passages in Second Peter.)

Verses 1-25.

1 T UDE, the * servant • of Jesus Christ, and * brother of James, •{Jjj-Jjj;
J to them that are sanctified by ' God the Father, and * pre- ^}^^,t

2 served in* Jesus Christ, and * called:* ''Mercy unto you, and ^g;^,^,.
peace, and love, be multiplied. 'JSTit*

3 Beloved, when I gave • * all diligence to write unto you ' of • jpJ[\V*
the' common salvation, it was needful for me' to write unto 'T«ti.4.
you, and exhort you that -^ye should earnestly contend for the/P^»7:

4 faith which was once* delivered unto the saints. ^For there r*-"-.*''^
are * certain men crept in unawares, * who were * before " of old ^§^J;i^
ordained" to this condemnation, ungodly men, 'turning *the *J^pj;^
grace of our God into * lasciviousness, and '* denying the only ,.J-p^jL^
Lord God, and our Lord ** Jesus Christ *Hrfiiy.'i$.

5 I will therefore" put you in remembrance, though ye once 'JjilgJ^i
knew this," how that ^ the Lord, having saved the " people out •»! Cor. «.».
of the land of Egypt, afterward " * destroyed them that believed *^»^|?y

6 not. And "'the" angels which kept not their first estate," H«b!^*^
but left their own habitation, ^he hath ♦reserved'* in ever- ^JJlviH.^
lasting chains •" under ♦darkness ^unto the judgment of the ^rLJ^^

7 great day. Even as '* ''♦ Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities ^Sj^'^Jf'
about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fomica- ZkS'^
tion, and going ♦after strange flesh," are fiet forth for an

8 example, suffering the vengeance "• of eternal fire, 'Likewise ^'iP^^ttia
also these fi/t/ty dreamers ^ defile the flesh, despise ** dominion,

'a * Gr. bond- servant • r^ady beloved in * kept for

' being called, or, to the called, beloved, c/c, * whilst I was giving

' rMify our ® I felt it needful ® insert for all *• omit before

^ written of beforehand for, or^ set forth for ^ ' read, our only Master and Lord
' Now I desire to " once for all know all things ** a

^ Gr. in the second place (the next thing he did was to destroy)
^ omit the *® or^ own rule (^r, dominion)

• kept {as in ver, i and earlier in ver, 6) '^ bonds ** As, ^r, How

*' of another kind (Rom. i. 21 ; Lev. xviii. 23, 24) '• rather^ punishment

'^ rather. Yet these in like manner also in their dreamings *^ set atmmght

334

Vers. 1-25.] THE EPISTLE OF JUDE. 335

9 and ''speak evil of dignities." Yet "Michael the archangel, l^^'^
when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of ^^y;^ y.
Moses, "♦durst not bring against him a railing*' accusation, r»ip«tii.ii.

10 but said, "' The Lord rebuke thee. ' But these speak evil of ^^pi^^. li
those things which" they know not: but" what" they know
naturally, *as brute beasts,* in those things they corrupt'*

1 1 themselves. Woe unto them ! for they have gone in the way

■'of Cain, and '*ran greedily after the error of Balaam for ^Gen.iT. 5:

' o J X Jo. III. la.

reward, and perished * in the gainsaying of Core. * ^^. *«"•

12 * These are spots" in your ^feasts of charity," when they ^N^S^iii^f
feast with you, '^ feeding themselves" without fear: * clouds ^Ja^t-itia.
M^ are without water, ' carried about •* of winds ; trees whose ^uPSJi. */;."'*
fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, -^ plucked up by the ^f- * ^^^ ^•

13 roots; ^raging" waves of the sea, * foaming out their own /I^V"*!"*
shame ; •' wandering stars, ' * to " whom is reserved " the black- ^i^iS.* ^*
ness of darkness for ever. tomtit ft.

14 And Enoch also, *the seventh from Adam, prophesied of*** *Gen.T. is.
these, saying. Behold, 'the Lord cometh** with ten thousands /r>«ut.xxxiiu

. , a ; Dan. vu.

15 of his saints,** to execute .judgment upon all, and to convince*' «?; ^cch.
all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds** J^^;^*^'-'
which they have ungodly committed, and of all their ** hard ^^gj;^- 7^
speeches*^ which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. j^^***.**'^'

16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own ^^ *"• '3-
lusts; and *♦ their mouth speaketh great swelling words ; '^^^^^^^
* having men's persons in admiration because of** advantage. *J^ j^*y"'

17 -^But,*' beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken ^^1^^.111.2.

18 before of *• the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that

they told you ^* there should be*' mockers in the last time, ^9 Tim. la. I'

19 who should walk *° after their own ungodly lusts.*^ These be •'i'^l n 1^
they ''who separate themselves,*' 'sensual, having not the ^p!;ov.jjyiH.,.

Opmt Hos. iv. 14,

20 But ye, beloved, ' building up yourselves on your most holy uJ^k. as.

21 faith, "praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love 'j^S^iii.^is*'
of God, ''looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto ' VriSl]. 4.

22 eternal life. And of some have compassion,*' making a differ- "EpSCTis.*

vTiL iL 13:

•• rail at dignities, Gr, glories *' as in vers, 8, 10 *^ whatever things
•• and *® Gr, living things, without reason '* or^ destroy

•• read^ These are they who are, and for spots rather sunken rocks
•• love feasts •* shepherds feeding themselves •* read^ carried along
*• wild •' Gr, shames — kinds or acts of shame •* for

•• is (<?r, hath been) kept {as in vers, i and 6) *® to {pr^ for)

** Gr, came ** holy ones *' ue, to convict

** Gr, their deeds of ungodliness *' the hard things

*• having men's persons in respect for the sake of *' But ye {asinver, 20)
*8 have been spoken before by

^' said to you, There shall be . . . walking, etc, (Jo get rid of the ambiguous
should)
•• walking '^ Gr, lusts of ungodliness

** ready make separations {pr^ divisions) *' on some have mercy

xAmoftir. ■»'*«
ZecLiii.
in.

336 THE EPISTLE QF JUDE. [Vers, i-is

23 ence:" and others "'save with fear, "^pulling them out of the*f^^
fire ;" hating even -'the garment spotted by the flesh.

24 ' Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling,** and ^Je^j^
''to present" j^/< faultless before the presence of his glory with ,|Si.^

25 exceeding joy, * to the only wise" God our Saviour,** be glory J^^ti
and®*^ majesty, dominion and power, both** now and ever." ^f^'^
Amen. "* *

'^ while they are in doubt, or^ while they dispute with you {as in ver, 9)
** read^ Others save, pulling (snatching) them out of the fire ; and on others
have mercy with fear
*^ guard you from stumbling *' Gr. set ; make you to stand
*^ omit wise *^ insert through Jesus Christ our Lord

®° omit and ^' insert before all time, and read and

^3 for evermore (///. for all the ages, or^ as in previous clause, times)

Ver. I. Judas. This name is of frequent
occurrence in the New Testament, and is given
in the shorter form, Jude, only here in the
Authorised Version, perhaps to distinguish the
writer from Iscariot ; but the following clause is
sufficiently distinctive ; and it should be noted
that the name is uniform in the Greek. — and
brother of James. The Greek ' and ' expresses
a Greek affirmativeness not quite equal to ' but
the brother,' though approaching it. If he were,
as suggested in the Introduction, the brother of
our Lord as well as of James, neither of whom
speaks of his relation to Christ, the omission is
probably owing to the fact that the human
relation was temporary and entirely subordinate
to the higher relation of spiritual fellowship
(Matt. xii. 49). As brother, moreover, he did
not at first believe, and so the relation itself was
at once humbling and honourable. — To them that
are called. Not invited merely, but having
accepted the invitation, and having therefore the
* calling * of sons. This is the uniform meaning
in Scripture ; not having the name, but the
character (comp. * a man's calling '). — beloved in
God the Father (the true reading). Our affection
for Christians springs from their relation to
Christ and their likeness to Him, as our love for
God's children rests on the same grounds. This
is the brotherly love of the Gospel as distinguished
from the love of good-will. If * sanctified * is
adopted as the reading, then it may be noted as
an unusual expression, Christians being said to
be sanctified (freed from the guilt of sin, and
made fit for God's service) in Christ, The
meaning of both expressions is, that in communion
with Christ through faith they have been freed
from the guilt of sin, and that their faith, working
as it was by love, is the beginning of personal
holiness (i Cor. i. 2). — Kept. The nearly
uniform rendering of this verb is * kept ; ' and
the keeping, it is important to notice, is the
fulfilment of the intercessory prayer of our Lord
(John xvii.). The safety of all who believe is
the Father's answer to the Son. God keeps us
as we keep His word (Rev. iii. 3, Greek). Nor
is the writer's play upon this expression through-
cut his epistle without its meaning. ' God keeps
us for Jesus Christ ; * we * keep ourselves in the
love of God* (ver. 21). Evil angels are kept for
judgment, because they 'kept not their first
estate * (ver. 6). And a like play upon the word

is found in 2 Peter. — ^for JesoB Oliziit is
meaning, not ' in ; ' for He created them, and
redeemed them, and renewed them ; th^ are
therefore His own possession (His *pecmtiar
people'), and as His, are kept for and finally
presented to Him (cp. John zrii. 6, 12).

The order of the words admits of anotbei^
though a less likely interpretation : — ' to those in
God the Father, beloved, and kept for Jess
Christ, being called ; ' but the parallelism of the
thought is better preserved by the Feodering given
above.

Ver. 2. Mercy unto yon, and peace, and loffn
' Mercy ' is used in the salutation of Uie pastond
epistles only — except here. In PauVs view, thoie
who minister in holy things specially need it, as
in Jude's view do those whom he addnases.
' Mercy ' is God's feeling towards them ; ' peace'
is their condition as me result of it ; 'love 'if
either their feeling Godward and manwaid as the
effect of God's grace (so it is in Eph. vi. 23), or
it is God's love to them that are called, in the
manifold expressions of it (so it is in ver. 21, and
in 2 Cor. xiii. 14). lliis last view seems pre-
ferable ; it is for the fulness of love he prays, as
it is for abundance of mercy and peace.

Ver. 3. Whilst I was giving, or uring; all
diligence ; either inwardly in purpose, fini^iing
one work and postponing another ; or outwardly
in actually writing what was not finished (de
Wette). The latter is rather fieivoured by the
tense of ' write ' (which is present, not aorist) ;
but the former is probably the correct Tiew. Any*
how, it was his purpose to write on the great
truths of the Gospel — the common property m sU
who believe. — I felt constrained to write and
exhort yon to fight for the faith oaoe te all
delivered to the saints. A richer evangelicil
epistle would have been n^ore wdcome to the
writer ; but, like Paul, he had to meet the needs
of those for whom he ministered ; hence his
words are full of rebuke against the teadiers who
were leading them astray, and of loving warning
to themselves. The word to figkt^ or strive
earnestly, means to stand over and defend to
the utmost, even to agony ; * the ^th,' not quite
the doctrines of Scripture, still less their belief of
them, but the Gospel, as believed by Christian
men. Once for all delivered points to the com-
pleteness and unchangeableness of the Gospel,
and to the fact that no new revelation was to be

1-25.]

THE EPISTLE OF JUDE.

337

d. The doctrine of development subse-
to tlie apostles is not the doctrine of
re. We may gladly admit, as Boyle pots

* thcie are passages whose full meaning is
1 to resolve some yet unfonned doabt, or
Mind some error tnat hath not yet a name,
raw fresh light on admitted truths. ' There
let, no dennable limit to our profounder
into the Gospel; bat additions to the
itself Scripture disowns. Traditions post-
ie are now entitled to no other deference

doe to their intrinsic reasonableness, or

consistency with what is already revealed.
4. Eor thm are certain men ; unknown,
icant men, or otherwise not worth de-
I ; bat when their true character was seen,
[dain that they belonged to a class long
dcKribed in many an Old Testament

; notably in the prophecy of Enoch (ver.
ibablv in the punishment of the Israelites
^ of the rebel angels (ver. 6), and in letters

on the plain of Sodom and Gomorrha
). — Orepi in is probably sufficient ; on.

is even less accurate, suggesting that there
rt been neglect upon the part of Uie Church,
( it is the stealthy movement of those who
toed that is rebuked. They came in by
oor ; not that they crept in from without,
mJfy no members of the Church ; but only
if came in as members, and yet had in

was now clear, sentiments and habits
to those of a Christian community, and
lever, therefore, to have entered it at all.
i same phrases in 2 Pet. iu i, and Gal.
-before of old ordained is peculiarly
r. There is no predestination in the
bat oniy Scripture prophecy, or public
tkm. The word is used in the New
cnt four times (or five if we retain the
I text in Rom. xv. 4), and is rendered
mitten before.' In Gsd. iii. i and here
My means, from the custom of writinjg

of general interest on tablets for public
tion. — bsTe been evidently set forth, or

of as subject to this condemnation or
at; 'proscribed' or 'designated,' other
igs» is too strong. Their character is

defined ; they are nngodly men, with
God's holiness is no ground of reverence,
t law their guide, who, having broken
7m His authority, show their ungodlmess
lej do^ and especially in two forms ; they

or torn the grace of God, the proffered
iod in the free forgiveness of sin, with all its
I holiness and ble^edness, into laacivions-
ast as liberty is turned into licentiousness

• 13) > j^t ^ of old the removal, one
other, of the plagues with which Pharaoh
ited ended in renewed hardness of heart
«peated sin. The more gracious God is,
e wanton thev become. — and they deny
J MMter ftnd Lord, Jesna Ohriat. The
God ' goes out by preponderating autho-
f it were retained, the description would
lat they denied both the Father and the
Sven without 'God' it b a possible
I (the only Master and the Lord Jesus
as it is a possible meaning in Tit. iL 13 ;

more accurate and the more natural
I of the Greek refers both terms to Christ ;
XMnparing the passage with 2 Pet ii. i,
bete men are said to 'deny the Master

roL. IV. 22

that bought them,' the conclusion seems inevitable
that both terms are to be applied to Christ,
though everywhere in the New Testament, ex-
cept here and in 2 Peter, the word ' Master ' is
applied to God the Father. Christ is here called
their one absolute Lord and Owner, not in con-
trast with the other persons in the Godhead, bu^
with foreign lords who once had dominion over
them. They are called godless, indeed, chiefly
because thev pervert the grace Uiat is in Christ,
and deny the claims of Him who first created
and then redeemed them.

Vers. 5-7. In these verses we have examples
of the judgment spoken of in ver. 4. It is only
necessary, says the writer, that I should remind
you of facts with which you are already familiar.
You have been instructed in the Gospel; you
have accepted what is a revelation of righteous-
ness as well as of love ; and you have once for all
had the perception of all that is essential to
salvation, whatever may be said by those false
teachers who boast of their profounder knowledge
and superior wisdom (gnosticism as it came to be
called) : how that the Lord ha^ng saved a
people (an entire nation. His own) oat of the
land of iigypt, the next thing he did was to
destroy them that beUeved not. These words
may refer to the destruction mentioned in Num.
XXV. 1-9, or it may refer to their entire history,
which is, in brief, salvation and judgment, true of
them at first, and true of them even to the close.

Ver. 6. A second example is taken from
angela, those who kept not their dominion,
their rule (or principality, as in Rom. viii. 38, a
form of the same word ; or their original, ' their
first estate,' a meaning less in accordance with
Scripture usage). They were placed over material
creation as rulers under God, but they left
their proper office and abode, and set up a
kingdom of their own (CoL i. 13), and are
therefore kept under darknesB unto judgment
of the great day. Who they were and how they
sinned has been much questioned. The notion
that they are 'the sons of God' mentioned in
Gen. vi. 4, and that they fell through fleshly
desires, is affirmed in the Book of Enoch ; and
some have thought this explanation to be the
meaning of the passage in Genesis. But it is
very doubtful whether Jude quotes the Book of
Enoch ; and if he does, he certainly differs not
unfrec^uently from its teaching. The passage in
Genesis, moreover, refers rather to the inter-
marriage of the descendants of Seth and of Cain.
Further, this interpretation is inconsistent with
what is said by our Lord of the angelic nature,
and it is, besides, an anticipation of the sin
mentioned in the next verse. Probably, there-
fore, the verse points to a sin of another kind,
and to an earlier time. Milton's account is
probably nearer the truth (cp. I Tim. iii. 6).

Ver. 7. A third example is taken from the
Gentile cities of Sodom and Ck>morrha, and the
cities abont them, having given themselves over
in like manner as the people of those cities did,
or as these false teachers have done, and having
gone after strange (different) flesh; practising
shame, man with man, and even man with beast.
How true this is of the tendency of some teaching
may be seen in classic writers, and in such
testimony as Irenxus gives of the practices of the
Nicolaitans (i. 20). — Aey lie before the eyes of
men (either in the r^on they once occupied or

338

THE EPISTLE OF JUDE.

[Vers, i-is-

in their history) an example and a pioof of
eternal fire, still suflfering as they do the
paniflhment [of their sin] ; or it may be taken,
an example and a proof [of what I am affirming],
suffering as they do the punishment of an eternal
fire. Ihe argument b either analogical or
positive. As Sodom and Gomorrha suffered the
punishment of a fire that consumed them utterly,
so that they will never be restored, so the wicked
will suffer as long as they are capable of suffering.
This is analc^ou. Or, as Sodom and Gomorrha
are really suffering the punishment of which the
fiery overthrow of their cities was the s]rmbol, so
shall these men be punished. This is positive,
and is favoured by all those passages m which
death b used not as material death only, but as
continued life — the cessation not of being but of
well-being — the destruction which is not annihila-
tion.

Ver. 8. And yet theee men (ver. 4) actually
do the same things as the people of Sodom and
the fallen angels. — in their dreaminga they
defile the fleui, that of others as well as their
own ; they live in the feelings of their own
perverted sense, and they corrupt others as well
as themselves (others sharing in their sin) ;
and they set at nought lordship, ownership,
dominion (the supremacy that belongs to one
who is lord), and rail at dignities (Greek, glories
— the splendour that belongs to those who ar^
exalted). The statement may be general, or it
may refer to Christ and to the authority of His
kingdom. In favour of the former view is the
fact noted by many moralists that licentiousness
is closely connected with contempt for all
authority : no other vice, indeed, so easily de-
moralizes the entire nature. The second view is
more in harmony with the context. Some refer
the 'dignities* here spoken of to evil angels,
under whose power these teachers had fallen, and
whom nevertheless they mocked as powerless,
or even as imaginary beings, and they appeal in
proof to the next verse. But the connection of
the two verses is of another kind. We are not to
rail at even Satan, nor at earthly princes or
dignities, though they be his instruments : he and
they are to be left in God's hands.

Ver. 9. They do against dignities what even
the archangel would not do against Satan.
Michael (*who is like God') was regarded as
the guardian angel of the nation of Israel (Dan.
xii. I ; cp. X. 13, 21). In the New Testament
he is mentioned only here and in Rev. xii. 7.
•Archangel' is mentioned onlv here and in
I Thcss. iv. 16. — about the oody of Moees.
The Jews had various traditions about the burial
of Rloses. According to Jonathan (on Deut.
xxxiv. 6), the grave of Moses was given to the
special care of Michael ; and to this tradition
most commentators ascribe the introduction of
the circumstance here. Others suppose that
Christ Himself, in connection with the appearance
of Moses at the Transfiguration, may have
sanctioned the tradition. Nothing is said of it in
the Book of Enoch. . . . Origen speaks of a book
extant in his day (the Assumption or Rcnumal of
Moses) as the source whence Jude derived his
account ; but there is no evidence that the book
was in existence when Jude wrote. The most
probable explanation is that there was a Jewish
tradition to which Jude appeals. — when con-
tending he disputed shows that it was verbal

altercation not unlike that recorded in the case^ ^
Job (chap, i.) and in Zech. iit 1-3. The solnti^
that God revealed these facts to Jude is of coa
possible, but it is not likely. That the
should be previously known is of the
essence of the argument.

Ver. la But these, who 'defile the fl<
as they ' rail at dignities ' (ver. 8), at
they know not — ^the whole range of mvisii
and heavenly things, and even the nobler seifc.
ments of our nature — ^they rail; and
they know natozally as hmte beasts (*i
animals'), their instincts and propensities,
these they abuse, for they surrender themsel'
to them, and in these dastnij (1
themselves ; and so they are worse than bniti
' As drunk as a beast ' is, in truth, a libd on
lower creation. Drunkenness and like
of natural appetite are sins of man only,
two verbs used in this verse^ ' know ' and ' '
are different, but it is not easy to express
distinction between them. IVkat tkiy kmtm
admits some knowledge, though it

TC-

accuracy and the completeness of it : wkM U
know describes such knowledge as thovgfat
use of faculty may give ; though from the
word ' naturally, it is clear that the knowledge
laigely of a sensual kind.

Ver. II. Woe to them. This expresneo
often used by our Lord, but never ebew'
except in Jude and in Revelation. (Paul's
'Woe is me if I preach not the Goqiel,'
different.) The words may mean, 'Woe is W _
them,' a description of their miserable copditioB^^^
present or future, uttered as a warning to othets- ^
(Calvin) ; or even ' Alas for them,' expressive ^^
pity (Newcome) ; or as generally expressive
pain and indignation, a censure and a threat :
any case the word speaks of evfl and
whether uttered in the tone of compassioii
bewails it (Matt xxiii. 15), or of the indigi
that imprecates it (Matt xi. ti). Here the?^
context favours the idea that it b neither pity
nor imprecation, for their sin is strongly con-
demned, and they are said to have been punidied ;
but a cry of horror on taking in at one gUmoe the
whole course of their ungodliness, and its final
plunge into the dark abyss (as in Rev. xviiL
16, 19).— for in the way of Gain havia ll«y
walked (so vers. 16 and 18). Like him have
they lived, gratifying the passions and sdfish
instincts of their nature, in contempt of the
warnings of God and His word. (Envy ol
others ; murder, literal or figurative— destrojring
others by their teaching ; godleasneis, are aU
more or less inaccurate ; it is the character of
selfish immoral deceivers that is described.)— aad
in the error ; generally a sinful moial fanlt-Hi
vicious life, that leaves the way of truth (Jas.
v. 20 ; 2 Pet ii. 18) ' in the error,' Li, in the
direction (not by the seduction of Balaaai's
reward — de Wette — nor into the sin o( bat as
in the previous clause, 'in the way of ') of
Balaam (of selfish avarice, gratified even in the
sin and ruin of others).— have tliey nm gVMdfly
(the verl) means to pour one^s sdf oat on, or to
give one's self up to a thing). ^In Iha galB-
saying (the rebellion. See note on Heb. xiL 3) sf
Korah ; insurrection against the Lord under cover
of right and freedom.— taAva they peilslisd. The
beginning, therefore, and the end of their way
are illustrated in this threefold hisloiy. The

Vers. 1-25.J

THE EPISTLE OF JUDE.

339

genend uds of these apostates have been variously
defined, *envY, ooretoosness^ pride; mnrder,
sednctkni of otneiB for the sake of gain, rebellion
against Divine authority *-*aU have been used to
descrilw their motives and sins. In all there is
thb ouality predominant, that thqr knew God
and His truth, and their knowledge was perverted
by selfishness or covetousness or pride to results
eminently immoral and disastrous.

Ver. 12. Here follows a further description
of these teachers as set forth in strong figures
eipresslv and earnestly reiterated. These are
thrnj WAD are iniiken rodki^ seen indeed, but
their tme nature concealed, in your feaita of
ehsiity. The word for 'rocks* is found only
here in the New Testament, though in common
Greek writers it is not infrequent in the sense of
rodcs in or by the sea. The word in 2 Pet. ii.
13, which is like the word used here, means
'spots.' Probably a rock which appears like a
spot, and gathers to itself the sea wrack and dirt,
eiplains the connection between the two words.
It disturbs the quiet harbour where it is found,
and risks the vessels that are near.— when they
ttmt with you, feeding themaelYef as they do
wUhoat fe*r, and in contempt of the woe which
is pronounced against such shepherds (Isa. Ivi. 11 1
qx I Pet V. 2, the word for 'feedine* showing
tliat this is the reference).— olonds without water,
empty, useless, easily carried along therefore by
die wind, ostentatious and deceptive wherever
they ga — traea aa they are in aatnmn, in ' the
acar and yellow leat' with all their vigour gone,
— not because they have borne fruit, for they are
grulUf , and have ever been so; at their best
ihty had 'leaves only/ and ' even those are
decaying. — twice dead, fruitless all along, and
now their leaf vrithereth, and they are rooted
out ; in the soil of the vineyard they have no
place, and they are fit only to be thrown away,
or to bum.

Ver. 13. Thef are at once rocks and waves,
wild www of tha tea, which ' cannot rest,' and
throw up only 'mire and dirt' (Isa. Ivii. 20).
— Hoaming 01b their own shame — their lusts
'disgraoefuL' — wandering itaxa (comets or
meteois, not planets), which neither light the
world nor guide the mariner, but after blazing
awhile drift into 'the blackness and darkness
which is kept ('in reserve') for them, and into
which they sink and sink 'for ever.' All that is
mischievous, useless, disastrous in sea or land or
sky becomes in turn the symbol of the character
and the destiny of these bad men. . • • The
'feasts of charity' or of love (Agapse) spoken of
in thoe verses are not strictly the Lord's Supper,
though it is probable that the observance of the
LofA Supper was sometimes connected with
than. The historical facts, the use of the
pronoun 'ycur feasts of love ' (ver. 12), and the
cnstoms spoken of in i Cor. xi., all point to a
wider meaning. Th^ seem to have been social
ntheiings of Christians for promoting kindly
fading and helping the poor. Dr. Lightfoot
notes (on 1 Cor. x. 16) that the Jews had
meetings of this kind at the close of their
Sabbam, and found a sanction for them in Deut
xiL 5, 7, 12, and xiv. 23-29. Pliny and Tertullian
both speak of them, and dbtinguish them from
the simple Eucharist, Pliny apparently (x. 97, 98),
and Tertullian certainly. In the fourth century
the Council of Carthage forbade the holding of

them in the churches; and the transference of
the Lord's Supper from the evening to the
morning originated in part in the abuses to which
the blending of the two led.

Ver. 14. Nor is this warning the warning of
Jude only. And to theae also (literally, with
respect to these also) propheaifld Enoch the
seventh from Adam, i,g, the seventh including
Adam; a description added probably to mark
his importance by the coincidence of the sacred
number seven. To Adam was given the promise
of the advent of our Lord as Helper and Saviour ;
to Enoch, the first promise of the advent of the
same Lord as Judge. Jewish writers are ever
noting the recurrence of this number. Moses
was Uie seventh from Abraham, Phinehas from
Jacob, etc. — The Lord cometh (Greeks came or
has come; describing, as not unfreouently, an
occurrence in the midst of which the prophet
sees himself standing) with (surrounded by) ten
thouaanda of hia holy onea (literally His holy
mvriads, the ' innumerable company ' of Heb.
xik 22 ; ' saints ' restricts the meaning to saved
men).

Ver. 15. to execute judgment, f>. to pro-
nounce the doom, and see that it is carried out.
llien follows the description of these sinners.
The characteristic of the antediluvians, as of those
whom Jude addresses, is ungodliness : four times
is this quality named, first and last and midst, in
the description. — to convict (an intensive form
of the English verb) in their consciences and
before the world. The double meaning of the
Greek word is only half represented by 'con-
vince,' and only half by * convict ; ' both meanings
are in the word, though the second meaning is
the predominant one here. — and of all the hard
things — rough, coarse ; used here in its ethical
sense, and especially to describe arrogant blas-
phemy (i Sam. ii. 3; Mai. iii. 13) — 'stout,' the
outcome of a harden^ heart

The prophecy here quoted is found almost
literallv in the Book of Enodi, which was
formerly known only in fragments preserved in
some of the Fathers, but has recently been
discovered in an Ethiopian translation, and
became known in Europe at the close of the last
century. The book belongs probably to the
beginning of the Christian era. Dorner ascribes
it to the first century after Christ ; Dilmaim, who
has published it, to the century before. It is
rodly divisible into three parts, — the original
book, which includes this prophecy and several
oUier thines, and two different sets of additions
by later uough still early writers. The book
contains many absurdities (e^, the women with
whom the angels had intercourse brought forth
giants six thousand feet high, who first devoured
all the produce of the earth, and then began to
devour men themselves) ; and it differs in several
particulars irom Jude's statements. There is
therefore no reason to suppose that Jude quotes
it, though the prophecy of Enoch is found (with
some important variations, however) in both.
Every phrase in the prophecy has its parallel
passage in the canonical Scriptures ; and this fact
may explain the facility and accuracy with which
the tradition was transmitted. All, in fieurt, that
is new in this prophecy is that he, Enoch,
delivered it — a thine in itself highly probable.
Of course the Holv Ghost might have revealed it
immediately to Jude ; but it may be said, as before.

N

MO

THE EPISTLE OF JUDE.

[Vers. 1-2^- ^

that this explanation is forbidden by the form
and the very purpose of the quotation itself. The
writer is appealing to what is already known in
support of his argument.

Ver. 16. A further description is now given of
these teachers by an enumeration of the qualities
bv which all may identify them. They are
coaracterized by a chronic discontent with every*
thing and everybody, with their own lot especially
— the providence and ways of God, as we should
call it ; by intense self<>indulgence, by proud and
self-sufficient speech, and by gross flattery of the
prosperous or great whenever anything is to be
mined bv it. M urmnren, oompUiners of their
lot. — ^walking ever after their own lusta ; and
their month it apeaka great swelling words,
affirming their superiority to all restraints (their
freedom, 2 Pet iL 18) ; while their reverence,
such as they are capable of, is reserved for the
possessors of weuth and influence (nien*a
penona, the outside quality, not their true
character), and those who are able, and whom
they hope to make willing, to help them ; and
all this in their teaching as well as m their lives.
How different from the apostolic type is sufficiently
plain (Phil. iv. ii, 12 ; I Tim. vu 8; Heb.
xui. 5).

Ver. 17. Nor has any new thing happened to
yon. AU thb was foreseen and foretold. You
yotuselves know it ; you have only to * remember
the words spoken before by the apostles ' (as in
Acts XX. 29, 30; I Tim. iv. i, where the evils
ait /bntoU, as in nearly every Epistle they are
sd firth — the double meaning of ' spoken before *).
Most, indeed, of these passages are written, not
spoken ; but the writing is really the putting into
permanent form of what in substance had been
orally delivered. The language here used, 'by
the apostles,' does not necessarily imply that the
writer was not an apostle ; but if he had been an
apostle, it is more likely he would not have used
it. Compare the expression in 2 Pet. iii. 2, 'of
us the apostles,' or, as the Revised reading is,
'through your apostles.'

Ver. 18. how that they told yon in the last
time there shall be mockers ; only here and in
2 Pet iii. 3, where it is said that they show their
quality in relation to the Second Coming of the
Lord. — ^walking after the Insts of their nngod-
lineasea; each begetting the other; every lust
rejecting the Divine that is oppc^ed to it, and the
rejection of what is Divine ending ever in aggra-
vated immorality (see Rom. L 24, 28, 29). The
expression here used is no doubt intended to call
up the characteristic quality already described in
ver. 15.

Ver. 19. Again the deceivers reappear; de-
scribed not now by historical parallels (ver. 11),
not by figures of speech (vers. 12, 13), not by
prophetic announcements (vers. 14, 15), not even
as tneir own offensive talk has done (ver. 16), but
as they are in their inner nature, and in the influ-
ence of that nature on Church life and on them-
selves.— ^These are they that are ever canaing
diviaiona (separations), and will end sooner or
later in separating themselves or in ruining the
Church. The verb is intensive and continuous.
llie word ' themselves ' goes out, but the idea is
still in the verb, though not so prominent as
before. Separation is caused in Christian com-
munities by three things : by heretical doctrine,
by on unloving, selfish, exacting spirit, and by

proud words and an ungodly life ; and all th
are characteristic of these teachers. So far, there
fore, as they are tolerated, they tend to divide
break up the communities to which they ' '
Everythmg they are and everything they havw^
tends to disintegration, and the sooner the C^ — ~
rid of them the better. The q)ecific i

tions of this truth in the history of the early
and even in the later, are very striking,
we have no Engli^ word that
thought of the Greek, llie word describes
man in whom the earthly natocal life of the
is supreme, the spiritual, with all its (acnli
being subject ; and the man himself is ever doin^
the 'desires of the ffesh and of the mind' (Epfas
it 3). ' Sensual ' is too strons, and ' natural '
' animal ' too narrow. ' Soul (^ax«)> the u"
lying root of the adjective here nsed, ts the
himself in his natural state. With the sool
connected man's higher nature, the spirit,
ing Uie conscience and whatever remains
may be of diviner faculties. The body is
lower nature. He who gives himself up to
body is fleshly; he who by communion
God's Spirit gives himself np to the nobler
b spiritual. He who thinks only of his
interests, emotions, tastes, is the man whom
verse describes. It is the form of life that
in itself and in its earthly likings and
its law ; is sensual even when not fleshly, as
these teachers.— not having the ^^Ixtt
natural religious life, such as it is, is under
unbroken influence either of their flesh or of
lower earthly conceptions. They have neithi
law nor the power of the really regenerate
(Compare i Cor. ii. 14, 15 ; Rom. vul 9 ; I Johi
iii 24; Jas. iiL 14, i^.) Withont &e S^t^:^
therefore, means, consoence and affectiops ancE:^
reason all subject and defiled, even when the
is not absolutely supreme.

Vers. 20, 21. Bnt ye (strongly
beloved, as a^nst those dividers of the Church
who are pulhng it down stone by stone, ever
hnUding np yoniaelvea on your moat holy
faith, praying in the Holy C^ost, ke^ yoar-
aelvee in the love of God, awaiting tiie merey
of the Lord Jeans Chriat nnto etaraal life.
Every clause b antithetic and suggestive: the
overthrow of the Church and of eacnof its mem-
bers, and Divine edification ; — grace turned into
licentiousness, and holy character built on £rith ;—
swelling words of self-sufficiency, no Spirit ; sind
praying in the Spirit ; — murmuring, complaining,
and denying the Lord that bought them; ami
keeping yourselves in the love of God, and await-
ing the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ ; — for whom
the blackness of darkness is kept for ever, and
waiting for Christ's mercy unto eternal lifie.
Our safety depends on growth in the futh, 00
prayer in the Spirit, and, after all is done, on
receiving the mercy of our Lord Jesns Christ
Herebv we keep ourselves, and are kept, in the
love which God bears to us, and in the love which
we are to bear to Him. The love of God to us,
however, is the true origin of all, though not to
the exclusion of the Spirit and of Christ, who
have each His own part in the great work of
our redemption. ' Looking for ' may mislead.
' Looking for ' is the word found in 2 Pet iiL
12, 13, and in I Thess. L 10, where it is translated
' waiting for,' and is applied to what after all may
never come. The word here really means, espe«

i-as.]

THE EPISTLE OF JUDE.

34»

I Uie present tense, 'waiting to receive,*
91 * receiving' itself (Heb. x. 34, xu 35).
1 agsin in Tit ii. 13, in the same sense as
sxpecting to receive.

9^ 21. Of the false teachers the writer
ken. Their condition is hopeless (ver. 12).
he treatment of those who have been ex-

0 the influence of these ungodly men
great care is needed, and the treatment
17 with the character of each class. The
are three. And cm some ha^e meroj
idins 'rebuke' has not preponderating
y\ Ming, M they are, in donht; the

1 New Testament meaning of the word
ir. 20; Jas. L 6; Matt. xxL 21). 'Con-
, as they do^' is the meaning of the same
I this Epistle (ver. o), but it is not appro-
lere. — on ofhm^ whose condition may be
1 from the conduct that is to be observed
tbem, who have almost yielded to seduc-
t through doubt but through fellowship
9H hht teachers, and partly through their
mpt taste, and who therefore are to be
1 out of the fire into which they are already
[, Sharp and vigorous interposition is our
ipe for them; and if we succeed, their
aoe will be as of ' brands plucked out of
ning' (Amos iv. 11 ; Zech. iii. 2).— on
Imto mercy (the word is always used in
le of active compassion, not, therefore, as
interprets it, Feel for them ; onl^. Turn
. fiair lest you yourselves share their ruin)
Mur; a tmrd class, and needing special

The disease of the first dass, the
9f u not specially infectious ; the condition
eoond dass is not likely to tempt us — their
oent seems already b^n, and we natu-
rink from it, thinking only, moreover, of
ied of prompt ddiverance ; the third dass
' watching, and kindly fellowship, which
lelf prove dangerous ; we are therefore
d to attend them with fear, hating even
9MBI qpotted (i>. defiled, Jas. iii 6) with
ih. ' The garment ' is the inner one worn
e perKm, and b itself soiled by the sin. It
foie a fitting symbol of whatever, by means
mal conduct, may make others sharers in
cal destruction we are seeking to avert.
nng love for sinners must not oe suffered
n our hatred of sin ; and further, we must
kst through the dccdtfulness and the
X of sin we oursdves, all unconsdously,
he contagion. The mere contact of gar-
ith garment, of things in themselves indif-

ferent though belonging to the habits and the
outward acts of the life, may do mischief. The
well-meant attempts of one man to save another,
end sometimes in the ruin of both.

Vers. 24, 25. Exhortations to keep themselves
in the love of God are fitly followed by a doxology
which reminds them that the power and grace are
from Him who alone can keep them. Now to
him that is able to goard yon (not the same
word as in ver. 21, but a strong military term)
finom Btnmhling (firom every false step, Jas. ii 10 ;
2 Pet. i. 10^ 'shall never sfumdle*), and make
yon to itand without fiftnlt (Rev. xiv. 5, and
like the Master Himself, ' without spot,' the same
word, Heb. ix. 14) before the pretence of hia
glory in exceeding joy (the condition in which
you will be found when you stand there), to the
only God onr Saviour tnrongh Jeena Ohrlst onr
Lord (these added words set forth God as Saviour
through yitsus Christ, Tit iii. 4-6), be (or is)
glory, migeety (greatness), dominion and power
(literally, ' might and right,' power and authority),
before all tlnie ('as it was in the bc^nning'),
and now (* b now ') and for evermore ('and ever
shall be '). Amen (so let it be, or, so indeed it is),
' Glory and dominion ' are common in the New
Testament Doxologies ; ' majesty and right ' (law-
ful power) are found only here. ' For evermore '
b r^uired in the rendering of what b a strong
expression of everlastingness. 'For ever,' 'for
evermore,' and ' for ever and evermore,' represent
three corresponding expressions in the Greek {ut
rif miifmf iSg rwt mSnmt, or tit irdvrmi thu mmHH,
and tit Ttfvt mlShmt rSt mUiwf), All are applied to
(kd, to the blessedness of the righteous, and to
the punbhment of the wicked. As so applied,
they do not materially differ in meaning ; but it b
important to mark the differences and the intensity
of expression.

The whole of thb Doxology, so rich and so con-
solatory, may be'a prayer, ' oe ' glory, as its place
at the end of the £pbtle and the ' Amen ' rather
imply ; or it may be the assertion of a fact, as in
I Pet. iv. II, where the 'Amen ' also b used, and
the verb ' b ' (not ' be ') b in the Greek ; or we may
combine the two meanings by making the Doxology
an assertion of what reallv is, and the Amen a
prayer : Be it in human hearts and throughout
all creation as it b in truth ! How solemn and
instructive, that these ascriptions of glory to God
are found in connection with judgment as well as
with salvation, each, indeed, implying the other,
and both illustrating the holiness and the love
which we are to adore (Rev. xv, 3, xvl 5).

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INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF

ST. JOHN.

IT is impossible within the limits to which this Introduction must be confined, to
discuss with anything like appropriate fulness the many deeply interesting and
important questions connected with the Revelation of St. John. This is the more to
be regretted because, under the influence of a wiser system of interpretation than has
often been applied to it, the book has been of late regaining that high position in the
mind of the Church to which, from its purpose and character, it is so justly entitled.
No book of the Bible has, indeed, since the rise of the recent school of historical
criticism, made in this respect such marked and gratifying progress. The disposition
to turn away from it as an insoluble enigma has been gradually disappearing ; sneers
against it are but little heard ; and its interpretation has been in great measure rescued
from the hands of well-meaning but mistaken theorists. It is curious to think that
all this is largely owing to the efforts of those negative critics who have laboured so
zealously to discredit the other books of the New Testament That these critics have
had other ends in view than that of establishing the authenticity of any sacred book ;
that, in particular, they have hoped, by the result of their inquiries upon the point
before us, to be more successful in removing the Fourth Gospel from the Canon, is
nothing to the purpose. They have at least vindicated with zeal and with acuteness
the authenticity of the Apocalypse ; and their conclusions regarding it, to some of
which we shall immediately advert, have satisfied even the most of those who might
otherwise have hesitated, that we have in it a genuine production of * the disciple
whom Jesus loved.' The effect has been in a high degree beneficial. Once satisfied
of this, men have felt the importance of earnestly devoting themselves to the interpre-
tation of a work of such marked peculiarities ; and, after having made it for centuries
the sport of their wildest fancies, they are now settling down to those juster views of
its internal characteristics which promise, at no distant date, to produce more harmony
in the understanding of its contents than is to be found in the case of any other
writing of the New Testament For these reasons we regret that nothing but a short
introduction to the Apocalypse can be attempted here. Believing, as we do, in the
preciousness of the inheritance which the Church possesses in it, we should have
rejoiced to dwell at some length on the questions to which it has given rise. It will
be at once felt, however, that that cannot be, and that we must limit ourselves to as
small a space as possible. Omitting all other matter, we propose to speak only of
the following points : — ^The authenticity of the Apocalypse ; its general design and
character ; its structure and plan ; and its interpretation.

I. — The AXTTHENTICITY OF THE BOOK.

The first question that meets us is that as to the authenticity of the book. Upon
this point Baur expressed his opinion that few writings of the New Testament can

343

344 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

claim evidence for an apostolic origin of a kind so ancient and undoubted (Kril.
Uniers, iiher die Kanon, Evang. p. 345). Zeller followed in his master's steps, with
the declaration that the Apocalypse is the real and normal writing of early Christianity;
and that, among all the books of the New Testament, it is the only one which with a
certain measure of right may claim to have been composed by an Apostle who had
become an immediate disciple of Christ (Theolog. Jahrb. 1842, p. 654). In our own
country, again, Dr. Davidson thus speaks : * Enough has been given to prove that the
apostolic origin of the Apocalypse is as well attested as that of any other boolc 01
the New Testament How can it be proved that Paul wrote the Epistle to tbc
Galatians, for example, on the basis of external evidence, if it be denied that ^^
Apostle John wrote the closing book of the Canon? With the limited stock of c^'
ecclesiastical literature that survives the wreck of time, we should despair of pro^^^
the authenticity of any New Testament book by the help of ancient witness^^
that of the Apocalypse be rejected' {Introduction^ ist ed, I p. 318). With t1
testimonies before us from scholars who cannot be suspected of the slightest d
to uphold the traditional views of the Church, it may almost seem unnecessary'^
say more. Yet some parts of the evidence are in themselves so interesting tha^^"^
would not be proper wholly to omit them.

This remark may be particularly applied to the evidence of Papias, who is said
Eusebius to have spoken in his book concerning the ' Oracles of the Lord' of a corpoi
reign of Christ upon the earth for 1000 years after the resurrection from the
{H, E. iii. 39). It is not, indeed, stated in this passage that the opinion referred It
was taken from the Apocalypse, and Papias may have adopted it from some oth^
source. But the probability that he is spesdcing upon the authority of St John is in n ^
small degree confirmed by the fact that Andreas and Arethas, two bishops of Caesaie^^
in the second half of the fifth century, when the work of Papias, now lost, was still v^
circulation in the Church, distinctly state — the one, that Papias regarded the Apocalypse
as worthy of trust ; the other, that the same Father had the Apocalypse before him when
he wrote (see the passages in Canonicity^ by Dr. Charteris, pp. 338, 339). No doubt»
indeed, would probably have been entertained upon the point had not Eusebius, contrary
to his custom, failed to tell us that Papias had the Apocalypse in his eye, and had he
not raised the question whether the * Presbyter John,' with whom Papias had con-
versed, might not be a different person from the Apostle. The first of these difficulties
is easily removed when we remember that Eusebius, a keen anti-millenarian, and one
who speaks with contempt of Papias for his millenarian proclivities, could not but be
most unwilling to connect such opinions with a sacred book, and that he was himself
doubtful whether the Apocalypse ought to be regarded in this light The second
difficulty again would at once disappear were it allowed, as there seems every reason to
think is the case, that the Apostle and the 'presbyter' are identical. But even if this
cannot be spoken of as established, it is worthy of notice that in another work Eusebius
couples the names of Papias and Polycarp of Smyrna together as acknowledged hearers
of the Apostle (Chron. Bipart,^ quoted in Speakers Commentary on the New. Test. iv.
p. 408). The conclusion is strengthened by the date of Papias's birth, not later than
A.D. 70, and by the scene of his ministry, at no great distance from Ephesus. Another
interesting testimony connected with these early times is that of Irenaeus. No one
disputes the acquaintance of this Father with the book before us, or that he distinctly
ascribes it to St John. The point of importance is that, as we learn from his beautiful
letter to Florinus (Routh's Reliquiae Sacrce^ i. p. 31), he had been a disciple of Polycarp,
and that he delighted in after life to call to mind the accounts which his teacher used
to give of his intercourse with the Apostle, — an intercourse so truly transmitted to his

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 345

pupils, that Irenaeus in describing it speaks, with obvious artlessness, not of eye-
witnesses of Jesus, but of eye-witnesses of the * Word of Life.'

Testimonies such as these are of the highest value, but they are followed by many
others of whom, not passing beyond the first half of the third centtuy, we name only
Justin Martyr, Melito, Theophilus of Antioch, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian,
Hippolytus, and the document known as the Muratorian Fragment It is needless
to enlarge. External evidence of a more satisfactory and convincing nature could
not be desired. One additional remark, however, may be noted. There is a
singularly close connection between the sources of no small portion of the evidence
and the district in which the Apostle laboured. Papias was bishop of Hierapolis ;
Polycarp, so intimately associated with Irenseus, was bishop of Smyrna; Irenseus
belonged to Asia Minor ; Melito was bishop of Sardis ; and Justin Martyr wrote at
Ephesus.

The internal evidence confirms the conclusion drawn from the external. It is true
that objections to the authenticity of the book are mainly drawn from this source, and
these we must immediately consider. But, looking away from them for a moment,
it is hardly possible to think that he who in the opening verses names himself ' John '
(vers. 4, 9), and who tells us that he was ' in the isle that is called Patmos, for the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus ' (ver. 9), could be any other than the Apostle.
The writer evidently felt that he was entitled to speak to the churches of Asia with an
authority which none could question. Antiquity knows of but one John to whom this
position can be assigned. The writer had been banished to Patmos for the cause of
Christ, and again antiquity speaks only of one of his name who had experienced such
a fate. In addition to this, the whole tone and spirit of the book have been justly
dwelt upon as being in exact accordance with what we learn from the Gospels of the
character of the beloved disciple. The attempt to show that John the presbyter may
have been the writer, is now almost universally confessed to be a failure. Even
allowing that such a person existed, he cannot have occupied the place in the estima-
tion of the Church which evidently belongs to the author of the Apocalypse, or we
should have known more about him. Nor is it less difficult to explain that, if he
wrote the Apocalypse, there should be nowhere the slightest hint of his banishment to
Patmos.

Upon the allegation that some one wrote the book who only pretended to be the
Apostle and assumed his name, it is unnecessary to dwell. The supposition is as
destitute of probability as of proof; and the only conclusion warranted by the
whole body both of external and of internal evidence is, that no other John can be
thought of as its author but he to whom the Church has so unanimously and invariably
ascribed the work.

There is, indeed, one branch of internal evidence upon which great reliance has been
and is still placed by many for the purpose of establishing the opposite conclusion.
It is urged that those who ascribe the Fourth Gospel to the Apostle John cannot
possibly believe him to be also the author of the Apocalypse. We have already in
this Commentary declared and defended our belief in the Johannine origin of the one
(voL iL Introduction to the Gospel according to John) ; we have now to show that
this is consistent with a similar belief as to the other. The argument is that a
comparison of the two books betrays such an essential difference between them, as to
prove that they cannot have proceeded from the same pen. How far, we have now
to ask, b this the case ? The following particulars may be noted : —

(i.) In the Gospel St John does not name himself; in the Apocalypse he does.
The difference is sufficiently explaiq^ by the difference of the books — the one his

346 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

toricaly mtended to bring forward the Redeemer, and to keep the writer out of view;
the other prophetic, and needing, after the manner of the Old Testament prophets, a
distinct naming of the author as a voucher for the marvellous revelations granted him.
In particular, how often do we read in the Book of Daniel, so largely used in the
Apocalypse, the words 'I Daniel' (chaps, vii. 15, viil 97, etc.); why not alao in the
Apocalypse: *I John*?

(2.) The author, it is said, instead of calling himself an Apostle, only calls himself
a * servant ' of Christ (chap. i. i). But the other Apostles frequently name themselns
in a similar way — St Paul (Rom. L i ; 2 Cor. iv. 5 ; Gal L 10 ; Tit L i\ St James
(chap. i. i), St. Jude (ver. i). Besides which, it may be truly said that St John in
the Apocalypse is writing less as an Apostle, whose word no one might despise, than
as the ' brother * of all persecuted saints ; a * partaker with them in the tribulation and
kingdom and patience which are in Je^us ' (chap. i. 9). He was a suffering member oC
Christ's body ; so were they. In the furnace of affliction all had been welded into one.

(3.) Again, the writer speaks of the wall of the New Jerusalem as having Uwdve
foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb ' (chapi
xxL 14); and such language, it is urged, is inconsistent with the humility which an
Apostle would have displayed. But the words are no more than an exact echo of
those of St Paul when he tells us that Christians are * built upon the foundation of
the Apostles and Prophets ' (Eph. il 20) ; they express a fact borne witness to by our
Lord's selection of the Twelve to be the first proclaimers of His kingdom ; and no one
who recalls the light in which the 'Lamb' is always set before us in the ApocalypM^
can for a moment doubt that the glory of the Apostles of whom the writer spoJa
did not lie in anything in themselves, but in the fact that they were * Apoetles rfikt

Zamd,*

The above objections are trifling. We turn to one or two of a more important
character, drawn from the language, the spirit, and the teaching of the book.

(i.) The language and style. That these are confessedly so different from the
language and style of the other Johannine writings contained in the New Testament,
has constituted a difflculty from very early times. Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria
in the middle of the third century, and a pupil of Origen, dwelt upon them with an
acuteness which has not been surpassed by any later critic ; and it can hardly be
alleged that down to the present hour the difference has been satisfactorily explained.
llie idea of some, that it is due to a certain harshness and roughness of expression
which comes with later years, is at once to be set aside as not sufficiently supported
by the general experience of literary men. Equally untenable is the supposition that
the diflbrcnce is to be accounted for by an increased familiarity with the Greek
tongue, gained during a long residence at Ephesus; for, even granting that the
Apocalypse was written twenty-five years before the Gospel, its peculiarities of style
are not such as spring from a writer's ignorance of the language in which be writes.
More than to either of these explanations must we resort to that which would trace
the difference in some cases to design, in others to imitation of the Old Testament
Prophets. The student of the original will at least easily mark that those solecisms of
grammatical construction which so often startle him are by no means carried through
the book. In the case of the very particulars for which he is blamed, the writer
shows by numerous instances that he is as well acquainted with the Greek language
as his critics, and he forces on us the impression that he has adopted the anomalies
complained of because, for one reason or another, he thought them adapted to his
aim. They cannot, therefore, when compared with the easy sentences of his Gospel
and Epistles, fonn ^ pyfficient ground for denying identity of authorship.

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 347

On the other hand, it is impossible to compare the different writings of which we
speak without coming into contact at almost every step with something or other that
takes us durectly to the Gospel or Epistles of St John. Many of the favourite words
of the latter books, such as * to give/ to ' witness,' to * tabernacle,* ' to keep,' * to over-
come,' ' name ' as the expression of character, ' true ' in the sense of real, meet us in
the Apocalypse in a way found in no other book of the New Testament, while the
figurative language employed has not unfrequently its germ in such figures as those of
hungering and thirsting, of the manna and the living water, of the shepherd and the
sheep, which are so familiar to us in the Gospel.

(2.) Similar remarks apply to the tone and spirit of the Apocalypse, as compared
with those of the Fourth Gospel Instead of a difference here, we venture rather to
assert that no two books of the New Testament more closely resemble one another in
these respects than the two in question. The contrary impression has arisen from
mistaking the real character of the Gospel That that Gospel is in one of its parts —
chaps, xiil-xvii. — full of a blessed calm is undoubtedly the case; but the chapters now
referred to do not constitute its most characteristic part Its main section is that which
extends firom chap. v. to chap. xii. (see Introd. to the Gospel in this Commentary, il
pi xxviL) ; and this, so far from being calm, contains the most severe and sustained
polemic against ^the Jews' to be found in any of the Gospels. There, if anywhere,
we meet the Redeemer of the world in the very character in which He appears in the
Apocalypse, the Prophet of righteousness, the unsparing Exposer of sin, the Judge of
men. On the other hand, nothing can exceed the tenderness and soft and gentle
beauty of many parts of the Apocalypse, such as chaps, vii. 9-17, xiv. 1-5, xix. 5-10,
zxL 10-27. The more the two books are compared with one another, the more will
the groundlessness of the objection which we are now considering appear.

(3.) But if this may be said of the tone and spirit of the Apocalypse when compared
irith the Gospel, it may certainly be said (to at least an equal extent) of its teaching.
On all the most important doctrines of the New Testament nothing could be more
complete than the harmony between the two books. More especially may this be
seen in their teaching regarding the Person, the Death, and the Resurrection of our
Lord, or regarding the moral freedom and the final destiny of man. This resem-
Uance, too, is the more striking when we observe that it may be traced not simply in
r^ard to the substance of these great doctrines, but in regard to certain aspects of
them which are brought out in at least a similar way in no other part of the New
Testament. Thus, as to the Person of our Lord, it is in both of them that He is so
distinctively set before us as the * Word of God ' and as the * Lamb.' His death and
resurrection, again, are combined in the two, as both essential parts of one thought, with
a closeness hardly met with elsewhere (comp. e,g, John x. 17 with Rev. i 18). The
remarkable prominence given in the Gospel, by the use of the verb ' to vrill,' to the
fiieedom and responsibility of man (chaps, v. 6, 35, 40, vi. 21, 67, vil 17, viii. 44, ix.
97, xiL 21) meets us also in the Apocalypse (chaps, ii. 21, xi. 5, 6, xxiL 17) ; while at
the same time there is combined with this in both the no less singular fact that they
appear to speak of men as if from the first they were divided into two great classes, from
the one of which there is no transition to the other. Lastly, the final destiny of man
18 set before us in both books in a manner that may be spoken of as peculiar to them,
for in both the righteous are already judged, and have no part in the general judg-
ment, which awaits the wicked (John v. 24; comp. Rev. xx. 4, 11-15; and on this
latter passage see Commentary). Our space does not permit us to enlarge upon these
topics. We must content ourselves with urging that an impartial estimate of the
doctrinal teaching of the two books before us will result in the conviction not only

348 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

tliat they are in hannony with one another, but that they are so even when they
present the truth in aspects of it found nowhere else.^

These considerations show that the argument against the Johannine origin of the
Apocalypse, if the Fourth Gospel be accepted as Johannine, is destitute of any real
foundation. There is something on the surface to favour it ; there is far more beneath
the surface to discredit and disprove it

One other point ought to be noticed. The attempt has been made by several
writers, most recently by Keim (Geschichie Jesu von Nazara^ i. p. 217, etc, EngLtrand.),
to show that St John cannot be the author of the Apocalypse, because he had new
any connection either with Ephesus or with Asia Minor, and because in feet he,aswdl
as all the other Apostles, had died before the destruction of Jerusalem. Could the
premiss be established, the conclusion would almost inevitably follow. So intimately
is the book associated with the churches of Asia, so directly do the early Fathers who
ascribe it to the Apostle ascribe it to him in his supposed connection with that
district, that if this latter opinion be a mistake the whole tradition of the early
Christian Church can hardly escape being set aside as unworthy of reliance: A few
words, therefore, upon this latest phase of the controversy seem to be required.

The texts supposed to prove the death of St John before the destruction of
Jerusalem are Luke ix. 49 sq., 51 sqq., Mark iii. 17, ix, 38 sqq., to which are added,
as showing that all the Apostles were dead before the Apocalypse was written, Rev.
xviii. 20, xxi. 14. We can only recommend our readers to compare these texts with
the conclusions drawn from them, that they may judge for themselves how flimsy
are the foundations upon which not a little of that modem criticism rests which is
so eagerly opposed to the traditions of the Church. The argument against any
connection between St John and Ephesus is more elaborate. It depends partly
upon the statement that there is no mention of such a connection in several of those
early documents in which we might naturally have looked for it, and partly on the
endeavour to prove that Irenaeus, our chief authority upon the point, was led, • under
the combined influences of misunderstanding and of the necessities of the times,' to
confound the * Presbyter John,* of whom we have already spoken, with the for more
important John the Apostle. It was of the former, not the latter, that Irenaeus
had, while yet a boy, heard many memorable things from Polycarp ; the former, not
the latter, had been the ' Lord's disciple,' had succeeded to the sphere of St Pauft
labours in Asia Minor, had lived in Ephesus, had written the Revelation and the
Gospel, and had died at a very great age in the reign of the Emperor Trajan. The
first part of the argument obviously proves nothing. We have no right to fix befiyre-
hand what a writer is bound to say ; and if we are to reject as false any statement of
antiquity simply because, in the scanty remains of early ecclesiastical literature whidi
have come down to us, some fragments may be discovered which do not mention h,
there will be little left us to believe. The second part of the argument, relating to the
supposed mistake of Irenaeus, has not even a shadow of probability to reconmiend it
It is inconsistent with the language of that Father when, in his letter to Florinus, he
dwells with pathetic force upon the distinctness with which the events of youdi
impress themselves upon the memory. It is not less inconsistent with the fact that
this supposed mistake of Irenaeus does not obtain the slightest support from any
writer of the Church during the first 1700 years of her existence. It elevates into a
great historical reality a presbyter of whom, if he ever existed, we know nothing but
the name. And finally, it is at variance with one of the earliest, most continuous^

* We venture to refer, for a fuller exposition of some of these points than can be attempted here,
to t^o articles by the prcsept writer io the Contemporary Review for August and September 1871.

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 349

and best authenticated traditions of the early Christian age. The connection of St.
John with Asia and Ephesus, it is true, is not alluded to in the Acts of the Apostles
or in the Epistles of St. Paul, because in all probability it did not begin until these
1x)oks had been penned ; but it is spoken of by a succession of ancient Christian
writers, some of whom, from their official position in Ephesus itself, had the very best
opportunities of being accurately informed ; others of whom are our chief authorities
for many of the most important facts of Christian antiquity. We refer to Apollonius,
presbyter of Ephesus as early as the middle of the second century; to Irenaeus,
to Polycrates bishop of Ephesus, to Clement of Alexandria, to Origen, and to the
historian Eusebius. There is no need to speak of others. Upon few things, not
mentioned in Scripture, can we rely with greater confidence than upon this, that the
Apostle John was the head of the churches of Asia Minor before his exile to Patmos,
and that after his deliverance from exile he returned to Ephesus, where he died.

From all that has been said it will, we trust, be manifest to our readers that the
aiguments, drawn chiefly from internal considerations, against the authorship of the
Apocalypse by the Apostle John, are insufficient to shake the clear and decided
testimony of antiquity, that the 'John' who speaks in it is no other than he is
acknowledged to be by nearly all critics of the New Testament, including the most
eminent of modem times, even the John who • leaned upon the Lord's breast at supper.*

II. — Date and Place of Writing.

The inquiry as to the date at which the Apocalypse was composed is attended
with considerable difficulty. Not, indeed, that the external evidence upon the
point is again either defective or ambiguous, for there is no question of New
Testament criticism in regard to which we have clearer or more definite statements
from a very early period. But the internal evidence appears at first sight to conflict
with the external ; while, at the same time, it is thought by many to be so decisive
that they are able to fix not only the year, but the very month and day upon which
the writer beheld, if he did not also publish, his visions. Putting aside lesser and
more imimportant differences of opinion, the main question is whether we are to
assign the book to an early or a late date. Was it penned before the destruction of
Jerusalem, in that case about a.d. 68; or does it belong to the close of the reign of
Domitian, about a.d. 95 or 96 ? The latter view, which was universally prevalent in
the Church from the earliest down to the most recent times, is founded chiefly upon
a passage of Irenaeus in which that Father, in the Greek text preserved by Eusebius
(ff, £. v. 8), says that the Apocalypse * was seen by the Apostle no long time ago,
but almost in our own generation, about the end of the reign of Domitian.' It is
unnecessary to consider attempts that have been made to find in this passage
another subject for the verb * was seen * than * the Apocalypse,' spoken of immediately
before. The meaning of the statement is simply indisputable ; and we must either
accept it, or allow (what may certainly have happened) that Irenseus was mistakea
But Irenaeus was not likely to be mistaken. We have already had occasion to notice
his intimate relations with Polycarp, the disciple of St John himself; and the fact
of the late date mentioned by him, one which in his opinion tended to explain the
mysterious nature of the allusion to the number of the beast in chap. xiii. 18 about
which he was writing at the time, was a fact which he would certainly not regard with
either indifference or carelessness. Not only, however, is this the case. The opinion
of Irenxus was held also by Eusebius, who distinctly connects the banishment of St.
John to Patmos with the time of Domitian, who even expressly mentions the fifteenth

350 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

year of that emperor's reign as the time {H. E.m. i8, comp. ill 20), and who appeals
to depend for his authorities not on Irenaeus only, but on *the ancients' (E K
iii. 20). The testimonies of not a few of these 'ancientSi' indeed, still survive, as of
Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Victorinus bishop of Pettau in Panoonia
(see them in Canonicity^ by Dr. Charteris) ; and, although they cannot be spoken of
as equally distinct with that of Irenaeus, they are yet sufficient to show what was the
accepted belief of the early Church in parts of the world distant from one another,
and therefore likely to have received their information from independent sources.

Various considerations may be mentioned favourable to this concIusioD. Thus
the persecution under Domitian appears to have been much more widespread than
that under Nero, by whom St. John must have been banished if the earlier date of
the Apocalypse be correct In this way it would be more likely to reach the Apostle,
whom we have no means of connecting with Rome at the time, and who was in all
probability far distant from that city. Again, there is evidence that under Domitian
banishment was ' a usual punishment ' {Speaker^ s Commentary on the New Tai. iv.
p. 431), while evidence of a similar kind is wanting in the case of Nero. And, once
more, the fact that the Apocalypse is addressed to the churches of Asia Minor agrees
much better with the idea that it was written late in the Apostle's life, than that it was
written at a time when we have no proof whatever, but rather the reverse, that be was
connected with that region of the Church. The last-mentioned consideration seems
to us, indeed, worthy of more serious attention than, so far as we know, it has received
The point is this. The Apocalypse itself presupposes in its first three chapters an
intimate connection between the writer and the Asiatic churches, — ^a connection, to(^
which it is hardly possible to think of in any other light than as one of afiectionate
authority on the side of the former, and of willing acknowledgment of such authority
on the side of the latter. Besides which it is not to be forgotten that all the mo^
important evidence for the authenticity of the book is so closely bound up irith &
belief in the connection spoken of, that, if this part of it be unworthy of trust,littk
dependence can be placed on any of its other parts. When, then, was the con-
nection established? Certainly not before a.d. 62, for the Epistle to the Epheaans
was written about that date ; and, in conformity with his settled rule of action, St
Paul would neither have laboured in Ephesus, nor have written to Christians there,
had St John already established himself in that city (Rom. xv. 20). Nor couM
the connection have been formed between a.d. 62 and a.d. 68. The interval is
too short to have produced the results belonging to it Of the years after a.ix 68
it is unnecessary to speak. No one who rejects the late date thinks of any yeai
immediately or shortly subsequent to the fall of Jerusalem. The force of this con-
sideration ought surely to be more acknowledged than it has been by those who
think that the Apostle did not leave the holy city till the very eve of its destractioiL
But critics of the negative school who maintain the authenticity of the Apocalypse
ought equally to feel it In exact proportion as they imagine St John to have been
animated by a narrow Judaic instead of a wide Christian spirit, must they allow that
he could hardly, before the fall of Jerusalem, have extended his interest and his
sphere of action, as he must have done before he could write the first tliree chapters of
the Apocalypse. Nothing is more unlikely than that as early as a.d. 68 a person,
animated by a spirit so exclusively Judaic as that attributed to the Apostle, shoold
have formed such ties to churches in a Gentile land, and composed very laigdy at
least of Gentile converts, as to lead him to select seven of them to be representatives
of the one universal Church of Christ

It has, indeed, been sometimes urged that the voice of antiquity is not so much in

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 35i

fiivour of a late date for the Apocalypse as might be supposed from the above remarks.
Theophylact has been quoted for the statement that St John was an exile in Patmos
thirty-two years after the Ascension, and that there and then he wrote his Gospel
Even though this statement werd correct, it would not follow that the Apocalypse was
written at the same time. We only learn from it that Theophylact believed the exile
to have taken place under Nero. But the grounds upon which he rested his belief
are not given ; and, in their absence, it is sufficient to say that a writer who lived at
the close of the eleventh century has no authoritative voice in an inquiry of this kind.
Again, the statement that St John was banished under Nero is found in the preface
to one edition of the Syriac version of the New Testament ; but this preface is
generally supposed to belong to the sixth century, and is thus, not less than the
statement of Theophylact, destitute of any peculiar weight Finally, it is hardly
necessary to allude to the statement of a treatise, professing to be the production of
Dorotheus bishop of Tyre, but also ascribed by later scholars to the sixth century,
that the Apostle was exiled under Trajan. Apart from the date to which the statement
belongs, it is in itself so chronologically improbable, as well as so much at variance
with all the other evidence of antiquity upon the point, that no importance whatever
can be attached to it

In the circumstances now mentioned it is obviously unfair to speak of the * absence
of external evidence' (Davidson, Introd. vol i. p. 348, ist ed.). More definite and
dear evidence of that kind it would not be easy to imagine. If any other conclusion
than that which asserts the late date of the book before us is to be adopted, it must
rest upon overpowering evidence supplied by its own contents.

Such evidence, it is not to be denied, is supposed by the greater number of modem
inquirers to exist Not only scholars of the negative school, but many writers of
the present day, eminently distinguished both for sobriety and reverence of spirit,
accept it as decisive. Some consideration therefore must be devoted to this
point The evidence relied on may be said to resolve itself into two branches, the
interpretation of particular texts, and the general character of the contents and style
of the book.

As to the first of these, it is urged by Hilgenfeld that passages such as chaps, vi. 9,
II, xvL 6, xvii. 6, xviii. 24, xix. 2, refer to the persecution of the Christians by Nero
{Einl. p. 447) ; but a moment's attention to them is sufficient to show that they are
equally applicable to any persecution of Christians whatsoever, and that there is
absolutely nothing to connect them with Nero rather than Domitian. Chap. xL i, 2
is confidently referred to as showing, partly, that the temple must still have been in
existence when the words were written ; partly, that the Jewish war which began
A.D. 66 must then have been in progress, inasmuch as the writer expects that Jerusalem
and the outer court of the temple will be destroyed by the heathen. It is sufficient
to reply that the inferences can be accepted only on two suppositions, both of which
are certainly incorrect First, that certain parts of the prophecy, the measuring reed
and the measuring, the two olive trees, the two candlesticks, and the beast, are
symbolical ; but that the temple, the altar, the court, the holy city trodden under foot
by the Gentiles, the 42 months and the 1 260 days, are literal (Macdonald, Life of St.
John^ p. 159). We have not space to discuss these matters in detail. It is obvious
that a line of distinction, thus arbitrarily drawn between what is literal and what is
symbolical, leaves it in the power of an interpreter to make anything that he pleases of
the prophecy. Besides which the prophecy was not upon this view fulfilled. Jerusalem
was not trodden under foot of the Gentiles from the moment when * Vespasian appears
to have received his commission from Nero,' but from the moment when the city was

354 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

taken ; and it is no sufficient answer to the non-fulfilment of other parts that we havie
here * an example of a prophecy which contains at the same time the only history or
notice of the events by which it was fulfilled' The measuring, too, upon the view now
combated, must be understood of destruction, whereas the analogy of the Old Testa-
ment requires that we refer it to preservation. The truth is that the whole passage
is symbolical, and that, as we shall endeavour to show in the Commentary, the
symbolism is founded not on the thought of the Herodian temple at all, but on that of
the tabernacle (see on chap. xi. i, 19). Be the foundation of the symbolism, however,
what it may, the writer has manifestly in his eye the spiritual temple, the true Churdi
of Christ, which was to be preserved while all false professors were to be cast out
The second unfounded supposition upon which the view that we are now combating
proceeds is, that the writer, a fanatical Jewish-Christian, anticipated in the very first
stage of the Jewish war the fate here spoken of for the greater portion of the temple
buildings and for the holy city. He could not have done so. If uttering only his
own expectations he could have entertained no idea but one, — that the Almighty
would yet, as He had often done before, interfere on behalf of His ancient people, and
guard the Zion which He loved. Or if, as is rendered probable by a comparison of
Rev. XL 2 with Luke xxi. 24, he was proceeding upon the prophecy of Christ, how
could he shut his eyes to the fact that, at a moment when all the buildings of the
temple were before Him (Matt. xxiv. 2), our Lord had said, * the days will come, in
which there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown
down ' ? (Luke xxL 6). The words of chap. xi. i, 2 cannot be referred to the literal
temple, without throwing the interpretation of :he whole Apocalypse into confusion.

Still more importance is attached, by those who argue for an early date from
individual texts, to chap. xiii. i compared with chap. xviL 10, it, the general view of
these verses (though the differences of different commentators are far from slight)
being that the heads of the beast spoken of are emperors of Rome, that the head
which was wounded to death, but whose deadly -wound was healed, is Nero, about in
popular expectation to return from the grave; and that, as the head which *is'is
either Galba or Vespasian, we may conclude with unerring certainty that the Apoca-
lypse was written in the latter half of a.d. 68, or at least not later than the spring of
A.D. 69 or 70. Dusterdieck even goes so far as to fix upon Easter day of a.d. 70,
pre-eminently the * Lord's day ' of the year, as that when the apocalyptic visions
were beheld {Die Offenharung^ EM, p. 53). A full answer to such conjectures can
only be given after the passages referred to have been studied. It must be enough
in the meantime to reply that the argument proceeds upon what we have endeavoured
to show in the Commentary is a mistaken supposition, that the 'kings' spoken of
are individuals, not national powers, and that the Seer expected the return of Nero
from the dead to take vengeance upon Rome. Let the false exegesis involved in
these conclusions be abandoned, and it will be seen that there is nothing in the
passages before us inconsistent with the idea of the later date. As has been well said
by Dean Alford, * Those whose view of the prophecy extends wider, and who attach
a larger meaning to the symbols of the beast and his image and his heads, will not be
induced by such very uncertain speculations to set aside a primitive and, as it appears
to them, a thoroughly trustworthy tradition ' (ProL to Rev, § 2, 26).

Turning now from individual texts to general contents and style, it is urged that
had Jerusalem been destroyed before the Apocalypse was written, the writer could
not have failed to notice that event To what end, we may ask, should he have
specifically noticed it? He is not writing history, either past or future. He is
gathering the general lesson taught by all history, by all the dealings of God, alike

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 353

with His Church and her foes, both in previous ages and in his own time. The fall
oi Egypt or Nineveh or Babylon was equally suited to his purpose, but he makes no
express mention of any of these catastrophes. He remembers them, he has them in
many an incidental allusion distinctly before his eye, but he does not notice them as
particular events, and he is satisfied with unfolding that principle of God's dealings
which their fall expresses. A similar remark may be made in regard to the destruction
of Jerusalem. Nay, more. May we not venture to say that the book rather presupposes
this destruction ? It describes a state of things of which judgment upon Judaism is a
leading feature. Not, indeed, that judgment falls upon Judaism regarded as distinct
from heathenism, but the idea underlies the whole book that a degenerate Judaism is
the emblem of all opposition to the truth, and that as such it is specially doomed to the
judgments of the Almighty. Now it is one of the most marked characteristics of the
Apocalypse that the writer proceeds upon facts, only catching their deep general
s^nificance, and extending and spiritualising them. Whence, then, did he gain the
i(tea of the holy city being trodden under foot of the Gentiles (chap. xL 2) ; whence,
still more, the idea of Babylon, the same as false Jerusalem, being burned (chap.
xviiL 9)? No answer can well bQ given, except that it was from the destruction of
Jerusalem. That terrible sc^ne of desolation is present to his mind. He seems to
'stand afar off,' and to see *the smoke of the city's burning.' The thought of it
supplies him with some of his most terrible imagery ; and, in the judgment executed
upon her, he beholds the pledge and the type of that still wider judgment which shall
be immediately accomplished upon all the enemies of God by Him who coroeth
quickly.

Once more, it is urged with no small degree of plausibility that both the style
and tone of thought in the Apocalypse lead to the impression that it must belong to
the earlier rather than the later period of the Apostle's life. Of the first of these two
points we have already spoken, and we can now only repeat that a space of twenty-
seven years spent in Ephesus, where the Greek tongue would be more used than in
Jerusalem, offers no adequate explanation of the peculiar style of the book before us.
Its solecisms are not such as proceed from ignorance of the Greek language, and
they would not have been removed by greater familiarity with it However we may
attempt to account for them, they are obviously designed, and rather imply a more
accurate knowledge of the grammatical forms from which they are intentional
departures. At the same time, there are passages in the book (as, for example, chap.
xviiL) which, in their unsurpassed and unsurpassable eloquence exhibit a command
of the Greek tongue on the part of the writer that long familiarity with it would
best explain, were explanation necessary. As to the second of the two points above
alluded to, there is no reason to think that the heat and fire which appear in the tone
of thought belonged only to the Apostle's youth. We know, indeed, that the contrary
was the case. The stories handed down to us, such as that of St. John and the
young robber, connected as they are with the later period of his life, show that to
its very end there burned in him the same fervour of passion which would have
called down fire upon the Samaritan village; and, in the prefatory remarks to the
Fourth Gospel in this Commentary, we have already called attention to the fact that
that Gospel, belonging by the acknowledgment of all who receive it to St John's
closing days, reveals a tone of thought which emphatically marks its writer as a * son
of thunder' (Introduction^ p. xv.). Finally, if it be said that the Jewish imagery of
the Apocalypse belongs more naturally to St. John's earlier than to his later years, it
ought not to be forgotten that by no writer of the New Testament does the intimate

connection between Judaism and Christianity seem to have been so deeply felt To
VOL. IV. 23

354 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

the very last, the key-note of the whole Christian system was contained for him in the
Saviour's words, 'Salvation is of the Jews * (John iv. 22). Jesus was not a new light;
He was only the fulness of the light which had partially shone in prophecy (John
i. 8, 9) ; He was not simply the Son of God, He was the King of Israel (John L 49).
Old Testament thoughts and figures appear with remarkable copiousness throughout
the Fourth Gospel ; and the use of them in the Apocalypse is not greater than admits
of easy explanation, by thinking of the prophetic nature of the book and of the class
of literature to which it belongs.

Reviewing the whole question of date, it appears to us that the internal evidence
supposed to be in favour of an early date is not sufficient to overthrow the strong and
clear external evidence in favour of a late one. We allow at once that were it not
for the latter the book would naturally produce the impression that it belonged to the
first period of St John's life rather than its last Yet a mere impression of this kind
might, it will be allowed, be easily enough wrong ; and when we are once led by any
evidence to incline towards the opposite conclusion, it is not difficult to see in the
book itself much that favours it Notwithstanding, therefore, the current opinion
to the contrary, we must express our conviction that the exile in Patmos and the
composition of the Apocalypse belong to the reign of Domitian, not of Nero ; and
consequently, when the statements of Irenaeus and Eusebius are taken into account,
to the year a.d. 95 or 96.

Little need be said as to the place where the Apocalypse was written- On the
supposition, every way probable notwithstanding the doubts of some recent critics,
that St. John returned to Ephesus after liis banishment, the question can only lie
between this city and Patmos itself. The past tenses used in chap. L, * gave,' * sent,*
*was,' etc., are distinctly in favour of the former, and we conclude therefore that our
book was written at Ephesus.

in. — Design and General Characteristics.

Having spoken of the authorship and date of the Apocal)rpse, as well as of the
place where it was written, it will now be proper to turn more directly to the book
itself, with the view of gathering from it one or two particulars as to the author's
design and the general characteristics that mark his work. These particulars are of
importance in helping us to understand him, and they are intimately connected with
the views of his meaning taken in the following Commentary.

I. Of the design it will not be necessary to say much. It is to encourage and
strengthen the Church during the period which was to elapse between the close of
direct revelation and the second coming of her Lord. That period had been
described by Jesus Himself, especially in His last discourses, as one of great difficulty
and trial to His people. He had indicated to them in the plainest manner, and in
many a different form of expression, that they would not then enjoy prosperity and
ease. On the contrary, the sufferings which He had experienced would be repeated
in the experience of all the members of His Body. The Bridegroom would be taken
away from the children of the bridechamber, and they who were thus deprived of
Him would fast in those days. They would have to contend both with outward
persecution and with inward degeneracy and apostasy. Men's hearts would faint for
fear, and for expectation of the things that were coming on the earth. The very
powers of heaven would be shaken. The Book of Revelation, then, was designed to
cheer and animate the Church through these days of darkness, and to point out
to her more clearly than had yet been done the nature of the position she was to

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 3SS

maintain, of the contest she was to wage, of the sufferings she was to endure, of the
triumphs she was to win, and of the glorious inheritance that was to be bestowed
upon her at the last. It was to let her know that she had not been launched upon
an ocean of unanticipated trials, but that all had been foreseen by her Divine and
watchful Guardian, and that she might rest in the assurance that, followed by the
eye of Him who holdeth the winds in the hollow of His hand, she would in due
time b€ brought into her desired haven. In particular, the ultimate theme of the
book is the return of the Saviour, and His receiving His people to Himself, that
where He is there they may be also. * Yea : I come quickly,' is the voice that runs
through it : * Amen : come, Lord Jesus,' is the answer which it is intended to awaken
in the believing heart This general object has been recognised by all interpreters,
and it need only be added more distinctly that it was not a local or a temporary one.
It must, of course, be at once allowed that the book had a special application to those
in whose hands it was first placed, and that the peculiar circumstances of Christians
at the time when it was written determined both its object and its imagery. The
same thing has to be said of all the other books of the New Testament. But in the
case of none of them is the universal reference so clear as in that of the Apocalypse.
No competent inquirer will deny that the seven churches of Asia represent the
universal Church, The apostle, too, did not know when the end would be ; and he
could not have forgotten the words in which Christ Himself had said, ' It is not for
you to know times or seasons which the Father hath appointed by His own authority '
(Acts L 7). As he looked abroad, therefore, upon the trials of the Church in his
own day, and beheld trial continuing to be her portion in this world to the end, it
could not be otherwise than his design to supply her with comfort as abiding as her
sorrow. To whatever extent he would first of all instruct and console the Christians
around him under trials that may have been peculiar to them, it is impossible not to
allow that he desired to supply instruction and consolation in equal measure to
Christians under other trials and in other days.

2. Turning from the design to the general nature of the book, what has been
said may prepare us for some of those characteristics of it which must be fixed
distinctly in our minds, if we would either comprehend its meaning or render to it
that justice which it has been so frequently refused.

(i.) // is a book which deals with principles rather than with particular events.
The same remark, indeed, is applicable to all the prophetic books of Scripture,
for these are for the most part occupied with principles that are generally, even
universally, fulfilling themselves in human life. They were written to call men's
attention, not so much to the mode in which at some remote point of time events
then to happen would embody their fulfilment, as to direct them to that scheme of
the Divine working which continually reappears in history. They are a proclamation
of eternal truths, — of the sovereignty of God, of His superintendence of the world,
of His approbation of good, of His hatred of evil, of the fact that, notwithstanding
all the apparent anomalies around us, He is conducting to final triumph His own
plan for the establishment of His righteous and perfect kingdom. To have clothed
such truths in language corresponding in minute details with particular incidents
of the future, would have deprived them of their most important characteristic, would
have exhausted their meaning in one fulfilment, and would have weakened the force
of those lessons which they have for all ages and all circumstances. It is well,
therefore, that prophecy should be uttered to a large extent in general language. No
doubt the difficulty of applying it with universal consent to special incidents is thus
increased. The men of one age see it fulfilled in what is passing around them ; the

35^ INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

men of another age do the same ; till, in almost exact proportion as ages increase
in number, interpretations multiply. Then the scorner cries, Behold the folly of
endeavouring to interpret prophecy at all ; each interpreter has his own interpreta-
tion ; and, as these interpretations cannot all be true, the probability is that all ol
them are false, and that the decision of the question is beyond our reach. No
language can be more mistaken. In a certain sense each of the interpreters spokov
of was right He was right in seeing the events of his own day unfold themseWc^
in a manner corresponding to the prophecy; and had he merely said. Here is S
fulfilment of it, he would have been able to justify his conclusion. His error lay in
saying, Here is M^ fulfilment, as if no other fulfilment had ever been or were to be.

These remarks, applicable to all prophecy, apply with peculiar force to the Rev^
tion of St John. It is a book in which the general principles of good and evil,
together with the judgments of God that follow them, are set in the most direct
opposition to each other. The struggle between these two principles marks all time.
It returns in every age, and God is always the same God of judgment So £u,
then, as is consistent with fair interpretation, we must desire to see the prophecies of
this book fulfilling themselves continually, and, as the struggle between good and evil
deepens, in continually increasing degree. This, however, we could not do, did they
not possess that generality of character which is so closely connected with a fignratm
style. A definite disclosure of names and years would have brought them into relatioQ
with one period alone.

(2.) T?ufigur€Uive and symbolical style of the Apocalypse is intimately assodeUed with
the position^ the trainings the habits^ and the purpose of the writer. The Apostle had
been a Jew, in all the noblest elements of Judaism a Jew to the very core. We know
it firom what is told us of his history in the Gospels; we know it not less from
numerous little marks which stamp the Fourth Gospel, penned by him, as one of the
most genuine productions of a Jewish mind. It is true, no doubt, that we do not
meet in that Gospel such figures as we meet in the Apocalypse. The difTerence is
easily explained. In the former, St John was writing narrative and describing
fact In the latter, he is looking with prophetic eye into the future; and what
more natural than that, when he does so, he should adopt the method and the
style of those old Prophets whose work had been the glory of his nation, and
whose words had fed the loftiest and brightest hopes of his own heart ? We may
expect that everything written by him from such a point of view will breathe the
very essence of Old Testament prophecy, will be moulded by its spirit, be at
home amidst its pictures, and be familiar with its words. Why consider this inex-
plicable ? Why deny to a Christian Apostle the right of clothing his ideas in forms of
speech sanctified to him by all that was best in the past history of his people, and,
may we not hope, also sanctified to us ? We do not make it an objection to Isaiah,
or Ezekiel, or Daniel, or Zechariah, that they adopted in their commimications with
men the style which they actually employed. Yet the contents of their prophecies
are substantially the same as the contents of that before us — an old and sinful world
going down that a new and better world may take its place ; the hatefulness, the
danger, and the punishment of sin contrasted with the beauty, the security, and the
reward of righteousness; the ever-present, though unseen, Ruler of the universe
watching over His own, making even the wrath of man to praise Him, and guiding
all things towards His own glorious issues. How could one who had fired his soul
amidst these pictures of earlier days until he was * weary with forbearing and could not
stay ; ' who knew that man was the same and God the same in every age ; who looked
into the future and saw in it, under the light of the Incarnation, not a time entirely

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 357

different from what had been, but the fulness of what had long since begun, the
culmination of ages that had gone before, — fail to speak in the tones most familiar to
him when he spoke upon such subjects? Or how could he fail to behold the world
through the medium of figures that had till then had complete possession of his
thoughts ? These very figures of the Apocalypse, the symbols that it employs, the
language that it speaks, are a testimony to the thorough reality of the writer, to the
depth of his convictions, and to the profoundness of the emotions with which his soul
was stirred. Then, again, we ought to remember that he was addressing persons
familiar with his style of thought The Old Testament was the Bible of the Church.
The books of the New Testament had not yet been gathered into a volume. Some of
them may not have been writtea The Christian Church, even among the Gentiles,
had been grafted upon the stem of David It had an interest in Zion and Jerusalem ;
it saw in Babylon tiie type of its enemies ; it felt itself to be the true Israel of God.
The language and figures of the Apocalypse were, therefore, closely adapted to its
condition, and must have gone home to it with peculiar power.

(3.) In connection with the symbolical nature of the Apocalypse, and with what
has just been said, it is worth while to take more particular notice of the extent to which
the symbols of the book are drawn from objects familiar to tlu writer and his readers.
Thus we see him constantly laying the regions of Eastern nature under contribution
for his purpose, and taking advantage of phenomena which, at least in the forms of their
manifestation here employed, may be said to be almost peculiar to the East. Light-
nings, great thunderings, hail of the most destructive severity, and earthquakes, play
their part We read of the wilderness into which the woman with the man-child was
driven ; of the dens and rocks of the mountains in which the terrified inhabitants of
earth shall hide themselves from the wrath of the Lamb ; of the frightful locusts
of the fifth trumpet-plague ; of fowls that fill themselves with the flesh of men. In
like manner we read of eagles, of the sound of the millstone, of olive trees and palm
branches, of the vintage, and of the products of an Eastern clime — odours, ointments
and frankincense, wine and oil. All these are directly associated with the locality to
which the first readers of the book belonged. Even objects well known in other lands
are viewed in the light in which the East, herein differing from the West, regards
them, as when horses are presented to us, not so much in the magnificence as in the
terror of their aspect ; or as when the sea, instead of being the symbol of grandeur or
eternal youth, time writing * no wrinkle oh its azure brow,' is spoken of only as the
symbol of all that is dark or terrible.

Not only, however, does Eastern nature lend a multiplicity of figures to the Seer,
the Old Testament does the same. How often does he refer to Israel and its tribes,
to the tabernacle, to the temple with its pillars and incense, to the high priest's robes,
to the seven-branched golden candlestick, to the ark of the testimony, to the hidden
manna, and to the parchment rolls written both within and on the back ! Of his use
of the Prophets we have already spoken, and it is only necessary to add that in
employing them as he does he is not to be regarded as their servile imitator. If his
correspondence with them be marked, his originality, his free and independent
handling of his materials, is still mere so. He evidently feels that although he and
they are dealing with the same great theme, — the development of the kingdom of
God, — ^he is called upon to deal with it in a higher stage of its progress than that
known to them. Its issues were now both more swift in their execution and more
mighty in their effects.

In connection with this point, it is interesting to observe that no symbol of the
Apocalypse seems to be taken from heathenism. This is not the case with the other

35^ INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

New Testament \iTiter5, who do not hesitate to illustrate and enforce their arguments
by considerations drawn from the customs of the heathen lands around them. But it
is the case with St John in the Apocal)'pse The symbolism of the book appears to
be exclusively Jewish, The * crown of life,' spoken of in chap. iL 10, b not foundc(^
on the thought of the crown given to those who had been successful in the games o^
Greece and Rome, but on that of the crown of a king, of one admitted to royal
dignity and clothed with royal splendour. The figure of the * white stone' with the
new name written in it of chap. iL 17 does not spring from the white pebble which,
cast in heathen courts of justice into the ballot-box, expressed the judge's acquittal of
the prisoner at the bar, but in all probability from the glistering plate borne by the lugji
priest upon his forehead. And all good commentators are agreed that the * palms' of
chap. vii. 9 are not the palms of heathen victors either in the battle or in the games,
but the palms of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, when, in the most joyful of all her
national festivals, Israel celebrated that life of independence on which she entered
when she marched from Rameses to Succoth, and exchanged her dwellings on the hot
brickfields of Egypt for the free air of the wilderness and the * booths ' which she
erected on the open country. (Comp. Trench On the Epistles to the Seven Churches^

(4.) After what has been said, it will be at once granted that the symbols of the
Apocalypse art to be judged of with the feelings of a Jew ^ and not as we should judge ef
symbolical writings in our own nation and age. No one will deny that in the symbols,
alike of the Old Testament and of the book before us, there are many traits which,
looked at in themselves, cannot fail to strike the reader as in a high degree exaggerated,
extravagant, and out of all keeping with nature or probability. They are not conceived
of according to the laws, as we consider them, of good taste ; and they cannot, without
seriously offending us, be transferred from the pages of the book to the canvas of tiic
painter. Take even the sublime description of the one 'like unto a Son of man' in
chap. i. 13-16, or of the Lamb in chap. v. 6, 7, or of the New Jerusalem in chajx
xxi. 16, and we feel at once in all these instances that nothing can be more out of
keeping with the realities of things. This incongruity of imagery strikes us even more
in the descriptions given of the composite animals in many of the symbols of the book,
as in the case of the four living creatures of chap. iv. 6-8, of the locusts of chap. ix.
7-10, or of the beast of chap. xiii. i, 2. But the truth is that in all these cases the
congruity of the figure with nature, or with notions of propriety suggested by her, was
altogether unthought of. It is probable that the style of such representations had
been introduced into Judea from Assyria, the wonderful sculptures of which exhibit
the very same features, — almost entire ignorance of beauty of form, but massiveness,
power, strength, greatness of conception in what was designed either to attract or
overawe or terrify. The sculptor in Assyria, the Prophet in the Old Testament, and
precisely in the same manner St. John in the Apocalypse, had an idea in his mind
which he was desirous to express ; and, if the symbolism effected that end, he did not
pause for a moment to inquire whether any such figure either existed in nature or
could be represented by art. As he felt, so did the spectator and reader feel. It was
in their eyes no objection to the symbol that the combination of details was altogether
monstrous. One consideration alone weighed with them, whether these details lent a
force to the idea that it could not have otherwise possessed. When, therefore, we
view the symbols of the Apocalypse in this light, and it is the only just light in
which to view them, our sense of propriety is no longer shocked ; we rather recog-
nise in them a vivacity, a spirit, and a force in the highest degree interesting and
instructive.

(5.) While this is the case, one other observation may be made. There is a

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 359

natural fitness and correspondence between the symbolism employed in the Apocalypse and
the truth which it is intended to express. In his choice of symbols the Seer is not left
to the wildness of unregulated fancy, or to the influence of mere caprice. Con-
sciously or unconsciously, he works within certain limits of adaptation on the part of
the sign to the thing signified. It is here exactly as it is in the parables of our Lord,
in which all the representations employed rest on the deeper nature of things, on the
everlasting relations existing between the seen and the unseen, on that hidden unity
among the different departments of truth which makes one object in nature a more
suitable t3rpe or shadow of an eternal verity than another. Thus, as has been well
observed by Auberlen, * The woman could never represent the kingdom of the world,
nor the beast the Church. To obtain an insight into the symbols and parables of
Holy Scripture, nature, that second or rather first book of God, must be opened as
well as the Bible' {Daniel and the Revelation^ p. 87). The principle now spoken of
is one of great importance, and what appears to be the correct interpretation of some
of the symbols of St. John depends in no small degree on its being kept steadily in
view.

IV. — Structure and Plan.

Before attempting to mark the divisions into which the Apocalypse seems naturally
to fall, it may be well to notice what appear to be one or two of the leading charac-
teristics of its structure and plan. The matter is not one of curiosity only ; it has a very
close bearing on the interpretation of the book. Of these characteristics we notice —

I. That the most important visions seem to be synchronous, not successive. We
refer especially to the three great series of the Seals, the Trumpets, and the Bowls,
which occupy by much the larger portion of the prophetic part of the work. These
series indeed succeed one another, as it was absolutely necessary that they should, both
in the visions of the Seer and in the apprehension of his readers. The former could not
see, the latter could not apprehend, them all in the same moment. But it does not
follow that on that account each successive series must present events posterior in
time to those of the series preceding it The same, or at least similar, events may
be repeated in each series of visions, and the difference between them may be found
only in the fact that they are looked at from different points of view. Such appears
to be actually the case. Let us take the first series of visions, that of the Seals, and it
b almost impossible to escape the conviction that in them we have events reaching
down to the final coming of the Lord. The vision of the sixth Seal, in which we read
*the great day of their wrath is come, and who is able to stand' (chap. vi. 17), can
hardly refer to anything else. Then, after an episode, the seventh Seal follows, when
there is ' silence in heaven about the space of half an hour ' (chap. viii. i). The work
of Christ is accomplished ; His enemies are overthrown ; and His elect have been
gathered in. Let us next take the second series of visions, that of the Trumpets, and
more particularly the words of chap. xi. 15, 18. To what period can these words
have relation except the great close of all ? So that we are thus a second time con-
ducted to the same point, and must regard the two series of visions as synchronous,
rather than as historically successive. This conclusion is greatly strengthened when
we turn to the third series of visions, that of the Bowls, which, like the two going
before, is also ruled by the number seven. At the pouring out of the seventh Bowl
in chap. xvL 17, it is said that * there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from
the throne, saying, It is done,' while at ver. 20 it is added, 'and every island fled
away, and the mountains were not found.' These words in both cases surely lead us

36o INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

to the end. In the latter, indeed, they have the closest possible resemblance to those
words of chap, xx.ii, which cannot be referred to anything but the final judgment.
The view now taken derives great confirmation from the singular parallelism running
through the judgments of the Trumpets and the Bowls, and exhibited in the following
table : —

TRUMPETS RELATING TO

The earth, chap. viii. 7.

The sea, chap. viii. 8.

Rivers and fountains of the waters, chap.

viii. 10.
The sun, and moon, and stars, chap.

viii. 12.
The pit of the abyss, chap. ix. 2.
The great river Euphrates, chap. ix. 14.
Great voices in heaven, followed by

lightnings, and voices, and thunders,

and an earthquake, and great hail,

chap. XL 15, 19.

BOWLS RELATING TO

The earth, chap, xvi 2.

The sea, chap. xvi. 3.

Rivers and fountains of the waters, chap.

xvi. 4.
The sun, chap, xvi 8.

The throne of the beast, chap. xvi. 10.

The great river Euphrates, chap.<KvL 12.

A great voice from the throne, followed
by lightnings, and voices, and thun-
ders, a great earthquake, and great
hail, chap. xvL 17, 18, 21.

A simple inspection of this table must of itself be almost sufiicient to convince us
of the great improbability of the supposition, that the two series in question relate to
events of an entirely different kind, and separated firom one another by long periods
of time. It is surely much more likely that they express the same dealings of the
Almighty's providence, though marked by certain points of distinction that we have
still to notice.

Other illustrations may help still further to establish the truth of what has been
said. Thus at the beginning of chap. xiL we have the vision of the woman clothed
with the sun, and the bearer of a man-child who is to rule all nations with a rod of
iron. This can be referred to nothing but the birth of Christ ; yet it comes in after
the visions of the Seals and of the Trumpets have both been closed, — a clear proof that
the principle of structure here is not that of historical succession. Another striking
instance of the same kind is afforded by the comparison of chap. xii. 6 and chap,
xii. 14, where we have not two different flights of the woman into the wilderness, the
two being only different aspects of one and the same flight

These considerations, which might easily be illustrated at greater length, lead to
the conclusion that in the main visions of the Apocalypse we have different series,
not of successive, but of parallel and synchronous pictures, each series being complete
in the particular line of thought presented by it, each being occupied not so much with
events upon the temporal relation of which to one another we are to dwell, as with the
presentation in a different light of the idea common to all the series. Something of
the same kind may be seen in the parable of the wicked husbandmen in Luke xx.
9-15, where a succession of messengers is sent by the owner of the vineyard to
demand his portion of the fruits. The dominating thought in the three messages of
the owner, and in the threefold reception given to them, is not that of succession
of time, as if each rejection involved certain historical events following what went
before. The same picture of criminality is rather the leading thought of all the thiee
rejections of the owner's message, though in each it is marked by special characteristics.
So in the pictures of the Apocalypse of which we have been speaking there may be
succession, even it may be in a certain sense succession of time : but it is succession
of another kind altogether upon which we are invited to dwell. We are thus led to
a second characteristic of these visions.

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 36;

2. While synchronous rather than successive^ they are at the same time climactic.
In the parable of the wicked husbandmen, already referred to, climax in the guilt of
those who rejected the just claims of the owner of the vineyard is distinctly traceable.
In like manner the visions of the Seals, the Trumpets, and the Bowls, which constitute
by far the larger portion of the Apocalypse, are not simply repetitions of the same
thing. They are exhibitions of the same principle under different aspects, and the
distinguishing feature of the difference is climax. This climax appears in the very
selection of the objects by which each series of visions is characterized, and from
^irhich it is named. As compared with the first series, the second, by the simple fact
that it is a series of Trumpets^ indicates a higher, more exciting, and more terrible
iinfolding of the wrath of God upon a sinful world than was the case under the Seals.
TThe trumpet is peculiarly the warlike instrument summoning the hosts to battle, and
it thus connects itself with the judgments of God more closely than the seal (Jer. iv.
19; Joel ii. I ; Zeph. i. 15, 16). The bowly again, was used in the service of the
temple, and thus suggests, when it is made the instrument of judgment, a still more
alarming idea of what the wrath ot God will effect than is suggested by the trumpet
Besides which the supreme potency of the Bowls is distinctly expressed in the words
by which they are introduced in chap. xv. i, where we are told of the plagues con-
tained in them that they are * the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God.' They
are the consummation of all judgment, the most complete manifestation of Him who
not only rewards the righteous, but condemns and punishes the wicked.

If, again, we look at the three groups of visions as wholes, the same principle of
climax shows itself. The Seals describe to us judgments of God, and thus indeed
imply the sinfulness of man, for otherwise there would be no judgment ; there would
be only * peace,' not a ' sword.* But this sinfulness of man is not brought to light, and
judgments have not their specific reference to it unfolded. Even when we are bid
see the souls under the altar, no more is said than that they had been slain for their
adherence to the truth. The slaying itself had not been spoken of; while the different
riders who come forth upon their horses are described as having * power given * them
to inflict judgment rather than as exercising that power. The series of the Trumpets
marks an advance on this. It is not merely hinted now that the * souls ' had suffered
on earth. We see them in the midst ot suffering. They are brought before us, ere
the series opens, as sending up their prayers out of their tribulation to Him who will
avenge His elect (chap. viiL 3, 4). The judgments, accordingly, that now descend are
a direct answer to these prayers. They are brought about by the fire of the altar upon
which the prayers were laid being cast into the earth (chap. viii. 5). This progress
is continued in the Bowls ; yet not so much in temporal, in historical, succession,
as in wickedness, in deliberate and determined rejection of the truth. The world has
advanced in sin. Prophecy has again been uttered * before many peoples, and nations,
and tongues, and kings' (chap. x. 11). The faithful witnesses have witnessed and
been slain, and have ascended up to heaven in a cloud ; but they that dwelt upon
the earth have only rejoiced over them, and made merry, and sent gifts one to another
(chap. XL 10). The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet have successfully
played their part (chaps, xil xiii.). Therefore judgment falls, and falls naturally, with
intensely increased severity.

Did our space permit, the point now before us might be very fully illustrated by
a more minute comparison than was called for when considering our previous point,
between the individual Trumpets and the corresponding Bowls. We can only advise
our readers to make the comparison for themselves, when they will not fail to see
how strikingly an increased potency of judgment is brought out under the latter.

3^2 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

Thus it is that we may mark a most important succession in these visions, and this
even although each series extends over the whole period of the Church's militant and
oppressed history. There is a succession of a far more deeply interesting character
than that of time, inasmuch as the successive series reveal to us ever deepening views
of the conflict of the Church, of the opposition of the world to the truth, and of the
judgments by which the sin of the world shall be visited.

3. In speaking of the structure of the Apocalypse, we have further to mark tJu
symmetrical arrangement of its parts. We see this even in the Epistles to the seven
churches in chaps, ii. and iii., which cannot be considered the most characteristic
portion of the book. The composition of each of these Epistles upon the same plan
is so obvious to every reader that it is unnecessary to enter into details.

When we turn to the body of the Apocalypse this symmetry of arrangement
comes before us in a still more striking light. We have seven Seals, seven
Trumpets, seven Bowls. Even these again are arranged symmetrically, the first four
members of each group relating to earth, and a transition being made in each
at the fifth member to the spiritual world. The table of comparison between the
Trumpets and the Bowls, already given, may illustrate not only the parallelism,
but the symmetry of the series. Still further it may be observed that, except in
the case of the Bowls, the members of these series do not run on in uninterrupted
succession to the end. There is a break between the sixth and seventh Seals,
where we have presented to us the two visions of the sealing of the 144,000
and of the great multitude standing before the Lamb (chap. vii.). Precisely in
the same way we have a break between the sixth and seventh Trumpets, where
we meet the visions of the little book and of the measuring of the temple,
together with the action and fate of the two witnesses who perish in their faith-
fulness, but are triumphant in death (chap, xi.). These are visions of comfort,
episodes of consolation, obviously intended to sustain the soul in the thought of the
last great outburst of the wrath of the Most High. It may, indeed, be asked why we
have not similar visions between the sixth and seventh Bowls in order to complete
the harmony? The answer to the question does not seem to be difficult In this
case the consolatory visions, those of chap, xiv., consisting of the Lamb upon Mount
Zion and of the harvest and vintage of the earth, precede not simply the seventh
Bowl, but all the seven, because the Lord is now making a short work upon the earth.
The element of climax, in short, overcomes at this point that of perfect regularity.
It does this, however, only to a small extent, for the visions of consolation are still
there. Finally, it may be noticed that of the seven parts into which the Apocalypse may
be best divided the seventh corresponds to the first, the sixth to the second, the fifth
to the third, while the fourth or main section of the book occupies the central place.

4. Before passing from the structure and plan of the Apocalypse, it may be well to
mark the parts into which it most naturally divides itself. These appear to be seven
in number.

(i.) The Prologue : chap. i. 1-20. The book opens with a general description of
One of whom it is said that He was Mike unto a son of man' (ver. 13); and there
can be no doubt that He who is spoken of is the Lord Jesus Christ Yet it is
peculiarly important to observe that the Saviour is here presented to us less in His
eternal glory, than as the great King and Head of His Church on earth. He is not
only * the first and the last ; ' He says of Himself, * I was dead ; and, behold, I am
alive for evermore ; and I have the keys of death and of Hades' (ver. 18). Add to
this the fact that all the particulars given of Him (vers. 13-16) are taken up again in
chaps, ii. and iii., and are there brought into relation with one or other of those seven

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 363

churches which, when united, set before us the universal Church, and we can have
no hesitation in saying that in the Christ of this Prologue the Church is ideally
included. In it Christ is one with His Church, and His Church is one with Him.

(2.) The presentation of the Church as she stands before us upon the field of
Human history : chaps, ii. and iil That the seven churches to which the Epistles
contained in these two chapters are addressed, represent the Church universal, as
extends throughout all lands, and is perpetuated in all ages, is a point which
not be discussed. All inquirers may be said to admit it. The object, therefore, •
of these chapters is to make us acquainted with what the Church is, alike in her
strength and in her weakness, in her glory and in her shame, before her contest with
lier enemies is described

(3.) General sketch of the issue of the Church's contest : chaps, iv. and v. We

liave no space to examine the opinions of others with regard to these two chapters,

snd must rest satisfied with indicating the light in which it seems necessary to regard

them. It is obvious that they are no part of the conflict, a description of which is

the main object of the book. The visions representing it begin only with chap. vL

TThey are pictures of an introductory nature, bringing before us the heavenly

Ouardians of the Church as They preside over her destinies, and the Church herself

as, in Their strength, she triumphs over all her foes. In short, having introduced

the Church to us in chaps. iL and iii., and having placed her on the field of actual

history, the Seer would now give a representation of the victorious progress that

awaits her in the conflict immediately to follow.

(4.) The contest of the Church with her enemies : chap. vi. i-xviii. 24. In this
section we have the leading portion of the book; and its object is to bring the
Chmch before us, both in the height of her conflict with her three great enemies, the
dcTil the world and the false prophet, and in the security of her victory over them.
It is impossible at the same time to mistake the progress by which these chapters
are marked, until the last Bowls of the wrath of God have been poured out, and
Babylon has been completely overthrown.

(5.) The rest of the true disciples of Jesus when their conflict is past : chap.
xix. i-xx. 6. In this section the conflict described in the last section is over. There
is no struggle now ; there are only hallelujahs of praise. The great enemies of the
Church have indeed to be cast out, and this is done with the two, the beast and the
false prophet, who had been the vicegerents of the devil upon earth. Before the
section ends they are plunged into the lake of fire, and the devil himself is bound for
a season, that the Church may enjoy undisturbed repose and triumph.

(6.) The final conflict and victory of the saints : chap. xx. 7-xxiL 5. The rest
of Christ's disciples at the close of their great conflict was not yet permanent The
devil had been bound, but not for ever driven away. He is permitted to return and
make a final attack upon * the camp of the saints and the beloved city.' But the attack
is unsuccessful. He too is cast into the lake of fire, and the glory and happiness of
God's people is perfected in the New Jerusalem.

(7.) Epilogue: chap. xxii. 6-21. The concluding section of the Apocalypse
brings before us the use to be made of the delineation given, and stirs up the Church
to a more earnest cry than ever that her Lord would * come ' and accomplish all the
promises of the book.

Such appears to be the most natural division of the contents of the Apocalypse.
We can only, before passing to another point, ask our readers to compare it with
what has been said in the Introduction to the Gospel of St. John with regard to the
sections of that book (p. xxvii.). The present writer has dwelt more largely upon the

364 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

comparison of the two in the Expositor for Febr. 1883, p. 102, and to the paper there
published he would direct those who are interested in the subject

V. — Interpretation of the Apocalypse. \

The remarks made in the two preceding sections of this Introduction on the
general design and native of the Apocalypse, as well as upon its structure and plan,
have so far prepared the way for the principles upon which it is to be interpreted
It is necessary, however, to enter somewhat more fiilly into this point, for no book of
Scripture has suffered so much from the variety of those systems of interpretation to
which it has been exposed. To such an extent has this been the case, that many
have been led to doubt whether anything like a definite interpretation is posaWe
Such a suggestion cannot be yielded to for a moment. If one thing be clearer than
another, it is that the book was intended to be understood Let us look at its titlt
It is ' The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show unto His
servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass ' (chap, i i). Let t»
listen to some of the earliest words spoken to the Seer by the glorious Person who
appears to him. They are, * What thou seest write in a book, and send it to the
seven churches* (chap. L 11). Or let us hear almost the last instructions of the
angel when the visions of the book have ended, * Seal not up the words of the
prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand* (chap. xxiL 10); while, with stoll
more pointed reference to the use to be made of it, the exalted Redeemer Himsdi
declares, * I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify to you these things for the churches
(chap. xxii. 16). The message of the Revelation, then, was not to be sealed up. It
was to be spoken, to be testified, to man ; and, if so, can any one for an instant doubt
that it was to be listened to, to be apprehended, to be taken home, by man? The
words, so solemnly repeated in each of the Epistles to the seven churches of Asia,
may certainly be applied, if indeed it was not intended that they should be applied,
to the whole of the book with which they are so intimately bound up, ' He that hadi
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.'

While it was thus the object of the Apocalypse to be understood, it ought not,
upon the other hand, to be supposed that symbolical language is less the expressioQ
of thought, or that it is used with a less definite meaning, than any other language
which a writer employs. Its details may indeed often elude our powers of interpretsr
tion ; but this may arise from the fact that even to the Seer himself these details
had no separate and individual force. Or, if they had, and we cannot understand
them, we may yet be able to reach a sufficiently clear apprehension of the symbds
as a whole.

The difficulty of interpreting the Apocalypse, therefore, lies neither in the
intention of God nor in the character of the language. Much more than from dther
of these causes it has arisen from the fact that, owing to its peculiar nature, the book
has lent itself in a greater than common degree to the theological polemic, and to the
strifes of contending parties in the Church. Dealing with the fortunes of the people
of God in this world, it has enabled all who considered themselves peculiarly His
people, that is, almost every sect in turn, to launch its anathemas at the heads of
others, and to see these others typified in the dark descriptions of which its pages arc
full. Thus its sublimity has been marred and its beauty soiled; while its noble
lessons, intended to inculcate the widest views of God's superintending care of His
whole Church, have been converted into catch-words which have not only alienated
the world, but have even narrowed the hearts of Christian men. It is most con-

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 365

solatory to think that a new era has of late been openmg for the Apocalypse.
Recent interpreters, or writers on particular parts of it, have been distinctly approach-
ing to a unanimity never before observed in regard to its interpretation. We may
hope that the time is not distant when, under a well-regulated exegesis, the Apocalypse
will lighten the dark places of the Church's pilgrimage with a light as clear as that
with which its visions, when originally seen, lightened the lonely rock of Patmos to
the exiled Seer.

1. Of the systems of interpretation which have been applied to the Apocalypse,

bat which it is necessary to lay aside if we would profit from it, the first to be noticed

is the Continuously HistoricaL We speak first of this, because it has probably its

higest number of defenders in the British Islands and in America. The principle of

the system is that the book is a predictive prophecy, dealing with specific events of

history from the beginning to the close of the Christian era. All the greatest incidents,

and, it must be added, some of the most trivial details, of the past or present (such

the red colour of the stockings of Romish cardinals) are to be seen in its prophetic
; and the pious mind derives its encouragement and comfort from the thought
that these things were long ago foretold. Nor is there any reason why it should not
do so were it possible to fix the interpretation. But the whole school of historical
interpreters has been irretrievably discredited, if not by the extravagance or paltriness
of its explanations, at least by their hopeless divergence from, and contradiction of,
one another. Besides this, it has to be observed that to make the Apocalypse deal
ahnost exclusively with these historical incidents belonging to the later history of the
Church, is to make it a book that must have been useless to those for whom it was
first written. How could the early Christians discover in it the establishment of
Christianity under Constantine, the rise of Mahomedanism, the Lutheran Reforma-
tion, or the French Revolution ? Of what possible use would it have been to foretell
to them events in which they could have no interest? Would they have been either
wiser or better if they had known them ? Would they not have substituted a vain
prying into the future for the study of those divine principles which, belonging to
every age, bring the weight of universal history to enforce the lessons of our own
time? Would it not have made particular events, instead of the principles of the
Divine government of the world, the chief matter with which we have to concern
ourselves? Nothing has tended more to destroy the feeling that there is value in the
Apocaljrpse than this continuously historical interpretation of the book. The day,
however, for such interpretations has passed, probably never to return.

2. A second system of apocalyptic interpretation which, not less than the former,
must be set aside, is that known as the Praterist By this system the whole book is
confined to events surrounding the Seer, or immediately to follow his day, these
events being mainly the overthrow, first of the Jews, and next of pagan Rome, to be
succeeded by peace and prosperity to the Church for a thousand years. This system,
the introduction of which in its completeness is generally ascribed to a distinguished
Jesuit of the seventeenth century, seems to have rested partly on the opposition of the
Church of Rome to that Protestant interpretation which regarded her as the apoca-
Ijrptic Babylon, and partly on the statements of the book itself in chap. i. 1,3, where
it describes its contents as * the things which must shortly come to pass,' and expressly
states that "the time is at hand.' Nor is it to be denied that there is a much larger
element of truth in this system than in that continuously historical one of which we
have just spoken. It may without hesitation be conceded that the Seer did draw
from his own experience, and from what he beheld around him either fully developed
or in germ, those lessons as to God's dealings with the Church and with the world

366 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

which he applies to all time. It may also without impropriety be allowed that he
could have no idea that the Second Coming of Christ would be so long delayed as it
has been, and that he may have thought of it as likely to take place so soon as events,
already seen by him in their beginnings, should be accomplished. But it is impossible
to admit that, whether or not he anticipated the length of time that was to elapse
before the Lord*s return, he deliberately confined himself to the Church's fortunes in
his own day, and left unnoticed whatever of pilgrimage and warfare was still in store for
her. The whole tone of the book leads to the opposite conclusion. It certainly treats
of what was to happen down to the very end of time, until the hour of the full accom-
plishment of the Church's struggle, of the full winning of her victory, and of the fiill
attainment of her rest We do not object to the Praeterist view on the ground that,
were it correct, it would make the Apostle speak only of events long since passed
away and of little present interest to us. The same reasoning would deprive of
permanent value much of the teaching of the New Testament Epistles. We object
to it rather upon exegetical grounds. The Apocalypse bears distinctly upon its face
that it is concerned with the history of the Church until she enters upon her heaitnly
inheritance.

3. A third system of apocalyptic interpretation known as the Futurist has still to
be noticed, but noticed only to be, like the two preceding ones, set aside. The main
principle of this system is that almost the whole, if not the whole, book belongs to the
future, that the time for its fulfilment has not yet come, and that it will not come until
the very eve of our Lord's return. With an element of truth in it to which we shall
immediately advert, it is obvious that this system, as a whole, is indefensible. It
destroys one of the main purposes of the Apocalypse, which was to strengthen and
encourage the Church at the moment when it was written. It robs it of no small
part of its value for the Church in after ages, for how shall we know when the «« of
our Lord's return arrives ? Nothing but the return itself, which is to take place like a
thief in the night, can show when the eve was. The Church, therefore, upon this
system, could never apply the events of the book directly to herself. She could never
tell whether she was living in the last days of her history till the days were over. No
doubt it may be said that a picture even of the future like that here presented may
encourage. But a just exegesis of the book again comes in to prevent our supposing
that we have only a picture of the future. The Church is addressed in her present
circumstances, and is told what is to be done to her and for her at the instant when
she reads the book, as well as at some distant day.

Yet there is an element of truth in the Futurist as well as in the Praeterist scheme
of interpretation. The book does belong to the time of the end, because that time is
always, has always been, at hand. According to our modes of reckoning it may be
delayed, but with God * one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as
one day,' and it is from the Divine point of view that the apocalyptic visions are
presented to St. John. The Christian Church has been denied knowledge of the
time when the Bridegroom will come, for this reason above all, that she may live in
continual expectation of His coming, and so be at all times ready to meet Him. If
she is always in the midst of her struggle, she may at the same time alwa3rs believe
that she is near its close. When, therefore, with the lessons of the Apocalypse she
associates the idea that the cry is already going forth, 'Behold, the Bridegroom
Cometh,* she is only acting in the spirit of a book the distinguishing note of which b
* I come quickly.'

The truth is, that both the Praeterist and the Futurist system err in adopting too
much of the principle which, on the continuously historical scheme^ has been Otfried

INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. 367

to such unwarrantable excess. The former is right, in so far as it recognises the fact
that the Seer dealt, first of all, with the events of his own day, and gathered even his
most general lessons from them. The latter is right, in so far as it kjrs emphasis on
the fact that throughout the whole book the Lord is at hand. But both are wrong
in so far as they imagine that the Apocalypse deals with specific events rather than
great principles, and in so far as they fail to observe that the principles with which
it deals are applicable not only at the beginning or end, but throughout the whole
period of the Church's history in this world. It is a mistake to imagine that the
Church of Christ, in order to find comfort, must know the particular form which her
trials will assume in any special age. To let her know this beforehand would, in
many cases, be an impossibility ; for in the nature of things an early age cannot,
even if instructed, enter into the experiences of a later one, and so cannot conceive
aright what may be the difficulties of the children of God in times long subsequent to
itself. The Church knows enough if she is told that throughout all her earthly history
her sufferings shall be those of her Lord, that at every point of it she will have to
struggle with the world around her as He had to struggle with the world around Him;
but that, however various her forms of suffering, her cup shall be no other than that
of which He drank, and her baptism no other than that with which He was baptized.
More than this is not only unnecessary ; it might mislead. It might withdraw the
Church's thoughts from the great truth that she is to be the companion of Jesus in
His sorrows, in order to make her engage her thoughts with those more particular
events which it is not of the slightest consequence for her to know. The Praeterist
and Futiurist systems forget this, and so lose sight of the universal applicability of
the book to the Church's fortunes.

Our readers will now easily understand that in the following Commentary the
Apocaljrpse is not interpreted upon any of these three great systems. The book
is regarded throughout as taking no note of time whatsoever, except in so far as there
is a necessary beginning, and at the same time an end, of the action with which it is
occupied. All the symbols are treated as symbolical of principles rather than of
events; and that, though it is at once admitted that some particular event, whether
always discoverable or not, lies at the bottom of each. All the numbers of the book
are regarded also as symbolical, even the two horns of the lamb-like beast in chap,
xiii. II, expressing not the fact that the animal referred to has two horns (which it
has not), but an entirely different meaning. The book thus becomes to us not a
history of either early, or mediaeval, or last events written of before they happened, but
a solemn warning to Christians that in every age they have to consider the signs of
their own time; and that, if they are true to their profession, they will find themselves
in one way or another in their Master's position, and needing to be animated and
comforted by the thought that, as He passed through suffering to glory, so shall they.
In this sense the Apocalypse was most strictly applicable to St. John's own day, but
it has been not less applicable in every age since then, and it will continue to apply
with equal force to all ages that may be yet to come before the end.

It is in this point of view that the present writer feels that the Apocalypse is of
such inestimable value to the Church ; and that he cannot but lament the prevalence
of those false modes of interpretation which, as it seems to him, have reduced it from
the high moral and religious level at which it ought to stand to that of a puzzle for
the curious, or a storehouse of harsh epithets for the controversial. It is strange to
think that a book which points out to Christians how great must be their likeness to
their Lord in all that ought to make them most humble-minded, most meek, and
most forgiving, has been so often used as a means of fomenting spiritual pride and

368 INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN.

every form of uncharitableness. There is no book of Scripture which ought so much
to soften the heart, to remind us that we are strangers here^ and to lead us, through
the thought of that contest with the world which we are so unwilling to hct, into
feelings of sympathy with all who are in any degree striving to exercise similar sdA
denial But it will do this only when we see that the one thought upon which it restii
and which all its symbols are designed to impress upon us, is, that, as the followers of
the Lord Jesus Christ in an evil world, our lot is to ' suffer with Him/ that with Him
we may be also ' glorified.'

Of the principles upon which this Commentary has been written, as well as of
those upon which the text has been determined, it is not necessary to speak not.
They have been already explained in the Introduction to the Gospel of St John
(p. XXXV.) ; and it need only be added that the text of Drs. Westcott and Hort, asbeii^
in the opinion of the writer the best critical edition of the Greek New Testament that
we possess, has been almost uniformly adopted The influence of the Revised Versioii
will also be traced throughout the Commentary ; but this, in the circumstances, will
be allowed to have been natural, if not indeed unavoidable. At the same time the text
of that Version has been by no means slavishly followed.

The Author regrets that the limits to which he was confined have prevented so
full a discussion of many points as he could have wished. He has been even not
unfrequently compelled to give results without stating the grounds upon which thejf
rest This could not be helped. One effect of the limitation of his space may not be
unacceptable to the reader. It has made it necessary to avoid quoting at any lengA
the opinions of other commentators. On all disputed passages, and how numenw
these are every student of the Apocalypse knows, the Author has endeavoured to
come to an independent and definite conclusion.

This Introduction ought not to be closed without the Authors expressing his sense
of obligation to his friend and old pupil, the Rev. James Cooper, Aberdeen, to whom
he is indebted for many valuable suggestions, as well as to another friend, also an dd
pupil, the Rev. Alexander Fiddes of the same city, who has given him great assistance
in the conection of the press,

Thb University, ABERDSSNy
1883.

jmi}

^^^Kki

M^^'' '^'ffm^F^^^^B^I

H^

i

THE REVELATION

OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE.

Chapter I. i-8.

Tlu Preface and Salutation.

1 nr^HE Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him,

A to show unto his servants things ' which * must shortly * «^^*>- ^ 3.
come to pass ; and he sent • and signified // by his * angel unto *Dan. x. «.

2 his servant John : * who bare ^ record * of the word of God, and ^ Jo. ««. 34.
of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and * of all things that he saw.

3 Blessed is he that ^readeth, and they that hear the words of ^JJ^-««^-
this' prophecy, and keep those' things which are written
therein : for the time is at hand.

4 T OHN to the seven churches which are In Asia : ' Grace ^^ « • » Cor. i. 3.
I unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was,

and which is to come ; and from the seven ^ Spirits which are f^^^- ^- 5-

5 before his throne ; and from Jesus Christ, ivho is the faithful
witness, and^ the first-begotten ^® of the dead, and the prince of
the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved " us, and washed "

6 us from our sins in his own " blood, and hath '* made '* us
'kings and priests '• unto God and his Father ;" to him be glory 'f pe'^uj.^

7 and dominion '' for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh
with clouds;" and every eye shall see him, and they also

which •• * pierced him: and all kindreds'* of the earth shall ^^xix^U'^

8 ' wail because of him." Even so, Amen." I am Alpha and ' jjf- "*''•
Omega," the beginning and the ending," saith the * Lord,*' ^tu. u. zo.
which " is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

^ the thin^ * quickly * add through his angel

^ and signified them unto his servant John * witness ^ even

' the • omit be • omit and ^^ bom ** loveth

'• loosed ^* omit own ^* omit hatn ** he made

'* a kingdom, priests '' his God and Father

" the glory and the dominion *• the clouds •• even they that

•* the tribes ** over him *' Yea. Amen.

'* the Alpha and the Omega, ^^ omit the beginning and the ending

•• add God ; *' he which

VOL. nr. 2A

370

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. 1. 1-8

Contents. In the first paragrnph of the
chapter we have the Preface and the Salutation
of the book, the one extending from ver. I to
vcr. 3, the other from ver. 4 to ver. 8. The
Preface consists of three parts, — the person from
whom the revelation came ; the ndelity with
which it was received and uttered by him to
whom it was primarily given ; and the blessedness
of those who receive and keep it. The Salutation
consists also of three parts, — a benediction from
the Tiiune God, from whom grace and peace
descend to the Church ; a doxology to that
glorified Redeemer in whom His people are
delivered from sin and in their turn prepared for
glory ; and a brief intimation of the bright
prospect, to be further unfold^ in the book, of a
time when the Lord Jesus Chtist, now hidden
fiom the view, shall Himself return to perfect the
happiness of His redeemed, and to take ven-
geance upon all who in this world have persecuted
and crucified them, as they once persecuted and
crucified Him.

Both Preface and Salutation thus prepare us for
what is to come, by impressing upon us the
supreme importance of the revelation alx>ut to be
made, and by conveying to the Church, even at
the very outset, the ji^yfol assurance of her
ultimate and eternal triumph. Finally, l)oth are
followed by an utterance of our Lord Himself,
interrupting the Seer (as God interrupted the
Psalmist in Ps. iL 6), and commanding our
attention by reminding us that He who sends the
revelation is very and eternal God.

Ver. I. The book is a reTelatlon, a drawing
back of the veil which, to the merely human eye,
hangs over the purpc>ses of God ; and it is a
revelation of Jesus Ohrist, that is, not a revela-
tion of what Tesus Christ is, but a revelation
which Jesus Christ gives, to His Church, even as
the Father had given it to.'HinL As in the
Gospel of St. John, God the Father is here the
fountain of all blessing ; but whatever He has He
gives to the Son (John vii. 16, xii. 49, xiv. 10,
xvii. 7, 8) ; and whatever the Son has He in His
turn makes His people share, — *Even as Thou,
Father, art in Me. and I in Thee, that they also
may be in Us' (John xviL 21). We have thus
Jesus introduced to us, not simply as He was on
earth, but as He has passed through the sufferings
of earth to the glory of heaven. He has been
dead, but He is now the First-bom of the dead ;
and as such He sends and signifies the revelation
unto His servant John.

The object of the revelation on the part of
Jesus Christ [for it is to Him that the pronouns
*him,* 'his,' and *he* in this Verse must in each
instance be referred] is to show certain things
unto his servants. These are the members of
the Christian Church, of the one Body of Christ,
without distinction of standing or of office. St.
John is a 'servant * (chap. i. i) ; the prophets are
'servants' (chap. x. 7, xi. 18); and all members
of the Church are designated in the same way
(chaps, ii. 20, vii. 3, xix. 2, 5, xxii. 3, 6, 9). —
The things to be shown are things wMoh must
(luickly come to pass. And the word of the
original, which can only be rendered in English
by 'come to pass,' shows that it is not a beginning
that is thought of but a full accomplishment.
Nor can we fail to notice that they ' must * come
to pass. They are the purposes of no fallible
or mortal creature, but of the infallible and

0
^i

eternal God.— The words thxou^ his
arc to be connected with sent (comp.
xxii. 6) ; and the word signified must be alio
to stand in all its own absolute solemnity
force. It is by no means improbable that m
latter word there is special reference to '
to the figures which are to be used in the
and which need to be interpreted. The
may indicate not only prophetic intimation (J<
xiL 33, xviii. 32, xxL 19 ; Acts xi. 28), bat
manner in which such intimation was
among the prophets (see especially Ezeluel
Zecha^iah), that is, by 'signs,' significant
and parabolic words. Thus our Lord, by
ing of ' being lifted on high ' as the bruen
was lifted on high, 'signified' by what maimer
death He should die (John xiu 33). On the
occasion in which the word is found in the N. T.
a more ordinary sense, it is employed by a heaths
(Acts XXV. 27). — That St John names
here, while in his Gospel he only discovers
to those who can read his name through tC
symbols in which he speaks, is easily expi
We are dealing with prophecy, and proph<
requires the guarantee of the indiTidnal who
inspired to utter it

Ver. 2. The source of the revelation has
declared, and is now followed by a descriptia^^"^
of the spirit in which the revelation itsdf ^^^
received and communicated to the
Individually St. John is nothing : he is only
witness to the Divine, to the wosd of God,
to the testimony given by Josns Chxisi
Faithful Witness' (comp. ver. 5, uL 14). F
'and ' in the last clause of the verse^ as it is
in the Authorised Version, we must substitute'
'even ;' the clause all things tliAl be skv being
only a description from another point of view of
the' things contained in 'the word of God and the
testimony of Jesus Christ' The verse as a whole
is thus to be understood of the revelation of this
book. It has indeed been urged that the writer
could not in the preamble speak of the CTOtfi*'*
of the book as past But he does so in ven x, m
which the whole prophecy is supposed to mife
been already uttered. Here, in lilce manner, be
places himself at the end of his visions, and
speaks of them. as things that he has already
' seen.' Nor is the verse, when looked at in tbb
light, only a repetition of ver. i, for the emphasis
lies upon ' bare witness,' upon the attitude of the
Seer rather than upon the thin^ seen. Add to
all thk that the verb ' saw ' is constantly used
throughout the book in the technical sense of
beholding visions.

Ver. 3. The mention of the sooroe of the
revelation, and of the perfect DuthfuhiesB with
which it has been recorded, are now fitly followed
by a blessing pronounced upop such as receive
and keep it. 'ilie allusion in he that rwdcifh is
to the public reading of bo<^ of Scripture In the
congregation or in any assemUy of Christians.
One read, many heard ; hence the diange of
number when we pass from the former to the
latter. But the book must not only be heard, it
must he * kept ; ' that is, not simply most it he
obeyed, it must be preserved or treasured in the
heart, that there it may become the spirit and the
rule of life. Thus, also, it follows that the Ihisfi
written therein are not to be limited to those
exhortations to repentance, fidtb, patience, etc,
which accompany the visions j;^ they indiide all

Chap. 1. 1-8.]

THE REVELATION.

371

the woids of the prophecy. The visions, indeed,
are the main fouhdatioa and purport of the whole
book. They reveal that future upon the know-
ledge of which the practical exhortations rest.
FuulIIj, the blessedness of thus * keeping' the
revdation is enforced by the thought that the
ttne, the dbtinct and definite season, when all
shall be accomplished, is at hand (comp. ver. i).
And it was at hand, though 1800 years have
passed since the words were spoken. We shall
see, as we proceed, that the book deals with
principles which have been exhibiting themselves
throi^hout the whole period of the Church's
history. Thus the things written in it were 'at
hand in the days of the Apostle ;\ they have
always been ' at hand ' to cheer the saints of God
in the midst of their pilgrimage and warfare ;
they are 'at hand* now ; for the words have never
eeaacd to be fulfilled, ' Lo, I am with you alway ;'
* In the world ye have tribulation ; but be of good
cheer, I have overcome the world.'

The Preface of the book is over, and the Salu-
tation follows.

Vers. 4-6. After the manner of the prophets
of the O. T., the writer now brings himself
forward by name, and directly addresses the
Church. In the consciousness of his Divine com-
mission, and of his own faithfulness to it, he is
bold. It is tiie seven chniohes whioh are in
Alia that are addressed, that is, in Proconsular
Asia (oomp, i Cor. xvi. 19), a Roman province
at the western extremity of what is now known
ai Asia Minor. Of this province Ephesus was
the capital, and few early traditions of the Church
seem more worthy of reliance than those which
inform us that at Ephesus St. Tohn spent the
latter years of his life. The churches of that
neighboarhood would thus naturally be of peculiar
Interest to him, and he would be more intimately
acquainted with their condition than with that of
others. The question may indeed be asked, why
a prophecy bearing so closely as the Book of
Revelation does upon the conoition of the whole
Chnrcfa should be addressed to so limited an area.
The answer will meet us at ver. 11, and in the
meantime it is enough to say that the number seven
b to be taken, not according to its numerical but
its saoed value. It is the number of the covenant,
and in these seven churches we have a representa-
tion of the Church universal. To the latter,
therefore, to the Church of every country and of
all time, the Revelation is addressed.

The Salutation wishes grace and peace, the
same blessings, and in the same order, as so often
foimd in the writings of the other apostles, —
' grace ' first, ' peace 'afterwards, the love of God
supplying us with all needful strength, and keep-
ing onr nearts calm even amidst such troubles
as those about to be recorded in this book. The
Salutation is given in the name of the three
Perwos of the Trinity.

(i) The Father, described as He whioh is, and
imieli was, and which is to come. In the
original Greek of this verse we have a striking
illustration of those so-called solecisms of the
Revelation of which we have spoken in the In-
trodnction, p. 346. The pronoun ' which ' is not
grammatically construed with the preposition
Miom ' preceding it : instead of standing in one of
the deflected cases, it stands in the nominative.
The explaxiation is obvious. St. John sublimely
treats tne clause (which is really a paraphrase or

translation of the Name of God in Ex. iii. 14—
I AM THAT I am) as an indeclinable noun, the
name of Him who is absolute and unchangeable.
That Name denoted God to Israel not so much
in His abstract existence as in His covenant
relation to His people, and it has the same sense
here. Hence the use of the words * which is to
come,* instead of, what we might have expected,
'which will be* (comp. ver. 8, iv. 8). The
change of expression does not depend upon the
fact that there is no ' will be ' with an Eternal
God, but that with Him all is, because upon
the same principle we ought not to have it said of
Him 'which was.' It depends upon the fact that
God is here contemplated as the redeeming God,
and that as such He comes, and will come, to
His people. The Son is never alone even as
Redeemer. He * can do nothing of Himself, but
what He seeth the Father doing' (John v. 19).
When He comes the Father comes, according
to the promise of Jesus, ' If a man love Me, he
will keep My word, and My Father will love
him, and We will come unto nim, and make our
abode with Him ' (John xiv. 23). As, therefore,
throughout this whole book the Son is the
' coming ' One, so the same term is here properly
applied to the Father, — not ' which is, and which
was, and which will be,' but 'which is, and
which was, and which b to come.'

(2) The Holy Spirit, described in the words the
seven Spirits which are before his throne. It
Is impossible to understand these words of any
principal angels such as those of chap. viii. 2, for
no creature could be spoken of as tne source of
'gmcc and peace,' be associated with the Father
and the Son, or be made to take precedence of
the Son, who b not introduced to us till the
following verse. Nor can they refer to any seven
p;ifts or graces of the Spirit, for they are obviously
intended to convey the thought not of a ^ft but
of a giver. We must learn the meanme by
looking at other passages of thb book. In cnap.
iv. 5 we read of seven Tamps of fire bummg before
the throne, ' which are the seven Spirits of God.'
In chap. V. 6 we read that the Lamb has seven
eyes, 'which are the seven Spirits of God sent
into all the earth ; ' and in chap, iii I we are told
of Jesus the Head of the Church that He 'hath
the seven Spirits of God.' These seven Spirits,
then, belong to the Son as well as to the Father
(comp. note on John xv. 26). What has been
said will become still clearer if we turn to Zech.
iii. 9 and iv. 10, in the first of which we have
mention made of the stone with seven eyes, while
in the second it is said of these eyes that th^
'run to and fro through the whole earth.* Thb
stone is the Messiah, so that putting the Old and
New Testaments together, no doubt can renudn
on our minds that we have before us a figure for
the Holy Spirit He b called ' the seven Spirits.'
the mystical number seven being identical with
unity, though unity unfolded in diversity, and
denoting Him in His completeness and fulness as
adapted to the seven churches or the Universal
Church. By Him the whole Church b enlightened
and Quickened.— The idea of the words 'before
Hb mrone ' seems to be taken from the thought
of the seven-branched golden candlestick in the
tabernacle.

(3) The Son. That the Salutation culminates
in the Son b proved by the fact that He has three
designations, and that, in ven 6, three separate

372

THE REVELATION,

parts of His work are mentioned. We might have
expected the Son to be spoken of before the
Spirit. But it is the manner of St. John, strik-
bgly illustrated in the Prologue to His Gospel,
so to arrange what he has to say that a new
sentence shdl spring out of the closing thought
of that^immediately preceding. Thus in this very
chapter the mention of 'John' in ver. i is
unfolded into the long descnption of ver. 2 ; and
the mention of the readers and hearers of this
prophecy in ver. 3 into the more specific reference
to the seven churches in ver. 4. In like manner
here the Son is not only the leading theme of the
book, but He is to be dwelt upon in the large and
full statement of vers. 5-8. This, therefore, was
the proper place to speak of Him. Three par-
ticulars regarding Him are noted. First, He is
the faithful witneas, the giver of the * testimony *
already spoken of in ver. 2; and, so high and
holy is the qualification, that even after the pre-
position the name ' Witness ' in the original is in
the nominative case. The idea of witnessing as
applied to Jesus is a favourite one both in the
Apocalypse and in the Gospel (Rev. iii. 14, xii 17,
xix. id^ xxii. 20; John iii. 11, 32, iv. 44, v. 31,
32, vii. 7, viii. 14, xiii. 21, xviii. 37, etc.). The
designation is also found in Ps. Ixxxix. 37, and in
Isa. Iv. 4. The combination with the word ' true '
in chaps, xix. 11, xxi. 5, xxiL 6, and especially in
chap. iii. 14, seems to show that the faithfulness is
not simply that of One who, even unto death,
bore witness to what He had heard, but that also
of One who had received the truth in a manner
strictly corresponding to what the truth was.
Secondly, He is the mst-bom of the dead. The
designation is to be distinguished from that in
Col. i 18, the flnt-bom uomthe dead, where
our thoughts are directed rather to the Redeemer
Himself than to those whom He leaves behind
Him in the grave, whereas here we have the
Redeemer as He has begun that resurrection-life
in which He shall yet bring along with Him all
the members of His Body. Thirdly, He is the
prince of the kings of tne earth (comp. chaps,
xvii. 14, xix. 16). The meaning is not that He
is one of them, although higher than they, but
that He is exalted over them, that He rules them
as their Prince. The ' earth ' is to be understood
here, as always in the Apocalypse, of the earth
which is alienated from God, and its * kings'
are its greatest powers and potentates. Yet these
the exited Redeemer rules with the rule of Ps.
ii. 9 and Rev. ii. 27. In the exercise of their
greatest might they are in His hand : He subdues
them, and constrains them to serve His purposes.
It has been often imagined that in the three
designations employed we have a reference to
the prophetical, the priestly, and the kingly
offices of Christ. The supposition is improbable ;
for, in the immediately following doxology with
its three members, the description given of the
Redeemer does not correspond with these offices
in this order of succession. In the three designa-
tions of this verse, therefore, we are to see not
parallel offices of Christ, but successive stages of
His work, — His life on earth, His glorification
when He rose from the dead, and the universal
rule upon which He entered when He sat down
as King at the right hand of the Father.

The thought of the glorious dignity of the
Person whom he has just mention^ now leads
the Seer to burst forth, in the second part of his

[Chap. 1. 1-8.

SaluUtion, into a doxology of adoring praise,
in which the contemplation not so much of what
Jesus is in Himself as of what we experience in
Him is prominent Three relations of the Lord
to His people are spoken of. First, He lofveth
xm. Not, as in the Authorised Version, He
< loved ' us, as if the thoughts of St John were
mainly directed to Christ's work on earth ; but
He ' loveth ' us. He lovcth ns now ; even
amidst the glory of His exalted state we are
partakers of His love ; and His love will give us
all things. Secondly, He loosed ns (not * washed
us *) from onr sins in his hlood. It is complete
salvation that is before the writer's eye, not
simply the pardon of sin, but deliverance from
its bondage. Thqr who are 'loosed from their
sins in ' the blood of Christ are alike cleansed
from the stain and defilement of sin, and are
quickened and enfranchised in the participation
of their Lord's Resurrection-life ; ' heing made
free from sin, and become servants to God, ye
have your fruit unto sanctification, and the
end eternal life' (Rom. vL 22). In the great
Head to whom by faith they are onited, they are
united also to the Father, and are consecraled to
Him in the free and joyful service in which Jesos
gives Himself to the Father for evermore.
Thirdly, He made ns a kingdom, priests onto
his Ood and Father. The ¥ronl5 are in a
certain measure parenthetical, the doxology
which follows connecting itself directly with the
clause immediately preceding them ; biot they do
not on that account less forcibly express one of
the greatest of all privileges bestowed npon
believers. Particular attention ought to be paid
both to the word ' kingdom ' and to the rdation
in which it stands to ' priests.' It is not said
that we are made 'kings,' a term nowhere
applied to Christians in their individual capacity.
We are made 'a kingdom,' yet not, as some
would have it, a kingdom with which Christ is
invested, but ourselves a kingdom, clothed in oar
corporate existence with royal dignity and honour.
The rqgal glory is that of Him who has been set
as King upon God*s holy hill, but it extends to
and glorifies that Body which is one with Him.
Only in her collective capacity, however, in her
oneness, in the harmonious co-operation of all
her parts, is the Church such a kingdom as is
here described, the eternal kingdom of an eternal
Lord, for ' every kingdom divided against itself is
brought to desolation ' (Matt xii. 25). ' We,'
says the Seer, 'are not kings, but a kingdom.*
The relation in which the vfoA ' kingdom ' stands
to the word ' priests ' is to be equaUy observed.
From the collective word we pass to that which
describes our individual position, and brii^ out
its most distinctive and essential feature. We
are ' priests,' to minister to one another, to plead
for one another and for the world, to set forth
before those less favoured than ourselves the praise
and glory of God. Not for our selfish gratifica-
tion, for our own personal enjoyment, has the
'kingdom' been bestowed on us, but that we
may be God's minbters for the world's good.
And this service belongs to every follower of
Jesus. All Christians are 'a kingdom,' but in
that kingdom, sharing its privileges, each
Christian is a 'priest.' The same thought lies
at the bottom of Ex. xix. 6 (comp. also I Pet.
ii. 9) ; and the same order is exnibited in our
Lord's own ministry. The gloiy of His kingship

Chap. I. i-8.]

THE REVELATION.

373

upon earth consisted in His bearing perfect
witness to the truth, with all that was implied in
doing so (John xviii. 37). He came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister : that was His
glory; 'and the glory,* He says in His high-
priestly prayer, 'which Thou hast given Me I
have given unto them* (John xvii. 22). How
important to be reminded of this at the verv
begiiming of a book which is to describe in sucn
exalted strains the triumphs of God's children,
and from which they have so often gathered pleas
for selfish and worldly aggrandisement !

To One in Himself so exalted in His threefold
greatness ; to One who has done so much for us
m the threefold actings of His love, we may well
ascribe the glory and the dominion for ever
and erer. Amen.

Ver. 7. The third part of the Salutation follows,
closely associated with that Redeemer to whom
the doxology of the second part had been
addressed. 'Hie thought of Jesus is not exhausted
by the mention of what He had done. Another
great truth is connected with Him, ~ that He will
come again, to complete His victory, and to
be acknowledged by all in His glory and His
majesty. Bemdd, he oometh with the clouds.
May it not be that these clouds are not the mere
clouds of the sky, but those clouds of Sinai, of
the Shechinah, of the Transfiguration, of the
Ascension, which are the recognised signs of
Deity? This is the coming prophesied of in
Dan. viL 13 and Mark xiv. 02 (also of Matt.
xxvi. 64, though a different preposition is there
used) ; and in both cases, it ou^ht to be strictly
observed, it is a coming to judgment. — And
every eye shall see him, not the eyes only of
those who shall then be alive upon the earth, as
it would thus be impossible to explain the
mention of those who pierced Him, but the eyes
of all who, in any a^e and of any nation, have
rejected His redemption (cp. what is said below
on the meaning of the word 'see *). — Even they
that pierced mm. The reference is undoubtedly
to John xix. 34, 37, and to Zech. xii. 10 (cp.
note on John xix. 37) ; and this, combined with
Uie (acts, that in the passage of the prophet the
Jews are the representatives of the whole human
race ; that it was a Roman soldier, not a Jew,
though at the instigation of the Jews, who pierced
the side of Jesus as He hunp; upon the cross ; and
that the relative employed is not the simple but
the compound relative — whosoever — is sufficient
to show that the persons referred to are not the
Jews only, but they who in any age have
identified themselves with the spirit of the
Saviour's murderers. The reader ought not to
pass these words without remembering that the
piercing of the Saviour's side is spoken of by
St. John alone of all the Evangelists, nay, not
onl^ spoken of, but that too with an emphasis
which shows how deep was the importance he
attached to it (John xix. 34-37). A clear trace
of the importance of the fact in the writer's
mind is likewise presented to us here. — And
all the tribes of the earth shall wail over
him. It is important to notice the word
'tribes,' the same word as that applied to the
true Israel in chaps, v. 5, vii. 4-8, xxi. 12.
The 'tribes* of Israel are the figure by which
God's believing people, whether Jew or Gentile,

are represented. In like manner all unbelievers
are now set before us as 'tribes,* the mocking
counterpart of the true Israel of God. Th^ are
the tribes of the 'earth,* 1.^. not the earth m its
merely neutral sense, but as opposed to heaven,
as the scene of worldliness and evil. Thus in
Matt. xxiv. 30, 31, * all the tribes of the earth '
are distinguished from the ' elect.* In neither of
the two clauses, then, now under consideration
have we any distinction between Jew and Gentile.
The same persons are thought of, numerically
and personally, in both. The distinction lies in
this, that, according to a method of conception
common in the Apocalypse, the same persons are
looked at first under a Jewish, and next under a
Gentile, point of view. The Yea which follows
seems to be the testimony of the Lord Himself to
what had just been told of Him (comp. chap,
xxii. 20). The Amen is the answer of believers
to the statement made.

We have still to ask, In what sense shall
all 'see* and 'wail*? The latter word must
determine the interpretation of the former. Is
this a wailing of penitence or of dismay? or is
it both, so that the wallers embrace alike the
sinful world and the triumphant Church? We
cannot suppose the same word used to denote
wailings of a kind so entirely distinct from and
opposite to one another ; and the following addi-
tional reasons appear to limit the wailing spoken
of to that of the impenitent and godless : — (i)
This is the proper meaning of the word, and it is
so used in chap, xviii. 9. (2) Such is also its
meaning in that prophecy of our Lord upon
which the Apocalypse is moulded (Matt xxiv.).
(3) It corresponds with the idea of the tribes of
the earth, which do not include the godly. (4)
Throughout this book the godly and ungodly are
separated from each other. There is a gulf
between them which cannot be passed. If this
be the meaning of the second clause, that of the
first must correspond to it, and the ' seeing * must
be that of shame and confusion of face. The
whole sentence thus corresponds with the object
of the book, and the coming of Jesus is described
as that of One who comes to overthrow His
adversaries and to complete His triumph.

Ver. 8. This conclusion is strengthened by
the words of the eighth verse, in which the
emphasis lies upon the Almighty, thus brindng
into prominence that all-powerful might in which
Jesus goes forth to be victorious over His enemies.
It is Christ, * the Lord,* who speaks, and who says
that He is the Alpha and the (hnega ; that He
is Gk)d (for we are not to read the two words
Lord God together) ; that He is he which is, and
which was, and which is to oome ; and that
all culminates in His title the Almighty. To
suppose that the words are spoken by the
Father is to introduce a thought not strictly
corresponding to what precedes. The unity of the
whole passage is only preserved by ascribing them
to the exalted and glorified Redeemer. The
words are thus highly important as witnessing to
the true Divinity of Christ, and in particular to
His possessing the same eternity as the Almighty.

Thus, in the assurance that the Lord will come
in His might for the accomplishment of His
plans, the Seer is prepared to enter upon a descrip-
tion of ^e visioiis which he had enjoyed.

374 THE REVELATION. [Chap. 1. 9.2a

Chapter I. 9-20.

The Introductory Vision,

9 T JOHN, who also' am your brother, and companion in*

A tribulation, and in the* kingdom and ''patience of* Jesus «UfiLi9.
Christ,* was in the isle that is called Patmos, for * the word of

10 God, and for' the testimony of Jesus Christ.* I was in the

* Spirit on the Lord's day, and • heard behind me a great voice, *E«k.i.«.

11 as of a ^trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and ^^^m-"!
the last : and,' What thou seest, write in a book," and send //

unto the seven churches which are in Asia ; " unto Ephesus,
and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and

12 unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And
I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being *•

13 turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of
the seven candlesticks one like unto the " Son of man, clothed
with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps "

14 with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs ^* were white like
'wool," as white" as snow; and his eyes w^<^ as a flame of <*!>«. ^f.

15 fire ; and his feet like unto fine " brass, as if they *• burned in

a furnace; and his voice as the sound" of many 'waters. 'P*-

16 And he had in his right hand seven stars : and out of his mouth
went** a sharp two-edged sword :** and his countenance was^

17 as the sun shineth in his strength.'^ And when I saw him, I
fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me^

18 saying unto me,'* Fear not ; I am the first and the last : / am
he that liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive for ever-
more. Amen ; and have *• the keys of hell and of death."

19 Write" the things which thou hast seen," and the things

20 which are," and the things which shall be hereafter;'* the
mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in" my right
hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are
the" angels of the seven churches: and the seven" candle-
sticks which thou sawest " are the seven churches.

* omit also * and fellow-partaker in the • omit in the

* which are in * omit Christ * because of ' omit for

* add I ® omit from I am . . . and, '® roll
*^ omit which are in Asia '• having ^' a
** and girt round at the breasts ** And his head and hairs
*• were white as white wool " omit as white ^® white '• omit if they
*® a voice ** omit went *' a sword two-edged, sharp, proceeding forth
^' omit was ** power ** omit unto me
*° after the last : read^ and the Living One ; and I became dead, and, behold,

I am alive for evermore ; and I have ^^ keys of death and Hades

*® add therefore *^ sawest ^^ both the things which are

'^ shall come to pass after these things " upon

•' omit the •* omit seven ** omit which thou sawest

Chap. I. 9-ao.]

THE REVELATION.

375

Contents. We are introduced to a vision of
tbe Saviour, in that light in which He is peculiarly
presented to us in the Apocalypse — the Head of
His Church, the great High Priest and King of
His people. From Him the Seer receives the
commission to deliver His message to the Church.

Ver. 9. Again the apocalyptic writer, after the
manner of the prophets, especially Daniel, names
himself (comp. Dan. vii. 15, viiu i, 15, ix. 2, x. 2,
xii. 5). But he is not only a prophet : he is not
leas personally concerned than those to whom he
writes in the revelation which he is to declare.
He b their brother, and he is a fellow-partaker
with them in the things of which he speaks. In
what a touching light does St. John thus present
himself to the afflicted Church ! But the words
whidi he uses are more than touching. They
take for granted that all who read are feeling as
acutely as himself ; and such is the nature of the
Apocalypse, that, unless we either are or put our-
selves as far as possible into his position, we shall
never understand the book. For an afflicted
Church, and not for a Church in worldly pro-
sperity and ease, it has its meaning. The thmgs
spoken of by the apostle are three in number, and
tney are bound together into one conception,
although the first b the main particular to be
dwelt on, the other two being only additional and
explicative (comp. on John xiv. 6). The first is
IriDulation, *the tribulation' through which the
followers of the Lord in every age must pass ;
imt the mention of it is followed by that of the
Ungdom, the present, not the future kingdom ;
and the patience, the stediast endurance which
boMs out to the end amidst all sorrow, the
patience of which we are so strikingly told b^ our
Lord in Luke xxi. 19, that in it we shall ' win our
•oula' (later reading; comp. Revised Version).
These, too, are in Janis,— not ' of ' Jesus as if onlv
His spirit were nuule ours, nor * for ' Jesus as u
only we were suffering and rejoicing and enduring
for His sake, but ' in ' Him, believers being one
with Him, and therefore partakers of His trials.
His royalty, and His heavenly strength. — Was ;
literally, ' became,' passed into, an expression, be
it noted, that supports, though it could not have
orig^ted, the tradition of the writer's banish-
ment.—In the ide that is called FatmoB, a small
and barren island in the Egean Sea, such as those
to which it was customary at that period to banish
prisoners. To this island it is generally supposed
that St. John was exiled in the time of the Roman
Emperor Dbmitian, and the following words are
in harmony with the supposition that this was the
explanation of his being there. — Becauae of the
mrd of Ood and the testimony of Jeans. The
* word of God ' is that which comes from God,
the ' testimony of Jesus * that which is given by
Jesus ; but they cannot be limited here, as at ver. 2,
to the revelation of this book (comp. also chaps,
vi. 9, XX. 4). All revelation may be so described.
Ver. la Waa; literally, 'became,* see on ver. 9.
It was not his ordinary condition (comp. £zek.
ii. 2). — Li the tpiiit. The expression occurs four
times in the book, each time at a great crisis in the
development of the visions (chaps, i. 10, iv. 2,
xvii. 3, xxi. 10). It denotes removal in thought
from this material scene, elevation into the higher
region of spiritual realities, transportation into the
midst of the sights and sounds of the invisible
world. — On the Iiord'a day. Certainly not the lai>t
day, the great day of judgment, known in the New

Testament by a difiierent expression, ' the day of
the Lord,* and before whicn, not on which, the
events of the Apocalypse take place, but the first
day of the week (comp. the expression used by St.
Paul, *the Lord's Supper,' in I Cor. xi. 20).
Yet the words are not to be regarded as a simple
designation of the first day of the week in its
distinction from the others. The nature and
character of the day are to be kept particularly in
view. It is the day of the 'Lord,' tbe risen and
glorified Lord, the day of Him who, thus risen
and glorified, had founded that Church against
which no enemies shall prevail. Wrapt therefore
in contemplation of the glory of this Lord ; not
simply with the peaceful influences of the day of
rest diffused over his soul, but dwelling amidst
the thoughts of that authority and power which
are poss^sed by the risen Jesus at the right hand
of the Father, St. John receives the revelation
which is here communicated to him.

Thus, then, we have both the outward and the
inward circumstances of the Seer ; and it will be
observed that they correspond closely to the con-
dition of the Lord Himself. St. John b at once
in a state of humiliation and of exaltation. He
has the marks of suffering upon him, but he b
also in possession of a glory which enables him to
triumph over suffering : he b ' in Jesus.'

The vbion follows, and the first part of it b the
hearing of a great voice as of a trumpet. There
can be little doubt that the trumpet spoken of b
that so frequently alluded to in the Old Testa-
ment, the Stiophar^ the trumpet of war and
judgment (see more fully on chap. viii. 2), not
the trumpet of festal proclamation ; therefore
not merely (as most commentators) one with a
strong and clear sound, but with a sound inspiring
awe and terror, and corresponding in this respect
to the dbtinguishing characteristic of the Loid in
the further details of the vision.

Ver. II. llie first clauses of the verse in the
Authorised Version must be removed, and the
words of the voice begin with what then seest
write in a rolL Under the ' seeing ' is included
all that is to be written in the roll, not merely
chaps, ii. and iii. ; and the command to Write is
so given in the original as to show that it b
urgent, and that it must be obeyed at once (chaps.
L 19, ii. I, 8, 12, 18, iii. I, 7, 14, xiv. 13, xix. 9,
xxi. 5). — When the roll b written it b to be sent
nnto the seven chnrohes which are named.
These are the seven churches alreadv spoken of in
ver. 4, and no reasonable doubt can be entertained
that they represent the universal Church in dl
countries and ages ; for (i) The Apocalypse b
designed for all Chrbtians (chap. i. 3) ; (2) There
were other churches in Asia at the time, at all
events those of Magnesia and Tralles, probably
those also of Colossae and Hierapolis. These
two latter cities had indeed suffered from an
earthquake before the Apocalypse was penned,
but there is no reason to think that their churches
had been wholly destroyed, or that, if destroyed
for a time, they might not have been restored.
Although, however, there were thus more than
seven churches in Asia, thb book, it will be
observed, is addressed not to seven, but to 'the'
seven (ver. 4). (3) We must bear in mind the
importance of the number seven, which often
occurs in the Apocaljrpse, and apparently nowhere
in its merely hteral sense. Here as elsewhere,
therefore, it is to be typically understood, as an

376 THE REVELATION. [Chap. 1.9.2a

emblem of the nnity, amidst manifoldness, of that girt. The priestly girdle under the Law was only

Church with which God makes His covenant, of linen embroider^ with gold (Ex. zzviil 8).

(4) The character in which the Redeemer is pre- Here it is 'golden/ that is, wholly of gold in

sented to these seven churches consists of a order to indicate the high dignity of the wearer

summary of particulars which are afterwards and the exceeding riches of the blessings He

applied separately to the seven churches in chaps, bestows. The important question has still to be

iL and iiL But the sunmiary represents Jesus as asked, whether in this dress we are to see the

a whole ; and the natural inference is, that the emblem only of priestly or of both kingly and

seven churches constitute a whole also. (5) The priestly power. If we consider (i) That the more

symbolism of the whole book is thus preserved, peculiar articles of the priests' dress, wacb. as the

On any other supposition than that vre have here mitre and the ephod, are not spoken of, but ooly

a representation of the whole Church of Christ, such as were common to both priests and kings ;

chaps, ii. and iiu must be r^;arded as simply (2) That in Dan. x. 5 and Isa. xxiL ax we have

historical, and the harmony of Uie Apocalypse is the same specification associated with the exeidse

destroyed. of the royal and governmental rather than the

Ver. 12. The Seer naturally turns to see ; and priestly office ; and (3) That the idea of kingiy

the first thin^ that strikes his eyes as the outer power b embodied in those parts of the descnp-

circle of the vision is seven golden candlesticks, tion which are yet to follow, we shall have no

each of them like the golden candlestick of the difficulty in answering the question. We have

Tabernacle. That we have seven candlesticks before us not only a Priest but a King, One who

instead of one points to the richness and fulness is already a Priest upon His throne, a Priest after

of the New Testament Dispensation in its contrast the order of Melchizedec. But the thought of ibt

with the Old. The idea that we have before us King is prominent.

only one candlestick with seven branches is to be Vers. 14, 15. From the dress the Seer now

rejected as alike inconsistent with the language of proceeds to some characteristics of the personal

St. John and with the symbolism of the TOok. appearance of Him whom he beholds in vision.

It is, besides, wholly unnecessary to think of only Hjs head and haixs were wbi^e as iriiita

one candlestick for the sake of unity. The wool, as snow. The head is not the fbie-

number seven is not less expressive of unity than head, but, as appears from the omissioa of the

unity itself. personal pronoun when the hair is mentioned,

Ver. 13. We have beheld the contents of the simply the head, with more especial reference

outer circle ; but there is something more glorious to the hair ; and the white wool and the snow

within. In the midst of the seven golden candle- are emblems of purity and holiness (comp. V%,

sticks is One, not walking as in chap. ii. i, but li. 7 ; Isa. L 18), not of old age. — Hia eyes wtn

standing, who is like mSo a Son ox mui, t.^. aa a flame of flxe, penetrating^ into every daik

appears in human likeness. As in chap. xiv. 14, recess of sin, not only discovering sin, but con*

and John v. 27, the article ' the ' is awanting, arid suming it — ^And his feet like imto white lanm

ought not to be supplied. Besides which, the IramM in a fnmaoe. The word here nsed for

whole description shows ihat it is the Son of man ' white brass ' b found elsewhere only at chap, ik

Himself, not One ' like unto ' Him, that is seen. 18 of this book, where the part of the descriptiQii

Yet St. John does not say, ' I saw the Son of now given is again made use o£ It may peniaps

man,* for it is not in reality, but in vision, that he have been a technical .word of the wonceis m

sees the Lord. brass employed about Ephesus ; <Mr, what is still

In the description given, the first thing men- more probable, it may have been a mystical word
tioned is the Saviour's garb, a garment down to compounded by the Seer himself, who wonid
the foot The description of Gabriel in Dan. express, by its partly Greek partly Hebrew com-
X. 5 (comp. also Ezek. ix. 2, 3, 11) leaves little position, that from the treading of these bomiog
doubt as to the nature of the robe spoken of. It feet no ungodly of any nation shall escape-
was a long white linen garment reaching to the Lastly, And ms voice as a Tdbe of naaj
feet, and worn by priests, or (i Sam. xv. 27) by wateis. The connection in chapis. xiv, 2, xix. 6^
kings. It was thus not only a priestly but a roj'al between 'many waters ' and ' thunderings' at
robe. — In addition to this, the person seen was once points out the meaning of this fig[ure. The
girt xonnd at the breasts with a golden girdle, voice is not simply loud and clear, but of irre-
The supposition is often entertained that the place sistible strength ana power, a voice the rebuke of
of this girdle, so much higher than the loins, which no enemy shall be able to withstand. All
indicates not action, but rest from toil. It may the features of the description, it will be observed,
be greatly doubted if such a supposition is correct, are those of majesty, terror, and judgment, —
The girding referred to in Luke xii. 35 presents absolute purity, penetrating toad consoming fire,
no proper analogy to that now mentioned, being the white heat of brass raised to its highest
the girding up at the loins of the robe itself, so as temperature in the furnace^ the awful sound of
to prevent its flowing to the feet. Here the girdle many waters.

has no connection with the loins ; and it seems Ver. 16. From the personal appearance of

rather to have been that worn by the priests when the Redeemer, the Seer now passes to His emtip*

engaged in sacrifice. We learn from Tosephus ment for His work, and that in three particaiark

(comp. Smithes Dictionary of the BiMe^ ii. p. 702) And he had in his right hand seven w^m, la

that at such times it was their practice to wear the writings of St Jdm the verb 'to have'

a girdle about the body just below the arm-pits, denotes possession, and the ' right hand ' is the

The Son of man, therefore, is not here at rest, hand of power, so that the Lord is here repie-

but is engaged in discharging the functions, what* sented as possessing these seven stars, for their

ever they are, which belong to Him as a Priest rule, protection, and guidance : ' No one shall

for ever. In chap. xv. 6 the angels with the pluck them out of My hand * (John x. 28). The

seven , last plagues are described as similarly stars are grasped ' in ' His hand, to denote that

Chap. I. 9- 2a]

THE REVELATION.

377

they are His property. When the idea is varied
in ver. 20^ the preposition b also changed, — they
are then not 'in but 'upon' his hand. The
•even stars are further explained in ver. 20 to be
' the angels of the seven churches ' (see on that
verse). — The second particular mentioned is that
of the sword. Oat ox his month a a^Tord, two-
o4g«d, aharp, pxooeeding forth. The order of
the words in the original, and the love of the
Seer for the number three, seems to make it
desirable to understand 'proceeding forth' as
an attribute of the sword parallel to the other
two, instead of connecting it directly with its
noun in the sense, ' out of his mouth proceeded
lc»th a sharp, two-edged sword.' The word here
translated ' sword ' occurs six times in the Apo-
calvpse (chaps, i 16, ii. 12, 16, vi. 8, xix. 15, 21),
and onl^ once in the rest of the New Testament
' (Lake it. 35), but it is very frequently used in the
Greek translation of the Old lestament, particu-
larly in Ezekiel. In Ezek. v. I it is associated
with the attribute 'sharps' In Ps. cxlix. 6 we
have it connected with the epithet ' two-edged '
or two-mouthed, the edge of the sword l^ing
considered as its mouth by which it devours (Isa.
L 20; cp. Heb. xi. 34, where the plural
* mouths ' of the Greek leads to the thought of
the two edges). The use of this figure in
Scripture justifies the idea that there is here a
rdference to the Word of God which proceeds out
of His mouth (Eph. vi. 17 ; Heb. iv. 12) ; but
there is no thought of 'comforting' or of 'the
mce and saving power of the Word.' Its
destroying power is alone in view, that power
by which it judges, convicts, and condemns the
wicked. ' He shall smite the earth with the rod
of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips
shall He slay the wicked' (Isa. xi. 4; cp.
John xiL 48). Hence, accordingly, the various
epithets here applied to the sword, all cal-
colated to emphasize its destroying power, —
twoHcdged, sharp, proceeding forth, the latter
denoting that it is not at rest, but in the act of
coming forth to execute its work. — ^And his
countenance as the snn shlneth in his power.
The third particular of Christ^s equipment. We
might have expected this particular to be connected
with the previous group describing the appearance
of the Lord. Its introduction now as a part of
Christ's equipment leads directly to the conclusion
that we are to dwell mainly upon the power of
the sun's rays as they proceed directly from that
luminary. Hence, also, in all probability the
|iarticular Greek word used for ' countenance,' —
not so much the face as the appearance of the
lace, the light streaming from it The sun is
thought of not at his rising, but in hb utmost
strength, with the scorching, intolerable power
which marks him in the East at noonday.

It thus appears that, throughout the whole of
this description, the ' Son of man ' is one who
comes to judgment To Him all judgment has
been committed (John v. 22, 27), and the time
has arrived when He shall take unto Him His
great power and reign. Nor are we to ask how
It is possible that this should be the prominent
aspect of the Lord in a book intended to
strengthen and console His Church. That God
is a God of judgment is everywhere throughout
the prophets of the Old Testament the com*
fort of the righteous. They are now oppressed,
but ere long they shall be vindicated ; and t^r^

shall be a recompense unto those that trouble
them.

Vers. 17, 18. The effect of the vision upon the
Seer is now described. I fell, he says, at nis feet
M dead (cp. Ex. xxxiii. 20 ; Isa. vi. 5 ; Ezek.
i. 28 ; Dan. viii. 17, x. 7, 8 ; Luke v, 8). The
effect upon the present occasion is, however,
greater man on any of those referred to in these
other passages, it corresponds to the greater
glory that has been witnessed. But St. John is
immediately restored both by act and word. For
the act cp. Dan. viii. 18, x. 10, 18 ; for the
word, Matt xiv. 27 ; Luke v. 10, xii. 32 ; John
vi. 20, xii. 15. The right hand is the all-
powerful hand in which the churches are held
(ver. 16) ; and no doubt the Seer is at the same
time set upon his feet (cp. Ezek. i. 28, ii. i, 2).

But this was not all. The Redeemer further
reveals Himself as the Lord who through
humiliation and death had attained to glory and
victory. Ill the words in which He does so,
reaching to the end of ver. 18, it seems to be
generally allowed that we have three clauses, but
commentators differ as to their arrangement.
Without discussing the opinions of oUiers, it
may be enough to say that the best distribution
appears to be as follows : — (i) I am the first and
tne last and the Living One ; (2) and I became
dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore ; (3)
and I have the keys of death and of Hades,
(i) I am the first and the last (cp. ver. 8, ii. 8,
xxiL 13). It is the Divine attribute of eternal and
unchangeable existence that is spoken of ; not I
am the first in glory, the last in humiliation, but
I am the One preceding all, embracing all, by
whom all things were m^e, in whom all things
consist, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever
(cp. Isa. xii. 4, xliv. 6, xlviii. 12), and the
living (hie. He is not merely alive, but He
has life in Himself, self-possessed, absolute life
(John i. 4, V. 26). Thus in these epithets we
have the Divine, eternal pre-extstcnce of the
Son, what He was before the Eternal * Word
became flesh, and tabernacled among us.' (2)
I became dead. The Divine Son emptied
Himself of His glory, and stooped as man to
death itself. All this is included in 'became.'
— And behold, I am alive for evermore, words
which ought not to be separated from those
immediately preceding them ; for, according to
the conception of St. John, the Resurrection and
Glorification of our Lord are to be taken along
with His humiliation as parts of one great whole
(cp. note on John xx. under Contents). We are
thus carried a step further forward than in the
previous part of our Lord's declaration of
Himself. (3) and I have the keys of death and
of Hades. The two words ' death ' and ' Hades '
are combined, as in chap. xx. 13, 14, and both
are conceived of as a fortress or place of imprison-
ment Hence the figure of the 'keys* (Isa.
xxxviii. 10; Matt xvL 18 ; cp. also chap. ix. i,
XX. I). Neither 'death' nor ' Hades ' is to be
understood in a neutral sense. The one is
not simply death, but death as a terrible power
from which the righteous have escaped; the
other is a region peopled, not by both the
righteous and the wicked, but by those alone who
have not conquered death. Both words thus
describe the condition of all who are out of
Christ, and are not partakers of His victory.
Yet^ however ^ey m^iy be opposed to Him, He

378

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. I. 9-20^

bas the keys of the prison within which they are
confined ; He can keep them there, or He can
deliver them at His will. The third part of the
declaration thus carries us further than the
second, and introduces us to the thought of
Christ's everlasting and glorious rule as King in
Zion. AH the three parts appropriately follow
the words 'Fear not.* They tcU of the Divine
pre-existence of the Son ; of death endured but
conquered in His Resurrection; of irresistible
power now exercised over His and the Church's
enemies. They are thus supplementary to the
description which had been given of the Son of
man in vers. 13-16, and they include a revelation
of the fact that He who is judgment to His enemies
is mercy to His own.

Ver. 19. Write therefore, not simply in con-
tinuation of the 'write* of ver. Ii, or because the
apostle has recovered from his fear, but 'Write,
seeing that I am what I have now revealed Myself
to be. ' The following clauses of this verse are
attended with great difficulty, and very various
opinions have been entertained regarding them.
Here it is only possible to remark that the thingi
which thon wwest, although most naturally
referred to the vision of vers. 10-18, are not
necessarily confined to what concerns Jesus tn
Himsdf. In these verses He is described as the
Head of His Church, as One who has His Church
summed up in Him ; and we are thus led not
merely to the thought of His individualitv, but to
that of the fortunes of His people. This being so^
the foUowing clauses of the verse are to be
regarded as a resolution of the vision into the
two parts in which it finds its application to the
history of the Church, so that we ought to trans-
late both the thing! which are, and the thingi
which ihall come to paai after these things.
'The things which are' then give expression to
the present condition of the Churcn, as she
follows her Lord in humiliation and suffering in
the world ; ' the things which shall come to pass
after these things' to the glory that awaits her
when, all her trials over, she shall enter upon her
reward in the world to come. The verse, there-
fore, consists of two parts rather than three,
although the second part is again divided into
two. There appears to be no sufficient reason
for rendering the second clause of the verse ' what
ihey are ' instead of ' the things which are.' The
plural verb in that clause is better accounted for
by the thought of the mingled condition, partly
Korrow and defeat, partly joy and triumph, of the
Church on earth, while hereafter it shall be
wholly joy and wholly triumph.

Ver. 2a The mystery of the stars which thon
sawest npon my right hand. It is generally
agreed that the word ' mystery ' here depends on
'write,' and that it is m apposition with the
'things which thou sawest.' The word denotes
what man cannot know by his natural powers, or
without the help of Divine revelation. It occurs
again in chaps, x. 7, xvii. 5, 7 ; and its use there,
as well as its present context, forbids the supposi-
tion that it refers merely to ihe/ac/ that the seven
stars are angels of the seven churches, or that the
seven candlesticks are seven churches. It includes
the whole history and fortutus of these churches.
All that concerns them is a part of the ' mystery '
which is now to be written, and which the saints
shall understand, though the world cannot. We
may further notice that, in the second clause of

the first half of this verse, and the Mven golden
oandlestloki, the last word is not, as we might
have expected, dependent upon * mystery.' It is
in the accusative not the genitive case ; and would
thus seem to depend upon the verb * sawest* and
to be subordinate to the first cUuue, though oosdy
connected with it (oomp. John ii. 12, zxv. 6). If
so, the * seven stars ' are the prominent part of the
mastery, thus illustrating the unity of tne Chvrch
with the Saviour Himself, for He is * the bri^it,
the morning star ' (chap. xxii. 16). Farther also
we may noUce the 'upon' prefixed to * my right
hand' instead of 'in' as in ver. 16. Sortly, in
spite of the commentators, there is a difleicnce.
The Seer beholds the churches ' in ' the hand of
their Lord as His absolute property and in His
safe keeping. The Lord Hunself beholds them
'upon' His right hand, in a more upright and
independent position : they are churches which
He IS about to send forth to struggle in His place:
An explanation of what the stars and the candle-
sticks are is now given. The mtfwm^ ataiB an
angela of the seven ohnxohea. It seems doubt-
ful if stars are 'in all the typical language of
Scripture symbols of lordship and authority
ecclesiastical or civil ' (Trench). They are often
emblems of light (Num. xxiv. 17 ; Ps. cxlviil 3 ;
ler. xxxi. 35 ; Ezek. xxxii. 7 ; Dan. xii. 3 ; Jod
iL 10, iii. 15 ; 2 Pet. L 19 ; Rev. iL 2S, xxil 16),
so that it cannot at least be inferred from the use
of the word that the 'angels' are persons ia
authority. What they are is more doubtfid, and
the most various opinions have been entertained
r^arding them. Several of these may be set aside
without much difficulty. They are not ideal
messengers of the churches, supposed to be sent
on a mission to the Seer. He would then have
replied bv them, not i0 them. They are not the
officials known as angels or messengers of the
sjmagogue. Such an office is too subordinate to
answer the conditions of the case^ and Uiere is no
proof that it had been transferred to the Christian
Church. They are not the guardian angels of the
churches, for, instead of protecting, they represent
the churches, and they are spoken of in the epetles
which follow as chargeable with their sins. TWo
interpretations remam of wider currency or of
higher authority. They are thought to be the
B^ops or presiding ministers of the churcbe&
But, even supposing that the Episcopal oonsdta-
tion of the Church at this early date could be
established on other grounds, ' it is difficult to see
how a personage whose name (aneel, one sent
forth) implies departure from a. particular locality
should be identified with the resident governor of
the Church ' {Saui of Tarsus^ p. 143) ; nor could
a Bishop be appropriately commended for the
virtues, or condemned for the sins, of hb flodL
The interpretation of some of the oldest com-
mentators on the Apocalypse is the best. Angds
of a church are a method of expressing the dini^
itself, the church being spoken of as if it were
concentrated in its angel or messenger. In other
words, the angel of a church is the moral image c^
the church as it strikes the e}*e of the observei;
that presentation of itself which it sends up to the
view of its King and Governor. There is mach
in the style of thought marking the* ApocsJypse to
favour this view, for the leading persons spoken of
in the book, and even the different departments
of nature referred to in it, have each its 'angel.*
God proclaims His judgments by angeb (chaps

Chap. II. 1-7.] THE REVELATION. 379

xiv. 6, 8, 9, xviL i, xviii. i, 2i)s He executes When it is said of the Son of man that He has

them by angels (chaps, viii. 2, xv. i, 6) ; He seals the 'seven stars upon His right hand/ it is much

His own by angels (cfiap. vii. 3); He even addresses - more natural to thmk that we have here a symbol

the Son by an angel (chap. xiv. 15). The Son in of the churches themselves than of their rulers ;

like manner acts by an angel (chap. xx. i) ; and and in chap. xii. I the twelve stars are not per-

reveals His truth by an angel (chaps, i. i, xxii. sons, the number twelve being simply the number

6^ 16). Michael has his angels (chap. xii. 7) ; the of the Church. It may indeed be argued as an

dragon has his angels (chap. xii. 7, 9) ; the waters, objection to the above reasoning, that it is imme-

fire, the winds, and the abyss have each its angel diately added in this verse that the candleeticks

(chaps. xvL 5, xiv. 18, vii i, ix. 11). In some of are the Mven dhorohee, and that we shall

these instances it may be said that the angels are thus have two figures for the same object. But

teal beings, but hi others it is hardly possible to between the figures there is an instructive diflfer-

think sa The method of expression seems to ence confirmatory of all that has been said ;

rest upon the idea that ever3rthmg has its angel, for the ' star * represents the Church as she gives

its messenger by whom it communicates its feel- light in the firmament of heaven, as she shines

ings^ and through whom it comes in contact with before the world for the world's good ; the candle-

the external world. The an^ls here spoken of stick represtots her as having her Divine life

are, therefore, not so much ideal representatives nourished in the secret place of the tabernacle of

of the diurches, as a mode of thougnt by which the Most High. The one b the Church in action,

the churches are conceived of when they pass out the other the Church in her inner life ; and hence,

of their absolute condition into intercourse with, probably, the mention of the former before the

and action upon, others. Perhaps the same mode latter, for throughout the Apocalypse it is with

of speaking may be seen in Dan. x. 20, 21, xii. i, the working, struggling Church that we have to do.

where Persia and Grecia are represented by Hence also in ver. 13 the Son of man is ' in the

angels. midst of the candlesticks;' while the stars are

With the view now taken the equivalent desig- ' upon His right hand ' (ver. 20), the hand that is

natkMi 'stars' agrees much better than the sup- stretched out for acting and for manifesting His

potitioo that these stars are persons in authority, glory to the world.

CHAPS. II., III.— THE EPISTLES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES.

Chapter II. 1-7.

I. The Epistle to Epkesus.

1 T INTO the angel of the church of* Ephesus write; These

vJ things saith ""he that holdeth* the seven stars in his aCh.i. i6.»o.
right hand, who* walketh in the midst of the seven golden

2 candlesticks; I know *thy works, and thy labour,* and thy* *iThe$.i.3.
patience, and how* thou canst not ^bear them which are^ <rPs.cxxxix.
evil : • and thou hast tried • them which say they are " apostles,

3 ^and " are not, and hast found ** them liars : " and hast borne, dActsxx. 30;
and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and

4 hast not fainted.'* Nevertheless I have somewhat^^ against

5 thee, because'* thou hast left^' thy first 'love. Remember ^ !"•»*•«•
therefore from whence thou art '• fallen, and repent, and do the

first works ; or else I will '• come unto thee quickly,*" and will
remove" thy candleslicTc out of his** place, except thou repent.

6 Biit this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds *' of the ^ Nico- /vcr*. 14, 15.

7 laitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear

*in *^^fast •he that * toil * ^///// thy

• that ' omit them which are • add men * didst try

*• them that call th^nselves " add they " didst find " false
*^ And thoo hast patience, and thou didst bear because of my name, and thou
fiast not grown weary ^* omit somewhat ^^ that " didst let go

'•hast '•<wi//wiU '^•^^c^wfi/quicklijr '^ IK^^V^ ■ '* Us "works

38o THE REVELATION. [Chap. II. 1-7.

what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that over-
cometh will I give" to eat of** the tree of life, which is in the
midst of " the ^ paradise of God. ^Cen. «. ■>

** I will give to him ** out of " otmi the midst of

Contents. Reserving any remarks to be
made upon the general structure of the Epbtles
to the seven churches of Asia, and upon their
relation to one another, we only notice at present
iheir position in the Apocalypse as a whole.
The two chapters containing them form the second
great section of the book, and their aim is to set
before us a representation of that Church of the
Lord Jesus Christ, whose struggle and victory it
is the main object of the apostle to describe. We
have already seen that the seven churches here
spoken of represent the one universal Church.
Ihe Epistles addressed to them constitute the
introduction of that Church upon the field of
history. The gpreat Head of the Church has been
brought before us in chap. i. ; and now we have
the Church herself. Wc must learn to know her
in her calling and her condition before we can
understand her fortunes.

Ver. I. The first church addressed is that of
Ephcsus, the city in which St. John himself is
reported, according to the unanimous tradition of
Christian antiauity, to have spent the closing
]>criod of his life. Yet, even if we adopt the later
date for the composition of the Apocalvi)se, we
can hardly suppose that we are to find in this
circumstance the reason why Ephesus is first
mentioned. It is more reasonable to think that
the importance of that church in itself, together, it
may be, with the special particulars of its internal
condition, determined the place which is now
assigned to it. Ephesus was the most influential
city of Asia Minor, the meeting-place of Eastern
and Western thought, renowned not only for its
commercial relations, but for that magnificent
temple of Diana which was looked upon as one
of the wonders of the world (Acts xix. 27). St.
Paul showed his sense of its importance by
spending in it no less than three years of his busy
life, and by using it as one of the great centres of
his missionary labours. The angel of the church,
that is, as we have seen, not its bishop or pre-
siding pastor, but the church itself viewed as the
appointed interpreter and messenger of Christ's
purjwses to the world, is now addressed by St. John.

First of all we have a description of Him from
whom the message comes, taken from the descrip-
tion already given of Him in chap, i., and more
especially from vers. 13 and 16. There is a
peculiar fitness in the selection for the first Epistle
of these, the obviously prominent characteristics
of the Lord as He is brought before us in that
chapter ; but there is nothing to lead us to think
that the Church at Ephesus, viewed by itself, is
more representative of the universal Church than
any other of the seven. Two points of difference
l>etween the description of the Redeemer here and
in chap. i. are worthy of notice: — (i) The sub-
stitution of the word holdeth fast for the word
* hath 'of the latter (ver. 16). The first of these
words is much stronger than the second, and
denotes to retain firmly in the grasp (comp. chaps,
ii. 25, iii. II). It is therefore employed in the
present instance with peculiar propriety, when the

aim of the Seer is to set forth not so much tlie
glory of the Lord Himself, as the power wilk
which He retains His people under His caie, so
that, even when decay has begun to mark them,
they shall not be allowed finiilly to pei^ (John
X. 28). (2) The word walketh for the sim]^
being or standing of chapw i. 13, in order to
indicate not merely that Christ's people sarroand
and worship Him, but that He is engaged in
observing and protecting them. Not one « thdr
backslidings or errors escapes His notice : they
have no weakness which He will not strengthen,
no want which He will not supply.

Ver. 2. The address to the Church foUo«s»
embracing vers. 2-6. The first port of it, eztcDd-
ing to the close of ver. 3, seems to contain seven
points of commendation :— -(i ) I know thy woik%
and thy toil and patience. By the word ' know*
we are to understand not apprc^tion, but umply
experimental knowledge; and by 'works,' not
hero-deeds, but simplv the whole tone and coo-
duct of the church s life, together with the
outward manifestation of what uie was. These
works are then resolved into two parts ; ' toi],'
which is more than labour in the service of the
Lord; and 'patience,' which is more than the
passive virtue commonly represented by tbnt
word. - The meaning would be better expressed
by 'endurance,' — the strong, firm, and manly
bearing of all suffering inflicted by a hostile worid
for the sake of Christ ~ (2) And that thon caMt
not bear evil men. The ' evil men' referred to
are a different class from those spoken of in the
following clause, and thev are thought of as t
burden too heavy to be borne. The Ephestaa
church had a holy impatience of those who, by
their evil deeds, brought disgrace upon the
Christian name, and she is commended for it —
(3) And thon didst try them that call themMlTW
apostles. These persons had made a special
claim to be apostles (comp. 2 Cor. xL 13), even
in all probability disownmg St. John himsdC
But the Ephesian Christians had ' tried,' and m
tr)ung had discovered their false pretensions. The
Greek word here used for 'try is different from
that found in I John iv. I, where we read,
' Believe not every spirit, but prove (not, as in the
Authorised Version, 'try') the spirits, whether
they are of God.' A distinction has hcea drawn
between the two^ the latter being refened to
faith and doctrine, the former to works ; and the
distinction has been thought to find support in
ver. 6. But the false teachers there spoken of
are not the same as those mentioned in the daose
before us. The distinction seems rather to lie in
this, that ' try ' expresses simply the trial, with
the superadds thought of disindinatioo to the
persons tried ; that ' prove ' expresses the bringing
forth of solid worth by trial (comp. I Cor. xvi. 3 ;
2 Cor. viii. 8 ; I I'im. iii. 10 ; i Pet i. 7).
Here, therefore, ' prove ' could not be used. The
Ephesian church knew what these deceivers would
show themselves to be, and turned from then
with the instinct of the Christian beait before it

. II. 1-7.]

THE REVELATION.

381

em to a formal proof. — And they are not,
in the Authorised Version with the omission
word 'they.' The addition of the clause,
compared with i John iii. i, affords an
iting illustration of the style of the apostle,
id such we are ' ought there to be insert^
! text (corop. also chap. iii. 9).— (4) And
find them ISalae (comp. chap. iii. 9 ; i
■ 6).

se is no evidence to show that false teachers
s these could have existed only in the very
It period of the Christian Church, that they
t oe assigned to the closing years of the
sntoiy, and that the Apocalypse must there-
ave been written before the destruction of
lem. The words of St. Paul to the
ian Presbyters in Acts xx. 29 lead rather to
lief that the manifestation there spoken of

not take place until at least most of the
es had been removed from this earthly scene.
. 3. (5) And then hast patience. The
nee' spoken of is the stedfast endurance
f mentioned in ver. 2, but the possession of
race is enhanced by the use of the verb
/—thou hast it, it is thine.— (6) And thon
liear because of my name. They had not

with evil men (ver. 2) ; and yet, in not
g them, in rejecting them, and in the
w which was involved in doing so, they
id something to bear ; they had borne the
1 laid upon them because of the ' name * of
because of that revelation of the grace and
f God which had been given them in Him
. on John xiv. 13, 14). -^7) And thou hast
rown weary. For the use of the word
weary,* comp. John iv. 6. In ver. 2 they
>en commended for their ' toil ; ' but now a
I taken in advance, they had not 'grown
' in it. How hard the duty, and how high
ice!

h are the seven points in which the
ian church is commended ; and, if we are
n considering them as seven, it will follow
he fourth, 'didst find them false,' is the
g one of the seven ; or, in other words,
le chief point of commendation in the state

Christians at Ephesus is their instinctive
iment and rejection of false teachers, and
eal for the true doctrine of Christ as handed
by His commissioned and inspired apostles.
d this all else that in their case was worthy
imendation centred. Here was the ' toil '
lever wearied, the 'endurance' that never

the ' bearing ' of that bitter cross which
led, as it did so largely in the case of our
in contending against the ' grievous wolves '
ad entered into God's hentage, and were
ing and scattering the sheep (John x. 12).
rst ' work ' of Christ, to maintain God's true
ion of Himself against selfish error, appears
Ephesian church.

4. Commendation has been bestowed;
served blame that had been incurred now
I : KeverthelesB I have against thee that
lidtt let go thy first love. The Authorised
n is here materially injured by the insertion
wotd ' somewhat,* to which there is nothing

original to correspond. The declension

serious and not a slight one, — the letting

'kindness of her youth,* the 'love of her

als' (Jer. ii. 2), the love with which the

had met her Lord 'in the day of His

espousals, and in the day of the gladness of His
heart' (Cant. iii. ii). Nothing but the love of
the bride can satisfy the Bridegroom ; all zeal for
His honour, if He is to value it, must flow from
love, and love must feed its flame. There is no
contradiction between the state now described and
that in vers. 2 and 3. Nor is there any need to
think that these latter verses apply only to the
' angel ' as if he were a distinct personality, while
this verse applies to the church at large. The
history of the Christian Church has been too full
of zeal without love to justify any doubt as to the
verisimilitude of the picture. Let the times
immediately subsequent to the successful struggle
against Arianism, and again to the Reformation in
(^rmany, testify to the fact.

Ver. 5. The exhortation to the church now
follows in three parts : — (i) Remember therefore
from whence tiion hast fallen ; her first condition
being regarded as a height ; (2) and repent, by
contrasting thy present with thy former state ; (3)
and do the first works ; for it is the duty of the
church to * abide ' in Christ : ' Even as the
Father hath loved Me,' says Jesus Himself, *I
also have loved you ; abide ye in My love ' (John
XV. 9). ' Works ' are here to be understood in
that widest sense of the word peculiar to St. John.
The Lord does not bid His Church act as if acting
were everything and feeling nothing. Feeling
b rather the thing mainly thought of. There
was no want of action : what was needed was
the love which alone makes action valuable (cp.
I Cor. xiii.).— or else I come unto thee ; not the
final judgment, or the Second Coming of the Lord ;
for, in that case, we should hardly have had the
words ' unto thee ' attached to the warning, but
a special coming in judgment, an earnest and
symbol of the great Coming at the last. — And will
move thy candlestick out of its place, except
thon repent. The removal of the church's
candlestick denotes removal from her high
standii^ and privileges in the sanctuary of God.
There is nothmg here of what has been described
as simply ' the removal of the candlestick, not the
extinction of the candle ; judgment for some, but
that very judgment the occasion of mercy for
others.' The word ' move ' is in the Apocalypse
a word of judgment (cp. chap. vi. 14), and tnere
is no thought of anything else in the warning
given. Surely also, it may be remarked in
passing, the warning distinctly shows us that the
'angel' of the church cannot possibly be its
bishop. ' Thy candlestick ! ' where is the
Church spoken of as if she belonged to any of her
office-bearers? She is always the Church of
Christ. Contrast with ' thy candlestick ' ' My
sheep,* ' My lambs * (John xxi. 15-17).

Ver. 6. The Lord cannot leave them without
a fresh word of commendation. But this then
hast, that thon hatest the works of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Who the
persons thus referred to were we shall best Icam
at ver. 15. In the meantime it is enough to say
that we have here more than a mere repetition of
what had been said already at ver. 2 ; and that
the last words, ' which I also hate,' appear to be
added partly at least for the sake of bringing out
the fact that, notwithstanding the declension of the
Ephesian Christians, there was still one point on
wnich their Lord and they were similarly minded.

Ver. 7. Apromise is to be added to the main
body of the Efpistle, but before it is given we have

38a

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. II. 8-11.

a general exhortation to men to listen. He thftt
liath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit laith
onto the chnrohee. These words are found in all
the seven Epistles, but with a different position in
some of them as compared with others. In the
first three they occur in the body of the letter,
immediately before the promise to him that over-
cometh : in the last four they are introduced at
the end. No student of the Apocalypse will
doubt that this difference is designed, and that
although he may be unable to say what the design
is. In the case of the seals, the trumpets, and
the bowls, we meet the same division of seven
into its constituent parts three and four, only that
in each of these the line of demarcation is at the
close of the first four, not, as in the present
instance, at the close of the first three. Nor does
it seem difficult to understand this division, for
four is the number of the earth, and the judgments
relating to it arc thus naturally four. It is not so
easy to see why in the seven Epistles the number
three should take precedence. Perhaps It may
be because three is the number of God ; ana
l)ecause, by the arrangement adopted, the Divine
as]3ect of the Church in her existence considered
in itself is brought out with a force which would
otherwise have been wanting (see closing remarks
on chap. iii.). Jewish feeling, so much appealed
to by numbers and their arrangement, may have
l)een alive to this in a manner that we can hardly
understand. Whether the above explanation bie
satisfactory or not, the fact itself is botn interesting
and important. It throws light upon the measure
of artificiality which appears in the structure of
the Apocalypse, and is thus a help in its inter-
pretation.—To him that OYeroometh. The
expression is a characteristic one with St John.
It occurs in each of the seven Epistles, as auo in
chap. XXL 7. In chap. iii. ai it is used of Christ
Himself (cp. also chap. xii. 1 1 ; John xvi 33 ;
I Johnii. 13, V. 4, 5).— I will give to him to cat
out of the tree of Ufe, which is in the paradiae
of God. For the tree of life cp. chap. xxii. 3,

14, 19. What victorious believers cat b 'oH
of' the tree of life, not toinethiiig that grovi
upon it, its branches, or leaves^ or flowers, or
fruit. The particokr prepoiition naed in tht
original carries us to the thought of what is moit
intunately connected with the tree, to the thoaght
of its very heart and substance. For the idea of
eating, cp. John vL 51. The qncstioii is aatiiraOf
asked. What are we to understand by this ' tM
of life ' ? and different answers have been ghpca.
By some it is supposed to be the Gospd» If
others the Holy Spirit ; while several of the hkm
commentators on this book suppose at to be thtt
eternal life, with all the means of sustaining it,
which comes from Christ. The true answv
seems to be that it is Christ HimsdC Nor ii it
any reply to this to say that in chapi xxii. t we
have not one tree but many, for the tree of Ui
there spoken of is really one ; or that the Givtf
must be different from the gift, for the higlMit
gift of the Lord is the Incarnate Lord HliMfH;
*in whom,' says St. Paul, 'dwdleth all tht
fulness of the Godhead bodilv ' (CoL IL 9) ; < k'
whom, says St. John, * is lUe, and *ottt of ' wbcsi
His people have received their life and ' grace for
grace * (John I 16). (Cp. on ^rer. tS.) At tht
same time this view is confirmed bjr the use of tht
preposition 'out oC Who bat the Lord Jcssi
Christb that fdness 'out of' whidi all bdisTcii
eat and live ?

There may be a oorrespoadence intemled
between the promise of ' eatim^ ' and the victoiy
over the Nicolaitans, one of whose chafacNtiitiBl
was that they *ate things sacrificed to idok*
(ver. 14). Those who eat of the Uble of devih
cannot eat of the Lord's table (x Cor. x. si)l
They must share the exdusioa from the tree «
life of fidlen Adam and hb fellcn seed. Bat tht
faithful whok like the Second Adam, and ia Hli
might, refuse the devil's dainties (Ps. svL 4;
Matt. iv. 3), obtain in deepest truth the privilege
from which our first parent was exduded (Gol
iii. 24).

Chapter II. 8-ii.

2. T/ie Epistle to Smyrna,

8 A ND unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write ; These
-tV things saith " the first and the last, which was ' dead^ and «

9 is alive ; * I know thy works, and • tribulation, and * poverty,
(but thou art * rich,) and / kfiaw * the blasphemy of them which *
say they ^ are Jews, and ' are not, but are the • synagogue of

10 Satan. Fear none of those* things which thou shalt** ^suffer: *
beholdi the devil shall ^' cast sotne of you into prison, that ye
may be tried ; and ye shall have tribulation " ten da)fs : be
thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a *' ''crown of life.

' became
* tidd thy
' add they
** is about to

a

* rose to life

' omit / know

• Fear not the

*• a tribulation of

* emit works, and

* that they themselves
1® art about to

»»thc

OlLA

XAxii.4.s.

i#Ft.ssLi,«.

Ghap. II. 8-II.] THE REVELATION.

1 1 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches ; He that overcometh shall not " be hurt of the

383

* second death.

# Ch. XX. 14.

14

in no wise

Ver. 8. The second church addressed is that of
Smyrna, a city situated a little to the north of
Ephesos, and in the same province of Asia Minor.
SflDjrma was one of the most prosperous and wealthy
dties of Asia, lying in the midst of a rich and
fertile region, and enjoying peculiar facilities for
(Commerce. Its main worship was that of Bacchus,
and, as a natural conseouence, drunkenness and
immoimlity were extremely prevalent.

Again the Fpistle opens with a description of
Him from whom it is sent. The description is
taken from chap. i. 17, 18. For the rendering,
rate to life, which we have adopted here, comp.
chap. xiii. 14 and John v. 21. The substance of
the EpisUe follows.

Ver. 9. The first words of the address to the
church, as given in the Authorised Version, ' I
know thy works,' are to be omitted both here and
fai ver. 13, the salutation to the church at Pergamos.
They are found in all the other Epistles, and we
may be assured, therefore, that their omission in
thM two places is designed. We shall venture
to offer what seems the most probable explanation
in the general remarks on the Epistles as a whole
at the close of chap. iii. Three features of the
condition of the church at Smyrna are noticed : —
(I) I know thy tribolation. The word ' tribula-
tion ' is to be understood in the general sense of
affliction, suflerine, but with a special reference to
persecution brotignt upon believers for stedfastness
m their Master's cause (comp. John xvi. 33) ; (2)
And thy poverty (but thou art rich). Like all the
churches of that early time, the church at Smyrna
was composed of members for the most part poor.
'Not many rich, not many noble, were called.'
But in the possession of a better inheritance it was
* rich,' — * rich in faith, and an heir of the kingdom
which the Lord promised to them that love Him '
(Jas. ii. 5) ; (3) And the blasphemy of them which
wy that they themselyes are Jews, and they are
not, but are a tynagogne of Satan. The ' blas-
phemy ' referred to probably includes not sjmply
reviling against Christians, but against their Lord.
Then, as now, the Tews were notorious for the
fierceness of 'their langtiage against Christ, to
whom they did not hesitate to apply every epithet
of contempt and hatred (comp. i Cor. xii. 3;
Jas. ii. 7).

The most interesting inquirv here has relation
to the meaning of the word *Jcws.' Before
endeavouring to answer it, it is of importance to
observe that the word is not directly employed
either by the Lord or by the Seer in His name.
The persecutors and blasphemers referred to used
it of themselves. They said that they were Jews.
Biit none would so use the term except such as
really were Jews alike by birth and by religion ;
while, in so using it, they intended to assert that
they were the true people of God, and that Chris-
tians had no title to the place which they were
endeavouring to claim as His. It is now denied
by the Author of the Epistle that the term had
any proper application to them. Had they been
truly Jews, Jews in any proper sense of the word,

they would have taken up an altogether diflerent
attitude towards Christ and Christianity from that
which they actually occupied. They would have
seen that in the faith of Jesus the purpose of their
own Mosaic economy was fulfilled; and they
would have cast in their lot with the Christian
Church. They did not do so. Instead of believ-
ing in Jesus, they were everywhere the chief stirrers
up of hatred and persecution against His followers
(Acts xiv. 19, xvh. 5, 13, etc.). How could they
be Jews? The Jews at least worshipped God,
and assembled in His synagogue to study the Law
and the Prophets ; of these blasphemers it could
only be said that they were a synagc^e of Satan.
It IS not denied that the word 'Jews' is thus
used here in an honourable sense; and, accord-
ingly! it has often been urged that we have in this
a proof that the Author of the Apocalypse cannot
have been also the Author of the fourth Gospel,
inasmuch as in the latter those named ' the Jews '
are the embodiment of everything that is most
hard and stubborn and devilish. Two answers
may be given to the charge : — (i) St. John does
not originate the word, he only qtiotes it ; and (2)
the expression is not the same as that used in the
Gospel, — there * the Jews,* here 'Jews.*

It may be noticed in passing, that when we
compare the use of the word * synagogue * in the
verse before us with its use in Jas. ii. 2, where it
is applied to the Christian congregation, it seems
not unnatural to think that we are dealing with a
point of time much later than that at which St.
James is writing. That mixing of Jews and Chris-
tians in the same congregation, which had marked
the dawn of the Church's history, had come 'to
an end. A complete separation had taken place
between the adherents of the old and the new
faith. Christians were a ' church,' the Jews alone
met in 'synagogue.*

Ver. 10. An exhortation not to fear the things
which it was about to raffer. Fresh persecution
was immediately to arise. The children of God
are not comforted amidst their troubles by the
assurance that these are about to pass away. It
may often happen, on the contrary, that one wave
of tribulation shall only be followed by another.
Strength and comfort are to be found in other
thoughts. The tribulation to be expected is then
further specified. It shall proceed from the
devil, a name of Satan chosen with a reference
to the calumnies and slanders previously alluded
to. Under that name he is ' the accuser of the
brethren* (Rev. xii. 10; comp. Job i. ii, ; Zech.
iii. I, 2). But the devil is not only to slander
them. He is about, it is said, to cost some of
yon into prison, prevailing upon the heathen
powers, ever ready to listen to accusations against
the Christians, to visit them with this punishment.
Further, he is to do this in order that ye may be
tried. It is not that they may be * proved.' God
proves His people. Satan tries them ; and this
trial shall come from his hands, to be the means,
if possible,' of effecting his Satanic purposes. Their
tribulation, they are told, shall be one of ten d»yi

384

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. II. 12-17.

(comp. Dan. i. 12). By these words we are
neither to understand ten literal days, nor ten
years, nor ten separate persecutions stretching
over an indefinite period of time. Like all the
other numbers in the Apocalypse, the number b
symbolical. It denotes completeness, yet not the
Divine fulness of the number seven. They are to
have tribulation frec^uent, oft repeated, lasting, it
may be, as long as life itself, yet after all extend-
ing only to this present scene, the course of which
may be best marked by ' days ' that are ' few and
evil* (Gen. xlviL 9; Job viii. 9; Ps. xc. 12;
comp. I Pet i. 6).— Be thou faithful onto death,
that is, not merely during the whole of life, but
even to the extremity, u necessary, of meeting
death. — ^And I will give thee the oiown of life,
that is, the crown which consists in ' life ' (comp.
2 Tim. iv. 8), — in life corresponding to the life of
Him of whom we have been told in ver. 8 that
He ' rose to life.' Thb last consideration ought
alone to be sufficient to determine whether we
have here the crown of a king or that of a victor
in the games. It is not the latter, but the former
(comp. chaps, iv. 4, v. 10), the crown of the Lord
Himself (chap. xiv. 14; comp. Ps. xxL 3, 4).
The use of the word sttbhanoSt not diad^ma^ seems
to flow from the fact that the crown spoken of is
not the mere emblem of royalty, but of royalty
reached through severe contests and glorious
victories, — its garland crown.

' So should desert in arms be crowned.'

In addition to this, however, we may well include
the thought of the Hebrew crown of joy, the crowra
with which Solomon was crowned ' in the day oC
his espousals, and in the day of the gladnes of hi^
heart ^ (Cant iii. ii). Yet there, too, we most
remember there is the thought that Solomon hiA.
won his bride.

Ver. 1 1. For the first clause of this verse, compu
what has been said on ver. 7. — ^He thai over*
oometh shall in no viae be hurt of flie eeeoaA.
death. For the 'second death,* comp. chapk.
XX. 6, 14, xxi. 8, the only other passages where
the expression occurs. It b in obvious contrast
with the ' life * of vers. 8 and iol The ezpressiaia
is taken from the Jewish theology, and denotes
the death that follows judgment

The distinguishing feature of the EjmAle to
Smyrna seems to be the rise of pefsecntioa against
the followers of Jesus, and their fidthfufaiess in
meeting it ; while in the next Epistle, that to
Pergamos, we shall see persecution in all its fiiiy
culminating. If so, we have the very uragres
once indicated by our Lord Himself in His last
discourse to His disciples, 'Every bianch that
beareth fruit. He cleanseth it, that it may heir
more fruit ' (John xv. 2). The lessons tangfat to
the church at Symma may well have been present
to the soul of Polycarp, Bi^op of that see, in his
hour of agony, and may have powerfully contri-
buted to sustain that glorious martyr, who was so
eminently 'faithful unto death.'

Chapter II. 12-17.

3. The Epistle to Pergamos.

12 A ND to* the angel of the church in Pergamos write ; These

Jr\, things saith he which hath the sharp* * sword with two «ch.ii«L

13 edges;' I know thy works, and* where thou dwellest, even
where Satan's *seat* is: and thou holdest fast my name, and h^%.w*,\
hast not denied • my faith, even in those ' days wherein Antipas

was my faithful martyr, who was slain' among you, where

14 Satan dwelleth. But* I have a few things against thee,
because thou hast there them *' that hold " the doctrine " of

* Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before ^ Nim.
the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to

15 commit fornication. So hast thou also " them " that hold " the

16 doctrine " of the Nicolaitanes,** which thing I hate." Repent ; '•
or else I will *' come unto thee quickly, and will fight " against

17 them with the ^ sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let 'N'
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ; To him that

•3t

unto

omit sharp

* omit ihy works, and * throne

* killed ® Nevertheless *® some
*^ thou also hast '* add in like manner
** ^//therefore *' omit will

^ sword, two-edged, sharp
* didst not deny ^ the

** addlzsX ** teaching

^' omit which thing I hate
^^ and I will make war

Chap. II. 12-17.] THE REVELATION.

overcometh '• will I give to eat " of the hidden manna, and *'
will give him a white stone, and in" the stone a new name
written, which no man " knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

385

^^addXo\i\m ^^omttioeaX ^^ addl

M

upon

S8

one

Ver. 13. The third church addressed is that of
Pergamos, now generally written Pergamum, a
dtj whidi, in every thing except commerce,
rivalled the most celebrated cities of Asia at the
time. Without in any degree attempting to trace
its history, which in no mray concerns us here, it
may simply be remarked that in the apostolic age
Pergamos was especially noted for its won^ip of
.^scolapius the cod of medicine. With the
genuine pursuit oc medicine, however, there was
then mixed up a great variety of other inquiries,
which, dealing with the secret springs of life, and
with dru^ philters, and potions, whose methods
of operation no one could explain, invested the
liealm^ art with an air of impenetrable mystery,
licentiousness and wickedness of every kind were
the inevitable result Add to all this the tempta-
tions of wealth, learning, and art, to|;ether with an
apparently indiscriminate worship of many deities,
aiid we need not be surprised tnat Satan had at
Pexgamos an almost peculiar seat, and that what
the Old Testament condemns under the name of
witchcraft — or attempts to traffic with any spirit,
however evil, in order to obtain knowledge or
gratify desire — was more than ordinarily present
among the inhabitants of the city.

Again, as before, we meet first of all a descrip-
tion of Him from whom the Epistle comes. It is
taken from chap. L 16. Two only of the three
characteristics there mentioned of the sword are
here referred to, but it will be observed that the
third meets us in ver. 16, — an illustration of that
style of the Apocalypse which leads it to scatter
its details of the same object in different parts of
the book, so that we have often to bring them
together from great distances before we learn to
know the object as a whole.

Ver. 13. As in the Epistle to Sm3rma, the words
'thy works' do not belong to the true text
Three particulars in the state of the church are
noted ; — (i) Its outward position. It dwelt where
8atan*s throne is. The word used is not 'seat,*
but distinctly and intentionally 'throne' (comp.
Ps. xciv. 20), the purpose of Uie writer being to
contrast the throne of Satan with the throne of
God, of which it is the evil and mocking counter-
part, and thus to point with peculiar emphasis to
the temptations and dangers which the Cfhristians
of Perg^mos had to encounter. Very different
opinions have been entertained with regard to the
reasons which may have determined the Lord of
the Church to describe Pergamos by this language.
Some have traced it to the circumstance that the
chief worship of the place was that of i^sculapius,
and that the symbol of that divinity was a serpent.
The explanation b fanciful. Others have attri-
buted it to the idea that Pergamos was more given
over to idolatry than other cities. There is no

Eroof that such was the case. Others, again,
ave sought an explanation in the fact that
Pergamos was under the Roman power, and that
thus, representing the heathen persecutors of the
Church, it might be said with more than ordinary
force to hold the throne of Satan. This cxpla-
VOL. IV. 25

nation also fails, for Satan is in the Apocalypse
distinguished from the world-power. The true
explanation seems to be that of one of the oldest
commentators on the Apocalypse, that in Pergamos
persecution first culminated, reaching even to the
shedding of Christian blood. In ver. 10 Satan
had persecuted to the point of imprisonment ; here
he kilb ; and the repetition of the closing words
of the verse, where Satan dwelleth, in immediate
connection with the putting of Antipas to death,
is obviously designed to associate the thought of
Satan's dwelling-place with the thought of this last
extremity of his rage. In a city, where science
itself was the very pillar of witchcraft and idolatry,
Satan had been enabled to put forth against the
bodies of the Christians every evil whi(m envy at
their souls' escape firom him suggested. He had
been permitted even to reign over Uieir bodily
life ; for, whereas he had once been commanded
to spare the life of Job, he had now succeeded in
putting Antipas to death. Even in such a dty,
however, the church had been found faithful, for it
is said to it, (2) Thou boldest UjA VLj name. The
word 'name' is used here, as ebewhere in the
writings of St. John, for the fulness of that revela-
tion of the Father which b given in the Son ; and
the use of the verb 'hold fast' instead of the
simple 'have,' may be determined, as in chap,
iii. II, by the peculiar difficulties of the situation
in which the church was placed. At the same
time, it b the answer of faitli to the ' holding fast '

Sredicated of Jesus in ver. i.— <3) And didst not
any my faith, not the confession of Christ's
fiuth, but £uth of which Jesus was Himself the
direct object and the substance. The mention of
thb faith b made still more emphatic by the fact
that it had been maintained even in days when
persecution reached to death. Who the Antipaa
spoken of was it b impossible to say, any notice
of him in the martyrologies being founded on thb
passage. There b even a high probability, when
we consider the general structure of the Apocalypse,
that there was n3 such person. The name may be

rbolical, although it is at once to be allowed
every attempt hitherto made to point out its
symbolical signification has failed.

Ver. 14. The defects of the church are next
alluded to. There were in Pemamos some that
held fast the teaching of Salaam. Comp.
Num. XXV., xxxi. 16. The sins next mentioned
are in all probability to be literally understood. It
b to be ODserved that these teachers of erroneous
doctrine, these seducers to grievous sin, were not
merely inhabitants of the citv ; they were members
of the church. — Thoa hast are the words
employed.

> Ver. 15. 80 thoa also hast some that hold fast
the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner.
The chief point of inquiry connected with these
words is, whether they introduce a second group
of erroneous teachers, or whether they constitute
a second description of the Balaamites already
mentioned. Various considerations may be urged
in favour of the latter view : — (i) Of the Nicolaitans

386

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. II. 12-17.

as a separate sect nothing is known. Some of
the early fathers derived the name from Nicolas,
one of the seven deacons mentioned in Acts vi. 5,
and supposed that a sect, of which they knew
nothing more than they found in this passage, had
sprung from him. But the tradition varied ; it is
in itself in the highest degree improbable ; and we
may safely regard it as a mere conjecture intended
to explain the apparent meaning of the words
before us. (2) In vers. 20-24 this same sect is
obviously compared to Jezebel, a mystical name,
making it probable that the name used here is also
mystical. (3) The position of the word ' also ' in
the verse is to be noticed. It is to be closely
connected with ' thou,' not * thou hast also,' etc,
ts if a second class of false teachers were about t >
be spoken of, but ' thou also hast,' etc : the
ancient church had its Balaamites, thou hast thy
Nicolaitans. (4) The addition of the words ' in
like manner ' is important, showing, as they do,
that the second class of falie teachers is reallj
identical with the first. In these circumstances, it
becomes a highly probable supposition that the
word Nicolaitans is a rough translation into Greek
of the Hebrew term Balaamites, destrovers or
conquerors of the people. Nor is there force in
the objection, even if well founded, that such a
derivation is not etymologically correct. The
poj^lar instinct, so strong amongst the Jews,
wmch took delight in noting similanties of sound,
did not concern itself about scientific etymology.
Similarity of sound was enough. Nor does there
aeem cause to be porplexed by the use in the
compound Greek word of a verb signifying to
conquer rather than to destroy. Evil b ever in
the writings of St John the counterpart of good.
Christ is constantly the Overcomer, the Conqueror ;
and in like manner His enemies are the would-be
conquerors, the would-be overcomers of His
people. We are thus led to the conclusion that
these Nicolaitans are no sect distinct from the
followers of Balaam. They are a mystical name
for those who in the church at Pergamos imitated
the example and the errors of that false prophet of
the Old Testament ; and we have another illustra-
tion of the manner in which St. John delights to
|[ive double pictures of one thing (comp. chaps.
1. 20, ii. 14, 15).

Ver. 16. The exhortation follows. Bepent
therefore, as in ver. 5 to Ephesus, or else I come
onto thee quickly. Comp. on ver. <, but note
that the word ' auickly ' is now added, although
the coming is still special, not general. We have
again an illustration of that climactic style of
address which appears in these Epistles when they
are considered as a whole. — Ana will make war
against them with the iword of my month.
The Lord will come to war against the Nicolaitans,
not a|;ainst the church. Against His Church,
even m her declension, He cannot war. Her
threatened punishment (and is it not enough ?) is,
that the Lord will make war upon His enemies
without her ; and that, not taking part in His
struggle, she shall lose her part in His victory.
It is difficult to say whether m the sword spoken
of there may be any allusion to the sword of the
angel in Num. xxii. 23 ; but sudi an idea is not
improbable.

Ver. 17. The promise contained in this verse
has always occasioned much difficulty to inter-

Ereters. It consists of three ports :— (i) To h^
tiat overoometh, to him will I give of the

hidden maima. The allusion ma^ periiaps be

to the pot of manna which was laid up in the

innermost sanctuary of the Tabernacle (Ex.

xvL 33), for we see from chao. zi 19 that the

imagery of the ark within whicui the manna was

stored was familiar to St. John. Such an alloskm,

however, is at the best indirect, for the manna

laid up in the ark was not for food, but in memoiy

of food once enjoyed. It seems better, therefore,

to place the emphasis on the thought of the

manna itself, that bread from heavoi by whidi

Israel was nourished in the wilderness, and which

is now replaced in the Christian Qrarcfa by ' the

bread which cometh down oat of heaven, that

any one may eat thereof, and not die ' (John vL

50). This * living bread ' is the Lord Jesus Christ

Himself, who is now ' hidden,' bat will at length

be revealed to the perfect satisfiactton and joy of

them that wait for Him. It is no valid objieciioo

to this view that Christ giver the manna, for He

gives Himself, and will give Himself to be the

nourishment as well as the reward of His people

in the world to come, when He shall be revealed

to them as He is (i John tiL s). The contrut

between not eating the meats offiml to idols and

eating this heavenly banquet may be noticed in

passing. — (2) And! will give Um ft irfdtesfeoae.

The tendency of the Apocalypse to group its

particulars into threes seems to reaidre the

separation of this clause from the next rollowxog,

and to demand that it be considered in itself, and

not as simply subordinate to the *new name.'

In determining the meaning of the ' white stone,*

it will be wl to bear in mind that in the

Apocalypse * white ' is not a mere dnU white, bitt a

glistering colour, not even necessarily wUte, and

that we must seek for the foundation of the figure

in Jewish not in Gentile customs, and in Scrq>tiire

rather than in rabbinical traditions. We shall

thus have to dismiss the idea that it refen to

the white pebble of the ballot-box, or to any one

of the three following tablets, that ^fven to the

victor in the games and having certam privileges

attached to it, that which entitled the receiver to

the liberal hospitality of the giver, or that which

admitted the stranger to the enjoyment of the idol

feast. Rejecting these, we may also reject the

supposition that the white stone has no more

importance than as a medium for the name

wntten on it Nor does it seem easy to accept

the explanation, although more legitimate than

any of the above, that it was the Urim which

the high priest bore within the breastplate of

judgment (Ex. ^xxviii. 30) ; for the stone thus

referred to was probably a diamond, and we

cannot easily conceive that the name hcare spoken

of could be inscribed on such a stone.

In these circumstances, what appears by modi
the more likely interpretation is that whidi
supposes that we have an allosion to the
plate of gold worn on the forehead of the high
priest, with the words inscribed on it, HouNiss
TO THK Lord. What seems almost conclusive
upon this point is, that we learn from other
passages of^ this book that it was upon the
forehead that the peculiar mark of the child of
God was borne (chaps. iiL 12, vii. 5, xiv. t,
xxii. 4 ; c{). also chap. ix. 4) ; and we have already
had occasion to speak of the importance of that
law of interpretation which, in tne Apocalypse,
leads to the bringing of different passages together
for the sake of complementing ana completing one

Chap. II. 18-29.]

THE REVELATION.

387

another. In adopting this view, however, it
oojght to be observed uat we are not to think of
this ' stone ' either as a plate of gold or as a
precious stone, supposed by the Seer to be beaten
out for the sake of receiving the inscription.
Except in the present passage, the word occurs
only once in the New Testament, when St Paul
^j^ ' I ^ve my vot€ against them ' (Acts xxvi.
10^. It 3ius came to denote (derived, it may be,
onginally from the customs of heathenism) that
by which a verdict of either condemnation or
acquittal was pronounced, even by Jewish lips.
Here, therefore^ this underlying idea of acouittal
b the prominent idea of the word. Those
lefened to receive a stone, an ordinary stone of
acouittal, but glistering with heavenly brightness,
and bearing upon it the motto or legend spoken
of in the next clause. — (3) And upon the stone a
new name written, which na one knoweth
saving he that reoeiveth it What name is this ?
Not the Lord's name, for even in chap. xix.
11-13, urged in favour of such a view, the name
is ^ven, but the new name bestowed upon the
behever, and descriptive of his position, his
character, and his joy as an inhabitant of the New
Jerusalem. We are not to think that the word
'knoweth' is used in the sense ot outward
knowledge, such as that given by reading or
translatioa. It ei^presses the inward Imow-
ledge referred to in John iv. 3a (see note

there), the knowledge of experience, the blessed-
ness found in the service of their Lord by those
who live through Him, and which the world
cannot comprehend. The world may read the
name of the oeliever, just as there seems no cause
to doubt that the name here spoken of might be
read, but it caimot understand its meanix^.
These things God reveals by His Spirit to ms
own (cp. I Cor. iL 9, 10). We are thus again
led to the conclusion that the ' new name ' is
neither a name of God nor of Christ, nor of the
believer considered as a separate individual. It
is a name which speaks of tne believer's glorious
condition when he is united to the Son and, in
Him, to the Father. Before passing from this
Epistle, it may be well to notice the corre*
spondence between the rewurd thus spoken of
and that holding fast of the ' name ' of Christ
which had been mentioned in ver. 13. As, too,
the tree of life was promised to the Christian of
Ephesus who should overcome that temptation to
false knowledge to which our first parents in
Eden yielded, so, when the Christian of^Pergamos
is not led astray by the error of the new
Balaamites, and when he refuses to partake of
the <^erings of the dead whidi he might have had
from them (Ps. cvi. 28), he shall receive manna,
of which, in its rich nourishment and invigorating
properties, the manna of Isreel was Dot the
faintest type (John vL 33).

Chapter II. 18-29.

4. The Epistle to Ttyatira.

18 A ND unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write ; These
jTx things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto '

19 a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine ' brass ; I know thy
works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy ' patience,
and thy works;* and the^ last* to be'' more than the first

20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee,* because'
thou sufTerest that woman ^® Jezebel, which calleth herself a
prophetess, to teach and to seduce" my servants to commit

2 1 fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave

her space to" repent of her fornication;" and she "* repented « Rom. it 4.

22 not." Behold, I will" cast her into a bed, and them that
^commit adultery with her into great" tribulation, except they ^j^Kingsix.

23 repent of their deeds." And I will ^kill her children with c«King«x.ii.
death ; and all the churches shall know that I am he which
searcheth the reins and hearts : and I will give unto every ^* one

' and thy love, and faith, and ministry, and
* thy • add works ' are

•that

* eyes as ■ white

* omit and thy works

* Nevertheless I have against thee • that *• thy wife
^^ and she teacheth and seduceth ^* time that she should

^^ omit of her fornication ^^ willeth not to repent of her fornication

t» do *• a great *' out of her works *• each

388 THE REVELATION. [Chap. II. 18-29.

24 of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and
unto" the rest" in Thyatira, as many as have not this
doctrine/^ and which have not known the depths of Satan, as

25 they speak;** I will put" upon you none other burden. But

26 that " which " ye have already " hold fast till I come." And
he that overcometh, and *' keepeth my works unto the end, to

27 him will I give ''power* over the nations: and" he shalW^n.^'^
' rule " them with a rod *" of iron ; as the" vessels of a ** potter '^ ""f
shall " they be *• broken to shivers : even *' as I *• received '•

ts

28 of my Father. And I will give him the -^morning star. /Nm^nifj^

29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto ^
the churches.

^^ omit and unto *® add that are ** teaching

«» I cast "* omit that ** what

*' until I shall have come *^ add he that

•® add as a shepherd ** tend *' sceptre

34 ^^^ S5 are ** —'^ ^-

'* add also *• have received

"- scepire
»« omit be

■• say
•• omit already
*• authority
" omit the
*' omit even

Ver. 18. The fourth church addressed is that
of Thyatira, a city finely situated in a rich and
well-watered district of Asia Minor, at no great
distance from Pergamos, but possessing none of
the political importance of the latter. It b
interesting to notice in connection with Acts
xvi. 14, though it does not concern us at present,
that Thyatira was famous for its purple or scarlet
dyes. The sun-god was the leading object of
worship to the heathen inhabitants of the city ;
and it has been thought that there is thus a
peculiar propriety in the light in which Jesus
presents Himself to its church, as One whose
' eyes are as a flame of fire.' For the description
now given of Himself by thegreat Head of the
Churdi, cp. chap. i. 14, 15. The most remark-
able part of it is that in which He designates
Himself the Son of God. It was as One ' like
unto a Son of man ' that He had been beheld by
the Seer in chap. i. 13, although that description
was in no degree intended to exclude the thought
of His essential Divinity. He was really the
Son of God like unto a son of man. Now,
however, the Divine aspect of His person is
brought prominently forward, yet not simply
because in this Epistle He is to speak of executing
judgment, for He both executes judgment in
other Epistles, and He does so as Son of man
(John V. 27 ; see note there), but because Divine
Sonship is part of that constitution of His person
upon which it becomes the Church constantly to
dwell Perhaps also the distinct phase of the
Church upon which we enter in the second group
of these Epistles may explain the prominence
given to the thought of the 'Son of God.'
She has been hitherto regarded in what she is.
She is now to be looked at in her struggle with
the world (see remarks at close of the seven
Epistles) ; let her learn that ' God is on her side.'

Ver. 19. The words I know thy works, which
had been omitted from the second and third
Epistles, are resumed in the fourth, and they
meet us in each of the four Epistles of the second
group. The general term 'works' is next

specialized into four parts, or two gronps of two
members each, the members of Uie first gnxq)
corresponding to those of the second. Lots
shows itself in Ministry ; Faith in Patieiioe or
endurance. But more than this. Thjwtira's list
works aie more thaa the first. Not that
' ministry ' and ' patience ' are ereater than ' knre '
and 'faith,' or that they fdone desenre the
designation 'works.' That term is as applicable
to the latter as to the former. The net cob-
mended is that there is progress in tkemaiL The
path of the church has been as the morning liriit
shinin|[ unto the perfect day. She has not faUoi
back like Ephesus \ she has advanced.

Ver. 20. What is praiseworthy in the chmdi
has been spoken of. The Lord now passes to
that in which it failed. Again a division into
four parts meets us :— ( i ) That thoa snfferest tl^
wife JeiebeL We adopt this reading as every
way preferable to the reading, 'that woman
Jezebel,' given in both the Authorised and
Revised Versions. The external evidence in its
favour is at least equal to that for the common
reading. The internal is much superior ; and it
is almost impossible to doubt that the misinter-
pretation which supposed the ' An^ ' to be the
Bishop of the church, and which therefoce
recoiled from the idea that the Bishop's wife
could have been a person of the kind here
described, formed the chief reason why it was set
aside for that commonly adopted. Let us have
distinctly impressed upon us that the ' An^ * of
Thyatira is the church of that city, and let us
remember that the peculiar aggravation of the sin
of Ahab in the Old Testament was that ' he dkl
sell himself to work wickedness in the s^t of the
Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up (i Kings
xxi. 25) ; and we shall at once feel how much
more in keeping with the force and vigour of the
whole Apocalypse, as well as of the present
passage, is the reading ' thy wife' than the reading
'that woman.' The very head and front of the
church's sin was, not that it merely tolerated fabe
teaching and sinful practices in its midst, but that

Chap. II. iS-29.]

THE REVELATION.

389

it had allied itself with them. Many, no doubt,
had remained pure (ver. 24), but the church as a
whole was guilty. The Jezebel of the Old Testa-
ment, whose story lies at the bottom of the
apostle's language, was a heathen both by birth
and training ; and Ahab's marriage with her was
the first instance of the marriage with a heathen
princess of a king of the Northern Kingdom of
Israel. Thus had Thyatira sinned, had entered
ibr the sake of worldly honour into alliance with
the world, and was still continuing the sinful tie.
The sentence, - ' thou sufTerest thy wife Jezebel,'
it must be noticed, is complete in itself, 'thou
toleratest,' ' thou lettest alone ' (comp. John xi.
48, xii. 7 ; and for the story of Jezet^l, I Kings
xvi., xviii., xix., xxi. ; 2 Kings ix.). Most com-
mentators admit that the name Jezebel is to be
understood symbolically ; but they are not agreed
whether, as so used, it refers to a single person,
— a false female teacher,— or a heretical party
within the church. The latter opinion is by
much the more probable of the two, although we
have before us not so much a regularly constituted
party, as separate persons who were themselves
addicted to the sins described, and who were
endeavouring at the same time to seduce others.
In Jer. iv. 30 we have a similar description of the
d^eneracy of the Church. The persons thus
pointed at were, it must be further noticed, within
the Church. They had drawn their erroneous
Tiews and sinful practices, it is true, from heathen-
ism, as Jezebel was the daughter of a heathen king,
bat they were not themselves heathen. They were
professing members of the Christian community,
ibr this Jezebel cftlleth hexself a propheteu, not
a false prophetess, but one with a divine commis-
sion.— (2) And ihe toAoheth, etc. The sins into
which the persons alluded to sought to betray the
church are now mentioned. They are the sins
already spoken of in the case of Pergsunos ; yet
there is at the same time an important distinction.
At Pergamos the evil came from an outward
source, Balaam ; at Thyatira from an inward
source, Jezebel. The former was a Gentile
Prophet ; the latter was the wife of the King of
Israel. Mark the progress.

Ver. 21. (3) And I gaye her time that she
dioiild repent. It is intended by the use of the
word ' time ' here, that we should fix our thoughts
upon the delay of the Son of God in executing
His righteous judgments (comp. chap. x. 6). All
along punishment was deserved, but He withheld
His hand that His goodness mi^ht lead the
evil-doers to repentance. — (4) She ^leth not to
repent of her fornication. The delay was in
▼ain. The hearts of these transgressors was set
in them to do evil. They ' willed ' not to repent.
The expression is remarkable and characteristic
(comp. on John v. 6, vi. 21).

Ver. 22. Behold, I do cast her into a bed, etc.
The bed is not one of lust, but of sickness and
sorrow (comp. Ps. xli. 3). — And them that
commit adoltery with her. We are not to under-
stand that she is the adulteress with whom sin
b committed, but that, as she is an adulteress, so
they along with her are also adulterers and
admteresses. — ^Except they repent ont of her
works. The contrast of ' they ' and ' her ' in these
words is worthy of notice, showing as it does the
close identification of the followers of Jezebel
with herself (comp. John ix. 4, and note there).

Ver. 23. And I will kiU her children with

death. Those thus named *her children' are
generally distinguished from the persons formerly
mentioned either as her 'proper adherents/ in
contrast with 'those who encouraged her,' or as
the Mess forward,' 'the deceived,' in contrast
with the deceivers. There seems no ground for
either view. The latter destroy the force of the
word * children ' (comp. John 1. 12), the former
that of the previous clause. The truth is that the
two classes are the same : they are in both cases
those who partake of her spirit, and who follow
her example. It will be observed that the fieite of
the historical Jezebel is repeated in those who
imitate her. As Ahab's queen was cast out of
the window, so this Jezebel is to be cast into
affliction. As Ahab's sons were slain, so the
spiritual progeny of this Jezebel shall be killed. —
And all the chnrohes shall know that I am he
which searoheth the reins and hearts. 'All
the churches,' an indication of the universal
reference of these Epistles. And the 'churches/
not the world, shall 'know,' shall have inward
knowledge and experience of the fact (comp.
'knoweth'in ver. 17). The wicked are not in
the Itord's thought, ' for God's judgments are far
above out of their sight, but all who ponder these
things and lay them to heart' (Trench).— And I
will giye onto each one of you according to
yonr works. The clause is peculiarly important
when taken along with that immediately preceding
it. The Lord tries the 'reins and hearts,' the
most inward parts of men. From these the
' works ' of men cannot be separated. His
' works ' are the whole of man. The inward
manifests itself in the outward : the value of the
outward is dependent upon the inward.

Ver. 24. But onto yon I say, the rest that are
in Thyatira. The apostle turns from the church
at large to that smaller section of it which had
resist^ the influences of the false teachers
symbolized by Jezebel. They haye not this
teaching; that is, they have it not as their pos-
session, thev do not make it their own. Nor
have they known the depths of Satan. The
word 'depths' was a favourite one at the time
with those who pretended to a profounder know-
ledge of the truth, whether of God or Satan, than
comd be gained through the authorised teachers
of the Christian Church, and who seem not
unfrequently to have associated with their religious
speculations lives of shameless and unrestrained
licentiousness. Hie prevalent idea is, that these
persons spoke only of ' the depths * or of ' the
depths of God,' and that in bitter irony the Lord
of the Church either adds here the words 'of
Satan,' or substitutes the name of Satan for the
name of God. Such suppositions are perhaps
unnecessary. We may have before us a trace of
that Gnostic sect known as the Ophites, a name
derived from the Greek word for a serpent, the
emblem of Satan. That sect entertained a pro-
found reverence for Satan, looking upon him as
the benefactor, not the destroyer of man, while the
ultimate result of their religious system was that
they converted Satan into Ck>d and evil into good.
The heresy was one of a most disastrous character ;
and yet in some of its forms it attained a wide-
spread influence in the early Church, more
especially in that district of Asia Minor which
embraced the seven churches of the Apocalvpse.
No wonder that we find it alluded to as it is here !
I cast upon you none other burden. It is

390

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. II. i&-39>

difficult to determine what precise ' burden ' is
thus alluded to, whether the sufferings of one
kind or another which the £uthlul remnant of the
church was enduring, or the Christian obligations
under which it lay to avoid the sins and errors
encouraged by the Nicolaitans. This latter view
has been thought to find confirmation in the decree
of Acts XV. 28, 29, where language very similar
to that now before us is employecL By such an
interpretation, however, the Christian life itself
would be represented as a ' burden ;' while, at the
same time, tne use of the word ' cast' is unsuitable
to the thought of Christian precepts. The cir-
cumstances of the case must determine the mean-
ing. The church at Thyatira 'suffered' Jezebel.
The ' burden ' of that part of it which remained
true to its Lord was that this was done. Jezebel
ought to have been put awav : the alliance with
the world ought to have been broken. The
struggle to effect this, one maintained not against
the world, but against brethren in a common faith,
was so great that the Lord of the Church would
lay upon those engaged in it ' no other burden '
(comp. on chap. ii. i).

Ver. 25. But what ye have hold fiut until
I ahall &ve come. It is important to notice
the diange of expression in the original for the
'coming spoken of. Twice alr^y in this
chapter (vers. 5, 16) have we read of a coming of
the Lord, but on each of these two occasions it
was closely associated with, and limited by, the
words 'unto thee.' These 'comings' therefore
referred not so much to the final coming as to
special judgments in which it was foreshadowed :
this refers rather to that in which all special
judgments culminate, the Second and final Coming.
Again we see another trace of the climactic nature
of these Epistles.

Ver. 26. And he that oreroometh. We come
now to the promise contained in this Epistle for
the faithful, and it will be observed that for the
first time it is not preceded by the call to him
'that hath ears to hear.' That call in the four
last Epistles of the seven is reserved for the close
(comp. on ver. 7). — And he that keepeUi my
worn unto the end. The construction of the
original shows that this description is distinct from
the preceding. Attention ought to be directed to
the expression ' My works,' commentators appear-
ing to miss their force. They are not simplv the
works which Jesus commands, but those which He
does, — a fresh illustration of that close identifi-
cation of Jesus with His people which marks the
writings of St. John. We meet the opposite
identification, that of Jezebel and her followers, in
ver. 22. — To him will I give authority over the
nationa. By the ' nations ' we are not to under-
stand the nations as such, but the nations as
opposed to the true Israel of God, and as alienated
from God, — properly the Gentiles. The allusion
is to Ps. ii. 8, 9; and the believer shall not
merely have power, but rightful power, authority,
over tnem.

Ver. 27. And as a ahepherd he shall tend
them with a sceptre of iron. The figure has
nothing to do, as so often supposed, with the
Homeric title, ' Shepherd of the people. ' Jesus
as King is Shepherd of His own ; but He is also
Shepherd of His enemies, though in a different
way. Hence the 'iron sceptre, for the instru-
ment alluded to is not a rod or shepherd's crook,
but a king's sceptre (comp. chaps, xii. 5, xix. 15).

The fact that it is of iron brings out the judgment
involved.— Afl veweli of the potter axe they
broken to shiyen^ words which cannot be inter-
preted as expressing 'a judgment behind wUch
purposes of grace are concealed,' ' a threat of love.'
whether grace may one day be revealed even for
those upon whom]the judgments spoken of descend,
we are not told. ' Actual facts proved that behind
the words, ' in the day thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die,' such purposes of grace lay : bat
they were not contained m the words ; nor are
they here.~Aa I received of my Father. Again
we have the privileges of Christ's people closely
identified with those which He Himself enjoys.
He receives of the Father, and what He receives
He makes theirs.

It must be noticed that, like aU the promises of
these Epistles, this promise belongs to the fixture^
not to the present life. The reader, too, vdll not
fail to marx the correspondence between it and the
description of the Lora in ver. 18, as well as that
between it and the particular trials of this diurdu
A heathen element m Thyatira was threatening to
destroy the life of God's people there. They have
given them the assurance of the comii^ of a time
when that element shall be crushed beneath their
feet.

Ver. 28. And I will give him the moniag
■tar. Very various opinions have been entertamed
with regard to the meaning of this 'star/ It has
been supposed to be the devil, or the king of
Babylon, or the glorified body, or the heavenly
glory, or the earnest of the sovereignty of liriit
over darkness. We must gather the meanntf
from the Apocalypse itself; and from chap, zxil
16 we shall DC led to the belief that the monnog
star is the Lord Jesus Christ He is ' the bright
and morning star,' and He gives Himself to His
people, that in Him they may find their victoiy
and joy. There is a peculiar proprie^f in the
mention of this reward for the Cniudh at the
moment when she is thought of as set on high over
all her enemies. When she is secretly nourished
in the Tabernacle of God she is a candlestick :
when she has met and conquered the world she
is a star, — the Lord Himself being in the first
instance both the one and the other. With this
idea of the morning star no thought of bringii^
in those who have rejected Jesus ought to be
combined. Whether or not they shall be brought
in lies in the secret purposes of God unrevealed to
us (comp. on ver. 27).

Ver. 29. Comp. on ver. 7.

In the church at Thyatira we seem to pass for tiie
first time to the Church considered in her widest
aspect and as brought into positive relations with
the powers of the heathen world. These powers
have penetrated within her, and she has in part
yielded to their influence. God's people have
allied themselves with a heathen princess, and she
has tempted them to sin. The first Epistle of the
second group thus corresponds to the first of the
first group, although with a difference in harmony
with the general nature of the two groups as
wholes. In the first Epistle of the first group the
evil is wholly from within ; the church has for«
saken her first love. In the fiofst Epistle of the
second group the evil enters from without; the
world tempts, and the church yields, at least in
part, to the temptation in order that she may have
a share in the world's glory. In the one case she
has forgotten Him who walketh in the midst of the

Chap. III. i-6.]

THE REVELATION.

391

leTen polden candlesticks, and whose love never bieak their covenant with Him who is the Son of
fiuls : in the other the power of the present and God, whose kingdom is not of this world, and
the seen has led too many of her members to whose rewards are future and unseen.

Chapter III. 1-6.
5. The Epistle to Sardis.

1 A ND unto the angel of the church in Sardis write ; These

XI. things saith he that hath the * seven Spirits of God, and «ch. 1 4, «6.
the seven stars ; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that

2 thou livest, and' art dead. *Be" watchful, and strengthen' *Eph.v. 14.
the things which * remain, that are * ready to die : for I have

3 not • found thy works perfect ' before * God. Remember there-
fore how* thou hast received and ^heard,*° and hold fast," and ^ MM.xm.ao;
repent If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee " ^^

as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come

4 upon thee. Thou " hast a few names even " in Sardis which
have not defiled " their garments ; and they shall walk " with
me in white : for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the
same " shall " be clothed in white raiment ; " and I will not "•

blot out his name out of the book of life, but ** I will ^ confess ^Mi^t, >. 3a,
6 his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.

^o^thou * Become Establish

* omit not ' no works of thine fulfilled

• after what manner ^^ didst hear
^' But thou ** omit even i* did not defile
*' omit the same ^* add thus ^^ garments

* that • which were

* add my
^* keep " omit on thee

^* add along

"and

so

m no wise

The fifth church addressed is that of Sardis,
one of the most famous of the seven cities to
which these EpisUes are sent, the capital in
former days of the great kingdom of Lydia,
Croesus' kingdom, largely engaged in commercial
enterprises, and distinguished for a magnificent
temple of the goddess Cybele, the rites of whose
worship were m a high d^ee impure. A few
umnhabited ruins now remam.

Ver. I. First, as in each previous case, we have
a description of Him from whom the message
comes, ne that hath the seven Spirits of God
and the seven stan (cp. i. 4, 16). The
description is different from that of chap ii. i,
where the Lord is described as ' holding fast
the seven stars in His right hand.* There He
holds them fast for their protection : here th^
are simply spoken of as His possession. He is
their Lord, and they ought to worship Him.
The fact that He has also the ' seven Spirits ot
God,' or in other words, the Holy Spirit in His
fulness, is on the one hand a proof of the doctrine
of the Western Church on the relation of the
Holy Spirit to our Lord, while on the other hand

it also points to the true and spiritual nature of
the service which He requires. They that
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and
truth. This last is precisely what the cnurch at
Sardis failed to do. To the world she seemed a
star, but He who, as having the Spirit without
measure, has the stars also, knew that she was not
what she seemed to be. — That thou hast a name
that thon livest, and thou art dead. These
words denote more than that Sardis was dead
while she lived. She had a name, a prominent,
famous name, a name of which the whole con-
nection shows us that she boasted. The thought
of this name was her ruin : ' Let him that
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.'
More than this; let a prosperous church, a
church commanding the high places of the earth,
a church no more persecuted, but at ease in the
enjoyment of her privileges, the admiration of
multitudes, an object of attention to the world, —
let such a church remember that the outward is
not the inward, and that power and splendour
of position have no value in the sight of Heaven
compared with spirituality of heart and life.

392

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. III. 7-13.

Ver. 2. Become watohfal. Sardis had £sdled
to 'watch,* — the very sin into which spiritual
pride is sure to fall. Therefore must she first of
all awake, discover what her temptation is, and
put herself on her guard against the foe. — ^And
itabUah the things that remain which were
ready to die ; that is, which were ready, at the
moment when the searching eye of her Lord was
first directed towards her, to sink into the state
characterized as 'dead.' Christian graces, not
persons, are alluded to, — a part of the church's
' works ' that had as yet been preserved from the
too complete degeneracy by which she had been
overtaken. — For I have found no works of thine
fulfilled before my God. In no part of the
Christian life had Sardis reached that perfect
spirituality after which she was to aspire. Spirit-
uality is Christ's perfection. His consummation
in His state of glory. At the right hand of the
Father He is 'spirit,' not to the exclusion of a
body, but with a 'spiritual body,' a body com-
pletely accordant and harmonious with that state
of spirit in which He is. But the Church is
Christ's fulness ; and so long, therefore, as she is
not spiritual, her works are not ' fulfilled.' It is
difficult to say why we should have the word
' my ' prefixed to God ; but the probability is
that it is for the purpose of bringing out that
true nature of God which leads Him to demand
spiritual worship. 'My God,' — 'the God for
whom and in whom I live, who am your ascended
and glorified High Priest and King.' The
Pharisee might think that God would be satisfied
with outward profession : the heathen might oflfer
Him a merely formal service. Jesus knew that
He was ' spirit ' (John iv. 24), and that only in
spirit could He be worshipped.

Ver. 3. The exhortation to Sardis is to re-
member, not the simple fact that she had
received, but how she had done so, after what
manner thou hast received, the earnestness, the
faithfulness, and the zeal which had marked the
first stages of her spiritual life. The change of
tense in the next clause is interesting. — Iiidst
hear. She had ' received,' and she still retained
possession of the truth ; hence the perfect. But
she no longer ' heard ' in that sense of obeying so
common in the writings of St John ; hence the
aorist pointing to a specific moment of the past
There is always a reason, whether we can
discover it or not, for such changes of tense (cp.
on vii. 14). — If, however, the church at Sardis
will not obey the command to ' watch,' she shall
not escape. The Lord will come as a thief. It
is not the suddenness or unexpectedness of the hour

onl]f that is thought of under the image of a
' thief,' for that image has rather its expression in
the last clause of the verse. It is the object with
which the thief comes that is in view, — to break
up and to destroy. Thus the Lord ' comes as a
thief; ' and the hour shall not be known till He
is come (comp. Lukexii. 39; i Thess. v. 2; 2 Pet
m. 10).

Ver. 4. Sardis was not wholly given over to
evil, and the Lord does not less mark and
approve the good than condemn the evil that was
in her.— But thou hast a few names in Saidis
which did not defile their garmentiL It is
impossible to miss the play upon the word
* names ' as compared with 'thou hast a name'
in ver. i. A few had resisted the temptations to
licentiousness so prevalent around them, and had
maintained their Christian life and character in a
manner corresponding to the pure and lofty aims
of the faith which mey professed. — Hence the
promise, again leading us back to the grace to
which it is attached : they shall walk along
with me in white. The grace which clothed them
even here as a white robe shall become a robe of
glory. Their gloij shall be the very ^oiy of their
Lord, for there is force in the preposition ' alone
with ; ' thev shall be sharers in wnat the glorified
Redeemer is. — ^F6r they are worthy (comp. for
contrast, chap. xvi. 5, 6).

Ver. 5. He that overoometh ahall thus be
dothed in white garments. He shall be clothed
about, shall be wrapped round and round with
the glistering elory of ver. 4. — And I will in no
wIm blot oi» nis name oat of the book of Ufa.
The ' book of life ' is a book conceived of as a
regbter, containing the names of the true dtizens
of Zion (cp. Ex. xxxiL 32 ; Dan. xiL i ; Luke x.
20 ; Rev. xiii. 8, xvil 8, xx. 12, xxi. 27, xzii 19)1
There b no statement here that there b sndi a
process of erasure of names from the book of life
as may warrant us in saying that names once
admitted to that book are being continually
blotted out. Nor b such a thou^t in harmony
with the general teaching of me Apocalypse,
which looks rather at the number of the saved
and of the lost as being from the first complete.
What we are told is, not that some names shall
be blotted out, but that certain names shall in no
wise be so. — ^And I will confess his name before
my Father, and before his angels (cp. Matt
X* 32, 33). He who has sought no name before
men (comp. ver. i) shall have hb 'name 'con-
fessed by his Lord in the great day.

Ver. 6. The usual call, with which the four last
Epbtles close.

Chapter IIL 7-13.

6. The Epistle to Philadelphia.

7 A ND to the angel of the church in Philadelphia wnte ;
JlV These things saith he that is holy, * he that is true, he
that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man *

8 shutteth;* and shutteth, and no man^ openeth; I know thy

^ one ' shall shut

tfCh. L t^ i&

Chap. III. 7-13] THE REVELATION. 393

works : behold,* I have set * before thee an open • door, and no
man* can shut it:* for' thou hast a little strength,' and hast
9 kept • my word, and hast not denied *" my name. Behold, I
will " make " them " of the synagogue of Satan, which " say
they " are Jews, and " are not, but do lie ; behold, I will make
them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I

10 have loved thee. Because thou hast kept*' the word of my
patience, I also will * keep thee from " the hour of temptation/' * Jo- «vu. la.
which shall come '^ upon all the world,'^ to try them that dwell

11 upon the earth. Behold/* I come quickly: hold that fast

12 which thou hast, that no man*' take thy crown. Him** that
overcometh will" I make a * pillar in the temple of my God, ^jChroii.uL
and he shall *• go no more out : *' and I will write upon him the

name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which
is^^ new* Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from

13 my God: and / wiU write upon him^ my new name. He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.

* given

• power

It

* (behold,
'that

** omit will " give

1' that they themselves
" out of " the trial

*^ the whole inhabited world
•• him will
'* omit which is

*^ add in no wise
*• the new

• opened • it)

• didst keep *• didst not deny
*• omit them ** of them whicn
*• add they *' didst keep

*® the hour which is about to come
" omit Behold, " one " He

*' come forth any more
^ omit / will write upon him

Ver. 7. The sixth church addressed is that of
Philadelphia, a city of Asia Minor, of which it is
tumecessary to say more than that it possessed
considerable importance, without attaining to the
rank of the other cities mentioned in these
Voters.

1 o this church the Lord is introduced in terms
corresponding to those of chap. i. 13, 18. The
6rst two parts of the description are founded on
the words 'Son of man' in ver. 13, the third on
the statement of ver. 18, that He who is thus
spoken of has the 'keys of death and of Hades.'
By the word holy we are to understand not so
much one who is free from sin, as one who is con*
secrated and set apart to the service of God (see
on J(^ xviL 17}; and by the word tme, one
who is the essence of reality as opposed to one who
is only phenomenal and shadowy (see on John L 9).
Both appellations are illustrated by a prophecy
of Isaian that is evidently in the writer's eye,
in which the rejection of the false Shebna and
the odling of the faithful Eliakim are foretold
(Isa. xxiL 20-2O. The Jews are represented by
the one, and they are now deposed from their
priestly and prophetic office. The Christ is repre-
sented by the otner, and He as God's 'holy ' and
' true ' Priest with His people in Him b come to be
the Head of that Israel of God, which is to be the
'salt of the earth,* and the 'light of the world.'
As God's ' consecrated ' and ' true ' one, Christ is
the Archetype to which all things point, whether
in nature or providence or grace. Everything is

' fulfiUed ' in Him.— Further, He is he that hath
the key of David, he that openeth and no one
ihaU idint, and ahutteth and no one openeth.
For the signification of 'key,' comp. on chap.
i. 18. It IS neither the key of knowledge, — ol
opening up the meaning of Scripture, — nor the
key of discipline,— of receiving into or excluding
from the Church. It is rather the key of power,
of that power by which the Lord of glory is Ruler
in His own house, — the kingdom of God. He is
the Way, no one cometh unto the Father but by
Him ; and against those that come to Him the

fitesof Hell wall not prevail (comp. Isa. xxii. 22).
here is thus a much closer connection between
thb latter part of the description and the two
earlier ports than we might at first suppose ; for
it is as the divinely-commissioned servant of the
Most High, absolutely perfect, absolutely ' true,'
comprehending in Iiixnself Uie essence of all
reality, of all enduring and eternal life, that the
Son of man is the ' Captain ' of our salvation, the
Prince of life who opens and closes the kingdom
of heaven on conditions involved in the nature of
things, and therefore irreversible by any power in
heaven or earth or helL

Ver. 8. The contents of the Epistle begin in the
usual manner, and then proceed, the first sentence
being parenthetical. Behold, I have given before
thee an open door, and no one can shut it. The
translation of the original thus offered cannot be
said to be idiomatic; but, when the inspired
author has employed unidiomatic Greek for the

394

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. III. 7-13-

purpose of eiving expression to a particular
thought which appeared to him importanti it
seems to be the dutv of a translator to follow his
example, and to enaeavour as best he may to find
utterance for the same thought in his own
language. This is the case here. There can be
no doubt that the verb *to give' is a very im-
portant one in the writings o? St. John, and not
least so in these seven Epistles, in every one of
which it has a place. In the words before us it is
not used through any imperfect knowledge of the
Greek tongue. It is deliberately chosen to bring
out the fact that every advantage we poss^
every privilege we enjov, every victory we gain,
is the gift of Him in whom we live. The Lord
does not merely do certain things for His people :
in the doing of them He b^tows His 'gifts.*
Nay, not only so. His giving is part of a chain
that binds together the lowest and the highest in
His kingdom. The Father gives the Son; the
Son gives Himself: in giving Himself, the Son
gives us all things : whatever we receive is part of
one line of giving. — There is difficulty in deter-
mining the meanmg of the 'opened door.* We
may at once set aside the idea that it b a
door of access to the understanding of Scripture.
Is it then, as generally viewed, a door of
opportunity for carrying on the mission work of
the Church, — mission work which is then thought
by some to have reference to the Gentiles, by
others to the Jews ? This idea is no doubt taken
from such texts as I Cor. xvi. 9 ; 2 Cor. ii. 12 ;
Col. iv. 3 ; but the supposed analogy loses its
force when we observe tnat qo instance of it can
be quoted from the writings of St. John. On the
other hand, there can be no hesitation as to the
meaning of the word ' door ' in chap. iv. I, or in
John X. 7, 9. In these passages ue 'door' is
something that leads the persons before whom it
is openea into the happiness referred to in the
context Still further, it is unfavourable to the idea
of missionary work here — (i) That the thought
of converting the world by the instrumentality
of the Churdi is foreign to the ApKKalypse ; (2)
That missionary results achieved in tnis world
cannot be described in the language of ver. 9.
Jews and heathens, when converted, neither
worship before the Church nor pay such homage
to her as is there implied ; they worship before
Christ ; He b the object of their homage ; (3)
That the Church is conceived of here in her royal
as well as in her priestly capacity. This appears
from mention of the 'crown in ver. 1 1, and from
the fact that the verb translated ' worship' suggests
the thought of homage to royalty ; (4) Add what
is said on the ckuse * and he shall in no wise go
any more out ' in ver. 12 ; (5) Lastly, notice the
peculiar construction of the sentence, where the
thrice, or rather the twice repeated ' behold ' (for
the third behold is merely the taking up again of
the second, as ' knowing ' in John xiii. 3 is the
taking up again of the same word in ver. i) leads
to the inference that ver. 9 is simply a second
picture, or fuller explanation of ver. 8. But ver.
9 certainly does not express any conversion of the
Jews : and neither, therefore, is ver. 8 the expres-
sion of means taken for the conversion of either
them or the Gentiles.

The ' opened door,' then, is no other than that
by which the faithful enter into the enjoyment
of the heavenly glory, as well as that by which
those spoken ot in ver. 9 enter, so far at least as to

see them, in order to pay them homage wUle they
sit upon their throne. — This door no one shall
shut, that is, no one shall be aUe to preveat
believers from entering on their rewaid. Their
enemies may frown upon them, persecate them as
they persecuted their Lord, bat it will be in vaio.
Tlie world shall be compelled to own them as it
M-as compelled to own Him in part even hete^
and ftdly, however much to its ihame, hereafter
(comp. chap. i. 7). — The following words present
in three particulars the * works * referred to in the
first clause of Uie verse.— <i) Thoa halt a little
power. The church at Philadelphia had not
altogether felled.— {2) Bidii keep my word, that
is, my word for utterance (comp. John xvii. 6, 8).
She had preserved the Word of the Lord as a
precious heritage.— (3) IHdst not deny mynaaMi
She had stood firm when tempted to deny her
Lord, openly confessing Him.

Ver. 9. The two parts of this verse each begin-
ning with ' Behold ' must be taken together, for
the second 'behold' is the repetition of the first
Those referred to are described as in chap. ii. 9
(see note there). Commentators generally imagine
that we have here a promise of the convenion of
the Jews literally understood, not indeed of the
whole nation, but of that ' remnant ' which, as we
learn from other passages of Scripture^ stiD
remained, amidst the general obstinacy of the
nation, susceptible to the inflnenoes of the
Christian faitn. It is impossible to talLe soch a
view, for not only do the prophecies upon which
the language before us rests, if it be a prophecj
(Isa. ii. 3, xlix. 21-23, Ix. 14-16; Zcch. viii.
20-23), refer to the coming in of the Gentiks
rather than of the Jews ; but there is nothiqg in
the words in the least degree resembling a
promise of conversion. They speak only of
constrained submission to a Church which has
been hitherto disowned, and of acknowledging
what has been hitherto denied, — that Chrishaiw
are the object of God*a love (comp. John xiv. 31).
It ought further to be observed, that in tlie
language employed by the Lord it is not stmedl
these Jews that are thought of, bat aU, These is
no mention of the ' remnant * alluded to by St
Paul in Rom. ix. 27. We are therefore entitled
to conclude that in Uiis verse nothing is sidd of a
calling in of the Jews, whether in w£>le or in part
What we read of is simply the bowingdown of the
Church's enemies before her feet. The oatwaid
progress of the Church, as illustrated by the
case of Philadelphia, is again worthy of noUcet
At chap. ii. 9 these enemies of the £uth were only
not to be feared: now they bow in sabnusnon
before her whom they had persecuted. Nor is
the inward progress of the Church less peroeptihle^
For the first time in these Epistles we see her
bearing witness to Christ in ¥rord, opening her
lips to speak the Word of God, herself, in short, a
continuation of The Word.

Ver. 10. Because thou didst keep the word
of my patiienoe. The refierence is neither to any
precepts of Christ concemin|^ patienc^ nor to any
accounts given us of the patience of Christ Him-
self, but simply to Christ s ' word,' which cannot
be kept without much patient endurance on the
part Of His people.— I also will keep thee out of
the hour of the trial, etc The hour spoken ol
is described as that of 'the trial,' the great, pro-
bably the final, trial which was now about to
oome, which was near at hand. ' Out of (comp.

Chap. III. 14-22.]

THE REVELATION.

395

John zviL 15) this trud believen are to be kept, —
not that ibey are to be kept in it, when in the
coime of providence it comes upon the Church as
well as others, but that they are to be kept entirely
oat of it ; it shall not touch them. This trial, then,
is not to be a trial of the world, in order to see
whether it will repent, or a trial of the Church,
in order to confirm her in faith; nor is it to
operate in two ways, — bringing out the fidelity of
the believing, and hardening Qkc unbelieving. It
really befalls the impenitent alone, and is the just
recompense of their sin (comp. Matt. xxiv. 5, etc. ;
2 Thess. iii. 3). Even if the righteous suffer in it,
it will not be to them a ' trial ; * they are already
elect, safe. That this is the true sense of the
passage is confirmed by what follows. The trial
comes upon the whole inhabited world; no
part of the world shall escape it. But at the
same time, it comes to try them that dweU upon
the earth, not all living men without exception,
but, as clearly shown by the use of this expression
in the Apocalypse, only the wicked (comp.
chaps. vL 10, viii. 13, xi. 10^ xiii. 8, 12, 14,
xviL 2, 8). The 'earth' is the opposite of
'heaven* (comp. John iii. 12), and they that
' dwell upon the earth ' do not include the saints
who are already seated in heavenly places (comp.
chap. Y. 9, xiiL 6, xix. 14).

Ver. II. I come quickly. Comp. chap. ii. 25
and ver. 3, in both of which the general, rather
than any special, coming of the Dord had been
spoken of. He was to 'come* in the first, to
* come as a thief * in the second ; now He ' comes
quickly.' — That no one take thy crown, that
is, take it away (comp. chap. vi. 4), deprive
the church of it. The crown is the crown of
finture glory, the kingly crown (comp. on chap.
iL 10).

Ver. 12. We have now the promise to him that
overcometh, whidi is divided into three parts, not
two. (i) Him will I make a pillar in the
tmple of my God. He shall not merely be a
living stone in the temple, but something much
more beautiful and glonous. It may be doubted
if the idea of stabilitv ought to be introduced here
in connection with the word 'pillar.' That idea
seems to be drawn from the words immediately
following, which have been improperly associated
with those before us. The thought of the pillar
is rather Uiat of ornament and beauty to the build-
ing of which it is a part. (2) And he shall in
no wise oome forth any more. These words are
not to be taken in the sense of, he shall be in no
danger of being thrust out or of falling awav.
They rather form, when rightly viewed, a remark-
able illostration of the umty of thought between

the Apocalypse and the fourth (jospel, as well as
of that close identification of the believer with his
Lord which is so prominent in each. The verb
' come forth,' as used of Jesus in the fourth Gospel,
expresses not only His original derivation from
the Father, but His whole manifestation of Him-
self as the 'sent' of God (John viii. 42, xiii. 3,
xvL 30, xviii. I and note there). It includes,
therefore, the thought of all His suffering and
sorrow, of all His humiliation and self-sacrifice
until He returned to the Father. In a similar
sense it seems to be used of the believer here.
The Lord is now exalted in glory, and 'comes
forth ' no more ; the believer, when.crowned with
his glory, shall in like manner be safe from all
future trial. (3) And I will write npon him,
etc. Three things are to be written, not upon
the pillar, but upon the victorious believer — first,
the name of my God. Considering the manner
in which one part of the Apocalyi)8e enlarges and
explains another, it is hardly possible not to take
this part of the promise as an enlargement of what
has already met us in chap. ii. 17. We are thus
led to think ac^n of the inscription upon the
forehead of the nigh priest. Secondly, the name
of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem,
which Cometh down out of heayen firom my
God. The Jerusalem referred to is not the earthly
but the heavenly city, the city now with God, but
which is hereafter to descend (chap. xxi. 2, 10).
Thirdly, my new name, that is, a name of
Christ in His character as Redeemer. All three
things mentioned refer to the blessings of the
covenant. They express in one way or another
the relation of the believer to God as his Father,
to Christ as the Revelation of the Father, and to
the privil^es and joys of citizenship in the king-
dom made known to us in the Father and the
Son. They thus appear not substantially different
from the promise of chap. iL I7» but rather an
expansion of the 'new' name there spoken of^
They contain a fuller statement of its con-
tents, and bring to view alike the Lord whom
His people serve, and the spirit in which they
serve Him. We may note the correspondence,
too, between witnessing to the name of Christ in
ver. 8, and the bestowal of the name mentioned
in the promise. May it also be that there is a
correspondence between the description of the
Lord in ver. 7 as 'He that is holy,' and the
'name' here given to him that overcomes? If
so, we shall be the more led to think of the in-
scription upon the forehead of the high priest as
the basis of the description of ver. 12.

Ver. 13. The usual call at the close of the
second group of the seven Epistles.

Chapter III. 14-22.

7. The Epistle to Laodicea.

14 A ND unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans * write ;

-/l. These things saith the *Amen, the faithful and true «i«J«v. 16.

15 witness, the ^beginning of the creation of God; I know thy ^coi. ». 15.

^ in Laodicea

396 THE REVELATION. [Chap. III. 14-22.

works, that thou art neither cold nor hot : I would thou wert

16 cold or hot. So then ' because thou art lukewarm, and neither

17 cold nor hot, I will' spue thee out of my mouth. Because

thou sayest, ^ I am rich, and increased with goods,* and have ^ lii. n^ i^
need of nothing ; and knowest not that thou art wretched,* and

18 miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked : I counsel thee to
buy of me gold tried in the fire,* that thou mayest be rich ;
and white raiment,' that thou mayest be clothed,* and that the
shame of thy nakedness do not appear ; ' and '* anoint thine

19 ^y^'^ with eye-salve," that thou mayest see. ''As many as I ''Jo-*^*-
love, I rebuke ^' and chasten : be zealous therefore, and repent.

20 Behold, 'I stand at the door, and knock: if any man** hear 'Jm>v*9>
my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will

21 -^ sup with him, and he with me. To him that** overcometh/M^'-'^'n-
will " I grant to sit " with " me in my throne, even *• as I also
overcame, and am set " down with •* my Father in his throne.

22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit salth unto
the churches.

' omit then * I am about to ^ and have gotten riches

' the wretched one * refined out of fire ' garments

* clothe thyself * may not be manifested ^® cuid eye-salve to

^^ omit with eye-salve ** convict *• one ^* He that

" to him wiU *• cidd down *' along with

^* omit even ^^ and sat ■* along with

Ver. 14. The seventh church addressed is that ' true.' — Once more He is the begiimlng of the

of Laodicea, an important and wealthy city not creation of Ck)d, not merely the first and highest

very far from Philadelphia. The chief interest ol of all creatures, — a view entirely out of keeping

Laodicea, apart from that lent to it by the fact with what is said of our Lord in the Apocalypse,

that it was one of the seven cities addressed in the — but the principle, the initial force, to which the

Apocaljrpse, arises from its connection with the ' creation ' of God owes its origin. More doabt

history of St. Paul. That apostle had not indeed may be entertained as to what the ' creation ' here

founded the church there, nor at the time^at least referred to is, whether the material creation in all

when he wrote the Epistle to the Colossians had its extent or the new creation, the Chrisdaa

he visited the dty (Col. ii. i), but he cherished a Church, that redeemed humanity which has its

lively affection for its Christian inhabitants, and true life in Christ. The former is the view gene-

anxiously sought to promote their welfare (Col. rally taken, but the third term of the description

iv. 16). It is probable that the New Testament thus fails to correspond with the first two whidi

Epistle, known as the Epistle to the Ephesians, undoubtedly apply to the work of redemption,

was primarily intended for the Gentile Christians while at the same time the subjoined words ' of

of Laodicea and the neighbouring towns. God ' become meaningless or perplezine. Add

ledlately after J<

Again we are first met by a description of the to this that in chap. i. 5, imm<

exalted Redeemer, which cannot be said to be had been called the 'faithful Witn^,' He had

taken directly from any part of the description of also been described as the ' first-b^otten of the

the Son of man contained in chap. i. It seems dead ' (see note there), and we shall hardly be

rather to be composed of characteristics selected able to resbt the conclusion that, if the whole

for their suitableness to the closing Epistle of the creation be alluded to, it is only as redeemed, in

Seven. The Lord is the Amen. The appellation its final condition of rest and glory, when the new

is no doubt taken from Isa. Ixv. 16, wnere the Jerusalem has descended from heaven, and the

words of the Authorised Version, 'the God of enemies of the Church have been cast into the

truth,' fail adequately to represent the original, lake of fire (comp. Rom. viii. 21, 22 ; Jas. i. 18).

Ilie Lord is rather there named ' Amen ; ' and the The three predicates thus form an appellation

meaning of the name here is not that the Divine peculiarly \ippropriate, not so much to tne chnich

promises shall be accomplished by Him to whom at Laodicea considered alone, as to the last church

It is given, but that He is Himself the fulfilment addressed in these Epbtles. We have already

of all that God has spoken to His churches, seen that the first Epistle, that to Ephesus, has a

— Again, He is the faithful and true witness, general as well as a special character. A similar

His work is to be a witness of God, and in that remark is applicable now. Christ is the 'Amen'

work He has been perfectly 'faithful,* absolutely of the whole counsel of God: He is the 'Wit-

Chap. III. 14-22.]

THE REVELATION.

397

ness' who has faithfully and completely exhibited
His truth ; He is the source and spring of that
new creation which is called into being according
to His wilL

Ver. 15. The contents of the Epistle now begin.
Thftt thoa Art neither cold nor hot: I would
thon wert cold or hot. The latter words throw
light upon the interpretation of the former, for
they show that we cannot well understand by
'cold ' either the state of a heart simply untouched
by the Gospel of love, and occupying thus a merely
negative position, or that of one which has re-
lapsed from former zeal for the truth into a con-
dition of indifference. In no circumstances could
either of these states be to the Lord an object of
desire, for experience shows that there is none out
oi which it is so difficult to awaken the heiut to a
proper reception of the Divine message. There
must be some positive quality in him who is thus
'cold,' for the sake of which Jesus can say, 'I
would thou wert cold or hot ; ' and this being so,
it seems only possible to think of ' coldness ' as
real attachment to the world, and active opposi-
tion to the Church. It may indeed be objected
tliat such a character is wanting in that Christian
element which we must suppose to exist in what
is 'cold' before it could be spoken of in the
language of this verse; but there is nothing to
compel us to think of such an element ; and the
first words of the exhortation in ver. 19, 'Be
xealous,' may with perfect propriety be referred to
that natural disposition which, although not in
itself Christian, is always the ^und upon which
the true Christian character is reared. 'Hot,'
again, can only express warm Christian zeal. The
^urch at Laodicea was neither 'cold' nor 'hot.'
It had received the truth outwardly, but no deep
impression had been made upon it Its members
were not zealous for the truth, but neither were
they zealous against it It was lokewarm, desti-
tute of enthusiasm for anvthing whether good or
eidL Had it been 'hot, it would have been all
that Jesus wished. Had it been 'cold,' it would
at least have possessed those elements of natural
character which might be turned to a satisfactory
issue. As it was, nothing could be made of it

Ver. 16. Hence the emphatic threatening of this
verse. For the figure comp. Lev. xviii. 28, xx. 22.

Ver. 17. This verse is sometimes connected
with the preceding, as giving a further statement
of the reason why the Lord would deal with the
church at Laodicea according to His threatening.
But it is more natural to connect it with ver. 10,
and to regauxl it as containing the ground of the
counsel there given. The question may be asked,
whether we are to understand the words of the
first half of the verse as referring to temporal or
spiritual wealth. The words of ver. 18 determine
in favour of the former. It was not spiritual
pride that had made the church at Laodicea
' lukewarm : ' the spiritually proud have too many
positive elements of^character to justify such a de-
scription in their case. It was worldly prosperity
that had made the church indifferent to the energy
and power of Divine truth. Outwardly she could
still profess the Christian faith. But, to be held in
reality, that faith must be accompanied by a clear
and deep perception of the vanity of this world.
To such a state of mind riches are a bar. The
rich may no doubt enter into the kingdom of God
as well as the poor, but they do so with difficulty
(Mark z. 23, 24). Their wants are satisfied

with ' com and wine ; ' the world pays homage to
them ; they have ' much goods laid up for many
years ; ' they are free from anxiety as to the
future; and they will 'leave their substance to
their babes.' Why should they be eager about
religion? They faiave difficulty in bein^ 'hot.'
Yet they would not oppose religion. It is easier
to conform to it. They cannot oppose it or be
'cold.' Such is the state of mind which the Lord
seems here to address, and hence the powerful
language of the following words, and knowest
not that thon art the wretched one, and
miserable, etc. ' Thou callest the poor wretched :
thcu art the wretched one : to thee really belong
the miseiy and the poverty and the blindness and
the nakedness for wnich thou pitiest or professest
to pity others.'

Ver. 18. The counsel follows. I counsel thee to
buy of me gold refined out of fire, not that gold
which cannot stand the fire of the great day, but the
true gold of My kingdom, purified oy being burnt in
the furnace of trial, that thus thon mayest be rich;
and white garments, that thou mayest appear
clothed when I come ; and eye-Balve to anoint
thine eyea, that thou mayest see (comp. John
ix. 6). The three thin£;s mentioned are in obvious
contrast with those spoken of in ver. 17, although
they are not mentioned in the same order. For
•buy* comp. Isa. Iv. i.

Ver. 19. As many as I loye I convict and
chasten. The ' 1 * before ' convict ' is very
emphatic, — ' I, who though I was rich became
poor, who bought true nclies by suffering and
aeath.' For the force of 'convict' comp. note on
John xvi. 8.— Be zealous therefore, and repent.
'Be zealous' comes first, because it relates to a
general change of spirit Were specifically
Christian zeal in view, repentance ought to take
precedence. The tenses in the original deserve
notice, the first expressing the general habit, the
second the decisive act.

Ver. 20. Behold, I stand at the door. The
figure is not intended to convey to the church the
thought of the Lord's constant presence, but
rather the assurance that He has taken up a new

S»sition, that He is at hand for judgment, and that
e will immediately admit His people to the full
enjoyment of. His promised blessedness. — And
knock. These words bring more forcibly home
to us the Lord's standing at the door and the near-
ness of His presence. No knocking in various
ways, by providence, by conscience, by the ordi-
nances of the Church, by the work of the Spirit,
is referred to. The words simply show how near
Jesus is, and how ready to bless (comp. Jas. v. 9).
— If any one hear my voice, etc. The picture is
one of the heavenly reward, and both statements,
I will sup with him, and he with mo, are to be
taken tc^ether. The first is not confined to the
blessedness of earth, the second to the blessedness
of heaven ; but the two combined express the
glory and joy of the future world, where the
believer shall be for ever wiih his Lord. —
Different opinions have been entertained as to the
foundation of the figure, a very common supposi-
tion being that it rests upon St. John's own
personal intercourse with Jesus related at John
1. 39, and upon his Master's visits to him at the
close of many a day's labour during His earthly
ministry. Such a reference is far-fetched ; and it
is mucn more natural to think of the words of
the Song of Solomon in chap. v. 2, and to behold

398

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. III. 14-22.

here the festivity and joy of tne time of the Lord's
marriage to His Church. Rev. xix. 9, where we
read of the marriage supper of the Lamb, appears
to confirm this. May we not also connect with
the supper of this verse the thought of the last
supper m the upper chamber at Jerusalem ? We
are dealing with the last of the Epistles, and
the imagery may well be drawn from one of the
closing acts of the Saviour's life on earth. That
Supper is not a mere memorial of death : it is a
spintual feast in which the life of the believer is
most intimately bound up with that of his Lord,
in which the union between them is the closest of
all unions, that between Uie Bridegroom and the
bride.

Ver. ai. He ih*t oyeroometh, to him will I
grant to ait down along with me in my throne,
etc. This promise Is the highest of all that we
have met in the seven EpisUes. The throne of
T^us is the throne of uod, — 'I in them, and
Thou in Me, that they may be perfected into one ; *
' Father, that which Thou hast given Me, I will
that, where I am, they also maj be with Me ' (John
zvii. 23, 24). The promise is the ' apotheosis of
victory,' and as such it has evidently a reference
not only to the church at Laodicea, but to the
whole series of the seven churches, and of the
promises addressed to them.

Ver. 22. The Epistle closes with the usual call
of the Spirit to the churches.

We have considered the Epistles tothe^ven
churches separately ; but, before leaving the sub-
ject, it may be well to make a few remarks
upon them as a whole. That they are intended
to be thus looked at is allowed by eveiy inter-
preter. We have not merely before us seven
letters to seven individual churches, which no
inner bond connects with one another, and where
there is no thought of any general result ; we
have a representation or picture of the Church at
large. Yet the traits given us of the condition of
eadi church are historical, the seven churches
selected beinc preferred to others, because they
appeared to the apostle to afford Uie best tjrpical
representation of the Church universal

The seven Epistles, however, are not merely
seven. They are clearly divided into two groups,
the first of which consists of the first three, the
second of the four following, Epistles. Various
circumstances combine to prove this, one of
which — the difference of position assigned in the
difierent groups to the call, ' He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches ' — is at once perceptible to the English
reader. Another — ^the omission (bv later read-
ing) of the words ' I know thy works ' from the
Epistles to Smyrna and Pergamos, while they
occur in all the remaining Epistles — is not so
obvious, nor is its force so easily determined.
Yet we know of no more satisfactory explanation
than that the words are omitted from the second
and third Epistles, because these two are so
intimately connected with the first that the ex-
pression, when used in it, was supposed to extend
Its influence into them. It is true that the same
thing does not occur in the last four, the expres-
sion ' I know thy works ' meeting us in each ;
but this may only show that the unity of the
second group is not so profound and intimate as
that of ue first.

If, then, it be now asked what the difference

between these two groups Is, we answer that in
the first we have the Church of Christ in herself^
in the second the Church of Clunst as she mingles
with the world and learns its ways. No doubt in
the first group sin and sufiering are spoken of ;
but it must be borne in mind that it is the actual
not the ideal Church with which we have to deal ;
and the Church had not then, nor has she even
now, attained to the * stature of the perfect man
in Christ Jesus.' Sin marks her, and she stands
in need of suffering ; but it is the characteristic of
the first of the two groups, that in it sin has more
the aspect of weakness, while in the second it
b intensified and yielded to tfaorough contact with
the world. When, accordingly, we look more
closely at the first three Epistles, the leadii^ idea
of each appears to be as follows. In Ephesus the
church is faithful to her conmiission. She has
indeed lost the warmth of her first love, hat she
holds fast the revelation of the will of God, the
' form of sound words,' with which she had been
entrusted ; she has tried them which ' call them-
selves apostles, and they are not, and has found
them £alse,' and she has ' not grown weary in her
toil.' In Sm3rma this faithfulness continues, bat
the idea of suffering is now brought in, and the
Church is told that the time is at hand when she
must meet it Lastly, in Pergamos we have a
similar Duthfulness even under persecntioa whidi
has begun, although at the same time there are
now 'some' withm her own borders who have
given way to evil, so that actual afHictioQ is re-
quired to purify her. In the three pasties taken
together we have thus set before us tbe main New
Testament conception of the Chuicfay the Body of
believers true to Christ's cause upon tiie whole,
but taught to expect affliction* and actually
afflicted, that they may be cleansed and be made
to bring forth more fruit (John xv. I, 2).

When we turn to the churches of the second
group we enter upon a different field. The
Church is now in actual contact with the worid,
and, forgetting her high calling to be Christ'ii
witness in and against the world, she jidds to its
corrupting influences. Thus in Thvatira, the first
of the four, it is no longer ' some (chap. ii. 15)
in her midst who tolerate evil. The Chnrdi as a
whole does so. She 'suffereth,' beareth with,
Jezebel, a heathen princess, the fittii^ type of
the world and the world's sins. She knew the
world to be what it was, and yet she was content
to be at peace with it It may be worthy of
notice, too, that as the first picture of the chardi
in herself— that in the Epistle to Ephcsos—
showed her to be peculiarly faithful on the pomi
of doctrine, so the first picture of the chucn, as
she begins to yield to the world, shows ns that it
was in doctrinal steadfastness that ^e fiuled. In
the Epistle to Sardis, the second dty of the
second group, there is more yielding to the world
than even in Th]ratira. A few indeed there
have not defiled their garments, but the dmrch as
a whole reproduces the Pharisees in the days of
Christ, loud in their profession and renowned for
it, but with no works of a true and genuine
righteousness fulfilled before God. Declension in
doctrine had soon been foUowed by dedensloQ in
practice. Amidst all such declensions, howevcf*
it must never be forgotten that the Chnrdi has
her times of noble faithfulness^ and audi a time
seems to be set before us m the Epistle to
Philadelphia. That the church there has been

Chap. IV. i-ii.]

THE REVELATION.

399

straggling with the world we see by the descrip-
tion of her vanquished enemies who come in and
worship before her feet (chap, iit 9) ; but she had
not yielded to the world. No word of reproach
is uttered against her. The Epistle to Phila-
delphia represents either a time when the Church
as a whole maintains her allegiance to the Captain
of her salvation, or that remnant within the
Church (as there was a remnant even in the
Jewish Church of our Lord's time) which keeps
'the word of the Lord's patience' in those
seasons of conflict with the main body of the
Church herself that are far more hard to bear
than any conflict with the world. Lastly, in
Laodicea all that is most melancholy in the
history of the Church's relation to the world
culminates, and the last picture that is given us of
her state is at the same time the saddest (comp.

Luke xviii. 8). The Church is here conformed to
the world, and takes her ease amidst the wealth
and the luxury which the world affords to all her
votaries, and to none with so much satisfaction as
to those who will purchase them at the cost of
Christian consistency.

Such appears to us to be a general outline of
the course of thought embodi^ in these seven
Epistles. But it is not easy to speak with con-
fidence regarding it. The general conception of
the two groups of three and four may perhaps be
accepted as correct;^ and starting from that
point, other inquirers may be more successful in
determining the special characteristic of the
Church which each Epistle of both groups is
undoubtedly intended to express.

^The present writer has treated the subject more fully
In a papor in the Ex/otitor for July x88a.

Chapter IV. i-ii.

Preparatory Visions.

1 A FTER this ■ I looked,* and, behold, a door was ■ opened

-LM^ 'in heaven : and the first voice which I heard was as it «E*eic.L i;

Jo. I. 51.

were of a trumpet talking* with me; which said,* Come up
hither, and I will show thee things • which must be ' * here- * ch. l 19.

2 after.* And* immediately" I was in the ^spirit: and, behold, cCh.Lfa
a throne was" set in heaven, and one sat" on the throne.

3 And he that sat was to look upon like a ^jasper" and a ^'Eiek. i. a6,
sardine ** stone : " and there was a ' rainbow round about the ' ^^ «• »3.

4 throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the
throne were four and twenty seats : " and upon the seats " I
saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment ; "

5 and they had" on their heads crowns of gold." And

out of the throne proceeded *® -^ lightnings and thunderings*VEx.jrir.i6.
and voices:** and there were seven lamps" of fire burning

6 before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And

before the throne t/tere was*^ a ^sea of glass** like unto ^g^*v«.t.

« Ex. xxxviu.

crystal : and in the midst of the throne, and round about the ^'
throne, were *four beasts** full of eyes before and behind. AE«ek.Ls-xo

7 And the first beast ^ was like a Hon, and the second beast ^
like a calf,** and the third beast *' had a ** face as ** a man, and

8 the fourth beast*' was like a flying eagle. And the four

^ these things
' the Uiings

■ saw * omit was

' come to pass
'® After these things straightway
^' a<iS/ stone '* sardius

*' garments *® optit they had

** voices *' thunders

'' as it were a glassy sea
*' living creature •* bull-calf

* speaking * one saying

• omit hereafter * omit And

*^ there was a throne '* sitting
** omit stone '• thrones

*• golden crowns *° there proceed

*' torches '* omit there was
** living creatures

"its ^addoi

400 THE REVELATION. [Chap. IV. i-ii

beasts" had" each of them" six wings about him;** and
they "* were " full of eyes " within : and they rest not *' day and
night, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord** God* Almighty,"* '^^^JJJ
9 which was, and is, and ** is to come. And when those beasts
give " glory and honour and thanks to him that sat ** on the

10 throne, who** liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty
elders fall** down before him that sat** on the throne, and
worship** him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast*' their

1 1 crowns before the throne, saying, * Thou art worthy,** O Lord,** ^i^^.
to receive** glory and*^ honour and*" power: for thou hast weLuLji
created*" all things, and for thy pleasure** they are** and**

were created.

•* having •* add severally •• omit about him •* omit and they

'* are •• add round about and ^"^ and they have no rest

»8 Lord, who art «» God, <« the Ahnighty

^^ he which was, and which is, and which ^' the living creatures shall give
" sitteth ** to him that ** shall fall *« shall worship

^"^ shall cast *® Worthy art thou *• our Lord and our God

*® take the ** add the '* didst create

«3 because of thy will ** were ** add they

Contents. Chap. iv. and v. form the third
section of the Apocalvpse ; but the struggle of the
Church, which it is the main object of the book to
describe, does not yet begin. These two chapters
are preparatory to the struggle, presenting us
with such pictures of the glory of the heavenly
Guardians of the Church as may fill our minds
with confidence that, whatever be her trials, she
shall be conducted through them to a glorious
issue. As the foundation of all that God is, has
done, and will do, St John receives in chap. iv.
a vision of His absolute holiness, which is borne
witness to by His Church, and bv the whole of His
redeemed creation. This is followed in chap. v.
by another vision, from which it appears that
the mjrstery connected with the dealmgs of the
thrice holy One (chap. iv. 8) shall not last for
ever. In Immanuel, the Incarnate Lamb of God,
the mystery otherwise so oppressive shall be made
manifest ; and our hearts may be at peace. The
visions of these two chapters have their parallel in
Isa. vi.y where the vision of the thrice holy God
presented to the prophet (vers. i-8) is intro«
ductory to his terrible commission at ver. 9.
Isaiah is warned by his vision that the Almighty,
notwithstanding the mystery of His dealings, is
holy, and that the bemgs who see what He is
doing cannot but adore Him.

Ver. I. After IheBe things denotes succession
of visions, not of time ; and the rest of the verse
is preparatory to the vision rather than strictly
speaking a part of it. The apostle must be under-
stood to be still 'in the spirit,' for that is the
state in which at chap, i 10 he hears the voice
now again referred to. Two things are intro-
duced to us by the word behold :— (i) A door
opened in heaven, not opening but open, so
that there may be the freest intercourse between
heaven and earth (comp. £zek. i. i ; John i. 51) ;
and that we, seeing into heaven, may understand
what is to happen upon earth. Faith is the con-
dition of true wisdom. (2) The voice, identified

with that spoken of in chap. i. 10 bv being
described in the same language. It is tnenme
mysterious voice of judgment, therefore, as that
heard there. The Seer is invited to ascend to the
place whence the voice issued, and is told whit
will be shown him. The language describing
what he is to see has already met as in chap^
i. I, 19 ; and it points to the fortimes of the
Church throughout the whole period of her
history down to the time of her glorificatioo.

Ver. 2. As the closing expression 0!" ver. I in
the Authorised Version, after these thingi, is
not necessary to complete the meaning of the
clause to which it is at present added, it seems
better to connect it with what follows at the
beginning of the second verse. It thus constitutes
a resumption of the same expression in ver. I, and
introduces the true beginning of the visions to be
described. SL John is prepared for them by
passing into the spiritual or ecstatic state. Even
m ver. i, indeed, he was in that state ; bat here,
where the visions begin, there is a propriety in
making special mention of the fact, and the word
was, which is properly ' became,' mav be designed
to call our attention to the renewal of the first
vividness or fervour of his spiritual condition. Two
things are seen :— (i) A throne set in heavM
(comp. Ezek. l 26-28). The verb 'set ' seems to
express not merely that the throne was there, bat
that it was so by the Divine appointment and
arrangement (comp. Jer. xxiv. I ; Lake iL 54 ;
John ii. 6, xx. 5, 6, 7 ; Rev. xxL 16). For the
particular shape and aspect of the throne see on
ver. 6. (2) One sitting on the throne. It is not
easy to determine who is meant. That the Sitter
on the throne is neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit
is indeed obvious from the fact that in later venes
He is distinguished from them both (chaps, v. 5,
13, vL 16). But is He the Father or the Trinne
God ? Commentators generally adopt the former
view, but there is much that may seem rather to
determine in favour of the latter. The whole

Chap. IV. i-ii.]

THE REVELATION.

401

b foanded upon Isa. vi, where we have not only
the throne nigh and Hfted up, the seraphim,
and the train filling the temple, but also the
Trisagion^ * Holy, holy, holy,* etc. The vision
of Isaiah, however, is always justly regarded as
one of the greatest adumbrations of the Trinity
contained in the Old Testament (comp. especially
▼er. 8, ' Whom shall I send, and who will go
for Us?*), so that we are thus naturally led
to think now also of the Trinity. In addition,
it has to be observed that one great distinc-
tion between the visions of chap. iv. and chap. v.
seems to lie in this, that in the former we nave
the Almighty presented to us as He is in Himself
absolutely, that in the latter only are we directly
introduced to the Covenant of grace in which we
learn to know God as Father. Nor does it seem
that there ought to be any peculiar difficulty in
accepting this interpretation on the ground that
the Son and the Holy Spirit are afterwards spoken
of as if distinct from Him who occupied the
throne. All that b contended for is, that God is
here introduced to us as He is in Himself, and
not according to that separation of hypostases or
personalities revealed to us in other passages of
Scripture. We deal as yet with the Divine
Being as He exists in Himself, and with Him
viewed in that light the conception of Trinity in
Unity is fundamentally connected.

Ver. 3. The description of Him that sat upon
the throne is given : He was like nnto a jasper
■tone and a Bardina. It has been noticed that the
two stones here mentioned are the first and the
last in the 'breastplate of judgment' (Ex. xxviiu
I7> 20) ; but it is difficult to attach any import-
ance to this circumstance, for the order is reversed,
the sardius being there the first, and the jasper
the last The analogy of Ezek. i. 27 seems to
warrant the inference that the colours of the two
stones were not mixed throughout, but that the
upper part of the body was marked by the one
and the lower part by the other. There can be
little doubt, though some interpreters dispute the
finct, that the colours of these stones, as well as of
the emerald to which the xainbow round about
the throne was like, are to be understood sym-
bolically. From chap. xxi. 1 1 we learn that the
colour of the jasper was a bright sparkling white-
ness, while that of the sardius was a fiery red.
llie first, therefore, can hardly denote anvthing
but that holiness of God which this very chapter
shows to be the feature of His character mainly in
view of the sacred writer at the time (ver. 8) ;
the second most naturally expresses the wrath
with which He consumes His enemies, and which
is represented in the lightnings, etc., of ver. 5
(comp. Ps. i. 3, etc ; Ezek. i. 4).

The colour of the rainbow is described as that
of the emerald, or green. Not that the other
colours are awanting, but that they are subor-
dinate to, or lost in, that green colour, which
of all others is the most pleasing to the eye.
The object itself, its colour, its Old Testa-
ment history, and even the mode of its
formation in nature, combine to suggest the
meaning of the rainbow, — the holiness and
wrath of God encompassed by His covenant
grace. It is difficult to sav whether we are to
think of this rainbow as a half or a whole circle
spanning the throne. The mere fact that it is
called a * rainbow ' is not conclusive in favour of
the former, for the Seer employs his figures with
VOL. IV. 26

great freedom (comp. i. 13, ii. 17, and the
' green ' colour in this verse) ; while the words
' round about the throne,' and the language used
in chap. x. I, suggest the latter. We are pro-
bably to think of the rainbow as either floating
above the throne or as encompassing it in a vertical
plane. For the rainbow comp. Ezek. i. 28.

Ver. 4. In the next part of the description we
are told that there were round abont ti^e throne
twenty-four thrones, and upon the thrones
twenty-four elders. It is important to observe
the word 'thrones* (not as in the Authorised
Version, • seats ') here used by St. John, for there
can be no doubt that it is deliberately chosen in
order to bring out the fact that the glorified Church
of Christ is placed in no lower position than that of
the Saviour's and the Father's throne (comp. iii. 21 ).
These twenty-four thrones were like the rainbow
* round about the throne. ' It may be a question
whether they were within or without the circle of
the rainbow. Chap. iii. 21 seems to determine
against the latter. But perhaps we are even to
think of them as set in the very circle of the
rainbow in order to denote standing in the
covenant of grace. The thrones were occupied
by twenty-four elders ; and, as these unquestion-
ably represent the one Church of Christ in its
triumphing condition in heaven, the number must
be taken from some idea which presented itself
to the mind of the Seer as a suitable expression
for the whole Church of God. The twenty-
four divisions of the sons of Aaron, described in
I Chron. xxiv., might have suggested it, the only
difficulty being that this classification of the priest-
hood belongs to the time of the Temple rather
than of the Tabernacle. It seems better,
therefore, to have recourse to the doubling
of the number twelve, so that the whole
number twenty-four may represent the Church in
her double aspect as at once the Church of the
Old Covenant and of the New. We have already
met with this principle of doubling, although in
a somewhat difierent form ; and there does not
appear to be anything unnatural in resorting to it
now. The twenty-four elders, thus embodying
the conception of the Church of Christ in her
perfected condition, have three characteristics,
(i) They are sitting, the attitude of rest and
honour. (2) They are clothed in white gannent8»
the robes of perfect purity, the robes of priests.
(3) They have on their heads golden crowns,
those of chaps, ii. 10, iii. 1 1, and xiv. 14, in which
last passage the same ' golden crown ' is assigned
to the Son of man. Like Him, they are not only
priests but kings. At chap. vi. 11 the 'white
robe' alone, without the golden crown, is given
to the souls under the altar ; but the reason is
obvious. These souls are waiting. Here the
time of waiting is past. The Church is before us
in her triumphing condition.

Ver. 5. Tne description is continued with the
mention of lightnings and voices and thunders
which proceed out of the throne. These repre-
sent neither the ' outpouring of the Holy Spirit '
nor the ' agency of the Gospel,' but the fact that
the throne of God is a throne of judgment (Ps.
ix. 7). The world is judged not merely by God
Himself, but by His Church (chap. ii. 27). Judg«
ment against sin is a necessary accompaniment
both of holiness and love. Nor need it surprise
us that such indications of judgment should
proceed from the throne at a time when the

403

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. IV. i-ii.

Church is regarded as having attained her glorified
condition, and is safe from all her enemies, for it
is not so much the actual exercise as the attribute
of judgment that is now in view, and such an
attribute is eternal. These lightnings and voices
and thunders, therefore, are not to be regarded as
a manifestation peculiar to the moment at which
they are witnessed by the Seer : they are essential
and perpetual accompaniments of the throne. — In
addition there were seven torchei of fire burning
before the throne, which are explained to be the
seven spiritB of God, or, in other words. His one
Spirit in the fulness and manifoldness of His
operation. Yet it is not the gracious operation of
the Spirit by which God calls, enlightens, and
sanctifies the world that is in view. It is rather
His penetrating influence, similar to that of chap,
i. 14, by which He searches the innermost recesses
of the heart.

Ver. 6. And before the throne as it wove a
glassy sea like onto orjrstaL The most various
opinions have been entertained regarding the
' glassy sea ' here spoken of, some of which may
at once be set aside. It can hardly be intended to
signify * the will and law of God in constituting
the kingdom of grace,' or 'the mysterious judg-
ments of God,' or ' the purity, calmness, and
majesty of God*s rule,' for no passages of the Old
Testament can be referred to in which these
principles of the Divine government are repre-
sented by a sea similar to that -now mentioned.
Other interpretations, a^in, such as those that
understand oy it ' Baptism' or ' the volume of
the Scriptures,' may also be rejected as having no
foundation in the imagery of this book. The idea
that the sea is identical with the river of the water
of life 'clear as crystal' in chap. xxiL I, may
likewise be regarded as untenable. A sea and a
river are entirely different from one another, and
it is impossible to connect the ' sea ' of chap. xv. 2,
which must be the same as this one, and upon
which those who had overcome took their stand,
with the * river ' of chap. xxii. More naturally
might we be led to associate the great brazen sea
of Solomon's temple ( i Kings vii. 23*26) with the
sea here spoken of, were it not that, as a general
rule, the imageiv of the Apocalypse appears to be
taken not from the temple, but from the tabernacle,
and the * laver ' of the latter is never called a sea.

In endeavouring to determine the meaning of
tlie figure, we must have recourse to that rule of
interpretation so often needed in the Apocalypse,
whicn calls us to supplement the description given
of any object in one place by what is said of it in
another. Doing so in the present instance, the
• glassy sea * of chap. xv. 2 supplies various hints
which may be helpful to us here. That sea is not
only glassy, but 'mingled with fire,' an expression
which at once suggests the thought of the Divine
judgments, while the same thought comes pro-
minently fon^'ard in the song sung by those who,
standing upon the sea, celebrate the 'righteous
acts of the Lord which have been made manifest.'
Again, it is to be observed that the song sung by
these conquerors is called ' the song of Moses, the
servant of God,* as well as * the song of the
Lamb ; ' and the most natural reference of these
words is to the sone of triumph sung after the
crossing of the Red Sea, of which it is said,
' Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this
song unto the Lord, and spake, sajring, I will sing
unto the Lord, for He hatJi triumphed gloriously :

the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the
sea' (Ex. xv. i). The propriety of this reference
is confirmed by the fact that it is not said of these
conquerors that they * had gotten the victory over
the beast ' (Authorised Version), or even that they
' had come victorious from the beast ' (Revised
Version), but that they ' had come victorious out
of the beast,' the preposition used distinctly indi-
cating that they had been delivered by escape
from their enemies rather than by victocy over
them in the field. To these considerations let us
add that the deliverance of Israel from Egypt had
been always appealed to, both by Psalmists and
Prophets, as the peculiar token of that providential
care and guidance which the Almighty extended
to His people (Ps. Ixvi. 12 ; Isa. xliiL 2, 3), and
we shall he 1«1 to the conclusion that in tiie
'glassy sea' of this verse we have an emblem of
that course of Providence by which God oondncts
those who place themselves in His hands to their
final rest in His immediate presence. The
different manner in which the * sea ' is viewed m
the words before us, and in cha^ xv. 3, seems to
favour this conclusion. In the one it is simply
' before the throne,' and under the eye of Him by
whom the throne is occupied. It is seen from tbie
Divine point of view, and is therefore only^ ' dear
as ciystaL' Its darker are to Him as bright as
its more transparent elements. The ' fire ' that n
mingled with it is not less a part of His counsel
than its most pellucid waters : ' the night
shineth as the day: the darkness and the Vm
are both alike to Thee ' (Ps. cxxxiz. 12). In me
other it is occupied by man, and is seen from the
human point of view. Hence the ' fire,* always
there, but not mentioned in the first imtanrr,
is now seen. They who stand npoQ it cannot
forget those ' righteous acts ' of God whidi th^
have witnessed, or the troubled paths by which
they have escaped the great enemies of their
salvation. Judgment upon their foes, as well
as mercy to themselves, marks the whole of that
way by which they have been 1^ It may be
only further remarked in condusion, that to bdiold
in the glassy sea the Almighty's providential
guidance of His people harmonizes witA the whole
spirit of a chapter dealing mainly with creation
and providence before we pass in chap. r. to the
more special subject of redeeming grace.

The description is continued, and we are next
introduced to four living creatnree foil of eyes
before and behind, which were in the midst of
the throne and round about the thxoniL The
living creatures do not support or bear up the
throne ; nor are they to be thought of as stationed
together at the same spot They are rather at the
extremities of two diameters passing through the
centre of the round throne, thus preserving peHcct
symmetry. In other respects the relation of these
beings to the throne presents some diflkulty,
because it is natural to think that the Seer, having
began his description with Him that sitteth on
the throne, is now proceeding from the centre
outwards. The four living creatures would thus
appear to be outside both tne Sitter on the throne
and the twenty-four elders and the glassy sea.
But this is not probable — (i) Because the words
describing their position indicate a greater degree
of nearness to the throne. (2) Because of the
position of the cherubim in the tabemade. (3)
Because in chap. v. 6 the absence of the wofds
' in the midst ot ' before ' the four living creatures *

Chap. IV. i-ii.]

THE REVELATION.

403

•eems to show that the latter are so closely con-
nected with the throne as to be almost a part of
it. The real explanation is to be found in this,
that the position of the cherubim in the Holy of
Holies of the tabernacle was abcve the mercy-seat.
In like manner the living creatures here spoken
of are not on the same level as the throne.
Although, therefore, St John really describes
from within outwards what he beheld, and
although, before we reach the present point of
his description, he has already spoken of the
oatermost circle, that which bounded the glassy
sea, it does not follow that the living creatures
were beyond that circle. They were really above
it, yet within it ; and it is by now lifting his eyes
upwards that the Seer beholds them. What has
been said finds support in the language of Isa.
vi. 2, where the prophet, after speaking of the
Lord's sitting upon a throne high and Ufted up,
adds, ' above it stood the seraphim. ' It is remark-
able to see how St John manages to combine
the visions of both Isaiah and Ezekiel, — the one
the prophet of the coming Saviour, the other
the prophet of the restored Church. By the view
now taken the harmony of the description is pre-
•erved, and the four Uving creatures are a part
of the accompaniments of the throne, and not
beyond it. — They are full of eyes, we are further
told, before and behind : they share the attribute
of God, seeing in all directions with a penetrating
glance (comp. chap. L 14), that they may the better
execute the I)ivine purposes.

A fuller description of them is now given.

Vers. 7, 8a. And the first living creature
WM like a lion, and the second living oreatare
like a ball-calf, and the thiid living creature
had its face as of a man, and the fourth living
ereatare was like a flying eagle. And the four
liTing creatures, having each one of them
sererally abL wings, are tSl of eyes round about
and within. Want of space will not permit us
to enter at any length upon the meaning of these
remarkable figures, and the writer of this Com-
mentaiT may therefore be pardoned if he refers
to his fuller treatment of the subject in the Bible
Educator^ vol. iii. p. 29a It may be enough to
say at present that the points to be chiefly noted
are the following : — (i) That the living creatures
here are substantially identical with those
mentioned in connection with the garden of
Eden (Gen. iii.), the Tabernacle (Ex. xxv. iS-20),
the Temple of Solomon (2 Chron. iii. 11-13),
and the visions of Ezekiel (Ezek. i. 5). Slight
modifications of structure are due simply to the
£act that the idea intended to be expressed by
them had become clearer as time ran on.
(2) That a human element has a place in each.
Their general form suggests what is human not
less than what is bestiaL This point is rendered
clear by the peculiar method of expression
adopted in the case of the third ' living creature '
of the present passage. The human figure was
characteristic of them all ; but, in addition to
less distinct indications, the third had also
the human face. (3) That, while thus in part
human, they are idso marked by characteristics
taken firom other forms of creaturely existence.
They have wings, and three of them have
respectively the faces of a lion, of a bull-calf,
and of an eagle. (4) They do not symbolize
attributes of the Almip^hty. Creaturely position
and ministerial functions properly belong to

them. (5) If, then, we ask now what they
represent, it would seem as if one answer only
can be given. They represent in the first place
man, but, secondly, man as the crown and head
of this lower creation, man with his train of
dependent beings brought near to God and made
partakers of redemption, thus fulfilling in symbol
the language of St. Paul, — that * the creation
itself also shall be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the
children of God ' (Rom. viii. 21). (6) Finally,
it may be observed that the meaning of the
animal faces spoken of is to be found in a direction
entirely different from that in which it is usually
sought. The animals named are not the emblems
of majesty, endurance, and soaring energy, but
of strong and fierce rage. They represent
qualities that strike terror into the hearts of men,
and they suggest the idea of a destructive force
which nothing is able to withstand. Thus, then,
they now surround the throne of God, from which
proceed lightnings and thunderings and voices ;
and there they symbolize redeemed creation as it
adores the holiness and magnifies the righteous
judgments of its Lord.

Ver. 8b. And they have no rest day and
night, saying. Holy, holy, holy. Lord, who art
God, the Ahnighty, he which was and whidi
is, and which is to coma The Trisagum
thus sung by the living creatures is found also in
Isa. vi. 3, in a passage which we have already
seen lies largely at the bottom of the description
of this chapter. It is thus natural to think that it
is sung to the glory of God in the same character
as that in which He there appears, that it is sung
therefore to God in the absoluteness of His being
and perfections, and not as specially the Father.
With this agrees the fact, seen especially in the
last words of this chapter, that it is the glory
of God as Creator rather than Redeemer that is
especially contemplated throughout the whole
vision. The ascription of praise appears to con-
sist of three parts, not as commonly supposed of
two. He to whom it is sung is first addressed
as ' Lord ' or Jehovah, and is then celebrated as
' God ; ' as ' the Almighty ; ' and as * He which
was, and which is, and which is to come.' The
order of the clauses in the third part is different
from that in ch. L 8. There the Lord Himself
speaks, dwelling first upon the thought that He

* is ' before mentioning that He ' was ' or that
He ' is to come.' In singing this song the living
creatures * rest not day nor night We are
reminded of the words of our Lord in John v. 17,

* My Father worketh even until now, and I work.'
The work of God as the Creator, Preserver, and
Governor of all knows no intermission. He is
everywhere present throughout His wide creation,
upholding all things by the word of His power,
and as marvellous m that work as in the utterance
of the first JUU which summoned them into being.
Therefore do the living creatures, 'full of eyes
round about and within,' always waiting upon
Him, always watching Him, never rest from
adoring, as He never rests from working.

The Trisagion of the living creatures imme-
diately awakens the response of the whole Church
of Christ represented bv the twenty-four elders.

Ver. 9. And when the living creatures shall
give glory and honour and thanks to him that
sitte£ on the throne, to him that liveth for
ever and ever. In these words we have

404

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. V. 1-14.

a description of the Trisagian which has just
been sung, and the description introduces the
fact that the four-and-twenty elders are stirred
by the lofty melody. It is remarkable that this
should be the order of the song of praise. We
might have expected that the twenty-four elders as
representing the Church would be first, and that
by them the representatives of creation would be
stirred to a like enthusiasm. As it is, the order is
reversed. The explanation is to be sought in
the general character of this chapter, as compared
with the one that follows it. The song raised is
not so much one of praise for redemption, as of
praise for that creation and providence of God
which preceded and prepared the way for
redemption. Redeemed creation therefore begins
it ; but it is immediately taken up by the Church.

Ver. 10. The four and twenty elden shall
fall down before him that sitteth on the throne,
and Bhall worship him that liveth for ever and
ever, and shall oast their crowns before the
throne, saying. Three acts of worship and
homage on the part of the elders are described,
•falling down,* * worshipping, * and 'casting their
crowns before the throne.* It is not necessary to
ask whether the crowns thus cast down are again
resumed, for it is simply the act of homage that
is described. The song of the Church follows.

Ver. II. Worthy art thoii, our Lord and onr
God, to take the glory, and the honour, and the
power, for thon didst create all things, and
because of thy will they were, and they were
created. In the response thus proceeding from
the Church, we mark a higher tone than m the
song of the four living creatures to which the
response is given (ver. 9). The word 'our* is
introduced, marking the more intimate relation-
ship in which these redeemed ones stand to God.
The word * power * is substituted for * thanks,*
not that they fail in gratitude, but that, in the
very excess of gratitude, they completely forget
themselves. The article is introduced before
each substantive, not to carry us back to the
* glory* * etc, of ver. 9, but to show that what is
present to their minds is * the * glory, * the '
honour, and ' the ' power, which are the absolute

possession of the Almighty. Hence also it leems
better to translate the verb by ' take ' than by
'receive* (comp. chaps, v. 7, 9, xL 17). Lasdj,
the verb to take is in the aorist not the present
tense, an indication that those who use it are
contemplating in thought the completion of
God*s great plan, and His victory over all His
enemies, as an accomplished £ul. The particu-
lars embraced under the word 'because' refer
primarily to creation ; and so far, therefore, the
majority of commentators are right in saying that
the Almighty is here celebrated as creation*s
God. Yet it is not enough to say this. The
Church cannot view God first as Creator simply,
and then as Redeemer. Her view of Him is
one, and in the works of His hands, as weH as in
the provisions of His grace, she beholds her
redeeming God. Redemption is the final issue of
all the works of God. But, feding thus, we may
pause at the thought of creation, and may praise
Him who called it into being for this end. Thus
looked at also, there is no tautology in the Ust
two clauses of the verse. * Thou didst create all
things,* that is the simple fiBict. ' Because of Thy
will, etc., is more than the fact ; it is the groand
upon which their creation rested, that they might
be the expression of the will of Him who creates
that He may have a creation in His Eternal Son.
— ^The combination of ' were ' and * were created *
is undoubtedly very difficult to understand. The
first verb does not mean ' came into bong ; ' nor
can it mean that, having had no existence before,
they existed after God created them ; for, in that
case, the order of the two clauses ought to have
been reversed. Besides which, it is not the
manner of St. John to apply the verb ' to be '
to temporary and passing objects. No ex-
planation seems possible but that which leads
us to think of an eternal type existing in the
Divine mind before anything was cafied into
existence, and in conformity with which it was
created when the moment of creation came. The
idea thus expressed is very similar to that of
Heb. viii. 5, ' See that thou make all things
according to the pattern that was showed thee in
the Mount.*

-A'

Chapter V. 1-14.

Preparatory Visions (continued).

ND I saw in * the right hand of him that sat on the throne

a ""book* written within and on the backside,* * sealed* «E»k.s.fl,

2 with seven seals. And I- saw a strong angel proclaiming with *i>an.ni.4-
a loud * voice, Who is worthy to open the book," and to loose

3 the seals thereof? And '^no man' in heaven, nor in earth,' ^ ^<>"»- "^ i*
neither' under the earth, was able to open the bookj* neither *•

4 to look thereon. And I *^ wept much, because no man ' was ''J^ ^ »*
found worthy to open and to read " the book, neither *° to look

on

• a roll of a book • back

' one • on the earth

nor

10

close-sealed

or

* g^eat • roll
^^ omit and to read

Chap. V. 1-14] THE REVELATION. 405

5 thereon. And one of " the elders saith unto me, 'Weep not: 'Jo. xiv. i.
behold, the f Lion " of the tribe of Juda, the ^ Root of David, ^^-^"j /
hath " prevailed ** to open the book,* and to loose " the seven

6 seals thereof. And I beheld," and, lo, in the midst of the
throne and of the four beasts," and in the midst of the elders,

stood "a * Lamb " as " it had been slain," having » seven J^J/iV*^^ ^tf.
* horns and seven eyes, which are the seven 'Spirits of God *J^"i>i[**"**

7 sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took" the /Jo^xv.26.
book ** out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

8 And when he had taken" the book, the four beasts" and"
four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having
every" one of them" *" harps," and golden "vials" full of*';;^^'^-

9 odours," which are the prayers of" saints. And they sung" «*J^«**«-8-
a new song, saying. Thou art worthy " to take the book,*' and

to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain," and hast
redeemed " us** to God by ** thy blood *' out of every kindred,"

10 and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us^' unto

our God 'kings** and priests : and we** shall** reign on*' the *ch. i. 6.

1 1 earth. And I beheld,** and I heard the *• voice of many angels
round about the throne and the beasts** and the elders: and

the number of them was ^ten thousand times ten thousand, /p-^^»"»7-

12 and thousands of thousands ; saying with a loud voice, ^Worthy ?Pi>u.ii.9-».
is the Lamb that was slain** to receive** power,** and riches,

and wisdom, and strength,** and honour, and glory, and bless-

13 ing. And every creature** which is in** heaven, and on the
earth, and under the earth, and such as are *' in ** the sea, and
all** that are in them, heard I saying. Blessing,*® and** honour,
and *' glory, and *' power,** be unto him that sitteth upon the

14 throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four
beasts** said. Amen. And the four and twenty** elders fell
down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.**

** from among

** omit to loose

^ €Ldd standing

** ondt the book

*• each

" incense

•• roli

*«in

^^ a kingdom

** saw *® a

*■ the power

^^ omit such as are

•> o^the

*' culd which is

*'' saw

*^ Ai^/ though

'* took

*• omit of them

'* add the

*' slaughtered

** ^^men

** they

^^ living creatures

** might

*8 on

** dominion

^* omit hath " overcame

" living creatures ^* omit stood

'* slaughtered " he hath taken it
*• living creatures *' €uid the

'** a harp '* bowls

'* sing '* Worthy art thou

'* didst purchase " omit us

*^ didst make them
*'^ over
"take
"a//^tne
•® The blessing

** omit four and twenty *^ omit h

*» tribe
** omit shall
*' slaughtered
** created thing
»» add things
®^ living creatures
im that liveth for ever and ever

Contents. The vision upon which we enter
in this chapter is beheld in the same circumstances
as that of chapw iv., and is closely connected with
it. The special revelation of the Apocalypse does
not yet b^;in, and the Seer is still prepared for it

in the same manner as in the immediately pre-
ceding vision. At the same time, the chapter
before us is to be considered as introductory not
only to the seven Seals (chap, vi.-viii. i) but to
the whole of the main portion of the book. It

4o6

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. V. 1-14.

tl.us presents us with a picture 01 the heavenly
guardianship exercised over the Church by God
as a redeeming God, or rather by that risen and
glorified Saviour who is her protector in every
trial, and the solution of all her difficulties. In
the last vision we beheld God as the Creator and
Governor of all things. In this we behold Him
who, when already slaughtered and risen, can
say, 'All authority hath been given unto Me
in heaven and on earth' (Matt, xxviii. 18). The
two visions, taken together, may be r^[arded as a
commentary on the words of Jesus in His last
discourse to His disciples, * Let not your heart be
troubled : believe in God, believe also in Me '
(John xiv. i). By means of both the mind is
calmed in the prospect of the approaching troubles
of the Church. Before she enters upon them we
know that hers shall be the victory.

Ver. I. The book beheld by the Seer b on,
not ' in ' (comp. chap. xx. i) tne right hand of
him that sat on tne throne, and it shall be
opened for the inspection of all His saints (comp.
Dan. xii. lo; Mark iv. ii). Although God's
'judgments are a great deep,' His 'secret is with
them that fear Him.' The Greek word commonly
translated ' book ' was really a * roll,' aAer the
fashion of the sacred rolls of the Jewish synagogues.
This ought to appear in the translation, as it is
otherwise* impossible to attach a meaning to the
important statement that it was written both
within and on the hack. Such a translation is
also the more necessary, because the description
of the ' roll ' is intended to correspond with, and
is indeed taken from, that in Ezek. ii. 9, 10, ' And
when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto
roe ; and lo, a roll of a book was therein ; and
he spread it before me : and it was written
within and without.' — That the roll was written
both 'within and on the back' is apparently
intended to do more than indicate the richness
and fulness of the contents. It indicates also
that the whole of these had been determined by
God Himself. No other might add to them. —
The roll is clofle-sealed, — a strong expression,
to mark the mysterious and inscrutable nature of
its contents. The same idea is also brought out
by the mention of the seyen seals.

It may be g^reatly doubted if the number seven
is to be understo<xi as dexroting nothing further
than the number itself. The seven churches are
one Church, the seven Spirits one Spirit. Why
not the seven seals one seal ? The number one is
elevated into the sacred number seven in order to
indicate the completeness of the sealing. By this
view, which analogy commends, we are saved all
the questions raised by commentators as to the
mode in which the seals were fastened to the roll,
and as to the possibility of conceiving how each
of them could secure a certain portion only of the
contents. Even the successive openings of the
seals need not imply more than a further unrolling
of the parchment. The seals are successively
broken in order to comply with the requirements
of the poetic delineation.

The general nature of the contents of the roll
may be gathered from the reference to that
of Ezekiel (chap. ii. 10), — 'lamentations, and
mourning, and woe.' The revelation itself, after-
wards given to the Seer, confirms this. Judgment
upon the Church's foes is the prominent idea of
what the roll contains.

Ver. 2. The angel of this verse is strong, and

his Toioe is great, because his cry has to be heaid
in every region of the oniveise, in heaven, in
earth, and m Hades (comp. chap. %. 3). That
an ' angel ' raises the cry may remind ns of the
interest taken by angels in the plan of redemp-
tion and in the fortunes of the Chnrch (comp.
I Pet L 12). At the same time, it nunr be
nothing more than a part of that imagery 01 this
book of which we have already spoken (see on
chap. i. 20).

Ver. 3. And no one in heayen, nor on the
earth, nor nnder the earth, was able to open
the roll, or to look thereon. As in PhiL iL 10^
the universe is designated under the three dhrisioni
here mentioned. It is implied that no answer is
given to the ay. Hence

Ver. 4. And I wept mneh. There b nodiing
in this weeping inconsistent with the fiut that
a revelation Imd been promised (chap. iv. i).
That promise is already in course of being fiilfilled;
but the Seer does not know how far it is to ettend.
Therefore he weeps because he fears that the
revelation may be already about to dose. Besides
this, there is nothing unnatural in the supposition
that the promise may not at this mstant have
been clearly present to his mind. He is com-
pletely rapt away hf what is before his eyes.
One, however, there is who is worthy to do what
no other creature can.

Ver. 5. And one from among the eUms with
nnto me, Weep not, behold the lion, wUohltof
the tribe of Jndah, the rootof DaTid, orenMOM^
to open the roll and the sefnan aenla thenot
The words are spoken by one of the twenty-four
elders, and the propriety of this is dbvioos.
These Elders represent the triumphant Church,
which knows by nappy experience the blettedness
of her victory. Who so nt to magnify the ^ories
of the Lamb? A twofold descriptioQ is thea
given of Him of whom ' Moses in the law, and the
prophets, dkl write' (John L 45), the one part
taken from the law, the other from the pcophets.
(I) He is 'the lion of the tribe of JndaL' The
words are from the law (Gen. zliz. 9X iriiere we
have the promise of the Messiah as the cabniBatipg
point of the history of the leading and frmooi
tribe of Judah. Many passages of the Old
Testament at the same time remind us that the
lion is the emblem not of courage only, but of
fierce and destro3dng power (Job x. 16 ; n. vii 2,
etc). (2) He is ' the root of David.' The words
are now taken from the prophets (Isa. xi. iX
and they mark Jesus out (comp. also chap.
xxiL 16) not as the root out of which David
springs, but as the sucker which, springii^ from
David as a root, grows up to be a stat^ tree.
In Him the conquering might of David the 'man
of war,' as well as of Judah 'chosen to be the
ruler '(I Chron. xxviii. 4), 'comes forth with all the
freshness of a new youth. Compare lor the
witness thus given to our Lord, Matt. xviL 3, widi
the parallel texts. — ^This Lion 'overcame;* for
ver. 9, where the ground of the Lamb's worthiness
to open the roll is again celebrated, takes us
clearly to the past, and to a work then finished.
The verb is therefore to be understood absolutely
(as so often in the seven Epistles to the churches)^
and not to be connected only with the words ' to
open,' as if the meaning were simply that the
Lamb had overcome all obstacles in the way of
opening the rolL Much more is sauL He
' overcame. ' He is the Archetype and Forerunner

Chap. V. 1-14.]

of anthem that 'overcome' He conquered sin,
death, the devil— all the foes of God and man.
He accomplished in His life, death, and resurrec-
tioo, a complete and everlasting victory (comp.
chap, iii 21). Therefore, having gained such a
victory. He is worthy to open the book which
records its issues. No sooner has the Seer been
told this than the words are fulfilled in vision.

Vcr. 6. The words are fulfilled ; yet how dif-
ferently from what might have been expected !
The Seer had been told of a lion, and he tieholds
a lamb; and ver. 9 makes it evident that the lamb
is thought of not merely in its gentleness and
patience, but as an animal used for sacrifice.
rtom the same verse also it would seem that it is
the Paschal lamb that is present to the view of
the apocalyptic writer. The particular word used
in the or^mal for 'lamb' is found in the New
Testament, with the excration of the Apocalypse,
only in John xxi. 15 ; and an argument has been
often drawn, from the employment of a different
word in John i. 29, 36, against the identification
of the apocalyptic figure with the figure of the
GospeL It is enou^ to reply that in John i.
29, 56, the Evangelist is simply recording words
of the Baptist That he himself preferred the
other term arises probably from the fact that he
had often heard it, and not at John xxi. 15 alone,
from the lips of the Master whom he loved. It
tt used by him twenty-nine times in thb book. —
The question of the position of the Lamb is both
interesting and difficult. It is generally supposed
to have^ stood betiveen the throne, of which the
four living creatures may almost be said to form
a part, and the twenty-four Elders ; thus repre-
senting a Mediator between God and man. Some
nlace it^ in the very centre of the throne. The
ibrxner idea is the more probable, and it finds a
certain amount of confirmation in the word
'came' of ver. 7. We have thus the throne with
the four living creatures above (see on chap. iv. 6),
then the Lamb, then the twenty-four Elders. The
position flow assigned to the Lamb is made the
more probable by the fact that it was a Lamb
ttaading. On a throne one sits. — ^The 'stand-
ing' of the Lamb is deeply important. First of
all we may observe that it is as slang^tered (not
'slain,' but 'slaughtered') for sacrifice, the word
being sacrificial (Ex. xii. 6), that the Lamb
appears. Jesus suffering even unto death is
betore us. But though thus 'slaughtered' the
Lamb 'stands,' stands as a living, not lies as
a dead, animaL Jesus risen and glorified is
presented to our view. In short, we have here
the great lesson alike of the Apocalypse and of
the Fourth Gospel, that we are redeemed not
merely by a Saviour who died, but by one who
also rose to everlasting and glorious life. Throufi;h
all eternity, too, the Risen Lord bears the marks
of His earthly sufferings. While His people live
for ever in His life, they never cease to feel that
they were redeemed in His blood. — The Lamb
has still further seyen homa In Scripture the
horn is always the emblem of strength and force
(Dent, xxxiii 17; I Sam. iL 10; Ps. cxii. 9,
cxlviiL 14 ; Luke i. 69 ; Rev. xvii. 3) ; the num-
ber 'seven' denotes, as usual, completeness. — It
has also Beven eyei, which are explained to be
tha ■eren Spirits of God sent forth into all the
earth. They are thus substantially the same as
the ' seven torches ' of chap. iv. 5, and we need
say no more of them at present than that they are

THE REVELATION.

407

distinctly connected with the Son as well as with
the Father. The word * sent ' belongs to the eyes
alone, and not also to the horns.

Ver. 7. And he came, and he hath taken it
out of the right hand of him that sat npon the
throne. The change of tense is worthy of obser-
vation, for it is impossible to agree with those
who urge that the two tenses used are simply
equivalent to each other. In the very next verse
the Seer returns to the tense of the verb ' came '
when he says ' took,' and not ' hath taken.* The
latter word therefore implies more than 'took.'
St. John sees the Lamb not merely take the roll,
but keep it. It is His, — His by right of the
victory He has won ; His as Immanuel, God with
us ; His not as the Divine Eternal Son only, but
as our Redeemer, the Head of His Church ; His
to unfold in all its meaning for the Church for
which He died.— He 'hath taken it,' He is
worthy to open it, and it shall be opened. There-
fore the song of praise and joy begins, gradually
widening until it embraces all creation.

Ver. 8. The four living creatures are men-
tioned first as being nearest the throne ; but all
they do at this moment is to fall down before the
Lamb. There is no reason to think that they
have also harps and golden bowls, or that they
join in the song of ver. 9. Such a song is unsuit-
able to beings which mainly represent the material
creation ; and * the prayers of the saints ' are more
naturally presented by the twenty-four priestly
Elders. The language of the four living creatures
is given at ver. 14. In the remainder of ver. 8,
therefore, we have to do only with the Elders,
(i) Each has a harp, the idea being taken from
the Tabernacle and the Temple service. (2^ The
twenty-four Elders have also golden bowls rail of
inoense; not the ordinary bowls used by the
priests in the first or outer apartment of the
Tabernacle, but rather that used by the high
priest when he went into the Holy of Holies once
a year. The Church of Christ is clothed with
high-priestly functions, and has access into the
immediate presence of God. The incense is the
prayers of the saints, that is, of God's suffering
saints. |The Elders on their thrones are the repre-
sentatives of the Church triumphant It is to be
noted, on the one hand, that the latter do not
pray for themselves, that for themselves they
praise ; and on the other, that they are not inter-
cessors for the saints on earth, that they but offer
to the Lamb the prayers of the saints, of whom
they are, as it were, the hand rather than the
mouthpiece. Were we, with some commentators,
to unoerstand by ' the saints ' those in heaven, it
would be difficult to draw a sufficiently clear line
of distinction between them and the twenty-four
Elders. — The bowls are full (comp. John ii. 7,
xix. 29, xxi. 11). (3) Further still, the twenty-
four Elders sing.

Vers. 9, 10. And they sing a new song,
saying, worthy art thou to take the roU,
and to open tiie seals thereof, for then wast
slaughtered, and didst purchase to God in thy
blood men out of every tribe and tongue and
people and nation; and didst make them to
our God a kingdom and priests, and they reign
over the earth. Note again a change of tense.
The Elders 'sing,' not 'sang.' The contintunu
worship of heaven is brought before us by the
change. The song, as we have seen, is that of
the twenty-four Elders alone. It is a 'new'

4o8

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. V. 1-14.

song, new in its substance, because it celebrates
what no imagination of man could before have
conceived, and no tongue have uttered, — the
glory of a complete redemption. The song is
not sung only because* the roll is opened : its
main burden is the ground upon which the Lamb
had been found worthy to open it. It consists of
three parts : — (i) *Thou wast slaughtered.' The
sacrificial death of the Lamb is the prominent
point ; but this death is not necessarily confined
to the death upon the cross. It includes the
whole of the humiliation and self-sacrifice of
Tesus. (2) * Thou didst purchase,' etc. Apply-
ing the rule of interpretation already more than
once alluded to, these words must be compared
with the larger and fuller expressions of chap,
xiv. 3, 4, where we have the addition of the
words, 'from the earth' and 'from men.* It is
thus not of redemption from death only by the
sacrifice of the Lamb that the song before us
speaks, but of the fact that, through that sacrifice,
believers are taken out of the earth with all its
evils, and are translated into the happiness of the
heavenly and triumphant Church. Those pur-
chased are gathered out of all the earth, — uni-
versality being indicated by the mention of four
sources from which they come, — and they are
purchased *in* the blocxi of the Lamb. Full
force ought to be given to the preposition * in ; '
for here, as alwavs, the 'blood * of Christ is more
than the blood shed at the moment of His death.
It is the blood, — the life won through death, — in
which He presents Himself before the throne of .
God, with all His people in Him. 'In' His^
blood they stand. ' In ' His life they live ; and *
they appear before God not merely with their sins
washed away, but planted into their Lord's life of
perfect obedience and submission to the Father's
will. They offer themselves as ' living sacrifices '
in Him who, having died once, dieth no more ;
and, not in virtue only of a righteousness out-
wardly imputed to them, but also of an inward
and real life-union to Him in whom the Father
is well pleased, they are 'accepted' and 'com-
plete.' The force of this great truth is lost if we
translate either 'by the blood* or 'with the
blood.* (3) * And didst make them,' etc. (comp.
chap. i. 6).

At the word * priests ' there seems to be a
pause, the following clause constituting a distinct
proposition. Nor ought we to translate ' upon,'
but 'over,' the earth. They are not upon the
earth at all, and cannot therefore be said to be
there 'exerting those influences, promoting those
principles, and dispensing those laws of righteous-
ness, nolincss, and peace which in reality rule all
the best developments of life and history.' They
are the Church triumphant in heaven. The
'earth' has been their foe, and it is not now
reformed by them : it is subdued beneath them.
They have the position of Jesus Himself (comp.
chap. iiL 21); the final promise to 'him that
overcometh * is fulfilled to them ; their victory is
complete. Finally, we may notice the word
' them ' in ver. 10. We might have expected
'us' to be the word used by the triumphant
Church as she speaks in the twenty-four Elders
who represent her. But the Church views herself
objectively ; and in the song that she sings, turns
her thoughts to Him who has redeemed her.
The method of expression is not unlike that of
John xvii. 3.

Ver. II. The song of the triumpbant Chordi
has been sung, and an innnmerable host of aageli
takes up the chorus. These angels occupy a
place outside of all that we have hitherto met in
connection with the throne,— of the throne itself,
of the four living creatures, and of the tweoty-foor
Elders. The reason is obvious. The Son of
God, in carrying out the process of redemptkn,
took on Him the nature of man, that man might
be elevated to a participation in His Divme
nature, and it is this process of redemptioii that
is here the main topic of praise. Angels do not
share in it, and they accordingly are farther from
the throne. The same thought is implied in Ps.
viii. ; I Cor. vi. ; Heb. iL Althoi^gh, however,
angels are not themselves partakers of the redemp-
tion spoken of, they have the deepest interest m
its glorious results (comp. Luke xv. 10; Eph.
iii. 10 ; I Pet. i. 12).— The number of the angds
is given in general terms, for they cannot be nnm-
bered (comp. Heb. xiL 22). It is remarkable
that the smaller number seems to be given latt,
and various explanations have been offered,— that
'in enormous numbers distinctions vanish,' 'that
the larger number preceding, large as it is, is not
enough,* that ' the same idea is conveyed whether
by climax or anticlimax.' No one of these ex-
planations is satisfactory, l^e Seer's arrange-
ments of his words are always for the purpose of
strengthening his statement in the second part
We may observe that he often uses another word
for thousands (chaps, xi. 3, xiL 6, etc.); bat it
is always with inferior objects, never with men.
With men we seem invariably to find the woid
here employed (chaps. viL 4, xi. 13, etc.) ; only
once is it used with a material (if even then a
' material) object (chap. xxL 16). It would seem,
therefore, as if with this word were associated a
higher idea than that of number, such as that
of spiritual superiority and rule. Thus, though
' thousands * is a numerically smaller number th«n
' myriads^,' the idea associated with it b greater.

Such Ueing the numbers of the angels, we have
now their song.

•Ver. 12. Saying with a lend voioe. Worthy
is the Lamb that was alanghtered to take tha
power, and riches and wisdom and mig^
and honour and glory and hlesring. It will
be observed that the article is connected with
'power* alone, thus showing that this power
stands in a conception by itself, and that the
other parts of the doxology are added for the
sake of enlarging the idea, so constituting one
whole (comp. note on John xiv. 6). The thought
of ' the power * then is no doubt prominent, either
because 'reigning* had been spoken of imme-
diately before, or, as has been suggested, because
of ver. 3. No one was 'able,' nad power, to
open the roll, but the Lamb overcame, so as to
open it. — This power belongs essentially to the
Lamb, and He takes it to Himself (comp. on
chap. iv. II). The other things ascribed to Him
follow as parts of the Messianic Kingdom, the king-
dom of redemption ; and it may be noticed that
all, taken together, make up the sacred number
seven. — The chorus is now still further enlarged.

Ver. 13. And every created thing which k in
the heaven, and on the earth, Mid nnder tha
earth, and on the sea ; and all things that are
in them, heard I sajring. The blessing and tha
honour and the glory and the don^nion hs
unto him that sittetii upon tiie throns^ and

Chap. VI. 1-17.J

THE REVELATION.

409

unto the Lamb for oyer and ever. In ver. 3
intelligent beings were embraced under a three-
fold mvision. Here, because inanimate as well
as animate creation is referred to, the division is
Ibarfold, four being the number of the whole
lower creation. It is hardly necessary to make
any effort to distinguish the four groups from
one another, for the main thought upon which
we are to dwell b that of the completeness, the
exhaostiveness, of the enumeration, — none are
left out. This is also shown by the summary
gijen at the close, 'all things that are in them.'
We may notice only that the words ' on the sea '
do not refer to ships, but to the creatures of
the sea supposed in the imagination of the Seer
to have come up out of the depths, and to have
taken their place upon the surface.

It may be a question whether we are to include
in the number of those by whom this last chorus
is sang the four living creatures and the twenty-
four Elders. Thinking of them as individuals we
ou^ht not ; but it seems impossible to say that the
objects or beings which they represent do not join
in the song. The chorus proceeds from universal
nature, from all created things without exception.
It b the harmony of the universe in the thought
of the completion of God^s purposes, in the per-
fect execution of that which He originally con-
templated in Jesus ' the first-bom of all creation,'
and now *the head of the body, the Church'
(CoL L 15, 18). Ages of preparation had passed
away ; one Dbpensation had followed another ;
Prophets bad 'sought and searched diligently,
searching what time or what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto,
wnen it testified beforehand the sufferings of

Christ and the glories that should follow them ; '
creation itself had groaned and travailed in pain
together until now. How weary had been the
years and centuries that had passed amidst the
oppression of the poor and the sighing of the
needy, amidst wrongs unrighted and innocent
blood poured out like water to gratify the lust of
ambition or the fierce spirit of revenge, amidst
ignorance instead of knowledge, and sorrow
instead of joy. At last the regeneration of the
world has come : and in one burst of song all
created things send up their shout of triumph and
their hymn of praise.

They sing to * Him that sitteth ui>on the throne
and to the Lamb.' That b, they sing a song of
richer contents than that of chap. iv. 9-1 1. The
combination of Creator and Redeemer b brought
out : the unity after which all things long b '
reached. — To this song a response b given.

Ver. 14. And the four living creatnrea said
Amen, and the elden fell down and wor-
shipped. The four living creatures give the
solemn assent 'Amen;' and it has been well
observed that they do so in order that the whole
service of praise in chaps, iv. and v., after it has
reached its widest extension, may return to the
point from which it started at chap. iv. 8. — Lastly,
the elders fall down and worship in silent adora-
tion. The heart of the Church b for the moment
too full to speak : she can only worship in un-
utterable gratitude and praise.

Thus ends the series of vbions contained in the
third section of the book, carrying us in thought
to the close of all, and, before we enter on the
Church's struggle, assuring us of its glorious
issue.

Chapter VI. 1-17.

The Seals opened,

1 A ND I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals,' and I
wljL heard, as it were the noise of thunder,* one of the four

2 beasts' saying,* Come and see.* And I saw, and behold a

* white horse: and he that sat on him had a *bow: and a;g'»'*«-"-

' ^ Ps. vu. 13,

crown was given unto him : and he went * forth conquering, *^^- 5-

3 and to conquer. And when he had ' opened the second seal,

4 I heard the second beast* say,' Come and see.' And there

went out *• another horse titat was ^ red : and /^ze/^r was given " ^ch »i. 3.
to him that sat thereon " to ^ take peace from " the earth, and ''Mat. «. 34.
that they should ' kill '* one another : and there was given unto r i«a. xxxir.6;

5 him a great sword. And when he had ' opened the third seal,

I heard the third beast * say,' Come and see.* And I beheld,"
' seven seals * omit as it were the voice of thunder ' living creatures

^ add as with a voice of thunder
' omit had * living creature

^* omVL power was given
" out of ** slaughter

* omit and see

• saying
" add it was given

^ came
" came forth

15

saw

4IO THE REVELATION. [CHAP. VI. i-i 7

and lo" a / black horse ; and he that sat on him had a pair of /{jiTi »

6 balances in his hand. And I heard*' a voice in the midst of

the four beasts" say,* A measure of wheat for a ^ penny, and r>ULxi.i.
three measures of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not "

7 the *oil and the wine." And when he had' opened the fourth kVumLs.
seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast • say,* Come and sec*

8 And I looked," and behold a pale horse : and his name that

sat on him was * Death, and Hell** followed with him. And «cfc.a.M.
power was given unto them ** over the fourth part of the earth,
to kill with sword, and with hunger, andwith death, and with**

9 the * beasts of the earth. And when he had' opened the fifth *^?^
seal, I saw under** the altar the souls of them that were slain •* ^^'^;"'
for ** the word of God, and for ** the testimony which they held :

10 and they 'cried with a loud** voice, saying, '"How long, O ^^^^
Lord,*' holy ** and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our

11 blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes
were ** given ** unto every one of them ; *' and it was said unto

them, that they should rest yet for a "little season, until their «!«.««. it.
fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed **

1 2 as they were,** should be fulfilled. And I beheld ** when he

had' opened the sixth seal, and, lo,** there was a great ' earth- •]^^'^*
quake ; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the *^ »«•

13 moon** became as blood ; and the stars of heaven** fell unto
the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely *' figs, when

14 she is shaken of a mighty** wind. And the heaven >de- /HALio-
parted** as a ^scroll** when it is rolled together; and every #!«*.«««». 4.

1 5 mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the
kings of the earth, and the great ** men,** and the rich men,**
and the chief captains, and the mighty men,** and every bond-
man, and every ** free man, hid themselves in the dens ** and in

16 the rocks of the mountains; and said*' to the mountains and
rocks,** Tall on us, and hide us from the face of him that ••Hofcx.t.

17 sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb : for
the great day of his ** wrath is come ; and who shall be able **
to stand ?

^•behold' *' <m5/ as it were ** omit j^^ thou hurt not

^® add hurt thou not *° Hades '* And there was given unto them authority
*' by *' underneath ** that had been slaughtered ** because of

** great *' Master »« th^ ^^ly ¥9 ^^/ white robes were

*® there was given *i unto them, even unto each, a white robe

** which were about to be killed *' even as they were ** omi/ lo

■* whole moon *• the heaven '^ unripe ** g^eat •• withdrew

<o book-roll *^ omit great *' princes ** omit and the rich men

*♦ and the rich and the strong ** omit every *• caves

*' and they say *• to the rocks *® their ** and who is able

Contents. With the banning of this chapter section contains what had been described in diftpu
we enter upon the fourth or leading section of the iv. i as ' the things which must come to put.*
Apocalypse, extending to chap, xviii 24. The Chaps, iv. and v. have been only preptnUofj to

Chap. VI. 1-17.]

THE REVELATION.

411

these ' things : ' now we come to the things them-
selves. Here, therefore, the Apocalypse in the
stricter sense of the word may be properly said to
begin. The object of the section is to unfold the
great principles which shall mark the history of
the Church in her struggle with the world, through-
out the whole period of the present Dispensation.
We are to behold the ' Son of man ' (chap. i. 13),
the Priest and King of His Church, meeting and
overcoming His people's foes, establishing His
own reign of trutn and righteousness, preserving
His saints amidst all the sorrows and persecutions
which they meet while they follow in His steps,
bringing them out even of the degenerate Church
herself, and finally conducting them to the perfect
happiness of the New Jerusalem. The reader
must observe that throughout the whole of this
section we have to deal with principles, not with
particular historical events. This will become
clearer as we proceed ; but even at the outset it is
necessary to nx the thought firmly in the mind.
No single detail of future history will be presented
to our view. We shall see only in successive
foctnres the great relations subsisting between
God and man in the present preparatory scene,
the relation of the glorified Lord to His own
peocJe, and His relation in them to a hostile
world upon the one hand, and to a Church which
proves nuthless to her high vocation upon the
other. Christ's perfect kingdom cannot be estab-
lished except through opposition to the two last-
named powers. It cannot therefore be established
without a struggle in which the children of God
must share the fate of their Lord and Master.
He suffered firom the enmity both of the Roman
Government and of that Church of His day
which had been constituted by the appointment,
ud organized upon the plan, of God Himself.
A simiur fate awaits His followers; and it is
a fate so strange, so contrary to all that they
naturally look for, as to m&ke it a matter of
supreme importance that they shall be prepared
to meet it

This Revelation begins in chap. vi. with the
opening of the roll sealed with seven seals which
the Lamb has in His hands. The seven seals
are divided into two groups of four and three.
Various considerations make this so clear that it
is vnneoessaiy to dwell upon it at any length.
It will be observed that the first four are distin-

Sished from the three that follow by the fact,
It each of them sets before us a rider coming
forth upon a horse, and that each is introduced in
answer to the cry of one of the living creatures,
'Come,' while nothing of the kind is to be found
in the second group. The line of demarcation is
also marked by the obvious circumstance that, at
the opening of the fifth seal, we pass from the
visible to the invisible world (chap. vL 9), — a cir-
cumstance the more worthy of notice because it
finds a parallel in the visions of the seven Trumpets
and the seven Bowls. Nor is it difficult to see
why we should now have a division into four and
three, instead of that division into three and four
which marked the Epistles to the seven churches.
The contest of the Church with the world is before
OS, and four is the world's number. The visions
of the horses and their riders may be compared
with Zech. i 7-1 1, vi. 1-8.

V^. I. And I saw. This word 'saw' is to be
taken absolutely, as in ver. 2, where it is repeated.
— whmi the Limh opened one of the seven

seals. We have no right to translate the original
word for ' one ' in this and also in the next clause,
by the words * the first* At chap. iv. 7, where
the living creatures are described, the proper ex-
pressions for the first, the second, the third, and the
fourth are used. Whether, therefore, the living
creatures now meet us in the same order as that
in which they are mentioned there, it is hardly
possible to say. The probability is that they do ;
out that alone will not entitle us to find a special
connection between each of the four and the
vision introduced in answer to its * cry,' as if the
lion called for subjugation, the bull-calf for sacri-
ficial slaughter, the man for mourning, and the
eagle for tearing the prey. It is enough to say
that the visions are introduced with peculiar
propriety as an answer to the cry of the living
creatures. These beings represent redeemed crea-
tion, and it is upon the world that judgment is to
fall. This last consideration also shows us that it
is a mistake to imagine that the living creatures
are mentioned because they are coimected with a
throne of grace. They are emblems of judc^ment,
not of grace (see on chap. iv. 7) ; and judgment
is about to be executed. The living creature cries
' Come,' not 'Come and see.' In the latter case
the cry would be addressed to the Seer. It is
really addressed to Jesus (comp. chap. xxii. 17, 20).
The cry is answered.

Ver. 2. All the figures of this verse are those of
victory, — ^the horse and its whiteness, the crown,
and the distinct statement at the close of the verse
(comp. chap. xix. 11, 14). The bow expresses
the fact that the Conqueror sees and strikes down
His enemies from afar.

The great question is, Who is this rider ? On
the one hand it might seem as. if it cannot be the
Lord Himself, for how in that case shall we pre-
serve a perfect parallelism between the first vision
and the three that follow it? Can Christ be
named in the same category with War, Famine,
and Pestilence ? On the other hand, if it be not
the Lord, how shall we draw a line of distinction
between the first and the second vision ? Both
will symbolize war. Besides which, the last
words of the verse to conqner so clearly point to
complete and permanent victory that it \s difficult
to hmit them to any fower object than the
triumphant Saviour. In the Old Testament, too,
the judgments of God are three, not four, in
number, 'the sword, the famine, and the pesti-
lence' (Ezek. vi. 11, etc.), exactly those found in
the three following riders. We are thus led to
see here our Lord in His cause and kingdom
'riding prosperously (as in Ps. xlv.), because of
truth and meekness and righteousness. His arrows
sharp in the heart of His enemies, and His right
hand teaching them terrible things.' It is His
kingdom, first in Himself and then in His people,
who are one with Him and in Him, that passes
before the Seer's eye, — a kingdom which shall yet
prevail over every adversary. By looking at the
matter in this light we preserve the analogy of the
four riders, not one of whom is strictly sf^dcing a
person, while at the same time we render niU
justice to each part of the figure. ' Wars ' and
'famines and pestilences' are foretold in the same
order by our Lord in Matt. xxiv. 6, 7.

Vers. 3, 4. The second horse is red, the colour
of blood (comp. 2 Kings iii. 22) ; and he and his
rider appear in answer to the second cry Gome.
In this seal Jesus comes just as He came in the

412

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. VI. 1-17.

victory of the first seal ; but He comes in war and
with the sword. There are two ways in which
the warfare may be viewed. It may be the struggle
of light kwitb darkness and of truth with error,
the opposition awakened by the faithful proclama-
tion of the Gospel, and deepened into fiercer
enmity as the Gospel makes progress in the world,
the contest spoken of by our Lord in Matt. x.
34-36. Were this the struggle alluded to, the
* war * represented by the second rider would be
that between the world and the Church, an op-
position shaping itself into many other forms than
those of the march of infantry or the thunder of
artillery. But the words of ver. 4 forbid this
interpretation. The war there thought of is not
between the Church and the world, but between
different portions of the world itself. The * earth *
out of which peace is taken is the ungodly world,
and the slaughtering of which we read is not pro-
duced by the attacks of the wicked on the good,
but by those of the former on one another. War,
in short, is here represented as one of the curses
or judgments which a world that wiM not accept
the rule of the Prince of peace brings upon itself.
It rejects those principles by which alone security
and peace can be enjoyed. It yields to its own
evil passions, and the sword and the battlefield
are the result In the midst of all this nothing is
said of what shall be the condition of the righteous.
By and by we shall hear more of them. In the
meantime, with the first vision in our mind, we
may rest in the assurance that they are safe in the
hollow of their Redeemer's hand. Before passing
on it may be well to notice the extremely peculiar
language in which the effect of the wars here
alluded to is described in the second of the three
clauses of the description, and that they Bhoold
alaaghter one another. The verb is the sacri-
ficial word already met by us in chap. v. 6, and
it appears to be chosen for the purpose of bring-
ing out the irony of God's dealings with those
who reject His Son. They will not flee to the
slaughtered Lamb, taking advantage of His sacri-
fice. In the righteous judgment of God, there-
fore, sacrifice of another kind shall be reauired of
them : they shall 'slaughter one another. Their
mutual and fratricidal war is a coming of Jesus to

i'udgment. Compare Isa. xxxiv. 6, 'The Lord
lath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter
in the land of Idumea.'

Vers. 5, 6. The third horse is black, the colour
of mourning and of famine (Jer. iv. 2% viii. 21,
xiv. 2 ; M^. iii. 14, margin ; Rev. vi. 12), and
he comes forth with his rider in answer to the
same cry as before. Gome. Again Jesus comes in
this seal just as He had come in the first and
second seals, although no more than in these is
the rider Jesus Himself. The jud^ent of this
seal is famme. The rider has a pair of balances
in his hand in order to weigh the com. The
usual method of dealing out com was to measure
it : here it is to be weighed, not measured, and
the mention of the 'measure* in the following
words is simply to give us a proper idea of the
quantity weighed out. The symbol is one of
great scarcity (Ezek. iv. 16 ; comp. Lev. xxvi.
26-28).— A voice, or rather as it were a voice,
is then heard in the midst of the four living
creaturefl, a voice, therefore, which can only
come from the throne of God, saving, A measure
of wheat, etc. The 'measure referred to was
considered to be the amount needed for the daily

support of one man. The penny, nearly nine*
pence of our money, was the wage of a complete
day*s work (Matt. xx. 2), and sufficed in oidinaiy
circumstances to purchase about eight ' measores.'
The meaning is, that so great would be the
scarcity that a man, by working a whole day,
would be able to purchase with his earnings no
more than an eighth part of what he could pur-
chase at the same price in ordinary times, or than
would be sufficient for the necessity of his own
life, to say nothing either of his many other wants,
or of the wants of his family. He might indeed
obtain three measures of barley for the same sum ;
but to be obliged to depend upon barley was itxlf
a token of severe scarcity. — The scarcity is pro-
duced by the rider's ' hurting * the wheat and the
barley. The words next addressed to him, there^
fore, — and the oil and the wine hnrt thoa not;
— mean in the first instance that he is not to cany
this hurting to an unreasonable extent 'The
tendency of the voice is to check or limit the
agency of the rider on the black horse, and to
provide that, notwithstanding his errand, susten-
ance shall not utterly fail.' Yet it is not enough
to say this. We are persuaded that the meaning
lies much deeper. ' Oil ' and * wine ' are not to
be regarded only as the privilege of the rich ; and
thus the symbol caimot be one of the mocking
contrast between an abundance of luxuries and a
famine of the necessaries of life. In Eastern lands
' oil and wine ' are as needful to the poor as to the
rich (comp. Deut xv. 14 ; Luke viL 46). Bat to
all, both rich and poor, they were symbols not so
much of the ordinary provision for existence as of
feasting and joy (Ps. xxiii. 5). Their preserva*
tion, therefore, neither means ^y on the one hand,
that a certain check shall be put upon the ravages
of a famine by which all are to be overtaken, nor,
on the other hand, that the misery to come shall
be aggravated by the fact of luxuries being un-
touched while the necessary aliment of life fails.
The symbol seems to point in an entirely different
direction, and to show that He who restrains the
power of famine does this with especial reference
to that joy of life which is the portion of His pe^j^
While the world suffers He preserves themt. The
plague does not come nigh their dwelling. For
His elect's sake God spares those things whidi
are the expression of their joy. ' Except those
days had been shortened, no flesh would have
been saved ; but for the elect's sake those days
shall be shortened ' (Matt xxiv. 22). The inter-
pretation now given derives confirmation firom the
use of the verb ' hurt * in chap. vii. 3, ' Hurt not,'
that is, do not execute judgment upon * the earth.*
We leam now where the people of God were
during these times of trial. We heard nothing of
them under the second seal, but they were safe ;
and, with the usual climax of thought running
through this book, we hear under the third yoS^
speaking on their behalf, the voice of Him who b
their unfailing Guardian and Friend. Now they
are more than safe. They can say, ' Thou anointest
my head with oil ; my cup luimeth over ' (Ps.
xxiii. 5).

Vers. 7, 8. The fourth horse is pale in colour,
that is, with the livid paleness of a corpse. He
comes forth in circumstances precisely similar to
those already met by us, and he is to b« looked at
in the same way. As in them, so also in him
and in his rider Jesus comes to judgment — The
name of the rider is given. Death, whidi is to be

Chap. VI. 1-17.]

THE REVELATION.

413

understood in its nmtmal signification. For the
mode of exprosiofi comp. John iii. i. He is repre-
sented as accompanied by Hades, who does not
fellow after him, but ' with him ; ' or, in other
words, is his inseparable companion. We are to
understand Hades here in the same sense as that
in which we met it in chap. i. 18 (see note).
Neither Hades nor death touches the people of
God. The judgment is on the world. — Autnority
is glTSii unto them to kill, etc. May these
woids not be an echo of the words, ' they sought
to kill Him,* so often said of Jesus in the Fourth
Gospel ? His enemies sought to ' kill * Him :
He, in His judgments, ' kills ' them (comp. on
ver. 4). That there are four things by which
death and Hades kill we learn from Ezek. xiv.
21, to which passage there is here an obvious
reference. It is true that we have a change of
preposition when we come to the last of the four ;
but this change may be dependent upon the fact
that the same preposition which had been used
with the first three could not also be used with
the last. — The authority to kill spoken of is giyen
vnto them over the fourth part of the earth,
that is, over a fourth part of the ungodly, not of
all who dwell upon the surface of the earth.
Over the elect, who are preserved unhurt, they
have no power. Thus again there is a climax
when we pass from the third to the fourth seal.
In the third seal provision for the saints was to be
left unhurt: in the fourth, while death and
Hades accomplish their dread work around them,
they are untouched. It is not easy to say why
the ' fourth ' part of the earth should be selected
as the prey of this last and greatest judgment.
The suggestion that it is designed to bring out a
eorrespondence with the ' fourth ' rider is unsatis-
foctory, and finds no analogy in chap, viii.,
where a • third ' part is spoken of. The object
may be only to give scope for the climax which
we shall hereafter find in comparing the Trumpets
and Bowls with the Seals. At this point of the
Apocalypse the judgments of God appear in their
earliest and most Umited range. Were they to
extend over the whole earth, Uiere would be no
room for the extension of judgment that is to
follow. The Seer therefore beheld them exer-
cising their sway only over a part of the earth ;
and that he chose the fourth, as hereafter the
third, part may arise from nothing more than
this, that the numbers four and three were so
often in his mind, and that a fourth part was
smaller than a third.

Such then are the first four seals which, -to be
understood, must be viewed ideally. They refer
to no specific war or famine or pestilence, nor do
they even necessarily follow one another in
chronological succession. They express the g^reat
principle borne witness to by the whole course of
numan history, — that the world, refusing the yoke
and kingdom of the Son of God, draws down
upon itself His righteous judgments. These
jud^ents again are confined to no particular
penod. War, famine, and pestilence, or the
troubles and .sufferings which they symbolize,
darken the whole history of man, and all of them
are but ominous forerunners of the more terrible
judgment to come, when the Lord shall finally
and for ever vindicate His own cause, put all His
enemies beneath His feet, and establish His rei£;n
of perfect peace and righteousness (Matt. xxiv. o).
During the calamities produced by them, too, the

Lord preserves His own. They suffer, but judg-
ments such as these are not directed against them.
On the contrary, in sorrow they rejoice, in fiumne
they * live * by other things than bread, and they
are unaffected by the pestilence that walketh in
darkness. Even in death itself they do not die,
and the spirit in which they are enabled to meet
their outward trials is to them ' a manifest token
of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that
they may be counted worthy of the kingdom of
God, for which they also suffer * (2 Thess. i. 5).

Ver. 9. And when he opened the fifth seiu, I
saw underneath the altar the souls of them
that had been slaughtered because of the word
of God, and because of the testimony which
they held. With the opening of the fifth seal
we pass into scenes of a kind in many respects
distmguished from those of the first four. No
voice of one of the living creatures now cries
' Come : * there are no horses and their riders :
we make a transition from what is of earth to
what is not of earth.

The Seer beholds first * the altar.' We have
* already seen that the whole imagery of the
heavenly abode is taken from the structure of the
Tabernacle, afterwards copied in the Temple.
The only question, therefore, is whether we have
here the altar of incense which stood in the holy
place, or the great brazen altar of burnt-offering
which stood in the outer court. One answer is
given to this question by all the most eminent
commentators, and it would seem as if one only
could be given. It is the latter of the two ; and
if any difficulty be found in accepting this owing
to the fact that we might expect the souls of the
saints to be preserved in the inner rather than in
the outer sanctuary, the answer will l>e found in
the first consideration to be immediately sub-
mitted when we inquire who the saints are. But
whether that answer be correct or not, there can
be little doubt that we have here a vision of the
brazen altar. What is seen under it is the
blood (see below) of those slaughtered in
sacrifice. Nothing of this kind found a place
at the altar of incense, while the command
of the law was that the blood of animals
sacrificed should be poured out ' at the bottom
of the altar of burnt-offering, which is before
the tabernacle of the congregation ' (Lev. iv. 7).
Those here referred to had been sacrificed.
The word used, the same as that applied to the
Lamb in chap. v. 6, leaves no doubt upon the
point. They had been sacrificed in the same
manner as their Lord ; their blood had been shed
as His was, and their bodies had been laid upon
God's altar to be consumed as an offering accept-
able to Him. It corresponds with this that what
St. John sees under the altar is in all probability
blood. He speaks indeed of * souls,' or rather
* lives ; * but to the Hebrew blood and life were
equivalent terms ; * the life of the flesh,' he said,
•is in the blood' (Lev. xvii. 11). No shadowy
spectres, therefore, were beheld by the Seer. He
beheld only blood, but he knew that that blood
was the souls or lives of men.

Two important questions demanding considera-
tion meet us. First, What is the period to which
these martyred saints belong? Secondly, Are
they martyrs in the sense in which that word is
usually employed, or do they include a laiger
number ? In reply to the first of these questions,
we have to urge that these saints belong neither to

414

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. VI. 1-17.

the period of the Neronic persecution, nor to any
longer period of Rome's history, nor to the whole
Christian era from its beginning to its close. We
must agree with those who think that they are
saints of the Old Testament Dispensation, (i)
Mark where the blood lies. It is under the
brazen altar in the Court. The way into the
Holiest of all had not yet been manifested. (2)
Observe the manner in which their ' testimony * is
described. The word used for * testimony * occurs
nine times in the Apocalypse, and in every case
(including even chap. xii. 11), except the present
and chap, xu 7 which may be in some respects
similar, it is associated in one form or another
with the name of Jesus. The absence of any such
addition in the words before us can hardly be
thought of otherwise than as designed ; and, if
so, a distinction would seem to be drawn between
the ' testimony ' here alluded to and the full
'testimony of Jesus.* (3) The word 'Master,'
not ' Lord,' of ver. 10 is remarkable. It can
hardly be referred directly to Christ : it is rather
an epithet of God Himself, to whom it breathes
the feeling of Old Testament rather than New
Testament relation (comp. Acts iv. 24 ; Jude 4,
Revised New Testament margin). (4) The
parallelism of thought between vers. 10 and 11
of this chapter and Heb. xi. 39, 40 is very marked,
and confirms what has been said. (5) A powerful
argument tending towards the same conclusion is
that the saints of the New Testament receive
during their life on earth that very * white robe *
which is here given to the souls under the altar.
Thus in chap. vii. 14, after they have been
described as 'standing before the throne and
before the Lamb,' it is said of them, in the
Elder's inquiry, \Vho they are and whence they
came, that they had 'washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb,'
words evidently implying that the cleansing and
whitening referred to had taken place during the
period of their mortal pilgrimage. In chap, iiu 4,
they who are described as the ' few names ' must
have been already clothed in the ' white garments '
which they had not 'defiled.' In chap. xix. 8
the Lamb's bride is made ready for the marriage
which has not yet taken place, by its being given
her to array herself 'in fine linen, bright and
pure ; ' and m the 14th verse of the same chapter,
at a time when the Church's victory has not yet
been completed, the Rider on the white horse is
followed by the armies of heaven ' clothed in fine
linen, white and pure.' To the same effect is the
counsel addressed to the Church of Laodicea in
chap. iii. 18, that she shall buy of her Lord
'white garments,' as well as the description in
chap. xix. 8 of what ' fine linen ' means, * for the
fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. * It is
true that in chaps, vii. 9, 13 and iv. 4, these white
robes are also those of glory in heaven, but it is
unnecessary to dwell upon the fact that the
believer appears there in the same perfect right-
eousness as that in which he is accepted here.
The ' white robe ' of the present passage,
therefore, is a more complete justification than
that which was enjoyed under the old covenant.
It is that referred to by St. Paul when, speaking
to the Jews at Antioch of Pisidia, he said, ' By
Him every one that believeth is justified from all
things, from which ye could not be justified by the
law of Moses ' (Acts xiii. 39). It is that robe of
righteousness which had been promised in Isa.

Ixi. 10 and Zech. iii. 4, that complete reward ibc
which David longed (Ps. li.), and to which both
Jeremiah (chap. xxxL 34) and Ezekiel (chapu
xxxvL 25) had pointed as the great gift of Goqxl
times. The promise of the Old Testament, which
the saints of God who then lived did not ' reodve,'
was not simply that of a better coontiy, but of
the ' day ' ot Christ, with all the blessings that
should accompany it. In that hope they * exalted,'
and at length they ' saw it and rejoioed ' (comp.
note on John viu. 56). Not until Christ came
were even Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their
faithful seed perfected. At death they passed into
a place of holy waiting until the great work of
redemption should be finished ; and then only did
they receive what is now bestowed upon the fol-
lower of Jesus even during bis earthly life. Only
under the Christian Dbpensation have they been
made equal to us ; and at this moment they wait,
as we wait, for the making up of the full number
of the redeemed, and for the open acknowledg-
ment and acquittal which shall yet be granted
them. (6) Finally, it ought to be noticed that
in the verse before us the saints referred to are
not said to have been killed under the fifth seal
which, like all the others, starts from a point of
time contemporaneous with the beginnii^ of the
Christian age. It is rather distinctly implied that
they had been killed before. The moment the
seal is broken their blood is seen.

These 'souls underneath Uie altar,* therefore,
are the saints of the Old Testament waiting for
the completion of their happiness by having added
to them their ' fellow-servants ' of New Testament
times.

The second question is not less important than
the first We cannot enter upon it fully, and
it will meet us again. In the meantime it is
enough to say that the analogy of o^er passages
of the Apocalypse leads to the conclusion that
the persons alluded to are not confined to those
who had actually been kilUd in the service of
God. It includes all who had remained fiuthfnl
unto death, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the long
line of those who, whether knovm or unknown,
had died in faith. All were offerings. All bad
a life of struggle. All shared * the reproadi of
Christ' (Heb. xi. 26); and all had an interest
in cryin^^, 'Lord, how long?' If, therefore^
martyrs m the ordinary sense of the term are to
be first thought of, it seems to be only as the
type and emUem of the whole company of those
who had lived and died in faith.

Ver. 10. And they cried with a great Toiee,
saying, How long, 0 Kaster, the hoS^ niid trae,
doBt thon not Judge and avenge our blood om
them that dwell on the earth f * They ' cried
(yet not the martyrs themselves but the Ulood
which represents them) as the blood of Abel
cried (Gen. iv. 10). The cause of holiness and
truth suffering in them was at stake ; and only as
they identify themselves with this great cause do
they 'cry.* They cried with a 'great* voice in
the earnestness of their cry. The cry is addressed
to Him who is spoken of as 'Master,' and by
whom we are most probably to understand not
Christ but God. There is much indeed that
might lead us to think of the former, but the
song of chap. xix. I appears to determine in
favour of the latter. Their confidence that God
will deliver is confirmed by the thought of the
attributes which distinguish Him. He is 'the

Chap. VI. 1-17.]

THE REVELATION.

415

holy : ' therefore He will the more surely punish
widcedness. He is the 'true,' that is, certainly
not the truthful, which is never the meaning of
the word here employed, but either the Being
who alone has true and substantial existence, or
the Master who completely corresponds with the
idea of what a Master ought to be. — Their cry is.
How long will it be before the Judge arises to
chum the victory as His own, and to punish His
adversaries as they deserve ? Those who are thus
to be judged are then described as * they that
dwell upon the earth ; ' and by the ' earth ' here,
as almost always in the Apocalypse, is to be
understood the ungodly earth : those that dwell on
it are the ungodly. It may be observed that all
the ungodly are included. This is allowed by
the best conmientators, and it supplies a strong
argument in favour of what was said with regard
to the number of those underneath the altar, —
there all the godly belonging to the time spoken
of; here all the ungodly.

Ver. 1 1. To the cry of these martyred souls an
answer is given both by deed and word. By
deed ; for a white robe, denoting the purity of
taints perfected in Christ, was bestowed on each of
them (comp. chaps, iii. 5, iv. 4, vii. 9). This robe
is the garment of all who overcome, — another
indication that all such, and not martyrs only,
are included in the souls underneath the altar.
To this act of grace words are added, telling them
that they must rest a little space until their
fellow-servants of the New Testament Dispen-
sation shall be completed, and all the^children
of God shall be gathered together, ' no wanderer
lost, a ftunily in heaven.'

Ver. 1 2 A. And I saw when he opened the
aixth leal, and there was a great earthquake.
The verb ' saw ' is again to be taken absolutely
as in vers, i, 2, 5, £ The things seen divide
themselves naturally into four groups ; and we
need not add to what has been already said as to
the meaning of this number, (i) ' A great earth-
quake,' which must be understood in its usual
sense as a shaking of the earth alone (chaps.
viiL 5, xL 13, 19, xvi. 18), and not as a general
shaking including heaven as well as earth. The
celestial phenomena immediately following are
quite independent. The idea of the earthquake
may be in part that of Matt. xxiv. 7, but it is
especially that of Matt. xxiv. 29. The figure is
fireqnently used in the Old Testament as a symbol
of tne juQgments of God about to come upon a
sinful world (Ps. Ix. 3 ; Isa. xiii. 13 ; Hag. ii.
6, 22, 23).

Vers. I2B, 13, 14A. And the son became black
as lackcIoUi of hair, and the whole moon
became as blood, and the Btars of the heaven
tfXL nnto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth
her nnripe figs when she is shaken of a great
wind, and the heaven withdrew as a book-roli
when it is rolled together. (2) We pass from
earth to the heavens. The vision is still couched
in the language of Matt. xxiv. 29, and that again
rests upon the figures with which Old Testament
prophecy had made the Jews familiar (Isa. xiii.
*Oi !• 3 » Jer- iv. 23 ; Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8 ; Joel
ii. 31, iiL 15 ; Amos viii. 9, 10 ; Mic. iii. 6).
The sun becomes ' black as sackcloth of hair,* the
coarse sackcloth made of the black hair of camels.
His light is quenched ; and, instead of shining
with his splendour in the sky, he appears as a
great black orb. It is obvious that here, as in

innumerable parts of the Apocalypse, we are to
content ourselves with the main idea of the
writer, and not to demand prosaic verisimilitude.
— The * whole * moon next becomes as blood, the
word ' whole ' denoting the moon at its full size,
so that the spectacle may be the more tenible.
The addition is not found in the Old Testament
prophecies upon which the language before us
rests. It is made by the Seer imder the feeling
that no ancient prophet had foreseen such sights ^
of woe as he had been commissioned to reveal. — '
' The stars of the heaven ' next fall to the earth,
like unripe figs when the fig tree is shaken by a
great wind. Firmly as they appear to be set in
heaven, they are yet as easily displaced as the
unripe fig when a ' great wind ' blows. They
fall in a moment. — * The heaven * itself is touched
last of all. Like a book-roll, it is rolled together,
and is no longer the glorious firmament that it has
been.

Ver. 14B. And every mountain and island
were moved oat of their places. (3) In these
words the third member of the description follows.
It will be observed that we have in them much
more than the mention of the earthquake in ver. 12.
An earthquake shakes the earth, but when the
shaking is over things return, no doubt with some
exceptions, to their old positions. Here all things
are 'moved out of their places;' the confusion
and overthrow are complete.

Vers. 15-17. (4) These verses contain the
fourth and last member of the description. Of
the persons on whom the terror of God's judg-
ments falls prominence seems to be given to the
first, the kings. The words of the earth are
associated with them, and the other appellations
follow for the purpose of enlarging and completing
the idea. The word ' earth ' must again be under-
stood in its usual acceptation, not the neutral
earth, but the earth as opposed to heaven, the
seat of ungodliness and sin. The righteous have
thus no place in the enumeration which follows ;
but the ungodly without exception, whatever their
rank or station, are divided into seven groups in
order to indicate that none escape. In alarm at
the awful j advents which they behold imme-
diately impendmp;, they rush into the caves of the
mountains and mto the rents of their rocks, in
order to seek not safety but destruction. The
crushing of the rocks is nothing compared with
appearing before Him who sitteth upon the throne,
and before the wrath of the Lamb. The question
has been asked, how it happens that these
'kings,' etc., use the language of Christians in
speaking as they do of Him that dtteth npon
tne throne and of the Lamb. But the answer is
not to be found in the idea that we have in them
the Church in its Laodicean state. The use of
the word 'eaith' would alone forbid such an in-
terpretation. We have rather here one of the
roost striking lessons both of the Apocalypse and
of the Fourth Gospel, — that those who reject Jesus
shall have in this their chief element of condemna-
tion, that they shall fully know what they have
done. They shall believe, but believe to their
destruction, not to their salvation. They have
loved the darkness. At last they shall have light,
but of what a kind I They shall see, as do the
redeemed, Christ's glory, but with this tremendous
difference that, along with that sight, their eyes
shall be opened to behold their own sin and folly
in having rejected Him. The very fact ^at they

4i6

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. VII. 1-17.

are now compelled to use Christian language, to
confess in trembling to the truths which tney have
hitherto scorned, is the most fearful element in
their woe.

There remains still one question regarding the
sixth seal which must be briefly noticed. Does
it bring us down to the end of the world, to the
final judgment; or does it not? One answer
only can be given, — that we reach here the begin-
ning of the end. The use of the word great
before day forbids the thought of judgments
exhibited in phenomena of the world's history

which are either simply local or preparatory to
the final issue. Nor, when the structure oi the
Apocalypse is taken into account, does it militate
against this view that, when we come to the
Trumpets and the Bowls, we shall have to go
back to a point of time much earlier than that at
which we stand, and that any thought of a coo*
tinuous progression of the events of the book will
thus be destroyed. To look for continooiis pio-
gression is forbidden by the Apocaljrpse itself (see
Introduction). With the sixth seal we reach the
endy but the end is not yet described.

■A

Chapter VII. 1-17.

Visions of Consolation.

ND * after these ' things • I saw four angels standing on *

the *four corners of the earth, holding* the * four winds f^":.*-
of the earth, that the • wind should not ' blow on the earth, nor

2 on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascend-
ing from the *" east," having the' seal of the living God : and he ^JJ^'ShJ:
cried with a loud*® voice to the four angels, to whom it was »J>*3.iv.«.

3 given" to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, ''Hurt not the '^j|*..**
earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have" 'sealed the *£«•«- «-4.6;

4 servants of our God in *• their foreheads. And I heard the
number of them which were sealed : and there were sealed " an
hundred and forty and four thousand of" all the tribes "* of the

5 children of Israel Of" the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve
thousand. Of" the tribe of Reuben were sealed" twelve
thousand. Of" the tribe of Gad were sealed** twelve thou-

6 sand. Of*' the tribe of Aser were sealed** twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed** twelve thousand.
Of*' the tribe of Manasses zvere sealed** twelve thousand.

7 Of*' the tribe of Simeon were sealed** twelve thousand. Of*'
the tribe of Levi were sealed ** twelve thousand. Of*' the tribe

8 of Issachar were sealed** twelve thousand. Of*' the tribe of
Zabulon were sealed** twelve thousand. Of*' the tribe ot
Joseph were sealed** twelve thousand. Of*' the tribe of Ben-

9 jamin were sealed ** twelve thousand. After this " I beheld,**

and, lo,'* a great -^multitude, which no man could number, oif^Bum.^
all nations," and kindreds," and people,** and tongues, stood **
before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white
10 robes, and '^ palms in their hands; and cried" with a loud"

s:Mm.

▼uL II.

* omit And
' omit not
^' shall have
'• every tribe

'this

^ sunrisini

Jo.

>>

18

on

to

saw

** peoples

' omit things * at

g • a *® great

** omit and there were sealed
" Out of 18 omit were sealed
*^ behold *' every nation
'* standing «« they cry

' add fast * no
1* add them

1' sealed out of
'* these things
" tribes
*' great

Chap. VII. 1-17] THE REVELATION. 417

voice, saying, * Salvation to'* our God which sitteth upon the ^ps-uIs.

1 1 throne, and unto the ' Lamb. And all the angels stood round » ch- ▼• 13.
about the * throne, and about the elders and the four beasts," * ch.iv.fi.
and fell'" before the throne on their faces, and worshipped

12 God, saying, Amen: Blessing," and" glory, and** wisdom,
and" thanksgiving, and "honour, and" power, and" might,

i^ be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the
elders answered, saying unto me. What are " these which are

14 arrayed in white robes .^" and 'whence came they? And I 'J».x«x".

^ ^ * Cp. on vcr.

said ** unto him. Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These *^-

are they which" came out of great" ** tribulation, and have "'Mat.xxiv.2x.

"washed" their robes, and made them * white in the blood of «^}>.»'.4.

o Heb. IX. 10-

1 5 the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and '^
serve " him day and night in his temple : and he that sitteth

16 on the throne shall ^ dwell among them.^® They shall ^hunger ^\^ ^l\\xtL
no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light"

17 on them, nor any heat For the Lamb which is in the midst

of the throne shall ''feed them," and shall 'lead" them unto '-fs. «»».. i.
living fountams of waters:" and God shall 'wipe away all 'i«».«v.8.
tears ** from their eyes.

•* unto *• living creatures

•' add the " omii What are

•• that •' the great

^ shall spread his tabernacle over them

^' as a shepherd tend them

^^ fountains of waters of life

^ they fell «i The blessing

•* add who are they ? ^* have said
'* and they washed •• they serve

** strike

*• guide

*• every tear

Contents. The seventh chapter of this book
contains two visions, and it is of importance to
determine the relation in which they stand to the
general plan of the book, as well as to y\hzi im-
mediately precedes and follows them. We may
at once conclude that they are not a part either of
the sixth or of the seventh seal. They have
nothing in common with the former, while at the
same time they are distinctly separated from it by
the formula ofver. i, 'After this.' The opening
of the seventh seal, again, does not take place
until we reach chap. viii. I. There can thus be
no doubt that the whole seventh chapter is an
episode, intended to sustain and comfort the
Church before the judgments of the Trumpets,
following immediately upon the seventh Seal, fall
upon the world. It might have been feared that
amidst these judgments even the Church would
perish. But that cannot be. Under the Seals
we found traces of the great truth that she shall
be safe, yet only traces, distant intimations rather
than clear revelations upon the point. Now we
have more. In the prospect of the direr calami-
ties soon to be unfolded the Church is to receive
richer consolation. These sufferings of the
righteous, it ought to be remembered, are wholly
distinct in character from the judgments that ate
to fall upon the * earth.' They are the discipline
of a Fatner's hand, the ' cleansing ' of His vine by
the great Husbandman, the ' tribulation ' (ver. 14)
in wnich Christians have their part in the suffer-
ings of Jesus.

VOL. IV. 27

Ver. I. The words After this denote succession
of visions rather than of time.
- The Seer beholds fonr angeU standing at the
fonr oomeiB of the earth. The number four is
that of the world ; and hence ' the four comers,' —
North, South, East, West, — as well as four angels
(comp. chap. xx. 8). By the winds which these
angels hold fast we are no doubt in the first place
to understand natural winds, although it is clear
that storm-winds or tempests must be intended.
Yet it is as impossible to think here of mere winds
as it is to think of mere earthquakes or of mere
changes in sun and moon in the preceding chapter.
The idea of four storm-winds bursting forth, when
they are let loose, from all the four quarters of the
earth is too unnatural, almost too grotesque, to be
entertained. The winds are those upon which
the Almighty rides, and the symbols of^ His judg-
ments (comp. I Kings xix. 11 ; Jer. xxii. 22, xlix.
36 ; Ezek. i. 4 ; Dan. vii. 2 ; Zech. xi. I ; Rev.
vi. 13). But God stays them at His pleasure,
and there is a calm. Thus Ps. xxix. describes a
storm coming up from the 'great sea,' shaking
the land, dashing the cedar trees, and dividing
the flames of fire. The storm, however, is in the
hands of One who sitteth King for ever, who
gives strength unto His people, who blesses H is
people with peace. It is to be noticed that the
winds here are not only ready but eager to be let
loose : hence the four angels do not only hold
them, but hold them fiaet. — The object is that no
wind should blow on the earth, nor on the sea,

4i8

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. VII. 1-17.

nor on any tree. The word ' tree * is used in its
ordinary sense, not as meaning the great ones of
the earth, — an interpretation that would neces-
sarily lead us to think of the ' sea ' as the mass of
the heathen nations, and of the Mand' as the
stubborn Jews. Such meanings may be possible.
They are by no means out of keeping with the
tone of the Apocalypse. But they are not natural
at present. The word, therefore, ought to be
taken literally — 'trees* being probably selected
from amongst other objects on tne surface of the
earth because they are the first to be prostrated
befoK the storm-wind. The figure used in this
verse b at once appropriate and natural. We
may compare Hamlet's account of his father's
care of his mother —

' So loving to my mother.
That he might not let even the winds of heaven
Visit her too roughly.*

Vers. 2, 3. The more peculiar contents of the
vision follow. And I saw another angel
ascending from the snnrising, from the quarter
whence issues that great orb of day which is the
s3nnbol of the Sun orrighteousness(comp. chap. xvi.
12).— Having a seal of the living Qod, of that
God who both has life and gives life. — And he
cried with a great voice w the fonr angels
already spoken o^ telling them not to execute the
judgments with which mey were entrusted, — till
we shall have sealed the servants of onr Qod on
their foreheads. In Ezek. ix. 4, a man 'clothed
with linen and having a writex^s inkhom by his
side' is instructed to go through the midst of
Jerusalem, and to set 'a mark upon the foreheads
of the men that sigh and that cry for all the
abominations that be done in the midst thereof.*
That mark is for their security, and for a similar
purpose the seal of this angel is applied. The
sealed shall be kept safe in the times of trial that
are to come. Their Redeemer will set them as a
seal upon His heart and upon His arm (Cant.
viiL 6), and no one shall pluck them out of His
hand. For the opposite marking, the mark of
the service of the Beast, see chaps, xiii. 17, xiv.
1 1. The Seer next beholds the number of the
sealed.

Vers. 4-8. One or two subordinate points may
be noticed before we ask who these sealed ones
are. (i) There is no difHculty in determining
the manner in which the number 144,000 is
obtained. First we have the number 12, that of
the witnessing Church, taken from the 12 tribes
of Israel ; and, multiplying by looo, we have the
number taken from each tribe. This number is
then multiplied by 12 for the twelve tribes, and
yields 144,000. (2) In looking at the names of
the tribes several remarkable circumstances at
once strike the eye. (a) Dan is omitted. The
reasons generally assip[ned for this are either that
Dan had been peculiarly given to idolatry (Judg.
xviiu 1-31)9 or that it had disappeared as a tribe
in the days of St John. Bou reasons are un-
satisfactory ; the first, because the idolatry of Dan
does not appear to have been so excessive as to
warrant its extinction ; the second, because the
fact has not been ascertained, and because, even
though ascertained, it would be little to the pur-
pose ; for, as in the case of the Tabernacle, the
Apostle takes the ancient condition of things for
his guide. A more probable explanation is to be
found in the words of Gen. xlix. 17, 'Dan shall
be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path,'— a

prophecy which, inteipreted in a good sense
denoting subtlety and skill in doding with
enemies, may have been the occasion of the tribe's
choosing a serpent for its emblem. When we
rememl^r St. John's allusion to ' the old serpent'
in chap. xiL 9, and the possibility that in chap,
it 24 he has the early heretical sect of the Ophites
in his e^e, the supposition seems not improbsdile
that this connection of Dan with the 'serncnt'
may have been enough to make the Seer leave
out that tribe from his enumeration of the twelve
which constitute the Christian Chnrch. It may
be worth while also to recall to mind that, when
the twelve apostles received God*s seal of the
Hol^ Spirit on the day of Pentecost, one who had
origmallv belonged to their number was no longer
there. He had been cast out because he was * a
devil,* and his place had been supplied in order to
make up the sacred twelve. St John may have
seen in this a sufficient indication that, when the
twelve tribes making up the Church were to be
sealed, it was proper that one of the original
number, because toiind unworthy, should be
absent, and its place be taken by another, {i)
Levi is included, and this, owing to tiie peculiar
inheritance of Levi, was not usual in the catalogses
of the tribes given us in the later books of the
Old Testament The explanation usuallj offered
seems correct. In the Old Testament Levi was
the priestly tribe, and stood apart ; in the New
Testament such distinctions have passed sway.
All Christians are priests. The distinction between
ministers and people are distinctions of fimctkai
onlv, and do not toudi the personal relations of
eacn man to God. {c) Instead of Ephnum Joseph
is substituted. This seems to be due to the act
that throughout the Old Testament histmj
Ephraim was peculiarly untheocratic, so that it
became the symbol of opposition to faithful Judah
(Ps. Ixxx. 2 ; Isa. vii. 17 ; Jer. viL 1$). (3) The
order in which the triba are named is worthy
of notice. It is possible, indeed, that because
of chap. V. 5 Judisdi may come first, and that
Benjamin, as the youngest, may with propiiety
be last Beyond this it seems as if nothio^ can
be said. The tribes are not mentioned either in
the order of the birth of the sons of Jacobs or ol
any pre-eminence we may suppose to belong to
the children of his wives over those of his maid-
servants ; nor is their order that of the lists pre-
sented to us in Ezek. xlviiL 1-27 and 31-34.

We are now prepared for the further anid more
important inquiry, Whom do the 144,000 re-
present ? Is It simply Jewish Christians ? and, if
not, Is it a select number out of the Christian
community, or the whole of that community
itself? l^ese two inquiries may be taken
together, and the following considerations will
supply the answer :—

f . According to the analogy of the Apocalypse^
in which Jewish terms are christianised and
heightened in their meaning, the word 'Israd'
must be understood not of Jewish only but of all
Christians. Such is also the lesson taught t^ the
strain of the New Testament generally (Rom.
ii. 28, 29, ix. 6, 7 ; Gal. vl 16 ; PhiL iii 3).
2. The number 144,000 is a complete number—
the number of the Church (not of Israel in its
more limited sense) multiplied by twelve, and
then taken a thousandfold. Christians so num*
bered can hardly be Jewi^ believen alone^ bat
must be the Church of Christ in its widest exteot

Chap. VII. 1-17.]

THE REVELATION.

419

and final comprehensiveness. 3. There is no
limitation of the 144,000 in the description given
of them in the third verse of the chapter, •Hurt
not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till
we shall have sealed the servants of our God on
their foreheads.' These words seem to imply
that all the servants of God, and not merely a
select portion, were to be sealed, just as the whole
earth, and not a part of it only, was to be left
tmhurt 4. In the fourteenth diapter of this
book we have again the 144,000 brought before
US, and there the vision follows the description of
the enemies of Christ, as these enemies have
reference not to any one portion of the Church
bat to it all, while it precedes that harvest and
vintage of the earth which are to be wide as the
whole world in their eflfects. 5. In chap. xiv. i
the 144,000 standing with the Lamb upon Mount
Zion are spoken of as having ' His Fauer*s name
written on their foreheads ; and in chap. xxii. 4
this trait marks all the inhabitants of the New
Jerusalem — 'and they shall see His face, and
His name shall be on their foreheads.' 6. The
changes made in the tribes as here given, although
the grounds of them may not be very clear,
indicate in part at least that we are not to think
of the literal Israel, and thus strengthen the
argument 7* 1° chap. xxL 12 the 'twelve
tribes ' evidently include all believers. 8. There
is another markuig spoken of in various passages
of this book, that by Satan of his own (chaps.
xiiL 16, 17, xiv. 9, xvi. 2, xix. 20, xx. 4), and no
one acquainted with the style of St. John will
doubt that this marking is the direct antithesis of
the sealing by God. A comparison of the several
passages referred to will also show that in both
cases a sealing or marking on ' the forehead ' is
spoken of. Now it will not be denied that the
mark of the beast is imprinted upon all his
servants, and the contrast rec^uires tnat the seal
of God should be equally impnnted upon all His
people. 9. The plagues that are to come
threaten all, Gentile as well as Jew : the sealing
must in like manner protect all believers. 10.
The next following vision has its scene laid in
heaven, not on earth ; so that, if Gentile Christians
are not included among the tribes of Israel, they
are nowhere spoken of as ' sealed. ' We conclude,
therefore, that we have before us neither Jewish
Christians in particular, nor a select portion out
of the whole Christian Church. To the Church
of God in every age and land the sealing is
applied, and in it there is neither Jew nor
Gentile ; all its members are one in Christ Jesus.

A second important question meets us, At
what time does the sealing take place? The
answer is involved in wliat has been said of its
comprehensiveness. If the 144,000 are the whole
Church of God, then the sealing goes on during
all the Church's history. Through all the
period of their earthly struggle Gc^ has been
preserving and sealing His own. The vision has
relation to no particular or limited period.

Another vision follows.

Ver. 9. The vision now introduced is dis-
tinguished from the former by the fact that it
be^gs to heaven, while the sealing took place
on earth. Those beheld stand before the throne
And before the Lamb (comp. iv. 5, 6, 10, v. 8, etc ),
and the other particulars correspond. They are
clothed with white robee, emblematic of priestly
purity. They have palms in their hands, not

palms of victory at heathen games, but palms of
festive joy, especially of the feast of Tabernacles.
The whole scene appears to be modelled upon
that of John xii. 12, etc., even the great moltitude
here reminding us of that mentioned there.

This great multitude is oat of every nation,
the word 'nation' being then enlarv[ed and
supplemented. The terms used are tour, an
indication of the universality of the host. But
not ^ Gentile Christians alone are included ;
Jewish Christians must also be referred to ; a &ct
throwing a reflex light upon the vision of ^e
sealing, and confirming the conclusion already
reach^, that the 144,000 are not to be confined
to the latter class. Nor does the statement that
this is a multitude which no man conld nnmber
prove that it is a larger company than the
144,000, for these figures are to be understood not
numerically, but symbolically and theologically.

Ver. 10. They cry with a great voice, a voice
expressing the intensity of their thankfulness and
joy, and in their cry they attribute the glory of
their salvation to Him whom they describe as onr
God which altteth on the throne, and to the
Lamb. To this psalm of praise which, as shown
by the use of the present tense 'cry,' is sung
unceasingly, a choral response is immediately
given.

Vers. ii| 12. The angels spoken of in these
verses must be the same as those at chap. v. ii,
although it may be worthy of notice that the other
beings in the neighbourhood of the throne are
here arranged in a different order, — the 'living
creatures ' of chap. v. 1 1 there taking precedence
of the 'elders,' while in the words before us the
order is reversed. In the one case the throne is
looked at from its outer circle to its centre, in the
other from its centre to its outer circle. In the
first passage also it is not said of the angels that
they fell before the throne on their facei. This
trait is probably now added because a higher
manifestation of God's purposes has been reached.
Here, as there, the doxoI(^ is sevenfold, but the
words and the order differ. The doxol<M[y of the
angels includes no mention of the Lamb, tor angels
had not been ' loosed from their sins in His blood '
(chap, u 5). The vision thus given is so important
that an explanation is subjoin^.

Ver. 13. These which are arrayed in white
robes, who are they, and whence came they f
The question is not asked by the Seer. It is
addressed to him in order that his attention may
be drawn to it with greater force, and one of
the elders is the speaker. In chap. vL the four
living creatures spoke, because they represented
creation, and were the instniments of vengeance.
Now one of the elders speaks, because the elders
represent the triumphant Church.

Vers. 14-17. The Seer does not say that he
cannot answer the question, but he implies that
the elder is better able to do so. He himself has
no experience of the state described, and he
cannot therefore speak of it as it should be spoken
of. His language is peculiarly graphic, neither
' I said ' of the Authorised Version, nor 'I say*
of the Revised, but I have said, as given in the
margin of the laiter. The perfect tense has its
appropriate power of bringing down to the present
moment the feeling that is expressed. The
wonder of that instant in the apostle s life is not a
matter only of the past. It presents itself still as
vividly to his mind as when he first uttered the

420

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. VII. 1-17

words, and asked an explanation of the glorious
spectacle (comp. note on John i. 15). The word
knowest is to be understood in a far deeper sense
than that of possessing information only. It is
used in the sense of the word ' know ' in the
Fourth Gospel, and expresses experimental know-
ledge (comp. note on John iv. 32 and Rev. iii. 17).
The answer to the question is next given, and
its importance appears in the fact that it consists
of three parts. The blessed company beheld by
the apostle is first described in the words, Theie
are they that come etc., and it must be at once
obvious that the whole company, and not simply
a portion of it, is thus alluded to. The terms
of the description are peculiar and interesting, for
the words ' that come ' are neither equivalent to
the words 'which came' of the Authorised
Version, nor do they point only to the future.
The idea, too, that tne present tense is used
because the redeemed are at that moment seen
coming is not less to be rejected. ITiey have
been already represented as * standing before
the throne' (ver. 9). In these circumstances
we can hardly separate the expression ' they
that come' from the designation of our LonI,
' lie that comcth,* in the Fourth Gospel. Wc
have here, in short, another illustration of that
identification of lielievers with their Lord which
is so characteristic of the writings of St. John.
Members of the Lord's body, they are one
with Him in all His fortunes, and may be
fitly described by the same terms. — The great
triimlation is that out of which they come. It is
* the tribulation * of Matt. xxiv. 21, and is surely
universal, including Jewish as well as Gentile
Christians in both passages. Nor are we to
understand by it merely a special tribulation at
the close of the world's history. It is rather the
trials experienced by the saints of God throughout
the whole period of their pilgrimage, at one
time greater than at another, but always great. —
Secondly, they washed their robes, and that too,
it is obviously implied, in the blood of the Lamb.
The idea of many ancient expositors that the
martyrs washed their robes in their own blood
may be at once rejected. But neither can we
refer the ' washing * to justification alone, and the
' making white * of the following clause to sancti-
fication. ' Robes ' are the expression of character
(comp. the English word 'habits*), not simply of
legal standing, and lead us to the thought of the
whole cleansing efficacy of the work of Christ, to
its removal of the power of sin as well as to
pardon, t6 pew life imparted as well as to old
transgressions forgiven (comp. Zcch. iii. 4). In the
view of St. John, water alone does not exhibit
the special blessing of the New Covenant (comp.
I John v. 6). The Old Covenant has water ; the
New has ' blood,' and blood is life. What is here
signified, therefore, is that these believers are
made new creatures in Christ Jesus ; they are
alike justified and sanctified, when they are
' washed * in the blood of Christ. — Thirdly, they
made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.
This is more than the mere result of the washing.
It is the addition of a new feature. In the blo^
of the Lamb they made them not only clean but

flistering, so that the;^ shone with a dazzling
rightness (comp. Heb. ix. 11- 14).
Such being the persons spoken of, the place
occupied by them is next described in two

particulars ; first, in the terms already employed
m ver. 9, and secondly, as the innermost
sanctuary of the temple of God, the innermost
recess of the heavenly abode. Then follows a
description of the blessedness of the righteous in
what seems to be seven particulars having refer-
ence to the future. Why we should have the
future here instead of the present, as in the former

Earts of the vision, may be difficult to say. Pro*
ably it is because we pass at this point to a
change of thought, not now to the place of
blessedness, but to that blessedness itseii whkh
shall never end.

(i)Hethat8itteth,etc.(comp.xxi.3). Godshall
be their constant shelter and defence— especially
shall He spread his tabernacle o¥er them at the
joyful feast of Tabernacles to be celebrated by all
nations (Isa. iv. 5, 6 ; Zech. xiv. 16). — (2) They
shall hanger no more (Isa. xlix. 10).— (3)
Neither thirst any more (Isa. xlix. 10). H4)
Neither shall the son strike on them nor any
heat (Isa. xlix. 10). ^5) Ihe Lamb shall as a
Bhepherd tend them (Ps^xxiil i).— (6) He shaU
gnide, etc (Isa. xlniL 2i).~(7) God shall wipe,
etc. (Isa. XXV. 8).

Before passing from these two consolatory visx»s
we have still to notice the manner in which they
are related to each other. In doing so it is im-
portant to observe, in the first place, that the
second vision does not refer to Gentile, the first
to Jewish, Christians only, and that the second
class is not treated simply as an ' appendix ' to
the first We have alresdy seen that the 144,000
embrace the whole Israel of God without dis-
tinction of Jew or Gentile. The same remark
has to be made on the ' multitude which no man
can number.* In their statements as to the
persons saved the two visions are identicaL Nor
IS it difficult to see why the redeemed should be
numbered in the one vision, ax^ not in the other.
In the one they are looked at as they are sealed
by God, and He knoweth His own ; He calleth
them by their names ; to His eyes they are a
definite number. In the other they are seen by
man, and man cannot count them ; he bdiolds
only a 'great multitude, which no man can
number.' Compare the promise to Abraham,
' Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, it
thou art able to number them^ (Gen. xv. 5), with
God's language to His afflicted people. 'He
gathercth together the outcasts of Israel. . . .
He counteth the number of the stars ; He calleth
them all by their names ' (Ps. cxlvii. 2, 4). I'he
difference between the two visions, thai, b to be
sought not in any distinction between the persons
referred to, but rather in the diflferent drcum-
stances in which the same persons are brought
before us in each. In the first we behold Oie
Church in her conflict; in the second in her
victory. In the first, even though troubled on
every side, she is safe ; in the second her troubles
have closed for ever. In the first she is tempest-
tossed but her Lord is with her, and she is
assured that she shall reach the haven of rest ; in
the second the haven has been reached, and she
shall never again be exposed to the raging of any
storm. Even in her time of trial 0)d has marked
her for His own ; affliction may refine but cannot
vanquish her ; and the dav is not distant when
every trace of affliction shall yield to perfect,
uninterrupted, endless joy.

Chap. VIII. i-6.]

THE REVELATION.

421

Chapter VIII. i-6.
The opening of the Seventh Seal.

1 A ND when he had ' opened the seventh seal, there was '
./a ** silence in heaven about the space of half an *hour.

2 And I saw the seven angels which stood ' before God ; and to

3 them were given * ^ seven trumpets. And another angel came
and stood at the altar, having a ^ golden censer ; and there was
given unto him much * incense, that he should offer it with *
the prayers of all saints* upon the golden altar which was

4 before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which
came'* with the prayers of the saints, ascended" up before God

5 out of the angel's hand. And the angel took' the censer,
and*" -^^ filled it with" fire of the altar, and cast it into** the
earth: and there were" '^ voices, and thunderings,** and light-

6 nings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had
the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

* otnit had ' followed a ^ stand * and there were given unto them
' should add it unto ^ all the saints ' omit which canie

aCp. ch. iv. 5;

Job xxix. 21,

23 ; Ps.

Ixxxv. 8 ;

Hab. ii. ao.
b Lu. xxii. 53 ;

Jo. xii. 23,27.
c Ex. xix. x6 ;

Sih.vi.2o;
dg. vu. 22.
V. xvi. 12,

e Ex. XXX. 7 ;
Lu. L zo.

/ Ezelc X. 2.

^Ch. iv. 5,
xi. 19 ;
Isa. XXX. 30

• went
** followed

» hath taken ^^ add\s& " o/^the

^* thunders, and voices

19

upon

Contents. The opening verses of t^iis chapter
look back not upon chap, vii., but upon chap vi.,
and they introduce the second great series of
Visions, that of the Trumpets. They thus com-
plete one series and anticipate another. Much
difficulty has, indeed, been experienced by com-
mentators in the effort to determine whether we
have all the contents of the seventh Seal in the
first six verses of this chapter, or whether out of
it the seven Trumpets are also developed. In the
latter case the seventh Seal will really extend to
chap. XV. 4, or rather (for the symmetrical
structure of the book will compel us to apply the
same principle to the Bowls) to chap. xvi. 21. It is
not impossible that it should be so, but it is at least
unlikelv. Again, if the seven Trumpets develop
themselves out of the seventh Seal, we should
expect the seven Bowls to develop themselves out
of the seventh Trumpet ; but at chap. xv. 5 there is
no indication of this. Once more, the seventh
Trumpet has ' lightnings and voices and thunders '
as one of the distinguishing characteristics of its
close (chap. xi. 19). The seventh Bowl at its close
has the same (comp. xvi. 18-21). It is natural to
think that we shall find the seventh Seal ending
in the same way ; and, if so, it must be at chap,
viii. 5, the next verse being then simply one of
transition. We conclude, therefore, that the
seventh Seal does not embrace the contents of the
seven Trumpets. The Trumpets are an independent
series of visions ; and the seventh Seal, however
connected with them, stands alone, completing
the series of Seals.

Ver. I. The opening of the^ seals is resumed
in almost exactly the same strain as before in

chap. vi. When the seventh seal was opened
there followed a dlenoe in heaven. This
silence is generally supposed to relate to the
cessation either of the songs of praise spoken of
in chap, vii., or of the trials of the Church, which
b now to enjoy a blessed period of rest. Both
interpretations are unsatisfactory : the first, be-
cause, having returned to the subject of chap, vi.,
we have now nothing to do with chap, vii., and
because it is hardly possible to imagine that the
Seer would represent the songs of the heavenly
host as interrupted even for a moment ; the
second, because the silence took place 'in
heaven,* and cannot represent the rest of the
Church on earth. We suggest that the 'silence'
alluded to refers only to the cessation of the
' lightnings and voices and thunders ' of chap. iv. 5.
These are the accompaniments of the Almightv's
throne in that aspect of it with which St John
has especially to do (comp. chap. vi. i). They pro-
bably did not pause while the seals were opening.
Now they cease ; and the meaning is that there is
a pause in the judgments of God before a second
and higher manifestation of them takes place.

This interpretation may find support in what
appears to be the meaning of the words half an
hoar, words which are neither to be literally
understood, nor to l)e regarded as expressing only
a short space of time without having been sug-
gested by any deBnite idea in the writer's mind.
Omitting all reference to the views of others, it
seems to us that three considerations may be
noted ; first, that the word ' hour,' though here
part of a compound word, can hardly be separated
from the ' hour ' so often spoken of by our Lord —

422

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. VIII. 1-6.

* This is your hour, and the power of darkness ; *
' The hour is come, that the Son of man should be
glorified ; ' * Father, save me from this hour, but
for this cause came I unto this hoar ' (Luke xxii.
53 ; John xii. 23, 27) ; secondly, that the idea
embodied in the ' half of anything is that of the
thing interrupted or broken, as m three and a
half the half of seven ; thirdly, that St. John is
frequently in the habit of marking a pause before
any great step in the further development of the "
history which he gives is taken. We see this last
trait of his mode of thought on different occasions
in the Fourth Gospel, and a marked illustration
of it is afforded In Rev. xx. Keeping these
points in view, the silence of half an hour may
well be understood to mean that the hour of
judgment is interrupted or broken. In other
words, judgment is not yet completed, and we
must pause in order to prepare for that unfolding
of it which is yet to come.

Ver. 2. The seyen angels spoken of stand
before God read;^ to execute His will. It is
implied that this is their usual position, and not
merely that they are there for the moment. —
And there were given nnto them aeven
trompets. These trumpets are neither those of
festal proclamation, nor are they, with some
recent commentators, to be regarded as a mere
'manifestation of will.' They are trumpets of
war and battle, like those whose sound brought
down the walls of Jericho, or those whose blast
struck terror into the hosts of Midian (Judg. vii. 22).
This alone is sufficient to show us that in them
we have an advance upon the seals. The seals
only announce judgment. The trumpets indicate
action, which at the same time they arouse and
quicken.

Ver. 3. As we are here at a higher stage of
judgment than before, a greater amount of
preparation is made for it. Hence the second
angel appears. Who this, called another angcJ,
was we are not informed. But, when we compare
chap. X. I (see note), we shall probably conclude
that, though not actually our Lord Himself, he
is a representation of Him. He is distinctly
pointed to as the Mediator of the prayers of the
saints, and to Him all judgment is committed.
Christ's place, too, as our High Priest, is by tiie
altar. Commentators have felt much difficulty
in determining which of the two altars of the
Tabernacle is referred to in the verse before us as
'the altar,' and whether we are to dbtinguish
between it and that afterwards spoken of in the
same verse as the golden altar which was before
the throne. Upon the whole the probability
seems to be that they are the same, the difference
of expression depending upon the fact that the fuller
description is given when the special purpose of
the altar is more particularly alluded to. At
ver. 5, where we have again the simple designation
'the dtar,' it is hardly possible to think of any
other than the golden altar or the altar of
incense. Beside this altar then the angel appears
standing with a golden censer. Much incense is
given him that he should add it nnto the prayers
of all the saints, so that the prayers and the in-
cense might ascend together, a memorial before
God of the trials and sufferings of His people.
These prayers are obviously those of the suffering
Church ; and they are offered, not that she may be
prepared to meet the coming judgments, but that

she may hxisten them (comp. Luke xviii. 7, 8). It
is clear that both in this verse, and throughout the
passage, we are dealing not with any select
company of believers, or with martyrs in the
ordinary sense of that term, but with the whole
Church of Christ conceived of as being in a
martyr state.

Ver. 4. The smoke of the incense, now added
to the prayers of the Church, went np before God,
reminding the Almighty of the sufferings of His
people, and of the answer for which they cried.

Ver. 5. The ai^el filled the censer with tiia
fire of the altar, and cast it npon the earth.
For the thought of ' filling ' comp. John ii. 7, xix.
29, XXL II. For the Nemesis so characteristic of
St. John, observe that the sufferings which had
been spoken of, endured at the hands of the
'earth,' return in judgment upon the 'earth'
(comp. chap. vi. 4-8). The peculiar tense of the
verb hath taken is in all probability employed
in order to bring out the fact that the censer had
never been laid aside by the angel from the
moment when he first took it into his hand (comp.
on chap. viL 14). The thnndera and voioias and
lightnuigs and earUiqnake which are next nokeo
of are the appropriate accompaniments 01 judg-
ment.

Before passing from these verses, one important
question connected with them ought to be noticed,
from its bearing on the general character of the
Apocalypse. Of what nature are the prayers
referred to ? They have been sometimes described
as prayers for the salvation of the world, at other
times as prayers for mercy to such as will receive
mercy, for judgment on the impenitent and
hiudened. Both views are ouf of keeping with
the context Let us compare the fisict, noticed in
ver. 5, that the angel took the golden censer and
filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the
earth, with the two facts mentioned in ver. 3, that
the golden censer there spoken of is the one out
of which the angel had just caused the smoke to
go up with the prayers of all the saints before God,
and that the fire is taken from the golden altar
upon which these prayers had just been offered,
and we shall feel that it is impossible to accept
either interpretation. There is no thought of
mercy for the world. The prayers are for
judgment only. They are prajrers that God will
vindicate His own cause, and they are answered
by Him who, when His people cry to Him, will
arise to judgment. To a similar effect is the cry
of the souls under the altar in chap. vi. 10 ; and,
when judgments are poured out, all the hosts of
heaven behold in them the brightest manifestatioo
of God's glory (chap. xix. I, 2 ; comp. chap. xL
17, 18). Yet it would be a grievous mistaVe to
see in passages such as these any desire for
personal veneeance on the part of the righteous,
any want of Uiat compassion which longs for the
salvation of the whole world. They express only
that longing; for the reign of perfect truth and
holiness which is one of uie most essential con-
stituents of love, whether in God or man.

Ver. 6. The prayers of the suffering Church
have been heard, and the answer is to be given.
Hence we are told in this verse that the Mrea
ai^^ prepared themselTes to sound. The
words are, strictly speaking, a part neither of the
seventh seal nor of tne first trumpet They mark
a transition point, preparatory to the latter.

Chap. VIII. 7-13.]

THE REVELATION.

423

Chapter VIII. 7-13.

The First Four Trumpets.

7 ' I "HE' first angel* sounded, and there followed' ''hail and «Ex.i)ca3.

JL fire mingled with* * blood, and they were* cast upon ^Jocih. 30.
the earth :* and the third part of trees' was ^ burnt up, and all cjocu. 19.

8 green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded,

and as it were a great ^mountain burning with fire was cast rfjer.iiss;

• ««^«*« ^« ^ Mat. XXI. 2f«

into the sea: and the third part of the sea became -'^ blood ; 'g*e^r"-

* /Ex. vu. 19.

9 and the third part of the creatures which wer^ in the sea, and '

had life, died ; and the third part of the ^ ships were • destroyed. '\l^^'^'

10 And the third angel sounded, and there ^fell a great star from Aiia.xiv.xa.
heaven,** burning as it were" a lamp," and it fell upon the

third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters ; *'

1 1 and the name of the star is called ' Wormwood : and the third < J"- »«• «5.
part of the waters became wormwood ; and many men died of

12 the waters, because they were made * bitter. And the fourth ^ex.'cv.sj;

' ^ 2 Kings II. 19;

angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and E«k.xivu.9.

the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars ;

so" as** the third part of them was** 'darkened, and the day 'E«x-..?';

*^ ' ' Isa. xiiu 10;

shone not*' for a** third part of it, and the night likewise.*' Amosv.ii.9.

13 And I beheld,** and heard an ** angel** flying through the '"J^«"5;,*^^-
midst of heaven,** saying with a loud voice. Woe, woe, woe, to "^^- »*•
the inhabiters of the earth " by reason of the other ** voices of

the trumpet of the three angels, which ** are yet** to sound !

' And the ' omit angel ' came * in * and it was

• add and the third part of the earth was burnt up ^ the trees

• even they that ® was *® and there fell out of heaven a great star
** omit it were ** torch *' the waters ** omit so ** that
!• should be ^^ should not shine ** the *® in like manner

so

saw ** one eagle

'* to them that dwell on the earth

'^ flying in mid -heaven

S4

remaining ** who *• about

CONTBNTS. The first four Trumpets are evi-
dently separated from the three which follow
them, both by the words of ver. 13 and by the
fact that they refer to things of earth, while in
the latter we are brought into contact with the
spiritual world. A transition of a similar kind
met ns at the opening of the fi(\h Seal in chap,
vi. 9, and the correspondence, in a book con-
Btructed upon so symmetrical a plan as the
Apocalypse, is sufficient to show ns that the
transition is in both cases designed.

Ver. 7. And the fixst sounded, and there
eune hiUl and fire mingled in blood, and it was
cast npon the earth. The language used both
in this and the following judgments takes us back
to the Old Testament, and more particularly to
the plagues of Egypt. Pharaoh, who was visited
by tnesc plagues, was always to Israel the symbol
of the cruel and oppressive treatment by the

world of the children of God ; while the judg-
ments of the Almighty upon Egypt, vindicating
His own glory ana effecting the deliverance of
His people, became types of the manner in which
the same great ends shall be effected in every age
of the Church's history. But the plagues of
Egypt are not followed in their order, nor are
they alone resorted to for the imagery of these
visions. All the figures of judgment used in the
Old Testament are familiar to the mind of the
Apocalyptic Seer, and he uses them in the
manner which he thinks best adapted to his plan.
That of this verse is founded on Ex. ix. 23-25,
where we are told that ' the Lord sent thunder
and hail, and the fire ran along upon the
ground ; and the Lord rained hail upon the land
of Egypt So there was hail, and fire mingled
with the hail, very erievous ; . . • and the bail
smote throughout aU the land of Egypt all that

424

THE REVELATION.

[Chap- VI I L 7-13.

Avas in the Beld, both man and beast ; and the
hail smote every herb of the field, and brake
every tree of the field.' In some respects the
judgment of the first trumpet seems less terrible
than that on Egypt. In other respects the terrors
of the latter are mcreased. More particularly is
this the case with the mention of ' blood/ for the
fire and hail are not mingled 'with' blood.
They are mingled ' in ' blood ; that is, the blood is
what we see ; but beneath its surface are hail-
stones and coals of fire. It seems unwise to
attempt to connect particular judgments, such as
vrars or pestilences or the incursions of barbarians
or the demolition of cities, with the special things
mentioned as objects of terror either in this or the
following visions. By no enumeration could the
Seer have given symbolical expression to all the
variety of ways in which the world has suffered
because it has refused the revelation of Divine
truth offered it in Christ Jesus, and has persecuted
those by whom, at one time in word, at another
in life, that truth has been received and faithfully
proclaimed. Any selection from these would,
therefore, have been arbitrary, or might even have
misled us as to the relative importance of different
Divine judgments. It is more natural to think
that these objects of terror simply denote judg-
ment in general, and that they are to be
interpreted neither of classes of judgments nor
of individuals of a class. — The effect of the
judgments spoken of is, that the thixd part of
the earth, that is, of the surface of the earth, and
the third part of the treee, and all green grass,
were bnmt up.

Again, as at chap, vii I (see note), we are not
to interpret these words in any specially meta-
phorical sense. The figure, as belonging to the
third part of the earth, would indeed prove quite
incongruous if we did, for the trees would neces-
sarily perish when that portion of its surface was
destroyed, and the statement of the next clause,
that only a third part of the trees was burnt up,
would be incorrect Neither does it seem as if
any oarticular meaning were intended by the
• third part * mentioned. It was necessary to fix
upon some fractional part in order to leave room
for the heavier iudgments that are yet to come,
and the * third * may have been selected for no
more important reason than that the numeral
three plays so large a part in the general structure
of the Apocalypse, or that the instruments of judg-
ment mentioned immediately before bad been
three in number.

Vers. 8, 9. These two verses contain the second
trumpet, at the sounding of which what resembled
a great mountain, as it were a great mountain
burning with fire was cast into the sea. There
is nothing in this part of the description to remind
us of the plagues of Egypt, but in Jer. IL 25 we
read of a 'burnt mountain.' It may be doubted,
however, whether there is any reference to this,
and the image may be only intended to convey to
us the idea of a judgment frightful to behold, and
terrible in its effects. That we are not to think
of any particular object is evident from the want
of all direct correspondence between the iastru-
ment of judgment and its effects. The casting of
a burning mountain into the sea has no tendency
to turn its waters into blood.— In the description
of the effect produced we are reminded of the first
plague of Egypt (Ex. vii. 20, 21). As before,
and no doubt lor the same reason, it is a thixd

part of the sea, and of the creatures which were
in the sea and of the ships, that suffers, jpie
first becomes blood, the second die, the third ire
destroyed. The ships appear to be thought of
apart firom their crews.

This trumpet is distinguished from the first by
its containing judgments on the sea instead of the
land, but both sea and land can only be regarded
as together making up the surface of the earth.
They are not separately symbolical, the one of
the mass of the Gentile nations, the other of the
Jews.

Vers. 10, II. These verses record the sounding
of the third trumpet, when there feU out of
heaven a great star burning as a torch. The
star fell upon the third part of the waters of the
earth exclusive of the sea, which had been already
visited under the second trumpet. These waters
are naturally divided into two portions, liTsn
and fountams. The one-third part, though not
expressly mentioned, is to be understood m con-
nection with the latter as well as with the former,
for it appears from ver. 1 1 that no more than one-
third of all waters was hurt. The ' hurt ' consists
in communicating to the waters the poisonoosly
bitter qualities of the star which, in order to
express its extreme bitterness, is called Worm-
wood ; while the bitter waters themselves remind
us of the waters of Marah (Ex. xv. 23), and of
those waters in the vision of Ezekiel whidi were
only made whole by means of the living stream
beheld by the prophet as it issued from the temple
(Ezek. xlvii. 9). They represent the bitterness of
that water with which, instead of the water of life,
the world seeks to quench the thirst of its votaries.
Under the third trumpet we first meet vrith men.
Under the first we had nothing but inanimate
nature; under the second nature was associated
with creatures that had life ; now we read of the
death of many f/un. As the judgments of God
are sent forth one after another they deepen in
intensity.

Ver. 12. In this verse we have the contents of
the fourth trumpet, which touches the sun, the
moon, and the staxa. Yet it must not be sup-
posed that, because these heavenly bodies are
now introduced, we are taken beyond the condi-
tion of men in the present world. Sun, moon,
and stars are thought of only in their relation to
earth and its life and comfort, so that when they
are affected it also suffers. The idea of the judg-
ment rests upon the Egyptian plague of darkness.
Any attempt to connect particular objects upon
earth with the heavenly bodies mentioned in the
judgment is vain. As we have already seen under
the previous trumpets, the objects judged are
simply parts of the world in which men dwell,
and it may be noticed that they are substantially
taken up and gathered together as a whole when,
in chap. xiv. 7, the Almighty is described as lie
' that made the heaven and the earth and sea and
fountains of waters.' It may be further worth
while to remark that the sun and moon and stars
are by no means so seriously affected here as they
were under the sixth seal (chap. vi. 12, 13). There
' the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the
whole moon became as blood ; and the stars of the
heaven fell unto the earth.' Now onlv a third
part of their light is taken away. The whole
series of the trumpets is more intense in judg-
ment than that of the seals, but not to such a
degree that the judgment of the fourth trumpet

Chap. IX. 1-12.]

THE REVELATION.

42s

may not be lighter than that of the sixth' seal.
At the same time we are not to infer that the first
four trumpets necessarily precede the sixth seal,
except in thought.

Ver. 13. The first four trumpets are over, and
we might have expected to pass, as in the case
of the seals, directly and without interruption, to
the fifth. But we are dealing with a higher
]x>tency of judgment than that which met us
under the seals; and at this point therefore,
when a transition is to be made from the earthly
to the spiritual world, our attention is specially
called to the judgments that are to follow. And I
■aw, and I heard one eagle flying in mid-heaven.
The reading of the Authorised Version 'angel*
instead of 'eagle' is undoubtedly a mistake of
copyists, and the word *one* ought to be given
effect to, as at chaps, ix. 13 and xix. 17. Nor
can there be much hesitation in determining why

the eagle is thus fixed on as the bird of all others
to proclaim woe. Most commentators indeed
allow without hesitation that here at least, as
so frequently in the Old Testament, the eagle is
thought of as the bird of rapine and prey (Deut.
xxviii. 49 ; Jer. xlviii. 40, xlix. 22 ; Ezek. xvii. 3 ;
Hos. viii. I ; Hab. i. 8 ; Matt. xxiv. 28 ; comp.
also note on Rev. iv. 7). That this eagle flew m
'mid-heaven* is easily explained. It was there
that he could best be seen, and thence that his
voice could most easily be heard by men. — His
cry is Woe, woe, woe to them that dwell on
the earth, by reaaon of the remaining yoices of
the trompet of the three angels who are about
to Bonnd. By them 'that dwell on the earth*
are to be understood the ungodly alone (comp. on
chap. iii. 10). The solemn warning has been
^iven, and all is ready for the sounding of the
fifth trumpet.

Chapter IX. 1-12.
Tlte Fifth Trumpet.

1 A ND the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a "* star * fall * from * «;»• »j^ "•

L\ ** ' ^Issuxiv. 12;

JLX, heaven unto ' the earth : and to him was given * the l«- »• »»•

2 ^key of the bottomless* pit." And he opened the bottomless* ^Ch-xx. x.
pit ; * and there arose ' a smoke out of the pit,® as the smoke of

a great furnace; and the sun and the air were ^^ darkened by </ex.x. 14,15:

Joel 11. tf 3.

3 reason of the smoke of the pit.® And there came out of the
smoke locusts upon • the earth : and unto them was given

4 power, as the ' scorpions of the earth have power. And it was 'eSI" n'V-^'
commanded *° them that they should not hurt the grass of the ^"•*- *»•
earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree ; but only
those" men which** have not the -^seal of God in** their /ch. vii 3.

5 foreheads. And to them it was given " that they should ^not *Jobu.6.
kill them, but that they should be tormented five months : and

their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he"

6 striketh a man. And in those days shall men *seek death, AJobiii.21;

' ' Jer. vm. 3.

and shall not** find it; and" shall desire to die, and death

7 shall flee " from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like

unto 'horses prepared unto battle;" and on their heads were »jociu.4-io.
as it were crowns like *® gold, and their faces were as the '* faces

8 of men. And they had hair as the '^ hair of women, and their

9 * teeth were as the ** teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, *joci l 6.
as it were breastplates of iron ; and the ' sound of their wings /jodiLs.
was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle."

* omit fall * out of « fallen into * and there was given to him

* omit bottomless ® well of the abyss ' went up

* well • And there came forth locusts out of the smoke into

*® said unto ** such

"it

*• for war *<> add unto

IS

as

** in no wise

** on '* And it was given them

^^ add \hty
** ofnit \h%

" fleeth

'^ rushing to war

436 THE REVELATION. [Chap. IX. 1-12.

10 And they had" tails like unto scorpions, and there were"
stings in their tails : '* and "• their power was " to hurt men five

11 months. And they had a ""king over them,** wAicA w** the ••P»wr.x«.•^
angel of the bottomless '** pit,** whose " name in the Hebrew
tongue" is "Abaddon, but** in the Greek tongue hath A« -J^.ij™-

S5

12

la; Prov.

name*" Apollyon. One** woe is past; and^*^ behold, there «*•"•
come * two woes more ** hereafter. *3f .P.^

ca. XL 15.

*• have ** omt/ there were

** {rdd in their tails is *' omit was
*• omit it/hicA is •^ omtt bottomless
•• in Hebrew •* and

•• The one •' omit and

'^ omi/ in their tails

'^ They have over them as king

•^ abyss •* his

^ he hath the name

•* yet two woes

Contents. The verses before us contain an
account of the fifth trumpet.

Ver. I. What the Seer beheld was not a star
' fall ' out of heaven, but a star foUen (as in the
Authorised Version). The difference b important,
for we are thus led to think not of any punishment
which befell the star, but of its moral and religious
condition at the time when it was pennitt^ to
inflict the plague to be immediately described.
The mention of a ' star ' leads to the thought of a
potentate or power ; and, as what is said of it can
nardly be separated from the statement of chap,
xii. 7-9, there is little doubt that the star repre-
sents Satan,— there his expulsion from heaven,
here his condition after he is expelled. This con-
clusion is confirmed by the fact that it is every-
where the manner of St. John to present evil as
the direct counterpart of good. Christ is the
' Morning Star * (chap. xxii. 16) ; Satan is a ' star
fallen.* The words used suggest also the im-
portant consideration that, in the view of the
apostle, Satan was not originally evil. He is a
spirit fallen 'out of heaven,* not merely *from
heaven,' as if to describe the greatness of his fall,
but 'out of heaven,' that abode of purity and
bliss to which he had formerly belonged. Once
he was like other happy spirits there : he is now
fallen into the earth, the abode of sin and trouble.

That which was civen him was the key of
the well of the ahysB. The word 'pit* in
both the Authorised and Revised Versions fails
to convey the proper meaning of the original.
It is a ' well * that is spoken of: and, though the
expression may seem strange, it is proper to
retain it, both because what men lock is not a pit
but the long shaft of a well, which to this day in
the East is often covered at the mouth and
locked, and because we seem to have here one of
the remarkable contrasts so characteristic of St.
John, — that between a 'fountain* and a 'well.'
Truth emanates from a fountain. Jesus Himself
is the true ' fountain of Jacob ' (John iv. 6, 14).
Only to the eye which does not yet see is that
fountain a ' well ' (John iv. 12). — The shaft of the
well goes down into the 'abyss,' the abode of
Satan (chaps, xi. 7, xvii. 8, xx. i, 3).

Vcr. 2. No sooner was the well opened than
there went up a Bmoke out of the well as the
smoke of a great furnace. The smoke must be
thought of as so thick and black that the sun was
shrouded from view and the whole air darkened.
It b hardly necessary to remind the reader that
darkness is the note of Satan's kingdom as light

is of Christ's (comp. Eph. vL 12, where Satan
and his angels are called ' the world-rulers of this
darkness').

Ver. 3. Ont of the smoke, we are next told,
there came forth locnsts into the earth. We
need not ask whether these locusts came out of
the well, or only out of the smoke after it reached
the surface of the earth. The latter is all that the
Seer beholds, but it cannot be doubted that he
looks upon the plague as demoniacal in its origin.
The locusts are compared with locusts of the
earth, and they have gi^en nnto them the
frightful power of destruction belonging to the
latter. The idea of the plague is no doubt taken
in the first instance from the Egyptian pla^e of
the same kind (Ex. x. 14, 15); but a sunilar
image of terrible and inresistihle destraction is
frequently employed by the prophets (Ps. cv. 34 ;
Jer. xlvL 23 ; and especially Joel iL i, 2).

Ver. 4. In one respect, mdeed, there is a
remarkable distinction between the ravages of the
locusts mentioned here and those of the common
locusts of the earth. Grass and trees and all
green things are what the last lay desolate, but
such things these locusts are forbidden to touch.
It was said unto them that they should not hurt
the grass of the earth, neither any gxeen thing,
nei&er any tree; and the prohibition may be
so given in order to bring out, more strongly than
would otherwise be done, the singleness wim iHiich
their rage is directed against mtn^ as wdl as the
degree to which that ra^e is increased by want of
their ordinary food, ifot all men, however, hot
only such n^en as have not the seal of God
on their foreheads, are to be smitten by the
plague ; and the inference, in its bearing on the
mterpretation of the sealing in chap, vii., ou^ht
not to pass unnoticed. If we confine the seiduig
to the tribes of Israel, it will be impossible to
extend the locust plagrue beyond that limit ; yet
no one will contend for such a view.

Ver. 5. While ' men ' are thus the object of the
locust plague, its violence is even as to them
restrained. And it waa given them thai tli^
should not kill them, but that they ibonld be
tormented five months. The killing of men is
reserved for a still higher stage ot judgment,
under the sixth trumpet. In the meantime
torment alone is to be inflicted, bat that of a
kind most painful and acute, as the torment of a
B0Oii»ion when it stiiketh a man. The locust is
genendly said to have no sting (see below). Here,
therefore, in order to bring oat the tenor of the

Chap. IX. 1-12.]

THE REVELATION;

437

pla^e, it has the sting of the scorpion assigned
to It (comp. Deut viiL 15 ; Ezek. ii. 6). — ^The
time daring which the torment is to be inflicted is
'five months,* and the explanation most com-
monly accepted is, that five months are the
period of the year during which locosts commit
their ravages. The expkmation is improbable,
because— (I ) There is no sufficient proof that five
months is really the duration of a locust-plague.
Such a plague is rather short and swift ; (2) It is
out of keeping with the style of the Apocalypse
to give literal periods of time ; (3) On the sup-
position that five months are the ordinary duration
of a locust-plague, the ravages here referred to
are committed during the vmole time to which
the plague naturally belongs ; whereas the period
of five months is named for the sake of showing
that the plague is checked. We must, therefore,
apply the same principle of interpretation as in
chap. viii. I. Five is the half of ten : it denotes
a broken, imperfect, limited, shortened time.
The type of the period spoken of may perhaps be
found in the Deluge, which lasted for five months.

Ver. 6. So terrible is the plague that men
shall eagerly, but in vain, desire to die — a point
reached under the sixth seal, but now under the
fifth trumpet,— the usual climax of the Apoca-
IjTpse. Before passing on it may be well to notice
the remarkable double reference to the book of
Job in these verses. There, as here in ver. ^,
Satan was restrained when the patriarch was
delivered into his hands (Job ii. 6). There, as
here, the smitten one longed to die (Job iii. 11,
20, 21). This double reference must be con-
sidered as conclusive upon the point that Job is in
the Apostle's eye ; and, if so, nothing more is
needed to convince us that the locust-plague is
demoniacal not earthly in its origin.

Vers, 7-1 1. The locusts are now more par-
ticularly de'^cribed, and the description consists of
three parts ; the first general, the second special,
the third the locust king.

(i) The general description. Their shapes are
like hoTBes prepared for war. The same com-
parison is found in Joel ii. 4 ; and the likeness of
the locust to a horse is so marked that the insect
is named in German Heupferd^ and in Italian
CavaUtta (Cheval).

(2) The special description in seven particulars.
— I. On thw heads were, as it were, crowxis like
unto gold, — not crowns but 'as* crowns, so that
any yellow brilliancy about the head of the insect
is a sufficient foundation for the figure. The
crowns are emblems of victory (chap. vi. 2), and
the locusts are presented as a conquering host. —
2. Their facet were as faces of men, — again not
actually human faces, but faces suggesting the
likeness^ which the face of the locust is said to do.
It is a question whether the word ' men * is to be
understood in the general sense of human beings,
or (in contrast with women) of the male sex only.
Chap. iv. 7 seems to determine in favour of the
latter. Boldness and strength, perhaps even
severity and fierceness, are suggested bv the
figure.— 3. And they had hair as hair of
women. There is said to be an Arabic proverb
comparing ^e antennae of locusts to the hair of
girb. If so, we have a sufficient foundation for
Uiis feature of the comparison. What the idea
may be it b not easy to say. But softness and
effeminacy, with their attendant licentiousnesi^

are probably the point in view. — 4. And their
teetn were as teeth of lions. Thb feature,
whether drawn from actual observation of the
insect or not, b sufficiently accounted for by Joel L 6.
— 5. And they had breastplates as it were breast-
plates of iron, — a feature taken from the thought of
the plate which forms the thorax of the locust,
and which resembles the plates of a horse clad in
ancient armour when preparedfor war.^^. And the
sound of their wings, etc It b said that locusts
in their flight make a fearful noise (Smith's Diet,
of Bible, ii. 132).— 7. And they have tails like
nnto scorpions, and stings ; and in their tails is
their power to hnrt men five months. There b
general agreement that, in thb feature at least,
comparison with the insect as it exists in nature
faib ; although, if the insect be the Acridium
lineola^ and if the plate in Smith's Bible Diet,
(vol. iL p. 129) b to be trusted, there b a dis-
tinct sting in the tail. In such a case the sting
now spoken of is only magnified, and declared to
be like a scorpion, in order to bring out its
destructive power.

(3) Their king. Unlike the insect-locusts of
whom it b expressly noted in Prov. xxx. 27 that
' they have no king,' these locusts have a king,
the head of their kingdom (Matt. xii. 26). They
have over them as Idng the angel of the abyss.
This * angel ' b the expression of the abyss, in
whom all its evil influences are concentrated. In
other words he b Satan. It b no serious objection
to this that we have found the ' star ' to be Satan
(ver. I). We are not told that the king spoken
of issued out of the abyss, and we may quite easily
think of the locusts either as hb hosts or as those of
the ' star.' — The name of the king is in Hebrew
Abaddon. The word is used for the place of
perdition in Job xxvi. 6, xxviii. 22, Ps. Ixxxviii.
12, Prov. XV. II, but its first meaning seems to
be perdition itself. Here, however, the idea of
perdition is personified ; and hence the mention
of Apollyon, where the Greek term for perdition
b so changed as to make it also a personification
of the abstract idea. The character of the king
and of his host appears in the name borne by the
former. Their aim b not to save, but to destroy.

Before passing from this vision we have still to
ask more particularly as to * its meaning. All
application to the host of the Mahomedans may be
at once dismissed. The woe falls upon the wnole
world, not merely upon a part of it, and it b not
permitted to afiect the redeemed Church. At
the same time it cannot find its fulfilment in mere
war, or in the calamities which war brings. The
woe b obviously spiritual. It issues n'om the
abyss of hell ; the smoke of it darkens the air ;
the torment which accompanies it b not one that
brings death but that makes the soul weary of
life. These circumstances point to a great
outburst of spiritual evil which shall aggravate
the sorrows of the world, make it learn how bitter
b the bondage of Satan, and teach it to feel, even
in the midst of enjoyment, that it were better to
die than to live.

Ver. 12. We are now at a higher stage of
judgment than in the scab. More solemnity
therefore befits the occasion. At the close of the
fifth seal we passed directly to the sixth : not so
now. The Seer interposes with the warning.
The one woe is passed ; behold, there oome yet
two woes hereafter.

428

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. IX. 13-21.

«Ex.

Chapter IX. 13-21.

The Sixth Trumpet.

13 A ND the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a' voice from*
-/jL the four ' horns * of the golden altar which is before God,

14 saying to the sixth angel which had * the trumpet, Loose the

four angels which are bound in* the great river * Euphrates. ^jSiJ^t^

1 5 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an •
hour, and a' day, and a' month, and a' year, for to slay* the

16 third part of men. And the number of the army* of the
horsemen were^^ two hundred thousand thousand:" and" I

17 heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the
vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates " of fire,
and of jacinth,** and ** brimstone: and the heads of the horses

were as the heads of ^ lions ; and out of their mouths issued** ^ iM.v.=8,a9.

18 fire and smoke and ^brimstone. By these three" was the ^gg^"^^;
third part of ' men killed, by the fire, and by *• the smoke, and ^

19 by *® the brimstone, which issued** out of their mouths. For
their power" is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their
tails were^^ like unto serpents, and** had" heads, and witli

20 them they do hurt. And the rest of the " men which were not

killed by" these plagues yet** repented not -^of the works ^^^\^^
their hands, that they should not worship ''devils,** and idols*' ^xCor.x.«o.
of gold, and *® silver, and ** brass, and ** stone, and of wood :

21 which neither can" see, nor hear, nor *walk: neither repented ap».c«v. 4-7
they*® of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their
fornication, nor of their thefts.

xxxvui. sa.
Ch. viti. i>

* one * out of * omit four * halh

° unto the ^ omit a ® kill ® armies

^^ twice ten thousand times ten thousand ^' omit and

** hyacinth stone ^* add of *• cometh forth

^'^ omit by

*^ having

*^ the idols

10

at
was

*^ For the power of the horses *® are

«3 omit the
^^ add of

24

m

** omit yet

" addsLS
'^ o^i^ plagues
** omit and
*® the demons

*^ can neither *® and they repented not

Contents, The verses before us contain an
account of the sixth trumpet.

Vers. 13, 14. When the trumpet sounded, the
Seer heard one Toice out of the honiB of the
golden altar which Ib before God. This * golden
altar ' is the altar of incense already mentioned in
chap. viii. 3 as that the incense of which mingled
with the prayers of the oppressed saints. We
cannot doubt, therefore, that the plague to be
described is presented to us as an answer to these
prayers. Not, indeed, we again repeat, that the
prayers were for vengeance on the oppressor.
'ITiey were pravers that God would vindicate His
own cause, and the mode in which He does so
is by judgment on His adversaries. The voice
issues 'out of the horns* of the altar, that is, out

of the horn-shaped projections at its four comeis.
These horns expressed the idea of the altar in its
greatest potency, and they are fiUy referred to
here when the power of the prayers whidi had
ascended from the altar is to appear in the answer
sent. It is probably because they were four in
number that the voice is spoken of as * one.'

The voice thus heard cried to the angel that
had the sixth trumpet, Loom the four aagdt
which are bound at the great riyer Bnphzmlea.
We have alread^r seen that in the Apocalypse the
' ang^l ' of anytmng is the thing itsell in activity, in
the performance of the service due from it to the
■Almighty. The axijgel of the Euphrates is the
Euphrates in activity, in the fulfilment of its
mission. It is true that ' four * angels are here

Chap. IX. 13-21.]

THE REVELATION.

429

mentioned ; but this arises from the fact that four
is the number of the world, the whole of which is
to be affected by the plague. The name of the
river is used symbolically, and the thoughts upon
which the symbol rests may be traced without
diflficultv. The Euphrates was the boundary line
of Israel on the North* East When the covenant
was first made with Abram, the promise of the
Lord to the patriarch was, ' Unto thy seed have I
given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the
great river, the river Euphrates * (Gen. xv. 18).
This promise was subsequently repeated (Deut.
i. 7 ; Josh. i. 4), and in the days of David and
5)olomon it appears to have been fulfilled (2 Sam.
viii. 3-8 ; I Xings iv. 21 ; 2 Chron. ix. 26).
The Euphrates thus formed the natural defence of
God's chosen people against the terrible armies
of Assyria on the other side. But for the same
reason it became also, especially when swollen by
those floods to which it is periodically subject, a
fit emblem of the judgments inflicted by the
Almighty upon Israel by means of Assyria and
Babylon. Because Israel at such times ' refused
the waters of Shiloah that go softly,' the great
river was brought up as it were in flood to ovenlow
with a deep stream the whole land of Immanuel
(Isa. viii 5-8). To the prophets the Euphrates
thus became the symbol of all that was most
disastrous in the judgments of the Almighty, and
in this sense, therefore, we are he^-e to understand
the mention made of iL With the literal river
we have no more to do than in so far as it
supplies the foundation of the figure. In its
essential meaning it has no closer connection with
the East than with the West or North or South.
The plague may issue from any of these quarters
as well as that supposed to be specially referred
to. It is interestmg to notice the progress from
the fifth trumpet plague to that before us. In
Judg. vi. 5 the Midianite invaders of Palestine
are compared to locusts, ' they came as locusts '
(not 'grasshoppers,* as in A. V.) 'for multitude,'
and they 'left no sustenance for Israel, neither
sheep, nor ox, nor ass ' (ver. 4), but they left the
people in the land. Now we have reached a
furtner stage in the procession of God's judg-
ments. We are at the cruel and murderous
invasions of Assyria and Babylon, when not only
sustenance was destroyed but men were killed
(Lam. ii. 21).

Ver. 15. A new circumstance connected with
the four angels is added in this verse. They had
not only been bound : they had been kept ready
for an appointed moment. They had been pre-
pared nnto the honr and day and month and
year. The translation of these last words in the
Authorised Version conveys an altogether false
idea of their meaning, suggesting as it does that
we are to put together the four periods mentioned,
and to regard the sum as indicating the length of
time during which either the preparation had been
going on, or the plague was to continue. It is to
be observed, however, that the words ' unto ' and
* the ' are not repeated before ' day and month
and year.' Add to this the fact, already illus-
trated in the writings of St. John (chap. v. 12;
John xiv. 6), that when we have a series of nouns
grouped tc^ether in this way the emphasis lies
upon the nrst, the others only filling up the
thought, and we shall be satisfied that we are not
to combine into one these portions of time. The
meaning is that the angeU are prepared ' unto the

hour ' appointed by God, and that this hour shall
fall in its appointed day and month and year. —
The commission given to the angels is to Idll the
third part of men. The point chiefly to be
noticed is the climax from a one-fourth part under
the seals to a one -third part here. In the
climax marking the separate members of the
trumpets the progress is from the ' tormenting ' in
the fifth trumpet to the * killing ' in the sixth.

Vers. 16, 17. A further part of the vision is un-
folded, in which we are introduced to horsemen, as
if we were already, familiar with them, although
nothing had been said of them before. The
number of the horsemen was so great that they
could not be counted : St. John only heard the
number of them. A fuller description both of
the horses and of their riders follows. The latter,
not the former, had breastplates of fire, and of
hyacinth stone, and of brimstone. The hyacinth
stone is of a dull dark-blue colour resembling that
produced by flaming brimstone ; and thus the
colours of the breastplates are those of the things
that in the next words issue out of the mouths of
the horses. The breastplates also are more than
mere weapons of defence. With the brimstone
blueness of their colour they inspire the beholder
with terror. It is possible that the colours are
only the reflexion, on the breastplates of the
riders, of the ' fire and smoke and brimstone '
that come forth from the horses' mouths. This
idea is in keeping with the general strain of the
passage, which seems to attach all the terror to
the horses and to keep the horsemen in the back-
ground ; but there is no direct evidence in its
support, and it is unnecessary to resort to it. —
Having spoken of the riders the description turns
to the horses. To the Jew the horse, even con-
sidered by itself, was an object of terror, not of
admiration. It was connected only with war, a
living and swift weapon of destruction. As, how-
ever, the locusts of the fifth trumpet were more
terrible than the locusts of the earth, so the horses
of the sixth have their terror enhanced by the
addition of new features not found in the horses
of this world. Their heads were as the heads of
lions (comp. on chap. iv. 7). — And oat of their
months cometh forth fire and smoke and brim-
stone ; that is, all the three elements of woe issue
from the mouth of each horse of the whole host, —
a frightful substitute for foam.

Ver. 18. Before the description of the horses is
continued, the effect of the three plagues that
issue from their mouths is noticed. By these
three plagues was the third part of men killed,
— the third part, that is, of men over the whole
earth, and whatever the division of the human
race to which they belonged.

Ver. 19. The description of the horses is re-
sumed, for the purpose of bringing out another
terrible feature of their destructive power. That

E9wer is also in their tails, for their talk are
ke nnto serpents, having heads, and with
them they do hurt Three characteristics of the
tails are specially mentioned ; first, they are ' like
unto serpents,' long, smooth, subtle, clasping
their victim in an embrace from which he cannot
escape ; secondly, they ' have heads ' at the ex-
tremity farthest from the body ; where the power
of an ordinary tail ceases these tails receive in-
creased intensity of power, the glittering eye, the
poison fang ; thirdly, with them, that is, with the
neads, they 'do hurt.' The tail of a horse is for

430

THE REVELATION-

[Chap. X. i-n-

its own protection: these tails devastate. Yet
they are not so fatal as the mouths. The former
'hurt,' the latter 'kill.'

Vers. 20, 21. The vision is over, but the guilt
of the world which vras now under judgment has
to be set forth with greater fulness, in order that
we may better understand the evil of sin and the
justness of the judgments that overtake it. And
the xest of men which were not killed in these
plagnes repented not. ' Men ' here are obviously
the ungodly, the same as those of ver. 4, or as
those spoken of in chap. viii. 13, in the words
* they that dwell on the earth.' By the worki of
their hands it is generally agreed that we are to
understand not their course of life but, the idols
mentioned immediately afterwards. As a natural
consequence of not repenting of their idol-worship
these men also repented not of their mnrden,
nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication,
nor of their thefts. Four sins are mentioned,
implying universality, and leading our thoughts to
botli- Jew and Gentile. Nor does even the men-
tion of * idols ' entitle us to confine the obstinate
hardness of heart spoken of to the heathen.
Idolatry is chargeable against all the enemies of
God, whether Jew or Gentile (comp. i John
V. 21). Again we see that the 'sealed,' upon
whom this plague certainly does not fall, must
belong to both these divisions of mankind.

\Vc may here pause for a moment to make one
or two general remarks upon the sixth trumpet.
In general characteristics it greatly resembles the
fifth, but the climax of the Apocalypse may be
easily marked in the progress from the latter to
the former. Not only are the horses of the sixth

trumpet more powerful than the locusts of the
fifth, but the terribleness of the one b much
greater than that of the other. To quote the
words of an old commentator (Bishop Forbes of
Aberdeen), * the horses are said to have heads of
lions to denote open rage and professed cmelty,
whereas the locusts covered their lioos' teeth with
faces of men and hair of women.' Their destruc-
tive eneigy too is more fatal, for the power of
the locusts ' to hurt ' (ver. 10) becomes in them a
'power to kilL' In other respects no distinction
need be drawn between Use two tnimpets.
Special forms of jud^ent visiting the eartn at
different periods of its history can hardly with
propriety be sought in them. The judgments
which they represent are peculiar to no p^ple or
age. They are rather those judgments of a
general kind which always have UjUovctd, and
always will follow, sin. These spring in every
form from the same causes, and are desmed to
promote the same ends. The misery with which
earth is filled, whether from war or pestilence or
famine, whether showing itself in poverty or crime
or death, is to be tra<^ to one and the same
root, — that evil of the human heart which leads
men to reject the revelation of the love of Him
who willeth not that any of His creatures should
perish, who would stanch all their wounds and
heal all their sorrows. Upon this we are to fix
our thoughts, not only under the last two, hut
under all the tnimpets, noting only further, as
we do so, that the longer mercy is despised the
greater is the judgment which follows, and that
the later messengers of Divine wrath are more
dreadful than the earlier.

Chapter X. i-ii.

First Consolatory Vision,

1 A ND I saw another mighty* angel "come* down from* «!«.«». 4-
-L^ * heaven, clothed with a ^ cloud: and a* rainbow was *Jp. ▼i..4x.

cEx. XIX. 9.

upon his head, and his face was as it were ^ the sun, and his

2 feet as pillars of fire : and he had in his hand a *' little book • ^'Ewt ^ %
open : and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot^

3 on * the earth, and cried ^ with a loud " voice, as when " a ' lion * 2^ ▼• * •
roareth: and when he had" cried, seven" thunders uttered

4 their voices. And when the seven thunders had " uttered their
voices, I was about to -^ write : and I heard a voice from " ych. l it.
heaven saying unto me," ^Seal up those" things which the /DM.xiL4,9.

5 seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel
which I saw stand *' upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up

6 his hand " to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and
ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and

* strong

* book-roll

coming

* out of

' Qm\\.foot ^ ufwn

** omit when *• omit had '• the seven ** out of
*• the *' standing '* right hand

^ the ' omit it were

• and he cried *® great

^* otnit unto me

chap.x.i-110 the revelation. 431

the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the

things which ''^ are therein, that there should " be * time *' no AHab. iia;

7 longer: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, Rom. ix.a8.
when he shall begin" to sound, the 'mystery of God should «Eph.uL9.
be * finished," as" he hath** declared to his servants the pro- *jo. x«.3a

8 phets. And the voice which I heard from*^ heaven spake
unto me again,*' and said,** Go and^ take the little*® book'*
which ** is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon

9 the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and **
said ** unto him. Give me the little book.** And he said ** unto

me. Take ity and ' eat it up ; and it shall make thy belly bitter, /Exek. ui. i.
ID but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as ** honey. And I took wP».xix. 9.10:

the little book *' out of the angel's hand, and ate it up ; and it

was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as*^ I had
1 1 eaten it, my belly was ** bitter. And he said " unto me, Thou

must prophesy again before " many peoples, and nations, and "Acuu. 15.

tongues, and kings.

» that »» shall

*• then is finished the mystery of God

»* omit hath «« out of

** saying ^ omit and

"that »«<ww//and

*^ that he should give me the little book-roll '^ saith

•' book-roll *• and when '• add made *® And they say

** delay *' when he is about

** according to the good tidings which
'' I heard it again speaking with me
»» omit little »* book-roU

S4

saymg

Contents. It can hardlv be doubted that the
whole of chap. x. and the nrst part of chap. xi.
(vers. 1-13) are episodical, after the same manner
and with the same purpose as chap. vii. The
sixth Trumpet, or the second Woe, seems
obviously to close at chap. ix. 21 ; the two
visions contained in the passa^ upon which we
enter are of a tone entirely distinct from that of a
Woe; and the seventh Trumpet onlyb^ins at
chap. xi. 15. These considerations are sufiRcient
to determine the character of the visions before
us. It has indeed been urged that the words of
chap. xL 14 are conclusive against this view, and
that they indicate (he continuation of the second
Woe to that point. The insertion of these words,
however, in the place where we find them may be
explained without our so entirely mistaking the
nature of the passage between chaps, x. i and
xi. 13 as to suppose that it forms the continuation
of a Woe. The word * quickly ' is the emphatic
word in chap. xi. 14, denoting as it does that
climax in judgment which is to be made known
under the seventh Trumpet But to have intro-
duced it at chap. ix. 21 would have led to the
impression that the third Woe was immediately
to follow. It was necessary therefore to post-
pone the statement that the second Woe was
past and the third at hand, until the moment
when the latter was to be introduced. Thus the
two consolatory visions of chaps, x. i-xi. 13 are
inteiposed between the end of the second Woe and
the declaration that the third is about to begin.

Ver. !• Astnmgangelisseenoomiiigdowiiont
of heaven who is said to be ' another.' Alreadv.
at chap. V. 2, we have met with a ' strong angel

who is also introduced in connection with the
book-roll spoken of in that chapter. It is
reasonable to think, therefore, that this mention
of * another ' has reference to that one, and not to
the 'many' angels of whom we have elsewhere
read. What we are to think of this angel will be
best considered after we have noticed the things
said concerning him. (i) He comes 'out of
heaven,' where is the throne of God. (2) He is
clothea with a cloud. The expression * a cloud,'
or 'the cloud,' or 'clouds,' is met with seven
times in the Apocalypse, and in five of these it is
distinctly connected with the Son of man as He
comes to judgment. In the sixth, chap. xi. 12,
we shall see that it must also be the investiture of
the Son of man. The cloud here must have a
similar meaning.— (3) And the rainbow was
npon his head. The article does not lead us to
the well-known ordinary rainbow, or to the rain-
bow of Gen. ix. 13, but to that already mentioned
at chap. iv. 3.— (4) And his face was as the
son. These words take us back to chap. i. 16,
and again bring the sun before us in a light
similar to that in which it is presented there, — as
the source of burning, scorching heat. — (5) And
his feet as pillan of fire. These words carry us
to chap. i. 15, and the fire is that of judgment
(comjp. chap. xx. 9).— (6) And he ha4 m his
hand a little book-roll open. It appears from
ver. 5 that the book must be in tlie left hand of
the angel, and an important distinction is thus
drawn oet ween it and the roll of chap. v. The
latter was 'on' the hand, and that hand the
'right;' the former is 'in' the hand, and that
hand the 'left.' The contents of the two rolls.

432

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. X i-ir.

therefore, cannot be exactly the same, although
the fact that the word employed in the original .
for the ' roll ' now mentioned is a diminutive of
that which meets us at chap. v. I, combined with
the whole contents of the present passage, is
sufficient to show us that the two rolls are of the
same general character. The roll now before us
is ' litde * in comparison with the larcer one pre-
viously spoken of, and it is 'open while the
latter was 'sealed.' The interpretation of the
passage is affected by all these circumstances.

Vers. 2, 3. The action of the angel is next
described. First, he set hia right foot upon the
■ea and hia left npon the earth, thus asscrtmg
his supremacy over the whole world ; and then
he cried with a great voice as a lion roareth,
thus intimating that something terrible was about
to be revealed. Immediately thereafter the seven
thunders utl^red their voices. The analogy of
the 'seven churches,' 'seven spirits of God,* etc.,
leads directly to the conclusion that these
thunders are seven, not because St. John at the
moment heard seven, but because they represent
the thunder of God in its completeness and
intensity.

Two or three questions must still be answered
in connection with these verses. First, as to the
personality of the angel. On the one hand, it
appears to be impossible to adopt the idea of
many, that this angel is the Lord ; for, through-
out^ the Apocalypse, angels are everywhere
distinguished from the Divine Beings, and in
chap. V. the * strong angel ' spoken of is certainly
neitner the Father nor the Son. On the other
hand, it appears equally impossible to think that
we have before us simply a created angel. The
mention of 'the cloud,' of 'the rainbow,* of the
'face as the sun,' of the ' feet as pillars of fire,'
and of the ' little book-roll in the nand,' leads us
to something more. These are the characteristics
of the Divine Lord Himself. The explanation is
to be sought in what has been already more than
once remarked, that in the Apocalypse the action
of any person or thing is said to be effected by
means of an angel who expresses it. We have here,
therefore, neither the Lord, nor a mere creature exe-
cuting His will, but a representation of His action.
I'he angel by whom sucn representation is effected
has necessarily the attributes of the Being whose
action he embodies. — Secondly, the light in which
the angel appears is that of judgment, not of
mercy and judgment combined. The ' rainbow *
is indeed the symbol of mercy, but everything else
mentioned speaks of judgment. Mercy is alluded
to simply because the Lord is gracious, and
because it would convey an imperfect and false
idea of His character were we to think of Him
only as a judge. It is the Lord of love who
judges. — Thirdly, we have to ask as to the con-
tents of the 'little book-roll.' These we have
already seen cannot be the same as those of the
larger book-roll of chap v. It is more difficult to
determine what they are. Upon this point the
most various opinions have been entertained.
We cannot examine them, and must be content to
note one or two particulars which may assist in
guiding us to a satbfactory conclusion, (i) It is
a well-known characteristic of the Apocalypse
that it generally anticipates beforehand in some
brief statement what is afterwards to be unfolded
at greater length. We may be sure that the
judgments contained in the little roll will meet us

again in subsequent losioos of tliis book : (2) The
contents have an important relation to that work
of prophesying or witnessing which is to dis-
tinguish the true people of God at the stage of
their progress wmch they have now readied.
The wUnessing and not merely the sufferiu^
Church is to be comforted by the vision : (3)
We have thus a point of connection with the
consolatory vision of the two witnesses in chap,
xi., and that too in a manner precisely analogous
to the relation which exists between the two con-
solatory visions of chap. vii. ; there, suffering m
the first followed by heavenly bliss in the second ;
here, action in the first foUowed by going up to
heaven in the cloud (chap. xL 12). But the
vision of the two witnesses, as we shall yet see,
deals with the preservation of a faithful remnant
in the midst of a professing but faithless Church
which is cast out The natural conclusion is, that
the vision before us is also occupied with the same
thought : (4) The effect produced upon the Seer
by his action with the little roll is worthy of
notice. When he eats the book the first taste of
it is sweet : he has heard glad tidings and is filled
with joy. When he has eaten the book, when he
has had further experience of its contents, it is
bitter. The bright dawn becomes clouded ; joy
gives way to disappointment and sorrow : (5)
'i'he whole symbolism is taken from Ezek. iil,
and it is reasonable to suppose that not merely
the facts but the aim and spirit of that chapter
were present to the Apostle's mind. Of the
latter, however, there can be no doubt The
language of the fourth and fifth verses of the
chapter is unmistakeable, ' And he said unto roe,
Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel,
and speak with my words unto them. For thou
art not sent unto a people of a strange speech
and of an hard language, but to the house of
Israel : * (6) We shall find, as we proceed, that a
large part of the Book of Revelation, its most
sublime, if at the same time its darkest and most
mysterious, part is occupied with the judgments
of God upon a worldly and apostate Church.
Putting all these circumstances together, it seems
most natural to suppose that the contents of the
' little book-roll * are occupied with the dealings of
the Lord not so much towards the world as
towards His Church in her connection with the
world, when she yields to the temptations which
the world presents to her, and when, from having
been a pure virgin faithful to Him to whom she
is espoused, she becomes a harlot. Thus also
perhaps may we explain the epithet 'little'
applied to tnis book-roll in contrast with that of
chap. V. It is 'little,* not as l>cing less im-
portant, but as relating more immediately to the
fortunes of Christ's * little flock.'

Ver. 4. The thunders must not only have been
in themselves intelligible, but they must have
been understood by the Seer. Hence, thinking
piobably of the command in chap, i 11, he was
about to write them. A voice oat of heaven,
however, was heard saying. Seal the things
whic^ Uie seven thunders uttered, and write
them not We are not to suppose that the
object of this command was to keep the contents
of the thunders for ever concealed. These con-
tents, we have seen, relate to the fortunes of
Christ's Church and people. But they learn only
by experience. Thev must pass through trials,
whatever they may be, before darkness is dis-

Chap. X. i-ii.]

THE REVELATION.

433

pelled and light in its full brightness shines
around them (comp. John ii. 22, xii. 16).

Vers. 5-7. Intimation is now made that though
the thunders are sealed the judgments which they
threatened will not be long delayed, and the
solemn manner of making it corresponds to the
great issues that are to come. The angel whom
the Seer saw ttandiiig upon the sea and npon
the earth lifled np hia right hand to heayen,
and sware by the great Creator of the universe
that there ihonla be delay no longer. The
'delay' here spoken of is the space of time
referred to in Matt. xxiv. 22, where it is said that
the days shall be shortened for the elect's sake,
llie coming of the end in view is next defined
alike as to its time and its results. Its time shall
be in the sounding of the seventh trumpet : its
results shall be seen in the completing of the
mystery of God, that is, in the completing of all
His purposes with regard to Hb Church on earth.
— According to the good tidings which he
declared, llie word ' good tiding ' is remark-
able. Most interpreters will admit that it does
not imply that the tidings were only of mercy.
In reality the whole context shows that they were
tidings of judgment upon the enemies ot God.
Yet even these were 'good tidings,' for they told
that 'the righteous I^rd loveth righteousness,'
and that for the welfare of His creatures He
would yet 'take to Him His great power and
reign.' It will be well to remember this in the
interpretation of a more difficult passage to
follow*

Ver. 8. The Seer is commanded to take the
open book-roll in the hand of the angel.

Ver. 9. The command is obeyed, and the
further instruction is given, Take it, and eat it
up. For a similar action comp. Ezek. iii. i.
The eating of the roll can hardly be anything
else than a symbol of the complete assimilation of
its contents.

Ver. la The effect of eating the roll is next
described. It waa, says the Seer, in my month
iweet aa honey, and when I had eaten it my
belly waa made bitter. The double character of
this effect was not produced by different parts of the
contents of the book, as if these were i^rtly sweet
partly bitter, partly of joyful partlv of sorrowful
tidines. The contents of the book are one ; are
all, like those of the lai^r book-roll, judgement,
are all 'mourning and lamentations and woe.'
For the same reason also the double effect cannot
be ascribed to the double character of the Seer,
the sweetness being felt by him as a prophet, the
bitterness as a man. He is a prophet throughout,
and his human feelings have l)een so identified
with those of his Lord that whatever is the Lord's
pleasure is also his. Equally impossible is it to
think that the bitterness was due to the thought
of those persecutions which he and other faithful
witnesses would have to endure in making known
their message to the world. Believers feel that
while they suffer they are walking in the steps of

their great Master, and that they are suffering
with Him. In the midst of suffering they learn to
glory in His cross, and to welcome it as a gift of
the Divine love (comp. Phil. i. 29 ; i Pet. iv. 13).
The bitterness proceeds from the nature of the
tidings. The little book-roll dealt with the
fortunes of the Church, not of the world ; and
the fact that it did so made the first taste of it
sweet. To learn that the Lord had chosen out
of the nations a people for His name ; that He
'loved the Church, and gave Himself up for
it, that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it
by the washing of water with the Word, that He
might present the Church to Himself a glorious
Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such
thing; but that it should be holv and without
blemish ;' — such tidings could not fail to be sweet.
But then to learn still further that that Church
would forget her Lord, yield to the seductions of
the world, and become lukewarm in the service of
One who had bought her with His own precious
blood, was bitter. Yet these were the contents
of the book now eaten by the Seer. No wonder,
therefore, that though sweet, as honey in his
mouth the little book made his belly bitter.

Ver. II. The little book-roll has been eaten;
and, in the midst of the judgments which it fore-
told, it has brought consolation to the Seer, for
the only true consolation of the righteous is that
all evil, whether in the world or in the Church,
shall be put down, and that nothing but ' righteous-
ness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost ' shall
reign. Animated by this prospect he is ready to
hear that he has still a work to do. He mnit
prophesy again before many peoples and
iiaUona and tongues and kings. The intima-
tion, and they say unto me, with which these
words are introduced, may help us to understand
the nature of the prophesying referred to, for
these words are hardly equivalent to the formula
' It is said.' They may be much more naturally
referred to the seven thunders which had already
spoken at ver. 3. A voice of thunder, however,
is a voice of judgment, and the 'prophesying'
now spoken must be also judgment. One further
remark may be made. The verb ' to prophesy '
is used only twice in the Apocalypse, here and of
the two witnesses at chap. xi. 3. In the latter
case it cannot be confined to the proclamation of
the visions of this book, and neither in Uke
manner can it now be so. When, therefore, the
Seer is told that he must ' prophesy,' the meaning
does not appear to be that he must declare the
contents of the little book to an audience the
various parts of which are immediately enume-
rated. The meaning rather is that he must go on
uttering to the world his general testimony to the
truth of God, and so preparing the world for its
self-chosen fate. In other words, the Seer in this
verse is less the apocalyptic revealer than the
minister of Divine truth in general, the type and
pattern of all the preaching of the New Testament
Dispensation.

VOL, IV.

28

«4-

.9Q.

4S4 THE REVELATION. [Chap, XI. I-14.

Chapter XL 1-14.

Second Consctatory Vision,

1 A ND there was given me a "reed like unto a rod : and the «E«k.«L3-
^t\ angel stood,* saying,* Rise, and * measure the temple of *|«J[;^JJ

2 God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But ' the

court which is without the temple "" leave* out, and measure it '>^3<-
not ; for it is * given unto the "^ Gentiles : • and the holy city -'^^^'

3 shall they ' tread under foot ^ forty and two months. And I ^^ j^ »<.
will give/^TOW^ unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy

a *^ thousand two hundred «;irf threescore days, clothed in sack- g^^^^

4 cloth. These are the two * olive trees, and the two candlesticks *^|5;'/y;

5 standing before the God • of the earth. And if any man will •

hurt them, ' fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth ' jj^j^i
their enemies : and if any man will *® hurt them, he must in this

6 manner be killed. These have power" to shut heaven,** that
it * rain not in " the days of their prophecy : and " have power *J?^^'
over waters ** to turn them to *• ' blood, and to smite the earth ^fjJ-^JJ;

7 with all plagues,*' as often as they will.*' And when they ishall
have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth ** out of
the bottomless** pit** shall make war against" them, and

8 shall ** overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies **
shall^^ '^ lie*^ in the street of the great city, which spiritually is mim.m.90,
called " Sodom and Egypt, 'where also our*' Lord was eruci- ^u^tto.

«'• * •' 0 J<X MM. ML

9 fied. And they of the people,*' and kindreds,** and tongues,
and nations, shall ^ see '^ their dead bodies *^ three days and an

half, and shall'" not ^suffer" their dead bodies to be put in /p». !«»-••

10 graves." And they that dwell upon the earth shall ** rejoice
over them, and make merry, and'* shall send gifts one to
another; because these two prophets ^tormented them that ^iJ^^"**

1 1 dwelt on ^ the earth. And after '* three days and an half the
Spirit of life from " God entered into them, and they stood
upon their ''feet ; and great fear fell upon them which saw'* »•

12 them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto
them, Come up hither. And they ascended" up to" heaven in

13 a** 'cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same «acuL9.
hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the

* offiti and the angel stood * and one said • And * cast

* hath been ^ nations ' omit power ® Lord • desireth to
^** shall desire to " the power ^^ the heaven " during ** mUihey
'* the waters ^° into '" every plague '* shall desire *• cometh up
20 omit bottomless «^ abyss " ^jth *3 ^,;,// shall «« body

2* omit shall ^e Y\qs 27 t^eir ** And from among the j>eoples

'" tribes ^^ omit shall '* men look upon " suffer not

^^ laid in a tomb ^* add they ** dwell upon *• add the

" a spirit of life out of ^^ beheld »» went <• ipto <» the

so. '

lOb

Chap. XI. 1-14.] THE REVELATION. ^35

city fell, and in the earthquake were slain " of men *' seven
thousand :** and the remnant** were affrighted, and gave glory
14 to the God of heaven. The second woe is ' past ; and^ behold, * ch. u. xa.
the third woe cometh quickly.

" killed
" rest

** omit of men
** omit and

** add persons

Contents. The contents of this chapter will
be better understood as we proceed with the
exposition* In the meantime it is enough to sav
that we have a second consolatory vision, which
stands to that of chap. x. in much the same
relation as does the vision of the palm-bearing
multitude in chap. vii. to the sealing there.

Ver. I. A reed wm given to the Seer,— it is
not said by whom, — and we are left to infer, as
at chap. vi. 2, 4, 8, ii, that it was by one in
heaven. The woid * nw ' in ver. 3 may lead us
to the thought of the Lord Himself. The reed
is for measuring, but it b stronger than a common
reed, and is thus more able to effect its purpose :
it is like nnto a rod. May it not even oe a rod
of judgment (comp. i Cor. iv. 21)? Omitting
for the present the import of the measuring, we
notice only that the idea is taken from Ezek. xl.
3 ; Zech. ii. 2. Three things are to be measured.
First, the temple of Ctod, meaning not the whole
temple-buildings, but the Holy and Most Holy
place. Secondly, the altar. This altar, con«
sidering where it stands, can only be that of
incense, not the brazen altar transferred to
another than its own natural position. Upon
this altar the prayers of God's persecuted samts
were laid (chap. viii. 3X and it is with the
persecuted saints that we have here to do (ver. 7).
Thirdly, they that wonriiip therein, that is, in
the innermost sanctuary of the temple ; while to
' worship * is the expression of highest adoration.

The last clause alone is a sufficient proof that
the three things to be measured are not to be
understood literally. How could those who
worship in the temple be thus measured with a
reed? But, if one of three objects mentioned
in the same sentence and in the same way
be figurative, the obvious inference is that the
other two must be looked at in a similar light.
By the ' temple,' therefore, it is impossible to
understand the literal temple in Jerusalem
supposed to be as yet undestroyed. Even
almough we knew, on other and independent
grounds, that the overthrow of the city bv the
Romans had not yet taken place, it would be
entirely out of keeping with the Seer's method
of conception to suppose that he refers to the
temple on Mount Moriah. His temple imagery
is always drawn not from that building but ^om
the Tabernacle first erected in the wilderness. It
is the shrine of the latter not of the former that
he has in view, and the word used in the original,
however its rendering in English may suggest such
associations to us, has no necessary connection
with the Temple of Solomon. For a clear proof
that this is St. John's mode of viewing the Naos
(f.r. the shrine, the ' temple ' here in question)
see the note on ver. 19.

As to the import of the measuring there can be
little doubt. It is determined, by me contrast of
ver. 2, by the measuring of chap. xxi. 15, 16,

and by the analogy of chap, vii., to be for
preservation, not, as sometimes imagined, for
destruction.

Ver. 2. While it shall be thus with the inner-
most part of the temple-buildings it shall be
otheru'ise with the rest. The court which is
without the temple includes every part of the
precincts not belonging to the Holy and Most
Holy place ; and this fact, together with the
instruction ' cast it out,' shows that it symbolizes
not the world but the felse members of the
Church, the branches of the vine that bear no
fruit. These parts of the building are not to
be measured: they are to I)e 'cast out.' The
expression is important. It is tl\at of John ix.
34, 35, and implies exclusion from the community
of God's people. The faithless members of the
Church, those who have yielded to the power of
the world, have been given over to the nationa,
the nations of chap. x. ii, of chap. xx. 3. (For
contrast see chap. ii. 26.) — Of these nations it is
further said, the holy city shall they tread iinder
foot fbrty and two months. In the words ' the
holy city ' the first allusion is to Jerusalem, but
not in a material sense, as if the meaning were
that the literal city should be trodden down under
the feet of hostile armies. The sense, whatever
it be, is metaphorical, as in the case of the

* temple,* the * altar,' and the * court.* Jerusalem
was tne place which God had originally designed
to be the residence of His people. In idea and in
name it was still that place, but it had been pro-
faned by too many ot its citizens. At the time
when our Lord knew it, and when its condition*
became to St. John the mould of the future, it con-
tained both true and false members of the Jewish'
Church, those who were fulfilling the great end
of the economy under which they lived and those
who were proving themselves unworthy of their
glorious destiny. The counterpart of this in after
ages is the outward Christian Church, containing
both TOod and bad members. Glorious things mav
be said of this city of God ; but that with which
we have now to do is the entrance of a heathen,
of a false, element into her, by means of which the

* LJtions* tread her under foot (comp.Ps. Ixxix. i).

They do this for * forty and two months.* The
period thus alluded to meets us again in chap,
xiii. 5, where it is said of the beast that * power
was given unto him to continue 40 and 2 months.'
Again we read of * 1260 days' ( = ^2 months of
30 days each) in chap. xi. 3, where the two
witnesses prophesy 1260 days, and in chap,
xii. 6, where the woman is nourished in the-
wildemess 1260 days. And once more, in chap.'
xii. 14 we read of the woman's bein^ nourished'
for 'a time and times and half a time.' The
comparison of the two latter passages proves that'
the time and times and half a time are equivalent-
to 1260 days ; and we can thus have no doubt
left upon our minds that all the three periods are

436

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XI. 1-14.

the same. This designation of time is taken from
Dan. vii. 25 (comp. also Dan. xti. 7) ; and the
different numbers must be understood symboli-
cally. The main Question is, What do they
symbolize? First ot all it is obvious that 3^
must be regarded as the half of 7. It is indeed
expressly presented to us in this light in Dan.
ix. 27 where it is said, ' and he shall confirm the
covenant with many for one week ; and in the
midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and
the oblation to cease.' The middle of the week is
the half of 7, or 3^. Hence the general meaning
may be learned with an approach to certainty.
Seven is the number of the covenant with its
fulness of peace and joy and glory : three and a
half is that number broken, incomplete, looking
forward to something else. It symbolizes, there-
fore, a period of persecution and sorrow, when
the covenant seems to be broken, and the promise
to fail ; when instead of joy there is tribulation,
instead of the crown the cross. All the three
numbers have essentially the same mystic meaning.
Not only, however, is this the case ; the con-
siderations now adduced lead to the further
conclusion that the three periods referred to
denote not three perio<ls of the same length but
the same period, and that the change of nomen-
clature is due to the difference of aspect under
which the period is viewed. When ' months ' are
spoken of the prominent idea seems to be that
of the rule of evil, when ' days * that of the
suffering of the good. Thus it will be found that
chaps, xi. 2 and xiii. 5 on the one hand, and
chaps, xi. 3 and xii. 6 on the other, go together.
The 'times' or years of chap. xii. 6 lead us
rather to the thought of God*s preserving care of
His Church while evil rules and good suffers.
The space of 40 and 2 months is thus identical
with that of 1260 days, and both exprej^s the
whole time of the Church's militant and suffering
condition in the world, the whole time between
the First and Second Coming of the Lord. They
are the latter half of the week of the prophet
Daniel, the ' middle of the week ' being the point
from which the calculation runs.

Ver. 3. The voice is continued, and the use of
the word my connected with the two witnesBOB
Sicems to indicate that it is the Lord who speaks,
though in all probability by means of the * strong
angel* mentioned in cnap. x. I. The witnesses
receive both the words of their prophecy and the
power to utter them. The duty of * prophesying *
laid upon them is that of proclaiming the truth of
God for the instruction or warning of men ; while
the clothing with saokcloth, a rough doth of
goats* or of camels* hair, reminds us of Elijah
and the Baptist (2 Kings i. 8; Matt. iii. 4),
and indicates the sufferings which the witnesses
shall endure in delivering their message (2 Kings
xix. I ; Ps. XXX. II ; Isa. xxii. 12).

Ver. 4. First, the witnesses are described as
the two olive trees, and the two candleeticks
■tanding before the Lord of the earth. The
figure is taken from Zech. iv., with this difference,
that there we have only one candlestick with an
olive tree on either side of it, while here we have
two candlesticks as well as two olive trees. Clear
indication is thus given that, whoever the two
' witnesses ' may be, each combines in himself the
functions both of the olive tree and of the candle-
stick, and that they are not, the one, one of these
objects, and the other, the other. They stand

« before the Lord of the earth,* before the universal
Ruler and King. They too, therefore, must be
sought in something universal. Their 'standing
before the Lord ' indicates their acceptance in
His sight and their readiness to act for Him
(comp. vii. 9 ; Luke xxi. 36).

Ver. 5. If any man deaireth to hurt them
fire proceedeth out of their numth, and
devonreth their enemies. There can bene
doubt that the allusion is to 2 Kings L 10, 12,
although literal fire may not be thought of, bat
rather those ' words * of the Lord in the mouth of
His prophet of which it is said, *I will make
them fire, and this people wood, an^ it shall
devour them * (Jer. v. 14). In the last half of
the verse we have the Ux iaiioms, judgmeiit
returning in kind upon the oppressors of the just.
These oppressors hurt to the extent of killing,
just as the Jews * went about to kill Jesns ' in the
days of His flesh. As a consequence, in this
manner mnst they be killed.

Ver. 6. Not only does fire proceed out of the
mouth of the witnesses; they have also the
power to shnt the heaven that it rain not
dnring the days of their prophecy, and they
have power over the waters to torn them into
blood, and to smite the earth with every
plagne as often as they shall desire. The
allusions are obviously to Elijah and Moses, bat
the power of the witnesses is described in language
far stronm than that of the Old Testament. For
three and a half years only was rain kept back by
Elijah : the witnesses have ];>ower to withhold it
during the whole time of their prophecy. Moses
had control over the waters of Egypt : they over
all waters. The plagues with whidi Moses couki
smite were defimte in number and limited in
range : the witnesses may smite the whole earth
with ' every plague as often as they shall desire.*

Ver. 7. That the witnesses have a testimony
to deliver has already appeared from the words
'the^ shall prophesy' in ver. 3, and from their
commg before us in ver. 4 as fruit-bearing and
light-giving. This work thev shall accomplish :
this witness they shall ' finish in the spirit of Him
who cried upon the cross, ' It is finished : * and
at that moment, as in His case so in theirs, their
opponents shall seem to have the victory. — The
beast that cometh np ont of the abyss shall make
war with them, and overcome them, and kill
them. This ' beast ' is without doubt that of chaps,
xiii. I and xviL 8, here mentioned by anticipation ;
and he shall act as the beast in Dan. vii. 21.

Ver. 8. Their enemies are not satisfied with
putting them to death. Dishonour and contumely
are heaped upon them after they have been slain.
The use of the singular for the plural number in
speaking of them in this verse is remarkable, for the
true reading is not, as in the Authorised Version,
< their bodies shall lie * but their dead body Ues.
There must be a sense in which the witnesses,
though spoken of as two, may be r^arded as one.
—Their dead body lies in the street, in the broad
open way, where there are many passers-by to
behold the contempt and the profanation (oomp.
Ps. Ixxix. 3).— This street belongs to the great
city, several characteristics of which are next
given. Spiritually it is called Sodom and
Egypt, and there also their Lord was cmcified.
That this city is in the first place Jerusalem not,
as many suppose, Rome seems clear from the
statement that it is the city in which the Lord

Chap. XI. 1-14.]

THE REVELATION.

437

was crucified. But the question still arises, What
docs •Jerusalem,* so spoken of, denote ? The
literal Jerusalem alone it cannot be, not only
because all such names are in the Book of Revela-
tion all^orically used, but also because the city
is 'spiritually,* that is allegorically, called Sodom
and Egypt, Sodom and Egjrpt, however, were
both remarkable for three thing^, their sinfulness,
their oppression of the people of God, and the
judgments by which they were overtaken. As
ihcse ideas, again, correspond exactly with the
course of thought in the present passage, we are
justified in thinking that they are the ideas mainly
associated in the mind of the Seer with the two
names. * The great city,' therefore, is something
sinful, persecutmg, doomed to judgment Still
further the thought of both Jews and Gentiles
must be connected with this city — mention of the
crucifixion leading us to the one, of Sodom and
Em)t to the other. We are thus led to regard
' the great city ' as a designation for a d^enerate
Christianity which has submitted to the world.

Ver. 9. The spectators mentioned in this verse
come from the wnole world in its fourfold desig-
nation of peoples and tribes and tongues and
nations. All look upon the * dead body ' of the
witnesses without commiseration for the miserable
slate in which it lies. This they do for three days
and a half, not literal days but, according to the
analogy of three and a half years, a broken, in-
complete, and probably short period. That dur-
ing this period the world suffers not their dead
bodies to be laid in a tomb heightens the picture
of contempt and injury (comp. Gen. xxiii. 4 ; Isa.
xiv. 19, 20).

Ver. 10. Even this is not all They that dwell
upon the earth, that is, the ungodly everywhere
rejoice and hold high festival over their destruc-
tion. In the words used it is impossible to mis-
take the mocking contrast to God's holy festival
as described in Neh. viii. 10-12.

Ver. II. The short time of the world's triumph
passes away. Then a spirit of life ont of God
enters into them, and imparts to them such power
that they stand up upon their feet, and strike all
beholders with terror.

Ver. 12. Nor that alone. They hear a voice
summoning them to ascend into heaven in the
presence of the same beholders, and they obey.
They went np into heaven in the cloud, not in
the clouds, or simply in a cloud ; but in a dis-
tinct and definite cloud, that of the angel of chap.
X. I, or of Christ in chap. xiv. 14-16 ; and their
triumph was witnessed by those who killed them.

Ver. 13. And in that hour, that is, at the
very moment when the witnesses ascended, judg-
ment fell upon the guilty world. There was a
great earthquake, the constant symbol of judg-
ment. —The tenth part of the city fell. The city
b without doubt * the great city * of ver. 8 ; but
only a tenth part falls because Judgment does not
yet descend in all its fulness.— In the earthquake
were killed seven thousand persons. The ex-
pression in the original for ' persons ' is remark-
able, meaning literally * names of men.' A similar
use of the word ' names ' has already met us at
chap. iii. 4, and the usage throws light upon the
employment of the word ' name * in the writings
of St. John. It seems hardly necessary to say
that the earthquake, tlic fall of the tenth part of
the city, and the number 7000, must all be
regarded as symbolical. — And the rest were

af&ighted. By ' the rest ' are to be understood
all the ungodly who had not been killed. — They
are not only 'affrighted,' they gave gloiy to tiie
God of heaven. In what sense, it must be asked,
are we to take these words ? Do they express, as
many imagine, the conversion of the Jews, or, as
many others, that of the degenerate Christians of
the city ? We must answer. Neither. Conversion
is not spoken of, and there is nothing to lead us
to the thought of Jews. Inasmuch, nowever, as
we are here dealing with inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the holy city, it is not improbable that the faith-
less members of the Church, as distinguished from
the faithful witnesses, are in the prophet's view.
Yet he does not behold their conversion. To
the change implied in that word the being
'affrighted' is not a suitable preliminary; and
the whole tone of the passage suggests that, when
they who are thus affrighted give glory to the
'God of heaven* (comp. chap. xvi. 11), they do
so from no recognition of His heavenly character
as compared with the wickedness of earth, but
from the conviction which they have received of
the irresistibleness of His power and the terror of
His judgments. They are terrified, awed, sub-
dued, but they are not converted. It is possible
that conversion may follow, but we are not told
that such will be the case.

Looking back upon the whole of this difHcult
passage, one or two questions in connection with
it demand an answer.

The first and most important of these is. Who
are the two witnesses ? Our space will not permit
even a slight attempt to discuss the opinions of
others. We must content ourselves with saying
that it is in the highest degree improbable that
these witnesses are either two individuals already
known to us, such as Enoch and Elijah, Moses
and Elijah, Zerubbabel and Joshua, or two who
are yet to arise, and in whom the power of the
true Church shall be concentrated. By such an
interpretation the number two is understood with
a literalness inconsistent with the symbolism of
numbers in this book. If, too, we take literally
the number of the witnesses, it will be difficult,
if not impossible, to show why we should not
give a literal interpretation to their prophesying,
their miracles, their death, their resurrection, and
their ascension into heaven in the presence of their
enemies. Their prophesying also, as we have
already seen, reaches to the whole earth, for
it is that of chap. x. 11 ; while the plagues
inflicted came upon all the dwellers upon earth
(ver. 10). Nor is the time during which the
witnesses prophesy less inconsistent with this
view. No individuals live through so long a
period. It may indeed be at once admitted that,
in a manner conformable to the whole structure
of the Apocalypse, the Seer starts from the
thought of two historical persons. Examples of
this kind in sufficient number, and of sufficient
importance to justify his resting upon them as the
material basis of his prophecy, were not wanting
either ii> the Old Testament or in the history of
our Lord. In the former we have Moses and
Aaron, Joshua and Caleb, Elijah and Elisha,
Zerubbabel and Joshua, and even the two pillars in
the temple, Jachm and Boaz. In the latter we have
our Lord sending forth both his Apostles and the
Seventy disciples two by two, together with such
a promise as that contained in the words 'if two
of you shall agree on earth as touching anything

43»

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XI. 15-19.

that ther shall ask, it shall be done for them of
My Father which is in heaven ' (Matt, xviii. 19).
Although, however, the starling-point may be
fofund in such allusions the Seer certainly passes
from the thought of any two individuals wliatever to
that of all who in any age or land fulfil the idea of
witnessing present to his mind. The two witnesses
are thus oelievets who, amidst all the defection
of others, remain faithful to their Lord. They are
the true Divine seed within the outward Church,
the little flock that listens only to the voice of the
Good Shepherd and is led astray neither by the
world nor hireling shepherds. All the particulars
of the description correspond to this view. One
other remark may be made. The climax of the
Apocalypse is peculiarly observable in the relation
of^the vision of the Two Witnesses to that of the
Palm-bearing Company in chap. vii. The latter
speaks only of deliverance from tribulation ; the
former introduces us to the thought of the action
which brings tribulation with it. The faithful in
Christ Jesus have advanced from being merely

r

sufferers to being zealous agents in their Master's
cause. They have been executing their com-
mission, uttering their testimony, working their
work, warring against their foes. Their position
it loAier, nob&r, more inspiriting ; and tbdr reward
is proportioned to their struggle. Commission,
work, reward, judgment,— everything, in short, is
higher than before.

Yer. 14. The ieoond woe is past, behold the
third woe cometh qnioUy. At chap. viii. 13
mention was made of three Woes. At cnap. ix. 12
the first Woe was said to be past The sixth
trumpet then sounded and was continued to
chap. ix. 21. From chap. x. i to chap. xL 13 we
have had consolatorv visions, and now m the verse
before us the second Woe is declared to be past
The object of the verse, therefore, is to remind
us of what we might perhaps have forgotten, that
the second woe had closed some time before, but
that nothing shall now interrupt the sounding
of the seventh trumpet on the coming of the third
Woe.

Chapter XI. 15-19.

T/i€ sounding of the Seventh Trumpet.

15 A ND the seventh angel sounded; and there were' great
-/jl voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms * of this ' world
arc *' become the kingdoms ^ of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and

16 he shall reign "for ever and ever. And the four and twenty « Dan. it 44.
elders, which sat® before God on their * seats,' fell upon their *ch,iT. 4.

17 faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O
Lord' God' Almighty,*** which art, and" wast, and art to
come ; " because thou hast taken to thee *' thy great power,

18 and hast ^reigned.** And the nations were ^angry," and thy cCh.y.ig.13.
wrath :s come,^* and the time of the dead, that they should be
judged,^^ and that thou shouldest give reward " unto thy
servants the prophets, and " to '° the saints, and them that fear

thy name, small and great;" and shouldest" ^destroy them *cp. iCor

19 which destroy the earth. And*' the temple of God" was
opened ** in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark
of his testament:" and there were" lightnings, and voices, and
thunderings,'® and an earthquake, and great hail.

ui. 17.

« the
« Lord,

^ followed ^ kingdom

• sit ' thrones

*' ^^4/ which ** omit and art to come
** didst reign . ** roused to wrath*
*• and the time to give their reward
^' the small and the great ** and to

^ is * the possession

» God, »• the Almighty

" omit to thee

" came " to be judged

" both " omit to

■• And there was opened

** add that is ** omit was opened ^* covenant *' followed ** thunders

CoNTKNTS. In the verses before us we have seem indeed at first sight as if what is now to be
the seventh Trumpet and, because the seventh revealed did not present the characteristics of a
Trumpet, therefore also the third Woe. It may Woe, und were rather occupied with describing

Chap. XI. 15-19.]

THE REVELATION.

439

the triumph of the Church. In the meantime it is
enough to say that the triumph of the Church
implies the overthrow of her enemies, and that
Ihe greater and more glorious the one the more
disastrous and humiliating must be the other.
Particulars in these verses still more strikingly
illustrating the character of a Woe will be noti^
as we proceed with the exposition.

Ver. 15. It is difficult to .say to whom the
great voices spoken of in this verse belong. ■ They
can hardly come from angels, or from the four
living creatures, or indeed from any created thing.
They seem rather a poetic method of giving
expression to the fact that those counsels of the
Almighty which had been long since taken, but
which had been hitherto concealed from every eye
but that of faith, were about to gO into open
execution. — The words uttered by the voices are.
The kingdom of the world ia become the

ion of oar Lord and of his Christ, and he
shall reign for ever and ever. The word
' kingdom * used here is to be understood in the
sense of 'dominion over,' and not in that of all
the kingdoms of the world united into one. This
dominion is celebrated as given to the Father in
the Son and to the Son in the Father ; and it
shall be theirs for ever and ever, all its enemies
being completely overthrown.

Ver. 16. The voices in heaven are now answered
by the twenty-four Elders, the representatives of
the redeemed Church on earth. Enraptured with
the prospect before them, these fell upon their
faces and wonhipped God.

Ver. 17 contains the first part of their song of
praise and thanksgiving, in reading, a comma
IS to be placed after the word ^rd, which
presents us with the name of Him who has thus
triumphed, and brought the troubles of His Church
to an end. The name ' Lord ' is thei) followed
by three appellations as at chap. iv. 8, first, Qod ;
secondly, tne Almighty; thirdly, which Mrtand
which wast, the third clause usually belonging
to this last appellative, ' which is to come,' being
left out because no longer needed : the Lord is
come. This part of the song of praise deals with
the general statement that the Lord has taken to
Him His great power. That power had indeed
been always His, but for a time He had permitted
His enemies to contend against it. lie is to
permit this no longer.

Ver. 1 8 contains the second part of the song of
praise, defining more accurately, and apparently
m three particulars, the precise nature of the
moment which had arrived, and of the events
which distinpiish it. The first of these particulars
is The nations were roused to wrath (comp.
Ps. ii. I, and especially Rev. xx. 3, 9). Instead
of bein^ converted at the last moment, the nations
are excited to fiercer rage than ever against God.
They are not merely angry against Him ; that
they had always been. They are roused to a
sudden burst of wrath. Such is the true meaning
of the original ; and, thus looked at, the words
before us really form an epitome of chap. xx. 7-^.
The second particular is. Thy wrath came, the
wrath of God, so much more terrible than that of
the nations. The third particular occupies the
remainder of the verse, and seems again to be
subdivided into three parts~(i) The time of the
dead to be judged. By ' the dead ' here we are
not to understand all men both good and bad,
but simply the latter ; the judgment spoken of it

not general, it belongs to tlie wicked alone. This
appears from the use of the word 'judge,' which
is always employed by St. John to indicate only
what is due to sin and sinners, as well as from
the fact that the ' giving reward ' immediately
described is obviously not a part of the judgment,
but an independent member of the group otthings
here spoken of. {2) And to gire their reward
nnto thy servants tne prophets, both the saints,
and them that fear thy name^ the small and
the great. Much difficulty has been experienced
by commentators in their attempts to arrange these
clauses. Without dwelling on the opinions of
others, we suggest that the true arrangement is t<>
take the first class mentioned, ' thy servants the
prophets,' as standing alone at the head of the
group, and as including all those classes after-
wards referred to. All God's people arc
prophets. As we have seen in the previous
part of the chapter, they are * witnesses * who

* prophesy ; ' they proclaim the Word of God to
a sinful world (comp. ver. 3). These prophets
are then divided into two classes, ' the saints,' and
' they that fear God's name.' The two classes
appear to be mentioned upon the principle of
which we have already h4d several illustrations,
that objects are beheld by the Seer in two aspects,
the one taken from the sphere of Jewish, the other
from that of Gentile, thought. * Saints,' or con-
secrated ones was the name for all true Israelites.
' They that fear God ' was, as we see in the Acts
of the Apostles, the appellation constantly applied
to Gentile Proselytes. No distinction is indeed
drawn between a Jewish and a Gentile portion
of the Church. Both are really one, but they
may be, and are, viewed under a double as|>ect.
The last clause, * the small and the great,' then
applies to all who have been mentioned. While,
therefore, the 'dead* are 'judged,* the children
of God, the members of His believing Church,
receive their • reward. ' (3) And to destroy them
which destroy the earth, where the /ex talionis
is again worthy of notice.

Ver. 19. We have here exhibited in act what
had just been proclaimed in word (vers. 14-18).
As throwing light upon the imagery of vers. I and
2 it is important to notice that, when there was
opened the temple of God that is in heaven,
there was seen in his temple the ark of his
covenant. The word ' temple' b apt to mislead,
for we immediately think of the temple on Mount
Moriah.; but the innermost shrine is alone spoken
of in the original, that most Holy Place which
belonged not only to the later temple but to the
Tabernacle in the wilderness. In the former the
ark of God's covenant could not have been seen,
for it had disappeared at the destruction of the first
temple, long before the days of St. John. The
inference is clear that, although the word

• temple ' is used, it is really the Tabernacle from
which the imagery is obtained. No doubt the
temple thus spoken of was * in heaven,' but to the
eye of the Seer things in heaven were the type
and pattern of the heavenly things on earth ; and
no one who has entered into his spirit will maintain
that, if in this verse the shrine of the Tabernacle
be referred to, it is possible to find another and a
different reference for the shrine spoken of in the
first verse of the chapter. All arguments, there-
fore, at to the date of the Apocalypse, drawn
from the use of the word * temple ' in ver. I, are
necessarily unfounded. It is the. Tabernacle as

440

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XII. i-XlH. ia.

it is described in the Law, not a temple of stone
existing in hb own day, that is in the writer's
view. The 'ark of God's coYenant* is the
symbol of God's covenant love to His people;
the type of the Incarnate Lord in whose heart
the Law of God is laid up, and who is the
•propitiatory' (Rom. iii. 2$) or Mercv-seat. —
And there idllowed HghtnJngg, and voices, and
thonden, and an earUiqnake, and great hail.
We have similar judgments at chap. viiL 5, at

the close of the seventh seal, and when ptcpara-
tion was made for the sounding of the trumpets.
We shall again meet them in chap. xvL i8, at
the close o? the seventh bowL We are now,
therefore, at the close of the seventh trumpet,
and about to enter uix>n the seven bowls. It
will be observed that these 'lightnings,' etc.,
are only exhibited in heaven. They do not yet
fall upon the earth, bat are symbols of what is to
come.

Chapter XII. i-XIII. ia.

TIte First great Enemy of tlte People of God.

1 A ND there appeared a great wonder* in heaven ; a woman

/\ clothed* with the *sun, and the moon under her feet, aCani.vL.a

2 and upon her head a crown of twelve stars : and she being *

with child cried,* travailing in birth, and * pained* to be de- ^',^>.'^

3 livercd. And there appeared another wonder* in heaven ; and J^'*ii^,V
behold a great red ^dragon, having ^ seven heads and 'ten ^^^ui*^*

4 horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.' And his tail drew* '^">-^*'
the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the

earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was

ready' to be delivered, for to / devour her child as soon as it^£^Jii^""'

5 was born." And she brought forth a'^man child," who was ^^ J<»^ «^ "•
to *rule all" nations with a rod" of iron: and her child was *g;^^*

6 caught up unto God, and to ** his throne. And the woman fled

into the » wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, « ver. 14.

«•>

that they should feed" her there *a thousand two hundred *ch.
atid threescore days.

7 And there was" war in heaven: 'Michael and his angels '^^-.^ "J-
fought *' against " the dragon ; and the dragon fought " and his ^>- J«*« ^

8 angels, and ^ prevailed not ; neither was their place found any ••Jo- »• s-

9 more in heaven. And the great dragon was * cast out, that "• «Jo- «*»• 3«.
old ''serpent, called** the Devil, and ^ Satan, which deceiveth •^^1''^.'^
the whole world : " he was cast out into the ^ earth, and his^J^J;'^

10 angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud" voice
saying in heaven," Now is come** salvation, and strength,** and
the kingdom of our God, and the power *^ of his Christ : for the
accuser of our brethren is cast down,** which accused *' them

sign

* arrayed

was

^ and she crieth out

m pam

"* sign ' and upon his heads seven diadems * draweth

* about '^ that when she is delivered he may devour her child
^^ And she was delivered of a son, of man*s sex,

" who as a shepherd is to tend all the *' sceptre " unto " may nourish
" fell out '' making war '^ with '® made war *• the

'^ he that is called *' he that deceiveth the whole inhabited world
*^ great '* in heaven saying " €tdd the *• the power

'^ authority *^ out '^ who accuseth

Chap. XH. i-XIII. lA.] THE REVELATION.

1 1 ** before our God day and night And they overcame him by '*
the blood of the Lamb, and by •* the word of their testimony ;

12 and they 'loved not their lives*' unto the" death. Therefore
rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that ' dwell " in them. Woe to the
inhabiters of** the" earth and of" the sea! for" the devil
is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he**

13 knoweth" that he hath but a "short time. And when the
dragon saw that he was cast unto*" the earth, he *' persecuted

14 the woman which brought forth the man child}^ And to the
woman were given two " wings of a " great "' eagle, that she
might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is
nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face

15 of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water
as a "^ flood " after the woman, that he might cause her to be

16 carried away of the flood.** And the earth helped the woman,
and the earth -^opened her mouth, and 'swallowed up the

17 flood** which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the
dragon was wroth** with*' the woman, and went*' to make
war with the "remnant** of her seed, which keep the com-

jj^^^mandments of God, and have** the testimony of Jesus Christ.*"
XIII. I A. And I** stood** upon the sand of the sea.

441

r J[ob i. 6, 9,
u- 4. S»

* Ch. ti. 10.

/ Jo. L 14 ;
ch.^ vii. 15,
xiii. 6, XXI. 3.

u Cp. ch. xvii.

10.
V Ex. XIV. 7, 8 ;

Jo. XV. aob

fcrEx. xix. 4 ;
Deut. xxxii.
II.

X Ps. xviii. 4,
cxxiv. 3-5.

y Nuin.xvi.')2.
z Ex. xiv 13 ;

Joiih. iU. 16^

>7.

aCh. ii. 24,
ix. do, XX. 5.

'® because of ^^ life even

** omit to the inhabiters of '* for the

** omit because he *^ knowing

*^ the child, of man's sex *' the two

** roused to wrath *** against

" hold ^^ omit Christ " he

^* omit the

«ofor

*® out into

"the

*' €uid 2iVi2iy

*' took his stand

*' tabernacle
^^ because

** river
*8 rest

Contents. The third Woe, or the seventh
Trumpet, came to an end with chap. xi. ; and, as
the seven Trumpets followed immediately after
the seven Seals, we might now have expected
that these, in their turn, would be followed by
I he seven Bowls. The pouring out of these
Bowls, however, does not begin until we reach
cliap. XV. Three chapters mter\'ene ; and it
l)ecomes both important and difficult to fix their
place in the articulation of the Apocalypse as a
whole. The inquiry is rendered more difficult
than it might otherwise have been by the fact
that chap. xii. seems distinctly to take us back to
the beginning of the Christian era, to the birth of
Christ. Can it be, then, that hitherto we have
witnessed only the fortunes of the Jewish Church,
and that the Christian Church is now to be
brotight before us in the wider sphere of the
Gentile mission? The supposition is plausible,
but it is hardly possible to accept it. The Church
of Christ b not thus divided by St. John into
two parts. He takes his figures, indeed, at one
moment from Judaism, at another from Gentil-
ism, but it is always one Church that he has in
view, in which there is neither Jew nor Greek.
The enemies of the Church, again, described in
chaps, xii., xiii., are certainly not peculiar to her
Gentile branch, but are equally hostile to all
believers from v/hatever Quarter they come. The
course of events, too, under the seven Bowb is so

strictly parallel, though at the same time climactic,
to that under the seven Trumpets, that it is im-
possible to r^rd the former in any other light
than as a series of visions directed to the same
object and filled with substantially the same
meaning. How then explain this long intercalary
portion of three chapters? The key is to be
found in the words of chap. xv. 1, ' Seven plagues,
which are the last, for m them is finisned the
wrath of God.* We are on the verge of the seven
final and most disastrous plagues. The moment
is thus far more critical than any at which we
have previously stood. The purposes of the
Almighty are now to be fully accomplished. The
whole mysterv of His dealings with a sinful
world to which He has offered salvation is about
to end. No place, therefore, could be more suit-
able than the present for once more gathering
together the mam elements of the conflict and the
main features of the result.

The first object of the Seer is to give us a full
and correct idea of the three great enemies of the
people of God. Of these the earliest and chief
IS the Dragon; and to make us acquainted at
once with his power and with his weakness is the
aim of chap. xii. The chapter obviously divides
itself into three parts or scenes, the relation of
which to one another will come before us in the
course of exposition.

Ver. I. And ai«x« »ppewrod » gz«at (dgn in

443

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XII. i-XIIl. ia.

he«Yen. The ' sign ' consists of three particulars,
and the first of these is again divided into three
parts mention of which occupies the remainder
of this verse, a woman arrayed with the Btm,
and the moon under her feet, and upon her
head a crown of twelve stars. The immaise
body of light constituting the sun is her garment.
The moon, the second of the light-giving bodies
of heaven, is under her feet, yet certainfy not in
token of subjection, — an idea entirely out of keep-
ing with the position immediately afterwaras
assigned to the twelve stars. Nor does it seem
possible to behold in ' the moon * a representation
of the Law, or of the legal Israel, as the founda-
tion of the Christian Church. The Church is
founded not on the Law but on Christ ( i Cor.
iii. ii). In order to ascertain the meaning we
must take sun, moon, and stars together; and,
when we do so, the idea appears to be that the
woman is completely enveloped in light. This is
not secured by the simple mention of the sun as
her garment, for that only wraps her body round
from the shoulders to the feet. The other bodies
of light which shine in heaven are therefore called
into requisition. By means of them she has light
around, beneath, and above her. The stars are
not set as jewels in her crown. They are her
crown, a crown of victory. The woman b a
conqueror, and twelve b the number of the
Church. (For the whole description comp. Song
of Solomon vi. lo; Rev. i. i6, xxi. 12, 14.)

Ver. 2. And she was with child^ These words
form the second particular of the vision; while the
third represents her as at that moment suffering the
pangs of childbirth, and she crieth ont, travail-
ing in birth, and in pain to be deliverad.

To the question, Who is this woman ? different
answers have been given. We need not dwell
upon them. In one sense or another she must be
the Church of God, yet not tlie mere Jewish
Church, but the Church in the largest conception
that we can form of it, as first indeed planted in
Hrael but afterwards extended to all nations.
More will have to be said upon this point imme-
diately. In the meantime, if it be objected that
Christ bears the Church, not the Church Christ,
it may be sufficient to reply that there is a sense
in which Christ may truly be called the Son of
the Church. He is the flower of the Chosen
Family, as concerning the flesh He comes of
Israel. So much is He one with His people that
even His conception by the power of the Spirit
and His birth of a virgin (wno had no power of
her own to produce Him) have their counterpart
in them. 1 hey are born of the Spirit : they are
the 'many children of a mother who was t)arren
(Gal. iv. 27). The Church, therefore, may properly
be described by images taken from the history of
Christ's own mother and of His own nativity.

Ver. 3. And there appeared another sign in
heaven. In every respect this second sign is the
counterpart or opposite of the first ; and, like it,
it is described in three particulars. The 6rst has
<«Ution to the object seen. — And behold a great
red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns,
and upon his heads seven diadems. The
dragon is * great ' in power. He is * red * with
the colour of blood because he kills men (chap,
xvii. 3, 6 ; John viii. 44 ; i John iii. 12). He
has 'seven heads and ten horns,' a figure by
which is indicated his rule over all the kingdoms
of this world as well as the -Toroe with which he

rules them. The 'diadems,' it aay be farther
noticed, are not crowns like that of the woman.
They are rather bonds or lillets round the head.
Even in the gieatest lustre of his might the dragon
is not a conqueror.

Ver. 4. His tail draweih the third part of
the stars of heaven, and did oast them to the
earth. The second particular thus mentioned of
the dragon has relation to what he does, and is in
contrast with what had been said of the woman
when we were told that she 'was with child.'
The present tense of the fiist half of the sentence
shows that the words describe a characteristic of
the dragon, an element of his nature, and not
something that happened at the momenL The
woman was pregnant with life, the dragon can do
nothing but destroy. Mention has been so fre-
quently made of a ' third part ' of things (chaps,
viii. 7, 8, 9, 10, II, 12, ix. 15, 18) that we cannot
be surprised at meeting it again, and all that it
seems possible to say is that the proportion is not
to be too literally interpreted. Enough that it
designates great mfluence for evil, yet inflaence
restrained by a power mightier tlum its own.
The second half of the sentence is founded upon
Dan. viii. 10, and the allusion in the mention of
'stars* is to powers originally heavenly. Against
men who are made to shine as stars in the
heavenly firmament the dra^n can do nothing.
They have rather trampled him beneath their feet
and gained over him an everlasting victonr. The
'stars of heaven' spoken of can only be those
angels of whom it is elsewhere said that they
'kept not their first estate' (Jude, ver. 6). In
t jis particular the work of the dragon is again
presented to us as the exact counterpart of that of
the woman —

' She raises mortals to the skiai^
He draws the angels down.'

And the dragon stood before the womaB which
was about to be delivered that, when ^he is
delivered, he may devour her diUd. In these
words we have the dragon doing what Pharaoh
did to Israel (Ex. i. 1 5 -22), and again and again
in the Psalms and Prophets PharaOT is spoken of
as the dragon (Ps. Ixxiv. 13 ; Isa. xxvil i, li. 9 ;
Ezek. xxix. 3). Nor is it without interest in this
connection to remember that Pharaoh's crown
was wreathed with a dragon (the asp or serpent of
Egvpt), and that just as the eagle was the ensign
of Rome so the dragon was that of Egypt. Hence
the significance of Moses' rod beii^ turned into a
serpent. It is worth while to notice, too, how
entirely the imagery agrees with the record of the
infancy of our Lord in St. Matthew's Gospel (comp.
especially Matt. ii. 13, 15). The motive alike of
Pharaoh and of Herod was envy, Satan's motive.
In this verse also the dragon is in direct contrast
with the woman. She is to bear a livii^ child :
he would destroy it as soon as H iit'as bom.

Ver. 5. The birth takes place. The woman »
delivered of a son, of man's sex. The last
expression is remarkable. In the Authorised
Version we read simply of ' a man child,* in the
Revised of * a son, a man child. * We have given
another rendering in the hope of thereby bring-
ing out the force which in tne original obviously
bdongs to the words. The object is not simply to
tell us that the ' son ' is a male, which as a son he
must be, but to impress upon us the thought of his
manhood, power, and force. He is already more
than a child ; the properties of manhood tielong

Chap. XII. i^XlII. ia.]

THE REVELATION.

443

to Him from His birth (com p. Tohn xvi. 21 and
note there).— The function of this Son is as a
thetihexd to tmd all the natioiiB with a sceptre
of iron. He is to subdue and rule the hostile
world (chap. ii. 27) ; aild He is canght up unto
Qod and nnto his throne not merely that He
may be safe there, but that with Divine power
He may destroy him who would have destroyed
Himself (chap. iii. 21). It may be well to
observe that this power is not said to be as yet
actually exercised by the 'son.' It belongs to
Him, and it shall be exercised in due season.

Ver. 6. And the woman fled into the wilder-
ness, where she bath a place prepared of Ood,
that they may nourish her there a thousand,
two hundred, and threescore days. The
fortunes of the woman'tt child having been
described, we are now informed of her own.
The flight of Elijah into the wilderness, perhaps
even the temptation of our Lord there, is present
to the writer's mind ; and the words are ap-
plicable to the condition of the Church during her
whole pilgrimage state in the present world.

Thus closes the first scene of the chapter, and
we have now to ask as to its meaning. It appears
to us that the kev to this is to be found in the
opening verses of the Gospel of St. John (chap.'i.
1-5), me parallelism ot which to the present
passage it is impossible to mistake. We have
the same contrasts as those there presented, —
light, darkness, light shining in the darkness, the
darkness trying to prevail against the light, but
not overcoming it (see note on John i. 5). Ifere
also, as there, nothing is said of the origin of the
darkness. We read only that it exists.

If these observations be correct we can now
understand the scene. It is not interrupted at
ver. 7, in order that Ihe war in heaven may be
described, and again resumed at ver. 13. There
is a marked difference between the two scenes
contained in vers. 1-6 and vers. 13-17, and the
difference consists in this, that the first is ideal,
the second actual. Strictly speaking, the woman
in vers. 1-6 is neither the Jewish nor the Christian
Church. She is light from Him * who is light,
and with whom there is no darkness at all,' light
which had been always shining before it was
partially embodied either in the Church of the
old or the new covenant. Her actual conflict
with the darkness has not begun. We behold
her in her own glorious existence, and it is enough
to dwell upon the potencies that are in her as ' a
light of man.* In like manner the drdgon is not
yet to be identified with the devil or Satan.
That identification does not take place till we
reach ver. 9. The former differs from the latter
as the abstract and ideal power of evil differs from
evil in the concrete. As the woman is ideal
light, light before it appears in the Church upon
earth, so the dragon is ideal darkness, the power
of sin before it begins its deadly warfare against
the children of God. Thus also we learn what
is intended by the son who is born to the woman.
He is not the Son actually incarnate but the
ideally incarnate Son, ' the true light, which
lighteth every man, coming into the world'
(John L 9). More difficulty may be felt in
answering the question, whether, along \nth the
Son Himself, we are to see in this * son, of man's
sex,' the true members of Christ's Body. Ideally,
it would seem that we are to do so. All com-
mentators allow that in the son's being ^caught

up unto God and unto His throne ' there is a
reference to the ascension and glorification of our
Lord. But, if so, it appears to be impossible to
separate between the risen, ascended, and glorified
Lord and those who are in Him thus risen,
ascended, and glorified. In a note on John xvi.
21 we have called attention to the use of the word
' man ' instead of child in that verse, as showing
that we are there invited to behold the new birth
of regenerated humanity, that new life in a risen
Saviour with which the Church springs into
being. The thought thus presented in the words
of Jesus meets us again in this vision of the Seer.
Christ's true people as well as Himself are made
to sit down with Him in His throne, even as He
sat down ^vith His Father in His throne (chap,
iii. 21). Thev not less than their Lord tend as
a shepherd the nations with a sceptre of iron,
even as He received of His Father (chap. ii. 26,
27). We cannot separate Him from them or
them from Him. Everything then in these
verses is anticipatory or ideal. The forces are
on the field. We see light and darkness, their
natural antagonism to each other, the fierce
enmity of the darkness against the light, the
apparent success but real defeat of the darkness,
the apparent quenching but real triumph of the
light. God's eternal plan is before us. We have
a 'pattern' like that 'showed to Moses in the
mount ' (comp. chap. iv. 1 1 ).

Vers. 7-9. With the words of ver. 7 the second
scene of the chapter opens, and the transition
from the ideal to tne actual begins. As the first
scene, too, corresponded to the first paragraph of
the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel (vers. 1-5), so
this scene corresponds to its second paragraph
(vers. 6-13). It IS not enough that the light shall
withstand the darkness. It has also to assault
and overcome it. Hence it is that Michael and
his angels are the first to move ; and hence in all
probability the remarkable grammatical con-
struction of ver. 7 in the original, — a construction
which sec :11s intended to bring out this thought.

The war opens in heaven. No explanation is
afforded of our finding evil there ; nor is there
greater difficulty in conceiving of evil in heaven
man in admitting its existence upon earth. All
things are primarily good and pure and holy.
Such is the fundamental idea of existence ; but
this idea is disturbed by sin. The good is not
perfectly unmixed ; and, without knowing how
the evil originated, we are compelled to acknow-
ledge that it exists. Traces of the same teaching
as that found here are to be seen in I Kings xxii. ;
Job i., ii. ; Zech. iii. ; and in the words of Jesus,
of which this whole scene is a svmbolical repre-
sentation, ' I beheld Satan fallen as lightning
from heaven ' (Luke x. 18). The war begun is
conducted on the one side by Michael and his
angels, on the other b^ the dragon and his
angels. The mention of^^ Michael is taken from
Dan. x. 13, 21, xii. I ; comp. Jude 9. ' He is
certainly not Jesus Himself, nor is he merely a
created angel to whose guardianship the Church
is committed. He is rather an expression of
Jesus, an aspect (if we may so sp^k), a repre-
sentation, of the Divine good embodied in Him ;
and His angels are the varied agencies belonging
to that good and executing its designs.— The
'dragon is next more completely identified by
a description consistmg ot three particulars.
First, he is the. old serpent^ a reference to the

444

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XII. i-XlII. ia.

history of the fall. Secondly, he is he that ifl
called the devil and Satan, ihe former of these
terms denoting the deceiver (chap. xx. 8), the
second the accuser (ver. lo), of the saints.
Thirdly, he is he that deoeiveth the whole
inhahited world, the world with all its inhabit-
ants, and not simply them that ' dwell upon the
earth.' Not that he succeeds in eventually
betraying alL But even the saints he endeavours
to deceive. He tempts them as he tempted our
Lord in the wilderness. — When the war has been
continued for a time, the dragon is not only
defeated, but no place is found lor him anv more
in heaven. He was cast ont into the earth, and
his angels were cast ont with him. The victory
of good over evil is complete. It may be well to
notice that, if the devil is thus cast out of heaven,
out of the assembly of the saints, he must have
been originally good. Had he not been so he
would never have been in heaven, but would have
ruled from a past eternity in some realm of his
own.

Vers. IO-I2. The victory thus gained is
followed by a song of praise and thanksgiving,
which proceeds from a great voice in heaven.
Whose voice this is we are not told, and it may
be well to leave it in its indefiniteness. — The
song is one of adoring praise that the salvation,
and the power, and the khigdom of onr Qod,
and the authority of his Ohrist, have been
perfectly established. ' Now is there judgment
of this world : now shall the prince of this world
be cast out ; ' ' He will convict the world con-
cerning judgment, because the prince of this
world hath been judged ' (John xii. 31, xvlS, ii).
— ^This victory of the * brethren ' has been gained
because of the blood of the Lamb, and bMsanse
of the word of ttieir testimony. By the former
can only be understood the blood of Jesus shed
and presented before God on behalfof His people,
by the latter that testimony of Jesus, that witness
concerning Him, which they had been enabled to
deliver.

When the victory has thus been spoken of as
pained the ' great voice ' further cries. Rejoice ye
heavens, and ye that tabernacle in them. They
who thus tabernacled in the heavens can hardly
be angels ; nor are they the spirits of the just
made perfect contrasted with tne righteous still
slriiggling upon earth. The victory of all the
righteous is by this time supposed to be complete.
They can be no other than the whole re-
deemed family of God. These form the Divine
Tabernacle, the place in which God rests, as He
rested of old in the tabernacle in the wilderness
(comp. chap. vii. 15, xiii. 6, xxi. 3). Thus
constituting a tabernacle for God, they may by an
easy transition be said themselves ' to tabernacle,*
for the true idea of the Tabernacle consisted in
this, that it was the meeting-place of God and
man. There is no thought of the transitoriness
of a tent, or of tent life. While all the good
rejoice, there is woe for the earth and for the sea,
that is, not the neutral earth or the ocean, but all
who are unconnected with God's kingdom ' the
heavens.*— Because the devil is oomeoown unto
you, having great wrath, knowing that he
hath but a short time. The consciousness that
it is so fills him with the rage of despair.

The second scene of the chapter is a distinct
advance upon the first. We pass from the dragon
the ideal representative of evil to the devil or

Satan, known to us as the source of all the sin
and misery from which earth suffers. Further,
we learn why the Church on earth has to conteDd
with this great adversary. He has been cast, with
his angels, out of heaven ; and it is God's decree
that the main and last struggle between good and
evil shall be fought out on earth. Among men,
not angels, the plan of redemption shall be con-
ducted to its glorious issue. To impress these
thoughts upon us is the reason why the second
scene of this chapter has its place assigned to it.

Vers. 13, 14. From what has been said it will
be evident that with the 13th verse there is no
reverting to the point which we had reached at
ver. 6. On the contrary, another step is taken
in advance ; and we are invited to behold in
actual warfare the forces that in the first scene
had been only ideally described, and the entrance
of one of which into the world had been brought
before us in the second. The dragon has not
been led to submission by the fact that he had
been driven out of heaveiu He has rather been
roused to greater fury (ver. 12), and in that iiiry
he attacks the woman. She is described as
the woman which brought forth the child of
man's sez, and is thus identified with the woman
of ver. I. Yet she is not exactly the same.
Then she was viewed as the ideal, now she is
viewed as the actual Church, not indeed as the
Church of Israel, but as the Church universal,
the Church of every age and nation, the Church
within which the light of Divine truth shines,
and which is persecuted by the devil's darkness.

Although, however, thus persecuted the woman
is not overcome. The light is safe under the
care of God. This circumstance is set forth in
the fact that to the woman were given the two
wings of the great eagle, that she might ily
into the wilderness into her plaoe. The
flight, the wilderness, the nourishment afforded
there, and the flood of water to be immediately
spoken of, remind us so much of the fl^ht of
Israel from Egypt to the promised land as to
leave no doubt that these events lie at the bottom
of the description, although, as usual, they are
treated with great freedom, forming only the
starting-point from which the Seer proceeds to
the clothing of his idea. The eagle is certainly
not that of chap. viiL 13. Vet the articles
employed in the original, which are not generic,
show that a definite eagle is meant. It can be
no other than the eagle of Ex. xix. 4; DeuL
xxxii. II ; Ps. xxxvi. 7. The eagle is God
Himself, and its wings are His wings. On these
wings the woman flies into the desert, into her
place, i.e. the place of ver. 6, the place already
prepared for her, and where, though in the
desert, she shall be secure. What is good, what is
Divine, has not in this world its Canaan. It is
still in the wilderness, but it is preserved there
by the loving care of the Most High.

In this place she is nourished. The reference
is probably to the history of Elijah, who was
nourished first at the brook Cherith and then at
Zarephath during the three years and a half when
there was no ram ; but it may be also to the
extraordinary means by which God sustained His
people in the wilderness, not by natural supplies
of food, but by the manna, the water, and the flesh
with which He miraculously provided them. — This
is done for a time, and times, and half a time,
or for three years and a half, — the whole period

Chap. XIII. iB-ia]

THE REVELATION.

445

of the militant condition of the Church in a
present world.

Vers. 15, 16. The imagery employed in these
verses is difficult. It is in all probability taken
from the passage of Israel across the Red Sea
and the nver Jordan into the Promised Land.
This reference is the more probable when we
remember the language of David in Ps. xviii.,
when at ver. 4 he first declares that ' the floods
of ungodly men * (emissaries of Satan, persecutors)
made him afraid, and then at vers. 15-17
compares his deliverance to the passage of Ismel
through the Red Sea. With this may be mixed
the thought of the history of Korah and his
companions, when men who had envied Moses
and risen against him in a formidable insurrection
m-ere destroyed by the earth's opening her mouth
(Num. xvi. 32). The symbol is of God's pro-
tecting care of His people. In the day of their
trial He will provide for them a way of escape.

Ver. 17, and chap. xiii. lA. Defeated in his
purpose the dragon breaks forth into a paroxysm
of rage. The important expression in this verse,
the reet of her seed, is difficult, and it has been
very variously interpreted. These interpretations
it is impossible to examine, and it must suffice to
say that ' the rest of her seed,* as appears from

the immediately following description of their
character, can only mean that portion of the
woman's seed which remained faithful to its trust.
They are * the saints * of chap. xiii. 7. We have
here, in short, one of those anticipatory indica-
tions, like that of the measuring in chap. xi. i, of
a separation between the Church as a whole and
a part of the members, between the vine as a
whole and its fruit • beajing branches, which
prepare us for the further manifestation of this
mystery in later chapters of the book. The
expression ' the rest ' seems to correspond to the
' remnant ' referred to by St. Paul in Rom. ix. 27,
xi. 5, and it is used in Rev. ii. 24 in a similar
sense.

The first great enemy of the Church has l>een
described. One thing more is necessary that,
ready for the conflict, he shall take up his position
on the field. Accordingly it is to be observed
that the first clause of chap. xiii. i ought to form
a part of the last verse of this chapter, and that
the true reading of the clause is not that of the
Authorised Ver>ion * I stood ' but * he stood ' or
'took his stand.' The dragon took his stand
npon the eand of the sea, u|x)n the margin of
that ' earth ' and ' sea ' in which he finds his prey
(ver. 12).

Chapter XIH. ib-io.

The Second great Enemy of the People of God,

1 A ND I saw a beast rise' up out of the "sea, having seven *^^„*^-^'
./jL heads and ten horns,' and upon his horns ten crowns,'

2 and upon his heads the* *name* of blasphemy. And the *ch. xvii. 3.
beast which I saw was like unto a ^leopard, and his feet were c Dan.vU 46.
as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion :

and the dragon ''gave him his power, and his seat,' and great ./Mat. iv. 9.

3 authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to '
death; and his deadly wound' was 'healed: and all therCh. v. 6.

4 world' wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the
dragon which '• gave power" unto the beast: and they wor-
shipped the beast, saying, / Who is like unto the beast } who / r*. cxiu. 5.

5 is able to make war with him } And there was given unto him

a ^ mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power r Dan. vu. 8,
was given unto him" to continue * forty and two months. *<-*»»•«»•«•

6 And he opened his mouth in 'blasphemy" against God, to »«Thes.ii.4.
blaspheme his name, and'* his tabernacle, and them that

7 dwell " in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war

with the saints, and to * overcome them: and 'power was f ^^;*4i]'j^<;

* coming * ten horns and seven heads • diadems * omit the
' names * throne ' as though it had been slain unto

* his death stroke * and the whole earth '^ because he
'* his authority ^' and there was given unto him authority

" for blasphemies " omit and ** tabernacle

446 THE REVELATION. [CHAP. XIII. iB-io.

given him »• over all " kindreds," and " tongues," and nations."

8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose

names are '*not written" in the book of life of the Lamb««a»-»j:5.««.

9 slain " from the " foundation of the world." If any man have »^^i
ID an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into ''captivity shall go -^jer.xv.t.

into captivity:** he that killeth" with the > sword must be /M«Lniris«.
killed with the sword." Here is the patience and the faith of
the saints.

*<^ and there was given unto him authority " omi^ all *• every tribe

^^ rt^ people and *® tongue *' nation

«> every one whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world

2' that hath been slain '* omil from the foundation of the world

'^ If any one is for captivity into captivity he goeth

*° if any one shall kill *^ with the sword must he be killed

Contents. The twelfth chapter has set before
us the first great enemy of the Church. This
chapter intrc^uces us to other two by means of
whom the devil or Satan carries on his warfare
a<^inst the truth. The first is described in vers,
l-io; the second in vers. 11-17.

Ver. I. A beast is seen coming up oat of the
sea. The word of the original translated * beast '
has occurred only once before (at chap. vi. 8), and
is wholly different from that which, to say nothing
of many other passages, meets us no fewer than
seven times in chap. iv. alone ; and which,
rendered in the Authorised Version by the same
term, ought to be translated 'living creatures.*
The * living creatures ' are symbolical of all that b
noble and admirable, of all deep and true spiritual
life ; the ' beast ' represents whatever is most
violent and repulsive. It is not simply a beast
but a wild beast, unrestrained in its fierce and
destructive rage. This beast is beheld in the act
of ascending out of the sea, — a circumstance which
explains the order of the words in the next
following clause, where, according to the true
reading, the 'horns* are mentioned before the
' heads,' because they rise first above the surface
of the water. In chap. xvii. 3, when the beast
has risen, the heads are mentioned first. — By the
' sea * we are not to understand the ocean every-
where embracing and surrounding the land. The
word has its usual symbolical sense, and denotes
the nations of the earth, the whole mass of the
ungodly. The beast not only rules over them,
it springs out of them and is their native king.
Although not expressly stated, there can be no
doubt that this beast comes up from the sea at the
call of the dragon (who had stationed himself for
this purpose upon the shore, chap. xii. 18), in
order to serve nim and be his vicegerent among
men. — Having ten horns and seven heads ; the
same number of both as the dragon had (chap,
xii. 3) ; the order only, for the reason already
spoken of, being different It is a question how
we arc to think of the distribution of the horns.
The probability seeins to be that they are all con-
nected with the seventh head, for in Dan. viL 7,
which gives us the groundwork of the representa-
tion, they belong to the fourth beast alone, and at
chap. xvii. II, 12, where the figure before us is
interpreted, it is said that the ten horns are ten
kings receiving their power along with the beast

who had been spoken of as the 'eighth.' The
beast before us is thus at no early stage of its
progress. In the true spirit of prophecy we are
invued to behold it in its final and completed
form. — And npon his home ten diadiwit,
emblems of royalty. Comp. chap. xviL 12 ' the
ten horns are ten kings,' and chap. xiz. 12 where
He who is described as ' King of icings and Lord
of lords ' has upon His head ' many diadems,'
' tokens of the many royalties — of earth, of heaven,
and of hell (Phil. ii. 10) — which are His * (Trench,
Syn. i. p. 92).— And npon his beads names of
blasphemy. No indication is given what the
names were. The fact, however, that they were
upon the heads is important, for there can be
little doubt that we have in this a mocking
caricature of the name borne upon the forehead of
the high priest, and transferred in this book to
Christ^ faithful people (comp. chaps, ii. 17,
vii. 3, xiv. I).

Ver. 2. The description of the 'beast' is con-
tinued. The three animals, the leopard, the bear,
and the lion, some of whose parts it possessed,
are the first three ' great beasts * of Dan. vil 4-6,
although they are here introduced in a different
order, and are combined into one. The qualities
represented are the most offensive of their kind,
the swift cruel spring of the leopard, the brutish
relentlessness of the bear, and the devouring
power of the lion. — And the dragon gave him h£i
power, and Ms throne, and great anthority.
Three things are mentioned ; first, the power
itself; secondly, the position from which it is
exercised ; and thirdly, the right to use it They
are the things which Christ luid been offered by
the dragon, but which He had refused (Matt. iv. 9).
They are now accepted by the beast at the expense
of becopning the dragon's slave and sharing its fate.
It is probable that St. John has the Temptation in
. the wilderness as described by the earlier Evan-
gelists in his eye.

The question as to the precise meaning of the
first beast has perplexed inouirers, and very various
opinions in regard to it nave been entertained.
There is indeed an almost general agreement that
it is a symbol of worldly antichnstian power.
But by some this power is supposed to be that of
heathen Rome, in which case the seven heads
become the seven hills upon which Rome was
built, or seven of its emperors. Otheis add the

Chap. XIII. iB-ia]

THE REVELATION.

447

idea of Papal to that of heathen Rome, in which
case the seven heads become seven forms of
Roman government — Kings, Consuls, Decemvirs,
Tribunes, Dictators, Emperors, Popes: while
others again understand by the seven heads aeven
kingdoms which, either in the Bible or in
Christian history, oppress and persecute the
Church of God, — the Egyptian, Assyrian, Baby-
lonian, Medo- Persian, Greek, Roman, together
with the Germanic-Sclavonic kingdoms by whidi
the downfall of Rome was followed. The point is
of great importance, especially for the interpreta-
tion of chap. xvii. ; and the following remarks
may be made : —

I. The numbers seven and ten must, as else-
where, be regarded as symbolical, as expressing
the idea of fulness or completeness rather than
the mere value belonging to them in the numerical
scale. We are not, therefore, entitled to make
an arbitrary selection from the worldly powers op-
posed to the Church of God, and to use it as simply
illustrative of the nature of these powers in general.
Our selection, if made at all, must be made in
such a manner that it shall embody the idea of
completeness, 2. The rule symbolized by the
power of the beast must be a rule over the wAo/e
world. The dragon of chap. xiL rules it all, and
not merely a part of it (chap. xii. 9) : his vicegerent
the beast must do the same. We learn from
ver. 7 of this chapter, and from its fourfold division
of ' tribe and people and tongue and nation,'
that he actually does so. It is to be remembered,
too, that the description given us of the power of
the beast is a mocking caricature of the power of
Christ, and His rule is universal. 3. The objects
represented by the heads of the beast must be
Jtmgdoms, not personal kings like the Emperors of
Rome. Such is the sense in which the won) ' kings '
is used both in the Book of Daniel and in the
Apocalypse, where there is nothing in the context
to compel us to think of personality (comp. Dan.
vii. 17, 23 ; Rev. xvii. 2, xviii. 3), and the seven
heads are said in chap. xviL 10 to be seven
' kings.' Apart from this it may be observed that
no seven Emperors of Rome can be a fitting
representation of the wAo/e world-power. They
might represent the power of Rome, but that is
not enough to meet the necessities of the case with
which we deal. 4. It will hardly be denied that
the seven heads must severally and individually
bear a similar relation to the Church of God, for
it is in relation to that Church that the beast is
viewed ; but no seven Emperors of Rome did so.
They were not all persecutors : under some of
them the Church enjoyed peace. 5. We may
conclude from analogy that the objects, whatever
they may be, lying at the bottom of the series
of seven are taken either from what was before
the Seer at the moment, or from his acquaint-
ance with the past. 6. But, if so, chap. xvii. 10
at once affords us the point from which to start.
There we are informed that five are fallen and
'one is,' i.e, *is' at the time when St. John lived
and wrote. This can be no other than the Roman
power ; and, counting backwards from it, we have
the Greek, the Medo-Persian, and the Chaldean
for three of the five. The two earlier, siill
counting backwards, are the Ass]rrian and the
Egyptian. These two last-mentioned powers are
often named together in the Old Testament as
enemies of God's people, ' I will bring them again
also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them

out of Assyria' (Zech. x. 10); 'and it shall
come to pass in that day, that they -shall come
which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria,
and the outcasts in ttie land of Egypt, and shall
worship the Lord in the holv mount at Jerusalem '
(Isa. xxvii. 13). We have thus six of the ' heads,*
— Egypt, Assyria, Chaldsea, Persia, Greece,
Rome, — all of which had successively been
opponents and persecutors of the Church of God.
The seventh, resolvable into the ten horns, is no
one deBnite kingdom. It had not yet arisen : but
St. John saw that the wicked Roman Empire
was tottering to its fall, and that it would be
dissolved in other and final world-powers repre-
sented in their totality by the number ten. The
' beast ' before us is thus the symbol of the world-
power in its absoluteness and universality. Yet
It is not identical with the world-power in any one
of its seven single and successive forms. It is
rather the essence of that power as it appears to a
certain extent in each form. In this respect it is
really the 'Little Horn' of Dan. vii. 8, before which
' there were three of the first horns plucked up by
the roots,' in order that it might take their place.
This characteristic, however, is not yet brought
out ; it will meet us in chap. xvii. 1 1. Finally,
we may remark that, in so far as the power of
Rome enters into the description, it can only be
that of Pagan, not Christian, Rome. Even in her
darkest days Christian Rome could not have been
fitly represented by one of the heads of the beast.

Ver. 3. And I saw one of his heads as though
it had been aUdn unto death ; and hie death-
stroke was healed. The rendering alike in the
Authorised and Revised Versions of the Greek
word which we have translated ' slain ' (in the one
'wounded,' in the other 'smitten') is peculiarly
unfortunate and objectionable. The word occurs
eight times in the Apocalypse. In seven of these it
must be translated 'slain,' or 'slaughtered,' or
'killed.' How can it be otherwise translated
here ? The statement in the verse is the counter-
part of that in chap. v. 6, where we read of the
* Lamb as though it had been slaughtered.' In
both cases there had been actual death, although
in both there had also been a revival, a resurrec-
tion, to life. The one is a mocking counterpart
of the other. The Seer does not tell us to which
of the seven heads he specially refers, but a
comparison of the words now used by him with
those of chap. xvii. 8-1 1 seems clearly to show
that the sixth head, or the Roman power, was in
his eye.

The language before us, it will be observed, is
thus utterly inconsistent with the idea entertained
by so many in modern times, that the sixth head,
instead of being, the Roman power in general, is
the Emperor Nero himself, regarding whom the
rumour is said to have prevailed, that after
his death he would return to life Mid revive
all the horrors of his former reign. It is
extremely doubtful whether such a rumour was in
existence at the time when the Apostle wrote.
The thought would seem rather to have arisen
long afterwards, when the misinterpretation of
this passage gave it birth. Even Renan admits
that ' the general opinion was that the monster
(Nero), healed by a Satanic power, kept him-
self concealed somewhere and would return'
{V Aniechrist^ p. 350). The form which the belief
assumed was not that Nero had died, but that
he had hidden himself in the wilds of Parthia,

448

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XIII. ib-ic.

from which he would conic again to strike terror
into the world. This being the case, there are at
least two important points on which the statement
of the passage before us is directly at variance
with that rumour. In the first place, the head of
the beast st>oken of had not simply disappeared
from view : it had been actuallv slam. A death-
stroke had been inflicted. It nad died as really
as the Lamb of God had died on Calvary, and the
Seer saw that it had done so. The words ' as
though' before 'it had been slain' no more
imply that there had not been a real death than
they imply this in chap. v. 6, where they are use<l
of the slain Lamb. In the second place, this
head was not to revive at some future day. It
had already revived, and its death-stroke had been
already healed. Inorder, therefore, to make the story
of Nero's disappearance and reappearance consti-
tute the foundation of the passage before us, it is
necessary to suppose that the prevalent rumour
was that that monster of iniquity had both died
and risen from the dead ; and neither particular
was embraced by it. What is spoken of is the
world-power in the form of its sixth head. That
power received a mortal stroke by the work of
Christ. The world was then ideally and really
overcome. It revived, and resumed its working.
— And the whole earth wondered after the
beast. The words ' the whole earth ' cannot be
understood to mean only the Roman people.
They must be allowed their full force, and thus
they afford a further proof that in the ' beast ' we
have a representative of the general world-power.
See a fuller discussion of the Nero hypothesis in
note on ver. i8.

Ver. 4. This verse contains a parody of the
ascriptions of praise given to the true God in
many passages of the Old Testament (Isa. xl. 18,
25, xlvi. 5 ; Ps. cxiii. 5, etc). If the words
apply to Nero they must apply to Nero redux^ for
it IS unnecessary to spend time in showing that it
is to the beast as healed^ and not before it was
slain^ that the song is raised (comp. especially
chap. xvii. 8). But there is not a tittle of evidence
to prove that homage of this kind was paid even
to the thought of the resuscitated tyrant. The
acclamations with which he had been received by
the citizens of Rome, when he returned from
Campania his hands red with the blood of his
murdered mother, belong to a period before his
death, and afford no indication of the feelings with
which he was regarded after that event. It is
true that some even then cherished his memory
and decked his tomb with flowers. But, as
invariably happens when a tyrant dies, the senti-
ment of the masses underwent an immediate and
profound revulsion. Suetonius tells us that

* the public joy was so great upon the occasion
that tne people ran up and down with caps upon
their heads {Nero^ chap. 57). Horror rather
than admiration filled their breasts.

Ver. 5. And there was given him a montii
speaking great things and Uasphemies. This
is the first of three things spoken of (vers. 5-7) as
'^ven,' i,€, given by God to whom in its utmost
might the beast is subject. The description is
taken from Dan. vii. 8, 20, 25, where similar
language is used of the 'Little Horn.' The
second thing ' given ' is anthoritj to work forty
and two months. For the time here specified see
on chap. xi. 2.

Ver. 6. In this verse the blasphemies of ver. 5
are more particularly described.

Ver. 7. The third thing is 'given;' and the
anthoritj is universal, the whole world being
marked out by the four departments into which it
is divided.

Ver. 8. And all that dwell npon the earth
shall wordiip him. These dwellers upon the
earth are in contrast with those who ' tabernacle
in heaven. ' They are the ungodly as distinguished
from the godly ; and again tney are not confined
to the Roman Empire, but include all who any-
where worship the beast. — Eyery one whoee name
hath not been written from the foundation of
the world in the book of life of the lamb that
hath been slain, llie plural of the first clause
of the verse, 'all,' passes into the singular of the
second clause, those referred to being now looked
at individually (comp. John xvii. 2, vL 37). — The
connection of the last clause is doubtfuC It may
be joined, as in the Authorised Version, with the
' LAmb that hath been slain ; ' but chap. xvii. 8
seems to determine in favour of connecting it with
the word ' written.' Besides which, the clause is
less appropriate to the slaying of the Lamb, an act
which took place in time, tluin to those counsels
of the Almighty which are from eternity.

Ver. 9 contains a solemn call to listen, and is
best connected with what follows.

Ver. 10. If any one is for captivity, into
captivity he goeth : if any one shall kill with
the sword, with the sword mnst he be killed.
In a climax of two clauses consolation is afforded
to the righteous amidst all their trials. There b a
lex talianis in the dealings of God. They who
lead His people into captivity, they who kill them
with the sword, shall experience a similar fate. —
Here is the patience and the £aiU& of the saints.
For surely there is enough to nerve our patience
and to stimulate our faith in the thought that
'God judgeth in the earth,' and that it is a
righteous thing with Him ' to recompense tribula-
tion ' to them tiiat trouble His ]Kople.

Chap. XIII. 11-18.]

THE REVELATION.

449

Chapter XIII. 11-18.

The Third great Enemy of the People of God.

11 A ND I beheld * another beast coming up out of the earth ;

Jl\. and he had * two horns like a * lamb, and he ^ spake as «ch- ««• 3-

12 a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power* of the first beast <^M«t vu. 15.
before him, and causeth' the earth and them which dwell
therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly * wound * was

13 healed. And he doeth great ^wonders,' so' that he maketh' ''Jxh^Ii'\'
'fire come* down from'** heaven on" the earth in the sight 'i'^jJ^V

14 of men," and " deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the *°"-
means of^^ those miracles* which he had power ^ to do in the
sight of" the beast ; saying to them that dwell on the earth,

that they should make an ^ image to the beast which had the /.^'- »• '5.

* » ' 111. 10 :

1 5 wound by a sword," and did live." And he had power *® to "*^- •• 3-
give life '** unto the image of the beast, that the image of the

beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would '^

16 not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he
causeth all, both " small and " great, rich and poor," free and
bond," to receive '• a ^mark in*' their right hand, or in** their i'Cp. ch. xiv.

17 foreheads:** and" that no man** might** buy or sell, save he
that had** the mark, or** the name of the beast, or the number

18 of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understand-
ing count the number of the beast : for it is the number of a

* man ; and his number is Six hundred threescore ** and six. *^- **»• '7-

' authority

* saw

* death-stroke ' sigjns

* to come '• out of ** into
** by reason of '* it was given him
*' which hath the stroke of the sword
*• And it was given unto him '® breath
** add the *^ and the rich and the poor

'* that there be given them
»• omit and »»
** even

17

* he maketh * omit deadly

^ omit so * that he should even make
" before men *• add he
" before
18 rose to life
" should " the

'^ and the free and the bond
*8 on *' forehead

upon

one
•* and sixty

'* should be able to

" hath

Contents. The passage upon which we now
enter describes the third great enemy of God's
people, and closes with the mysterious indication
of tne number of the beast.

Ver. 1 1. And I nw another beast coming up
oat of the earth. This is the third great enemy
of the saints, the second ' beist.* It is character-
ized by the same general term as the second
enemy or the first b^t ; and although therefore,
as afterwards mentioned, it resembles a lamb,
this in no degree diminishes the fierceness of its
nature. It is still a 'beast.' It comes up not
out of the ' sea ' like the first beast, but out of the
'earth.' The contrast between the *sea' spoken
of in ver. i and the 'earth' now mentioned
makes it impossible to refer the latter to any one
VOL. IV. 29

particular portion of the world, such as the Asiatic
Continent, or even to the whole world itself, or
to human society and its progress, or to earthly
thinking and willing. The true meaning of the
term must be sought in that distinction between
the Jews and all other nations by which Scripture
is pervaded. The 'sea' represents the latter:
the ' earth ' the former, — yet not the former simply
as a nation. The ' sea ' is the nations as opposed
to God. The ' earth ' is the Jews, as God s pro-
phetic and priestlv people. That this beast
comes up out of the earth b therefore a token
that it springs out of a religious, not a secular,
source ; and this trait corresponds, as we shall
see, to the whole description of it. — And he had
two horns like a tamo. The lamb-like form of

450

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XIII. 11-1&

the horns can only be a travestv of the seven
horns of ' the Lamb ' spoken of m these visions
(chap. V. 6) ; and the number two is not to be
understood literally. Like the ' two * of the two
witnesses in chap, xi 3, the number is sjrmbolical,
and denotes all who are animated by the spirit of
this lamb. The number two, therefore, do^ not
'complete the similarity' to the animal in its
'natural condition/ nor does it show that its
power is 'much less' than that of The Lamb,
because two is less than seven. It radier connects
with this beast an element of persuasiveness.
There may even perhaps be a reference to the
two false witnesses of Matt. xxvi. 60, who came
against our Lord. The like enemies will come
against His people. The religious element again
appears in the lamb-like horns. — And he q^ike
as a dragon. The first bc»st does not speak :
the second does. It is not said that the words
spoken are religious; but, when we remem'ber
how often the word ' spake * of the original is
used of Christ in the Fourth Gospel, and that it
denotes not so much an occasional remark as
formal and continuous discourse, we can hardly
be wrong in seeing here again a travesty of our
Lord. The beast professed to teach religious
truth ; but his mode of teaching was fierce and
murderous, the very opposite of mat of Him who
did not strive nor cry aloud, neither did anv one
hear |^is voice in the streets (Isa. xliL 2 ; Matt,
xii. 19).

Ver. 12. And he exeroiseth all the anthority
of the first beait before him. The words
' before him ' are to be connected with ' exer-
ciseth ; ' and they are again a travesty of that
'before God' which we find predicated of the
Son, of the Spirit, and of the saints (chaps, iii. 5,
i. 4, vii. 15, etc.). This second beast is 'before'
the first, in his presence, sustained by htm, minis-
tering to him, doing his pleasure (comp. chap,
viii. 2, where the seven angels are described as
standing 'before God'). — imd he maketh the
earth . . . whose death-stroke was healed. The
word 'worship' leads us directly to the thought
of religious service, and therefore to that of the
religious per&uasion by which it is secured. —
The descnntion of the first beast given in these
words is highly important — ' whose death-stroke,'
or * the stroke of whose death,' was healed. We
have here an unmistakeable description of the first
beast, not as he appeared in the earlier stages of
his manifestation under the first five heads, but as he
appeared under the sixth, after he had been slain
and had risen to life. Let us allow that St. John
gave credit to the rumour that Nero loould return^
could he have supposed that he had returned f

Ver. 13. And he doeth great signs that he
should even make fire to oome down cat of
heaven into the earth before men. The ' great
signs ' are again a ^mbol of what is done hy false
prophetical and frustly power. The ' fire out of
heaven ' is explained by the function of this beast.
He is to direct men to the worship of the first
beast in whom the Satanic power of the dragon is
personified. As therefore Christ, in whom the
power of God is personified, b preceded by Elias,
who is to direct men's eyes to Him, so the first
beast has in the second his Elias, who travesties
the miracle of the ancient prophet (2 Kings i.
10-12).

Ver. 14. And he deoeiveth, etc. The word
'deceiveth ' again leads us to the thought of faSxt

teaching (Matt. xxiv. 24, etc).— Baying to them
that dwell on the earth that they shonld make
an image to the beast which hath the stroke of
the swoid, and rose to Ufe. The difficult ex-
pression ' image of the beast ' occnis ten times in
the Apocalypse, xiii. 14, 15 (thrice), xiv. 9, 1 1,
XV. 2, xvi. 2, xix. 20, XX. 4. It is to be expbdned
by the help of Gen. i. 26 ; Rom. viii 29 ; i Cor.
xu 7, XV. 49; Cd. i. 15, iiL 10; Heh. L 3.
Comparing &ese passages, the thonght of the
Seer appears to be as follows — First, we have
God, the Son the true ' image ' of God, and man
'renewed' in the Son 'after the image of Him
that created him.' Secondly, we have the first
beast or the world-power in all the ungodliness of
its spirit, that spirit supposed to be incarnated in
its ' image,' and men so created after that image
that they may be said to be 'of their fiaither the
devil ' (John viii. 44). The second beast or the
false prophet will then stand in the same relation
to the first beast and men as that in which Christ
the true prophet stands to God and men. It may
indeed be said that, were this view correct, we
ought to read that men are made after the image
of the beast, whereas what is really said is tlut
they * tnahe* the image. But, according to the
constant teaching of St. John, men who are made
make. They love the darkness ; they choose the
evil ; their will is active not passive in the matter.
There is no ground for the idea that in the image
made to the beast we have an allusion to those
statues of the Roman Emperors which some of
the basest of them set up for worship. ' Image '
in its Scripture sense expresses somediing hving.
It would be far more natural to seek the ' image '
in the Emperors themselves.

Ver. 15. In the words of this verse the second
beast is still further characterized as giving breath
to the image of the beast, that tne image of
the beast shonld both speak, and canse that as
many as shonld not worship the image of the
beast should be killed. These words are com-
monly understood to refer to the Ijring wonden
of pagan priests in making pictures and statues
appear to speak ; to which many add * the moving
images and winking and speaking pictures so
often employed for purposes of imposture by thdr
far less excusable papal successors.* But such
pictures and images, however they might seem to
move and speak, were never able to put to death.
It seems better, therefore, to think first it may be
of the persons in whom civil power was centred,
of the possessors of the world power, of kings or
emperors in any land, but especially in Rome,
who demanded that Divine honours ^ould be
paid them, and who persecuted to the deaih such
as refused the homage. These may be first
thought of, but after them come all who, having
any worldly power, are persuaded to nse it against
the saints of God. To them the second beast
gives ' breath,' making them bAne it about that
they who worship not the image of the first beast,
and are not to the incarnate spirit of the world
what believers are to their Lord, 'should be
killed.'

Ver. i^ The mark is originated by * the beast,'
that is, by the first lieast, Init is imposed at the
instigation of the second. At the same time,
however, it must be noticed that it b freely
accepted by those who receive it (comp. chap,
xiv. 9), and that, probably for the purpose of
bringing out this, the word ' give ' ht used. The

Chap. XIII. 11-18.]

THE REVELATION.

451

Son fredy receives what is given 11 im by the
Father, the devil what is given him by God, the
beast what is given him by the dragon, the ad-
herents of the beast what is eiven them by the
beasL The ' mark ' itself is the travesty of that
impressed by God as His seal upon Hb own
(chap. viL 2). It is made upon the ' right hand
or upon the forehead/ the former being that part
of the bodv upon which soldiers, the latter that
upon which slaves, received their mark. The
followers of the beast own the beast as their
captain and serve it as its slaves. What the

}>recise nature of the mark was we are not in-
brmed, although from tlie following verse it
would appear to have been either the name of the
beast, or the number by which that name might
be expressed. From chap. xiv. i it would seem
that the ' Father's name ' was the mark imprinted
upon the followers of the Lamb.

Ver. 17. The meaning of this verse can only be
that the second beast aimed at denying a part in
the intercourse of life, or the rights of citizenship,
to every one who refused to acknowledge the
supremacy of the first.

Having considered the particulars mentioned in
these verses, we have now to ask what is denoted
by this second beast, or third great enemy of the
saints. In doing so it is necessary to call to
mind the leading principle which seems to lie at
the bottom of the apocalyptic conception of the
Church's strug|[le. We have already nad various
illustrations ^ it, and more will meet us as we
proceed. That principle is simply this, that the
struggle of the Church is the counterpart of the
struggle of Christ Himself. The Church is one
witnher Lord, is appointed to carry on His work
in the world, is exposed to the same trials, and is
destined to achieve the same victory. The enemies
who rise against her are therefore substantially
the same as those with which Jesus had to con-
tend. Keeping this in view, we ought to have
little difficulty in determining the meaning of the
second beast It was with three great enemies
that the contest of Jesus was carried on, and by
them His sufferings and death were brought about.
These were the devil, the power of the heathen
world, .and the spiritual wickedness of the Jews.
The two former nave already been set before us
in the dragon and the first beast. The last men-
tioned is the second beast. It is not worldly
wisdom, or learning, or science, or art ; not in-
creasing civilisation, or the power of intellectual
cultivation, even when most refined and spiritual.
A fatal objection to all such views is that they
not only draw no sufficient distinction between
the first and the second beast, but that they fail
to recognise the essentially religums character of
the latter. Upon this point the indications of the
passage are too numerous and precise to be mis-
taken. The second beast exercises its power not
through the sword but through the word and
signs. The lamb-like form of the horns reminds
of Jesus the great Teacher and Prophet of His
people. The speaking as a dragon takes us to
the thought of those false teachers who come in
sheep's dothing but inwardly are ravening wolves
(Matt. viL 15). The 'great wonders' done by it
are an obvious allusion to the words ' There shall
arise &lse Christs, and £edse prophets, and shall
show ^reat signs and wonders ; so as to lead
astray, if possible, even the elect ' (Matt. xxiv. 24);
while at the same time we are reminded by its

whole appearance of that antichrist, whose coming
' is according to the working of Satan, with all power
and signs and lying wonders' (2 Thess. ii. 9). Add
to all this that the second beast is expressly styled
the ' false prophet ' in other passages of this book
(xvi. 13, xix. 20^ XX. 10), and the conclusion
appears to be incontrovertible, that it represents
to us no mere secular or worldly, but a distinctly
reli^ous and antichristian, spirit. Further, this
spirit is clearly in the first instance Jewish, for
the second beast rises up out of the ' land,' not
like the first out of the 'sea,* and the land is the
emblem of Judaism, as the sea is of heathenism.
More even may be said; for the action of the
second beast corresponds precisely to that of the
fanatical spirit of Judaism in the days of our Lord.
It was ' the Jews ' who stirred up the power of
Rome against their true King ; — it was they who
'exercised all the authority of the first beast
before Him ; ' they who by tneir cry • We have no
king but Caesar ' made an ' image to the beast ; '
and thev who gave ' life unto the image of the
beast,' that it should both 'speak and cause as
many as would not worship it to be killed.'
Circumstances such as these lead directly to the
belief that the fundamental spirit of this second
beast is that of a degenerate Judaism in its most
bigoted, fanatical, and antiduristian form, — that
spirit which stirred up the Roman power against
our Lord, which in after times was so often the
means of unsheathing the sword of the civil magis-
trate against Christians, and which, down to our
own day, has been ever working as a spirit of
enmity and persecution to all that claims for the
religion of Christ the immediate presence of the
Divine.

At the same time we are not to imagine that
this spirit of degenerate Judaism is to be found
only m those who are Jews by birth. In the
Fourth Gospel the spirit of ' the Jews ' is looked
upon as that which most truly and fully exhibits
the irreligious spirit of the world. The same is
the case here. The spirit and rule of the second
beast are as wide as those of the first 'The
Jews' were men. Their nature was human.
They exhibited the preference shown by human
nature in every age lor the seen above the unseeiL
for the outward and formxd above the inward and
spirituaL In this beast, therefore, although we
have first the spirit displayed by Uiem, we have
also embodied that irreligious spirit which, espe-
cially in the Church, has no toleration for the
unworldlmess of the children of God. Tolerant
of all else, it would here threaten and persecute
and kill. The friend of the world is the enemy
of God. Finally, the remark must be made, that
Uiis second beast is to be sought within rather
than without the professing Christian Church.

Ver. 18. At this point the Seer pauses, and we
meet those words which have been so great a

Euzzle to the Church of Christ in all ages of her
istory. Here is wisdom. — The test of wisdom
is then set forth in the following clause : He that
hath understanding, let him count the number
of the beaet, for it is the number of a man,
and his number is six hundred sixty and six.
' It is the number of a man,' that is, the number
of the name of the beast is one which, when trans-
ferred according to the fashion of the time into
the letters designating them, will give the name
of the beast. ' The number is six nundred sixty
and six,' that is, it is a number which consisti of

4S2

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XIII. ii>i8.

three numerals, the lowest 6 ; the second 6 multi-
plied by lo, or 60 ; the third 60 multiplied by 10,
or 60a ' Let him count the number of the beast,'
that is, let him note or weigh carefully the import
of these three numerals.

To treat the point now before us with anything
like the fulness which it deserves is unfortunately
out of the question. The limits of this commen-
tary forbid the attempt. Instead, therefore, of
endeavouring either to examine the various inter-
pretations tlmt have been given of the verse, or to
trace the history of the inquiry, we shall confine
ourselves as much as possible to one interpretation
which seems to have been first proposed half a
century ago by several German scholars (Fritzsche,
Benary, Hitrig, Reuss, etc. ; see SchafTs History oj
the Christian Churchy new edition, vol. iL p. &46)
who each claimed to have discovered it, ana which
has of late been accepted as an unquestionable
solution b^ not a few who have paid most attention
to the subject and are best entitled to be heard. If
we succeed in showing that this particular solution
is untenable, we shall not only determine one point
at least to which, in its bearings on the Apoca-
lypse as a whole, too much importance cannot be
attached, but we shall, in doing so, indicate the
lines upon which it appears to us that a solution
must faie sought. The mterpretation to which we
refer understands the number 'six hundred and
sixty and six' to represent the words 'Nbron
CiESAR.' The argument is that, when written in
Hebrew characters, the letters of these words
stand as follows : NRON KSR, and that, taken
according to their numerical value in the Hebrew
alphabet, they supply the following figures : 50+
200+6+50+ ioo+TO+200, or in all 666. The
conclusion is obvious, and the 'beast,' idike of
our present passage and of chap, xvii., can be no
other than the Emperor Nero, tne foulest monster
that ever stained the pace of history with deeds
of cruelty and lust and blood. We believe that
this solution is mistaken, and we offer the follow-
ing considerations in connection with it.

(i) Every inquirer allows that the 'beast*
spoken of is not the second but the first beast of
the chapter. Sufficient attention, however, has
not been paid to the fact that a distinction must
be drawn between that beast in itself and in each
of the various forms in which it was manifested
under its successive ' heads ' (com p. on ver. 2).
Properly speaking, the beast itself is no one of
these heads singly. It is rather the concentrated
essence of them all (comp. on chap. xvii. 11).
Whatever of evil there is m each of them flows
from it, and must be restored to it when we would
form a true conception of what it is. We know
it only fully when, gathering into itself every
previous element of its demoniacal power, it is
about to exert its last and fiercest paroxysm of
rage before it goes * into perdition * (chap. xvii. 8).
13y the confession even of those against whom
we contend it is ' the eighth * mentioned in chap,
xvii. II ; it is 'of the seven,' and yet it is so far
to be distinguished from them. That this is Uie
correct view of • the beast ' in the present chapter
as well as in chap. xviL is clear, not only from
the fact that the oeast is spoken of as distinct
from any one head, and from the impossibility of
interpreting chaps, xtii. and xvii. unless we
suppose the beast of both chapters to be essentially
the same, but also because in vers. 14-17 of
this chapter we have the wholt work of the second

beast in its service, as well as its own work, set
before us 9S fully and finally accomplished, ' The
beast,' therefore, to which our attention is here
called, cannot be Nero, for, even on the sup-
position that the seven ' h«ids ' of chap. xiiL i or
the seven ' kings ' of chap. xviL 10 were personal
kings and not, as we have already shown,
kingdoms, it must be more than any separate
individual of the series. (2) The interpretation
makes it necessary to have recourse to the letters
of the Hebrew instead of the Greek alphabet
But the improbability that St. John had Hebrew
letters in nis mind is very great. He writes in
Greek. On other occasions he employs the letteis
of the Greek alphabet in order to give, by means
of letters, an expression to his thought (chaps.
i. 8, xxi. 6, xxii. 13). When he uses the Hebrew
he expressly notifies that he does so (chaps, ix.
II, xvi. 16; comp. John v. 2, xix. 13, 17, xx.
16). Few things are more certain than that the
Christians of Asia Minor, for whom he wrote,
had little or no acquaintance with Hebrew. It
b urged indeed that the Seer resorted to the
Hebrew alphabet for the sake of more effisctually
concealing a name the disclosure of which might
have been attended with danger. The assumption
is wholly gratuitous. The obvious intention of
the Seer is not so much to conceal as to reveal
the name, although in a manner that shall
illustrate its solemn import. He is dealing, in
short, not with a human puzzle but with a Divine
mystery, the most essential conditions of which
would have been destroyed had he concerned
himself about the half-concealed name of an indi-
vidual. Nor, if his object be to avert danger
from the Christian Churdi, is he consistent with
himself. It will not be denied that if the
numbers before us point to Nero, the words of
chap, xvii 9, 18 pomt to Rome, and in that case
a city, the naming of which must have been as
dangerous as the naming of its Emperor, could
not have been designated with greater clearness.

(3) It is only by force that the letters of the
Hebrew alphabet can be made to accomplish the
end for which they are referred to. The names
of Ewald and Renan stand at the very head of
Semitic scholarship in Europe, and neither scholar
can be suspected for a moment of any leanii^
towards the traditions of the Church. Yet both
of them have pronounced it almost, if not alto-
gether, impossible to believe that the words Nero
Csesar could in the first century have been spelled in
the way demanded by the proposed solution. The
former, accordingly, first inserts an additional letter
in the KSR, then substitutes Rome for Nero, and
lastly obtains the number 616 (of which we have
still to speak) instead of 666 {Johann. Schrift. ii.
p. 262). The latter, agreeing with Ewald as to
the spelling but not as to the number represented,
gives it as his explanation that the autnor of tht
Apocalypse has ' probably of design suppressed
the additional letter in order that he may nave a
symmetrical cypher.^ With that letter he would
have had 676 (Z'^ff/ft-^r. p. 416). It is surely
too much to expect that men shall readily
receive an explanation so heavily encumbered.

(4) Another circumstance has yet to be noted
which has been adduced by a well-known and
influential writer of the day in the following
words : — ' If any confirmation could possibly be

1 The Hebrew word for Caesar was spelled in the first
century not by the letters KSR but by RISR.

Chap. XIII. 11-18.]

THE REVELATION.

453

wanting to this conclusion (that afforded by the
reference to Neron Caesar), we find it in the curious
fact recorded by Irenseus, that in some copies
he found the reading 616. Now this change can
hardly have been due to carelessness. But if the
above solution be correct, this remarkable and
ancient variation is at once explained and ac-
counted for. A Jewish Christian, trying his
Hebrew solution, which would (as he knew)
defend the interpretation from dangerous Gentiles,
may have been puzzled by the n in Neron Kesar.
Although the name was so written in Hebrew, he
knew that to Romans, and Gentiles generally, the
name was always Nero Caesar, not Neron. But
Nero Kesar in Hebrew, omitting the final », gave
616, not 666; and he may have altered the
reading because he imagined that, in an un-
important particular, it made the solution more
suitable and easy * (Farrar, The Early Days of
Christianity^ vol. ii. p. 298). At first sight the
argument is plausible, but it breaks down on the
fact that the ancient father to whom we owe our
earliest information as to the reading 616 instead
of 666 knew nothing of the proposed explanation.
Although himself offering conjectures at the
time as to the meaning of the mysterious symbols,
he makes no allusion to either Neron Caesar or
Nero Caesar ; and, after mentioning one or two
solutions, he concludes that St. John would have
given the name had he thought it right that it
should be uttered. It b a curious fact, illustrating
the little importance to be attached to the argu-
ment under consideration, that the father to whom
we refer preferred another rendering Teitan
(T=300, E=s, 1 = 10, T=300, A=i, N=so,
in all 666), from which, if we drop the final if,
we get Teita, numbering 616, and a better repre-
sentation than Teitan of the Emperor Titus by
whom Jerusalem was overthrown. When we
find therefore that, notwithstanding the desire
to penetrate into the meaning of the enigma
which marked the early Church, this solution was
not discovered, we have a proof that the discovery
has been made by a false process, and is worthless.
(5) We venture to ask whether in conducting
this discussion sufficient attention has been paid
to St. John's use of the word ' name,* and to the
precise manner in which he makes the statement
of this verse. In all the writings of the Apostle
the * name ' of any one is much more than a
designation by which the person receiving it is
identified. It marks the person in himself. It
tells us not only who he is but what he is. It
has a deep internal signification ; and importance
belongs to it, not because the name is first attached
to a person and then interpreted, but because it
has its meaning first, and has then been affixed,
under the guidance of God, to the person whose
character or work it afterwards expresses.
Keeping this in view let us carefully note the
manner in which the statement of this verse is
made. It is not the name^ it is the numbers that
are emphatic — not the name deduced from the
numbers, but the numbers deduced from the
name. Upon these numbers we are mainly to
fix our eye. But there must be a bond of con-
nection with the name deeper and stronger than
the bare fact that the numbers were yielded by it.
Familiar as the writer shows himself to be with
the method of transposing letters and numbers
then in vogue, he must have known that many
names would yield the number 666, probably

quite as many as the long list which swells the
history of the interpretation of this text Of what
use would it have been merely to call attention to
this ? The questions would instantly arise, Which
is the true solution? Wherein is one name so
given better than another? There must be some
additional element in St. John's thought. Let us
endeavour to discover it by making the supposition
that he had been dealing with the human name
of the Redeemer, * Jesus? He cannot fail to have
known that the letters of that name in Greek give
the number 888(i= 10, «»=8, ^=200, #=70, v=400,
c=200), but many other names must also have
done so. What would lend peculiar importance
to the fact that the correspondence existed in the
name of Jesus? The combination of two things
does it ; first, the meaning of the figures ;
secondly, the meaning of the divinely-bestowed
name. The two correspond ; behold the ex-
pression of the Divine will I The figure 8 had
a Divine meaning to the Jew. It was upon the
8th day that circumcision, the initiatory act of a
new life, was performed. The 8th day was ' the
great dav ' of the Feast of Tabernacles (John viL
37). What in Matt v. 10 is apparently an 8th
Beatitude is really the beginning of a new cycle
in which that character of the Clmstian which nad
been described in the seven previous Beatitudes
is thought of as coming out in such a manner
before the world that the world persecutes. Upon
the 8th day our Lord rose from the grave, bringing
His Church with Him to her true resurrection
life. But the name * Jesus* has also a Divine
meaning (Matt. L 21). In the very spirit of this
passage St. John might have spoken of 'the
number of the name ' of Jesus as eight hundred,
eighty, and ei^ht. As it is, he is occupied with
one who, in his death, resurrection, and second
coming, is the very counterpart of our Lord.
He has a 'name,' a character and work, the
opposite of Christ's. That name may be trans-
lated into numbers yielding 666. Ominous
numbers ! falling short of the sacred 7 to the
same extent as the eights went beyond it ;
associated too with so much that had been ntiost
godless and impious in Old Testament hi^tcify.
The nations of Canaan had been 6 in number
(Deut. XX. 17). The image set up by Nebuchad-
nezzar, and for refusing to worship which the three
companions of Daniel were committed to the fiery
furnace, had been sixty cubits high by six cubits
broad. The weight of gold that came to Solomon
every year, in token of the subjection of the
heatnen nations around him, had been 666 talents
(I Kings X. 14 ; 2 Chron. ix. 13). On the sixth
day of the week at the sixth hour, when Tesus
hung upon the cross, the power of darkness
culminated (Matt xxvii. 45). What dread
thoughts were connected with such sixes ! The
argument then is, — these numbers correspond to
the name of the beast when its meaning, otherwise
known, is taken into account. Both tell the same
tale; behold how God expresses Himself regarding
it ! Now for all this the words Nero Caesar were
utterly useless. The second of the two words
might have a meaning, but the first was meaning-
less. It was simply the name of an individusu.
Merely to count up the numerical value of the
figures obtained from Nero Caesar would not have
answered the apostle's purpose, and could never
have filled his mind with the awe that is upon
him in this verse.

454

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XIV. 1-5.

These considerations seem sufficient to show
that die mere equivalence of value between
the letters of Nero's name (as of many other
names of that and every following age)^ and the
number 666 is no proof that the Roman tyrant is
mysteriously indicated. When we add to this
some of the other points previously spoken of,
more especially that the beast is before us in its
complete development, and that the homage it
receives is paid to it as a beast that had died and
risen from the dead (facts never asserted of Nero
at that time), we are justified in concluding that
the whole Nero theory will most probably prove
but an illustration of the manner in which
exe^etical, not less thui other, fancies have their
penods of temporary revival as well as decay.

It is scarcely necessary to allude to an inter-
pretation of an altogether different kind which
has found favour with many, and which depends

* Among the names which have at different times been
suggested may be mentioned die following : — Latetnos,
Emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus, Nero, Vespasian,
Titus, Mohammed, Luther, Calvin, Bexa. Napoleon
Bonaparte^ Napoleon III. These with a little gentle
manipulation by no means unfaithful to the names are all
found to yield the number 666 (see Schaff*s History of tM4
Ckriitiatt Church, 2883, vol. iL p. 841). Another name has
been recently sumsted by a French writer who makes it
Nimrod, son of Cosh, hi Hebrew letten.

on the form rather than the numerical value oi the
Bgures. Written in letters rather than in words
the figures 666 are the following ;3^',— the first
the initial letter of the name of Christ, the last the
first double letter of the Greek word for cross,
in the middle the twisted * serpent.* There b
nothing inconsistent with the ideas of the time ia
what may appear to be only too fanciful to be
true. It is a sufficient argument against it that
the verse which we have to explain was addressed
to the ear rather than the eye.

All other proposed solutions may be omitted.
We have confined ourselves to that which is by
&r the most plausible, and the consequences of
which, could it be established, would niiidoiibtedlj
make this verse the keystone of apocalyptic inter-
pretation. Our readers, we believe, wul not ask
more. It wiU be noticed, too, that we have
indicated, in what has been said, the most
important condition to be fulfilled by any solnticm
which is to obtain general acceptance. The
* name ' of the beast represented by the figures
must have itsdf a meaning expressive of the besst's
position or character or work. Only if this were
the case could the coincidence of its name with
its number be of consequence to those who woe
to learn firom it

■A'

Chapter XIV. 1-5.

Tfie Lamb upon Mount Sion with His 144,000.

ND I looked,* and, lo/ a* Lamb stood* on the mount
Sion, and with him an * hundred forty and four thousand, «ch. viL 4.

2 having his Father's * name • written in ' their foreheads. And I
heard a voice from • heaven, as the • voice of many waters, and
as the* voice of a great thunder : and I ^^ heard " the voice of

3 harpers harping with their harps : and they sung ** as it were
a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts," and
the elders : and no man '* could learn that " song but '• the
hundred and forty and four thousand, which " were redeemed "

4 from '• the earth. These are they which were not defiled with
women ; for they are * virgins. These are they which follow * |Cor^ ». « :
the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed '"

from among men, being^^ the** first-fruits unto God and to"

5 the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile : ** for **
they are without fault " before the throne of God.*'

* saw

* omit Father's

* out of
" sing
»« save
'» out of
*' unto

*' omit which
«o purchased
"lie
*" omit before the throne of God

• behold » the

• €uid and the name of his Father

• a ^® and the voice which I
** living creatures ** one

^ standing

on

" addw2LS as
"the
^^ even they that had been purchased

'* omit being
** omit for

S9

^^ blemish

Chap. XIV. 6-20.]

THE REVELATION.

455

Contents. The three great enemies of the
people of God have been set before us, and
we might expect the last struggle to begin. So
terrible, however, are the judgments about to
fall that we must be specially prepared for them.
This preparation is made by the visions of the
present diapter.

Ver. I. First the Lamb is seen standing on the
mount Sion. It is the same Lamb that we have
already met with at chap. v. 6, — the once crucified,
but now risen and glorified, Lord. The * mount
Sion ' is neither the literal Sion at Jemsalem, nor
the Christian Church, but simply the most appro-
priate place for the people of God to occupy, the
holy mount, the holy place of the tabernacles of
the Most High. The scene of preservation is not
heaven but earth. — And with him an hnndred
forty and four thousand, having his name and
the name of his Father written on their fore-
heads. These are the sealed of chap, viu, not
one lost. True, they are not spoken of as the
'sealed.* In chap. viL they were so described,
for their preservation was there the prominent
thought. Now that they have been preserved and
admitted as priests withm the veil, our attention
may be directed to the contents of the seal.
These are in part at least — it is not necessary
to think wholly — the ' name * which belongs at
once to the Father and to the Lamb, the name
Lord. St. John, as his manner is, is loftier
than SL Paul, who says, 'Ye are the Lord's*
(Rom. xiv. 8).

Ver. 2. A voice is heard out of heaven. The
description of it shows that it is a voice of mingled
terror and sweetness.

Ver. 3. The song referred to is not said to be
sung by the 144,000, and perhaps we ought to
think simply of a great body of praise going up
before the throne. And no one conld learn the
song save the hnndred and forty and four
thousand, even they that had been purchased
out of the earth. They are described as ' pur-
chased out of the earth,' a designation which,
like that of ver. 4, ' from among men, ' must be
accepted in a general sense, there being nothing
to suggest the idea of Judaism alone. Fhe word
'earth' rather leads us to the thought of our
natural condition as sons of Adam (Gen. iii. 19 ;
I Cor. XV. 47, 49).

Vers. 4, K. These are they which were not
defiled with women, for they are virgins. The
description is in ihree clauses each beginning
with the word 'These.*

(i) * They are virgins * — not all of them literally
so^for the 144,000 represent the whole multitude
of the redeemed. Nor on the other hand, only

in the sense that they had kept themselves pure
from idolatry, for the temptation to actual idolatry
belongs only to particular ages of the Church.
They were * virgins * in the sense in which St.
Paul speaks of the whole Church at Corinth
(2 Cor. xi. 2). Even those who had entered
into marriage, the closest of earthly ties, had
learned to keep it in subordination to the will
of Christ ; * those that had wives were as though
they had none * (i Cor. vii. 29).

(2) These are they which follow the lamb
whithersoever he goeth. As the first clause
contained the negative, the second contains the
positive, aspect of their life. The word for
' goeth ' is important. It is not simply ' whither-
soever he moveth about ;* and still less can it be
referred to the following of the Lamb to favoured
localities in the heavenly mansions. The 144,000
are still on earth. The verb used is that by
which Jesus in the Fourth Gospel so often
denotes His 'going* to the Father, including
both His death and His glorification. The
144,000 follow Him to the cross, the resurrection,
and the ascension (comp. John xxL 22). Thb is
their character. The tense of the verb * follow '
is not that of present time merely, it is descriptive
of a state.

(•x) These were purchased from among men,
a first-fruits unto God and unto the Lamb.
And in their mouth was found no lie: they
are without blemish. The third characteristic
of the 144,000 describe the glory of their
position. For the force of the words 'from
among men,* see on ver. 3. The term ' first-
fruits may seem to imply that the persons spoken
of are a selection from the great bodv of the
redeemed. Were it so, the term would be in-
appropriately used ; for in the view of those who
introduce the idea of selection we are dealing
with Christians at the end, not at the beginning,
of the Church*s history. Besides which, the term
seems to correspond with that of * the elect * in
Matt. xxiv. 31, where all the elect must be
meant. In Jas. i. 18, too, we meet the word in
a similar sense. The 144,000 are a ' first-fruits *
in relation not to the remaining portion of
believers but to all the creatures of God. — The
' lie * spoken of is not simply the opposite of
veracity, but of truth of character and life as a
whole (comp. Ps. cxvi. 1 1 ; John viii. 44 ; I John
ii. 21 ; Rev. xxi. 27). — ^That they are 'without
blemish* reminds us of Jesus Himself (i Pet. i.
19). They are a faultless and acceptable sacrifice
to God, because they are offered up in Him who
' did no sin,* and in whom the Father was always
* well pleased.'

Chapter XIV. 6-20.

Preparatory Visions (continued).

AND I saw another angel fly' in the *'* midst of heaven,' aai.vixLi3.
having the everlasting* gospel to preach unto* them that

* dwell® on the earth, and to' every nation, and kindred," and *ch. iv.

^ flying ^ omt't the ' mid-heaven

* to proclaim over * sit ' over

* an eternal
« tribe

45^ • THE REVELATION. [Chap. XIV. 6-2a

7 tongue, and people, saying with a loud • voice, Fear God, and

give glory to him ; for the ^ hour of his judgment is come : and c Dan. it. 33.
worship him that ^made*® heaven, and*** earth, and the "sea, rfai.Tiu.6-ia.

8 and the" fountains of waters. And there followed another
angel,** saying, 'Babylon" is fallen, is fallen, that great city," 'Ch-rriis.
because she made" all" nations" drink of the wine of the

9 -^ wrath of her fornication. And the third angel" followed ^]^ Jj;^,";^^
them, saying with a loud" voice. If any man worship*** the

beast and his image, and receive *^ his ** mark in ** his forehead,

10 or in** his hand, the same ** shall drink of the wine of the wrath

of God, which is*' poured out *' without mixture into*' the cup ^\^'^^
of his indignation ; *• and he shall be tormented with ** fire and
brimstone in the * presence of'** the holy angels, and in the *cii.xLu.

11 presence of*** the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment
ascendeth " up for ever and ever : and they have no rest day
nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever

12 receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the ' patience of the «cb.«u.io^
saints: here are^^ they that keep the commandments of God,

13 and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from** heaven

saying unto me,** * Write, Blessed are the dead which die in *ch.i. ««..>*
^ o » ' UX.9, xja.5.

the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may
rest from their labours ; and ** their works do *• follow them.*'

14 And I looked,** and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud

one sat" like unto the*® 'Son of man, having on his head a /ch. i.13.

15 golden crown, and in his hand a sharp '"sickle. And another «JoeiuLi>
angel came out of** the temple, crying with a loud** voice to

him that sat on the cloud, thrust in ** thy sickle, and reap : for

the time** is come for thee** to reap : for the "harvest of the *&[• V-33:

Mk. it. 39.

16 earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle

17 on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel
came out of** the temple which is in heaven, he also having a

18 sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar,
which had *' power over fire ; ** and cried ** with a loud cry *° to

him that had the sharp sickle, saying, ''Thrust in" thy sharp *Jociiu.ij.
sickle, and gather the clusters of the ^ vine of the earth ; for her p i>cut. x«n.

19 grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into Sekfiil^X'
the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into

• great *® a/Z^fthe ** omit the " add^i second,

" atid the great ** omit that great city >* which hath made

'* add the *' add to ** And another angel, a third,

^* great *® worshippeth ** receiveth ** a ** upon

** on ** he also *" omit which is

'^ the poured-out unmingled wine in *^ anger *• in *• and before

** goeth *• omit here are '* out of ** omit unto me

»* for »6 ^^i^ jio 87 ^ith them »» saw ^a sitting

** a *i from « g^gat 43 send forth

** hour <* omit for thee ^« from ^^ he that hath

** the fire *• he called ^^ great voice ** Send forth

Chap. XIV. 6- 2a] THE REVELATION. ' 457

20 the great ^wine-press of the wrath of God, And the wine- ^isa.ixiii.i-j.
press was trodden ''without the city, and blood came out of the rHcb.xui.ia.
wine-press, even unto the 'horse bridles,** by the space of" a *Zcch.xiv.ao.
thousand and six hundred furlongs.

** bridles of the horses *• as far as

Contents. The visions contained in these
verses are of the same preparatory character as
the preceding vision. The structure of the
passage is remarkable. It will be observed that
it consists of seven parts, each part except the
fourth, which in a series of seven is always the
central and most important, being introduced by
an angel (see vers. 6, 8, 9, 15, 17, 18). In the
fourth part, at ver. 14, we have the central figure
of the movement, described exactly as in chap,
i. 13, 'one like unto a Son of man.'

Ver, 6. The angel referred to in this verse
cannot be reckoned another with reference to any
angels previously mentioned, for in vers. 8 and 9
we read of the * second * and * third * angel by
whom he is followed, thus making this the first.
He is simply therefore 'another,' because he
introduces a new series of angels. He flies in
mid-heaven (comp. viii. 13), for his voice is to
reach over the whole earth. He has an eternal
gospel to proclaim, usually understood as the
Gospel of glad tidings now to be proclaimed for
the last time to a sinful world. If, however, this
be the meaning, it seems unaccountable that the
article should be omitted. The word ' Gospel *
must therefore be understood in the same sense
as 'prophesying* in chap. x. 11.

Ver. 7, which gives the proclamation, confirms
this view ; the description in ver. 6 of those to
whom it is made does so too ; and the very pre-
position following the verb in the original implies
something peculiar in the mode in which the
tidings are proclaimed. It is not ' the eternal
Gospel ' of Christ, then, that is spoken of, but
the condemnation which alone remains for those
by whom that Gospel has been despised and
rejected (comp. on chap. xv. 6). These persons
are described in a twofold manner. First, they
Bit (not 'dweir) on the earth. The word 'sit '
may appear unsuitable to the idiom of the English
language, but it ought to be employed, as alone
bringing out the meaning of the original. Not
the inhabitants of the earth in general are alluded
to, but those only who have made the earth their
throne. Secondly, they are gathered together in
the four terms which denote universality, every
nation and tribe and tongae and people.

Ver. 7. The angel now utters his cry, Fear
God, and give glory to him, becanae tne hour
of his judgment is oome. The ' fear ' and the
'giving glory' spoken of are those of unbelief
and hardness of heart (comp. chap. xi. 13). On
the word ' hour ' comp. Dan. iv. 33. There is no
' great era of Christian missions ' here. — And
woT^p him that made the heaven and the
earth and sea and fountains of waters. For
the 'worshipping' of God spoken of comp. on
chap. XV. 4.

Ver. 8. And another, a seoond, angel fol.
lowed. He is second to the angel in ver. i. —
Saying, Babylon the great is faUen, is fallen,
which hath made all the nations to drink of

the wine of the wrath of her fornication. The
proclamation is simply anticipatory of what is
to be more fully described hereafter. Till we
come, therefore, to that description (chap. xviii.)it
may be well to defer inquiry into the meaning of
the word 'Babylon.' In her ungodly influence
Babylon is spoken of as making ' all the nations
to drink,' etc. (comp. Jer. li. 7). A third angel
follows.

Ver. 9. And another angel, a third, followed
them, saying with a great voice. It is curious
to meet here again the ' great voice ' which is met
in connection with the first angel, but not with
the second. The circumstance is perhaps to be
accounted for by the tendency of St. John to
return at the close of a series of events to the
beginning. In the next series of three, extending
from ver. 15 to ver. 20, the same structure is
found, a ' great voice ' being there attributed to
the first and third angels, but not to the second. —
If any man worshlppeth the beast and his image,
and reoeiveth a mark upon his forehead or on
his hand. Such is the cry of the third angel as
he proclaims judgment to all the followers of the
beast. These we have already met at chap. xiii.
16. In the description the order of the two
words ' forehead ' and ' hand ' is changed, but the
construction of cases is the same.

Ver. 10. He also shall drink of the wine of
the wrath of Ood, the ponred cat unmingled
wine in the cup of his anger. The punishment
of such is now described in four particulars, the
number four being perhaps taken because it is the
ungodly world with which we are dealing, and
because it Is a lex talionis that is illustrated.
The first of the four particulars corresponds to
ver. 8, and shows that we have before us essen-
tially the same spirit as that there referred to.
The wine is said (literally) to be 'mingled un-
mingled ; ' but there is no play upon the words,
for, owing to the practice of the ancients to mingle
water with wine, the verb to mingle had come
to be used in the simple sense of pouring out
Enough that the wine of the wrath of God is now
' unmingled ; ' the day of grace is past — And he
shall M tormented with fire and brimstone
before Uie angels and before the Lamb. The
second of the four particulars presents us with the
final punishment of hell (comp. chaps, xix. 20^
XX. 10, xxi. 8; Gen. xix. 24).

Ver. II. And the smoke of their torment
goeth up for ever and ever. The third of the
four particulars of their miserable doom, which is
unto ages of ages, that b, ' for ever. ' — And they
have no rest day nor night who worship the
beast and his image, and whosoever reoeiveth
the mark of his name. This is the fourth and
last particular in the delineation of their misery,
whicti is not only everlasting, but uninterrupted
while it lasts. Can we fail to mark the contrast
to the ' no rest day nor night ' of the four living
creatures in chap. iv. 8? In their 'receiving

458 THE REVELATION, [CHAP. XIV. 6-2a

the mark it is implied that there is voluntary Ver. 14. It has been already stated that the

action on the part of Uie followers of the beast. chapter now under consideration divides itself

The first three angels have now fulfilled their into seven parts, the first three introducing to us

message and, before we come to the Judge Him- three angels (vers. 1-13), the last three doing the

self, there is a pause. Two sayings are intro- same (vers. 17-20). Vers. 14-16 thus constitute

duced. the fourth or leading passage of the seven. It is

Ver. 12. Here is the patience of the saints, the centre of the whole chapter, and its very posi-

they that keep the commandments of Ck>d and tion thus prepares us for the transition that we

the faith of Jeens. The first of the two sayings make in it from angels to the Lord Himself.

is an encouragement to the faithful afforded by What is first seen is a white dond, the doud

the fact that God will execute His judgments upon which Jesus is elsewhere rei-)resented as

upon the ungodly in the way which has been coming in order to wind up the hbtoiy of the

described (comp. chap. xiii. 10). We have in world (Matt. xxiv. 30, xxvi. 64). Upon thb

this a further proof that the whole proclamation cloud is seen one sitting like onto a 8011 of man,

of the three angels has been one of judgment, not a description which can leave no donbt upon the

of mercy, or of judgment and mercV combined, mind that it is the Lord (comp. chap. i. 13).

The construction of the two clauses is important, Nor is it in any way inconsistent with this that

as there can be no doubt that the second contains He who sits upon the doud receives a commission

a fuller description of the ' saints * mentioned in from an angel (ver. 14). That angel delivers a

the Hrst (comp. chap. xx. 4). message from God (comp. Dan. vii. 13, 14).

Ver. 13. And I neurd a voice out of heaven The *Son of man' wears a crown of victory,

saying. Write, Blessed are the dead which die He went out to conquer (chap. vL 2) : He now

in the Lord from henceforth. Those that ' die returns as a conqueror. The sickle is for reaping,

in the Lord' are obviously in contrast with the Vers. 15, 16. The fourth angel of the chapter

followers of the beast spoken of in ver. 1 1, and now appears, and cries with a gnmi voice to

the verb used in the original, not * fall asleep ' but him that sat upon the dond that the hour is

' die,' seems to imply the thought of the troubles come to reap. The message is from God, for

and persecutions in the midst of which they died, the Son knows not the hour Himself (Mark

The verb is several times used of Jesus in the xiii. 32 ; comp. Acts L 7), and no sooner is the

Fourth Gospel ; and the words ' in the Lord ' message heard than the Divine will is recognised

here added to it may be intended to denote that and obeyed : the earth was reaped. The angel

the death referred to was such a death as His. it will be observed performs no part of the act of

The expression therefore does not bear that sense reaping. That act is performed wholly by Him

of quiet falling asleep in Jesus which we generally that 'sat on the cloud.' At ver. 19 it will be

assign to it. It rather brings out the fact that in different The question is interesting and impor-

Him His people meet persecution and death ; tant, Whether we are to understand by this hanrcst

and that, although they are not all actually the ingathering of the righteous alone (thus sepa-

martyrs, they have the martyr spirit. — *From rating it bv a broad line of distinction from the

henceforth.' What is the time to which these vintage which immediately follows) or a general

words point? Is it the moment when the harvest reaping of the wicked as well as of the good,

of the earth is to be reaped ? In that case we The analogy of Scripture as well as the mode in

must connect them with * Blessed,' while they are which the passage before us is conceived point

obviously connected with the verb 'die.' Yet we distinctly to the former view. The good are

cannot speak of dying after the 'harvest.' It alone the true * harvest,' the wheat gathered into

seems better, therefore, to understand the words the gamer. At John xiv. 3 Jesus comes for His

as referring to the beginning of the Christian age, own, while at Matt xiiL 41 the angels gather in

and onward to the end (comp. Matt. xxvi. 64). the wicked to their fate.

During all that time the 144,000 are being gathered Ver. 17. In this verse the second of the second
in amidst the temptations of Babylon and the group of three angels appears. He also has a
opposition of the beast. To the faithful during sharp sickle like that of the Person mentioned in
all that time, therefore, the consolation of these ver. 14. But he is not on that account to be
words is given ; and their meaning is, that they identified with Him — ^he only carries out His wilL
who 'die m the Lord ' are ' blessed,' not because The sickle too is to be used for another purpose,
at death they enter into the ivimediate possession there for reaping, here for gathering the vintage,
of the heavenly reward (a point upon which no Ver. 18. The third of the second group of three
direct information is afforded), but because they angels comes not merely from the temple, but
are set free from the difHculties and trials and oat from the altar, the most sacred part of it-
sorrows which, were they left here to continue the that altar over which the angel stands who pre-
struggle, they would have to meet Instead of sents the prayers of the saints to God, and who
being longer troubled they enter into rest (comp. casts its fire upon the earth (chap. viii. 3-5). It
2 Thess. i. 7). Hence accordingly the following is this fire, not fire in general, that is refenred to
words.— Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may when the- aneel is described as he that hath
rest from their labours, for their works follow power over the fire. The fire is the judgments
with them. Those who thus die are blessed of God upon the earth. — The angel next cries to
because * they rest from their labours ; ' they have him that had the sharp sickle that he ^odd
that rest from toil and suffering which they cannot gather the olnsters of Uie vine of the earth,
obtain here below. And how comes it that they As in ver. 16 we were told only of the harvest o(f
thus rest ? Because their ' works (an entirely the good, so here we are told only of the vintage
different word from 'labours') follow with them.' of the wicked. The figure is often used in the
Their Christian character and life, giving them a Old Testament (comp. Isa. Ixiii. I -a ; Jod iiL 13).
meetness for the rest, follow with them. They Ver. 19. The vintage is described. Not merdy
enter into heaven fitted for its joys. the grapes but the Tine of the earth itsdf is

Chap. XV. i-8.]

THE REVELATION.

459

gathered, the vine being wholly rooted out ac-
cording to the words of the Lord, * Every plant
which My Heavenly Father planted not shall be
rooted up' (Matt xv. 13). After this the vine
b cast into the great winepress of the wrath of
God.

Ver. 20. And the winepress was trodden
without the oity. In the words * without the
city ' we can hardly fail to see another instance of
the /ex titlionis : our Lord had suffered ' without
the gate.' — And blood came oat of the wine-
press eyen unto the bridles of the horses, as far
as a thonsand and six hundred furlongs. The
juice of the ^pe here passes into the reality,
blood, which it was intended to represent (comp.
Isa. bdii. 1-3). It is difficult to say what may
be the exact meaning of the first part of the
description of the great sea of blood — that its
depth was ' to the bridles of the horses.' There
IS nothing to suggest the idea that the horses
represent the 'chiefs of the people.' Commenta-
tors generally abandon such an interpretation, but
substitute none of their own, occupying themselves

rather with the inquiry, whether these horses are
those of the angels of chap. ix. 15 or those of the
host that come up to the aestruction of Jerusalem.
May the words of Zech. xiv. 20 supply the
needed explanation, * In that day shall there be
upon the bells (bridles) of the horses, Holiness
UNTO THE Lord'? The thought of the Seer
may be that the blood could not be so deep as to
touch these holy words. The extent of the sea of
blood is less difHcult to determine. We may at
once dismiss the idea that it is taken from the
superficial area of the Holy Land or of the old
territories of the Pope, or that the expression
denotes simply 'great extent.' We must start
from the fact that we have to deal with a judg-
ment by which the whoU ungodly world b over-
taken, and that four is the number of the world.
This number is first squared for completeness,
and then multiplied by 100^ a number, as we
have seen, belonging to the wicked, while looo
belongs rather to the good. Thus we have 4x4
X 100, representing the whole surface of the earth,
wherever the ungodly are to be found.

Chapter XV. i-8.

The Aftgels with the Bowls.

_ «

1 A ND I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous,
-L^ seven angels having the' seven last* plagues;' for in

2 them is filled up^ the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a

'sea of glass* mingled with fire : and them that had gotten the **£** -l^;.^'
victory* over' the * beast, and over' his 'image, and over his *ch*jii. i.

C V^il* Xlll« i^*

mark,' andovtx'' the ''number of his name, stand on the sea of rfCh.xuL is.

3 glass,* having the '® harps of God. And they sing the song of

* Moses the servant of God, and the song of the -^ Lamb, saying, ^SV- '•
Great and ^marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ; ^p»- "''*'«•

4 * just "and true ^r^ thy ways, thou King of "saints." Who JF^<J*^- '7.
shall not fear thee," O Lord, and glorify thy name } for thou

only art holy : for all " nations shall come and worship before

5 thee; for thy judgments" are" made manifest. And after
that" I looked," and, behold," the * temple of the ' tabernacle *ch.x»:.«9.

• Acts VII. 44*

0 of the testimony " in heaven was opened : and the seven angels
came out of the temple," having " the seven plagues, clothed
in pure and white '^ linen," and having " their breasts " girded ** ««ex- xxviu.

J with golden girdles. And ^ one of the four beasts " gave unto

^ omii the * omit last ' add which are the last

' a glassy sea * and them that come victorious

* is finished
' out of

«7

xxviu. 13.
»Ch. i. 13.
o Ch. vi. X, 3,

5.7.

^ omit and over his mark
*• omit the " righteous
** add the ** righteous acts

*• saw *• omit behold

'^ and there came out from the temple
** clothed with a stone pure and lustrous
'* ^;fi«r girded

' standing upon the glassy sea
** the nations *• omit Uiee
*• have been *' these things

*® of witness
«« the seven angels that have

** girt round
'* living creatures

46o . THE REVELATION. [Chap. XV. 1-8.

the seven angels seven golden vials *' full of the wrath of God,
8 who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with
^ smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no ^e^S""''-.
man '* was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues isa. n. 4.
of the seven angels were fulfilled.**

" bowls *® one *• should be finished

Contents. This chapter b introductory (like
chaps, xii., xiii., and xiv.) to the final outpouring
of the Almighty's wrath upon the enemies of His
Church. In cnaps. xii. and xiii. we had these
enemies presented to us ; in chap. xiv. we had
the assurance that, formidable as they were, they
should neither be able to hurt the righteous nor
to protect the wicked. In chap. xv. the last
ministers of the Almighty's venp^eance are intro*
duced, and we are invited to listen to the song
with which they are sent forth upon their mission.
The series of the Bowls opens with two visions,
the first in vers. 2-4, the second in vers. 5-8, of
this chapter. The Seals were introduced by no
vision immediately connected with them : the
Trumpets were introduced by one vision (chap,
viii. 1-5). Two visions introduce the Bowls, and
thus again illustrate the climactic character of this
book.

Ver. I. The angels spoken of have fleven
plagues which are the last; and the reason is
assigned why they are so named, for in them is
finished the wrath of God. God's last and most
terrible judgments are at hand.

Ver. 2. The next thing seen is a glassy sea
mingled with fire. There can be no reason to
doubt that this is the sea already spoken of at
chap. iv. 6. The difference is, that it is now
' mingled with fire,' the same fire as that of chap,
xiv. 18, the fire of judgment (comp. on chap,
iv. 6). — Those that occupy this sea are next
described as they that come victorious out of the
beast, and out of his image, and out of the
number of his name, words in which the remark-
able use of the preposition ' out of ' is well worthy
of notice (comp. on John xvii. 15). In the
persons referred to we must include all Christians
of all times who have been victorious over the
three things mentioned. There is nothing to
suggest the thought of a mere selection from that
number. — For the harps of Ood which they hold
in their hands see chaps, v. 8, xiv. 2.

Ver. 3. Not only do they harp : they mingle
song with their harping. — Tney sing the song of
Moses the servant of God and the song of the
Lamb, saying. The epithet 'servant of God'
applied to Moses awakens the remembrance of all
that God did for Israel through Moses the great
representative of the Old Testament Dispensation.
The Lamb is not less clearly the sun and centre
of the New Testament Dispensation. Or the
matter may be otherwise looked at. Moses
delivered men from the first head of the beast, i,f,
under him began that deliverance out of a perse-
cuting world which is finished in Christ. The
song, therefore, includes everything that God had
done for His people alike in Old and New Testa-
ment times. How clearly does it appear that the
beast cannot be Nero ! Only one generation, not
the whole Church, could sing of deliverance from
him. There is nothing to indicate that the song

is similar to that of Israel at the Red Sea,
Ex. XV., or to that of Deut xxxii., yet in all
probability the former was in the Seer's view. — lo
the words of the song it seems only necessary to
notice that for the reading ' king of saints ' of the
Authorised Version king of the nations is to be
substituted. The change is important, as throw-
ing light upon that aspect of the Almighty which
is here thought of. Not His love towards His
'saints,' but His terror towards His enemies is
celebrated. He beautifies His people with salva-
tion, but He visits the ' nations^ with His wrath.
Ver. 4. In this verse the song begun in ver. 3
is continued in the following words. Who shal
not fear, 0 Lord, and glorify th j name, for
thou only art holyf for all Uie nations shall
come and worship before thee, for thy
righteous acts have been made manifest. The
' righteous acts ' of God referred to are not such
as have been exhibited alike in the publication of
His Gospel and in the destruction of His enemie&
The whole context imperatively requires that we
shall understand them of the latter alone. If so,
we are guided to the true meaning of the word
' worship ' in this verse, and we have at the same
time a striking illustration of the manner in which,
throughout the Apocalypse (and the Fourth
Gospel), we meet with a double marvelling .ind a
double worship, that of faith upon the one hand,
and of fear upon the other. It may be at once
allowed that there is no passage in the Apocalypse
which seems to speak so strongly of the conversion
of the world as that now before us. Yet there is
a ' worship ' of awe, of terror, and of trembling,
as well as a ' worship ' of faith and love ; and tlie
whole analogv of this book (as well as of the
Fourth Gospel, which in this respect most strikingly
resembles it) leads directly to the conclusion, that
the former alone is spoken of when the worship
of the ungodly is referred ta So in Phil, it 10
' things under the earth ' bow the knee and
confess that Jesus is Lord. However, therefore,
we mav be at times disposed to think that mention
is made in this book of the conversion of the
wicked, it will we believe always appear upoo
more attentive consideration that nothing of the
kind is really spoken of. Yet we are not on this
account to conclude that the Apocalypse dooms to
everlasting ruin all but the selected number who
constitute in its pages the true Church of Christ.
Its language appears only to be founded on that
style ofthought which meets us in the Old Testa-
ment when the Prophets speak of the enemies of
Israel. Israel shall conquer and overthrow, but
not necessarilv destroy, them. Through their very
subjugation they may receive a blessing. Thus
may it be in the case before us. All that we nige
is, that in the words of this v^rse judgment alone
is in view. If judgment lead to penitence it is
well ; but the eye of the Seer does not travel so
far into the future.

Chap. XVI. 1-2 1.]

THE REVELATION.

461

Ver. 5. And aftar theae things I nw, and the
temple of the tabernacle of witnees in heaven
was opened. When at chap. xi. 19 the ' temple
of God that is in heaven ' was opened there was

seen

'the ark of the covenant reminding of

mercy — ^here the same ark is seen, bnt now it is in
' the tabernacle of witness,* i,e. in the tabernacle
containing the tables of the law by which God
witnessed against Israel. At present, therefore,
there is only judgment in view, and God is to
take immediate part in it.

Ver. 6. The seven angels that have the seven
plagnes now issue from the temple, that is, from
the innermost shrine of the heavenly sanctuary.
'l*heir clothing, according to the later and more
correct reading of the Greek, has seemed to many
to be absurd : they are clothed with a stone pnre
and InstroQS. But the same idea meets us in
Ezek. xxviii. 13 ('every precious stone was thy
covering'), and we have already seen with how
much freedom the Apocalyptic Seer employs the
figures of his book (comp. on the ' white stone ' of
chap. ii. 17). Probably, too, it is not necessary
to think of a clothing with actual stones however
beaten out. The conditions may be sufficiently
fulfilled by the thought of a garment covered and
sparkling with precious stones (comp. chap. xvii. 4).
The gilding is that of chap. L 13, so that we
can hardly be wrong in supposing that priestly
garments are alluded to, and that the precious
stones worn by the high priest are thought of as
multiplied till they constituted a garment for the
whole body. The seven angels thus issue from

the temple to be priests of destruction instead oi
salvation (comp. chap. xiv. 6).

Ver. 7. One of the living creatures next gives
to the seven angels seven golden bowls. I'hese
living creatures, it will be remembered, are the
representatives of redeemed creation, so that in
the action here described the redeemed appear as
giving the summons for the execution of judgment
upon their enemies. It will be noticed that the
Greek word rendered * vials * in the Authorised
Version we translate, with the Revised Version,
'bowls.* The objects so designated were not
vials but those sacred bowls, rather broad than
deep, in which the incense, lighted by coals from
the brazen altar, was offered on the golden altar
within the sanctuary. They are called * basons '
in the Old Testament. They are thus much
better adapted than vials to any sudden and
terrible outpouring of the wrath of God.

Ver. 8. And the temple was filled with smoke
from the glory of God and from his power.
This smoke is no smoke of incense, nor is it simply
the thick cloud of the majesty of God. It is the
smoke by which He is surrounded as the righteous
Lawgiver, that which proceeds from the fire of His
wrath. The figure seems to be derived from Ex.
xl. 34, 35.— And no one was able to enter into
the temple till the seven plagnes of the seven
angels shonld be finished. The meaning < f
these words is perhaps best to be ascertained by
comparing them with Ex. xix. 2X. God cannot
be approached at the moment when He is reveal-
ing Himself in all the terrors of His indignation.

Chapter XVI. 1-2 1.

The Seven Bowls,

1 A ND I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the
-tx, seven angels, Go your ' ways,' and pour out the vials ' of

2 the wrath of God upon * the earth. And the first went, and

poured out his vial upon * the earth ; and there fell a " noisome ^ex. ix. s-is.
and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the

3 beast, and upon them * which worshipped his image. And the
second angel ' poured out his vial upon * the sea ; and it became

as the* * blood* of a dead man : and every living soul died ^" in *ex. vh. 19.

4 the sea. And the third angeF poured out his vial upon* the
rivers and " fountains of" waters ; and they became blood.

5 And I heard the angel of the waters say," Thou art *" righteous, cCh. xv. 4.
O Lord," which art, and " wast, and " shalt be," because thou

6 hast judged thus. For they have" shed*® the blood of saints

and prophets, and thou hast given them "^ blood to drink ; for *^ '/isa. xiix.96.

* ye * omt/ ways • seven bowls

• omit ufion them ^ omt/ angel
'® add even the things that were

" omit O Lord »« add which

" the Holy One " omit have

* into

* omit as the
*' add\he

** omit and
" poured out

' bowl into
• addsiS
'* saying

*^ ofnit for

462 THE REVELATION. [Chap. XVI. 1-21.

7 they are 'worthy. And I heard another out of" the •'^altar 'Cp.^iu.4.
say,** Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy

8 judgements. And the fourth angel ^ poured out his vial ^ upon

the sun ; and power was given unto him to '^ scorch men with /Ch. l id.

9 fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and" blas-
phemed the name of God, which hath** power over these

10 plagues : and they * repented not to give him glory. And the ^^iiiSL*!'-

fifth angel ' poured out his vial upon * the seat ** of the beast ;

Dan. V. ij
a3-

and his kingdom was full of** darkness;" and they gnawed

1 1 their tongues for pain, and ** blasphemed the God of heaven
because of their pains and their sores, and " repented not of**

12 their deeds.'* And the sixth angel ^ poured out his vial "* upon

the great river" "Euphrates; and the water thereof was iCh.u.14.
* dried up, that the way of the ' kings of the east'* might" be J&i,.^.

13 prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like** frogs cotne •«*•**»-»•
out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the

14 beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are

the ** spirits of *" devils,'* working " miracles,*^ which go forth ^^ri^ t?*9.
unto the kings of the earth and of** the whole world, to gather
them'* to the battle*® of that** great day of God Almighty.**

15 Behold, I come as a * thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and 'fxiISLi!..
keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his

16 shame. And he" gathered them together into a** place**

17 called in the Hebrew tongue ^Armageddon.** And the seventh ^i^'^^j
angeF poured out his vial into*^ the air; and there came** a j9:Zech.xa
great voice out of the temple of heaven,** from the throne,

18 saying, It is done. And there were" ^voices, and thunders, ^ch.viii.5,
and lightnings;** and there was a great earthquake, such as

was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earth-

19 quake, atid^^ so great. And the ''great city was ' divided into ''S* "• ^
three parts, and the ' cities of the nations fell : and great ' *•«• ^- "•
Babylon** came** in remembrance before God, to give unto

20 her the cup of the wine of the fierceness ** of his wrath.** And
every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

21 And there fell upon men a great "hail out of heaven," every «Ex.ix.a>
stone about the weight of a talent : *• and men blasphemed God

*® omit another out of ** saying ** bowl •* add they

«* add the «« throne ^s ^^it full of «' darkened

*^ add they *• out of '® works '* add the river

'* from the sunrising " may '* as it were ** omit the

^^ demons *' signs ^* omit the earth and of

3» add together " war « the " God, the Abnighty

*^ they 1** the ** add which is ** Har-Magedon ^'* bowl upon

*^ came forth *• omit of heaven *® add lightnings and

"^ omit and lightnings ** omit and *• and Babylon the great

** add up ** wrath *• anger

"' And a great hail as of a talent in weight cometh down out of heaven upon
men, *^ omit every stone about the weight of a talent

Chap. XVI. 1-21.] THE REVELATION.

because of the plague of the hail ; for the plague thereof wais
exceeding great**

'* because great is the plague of it exceedingly

463

Contents. This chapter is occupied with the
seven Bowls, and judgment assumes its last and
highest form.

Ver. I. The voice heard is that of God, for He
alone was in the temple (chap. xv. 8); and it
comes from the innermost shrine. Nothing of
this kind had been said- at the opening of the
trumpets (chap. viii. 7) ; and the distinction is
important, for it shows us that it is not now the
people of God who continue the conflict, but God
Himself who acts directly for them. He takes
His own cause in hand. The earth is to be dis-
tinguished from the ' sea * (comp. ver. 3).

Ver. 2. The fizat angel poured oat his bowl
into tiie earth. The whole earth is thought of,
and no more only a third part of it as at chap,
viii. 7. — ^And there fell a noiaome and grievouB
■ore upon the men which had the mark of the
beast and which worshipped his image. The
idea of the plague is taken from that of Egypt in
Ex. ix. 8-12, but it cannot be literally understood,
for literal interpretation is wholly inapplicable to
the sixth bowl, and all the bowls must be inter-
preted on the same principles.

Ver. 3. The second angel poured out his
bowl into the sea. The whole sea, and not
merely a part of it as at chap. viii. 8^ 9, is affected
by this plague. The increased potency of the
plague is also shown in the description given of
the blood, — not merely blood, but Dlood as of a
dead man, thick, unnatural, offensive to the eye. —
Every liviiig soul, too, died, and not merely ' the
third part ' of the creatures that were in the sea.
It can hardly be doubted that we have in this
bowl a reference to one of the plagues of Egypt
(Ex. vii. 19). But literal interpretation cannot be
thought of.

Ver. 4. And the third poured out his bowl
into the rivers and the fountains of the waters,
and they became blood. Again we see the
increased potency of the third bowl as compared
with the third trumpet, chap. viii. 10, 11. All
rivers, etc., are afiected, and they become more
than bitter, they become blood.

Vers. 5, 6. And I heard the angel of the
waters saying, Thou art righteous, which art,
and which wast, the Holy Gbe. No episode of
this kind had intervened at the close of the third
trumpet. But at the highest stage of judgment it
is fitting that even those who sufier from it should
answer that it is right. The answer is given by
the ' angel of the waters,' not the angel ' who was
set over the waters,' and surely not the angel who
now poured out his bowl upon the waters, but
the waters themselves speakmg by their angel,
and responding to the fact that the jud^ent
which they have incurred is just The ascription
of praise is to God as ' righteous,' and it will be
observed that He is described in three particu-
lars; first, 'which art,' secondly, 'which wast,'
thirdly, 'the Holy One.' 'Which art to come*
can be no longer used, for God is come (comp.
chap. XL 17). The particular method of judg-
ment is also commended. It -is again the Ux
talionis ; those who had poured out blood shall

drink blood. — They are worthy (comp. chap,
w. 4).

Ver. 7. Not only is an acknowledgment of the
righteousness of God's judgment given by the
' waters ; ' the martyred saints also respond. The
altar (not as in the Authorised Version ' another
out of the altar ') speaks. It is the altar of chap,
vi. 9 beneath which b the blood, that is the lives,
of the saints. They who have suffered own that
the judgments of the Almighty upon those who
persecuted them even unto death are true and
righteous, conformable to the realities of things
and to the demands of perfect righteousness.

Ver. 8. The fourth poured out his bowl upon
the sun, and it was given unto him to scorch
men with fixe. We have not yet passed into a
world different from that with which the previous
bowls were connected. ' Men ' are still plagued,
though through the instrumentality of the sun which
is used by the angel of judgment for this purpose,
the ' fire referred to being the scorching heat of
that luminary. As compared with chap. viii. 12
there is again increased intensity of judgment, for
the whole sun is affected, and not merdy a third
part of it ; and its scorching heat, which had not
there been spoken of, is now particularly noticed.

Ver. 9. And men were scorched with great
heat, and they blasphemed the name of God,
whidi hath the power over these plagues, and
they repented not to giye him glory. The
blaspheming is produced not by the last plague
alone, but by the four that have been spoken dl —
'plagues' not plague. — The effect is worthy of
notice. There is no repentance. Those visited
are the followers of the beast. They have chosen
their portion ; they have hardened themselves ;
and they are made worse by judgment.

Ver. la The fifth poured out his bowl into
the throne of the beast With the fifth bowl
we pass into a different r^on, that of the spiritual
powers of darkness. This bowl attacks the very
centre of the beast's authority, and the advance
from the fifth trumpet is very perceptible. There
the hosts of the bottomless pit come forth to
plague men. Here the king of^these hosts is him-
self plagued. The ' throne ' of the beast is no
particular city, but is a? symbol of the beast's
general power. — And his kingdom was darkened,
and they gnawed their tongues for pain. The
Egyptian pl^^e of darkness is the foundation of
the ngure. The addition of the ' gnawing of the
tongue for pain ' is remarkable, for the pain could
not proceed from the darkness. It could come
from nothing but the effects of the previous
plagues. Each successive plague thus supposes
those that had gone before it to be still raging.
Each successive woe is added to its predecessors
without the latter being suppressed. If it be so, it
becomes more impossible than ever to interpret
any one of these plagues literally.

Ver. II. And they blasphemed the God of
heaven because of their pains and their sores,
and they repented not out of their worin.
Compare on ver. 9.

Ver. 12. And the sixth poured out his bowl

464

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XVI. 1-21.

upon the great river, the river Enphrates. The
sixth trumpet had related to the river Euphrates,
chap. ix. 14, and the principles of interpretation
necessary there are also to be applied here. The
Euphrates b the river of Bat^lon, the seat of
antichristian power, from which proceed assaults
upon the people of God.— And the water thereof
wae dried ap, that the way of the kings Aom
the ennrising may be prepared. At the founda-
tion of this figure of the drying up of the
Euphrates may lie the drying up of the Jordan
when Israel took possession of the promised land ;
but it is more probable that the Seer has in view
that diverting of the course of this river by means
of which Cyrus captured Babylon. When Cyrus
is predicted as the destroyer of Babylon he is
twice spoken of by Isaiah ns from the East or the
sunrising (Isa. xli. 2, xlvi. ii). Cyrus was indeed
generally thought of by the fathers as a type of
Christ, and it may be observed that, when lie is
first alluded to, it is in the chapter immediately
succeeding that in which Isaiah prophesies of the
Baptist as 'preparing the way of the Lord*
(chap. xi. 3). The figure of drying up waters is
one often met with in the prophets, where it is
used to express the steps by which God prepares
the way for the deliverance of His people and the
destruction of their enemies (Isa. xli v. 27, li. 10 ;
Jer. I. 38; Zech. x. 11). In addition to this, the
words, ' that the way may be prepared,' lead us
directly to the thought of the ' preparing of the
way of the Lord ' by the Baptist, and thus to a
preparation of which the good, not the wicked,
shall avail themselves. Further, this very expres-
sion, 'firom the sunrising,' has already met us in
chap. vii. 2, in connection with the angel who
comes firom that quarter with the seal of the living
God in his hand ; and, as it is always necessary in
the Apocalypse to interpret the same expression in
the same way, we are once more led to the thought
not of evil but of good. This view is confirmed
by another remarkable fact, that in the prophets
Christ Himself is sometimes designated by the word
' The East.' Thus in Zech. iii. 8, where we read
in the Authorised Version ' Behold I will bring
forth my servant the Branch,' the LXX. read ' my
servant the East ; ' so also in Zech. vi. 12 ; while,
in Jer. xxiii. 5, * I will raise unto David a righteous
branch,' is in the LXX. ' a righteous East.' Once
more, it is difficult to resist the impression that
there is a contrast between these kings ' from the
sunrising,' and those described in ver. 14 as ' the
kings of the whole world,* who are evidently evil.

Putting these circumstances together we seem
compelled to come to the conclusion that the
persons described as 'kings from the sunrising'
are the very opposite of what they are often inter-
preted to be. They are not * the forces of rude
and open evil which have been long restrained ; '
still less are they the princes who would fain
return with a Nero redtix for the destruction of
Rome. They are representatives of all Christ's
faithful ones who are not only priests but kings
unto God, and for whom the waters of the
Euphrates are dried up that their march to the de-
struction of Babylon may be easy and triumphant.

Christ's people are now gathered together as an
army. But they shall not need to fight. We
shall see that they do not fight (comp. chap. xx. 9).
They shall rest m Christ. God snail fight His
own battle. The war shall be that ' of the great
day of God, the Almighty ' (ver. 14).

Ver. 13. The dragon, the beiat, and the false
prophet are again before us. They are the three
great enemies of the people of God who have
already been described ; although here we have
for the first time the second beast of chap, xtii 1 1
spoken of as the 'fiaJse prophet,' a designation
afterwards applied to it in chaps, xix. 20 and
XX. la The point to be chiefly noticed is that
all the great enemies of God's people are
gathered together. All the demoniacal powers of
the world in their united forces are on the stage.
Three nndean tpirits ae it were firogi. An
unclean spirit comes out of the mouth of each ;
and the spirits are as ' frogs,* unclean, boastin;^,
noisy, offensive animals. There mayperhaps be
a reference to the frogs of £g3rpt. Tne land of
Egypt had ' brought forth frogs in the chambers
of their kings ' (Ps. cv. 30) — so does this spiritual
Egypt.

Ver. 14. For they are spirits of demoDS
working signs. They thus show at once their
hellish origin, and the power lent them in order
that they may be the better enabled to effect thdr
end.— which go forth nnto the kings of the
whole world, to gather them together to the
war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
We have now the purpose for which mention of
these unclean spints is introduced. It is that
Satanic might and deception may be exerted to
their utmost, so that the enemies of God firom all
parts of the world may be led to go up to the
war in which they shall be destroyed. The repre-
sentation may rest upon I Kings xxii. 20-22, when
a lying spirit goes forth to persuade Ahab to rush
upon his fate. These lying spirits in like manner
persuade the kings of the whole godless world to
rush upon the fate prepared for Uiem in the but
great judgment of God — * His day.'

Ver. 15. The wonderful character of the great
day of God, and of the issues that belong to it,
leads to the interposition of this verse. — ^Mhold,
I come as a thief. The Lord Himself speaks,
not the Seer in His name. The words are those
of Matt. xxiv. I, XXV. i, Mark xiii. 34, Luke
xii* 37> and they embrace the thought both of
the suddenness of Christ's coming, and of the
destruction which it brings with it to the wicked
(comp. on chap. iii. 3). In the remaining words
of the verse the Seer seems to take up the strain,
as he pronounces blessedness upon him who is
ready for the events of the day so rapidly
approaching. Similar parentheses occur at chaps,
xiii. 9 and xiv. 12.

Ver. 16. And they gathered them together
into the place which is called in the Hebrew
tongue HarMagedon. The * they ' spoken of in
these words refers to neither God nor the angel,
but to the unclean spirits of ver. 14. These
spirits had gone forth to gather together all who
had submitted themselves to the dragon, the
beast, and the false prophet. They now ac-
complish their mission, but the conflict does not
yet take place. The spot where the hosts assemble
IS mentioned only by anticipation. The battle
itself is that of chap. xix. 19-21.

By the mention made of the fact that the name
of the place is in the Hebrew tongue Har-
Magedon, we are invited to think of the meaning
of that compound term, and of the associations
connected with it. There can be no doubt as to
the composition of the word, — /Azr, a mountain,
and Magedon, or Megiddon, or Megiddo, the

Chap. XVI. 1-2 ij

THE REVELATION.

465

name of an extensive place in the noith of
Palestine which has been in all ages the battle-
field of the Holy Land, and derived from the
Hebrew verb signifying to destroy ; so that, apart
from any particular associations, the simple mean-
ing of the word is 'the mountain of destruction.' In
addition to this, however, we have to recall to mind
two gineat slaughters at Me^ddo mentioned in the
Old Testament The first is that celebrated in the
Song of Deborah and Barak (Judg. v. 19), and
again alluded to in Ps. Ixxxiii. 9. fhe second is
that in which King Josiah fell (2 Kings xxiiL 29),
a fall which produced the striking lamentation
described in 2 Chron. xxxv. 25, and which is
afterwards referred to by the prophet Zechariah
(chap. xii. 11). It b not easy to say which of
these two slaughters is most probably present to
the mind of Sl John in the words before us. In
one respect the first may seem most suitable,
because there Uie enemies of Israel were com-
pletely overthrown. In another the second
appears to be the more appropriate, owing not
onlv to the fact that the mourning is recorded
with so much pathos in 2 Chron., but that it
becomes in Zecnariah the type of mourning on
that day when the Lord ' will seek to destrov all
the nations that come against Jerusalem ' (chap.
xiL'9). There is no improbability in the sup-
position that both slaughters may be in the mind
of the Seer ; and it b at least evident that
Megiddo was a name associated with the thought
of the sudden and terrible defeat of the enemies
of God. In thb sense then the word Har-
Magedon b to be understood. No particular
place either in Palestine or elsewhere is pointed
at ; nor b any particular event referred to. The
word, like Euphrates, b the expression of an uUa^
— the idea that swift and overwhelming destruction
shall overtake all who gather themselves together
against the Lord. In Joel iiL 2 we have a similar
use of the name ' Tehoshaphat' The meaning of
Jeboshaphat b ' God judges ; ' and, when the
heathen are summoned to that valley, they are
really summoned to meet God in judgment.

Ver. 17. And the seventh poured out his
bowl apon the air. The air b the dwelling-
place of the powers of darkness, whose head is
•the prince of the power of the air.* — And
there ceme forth a great voioe oat of the
temple, from the thrmie, saying, It is done.
The voice b from God, and from His very throne.
The words are, 'It is done,' i>. all God's
purposes are accomplished ; all the plagues are
poured out ; the end b reached.

Ver. 18. And there were lightnings and
Toioes and thunders. What follows describing
the end seems to be divided into seven particulars,
of which thb verse contains the first The
'lightnings,' etc, are those which usually ac-
company the judgments of God. The earthquake
si>oken of in the second half of the verse b the
second particular, and its terrors are magnified in
language of much sublimity.

Ver. 19. And the great city was divided into
three parts. In these words we have the third
particular of the seven. The sentence of Dan.
v. 28 may be in the Seer's mind, ' Thy kingdom
b divided, and given to the Medes and Persums.'
If thb reference be correct, it will confirm the
view (i) that Cyrus b the type from which 'the
kings from the sunrbing ' mentioned in ver. 12 b
taken ; and (2) that these kings are messengers
VOL. IV. 30

of Christ, and deliverers of His Church as Cyrus
was. The city b divided into * three ' parts, not
so much from any thought of the three unclean
spirits as from the idea of St. John that a whole
consbts of three parts (but comp. also Ezek. v.
1-5, 12). The meaning b that the city was
broken up and overthrown. The question of the
identification of thb ' great city ' b more difficult
It b commonly understood to be Babylon, the
emblem and centre of the world power. But in
chap. xi. 8 mention has already been made of
Jerusalem as ' the great city,' and it is not easy to
see how we can now interpret the name in a
different manner. Besides this, Jerusalem was
thought of in chap. xi. 8 as the city of ' the Jews '
rather than as the metropolb of God's kingdom,
— the idea of the place where Jesus was crucified
being afterwards extended by the mention of Sodom
and Egypt (comp. on chaps, xi. 8 and xviii. 24).
The 'great city' would therefore seem to be
Jerusalem viewed in a less extensive sense than
mchap. xL, as the principle and essence of what
St John in his Gospel calls 'the world.'— The
cities of the nations felt This b the fourth
particular of the seven. The reference may be to
Mic. V. II, 14. There, no doubt, it is the cities
of Israel in which, rather than in Himself, the
people had trusted that God promises in mercy to
take away. But what is a merciful chastisement
to Israel is a judgment on ' the nations,' and the
destroying of their only refuge. Every city they
had built for themselves 'falls,' and they are
left houseless and defenceless. — And Babylon l^e
great came np, etc. We have now the fifth
particular of the seven. ' Babylon the great ' is
not essentially dbtinct from ' the great city ' of
the first clause of the verse, yet it b not exactly
the same. We have already seen that the latter
is degenerate Jerusalem viewed in a less extensive
sense than in chap. xi. Now it b viewed in its
widest meaning, as embracing not only the
essence and principle of 'the world' once
exhibited among 'the Jews,' but that principle
as it appears in the Gentile not less than in the
Jew. As in chap. xL 8 ' the great city ' expanded
until it embraced Sodom and Egypt, so here in
like manner it expands into ' Babylon the great.'
As such it must drink of the cap of God's anger
blazing out in Hb wrath.

Ver. 20. And every island fled away, and
the monntains were not found. The particular
thus mentioned b the sixth, and the language
used b even stronger than that of chap. vi. 14,
' and every mountain and island were moved out
of their places.' The climax of judgment appears
in the chmax of description.

Ver. 21. And a great hail cometh down as of
a talent in weight out of heaven upon men.
The seventh particular, founded upon the thought
of the plague of hail on Egypt. E^h hailstone is
magnified to an enormous extent. Each is a
talent, or between 50 and 60 lbs., in weight.
The stone descends upon ' men,* ue. upon all the
inhabiters of the ' earth ' in its mystical sense, or
upon all the ungodly.

The seven particulars of judgment are ended,
and we are invited to mark the effect. — And men
blasphemed God becanse of the plague of the
hail, becanse great is the plague of it exceed-
ingly. The 'men' spoken of are again the
ungodly, nor b it possible to limit their number
to that of those who survive the plague. The

466 THE REVELATION. [Chap. XVII. i-i 8.

writer simply looks away from the fact that those blaspheme ; they are hardened ; and, when all
struck with so great a plague die. He thinks that ought to convert * men * hardens, we hate a
of them as still living, but unconverted. They proof that the hour of final judgment is

Chapter XVI L i-i 8.
The Vision of Babylon tfte Great

1 A ND there came one of the * seven angels which had the «ch.«T. i.
-t\ seven vials/ and talked" with me, saying unto me,*
Come hither; I will *8hew unto thee the judgment of the*ai.xiL9.

2 great ^ whore* that sitteth upon many 'waters: with whom '■^^••'
the ' kings of the earth have* committed -^fornication, and the ^\^iS\^
inhabitants of" the earth have been made drunk' with the wine ^|2;SJ\*^-

3 of her fornication. So ' he ^ carried me away In the • spirit ^^h. ««. ta
into the " * wilderness : and I saw a woman sit " upon a scarlet ^S^^if*,'.**
coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads

4 and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in "purple and ' jJ|;S?^,'*'
scarlet colour/' and decked ^' with gold and precious stones ^*

and pearls, having'* a golden *cup In her hand" full of *J«r.iL7.

5 abominations and filthtness '' of her fornication : and upon her
'forehead aw" a name written, '"MYSTERY, BABYLON 'S^ft*^
THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF " • HARLOTS AND •• Tii i!t

6 ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the
woman drunken '* with the blood of the i^ints, and with the

blood of the martyrs of Jesus : and when I saw her, I * wondered • J«.a- •■r«i-

7 with great admiration.'* And the angel said unto me. Where-
fore didst thou marvel ? •• I will tell thee the mystery of the
woman, and of the beast that ^carrieth her, which hath the/ver.9.

8 seven heads and ** ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was,

and ^is not: and shall '^ ascend out of the ^bottomless pit,'* v^^ 3-

' * ' rCh. ix. I.

and " go into perdition : and they that dwell on the earth * 9^^ ^
shall wonder, whose names'* were not** written in the book of
life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the

9 beast that *° was, and is not, and yet is.** And " ' here w the '<>.««. ««.
mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven moun-

lO tains. On which the woman sitteth. And there** are seven
kings : five '* are fallen, and ** otte id, and*^ the other is not yet

* bowls • spake • omii unto me * harlot • dmfi have
^ and they that dwell upon ^ were made drunken * And

• <?//«/ the *^ a ^* sitting ** omi/ colour ** gilded
^* stone ^' add in her hand ^* omii in her hand

1' and the unclean things ^^ omit «mu ^^ add THE

*^ add OF THE >^ making herself dnihk >' with a great wonder

*^ wonder «* add the "• is about to *• abyss *' add to

'" name ** hath not been ^ how that he *^ and shall be present

^^omi/ And "they «* the five . ••the •• omit aniT

Chap. XVII. 1-18.] THE REVELATION. 467

come; and when he cometh, he must continue a "short space." «ch.xu. 12.

1 1 And the beast that was, and is not, even he •* is the eighth,"

12 and is of the seven, and*" goeth into perdition. And the ten
horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no
kingdom as yet; but" receive power" as kings one hour with

13 the beast. These have one mind, and shall *' give their power"

14 and strength unto the beast These shall make war with the
Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them : for he is Lord of
lords, and King of kings : and they ** that are with him are

15 *' called,** and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto "^^t^}^'^^^*
The ^ waters which thou sawest, where the whore ** sitteth, are «'^p- p«- »*»*•

16 peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the

ten horns which thou sawest upon *^ the beast, these shall hate

the whore,*' and shall make her 'desolate and naked, and shall *i«a.rfvu.»,

'11.

17 'eat her flesh, and** bum her*' with fire. For God hath put ^& «*.r»»-«J

' ' ^ Mic lu. 3.

in*" their hearts to fulfil his will,** and to agree,*' and** give '^'^^'*
their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be *^^ ••

18 fulfilled.** And the woman which thou sawest is that ** great
city, >^ch reigneth *• over the kings of the earth.

*' while •* omit even he •• is himself also an eighth ** add he

*^ add they ** authority *^ they ** add also shall overcome

*» with him, called *« harlot *^ and «a/^shaU

♦• add utterly *• For God gave it into ** to do his mind

^ and to come to one mind ^' add to ^^ should be accomplished

** the ** hath a kingdom

Contents. A new and remarkable part of addressed, 'O thou that dwellest upon many

the fourth great section of the Apocalypse here waters.' — 'Sitting' is the emblem of authority

opens, but one full of melancholy. We cannot and rule, accompanied by the thought of ease

enlarge upon it now before we have determined (comp. chap. xiv. 6). — The term ' harlot ' points

the meamng of ' Babylon.' Let it be enough to to the fact that this city seduced men from the

say that under the name of that city we shall find true God to worldliness and sin (Isa. i« ai ; Jer.

represented the degenerate Church of Christ. U. 20 ; Ezek. xvi. 15).

Notwithstanding all that has been done for her Ver. 2. With whom the kings of the earth

she forgets her Lord ; and, in the character of a committed fornication. * Kings ' are the repre-

harlot selling herself to the world for hire, hastens sentatives of all authority ; and ' the earth ' is the

to her late. It may seem as if this were defeat guilty world. — and they that dwell upon the

for the cause of God. It is really victorv. The earth were made drunken with the wine of her

true Church, the faithful remnant, is not defeated fornication. Not the kings only but all ' the

when it is constrained to leave the fold in which inhabiters of the earth.' all who belong to the

it has hitherto been nourished (comp. on John x.). world in its evil sense, have been betray^ by the

The outward institution falls ; but the voice is harlot. The description is again unlimited,

heard and obeyed, ' Come forth, My people, out ^ Ver. 3. And he curied me away in ipixit

of her ' (comp. xviii. 4), and those who listen to into a wilderness. The expression ' he carried

that voice enter into rest me away in spirit ' is found only here and at diap.

Ver. I. One of the seven angels that had the xxi. 10, where the vision of the New Jerusalem

seven bowls speaks to the Seer, saying. Come is introduced. It denotes spiritual ecstasy, not

hither, I will show thee the judgment of the bodily removal ; but it may be intended to do

great harlot that sitteth upon many waters, tliis in a peculiarly expressive form.— In chap.

The judgment spoken of, as appears by the word xiL 6, 14 we have been told of ' the wilderness '

used in the original, is judgment executed, not into which the woman there mentioned fled,

in process of execution. The harlot is obviously Here we have no article, and we cannot therefore

Babylon, but the name is a mystical one (ver. 5), suppose that the wilderness now mentioned b the

and the Seer will afterwards more fully explain it. same. Attention is fixed simply on the fact Chat^

' Many waters ' are interpreted by the angel in amidst all Babylon's pomp and luxury, the place

ver. 15 as 'peoples and multitudes and nations where ^e reigns is really desolate (i Tim. v. 6).

and tongues, and the fourfold division shows that It has indeed been conjectured that the fate pre-

we have a representation of tliett/^^V^uvr/i/. The pared for Babylon, and expressed b^ a peculiar

figure is taken from Jer. li. 13, where Babylon is word in ver. 16 and in chap, xviii. 17, I9b is

468

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XVII. 1-18.

already in the Seer's mind, and thtft the thought
of that fate leads to the description now given of
the place of her abode. But it is more natural to
think that these other expressions are conformed
to that before us. The dwelling-place of Babylon
is always ideally desolate : the fact shall after*
wards correspond to the idea. — A description of the
beast upon which the harlot sat now follows. It
is obviously that of chap. xiiL I, 2, and this may
be said to be admitted. The identity is established
by the whole description, especially by the com-
parison of the two passages relating to the beast
m chaps, xiii. and xviL with that m which it is
again mentioned in chap. xix. 19, 2a In these
latter verses the beast is spoken of as ' making
war against Him that sat upon the horse,' and
as cast alive into the lake of fire ' with the false
prophet that wrought the signs in his sight.' But
the first of these traits belongs to the b^t of this
chapter (ver. 14), and the second, — its close
connection with the £Use prophet, — to the beast
of chap. xiii. (vers. 13, 13). In all three
passages, therefore, we have the same beast On
the other hand, the differences are slight. In
chap. xiii. i the names of blasphemy are upon the
heads of the beast : here the whole body is
covered with them. But the former statement
does not exclude the latter, and the names upon
the heads only are mentioned in the one pUce
because it is of the heads that the Seer is speaking ;
he sees them coming up from the sea. Now he
sees the whole beast. If, also, the article before
the word ' names ' is to be read, it carries us to
the thought of specific names already mentioned,
and these can be no other than those of chap,
xiii I. Again the 'heads' of this verse are
naturally mentioned before the ' horns,' whereas
in chap. xiii. I the order was reversed, because
the boms appeared first as (he beast ascended
from the sea. Once more, the composite
character of the beast of chap. xiii. 2 may
eaually belong to this beast, while the colour
ot the beast here may equally belong to the
beast there. It is the manner of the Apoca-
lypse thus to fill out in one place the more
imperfect description of the same object in
another. At the same time it is not impossible
that, while the beast itself is the same, some of
the differences in the description may be intended
to point out the effect of its alliance with the
harlot More especially may this be the case
with regard to the greater extension of the names
of blasphemy. How strikingly, if the harlot be
the d4:enerate Church, would this indicate the
greater and more confident rage against the saints
to which the world is prompted when it finds, as
it has so often found, the Church upon its side !
The attitude of the woman towards the beast

so much that her movements are facilitated by the
beast, as that she is the beast's directress and
^ide. Without her it would simply spend itself
in ungovernable and often misdirected fiiry. The
harlot holds the reins, and with skilful hand guides
the beast to the accomplishment of its aims.

Ver. 4. And the woman was arrayed in purple
and scarlet, and gilded with gold and predons
stone and pearls. In these words we have a
general description of the woman's royal magni-
ficence (comp. chap, xviii. 16), •Arrayed^ is

more than adorned. She has not merely orna-
ments of gold and precious stones and pearls, so
numerous that she sparkles with them ; they are
thought of as a golden and costly gilding to her
(comp. chap. ii. 17).

Ver. 5. And npon her forehead a name
written* Mystery, Babylon the Great, the
Mother of the Hariots and of the abominations
of the earth. The word 'mystery* may be
understood either as a part of the name, or as an
intimation of the writer that the name is to be
understood symbolically. The latter interpreta-
tion is to be preferred. It is hardly likely that
the name should openly declare itself to be
unreaL For such a use of the word ' mystery,'
comp. the use of ' spiritually ' in chap. xL 8. It
b worthy of notice that the word 'mystery'
occurs only four times in the Apocalypse, three
times in connection with the nature or the fate of
Babylon (chaps, x. 7, xviu 5, 7), and once with
the seven churches which represent the Church
universal (chap. i. 20). The name of the harlot
is thus limited to what follows. Some would
even restrict it still further. According to their
view, 'Babylon the Great' was alone written
upon the harlot's forehead, and the subsequent
description is an explanation of the writer. The
name has already met us in its shorter form in
chaps, xiv. 8, xvi. 19.

It is unnecessary, in illustration of this verse, to
refer to the fact that in the pagan world harlots
had their names attached to their foreheads. The
usage of the Apocalypse is to speak thus of the
adherents both of God and of Satan — of God, see
chaps, ii. 17, vii. 3, xiv. I ; of Satan, chaps, xiii
I, 16, xix. 20, etc. More particularly the name
thus borne upon the forehead is a parody of the
name borne u^n the forehead of the high priest
(comp. chap. li. 17 ; Ex. xxviiL 36). It declares
the person.

Ver. 6. The description of the ungovernable
fierceness of the woman's spirit is continued. She
drinks, and makes herself drunk with the blood of
the saints and of the martyrs of Jesus (comp.
chap, xviii. 24). — Having fimshed his description
the Seer adds. And when I saw her I wonoered
with a great wonder. He is overwhehned with
astonishment at the spectacle, yet not so much
probably at the royal magnificence of the woman,
as that, being a woman, she should exhibit such
tokens of a cruel and bloodthirsty spirit, denying
the nature that properly belonged to her.

At this point it might have been well to inquire
into the meaning of 'Babylon' in these verses,
but so much has still to be said of that city that it
seems better to dela^ the inquiry until ¥re have
finished the exposition of the whole passage.
Upon this point, therefore, we refer to what is
said at the end of chap, xviii.

Ver. 7. The angel proceeds to explain what St
John had seen, taking the two parts of the vision
in inverted order; first, the beast (vers. 8->i4),
and secondlv, the woman (vers. 15-18).

Ver. 8. The beast that then sawest was, and
is not, and is abont to asoend ont of the abyss,
and to go into perdition. Whatever may be the
difficulty of interpreting these words, one thing b
clear, that they contain no reference to Nero or
any supposed rising of his from the grave. We
saw that such an interpretation was wholly
inapplicable to chap. xiii. It b equally inapplic-
able now. In the first place, let us mark carenilly

Chap. XVII. 1-18.]

THE REVELATION.

469

the three members of this verse, 'was,* 'is not,'
' is about to ascend,* etc. They are the obvious
counterpart of the three members of the doxology
in chaps, i. 8 and iv. 8, which 'was,* and 'is,'
and 'is to come.* In the second place, we have
to notice the words ' ascend * and ' go.' They are
words ahnost consecrated in the Gospel of St.
John to our Lord*s resurrection and departure to
the Father. In the third place, the word used
for 'perdition' is important It denotes the
destruction prepared for the ungodlj (comp.
John iiL 16), a state in every particular the
reverse of that heavenly and glorious life to which
Jesus *goes.' Keeping these things in view,
there can be no doubt that in what is here said of
the beast we have a travesty of what is said else*
where of our Lord ; and thb alone compels us to
think of something wider and more conspicuous
than any single Emperor of Rome. We learn
both from the Fourth Gospel and the Apocalvpse
that St. John is accustomed to view evil in three
great stages. First, it contends against Christ
and His Church ; secondly, it b concjuered ;
lastly, it breaks out again before it expenences a
complete destruction. Such a course of things is
exactly what we have here, 'was' representing
the first period, 'is not' the second, and 'is
about to ascend,' etc. the third. The evil of the
world, beheld by the Seer as concentrating itself
in the Roman Empire, is to him the particular
form in which the beast existed in his day.
Then, by the work of Jesus it was ideally
destroyed (comp. Col. ii. 15). Lastly, it bursts
forth again to be overwhelmed for ever. The
representation b precisely i)arallel to that of
chap. xiii. 3. — In the remaining part of the verse
it is only necessary to call attention to the change
of readmg in die last clause, shall be present
instead of 'yet b' of the Authorised Version.
The three characteristics are the same as before,
the third ' shall be present ' corresponding to ' b
about to ascend ' of the first part of the verse.
On the name written in tiie book of life fipom
Uie fonndation of the wond, comp. chap. xiii. 8.
Ver. 9. Here is the mind which hath wisdom.
The explanation follows. The ' wisdom ' spoken
of is Divine spiritual insight, gained by an experi-
mental knowledge of the ways of God. Thb
circumstance alone might be enough to show that,
even if Rome be present to the mind of the Seer
as one illustration among many of the evil before
hb eyes, he cannot be thinking of Rome alone.
In what he b about to sav, he would tell us, the
thought of the seven-hilled city may most readily
occur to the superficial reader. But we are not
to think of it. * Wbdom ' leads to a less literal,
to a more spiritual, interpretation (comp. chap,
xiii. 18).— The seven heads axe seven moontains
upon which the woman sitteth. These words,
it is easy to see, form the stronghold of those who
think that in the ' woman ' of thb passage we are
dealing with the city of Rome, and in the 'beast *
with one of its Emperors, most probably Nero ;
yet it b impossible to adopt the interpretation,
further at least than is involved in the admission
that the thought of Rome may have been present
to the mind of St John as one, perhaps even as
the most prominent, phase of a much wider truth.
In the first place, the number ' seven' is not to be
literally understood. There b indeed a peculiar
propriety in interpreting it symbolically in the
present instance, tor the power described b the

dark contrast of the Church, b the antichrist
in opposition to the Chrbt But the 'seven'
churches were not literally seven, they were
a symbol of the universal Church. In like
manner the 'seven' mountains are not literally
seven. They symbolize a seat of evil as wide as
was the good, — if in the one case the one Catholic
Church, in the other the one Catholic synagogue
of Satan. In the second place, starting with the
fact that the first clause of ver. 10 ought to be
translated not ' And tfure are ' but ' and thiy are
seven kings,' it will be at once perceived that we
cannot literally interpret the seven ' heads ' first of
seven ' mountains ' and then of seven ' kinp^s.' In
the third place, we are told in chap. xiii. 3 that
one of the seven ' heads ' was wounded to death,
a description which cannot apply to a literal
mountain. These 'seven mountains' then are
not mountains. They are an Old Testament
expression for powers (comp. Isa. ii. 2 ; Dan.
ii* 35 )> &n<l we have in them the first part of a
double description of the same object, first
'mountains' and then 'kings.'

Ver. la And they axe seven Ungs. The
heads are seven kings (not personal kings, comp.
on chap. xiiL 2) or powers, the world-power being
thus again regarded in tlie sevenfoldness of its
unity. Every attempt to understand by these
'kings' Roman Emperors or Procurators, or
Boman forms of government of any kind, is
shattered either on me £Eicts of the case, or on the
extreme improbability of supposing that a book
like the Apocalypse would enter into minute
detaib of the internal government of heathen
nations, or on the words actually employed by the
Seer (comp. on the word ' fallen '). Nor b there
any real difficulty presented by the consideration
that, if one of these ' kings ' be not a person but
the Roman power, then this power must be
spoken of in a double character as one of the
heads of the beast, and as the beast itself. There
is nothing to prevent thb; for, as the seven
churches are one, so the seven heads are one, and
each head is no more than a particular and
necessarily limited manifestation ot evil which is
wider and deeper than itself. We have already
seen too (on diap. xiiL 2) that in prophetic
language 'kings' means kingdoms. The seven
'kings* mentioned are therefore seven world-
powers, Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, Persia, Graecia,
Rome, and a power which b to follow the Roman
now beheld tottering to its falL— The five are
fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come ;
and, when he cometh, he mnst continue a short
while. The word ' fallen ' b worthy of peculiar
notice, for it does not signify mere passing away
by such a peaceful death as befell some of those
Roman Emperors who are often supposed to be
referred to as the 'seven kings.' The word 'b
used in the Septuagint constantly, and in Daniel,
of the violent fall, the overthrow, either of kings
or of kingdoms : it b a word belonging to
domination overthrown, to glory ruined, to empire
superseded.' Thus Egypt, Nineveh, Babvlon,
Persia, and Graecia had successively 'fallen,'
having perished in the ' blood that they had spilt.'
The sixth, described as ' the one,' b Rome : the
seventh, spoken of as 'the other/ b not yet
come.

Ver. II. And the beast that was and is not
is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven ;
and he goeth into perdition. What b here said

470

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XVII. 1-18.

is nid not of a new ' head ' but of ' the beast/
and this beast is to be identified with that of
▼er. 8. With a slight exception the description
of the beast giren in the two passages is precisely
the tame, and that exception is easily explained.
It contists in the omission from the (atter of the
two of the words, ' and is about to come up out
of the abyss.* But these words are parallel to
that part of the designation of our Lord in this
book which speaks of Him as 'to come/ and
whidi was omitted in chap. xi. 17, because at that
pcnnt it was no longer suitable: the Lord was
iome. The omission of the clause in the present
instance is to be similarly explained. The pre-
Tioos and preparatory manifestations of the beast
are over. It now comes itself, that it may be
ready for destruction when the Lord appears.
The ' beast ' here is, therefore, identical with that
of ver. 8 ; that is, with the b^t as it was thought
of at a time prior to any mention, in ver. 9, of the
tuccestrive forms of its manifestation. It is thus
distinct from any one of its seven heads. No
single head may fully represent it. Thus also we
tee why it is described in the apparently con-
tradictory language of this verse. First, it is ' an
eighth.' Not that it is numerically an eighth in
tM same line with the seven. Then it would be
ao eighth head; but we are dealing with the beast
itself, not with its heads, and it is spoken of as an
eighth simply because it follows the seven, and
b^nae in its final condition all the malice and
evil of its previous conditions are concentrated.
At the same time it is possible that the Seer desires
to bring out this fact in connection with the beast,
that he may identify it with the ' Little Horn ' of
Dan. vii. 8. That Little Horn takes the place of
three out of ten horns which are plucked up bv
the roots, that is of the eighth, ninth, and tenth
horns. It thus com^ after seven, is numbered
eight, and represents the uneodly world-power in
its highest manifestation. We have already seen
that, according to Jewish methods of conception,
the number eight was peculiarly fitted to express
such a thought (comp. on chap. xiii. 18).
Secondly, the beast is said to be 'of the seven.'
The meaning is not that it is one of the seven,
when it had just been said that it was distinct
from them. The preposition 'of is to be under-
stood in its common acceptation in St. John's
writings, as denoting origin, and, with origin,
identity of nature. The l^st is the essence, the
concentrated expression, of the seven, the embodi-
ment of their spirit ; and it was necessary to
mention this, test we should think that it belongs
to a wholly different category. The 'Little
Horn ' in Daniel was still a horn, and the great
antichristian power is of the same nature and
essence as the seven antichristian powers that go
before it. This * eighth ' world-power is not then
wholly new. It is the old world-power con-
centrating in itself all the rage of the seven.
Thirdly, the beast ' goeth into perdition ' (comp.
chap. xix. 20). Nothing is said of its continuing
either a longer or a shorter space. Enough that
to go into perdition is at once its nature and its
fate. Finally, it may be remarked that we seem
to have nothing here of a personal antichrist, still
less of a human king who nas died and risen from
the dead. We have simply the last and worst
manifestation of the ungodly power of the world.
Ver. 12. The ' heads ' have been explained :
we come next to the horns. These horns are

all connected with the seventh head; they are
lathered together upon it, and are a substitute for
It (see on chap. xiii. i). They are now explained
to be ten kings, i.e. not personal kings, but king-
doms, authorities, or powers of the world. They
had not as yet received their kingdom, for the
Seer has seen only the sixth head actually mani-
fested. The historical applications of these ' ten
kings ' may be passed over without remarl^ The
number is as usual symbolical, denoting all the
antichristian powers of earth which were to
arise after the sixth head had fallen or the great
Roman Empire been broken up. — They reMiTe
aathotity as kings one hour with the beast.
The expression ' one hour * can hardly occasion
difficulty, corresponding, as it obviously does, to
the ' short while ' of ver. la It is more difficult
to see the meaning of the words ' with the beast.'
These words appear to imply that the ten kings
shall have their authority at the same time as the
beast, while it would seem from ver. 1 1 that thf
manifestation of the \bX\ax follows the appearance
of the seventh head. The difficulty is to be
resolved by remembering; that each of the sb
powers that had been spoken of before the seventl
arose has, no less than the seventh, really ruled
'with' the beast. Each of them had been a
special manifestation of the beast. The preposi-
tion 'with' may imply more than contem-
poraneousness. On this point its use in chap. xix.
20, to say nothing of other passages, seems to
be decisive. We there read not, ' and with him
the false prophet ' but ' and the with-him-£ilse-
prophet' or, more idiomatically, 'the false-propbet-
with-him ; ' while we learn from chap. xiii. 12
that the relation of the false prophet to the beast
is that of subordination. Here, therefore, as well
as there, such subordination, such ministering to
the purpose of another, is implied in the preposition
' with.' But, although the first six heads ruled
with the beast and the beast ruled in them, the
beast survived them ; and, when they have fallen,
it makes yet another effort to accomplish its
purpose previous to its own total overthrow.
This it does by means of the ten horns (or the
seventh head) which thus rule ' with ' it. These,
however, are the last through which the beast
shall exercise its power. They complete the
cycle of seven ; and, when the Lord has borne
with them till the hour of judgment strikes,
He will ' slay them with the breath of His mouth,
and bring them to nought by the manifestation of
His coming ' (2 Thess. ii. 8). The meaning of
vers. II and 12 of this chapter, then, is simply
this, — that, after the fall of^ the Roman power,
there shall arise a number of powers, symbolically
ten, exhibiting the same ungodly spirit as that
which had marked Rome and the powers of the
world that had 'preceded Rome. In them the
beast shall concentrate all its rage : they shall be
the last and readiest instruments of its will. But
it shall be in vain. The beast and they have
their 'hour.' They continue their 'short while,*
and then they perish.

Ver. 13. These have one mind, and they give
their power and authority nnto the beast. So
had it been with the second beast (chap. xiiL 12),
and so with the harlot (chap. xviL 3, 7). The
brute power of the world could of itself effect
nothing were it not served by the spiritual forces
of the false prophet, and of the harlot, or of the
kings who have listened to the harlot's witcheries.

Chap. XVIII. 1*24.]

THE REVELATION.

471

Ver. 14. In thu verse the war of the ten lyings
with the Lamb is described, but it is unnecessary to
dwell upon it It may be noticed that the state-
ment of the last half of the verse is not that of the
Authorised Version, that the Laa\b shall over-
come because they that are with Him are called
and chosen and faithful, but that they that lure
with him, called, andchoflen, and fiaithftil, shall
be partakers of the victory. — ^l^he Seer now returns
to the woman who sat upon the beast.

Ver. 15. The fourfold designation of those who
constitute the waten spokeA of in this verse is a
clear proof that the harlot exercises h^r sway over
the whole worlds in travesty of Him ' who sitteth
upon the flood,' who 'sitteth King for ever' (Ps.
xxix. 10).

Ver. 16. And the ten horns which thon
■awest and the beaat The ten horns and the
beast are mentioned in combination because the
latter is the essence of the former, and the former
are the expression of the latter. — These shall hate
the harlot, and shall make her desolate and
naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall bom
her utterly with fire. What an unexpected
result! The woman has been sitting on the
beast, reckoning on it as her servant and ally, and
guiding it in perfbct harmony with its temper and
designs. All at once the scene is changed.
Defeat has taken place, and what is the effect ?
The bond which m prosperitjr had bound the
wicked co-labourers together is dissolvedj the
partners in evil fall out, the one section turns
round upon the other, and she who had found
ready instruments in the beast and its heads for
accomplishing the work to which she had spurred
them on sees them, in the hour of common despair,
fall upon herself and mercilessly destroy her.
The individual expressions do not call for much
remark : (i) Desolate is the word corresponding
to the * wilderness ' of ver. 3, — she is to be made
truly a wilderness ; (2) Flesh is plural in the
ori^nal, probably because of the many who
pensh, or of the many possessions that the harlot
owns ; (3) The thought of thus eating flesh is
taken from the Old Testament ; ' when the wicked
came upon me ... to eat up my flesh' (Ps.
xxvii. 2) ; * who also eat the flesh of my people *
(Mic. iii. 3) ; (4) Shall bnm her utterly with
lire. The language is most probably taken from
the Old Testament, in which to be so burned is
the punishment of fornication on the part of a
priest's daughter (Lev. xxi. 9). The whole is a
picture of complete destruction.

To seek historical fulfilment of this in such
events as Nero's burning Rome will appear to
most men, in the simple statement of it, absurd.
A great principle is proceeded upon, one often
exemplified in the world, — that combinations of
the wicked for a common crime soon break up,
leaving the guilty associates to turn upon and
destroy one another. But it is diflicuft not to
think that there was especially one great drama
present to the Seer's mind, and suggestive of this
lesson — that drama which embodied in intensest
action all the great forces that move the world —
the drama of the life and death of Jesus. He
thought of the alliance that had been made
between the Jews and the Romans to crucify the
Redeemer, an alliance so soon broken and fol-
lowed by the destruction of Jerusalem. In that he
beheld the type of similar alliances in all future time.

Ver. 17. For God gave it into their hearts to
do his mind, and to be (tf one mind, and to give
their kingdom nnto the beast. This 'giving'
of authority to the beast we have already met with
in ver. 13 ; and in ver. 12 it has been intimated
that the ten kings held their authority from God.
Whatever, therefore, they had done in persecuting
the saints had been accomplishing CjOq's purpose
(comp. Acts ii. 23).— Until the words of Ood
shoold be accomplished ; until all His purposes
should be fulfilled.

Ver. 18. And the woman which thou sawest
is the great city which hath a kingdom over tiie
kings of the earth. That Rome may be here
present to the mind of ^t* John it would be
difficult to deny. We have seen that Rome may
have been thought of in ver. 9. But that we ar:
to confine ourselves to Rome, either Papal or
pagan or both, or that we are even to think

Erimarily of them, as is done by diff^erent classes of
istorical interpreters, can hardly be admitted.
Rome may be one of the illustrations or exem-
plifications of what is alluded to, but the idea of
the Seer is certainly wider than that of any single
city or power of the world. We have yet to
inquire what the ' city,' the ' Babylon,' so referred
to, is. In the meantime it must be enough to
say that to think of any literal city whatever is to
disturb the harmony which ought to mark the
Interpretation of the whole passage. The city
must be some faithless spiritual power which,
under the last manifestation of the beast, enters
into a league with the world, ministers to it, and
lends to its material forces an influence (or evil
which they would not otherwise possess.

Chapter XVIIL 1-24.

Tlie Fall of Babylon,

1 A ND * after these things I saw another ''angel come* down «Cp.ch.viLa.
jt\. from * heaven, having great power ; * and the earth was

2 lightened with his * glory. And he cried mightily with a*Lu.ii.9.
^strong* voice, saying, Babylon the great is '^ fallen, is fallen, Srch; Ilv. 8*;

Isa. xxi. 9 :

* omit And

* authority

• coming ' out of

* he cried with a mighty

Jer. li. 37.

472 THE REVELATION. [Chap. XVlll. 1-24^

and is become the • habitation of devils/ and the • hold of every
foul * spirit, and a cage * of every unclean and hateful bird.

3 For all nations have drunk*" of" the 'wine of the wrath of '^.."*'»
her fornication," and the kings of the earth have *' committed
fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are^^

4 waxed rich through " the abundance of her delicacies.^* And

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, -^Come" out of^SSl«i'r'''
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of" her sins, and that j^jacoc.vi

5 ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached '*

unto ^ heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. / J«- 1»- 9.

6 * Reward her" even as she rewarded*' you," and double unto AJ«r- La^
her double according to her works: in the 'cup which she '^'^''•**

7 hath" filled fill to her double. How much she hath" *glori- *E«*.i«r«ii.
fied herself, and lived deliciously,'^ so much torment" and
sorrow give** her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen,

8 and am no*' 'widow, and shall see no sorrow.** Therefore /iM.xir»-«J

Lam L I.

shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and
famine; and she shall be utterly burned with *"fire: for««ch.xTu.i6.

9 strong *" is the Lord God who judgeth ** her. And the kings
of the earth, who have** committed fornication and lived
deliciously ** with her, shall bewail her,** and lament for her,**

10 when they shall** see the smoke of her burning, standing
afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas ** that **

great city" Babylon, that'* mighty city! for in "one hour is "^'^Ji,^

1 1 thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall **

weep and mourn over her ; for no man *' buyeth their mer- « ch. xiiL 17.

12 chandise any more: the** merchandise of gold, and silver, and
precious stones,** and of** pearls, and fine linen, and purple,
and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner
vessels** of ivory, and all manner vessels** of most precious

1 3 wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon,** and
odours,*' and ointments,** and frankincense, and wine, and oil,
and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts,*^ and sheep, and horses,

14 and chariots, and slaves,** and ^ souls of men. And the fruits >E«k.
that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all
things which were dainty and goodly*' are departed** from

1 5 thee, and thou shalt ** find them no more at all. The mer-

* a ' demons ® unclean • hold

*® omit all nations have drunk ^^ by '* cufdsM the nations are fallen

^' omit have " omit are ** out of *• the power of her luxury

'^ add forth ^^ that ye may have no communion with '° addcwtn

*® Render unto her ** rendered *• omit you

^^ omit hath ** luxuriously ** mourning *• add Mnio *' not a
*' and shall in no wise see mourning *^ mighty '• judged

•* omit have *' weep and wail over her •* omit and lament for her

»♦ omit shall " Woe, woe »« the »' city, »« omit the

*• stone *® omit of ** and every vessel

** add^xi^ spice, *' incense ** ointment ** cattle

*• bodies *' sumptuous ** perished *• men shall

50

M

Chap. XVIII. 1-24.] THE REVELATION. 473

chants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand
afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

16 and" saying, Alas, alas" that" great city, that** was clothed
in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked " with gold,

17 and precious stones, and pearls!*' For in one hour so great
riches is come to nought.** And every shipmaster,*® and all the
company in ships,*® and sailors, and as many as trade •* by sea,

18 stood afar off, and cried when they saw" the smoke of her
burning, saying. What city is like unto** this** great city!

19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and
wailing,** saying, Alas, alas ** that " great city, wherein were
made rich all that had** ships in the sea by reason of her

20 costliness ! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over
her, thou heaven, and ye holy** apostles and*^ prophets; for

2 1 God hath avenged you on her.** And a mighty angel took up

a stone like a great millstone, and ^cast it into the sea, saying, f JerJ»-«3.64
Thus with violence *• shall that great city Babylon be thrown

22 down,'* and shall be found no more at all. And the ''voice of risa.«iv.8.
harpers, and musicians,'* and of" pipers, and trumpeters, shall

be heard no more at all in thee ; and no craftsman, of whatso-
ever craft he be^^ shall be found any more '* in thee ; and the
sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee ;

23 and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee ;

and the voice of the 'bridegroom and of the bride shall be *!». viL34.
heard no more at all in thee : for thy merchants were the great
men of the earth ; for by thy sorceries '* were all nations
2\ deceived. And in her was found the 'blood of prophets, and /MaLxxiu.
of saints, and of all that were slain '* upon the earth.

35.

*** mourning ** omit and *' Woe, woe ** the ** she that

** arrayed *• gilded *' stone, and pearl *® is made desolate

*® pilot *® and every one that saileth any whither

*' gain their living ^' as they looked upon

** the ^* add their •• and ye saints, and ye

^^ hath judged your judgment upon her

'^ shall Babylon the great city be cast down ^^ minstrels

^' omit he be '* (md at all "^^ sorcery '• slaughtered

•^ omit unto
«' add ye
*^ a bound
'* omit of

Contents. The chapter before us is occupied
with the fall of Babylon, and it naturally divides
itself into three parts. The first contains the
announcement of the city's fall (vers. 1--3) ; the
second is a powerful description of amazement
and lamentation over her fate, proceeding from all
who had been dependent upon her (vers. 4-20) ;
the third points out the completeness and irre*
mediableness of her ruin fvers. 21-24).

Ver. I. Another angel appears having great
anthority ; and the earth was Ughtened with
his glory. These last words are in all probability
taken from Ezek. xliii. 2, ' and the earth shined
with his glory.* They illustrate the greatness of
his mission, and the manner in which the whole
' earth ' shall be struck with its glorious accom-

plishment. As in chap. vii. 2 this angel has a
closer than ordinary connection with the Lord
Himself.

Ver. 2. He cried with a mighty voice. This
is the only passage in the book in which a voice
is spoken of as 'mighty,' the usual appellation
being 'great.' In chap. xix. 6 we read of
' mighty thunders,' and it is impossible to doubt,
therefore, that this voice is described in a similar
way, not because all men are to hear it, but
because it is to strike all with awe and terror
(comp. ver. 8).— Babylon the great ii fallen, ii
fjftllen. These words have already met us at
chap. xiv. 8 (comp. Isa. xxi. 9), but the description
is now enlarged, Old Testament passages such as
Isa. xiii. 21, Jer. U* 37i supplying the particulars.

474

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XVIII. 1-24.

Everything about the city is changed into a wild
and hatefiU desert. The unclean beasts and birds
themselves that are driven into her ruins regard
them as a prison.

Ver. 3. The cause of the city's fall is again
stated in the words of this verse.

Ver. 4. A new stae^e in the drama opens.
Another Yoice out of neayen is heard, flaying,
Come forth out of her, my people, that ye may
have no communion with her sinfl, and that ye
receive not of her plagues. The voice is that of
an angel although, as coming out of heaven, we*
are to hear in it the voice of God or of Christ ;
and hence the use of the word *My* before
' people.' It is a summons to God's people to
depart out of Babylon, and there are many
parallels both in the Old and ia the New Testa-
ment, Gen. xix. 15-22 ; Num. xvi. 23-26 ; Isa.
xlviii. 20, Hi. II ; Jer. li. 6, 45 ; Matt. xxiv. 16.
Two reasons are assigned for this departure ;
Hrst, that God's people may have no communion
with the sins of Babylon, and secondly, that they
may escape participation in her punishment. As
to the former, it docs not seem necessary to think
that they were in danger of being betrayed into
sin ; were they not all sealed ones ? But it was
well for them to be delivered even from the very
presence of sin, and from the judgments that
follow it (corop. 2 Pet. ii. 7-9).

Ver. 5. So multiplied were her sins that they
were heaped t(^tner as a mass reaching even
unto heaven. The figure is taken from Jer. li. 9
(comp. Gen. xviil. 2o).

Ver. 6. Bender unto her even as she ren-
dered, and double unto her double according
to her works : in the cup which she filled fill to
her double. The same voice is. continued, but is
now addressed to Uie ministers of judgment, the
kings and the beast, who have turned round upon
the harlot (chap. xvii. 16). Judgment is admmi*
stered according to the lex talionis ; and the
doubling seems to be founded on the law of Ex.
xxii. 4, 7, 9, and on the threatening of Ter. xvi.
18. Her sins have been so ^eat that there has
been a double mention of them (ver. 5), and the
punishment shall be proportioned to the sin (comp.
also Isa. xl. 2 ; Jer. xvii. 18).

Ver. 7. In this verse the lex talhnis is still
administered both in extent and in severity. The
humiliation of Babylon shall be the counterpart
of her glorying. For she saith in her heart, I
sit a queen, and am not a widow, and shall in
no wise see mourning. The spirit of her glory-
ing is expressed in three clauses, of which the
second is peculiarly worthy of our notice. Com-
mentators who see in Babylon the world-city are
compelled to think of the beast and of the kings
associated with it as the husband by the loss of
whom Babylon had been reduced to widowhood.
Such an interpretation is impossible. That hus-
band had not been lost ; the kings were not dead,
they had only turned against her ; while the words
imply that she really is a widow although she
does not feel it. If so, her boast can only be that
she does not need the Lord for her husband. She
has found another husband and many lovers.
That she says these things 'in her heart' can
hardly be intended to exclude the idea of loud
boastings. The words rather lead us to think ol
(he deep-seated nature of that spirit of glorying
by which she is possessed (comp. Isa. xlvii. 7, 8).
. Ver« 3. With suddenness and . fearfulness \\%i

plagues shall come upon her. In one day her
glory shall be turned to shame. In the midst of
her feasting an unseen hand shall vrrite upon the
wall of her banqueting-room that she is weighed
in the balances and is found wanting, and ' that
night' she shall perish (comp. Isa. xlvii. 9), for
m^hty ii the Lord God who judged her.

At this point three classes of persons are intro-
duced to us, uttering their lamentations over the
fall of Babylon— kmgs (vers. 9, 10), merchants
(vers. Il-io), sailors (vers. 17-19). At ver. 20
there ibllows a general call to rejoice over what
has happened to her. The whole is moulded
upon the lamentation over T3rre in Ezek. xxvL,
xxvii., and is of unequalled pathos.

Vers. 9, 10. In these verses we have the lamen-
tation of the kings of the earth over the disaster
which they have been instrumental in accom-
plishing. The deeds of the wicked, even when
effecting the purposes of God, bring no joy to
themselves, it is the righteous only who rejoice
(ver. 20). Notice the threefold naming of the
city, 'the great city,' 'Babylon,' 'the mighty
city.'

Vers. I1-17A. These verses contain the lamen-
tation of the merchante of the earth, as they
mourn over the fate of a dty which presented
such a gorgeouspicture of worldly riches and
extravagance. The expression at the close of
ver. 13, souls of men, is difficult to understand.
A glance at the original is sui&cient to show that
it &nnot be construed with that immediately pre-
ceding it, 'slaves,' or, as in the margin of the
Revised Version, 'bodies.' The contrast is not,
therefore, between the body and the soul, so as to
allow us to interpret the clause before us as if it
meant a spiritual traffic, — some means by which
Babylon so ruined the higher nature of men that
she might be said to tr^c in their souls. The
word translated 'souls' takes us rather to the
thought of persons, as in Exek. xxvii. 13; and
the probabilities are then in favour of the idea
that they are slaves. If this be correct we shall
be obliged to reject the rendering given both by
the Authorised and Revised Versions to the pre-
ceding substantive 'slaves,' and to translate it
literally 'bodies.' Associated with horses and
chariots it will then represent some other means
by which burdens were conveyed, and will lead
us to the thought of hired persons.

Vers. 17B-19. These verses contain the lamen-
tation of the third group that bewaiU the fall of
Babylon, consisting of sauors and of all who trade
by sea.

Attention has been already called to the &ct
that the imagery of this diapter is largely dmwn
from Esek. xxvi and xxvii., i,e. from chapters
describing the fall of Tyre. This, however, need
occasion us no surprise, for in the Old Testament
Tyre is viewed as if she were another Babylon
(comp. Isa. xxiv. lOi ' The city of confusion,'^!./.
Babylon, 'is broken down'). Again, it may
seem at Qrst sight as if the varied riches of this
dty can belong to nothing but a dty in the ordi-
nary sense of the word, and that they cannot be
associated with any spiritual power. Yet it may
be for these very ridies that the disdples of Christ
sacrifice their Lord, and they may ootain them ss
the reward of their faithlessness. They may act
a part the reverse of that for which Moses is com*
mended in Heb. xi., and mav prefer the treasarss
of Eg^pt to ihe reproach of Christ Tbey may

Chap. XVIII. 1-24.]

yield to the temptation which Christ resisted,
when, AS He was offered the kingdoms of the
world and all their glory, He replied, ' Get thee
behind me, Satan.' He withstood, suffered, and
died. His degenerate followers may yield, accept,
and live. But the price !— is worth considering.

Before passing from the lamentations before us,
one intereslmg trait of the structural principles of
the Apocalypse may be noticed. In ver. 9 * the
kings of the earth shail weep;' in ver. 11 'the
merchants of the earth weep;* in ver. 17 'the
pilots, etc., stood afar off and eried,* From the
tttture we pass to the present, from the present to
the tense which expresses the taking up of their
position in the most positive and determined
manner. The sequence is probably to be ex-
plained by the circumstance that the destruction
of the city is beheld as constantly drawing nearer.
Btit its main interest consists m the illustration
which it affords of the careful minuteness with
which in the Apocalypse words, phrases, and
constructions are selected, and of the depth of
meaning which the writer, by each change of
exoression, intends to convey.

Ver. 20. The judgment of God upon the guilty
city is supposed to have taken place. While it is
a source of lamentation to the wicked, it is a joy
to the righteous, and they are now summoned to
experience that joy. — For Ood hath jadged your
Judgment upon ner. The meaning is that that
judgment on the wicked which the righteous haye

Cissied is regarded as executed for them by God
imself.

Ver. 21. And % mighty angel took up a stone
as a great millatone and caat it into the sea.
A symbolic representation of the destruction of
Babylon is to oe given ; and for this new vision a
third angel appears, the first having appeared at
chap. xvii. i, the second at chap, xviii. I. He is
a ' mighty ' angel, the third of this kind in the'
Apocalypse, the other two meeting us at chaps.
▼. 2 and X. I. This angel acts aUer the manner
described in Jer. li. 63, 64, only that here, in
order to bring out more impressively the nature
of the judgment, the stone is heavy as ' a great
milbtone.' The destruction is sudden and com-
plete. The city disappears like a stone cast into
ihe sea (comp. Jer. li. 63, 64).

Vers. 22-24. The destruction spoken of is
enlarged on in strains of touching eloquence, but
it is unnecessary to dwell on the p.irticularn.
They include everything belonging either to the
business or to the joy of life. It may only be
observed that following the word for m ver. 23
we have a threefold description of the sins by
which judgment had been brought upon the city. —
The words of ver. 24, And in her wai found the
blood of pfophets, and of lainta, and of all that
«ifO ilan^terod npon the earth, are important
as confirming the interpretation that we have
been dealing ail along, not with a single city, but
with the representation of some universal nngodli-
nese and opposition to Christ. Nor does any
parallel lie so near as that contained in the words
of our Lord addressed to the degenerate Tews,
' that npon you may come all the righteous blood
shed on the earth, from the bloocf of Abel the
rig^iteous unto the blood of Zachariah the son of
Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary
and the altar. Verily I sajr unto you. All these
thing! shall come upon this generation' (Matt^
niu. 35). The ' slaughtering ' spoken of suggests

THE REVELATION.

475

the idea that like the slaughtered Lamb the
children of God had been slain in sacrifice.

Before passing from this chapter we have to
turn to the important inquiry. What does this
woman^ this mbylon, represent? Different
answers have been given to the question, the
most widely accepted of which are, that liie is
either pagan Rome, or a great world-city of the
last days (the metropolis of the world-power
svmboliced by the beast upon which she rides), or
the Romish Church. That there is not a little in
(he description (more especially in chap. xvii. 9,
15, 18) to favour the idea of pagan Rome may be
at 6nce admitted. But the arguments against
such an interpretation are decidedly preponderant.
It supposes that the beast in its final form is con-
trolled by the metropolis of the Roman Empire
(chap. xvii. 3). This is so far from being the
case that the Roman Empire is ' follen ' before
the woman comes upon the stage. It has dis-
appeared as completely as the other world-powers
which had ruled oefore it. No doubt, the woman
is mentioned at chap. xvii. i, while it is only at
ver. 10 that we read of the fall of the Roman
power. But the beast upon which the woman
sits at ver. ^ is the world-power in its last and
highest manifestation, and is therefore subsequent
to any of its earlier forms afterwards alluded to
when the Seer carries his thoughts backward in
order to trace its history. Again, pagan Rome
was never turned round upon (in the manner ren-
dered necessary by chap. xvii. 16), and hated, and
made desolate, and burned by any world-powers
that preceded her Christian condition. Once
more, various individual expressions employed in
these chapters are unsuitable to pagan Rome -
chap. xvi. 19, because Babvlon b to be in exist-
ence at the time when the last plagues are poured
out ; chap. xviL a, because no relations of the
kind here spoken of existed between pagan Rome
and those kings of the earth over whom, in the
language of Alford, she rather ' reigned with un-
disput^ and crushing sway ; ' chap, xviii. 2j
because pagan Rome fell without having been
reduced to the condition there described ; chap,
xviii. II, 19, because pagan Rome never was a
great commercial city, or, (if it be said that only
her purchasing is referred to), because she did not
cease to purchase even after her pagan condition
came to an end. On the other hand, the words
of chap, xviii. 24, obviously founded on Matt,
xxiii. 35, cannot be applied to pagan Rome.

Alive to the force of such considerations, or
others of a similar kind, the tendency of later
expositors has been to abandon the idea of pa^an
Rome, and to resort to that of another city which
they term the world-city of the last days ;— some
indeed seeing such a city in all the ^[reat cities
that have at any time directed persecution against
the people of God, others confining it more
strictly to a city yet to arise. The difficulties
attending this interpretation are even greater than
in the case of the former. The tone of the pas-
sage as a whole is unfavourable to the thought of
any metropolis whether of the past, the present,
or the future. It is not the manner of the Apoca-
lypse to symbolise by its emblems such material
objects as a city, however huge its site, splendid
its palaces, or wide its rule. The writer deals
with spiritual truths ; and to think that he would
introduce this woman as the symbol of a city even
iar vaster than London or Piris or New York is

476

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XVIII. 1-24.

to lose sight of the spirit in ^Yhich he writes. If
it be urged that it is the dominion, not the stone
and lime, of the city that he has in view, the
extent of this dominion is fatal to the explanation.
No such rule has belonged to any city either of
ancient or modem times. Or, if the reply again
be that the city is not vet come, it is unnecessary
to say more than that the existence of so great a
city IS as yet at least inconceivable, and that thus
one of the most solemn and weighty parts of the
Apocalypse has been for eighteen centuries with-
out a meaning. In addition, the use of the word
' mystery ' in chap. xvii. 5 is at variance with the
supposition. That word points at once to some*
thing spiritual (comp. on chap, xviu 5), and can-
not be Applied to what is merely of the earth
earthly. This interpretation, like the former,
must be set aside.

The idea that we have before us in the woman
papal Rome, either the Romish Church, or the
papal spirit within that church, is of a different
kind, and its fundamental principle may be
accepted with little hesitation. The emblem
employed leads directly to the idea of something
connected with the Church. The woman is a
' harlot ; ' and, with almost unvarying uniformity,
that appellation and the sin of whoredom are
ascribed in the Old Testament not to heathen
nations which had never enjoyed a special revela*
tion of the Almighty's will, but only to those
whom He had espoused to Himself, and who had
proved faithless to their covenant relation to Him
(Isa. i. 21 ; Jer. ii. 20, iii i, etc.). No more
than two passages can be adduced to which this
observation seems at first sight inapplicable
(Isa. xxiii. 15-17 ; Nah. iii. 4), and these excep-
tions may be more apparent than real. The
mention of whoredom in what was obviously a
symbolical sense immediately suggested to Jewish
ears the sin of defection from a state of former
privilege in God.

Again, the harlot here is so distinctly contrasted
with the 'woman' of chap. xii. and with the
' bride the Lamb's wife ' ot chap, xxi., that it is
difficult, if not impossible, to resist the conviction
that there must be a much closer resemblance
between them than exists between a woman and
a city. Compared with the former she is a
woman; she is in a wilderness (chaps, xiu 14,
xvii. 3) ; she is a mother (chaps, xit 5, xviL 5).
Compared with the latter she is introduced to us
in almost precisely the same language (chaps. xviL
I, xxi. 9); her garments suggest ideas which,
however specifically different, belong to the same
region of thought (chaps. xviL 4, xix. 8) ; she
has the name of a city, 'Babylon,' while the bride
is named ' New Jerusalem ' (chaps, xvii. 5, xxi.
2) : she persecutes, while the saints are persecuted
(chaps, xii. 13, xvii. 6) ; she makes all the
nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication, while the faithful are nourished by their
Lord (chaps, xiv. 8, xiL 14) ; she has a name of
guilt upon her forehead, while the 144,000 have
their Father's name written there (chaps. xviL 5,
xiv. i). When we call to mind the large part
played in the Apocal3rpse by the principle of con-
trasts, it is hardly possible to resist the conviction
that the conditions associated with ' Babylon ' are
best fulfilled if we behold in her a spiritual system
opposed to and contrasted with the true Church
of God.

We are led to this conclusion also by the fact

that both Jerusalem and Babylon have the same
designation, that of ' the great city,* eiven them.
This epithet is applied in chap. xi. o to a city,
vhich can be no other than Jerusalem (see note),
and the same remark may be made of chap. xvi.
19 (see note). In six other passages the epithet
is applied to Babylon (chaps, xiv. 8, xviiL 10^ 16^
18, 19, 21). The necessary inference is that there
must be a sense in which Jerusalem is Babylon
and Babylon Jerusalem. If it be not so we shall
have to contend, in the interpretaticm of the
Apocalypse, with difficulties of a kind altogether
different from those that generally meet us.
Interpretation indeed will become impossible,
because the same word, occurring in diflfierent
places of the book, will have to oe applied to
totallv different objects. No doubt it may be
oiged that the two cities Jerusalem and Balyjrlon
have so little in common that it is unnatural to
find in the latter a fi^re for the former. The
objection is of little weight In the first place, it
may be observed that ue description of the fall
of Babylon in this chapter is in all probability
taken as much from the prophecy of Hosea (chap.
iL I- 1 2) as from anything said expressly of that
city in tht Old Testament ; and, as that prophecy
applies to 'the house of Israel,' we have a
proof that in the mind of the Apocalyptic Seer
there was a sense in which the Babylon of this
chapter and a particular aspect of Israel (and
therefore also Babylon and Jerusalem) were closely
associated with each other. Nor does it seem
unworthy of notice that, at the moment when
Hosea utters his warnings, he has before him the
thought of a change o/name, * Then said C^od,
Call nis name Loammi ; for ye are not My pcodle,
and I will not be your God ' (chap. L 9). The
change of name mi^ht easily be transferred from
the people to the city representing them ; and if
so, no name would more naturally connect itself
in the mind of St John with the things spoken
of in chap. ii. of Hosea than that of Babylon. In
the second place, there is an aspect of Jerusalem
which most closely resembles that aspect of
Babylon for the sake of which the latter city is
here peculiarly referred to. We cannot read the
Fourth Gospel without seeing that in the view of
the Evangelist there was a second Jerusalem to be
added to the Jerusalem of old, that there was not
only a Jerusalem ' the city of God,' the centre of
a Divine Theocracy, but a Jerusalem representing
a degenerate Theocracy, tnU of which Chrisfs
pto^e must be called in order that they may form
His faithful Israel, a part of His ' one flock '
(see on John x. l-io). At this point, then, it
would seem that we are mainly to seek the
ground of the comparison between Jerusalem and
Babylon. In the latter city God*s people spent
seventy years of ckptivity ; and, at the end of that
time, Uiey were summoned out of it Many of
them ob^ed the summons. They returned to
their own land to settle under their vines and fig-
trees, to rebuild their dtv and temple, and to
enjoy the fulfilment of Goa's covenant promises.
All this was repeated in the days of Chnst Tbe
leaders of the old Theocracy had become ' thieves
and robbers ; ' they had taken possession of tbe
fold that they mic^it ' steal and kill and destroy ; '
it was necessary Uiat Christ's sheep should listen
to the Good Shepherd, and should leave tbe Ibid
that they might find open pastures. Not only sa
Repeated then, the same course of history shall be

Chap. XVIII. 1-24.]

THE REVELATION.

477

once more repeated. There shall again be a
coming out of Christ's sheep from the fold which
has for a time preserved them ; and that fold shall
be handed over to destruction. The probability
is that this thought is to be traced even at chap,
xi. 8^ where Jerusalem is * spiritually ' called
Sodom and E^ypt. Not simply because of its
sins did it receive these names, but because Sodom
and Egypt afforded striking illustrations of the
manner in which God summons His people out
from among the wicked. Lot out of Sodom (Gen.
xix. 12, 16^ 17; Luke xvii. 28-33), Israel out of
Egypt (Hos. xi. i ; Matt ii. 15). Babylon, how-
ever, afforded the most striking illustration of such
thoughts, and it thus became identified with the
Jerusalem which we learn to know in the Fourth
Gospel as the city of * the Jews.* Out of that
Jerusalem Christ^s disciples are by His own lips
exhorted to flee (Matt. xxiv. 15-20). The same
command is given in the passage before us (chap,
xviii. 4).

On these grounds it appears to us that there
need be no hesitation in so far adopting the
interpretation of those who understand by Babylon
the Komish Church as to see in it what is funda-
mentally and essentially correct The 'great
city ' is the emblem of a degenerate church. As
in chap. xii. we have, under the euise of a woman,
that true Church of Christ which is the embodi-
ment of all good, so here, under the guise of a
harlot, we have that false Church which has
sacrificed its Lord for the sake of the honours,
the riches, and the pleasures of the world. It is
not necessary to think, with Auberlen, that the
woman is changed into the harlot. Such an idea
is opposed to the general teaching of the Apoca-
lypse with regard to the Church of Christ ; and
the feeling that it is inconsistent with the promise
of our Lord in Matt xvi. 18 has led many to
reject who would otherwise have welcomed the
view we have defended. But no such idea of
change is necessary. Babylon is simply a second
aspect of the Church. Just as there were two
aspects of Jerusalem in the days of Christ, under
the one of which that dty was the centre of
attraction both to God and Israel, under the other
the metropolis of a degenerate Judaism, so there
are two aspects of the Church of Christ, under the
one of which we think of those who within her
are faithful to their Lord, under the other of the
great body of merely nominal Christians who in
words confess but in deeds deny Him. The
Church in this latter aspect is before us under the
term ' Babylon ; ' and it would appear to be the
teaching of Scripture, as it is certainly that alike
of Jewish and Christian history, that the longer
the Church lasts as a great outward institution in
the world the more does she tend to realize this
j>icture. As her first love fails, she abandons the
spirit for the letter, makes forms of one kind or
another a substitute for love, allies herself with the
world, and by adapting herself to it secures the
ease and the wealth which the world will never
bestow so heartily upon anything as upon a
Church in which the Divine oracles are dumb.

Beyond this point it is not possible to accom-
niny those who understand by Babylon the
Romish Church. Deeply that Church has sinned.

Not a few of the darkest traits of ' Babylon '
apply to her with a closeness of application which
may not unnaturally lead us to think that the
picture of these chapters has been drawn from
nothing so much as her. Her idolatries, her
outwara carnal splendour, her oppression of God's
saints, her merciless cruelties with torture the
dungeon and the stake, the tears and agonies and
blo<xl with which she has filled so many centuries
—-these and a thousand circumstances of a similar
kind may well be our excuse if in ' Babylon ' we
read Christian Rome. Yet the interpretation is
false. The harlot is wholly what she seems.
Christian Rome has never been wholly what on
one side of her character she was so largely. She
has maintained the truth of Christ against idolatry
and unchristian error, she has preferred poverty to
splendour in a way that Protestantism nas never
done, she has nurtured the noblest tjrpes of
devotion that the world has seen, and she has
thrilled the waves of time as they passed over her
with one constant litany of supplication and chant
of praise. Above all, it has not been the chief
characteristic of Rome to ally herself with kings.
She has rather trampled kings beneath her feet ;
and, in the interests of the poor and the oppressed,
has taught both proud barons and imperial tyrants
to quail before her. For deeds like these her
record is not with the beast but with the Lamb.
Babylon cannot be Christian Rome ; and nothing
has been more injurious to the Protestant churches
than the impression that she was so, and thatthey
were free from participation in her guilt. Babylon
embraces much more than Rome, and illustrations
of what she is lie nearer our own door. Wherever
professedly Christian men have thought the world's
favour better than its reproach ; wherever they
have esteemed its honours a more desirable pos-
session than its shame ; wherever they have
courted ease rather than welcomed suffering, have
loved self-indulgence rather than self-sacrifice, and
have substituted covetousness in grasping for
generosity in distributing what they had, — there
has been a part of the spirit of Babylon. In
short, we h^ve in the great harlot-city neither the
Christian Church as a whole nor the Romish
Church in particular, but all who anywhere within
the Church profess to be Christ's ' little flock ' and
are not, — denying in their lives the main character-
istic by which they ought to be distinguished, —
that they ' follow ' Chnst

It may be well to remark, in conclusion, that
the view now taken relieves us of any difBculty in
accounting for the lamentation in chap, xviii. of
kings and merchants and shipmasters over the fall
of Babylon, as if these persons had no interest in
her fate. So far is this from being the case, that
nothing has contributed more to deepen and
strengthen the worldliness of the world than the
faithlessness of those who ought to testify that tiie
true inheritance of man is beyond the grave, and
that the duty of all is to seek ' a better country,
even an heavenly.' A mere worldly and utili-
tarian system of Ethics may be better trusted to
correct the evils of a growing luxuriousness, than
a system which teaches that we may serve both
God and Mammon, and that it is possible to make
the best of both worlds.

478 THE REVELATION. [Chap. XIX. i-ia

■A

Chapter XIX. i-ia

VICTORY AND REST.

I. Song of Triumph over the Fall of Babylon,

ND' after these things I heard" a great voice of much
people * in "* heaven, saying, * Alleluia ; ' Salvation,* and * Jg;

A « Cb. xvuL »x

cxhr.-d.
viL 10^
to.
vi. la

2 glory, and honour,* and * power, unto the Lord our God : ^ for ^ g]
true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath 'judged ^^
the great whore,* which did corrupt the earth with her fornica-
tion, and • hath avenged the ' blood of his servants at her hand. # Ol xvm. 14.

3 And again ** they said, Alleluia. And her smoke ^ rose " up /o«. ^ ««

4 for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the
four beasts " fell down and worshipped God that sat " on the

5 throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of^*
the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ** ye

6 that fear him, both** ^ small and" great And I heard as it rCh. »l a
were the" voice of a great multitude, and as the** voice of

many * waters, and as the** voice of mighty thunderings,'* *ck«w.»-
saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent 'reigneth.** »ch.jii5.

7 Let us be glad ** and rejoice,** and give honour "* to him : for

the * marriage of the Lamb is come, and his ' wife hath made /S^JIj^^o

8 herself ~ ready. And to her was "granted** that she should ^^•y;;^''-;**-
be arrayed ** in fine linen, clean and white : ** for the fine linen

9 is the righteousness*' of** saints. And he saith unto me,

^ Write, Blessed are they which are called ** unto the marriage #qi.L «,
supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me. These are the
10 true sayings** of God. And I ^fell at** his feet to worship >cb-«»i.«.
him. And he said " unto me, See thon do it not : I am thy
feliow-servant, and ** of thy brethren that have the ^ testimony »* # ch. l t, 9-
of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony** of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy.

^ emit And * add as it were ' of a great multitude

^ The salvation * add the * omit and honour ' are our God's

• harlot • add he *• a second time ** goeth

" living creatures *• sitteth ** came forth from ** omit and

*«the ^^ add the "a "thunders

^ for the Lord hath taken to him his kingdom, even our God, the Almighty
*^ rejoice *' be exceeding glad ** and let us give the glory

** And it was given to her *^ array herself ** bright and pure

*' righteous acts *^ add the *^ bidden ^ w<Mtls

'^ fell down before ** saith ^ o^the fellow-servant ** witness

Contents. With the beginniiig of this chaptar contend alike with the world and witb the

we enter upon the fifth great section of the degenerate Church. Thej have been trffffuM

Apocalypse, which extends to chap. xx. 6. The from both ; and both have fallen. There is no

object of the section is to bring before us the more struggle for them now, except the final one

triumph and rest of the faithful disdoles of Jesus yet to be described in chap. xx. 7-15. So far as

after their conflict is over. They have had to they are concerned, however, that, as we shill see

^p

Chap. XIX. i-io.]

THE RfiVtLATION.

479

hereafter, can hardly be called H struggle, for their
enemies shall no sooner be gathered together
against them than they shall be completely and
for ever overwhelmed. The first notice of this
happy state is presented in the song of thanks-
giving sung by the heavenly hosts and by (the
redeemed from among men over the destruction
of Babylon.

Ver. I. The heavenly hosts are the first to sing.
Their keynote is HaUelnjah, a word meaning
* Praise the Lord,* and found in the New Testa-
ment only here and in vers. 3, 4, 6 of this chapter.
So in one song of heaven which has no termination
closes the Book of Psalms, that ' great book of
the wars of the Lord,* when the wars have ceased
for ever (comp. Neale and Littledale on Psalm cl.).

Ver. 2. The word true of this verse again
expresses what is real ;— not merelpr Aat God has
fulfilled His words, but that His judgments cor-
respond to the reality and propriety of things. —
For he hath judged the great harlot, which did
oormpt the earth with her fornication, and he
hath avenged the blood of hia aervanta at her
hand. The judgment particularly in view is
specified in these words. We nuiy observe how
strictly it corresponds tb the prayer of chap. vi.
10, — 'judge,' 'avenge.'

Ver. 3. And a aecond time they said, Halle-
li^ah. The thought of a ' second * time has
peculiar importance in the eyes of St. John (comp.
John iv. 54). It confirms with a singular degree
of emphasis the idea with which it is connected.
— ^Ana her smoke goeth up for ever and ever.
It went up as the smoke of Sodom (Gen. xix. 28).
Before, in chap. zL 8, ' the city ' that was spiritu-
ally ' Sodom and Egypt * was that where our Lord
was crucified — Jerusalem. Here it is Babylon.
The fate of the first city out of which God*s people
were called turns out to have been a prophecy of
the fate of the last. Thus does God fulfil His
word, and 'bind and blend in one the morning
and the evening of His creation* (Dr. Pusey).
But it was more tolerable for Sodom than it will
be for Babylon ; for (though indeed St. Peter
says Sodom 'suflfereth the vengeance of eternal
fire,' yet) its fires were quenched in the waters of
the Dead Sea. This fire goes up * for ever and
ever ' (comp. Isa. Ixvi 24).

Ver. 4. The foor and twenty elders and the
fonr living creatnres respond to the song of the
heavenly host The Elders we heard last at chap,
xi. 16, at the moment when the seventh trumpet
had sounded, and the 'great voices in heaven'
had declared, 'The kingdom of the world is
become the kingdom of our Lord and of His
Christ.' One of the four living creatures we saw
last at chap. xv. 7, when it gave to the seven
angels their * seven golden bowk full of the wrath
of God.* With peculiar propriety, therefore,
these beings first answer the nosts of heaven with
their loud Amen, and then take up their song
HaUelnjah.

Ver. 5. A voice is next heard from the throne
calling upon all God's people to give praise to
Him. The voice is immediately answered.

Ver. 6. And I heard as it were a voice of a
great multitude, and as a voice of many waten,
and as a voice of mighty thunders, saying,
Hallelujah, for the Lord hath taken to him his
kingdom, even our God, the Almighty. The
song is new, celebrating something greater and
higher than the last, not merely judgment on foes,

but the full taking possession of His kingdom by
the Lord.

Ver. 7. Let ns rejoice, and be exceeding glad,
and let us give the glory to him, for the
marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath
made herself ready. Up to this time the actual
marriage of the Redeemer to His people has not
taken place. The two parties have only been
betrothed to one another (comp. 9 Cor. xi. 2).
At length the hour has come when the marriage
shall be completed, the Lord Himself being
manifested in glory and His bride along with
Him.

Ver. 8. And it was given to her that she
shoidd array herself in fine linen bright and
pure, for the fine linen is the righteous acta
of the saints. The bride arrays herself in her
garments of beauty, that she may go forth to meet
the Bridegroom, may enter in with Him to the
marriage ceremony, and may be united to Him
for ever in the marriage bond. Her robes are of
dazzling whiteness, free from ever]r stain ; nor are
they an outward show. Her righteousness is
more than imputed, and her whole being is pene-
trated by it. She is in Christ ; she is one with
Him ; His righteousness takes possession of her
in such a manner that it becomes her own ; it is
a part of herself and of her life. St. John had no
fear of saying that the redeemed shall oe presented
before God in ' righteous acts * of their own. He
could not think of them except as at once justified
and sanctified in Jesus.

Ver. 9. And he saith unto me. Write, Blessed
are they that are bidden unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. We are not distinctly
informed who the person here spoken of is ; but,
inasmuch as we seem to be still dealing with the
' strong angel ' of chap. xviiL 21, we are probably
to think of him. AJfter the marriage comes the
marriage supper, the fulness of blessing to be
enjoyed by the redeemed. It may be a question
whether we are to distinguish between the bride
herself and those who appear rather to be spoken
of as guests at the marriage supper. But the
analogy of Scripture, and especially of suph
passages as Matt xxii. 2, xxvi 29, leads to the
conclusion that no such dbtinction can be drawn.
Those who are faithful in the Lord are at once
the Lamb's bride, and the Lamb's guests. Any
difiiculty of interpretation arises simply from the
difficulty, so often met with, of representing under
one figure the varied relations between the Lord
and His people. By the Lamb's wife, too, we
must surely understand the whole believing
Church, and not any separate section of it dis-
tinguished from, and more highly favoured than,
the rest. As there is one Bridegroom so there is
one bride. If, therefore^ according to the opinion
of many, we are dealing here with the 144,000 of
chap, xiv., an additional proof will be afforded
that in that mystical number the whole company
of believers was included. — ^And he said unto
me. These are the true words of Ood. The
word ' These * refers, not to all that has. been
revealed since chap. xvii. i, but to the last revela-
tions made; and they are 'true,' expressive of
the great realities now taking place.

Ver. 10. And I fell down before his feet to
worship him, fell overwhelmed with astonishment
and delight— And he saith unto me. See thou
do it not: I am thy fellow-servant and the
fellot^-servant of thy brethren that have the

4fo

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XIX. 11-21.

witneii of Jeiof : wonhip Ood. The angel
reminds the Apostle that worship is due to Ckxl
alone ; that he himself is only his fellow-servant
and the fellow-servant of all who have the witness
of Jesus, — whose personal possession the witness
of Jesus is become. — For tne idtneii of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy. The words are spoken
by the angel, and they contain the reason why,
high as he may seem to be, he ought to be looked

upon in no other light than as the fdU/ahiavani
of all who believe in Jesus. l*he argument is as
follows :— • All believers arc witnesses of Jesus
(comp. chap. xii. 17) j I, because I prophesy, and
because the witness of Jesus is the spirit of

frophecy, am also a witness of Jesus ; thou and
therefore occupy the same footing before God,
and we must worship God alone (comj^ ch^
xxiL 9).'

Chapter XIX. 11-21.

VICTORY AND REST.

2. The Victory of the Word and the Oifcrthrow of His Enapties.

1 1 A ND I saw ' heaven opened, and behold a white horse ; and

J^ he that sat upon him was* called '' Faithful and True, -ch 11114.

12 and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His'
*eyes were^ as a flame of fire, and on his head were*^ many ^^;i:'*'
crowns ; * and he had • a name written, that no man ' knew,' '^Vi ^f*

1 3 but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in •

14 blood : and his name is called The ''Word of God. And the ''^y l/.*'
' armies which were in heaven -^ followed him upon white horses, /^'^^

1 5 clothed in fine linen, white and clean.* And out of his mouth
goeth a sharp *^ sword, that with it he" should smite ^^^^^J-jJ
nations : and " he shall rule " them with a * rod " of iron : and *5- ««• »7.

xu. 5.

he 'treadeth the winepress'* of the fierceness and** wrath of »^:»^«*

16 Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture" and on his ^^^

* thigh a 'name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD J^^^^

17 OF LORDS. And I saw an^' angel standing ""in the sun;^J^j^*^
and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls " that

fly in the "midst of heaven," Come and gather yourselves -gi*^'*

18 together" unto the supper of the great God;** that ye may

eat the "" flesh of kings, and t;he flesh of captains, and the flesh ^^ l^^iJ^l^,
of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on
them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both " small

19 and great And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth,

and their armies, gathered together to make ^war against him /ch. xvi. 14.

20 that sat on the horse, and against his ^ army. And the beast ^ ch. xt s.

was taken, and with him the *" false prophet" that wrought ""^^^^

miracles before him," with which he deceived them that had

received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his

* add the * omit was • And his * are \ * diadems • hath

' no one knoweth ® And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with

•pure ^® he himself " <i/j5/ as a shepherd "tend "sceptre

** add of the wine ^* of the ** garment " one

" birds -

*• fly in mid-heaven
** the great supper of God ** and
•^ wrought the signs in his sight

*® Come, be gathered together
^ the false prophet with him

Chap. XIX. 11-21.] THE REVEL.\TION. 481

image. These both" were cast alive into a" 'lake of fire * c^.- «• «ok

XXI. O.

21 buniing" with brimstone. And the 'remnant" were slain ' ^^ "• «4.

" XII. 17.

with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword
proceeded '^ out of his mouth: and all the fowls '^ were filled
with their flesh.

** They twain
*« rest

««the

*^ even the sword that went

*' that bumeth
'0 birds

Contents. The Victory and Rest of God's
people are further described. The Lord Himself
comes forth to be married to His Church, and to
lead her in to the marriase supper.

Ver. II. And I lawue heaven opened, and
behold a white hone, and he that Bat npon him,
called Faithful and Trne, and in righteousness
he doth judge and make war. It is the Lord
Himself who comes to wind up the history of the
world, to bring salvation to His own, and destruc-
tion to His enemies. The Heaven is opened,
and a white horse appears, the same as that of
chap. vi. 2. He who then went forth * conquering
and to conquer ' returns in triumph. His victory
is won. In His own being He has proved Him-
self to be 'faithful and true,*— ' faithful' to all
His promises, ' true ' as the essence of all that is
real and everlasting.

Ver. 12. The description of the Lord given in
this verse sums up various characteristics of Him
mentioned in earlier parts of the book ; and the
many diadems are in token of His rule over the
many nations of the world. And he hath a name
written which no one knoweth, but he himself
(comp. chaps, ii. 17, iii. 12). This cannot be the
name of either ver. 13 or ver. 16, for both these
names are known. It must be some name which
shall be fully understood only when the union
between the Redeemer and His Church is per-
fected.

Ver. I}. And he is arrayed in a garment
sprinkled with blood, and his name is called
The Word of Ood. The idea is taken from
Isa. Ixiii. 2, 3, and is therefore that of a garment
sprinkled not with the Warrior's own blood, but
with the blood of His enemies. ' Is called,' ue,
is, and has been always, called.

The resemblance to John i. I and i John i. I
need not be enlarged on.

Ver. 14. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and pure. These
armies comprise in all probability both the angels
and the saints (comp. chap. xvii. 14). All
triumph with their triumphant Head and King.
But no blood is sprinkled upon their garments.
So in Ps. ex. 3 the Psalmist does not speak of
Messiah's people as fighting ; they are ' willing in
the day that He warreth ' (Perowne).

Ver. 15. On the sharp sword mentioned in
this verse comp. chaps, i. 16, ii. 12, 16. On the
tending as a shepherd comp. ii. 27, xii. 5. The
heaping up of words of judgment in the last clause
is very striking, the winepress of the wine of the
fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. For
the * winepress ' comp. chap. xiv. 19, 20.

Ver. 16. And he hath on his garment and on

his thigh a name written. King of kings, and

Lord of lords. The name mentioned in ver. 12

was probably written on the forehead. The

VOL. IV. 31

place of this name is different. It seems to
nave been written on the garment where it
covers the thigh to which the sword is bound
(Ps. xlv. 3). For the name itself comp. chap,
xvii. 14. What was there indicated in prophecy
is here realized. The warfare of the Lord is
ended : * All kings shall fall down before Him :
all nations shall serve Him * (Ps. Ixxii. ii).

Ver. 17. And I saw one angel standing in
the sun, and he cried with a loud vodoe,
saying to all the birds that fiy in mid-heaven.
Come, be gathered together unto the great
supper of God. For the angel's standing *in'
the sun comp. what was said on the thrones of the
twenty-four elders at chap. iv. 4. The Lamb is
come. But another supper has to be eaten : it is
ready, and the invitation to it is issued. All ' the
birds that fly in raid-heaven ' are invited ; and it
is apparently for thb reason that the angel stands
' in the sun (which is to be conceived of as in the
zenith of its daily path), so that he can the more
easily summon the birds that fly in the uppermost
regions of the air. At the same time it seems not
unlikely that the sun of chap. i. 16 is also in the
writer's eye. The Son of man is come to judg-
ment : the angel who summons to it is the
expression of the sun as he ' shineth in his power.'
Much difficulty has been felt in the effort to
determine what is represented by these * birds.'
Yet attention to the natural strain of the passage
as well as to ver. 21 oudit to leave us in little
doubt upon the point. They cannot possibly be
the enemies of the Lord, the armies of antichrist,
for ver. 18 shows us that these constitute the
materials of the banquet, (he food that is eaten.
'I'hey must, therefore, be simply the birds of prey,
the vultures, whose province it is to fly in the
loftiest regions of the sky, and which are here
introduced in order to convey to us a clear image
of the destruction awaiting the ungodly. The
picture is obviously taken from Ezek. xxxix. 17-22,
and it forms a striking contrast to the supper of
the Lamb spoken of in vers. 7-9. To this latter
the people of the Lord come in peace and joy,
and are feasted with the food which has been pre-
pared for them by the Bridegroom of the Church.
To the former the enemies of the Lord are
summoned, not to feast but to afford a feast to all
fierce and hateful birds.

Ver. 18. The idea of ver. 17 is expandeil in this
verse, the enemies of Christ being grouped under
the various classes mentioned in it.

Ver. 19. And I saw the beast and the kings
of the earth and their armies gathered together
to make war against him that sat on the honw
and against h& army. No doubt the 'war' is
that of chap. xvi. 14. It is the final war waged
by the beast and his ten kings and their armies
against Jesus and His army. The ' army ' of the
latter is in the singular; the 'armies' of the

482

THE REVELATION.

[CiiAP. XX. 1-6.

former are in the plural. The thought of the
unity of the one compared with the inner dissen*
f ions of the other lies at the bottom of the change
(comp. chap. xL 8).

Ver. 20. The description given in this verse
can leave no doubt that we have here the two
enemies of chap, xiii., the beast and the lamb-like
l>east with the two horns,— The Make of fire* is
again mentioned in chaps, xz. lo, 14, and xxi. 8.

Ver. 21. And the rest were alain with the
■word of him that sat upon the horse, even the
tword that went out of his moath, and aU the

birda were fOled with their fleshy By 'the
rest ' here spoken of it seems probable that we aie
to understand all who have imbibed the principles
of the beast and the false prophet, as distinguished
from these two'great enemies of Christ themselves.
In like manner we read in chap. xiL 17 of ' the
rest * of the woman's seedj as distinguished from
the body of the professing Church.' This * rest *
might have partaicen of the supper of the Lamb,
but they rejected the light because they loved the
darkness ; and the evil which they chose now
brings with it swift and irresistible destruction.

Chapter XX. i-6.

VICTORY AND REST.

3. The Judgment of Satan and t/u completed Triumph of the Righteous,

1 A ND I saw an angel come ' down from * heaven, having the
J^ key of the * bottomless ' pit * and a great * chain in * his

2 hand. And he laid hold on the ^ dragon, that * old "^ serpent,
which is the Devil, and Satan, and 'bound him a thousand

3 years, and cast him into the bottomless* pit,* and shut him'
up,* and set a ^9eal upon* him, that he should deceive the
nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled : ^*

4 and " after that " he must be ^loosed a little season." And I
saw * thrones, and they sat upon them, and 'judgment was
given unto them : and / saw the * souls of them that were **
beheaded for the ' witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and which had not worshipped " the beast, neither his image,
neither had received " his mark upon their foreheads," or in **
their hands;** and they lived" and reigned with Christ" a

5 thousand years. But " the "* rest of the dead lived not again **
until the thousand years were** finished. This is the first

6 resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection : on such ** the " second death hath no power, but
they shall be * priests of God and of Christ,*^ and shall reign
with him a thousand years.

aCh. xi. 7,
xviL 8.

c Ch. siL 3,

ziiLa^xvi.13.
4/Ch. ani. 9.
# Ja JcviiL la.

/Hat. xxni
66.

A Dan. vii. »,
ch. m. ti.

f Ch. xviii. 10 :
s Cor. vi. X

*Ch.>l9.

/ Ch. i. 9, xu.
«7-

MCh. iL 94,
zii. 17, x-rX.

2Z.

«Ver. 14;
ch. ii. II.
tf Cb. i. 6.

* coming * out of • owtt bottomless

^ the ^ it * OMit up

*^ finished " omtt and '* this

*• and such as worshipped not

*^ forehead *^ and upon ^^ hand

** omit But *' omit again ** should be

* abyss * upon

® and sealed it over

^' time " had been

*® and received not

«o lived, «» the Christ

** over these

Contents. It is unnecessary to say anything
of the difficulties attending the interpretation of
the passage upon which we now enter, or to
bespeak the inaulgence of the reader. Let it be
enough in the meantime to observe that the de-
scripUon of the Victory and Rest of the people ot
God is continued. The paragraph connects itself

closely with chap, xix., and ought not to be sepa-
rated from it.

Ver. I. And I saw an angel ooming dom
out of heaven, having the key of the abyas and
a great chain upon his hand. We have here
the second angel after the appearance of the Lord
Himself at chap. xix. 1 1 . This angel comes down

Chap. XX. i-6.]

THE REVELATION.

i^83

'out of heaven,* commissioned therefore by God,
and clothed with His power. He has the key of
the 'abyss/ which can be no other than that of
chaps, ix. I, 2, xi. 7, and xvii. 8. It is the abode
of Satan, the home and source of all evil. It has
a key, and this key is in the hands of Christ (comp.
chap. L 18). By Him it is entrusted to the angel
for the execution of His> purposes. At chap. ix. 2
the angel opened the abyss ; here he lodes k In
addition to the key the angel has a great chain
upon his hand, i.e. hanging over his open hand
and dropping down on either side. The chain is
' great ' because of tlie end to which it is to be
applied and its fitness to secure it.

Ver. 2. And he laid hold on the dragon, the
old serpent, which iB the Devil and Satan.
This dragon we have already met at chaps, xii.
3, 9, xiii. 2, 4, xvi. 13. He is the first of the
three great enemies of the Church, who gives his
authorityto the beast, and is worshipped by the un-
godly. The description corresponds to that at chap,
xii. 9, the only difference being that now we read
not that he 'is called' but that he 'is' the devil.
Whether this change may be owing to the fact that
by this time Satan has been made known in his
actual working, whereas then he was only intro-
duced to us, it may be difficult to say ; it is of more
importance to observe that the last mention of him
identifies him with the first. — And bound him a
thousand years. The ' binding * is more than a
mere limitation of Satan's power. It puts a stop
to that special evil working of his which is in the
Seer*s eye. The meaning of the thousand years we
shall afterwards inquire into.

Ver. 3. And cast him into the abyss, f>. into
the place to which he naturally belongs. — And
shut it. The angel closed the door of which he
has the key, doubtless at the same time locking
it, so that Satan should no loneer continue the
mischief he had done. — And seiued it over him,
not only locking the door, but sealing it in order
to make it doubly fast (Dan. vi. 17). In each of
the acts thus described, the laying hold of Satan,
the binding him, the putting him into the abyss,
the closing and sealing the abyss, we have a
mocking caricature of what was done to Jesus in
the last days of His passion (John xviii. 12 ; Matt,
xxvii. 60, 66). — That he should deceive the
nations no more till the thousand years should
be finished. ' The ' thousand years, as shown by
the use of the article, are the same as in ver. 2,
and nothing more therefore need be said of them
at present But who are ' the nations * ? They
are mentioned again in ver. 8, as being in the
'four comers of the earth,' as being 'Gog and
Magc^.' One distinguished commentator (^IgtA)
reg^s them as ' the heathen nations still remain-
ing on the earth, which are also supposed to
remain there during the thousand years kingdom,
but at its most extreme and minutest points, so
that the citizens of the Messianic kingdom do not
come in contact with them, nor is their power
disturbed by them.' Another (Alford) has the
same general idea, but with this difference, that
he considers them to be, during the thousand vears,
' quiet and willing subjects of the kingdom, who
are a^n seduced by Satan alter he is let loose.
A third {Diisterdieck) makes them simply the
heathen. A fourth {Klufoih) draws a distinction
between them and those meant by the 'whole
world* or the 'whole inhabited world' (chaps,
iii. 10, xii 9, xvi. 14). These latter expressions

are referred to the civilized and cultured nations
of antiquity, while the more distant and barbarous
peoples, living as it were upon the confines of the
globe, are comprehended under the former. Over
the one ' the beast ' had exercised his sway, and
they alone were destroyed at chap. xix. 17-21.
The other, ' the nations,* were not involved in
that destruction, but were still left upon the earth.
I'he distinction thus drawn between cultured and
uncultured peoples seems, however, to be incon-
sistent with various direct statements of the Apo-
calypse. Thus at chap. iii. 10 not only is there
nothing to suggest the thought of only cultured
peoples, but the ' whole inhabited world * spoken
of must be understood in a sense as wide as that
belonging to the words 'them that dwell upon
the earth ' which immediately follow. At chap.
xiL 9, where the rule of the dragon is described,
it is impossible to limit the expression ' the whole
inhabited world* in the manner proposed, for
chap. xiii. 7 gives the beast, the vicegerent of
Satan, universal power, and the influence of
Babylon, with which that of the beast and there-
fore of Satan must be coextensive, extends to
' all the nations,' including the ' king^ ' and ' mer-
chants* of the earth (chaps, xiv, 8, xviii. 3, 23).
Again, the words 'the nations' are used in a
much wider sense than that of barbarous tribes in
chap. xi. ai, where they have their part in history ;
in chap. xi. 18, where they must refer to the
wicked in general in contrast with the good ; in
chap. xvi. 19, where they have ' cities ; ' in chap,
xix. 15, where they embrace all the enemies of
Christ ; and in chap. xxi. 24, where they cannot
be limited to one section only of the heathen* In
short, there does not appear to be a single passage
of the Apocalypse in which ' the whole inhabiteidi
world * means the polished, or ' the nations ' the
unpolished, undeveloped, nations of the globe.
The only admissible interpreUition, therefore, of
the phrase ' the nations * is that which understands
by it the unchristian godless world.

These nations Satan is to 'deceive' no aaore
until the thousand years are finished. The word
' deceive ' is again used in ver. 8, where we have
a further description of that in which the decep-
tion consists. In the meantime it is enough to
sav that the word 'till' employed by the Seer
takes us forward to the deception practised at the
end of the thousand years as that which he has in
view. What the dragon will then do hi does not
do till then. It is thus not a general but a par-
ticular deception that is contemplated. We are
not necessarily to think of a cessation of Satan's
misleading of the world; but the 'deceiving'
which he does not practise till the thousand years
are finished is definite and special. ^Alter this
he must be loosed a little time. The word
' must * expresses, as usual, conformity to the pur-
poses of God, who will certainly cany out His
own plan.

Ver. 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat
upon them. A new vision, or rather a forthcr
unfolding of that with which we have been occu-
pied, is presented to us. We have first to ask
what the ' thrones ' are. Are they simply places
of exalted dignity, or are they seats for judgment?
The two ideas might be combined were it ndt
that reie;ning, not judging, is the prominent ideii
both of this passage and of Dan. viL 22 upon
which the representation in all probability resta
The thrones before us arc thrones of kings (chap.

484

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XX. 1-6.

iii. 21). Those that 'sat upon them' are cer-
tainly neither angels nor God ; nor are they the
twenty-four Elders, for it is the invariable practice
of the Seer to name the latter when he has them
in view. They can be no other than all the faith-
ful members of Christ's Church, or at least all of
whom it is said in the last clause of the verse that
they ' reigned ' with Christ.— And Judgment wai
giren nnto them. These words cannot mean
that the ru^hteous were beheld seated as assessors
with the Christ in judgment, for the word of the
original used for jud^ent denotes the result and
not the act of judgmg ; and, so far as appears,
there were at this moment none before them to
be judged. The use of the word ' given ' leads to
the thought of a judgment affecting themselves
rather than others. If so, the most natural mean-
ing will be that the result of judgment was in
such a manner given them that they did not need
to come into the judgment. As they had victory
1)efore they fought (i Jolin v. 4 ; see also on ver.
9), so they were acquitted before they were tried.
—And I saw the tonla of them that had been
beheaded for the witneM of Jeros and for the
word of Ood, and mch as worshipped not the
beast, neither his image, and received not his
mark npon their foiehead and npon their hand.
What the Seer beheld was ' souls,' and the ana-
logy of chap, vi, 9, a passage in many respects
closely parallel to this, makes it clear that they
were no more than souls. They had not yet been
clothed with their resurrection bodies. The word
' beheaded ' is very remarkable ; nor does it seem
a sufficient explanation when it is said that behead-
ing was a Roman punishment It was certainly
not in this wav alone that the earliest witnesses of
Jesus met at the hands of the Roman power their
martyr fate. There must be some other reason
for the use of so singular a term. It would seem
that the bodies of Jewish criminals were usually
cast out into the valley of Hinnom, ' the beheaded
or hanged in one spot, the stoned or burnt in
another ' (Geikie's Life of Christ, ii. 575). May
the Seer have in his mmd the thought present
to him in chap. xi. 8, 9, when he spoke of the
dead bodies of^ the two witnesses as lying in the
street of the great city and not suffered to be laid
in a tomb? These were the 'beheaded.' The
exposure to which they had been subjected, and
the contumely with which thev had been treated,
are thought of more than the manner of their
death. And who were they ? Are they no others
than those described in the next clause as 'not
worshipping the beast,' etc, or are they martyrs
in the more special sense of the term ? The par-
ticular relative employed in the original for ' such
as,' together with the grammatiou construction,
favours the former idea. In all the clauses of the
verse only a single class is spoken of, that of
Christ's faithful ones, and they are described first
by their fate and next by their character (comp.
chap. i. 7, and see on chap. xiv. 12). If we sup-
pose them to be martyrs in the literal sense we
must think of that very small class which suffered
by decapitation, excludii^ the much larger ' army
of martyrs' who had lallen by other means.
Besides which, we introduce a distinction between
two classes of Christians that is foreign to the
teaching of Christ both in the Apocalypse and
elsewhere. God's people without exception are
always with their Lord ; the promise that they
sliall sit upon His throne is to tvtry one that over-

cometh (chap. iii. 21); and in ver. 6 nothing
more is said of these beheaded sufferers than may
be said of all believers. We have already seen
that St« John recognises no Christianity that is
not attended by suSiering and the cross. Every
attempt to distinguish between actual martyrs and
other true followers of Jesus must in the very
nature of the case be vain. How often has there
been more true martyrdom in bearing years of
pining sickness or meeting wave after wave of
sorrow than in encountering sword or axe or fire !
—And they lived, and reigned with the GOirist
a thousand years. The word ' lived ' must, by
every rule of interpretation, be understood in the
same sense here as in the following clause, where
it is applied to ' the rest of the dead.' In the
latter connection, however, it cannot express life
spiritual and eternal, or be referred to anything
else than mere awaking to life after the sleep of
death in the grave is over. In this sense we must
understand it now. The word might have been
translated * rose to life ' as in chap;;, ii. 8, xiiL 14.
At this point, therefore, the resurrection of the
righteous comes in — they 'lived.' But they not
only lived, they ' reigned. ' The word denotes only
that condition of majesty, honour, and blessedness
to which the righteous are exalted. There is no
need to think of persons over whom they rule.

Ver. 5. The rest of the dead lived not nntil
the thousand years should be finished. If the
view taken of ver. 4 be correct, the ' rest of the
dead ' spoken of in ver. 5 can signify none but
the ungodlv. Believers without exception have
been included among those enumerated in the
previous verse. There remain only those who
have rejected the Lamb, and have given them-
selves to the service of the beast. Apart from
thb consideration, we are led by the Apocalypse
itself to interpret the word ' dead ' of the ungodly
(comp. on chap. xi. 18). No doubt it is difficult
to say why in this case we should read of ' the
rest of the dead ' rather than of ' the dead.' May
it be that they are viewed as the counterpart of
the faithful remnant which we have met in chaps,
ii. 24 and xii. 17? At the point now reached by
us the resurrection of all men, both good and
bad, has taken place.— This is the fint resur-
rection. The word ' tliis ' with which the last
clause of the verse begins is to be understood as
bearing its common acceptation 'of this nature.'
The writer refers not to the word * lived * lUone,
where it first occurs in his previous description,
but even more particularly to the word * reigned ; *
or, rather, he refers to the whole account which
he has mven of the blessedness of the righteous.
He is thus, it will be observed, speaking not of
an act, but of a state. He is not thinking of any
first act of rising in contrast with a second act of
the same kind. He is describing the condition
of certain persons in comparison with others after
an cut of rising, predicahle of them both, has taken
place. Hence the fact, so different from what we
should naturally, on first reading the words,
expect, — that there is no mention of a second
resurrection. Nor can it be for a moment pled
that the first resurrection implies a second. The
Seer chooses his words too carefully to leave room
for such an inference. The contrast that he has
in view is not between a first and a second resur-
rection, but between a ' first resurrection ' and a
' second death.' In the first of these two the
rising from the dead may be included, but the

Chap. XX. 7-10.]

THE REVELATION.

485

thought of the condition to which that rising leads
is more prominent than the act.

Ver. 6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part
in the first resnrrection. In chap. xix. 9 all
believers were pronounced ' blessed/ and the
word * holy ' denotes the consecration that is given
not to a few only but to all the saints of God
(chaps, xviii. 20, xix. 8) : besides which, we are
immediately told, they ' shall be priests of God
and of the Christ.' The whole description leads
directly to the view that all Christians have part
in the reign of the thousand years, whatever it may
mean. — Over these the second death hath no
power. We have spoken of the * first resurrec-
tion * as a state, not an act. It is even more
clear that the same thing must be said of the
* second death.' The Seer has indeed himself
distinctly explained it when he says, in ver. 14,
' This is the second death, even the lake of fire '

(comp. also chap. ii. 11). It is more than the
death of the body, more even than the death of
the body (could we suppose such a thing) twice
repeated. It is the death of the whole man,
b<>dy and soul together, the ' eternal punishment'
denounced by our Lord against those who refuse
to imitate His example, and to imbibe His spirit
(Matt. XXV. 46). As again bearing on our
exposition of ver. 4, it may be well to notice that
escaping the ' second death ' is spoken of in chap,
ii. 1 1 as the privilege not of those alone who are
in a special sense martyrs, but of all believers. —
But they shall be priests of God and of the
Ghrist, and shall reign with him a thousand
years. These words again mention privileges
(i) that are common to all believers, and (2) that
continue not for a thousand years merely, but for
ever. All believers are ' priests ' (chap. i. 6) ; all
sit upon Christ's ' throne ' (chap. iii. 21).

Chapter XX. 7-10.

The last Outbreak and Overthrow of Satan.

7 A ND when the thousand years are * expired,* Satan shall be «ver. 3.

8 jr\ loosed out of his prison, and shall go out * to deceive the
nations which are in the *four quarters* of the earth, ^Gog J^,^^|^
and Magog, to gather them together to ^ battle : * the number ^^' **»**

9 of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on * the ^^^1^^^'
' breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints * i^ ^iii s.
about, and the ^ beloved city : and ^ fire came down from God • /^.- 4 45.

^ ^9 Km. I. io»

10 out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived ' "» »4.
them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where • the
* beast and the false prophet are^ and *® shall be tormented day ACh. xix. m.
and night for ever and ever.

' finished * come forth

^ omit from God ' deceivelh

* comers

^ add are also

* the war

• omit are

* over
*® add they

Contents. The happy pause described from
chap. xix. I to chap. xx. 6 com^ to an end, and
we enter upon the sixth leading section of the
book. The section extends from chap. xx. 7 to
chap. xxii. 5, and its object is to show that,
though opposed by so many adversaries and led
through so many trials, the saints of God shall at
the last be victorious. Their great enemy Satan
is completely overthrown, and the new Jerusalem
descends from heaven to be their abode of
perpetual purity and peace and joy. The first
paragraph of this section extends from ver. 7 to
ver. 10 of the present chapter. It contains a new
and final assault upon the saints ; but the assault
is at once and ij^ominiously defeated.

Ver. 7. And when the thousand years are
finished, Satan shall be loosed out of 1^ prison.
The meaning of the first clause of this verse
cannot be properly discussed until, in some
closing remarks on the chapter, we resume con-
sideration of the whole question of what we are

to understand by 'the thousand years.* Mean-
while, therefore, it is enough to mark the fact that
Satan is represented as loosed out of the prison to
which he had been consigned in ver. 3, m order
that he may practise that work of 'deception'
on 'the nations' which had been alluded to in
ver. 2.

Ver. 8. And shall come forth to deceive the
nations which are in the four comers of the
earth, Oog and Magog, to gather them together
to the war. ' Gog and Masog ' are in apposition
with 'the nations, so that the two names repre-
sent the same thing. There is thus a slight
difference between the use of these terms here
and in Ezekiel (chaps. xxxviiL xxxix.), where
Gog is the prince of Magog, and Magog b the
nation ruled by him. In the prophecy of Ezekiel
the names are applied to a prince and a people
coming from a distance, — apparently the North
(chap, xxxix. 2), — fierce, rapacious, and cmel.
It is not necessary to inquuc what parttcular

486

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XX. 11-15.

people this 'may be, although thej are generally
regarded as the nations north of the Caucasus.
Enough that, wherever they dwelli they are the
enemies of God, that they march against Israel
after the latter has been established in its own
land, and that they are overthrown with a swift
and terrible and final destruction. They thus
afford a suitable type for the last enemies of the
Church, who have come up against her. and are
destroyed. — These enemies are described as being
'in the four comers of the earth.' The ex-
pression meets us in chap. vii. i, where the four
angels, who hold back the winds until the
servants of God are sealed, stand upon the four
comers of the earth : and, as this is tne only other
passage where the word occurs in the Apocalypse,
we must take it along with us in our effort to
ascertain the meaning. Two things may be
noticed in connection with it : (i) That the
comers of the earth presuppose a centre from
which they are distinct ; (2) That, though thus
distinct from the centre, the powers emanating
from them influence the whole earth, and are not
confined to the comers, for it is said in chap,
vii. I that the aneels held back not the winds of
the comers but the winds ' of the earth, that no
wind should blow on the earth nor on the sea nor
on any tree.' In precise accordance with this, it
is stated here that when the nations came up from
these four corners they ' went up over the breadth
of the earth ; ' they covered it all. It is thus
impossible to think of mere rjcmotei barbarous,
and unknown tribes in contrast with the civilised
nations of the world. Nothing less can be in the
writer's view than all the heathen, including
nations the most cultured and the most civilised.
Such too is the meaning of the words ' the
nations ' not only in the New Testament generally,
but in this particular book. In short, we have
before us a fresh illustration of the idea which
seems to underlie the whole Apocalvpse, that the
history of Christ is repeated in the history of the
Church. After the pause in John xiit-xvii.
there is a fresh and fimd outbreak of opposition
to Jesus, in which the Roman power is peculiarly
active. Now, after the pause of the thousand years,
there is a fresh outbreaK of opposition against the
saints, in which the heathen play the prominent
part. — These * nations ' assemble under the
leadership of Satan, of whom it is said tiiat he
comes forth out of his prison 'to deceive the
nations, to gather them together to the war.'
The deception is not the general deception prac-

tised by Satan over the hearts of men, and
continued during the whole period of human
history. It is one act of deception committed at
the last, and consisting of the particular influence
referred to. — ^Tha number of whom is M the
■and of the sea. The common biblical expres-
sion for innumerable hosts.

Ver. 9. And they went up orer the breadth
of the earth, and oompasMd the camp of the
■iinti aboat and the beloved city. The two
appellations here used are evidently intended to
express only two different aspects of the same thing,
although we are probably to think of the camp
not as within the dty, but as round about it and
defending it (comp. Ps. xxxiv. 7). ' The beloved
city ' can be no other than Jerasalem, and this is
allowed by all commentators. But it is neither
the new Jerusalem, which has not yet come down
from heaven, nor the actual city of that name,
which is supposed by many to play ' so glorious a
part ' in the latter days. It is in the nature of
things impossible that such enormous hosts should
encompass one small city. The whole, too, is a
vision, and must be symbolically understood. As
' the nations ' denote the enemies, ' the beloved
city ' denotes the people, of God ; and surely not
a select number, but all the ' saints ; ' all to whom
the term 'Jerusalem' in its best sense may be
properly applied. It was in a similar sense that
in chap. xiv. i the 144,000 stood upon Mount
Zion, and that in chap. xiv. 20 the slaughter took
place ' without the city.'— And fire came down oat
of heaven and devoured them. The destmction
is complete even without mention of a battle
being fought (comp. i John v. 4). The imagery
is taken from Ezek. xxxviii. 22, xxxix. 6, with
allusion also to such a destruction as that ot
2 Kings i. 10, 12, 14.

Ver. 10. And the devil that deceiveth them
was oast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where are also the beast and the false prophet ;
and they shall be tormented day and nignt for
ever and ever. The last great enemy of the
Church is now overcome and destroyed as the
beast and the false prophet have already been
(chap. xix. 20). He is cast into the lake of fire,
where all three are tormented for ever and ever.
It is presupposed in this everlasting torment that
they have made their final and unchangeable
choice of evil. This is indicated in the words
* that deceiveth,' the present tense leading us to the
thought of the essential character, not the present
action, of the great enemy of man.

Chapter XX. 11-15.
The Final Judgment

11 A ND I saw a great white ''throne, and him that sat on it, «Mat.xxT.3i.
-^1- from whose face the * earth and the heaven fled away ; * ch- ▼l 14,

XVI. so.

12 and there was found ^no place for them. And I saw the ^ i^^n. u. 35.
^ dead, small and great,* stand " before God ; ' and the * ' books *'^- *'• '«'
were opened : and another book was opened, which is ^ the book 'j^l^^^^-

. * t^e great s^ni the ^mall • standing » the throne * omit the

Chap. XX. 11-15.] THE REVELATION. 487

of life : and the dead were judged out of those • things which

13 were written in the books, according to their works. And the

sea gave lip the dead which were in it; and ''death and hell* ^OltLs.
delivered ' up the dead which were in them : and they were

14 ^judged every man ' according to their works. And death and a Jo. ▼. t».
hell* were cast into the lake of fire. This is the 'second »ch. xxi. s.

15 death.' And whosoever** was not found written in the *book *ch.«ui.8,

xvii.

of life was " cast into the lake of fire.

* the

^ oitd even the lake of fire

« Hades '

*" And if any one

gave

• each one
** he was

Contents. The vision before us contains an
account of the last judgment, and it will be well
to examine it before endeavouring to determine
more particularly the meaning of the thousand
years spoken of in the first vision of this chapter.

Ver. 1 1. And I saw a great white throne and
him that eat on itj foom whose face the earth
and the heaven fled away; and there was
found no place for them. The throne that is
seen is ' great,' not so much in contrast with the
thrones of ver. 4, as in correspondence with the
Great Being who sits upon it. It is also ' white,*
emblematic of ilis perfect purity and righteous-
ness. He that sits upon it is Christi not God,
although we may remember that Christ b the
revelation of God, and the Doer of the Father's
will. From before His face the earth and the
heavens flee away, i.e., they are completely
removed, time and earth and all that belongs to
them coming to an end. Similar descriptions,
although not so complete, have already met us at
chaps, vi. 14 and xvi. 20.

Ver. I a. And I saw the dead, the great and
the small, standing before the throne, and
books were opened. Is this a general judgment ?
Such is the view generally, though not alwajrs,
taken. All the dead, not only the wicked, but
(as some think) certain classes of the righteous
who had had no part in the ' first resurrection,'
or (as others think) the righteous without exception,
are supposed to be included. It is thought that
the literal reign of a thousand years had preceded
the final determination of the state of any whether
good or bad ; that this rr'rri is over ; and that alt,
whether they have had a anare in its blessedne^
or not, must now take their stand before the
judgment-seat of God, that they mav be judged
by what they have done. But St. John speaks of
' the dead,* and wc have alreadv seen that that
word is used by him of the wicked only (comp.
on ver. 5 and on chap. xi. 18). Such seems to
be his meaning here ; and that It is so will be
abundantly confirmed as we proceed. Nor is the
amplification of the term ' the dead ' by means of
' the great and the small ' at variance with the
idea that the class so described is limited. Similar,
at times even greater, amplifications occur else-
where in connection with classes which the
context undeniably confines to one class whether
of the wicked or the good (chaps, xi. 18, xiii. 16,
xlz. 5, 18). The *dead,' therefore, are here the
wicked alone ; and the ' books ' contain a record
of no deeds but theirs. The ' books ' are indeed
expressly distinguished from * the book of life.' —
And another book was opened which is the

book of lilb, and the dead were Judged out of
the things which were written in the bodk^ ac-
cording to their works. The words 'another
liook ' ^ow that this book is nuite distinct from
the 'books' before mentioneo, and that 'the
books ' now spoken of are the ' books ' of the
previous clause. It is indeed possible to coticeive
that the deeds of the righteous as well as of the
wicked (names of persons being necessarily asso-
ciated with them) jnay be contained in the ' books,'
while the ' book of life ' may at the same time con-
tain a second list of the righteous alone. But this
notion of two lists of the righteous seems in a high
degree improbable, and tne nattiral conclusion
from the words before us is that what are spokdi
of as the ' books,' in distinct contrast with ' the
book of life/ contain nothing but the names of the
wicked and their works. Ine latter, too, are ob-
viously the only books out of which /tf<4^^^ ^
pronounced. There is not the slightest indication
that the ' book of life ' was openol for judgment.
The only purpose for which it is used is that
mentioned in ver. 15. It will be observedi
moreover, that no ' works ' kre referred to except
those of the wicked. 3o ^^f, therefore, from
being led by a ' vicious literalism ' to confine tl^e
judgment before us to the wicked, such an inter-
pretation appears, at least as far as we have comcf,
to be demanded by a plain and natural exegesis
of the text.

Ver. 13. And the sei^ gaye np the dead which
were in ft ; and death and Hades gave np the
dead which were in them, and they were
jndged each one according to their works.
\\y the ' sea ' it is impossible to understand the
ocean. The word meets us many times in the
Apocalypse ; but, when it is ijsed absolutely
as here, without anything to suggest a contrast to
the land, it is evidently figuratively used, as the
emblem of the troubled and evil world (see chaps,
xiii. I, xxi. i). On this ground, and because
associated with death and Hades, it must be
re^rded not as the ocean, in which many of the
saints have perished, but as one of the sources
whence the wicked come to judgment ' Of this
sense again in which ' death ' and ' Hades' are to
be understood we haVe the best illustration in
chap. vi. 8, where the former rides upon the pife
horse and is followed by the latter. In that
passage both ' death ' and ' Hades '^ are itit
enemies of men ; both are one of the judgments
that come upon the world, so that they are not
neutral powers, but powers exercising sway over
the wicked, and having only the wicked onder
their control: This is absolutely established b)*

488

THE REVELATION.

the fact stated in the next verse, that both are
cast into the lake of iire, — not simply brought to
an end, but punished with the same punishment
which had already been meted out to the dragon,
the beast, and the false prophet.

Ver. I A. And death and Hadee were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death,
even the lake of fire. The first part of this verse
has been spoken of. The second part explains
that the second death is ' the lake of fire,* clearly
showing that the second death is a state. It is
the state of those who have chosen and confirmed
to themselves the death which came upon man by
sin, from which Christ redeems, but which becomes
to those who wilfullv reject His redemption a still
more fearful, even the second, death.

Ver. 15. And if any one was not found
written in the book of life, he wss oast into
the lake of fire. Here then is the purpose,
and the only one, for which ' the book of lite * b
spoken of as used at the judgment before us. It was
searched in order that it might be seen if any one's
name was not written in it ; and he whose name
could not be discovered in its pages was cast into
the lake of fire. For a carefulness of expression
verv similar to that of these words see John x. 16
and note.

From all that has been said it will be apparent
that the judgment now described is not a general
judgment, but one on the wicked only. The first
view is no doubt that which most naturally
suggests itself to the reader of the passage, until
he exainines more particularly the expressions
that are employed, and calls to mind the whole
style of thought eichibited in this book. But (i)
The thought of a general judgment breaks the
continuitpr of the scene. The passage, as a whole,
is occupied with judgment upon the enemies of
the Church. The interposition of a judgment,
and conseouent reward, of the righteous cUsturbs
the even now of the description : (2) It is very
difficult to imagine that those who have already
reigned with Christ in the thousand years, and to
whom judgment either relating to themselves or
over others has been 'given (ver. 4), should
now be placed at the judgment bar : (3) Add to
all this the use and meaning in St. John's
writings of such words as 'the dead,* 'judged,*
' the sea,' ' death,' and ' Hades,' — and it appears
impossible to adopt any other conclusion tha^ that
in the vision now before us we have a judgment
of the wicked, and not a general judgment.

The Reign of the Thousand Years.

We have now examined the various topics
mentioned in the separate clauses of chap. xx. with
the exception of ' the thousand years.' It is im-
possible, however, to pass from the chapter
without devoting some attention to this point.
No subject referred to in the New Testament has
more agitated the Church throughout all her
history. Upon none has greater diversity of,
opinion or greater keenness of feelin? been dis-
played ; and there is none on which, sdike for our
mdividual comfort and for the sake of our general
estimate of Scripture, it is more desirable to gain,
if possible, a clear and definite conception. The
writer of this Commentary is more particularly
desirous to offer a few considerations upon the
point because, so long ago as August 187 1, he
was led to take a view of the thousand years
which, as far as known to him, had not been

^ [Chap. XX. ii-is-

previously suggested, and which seemed to remove
m a manner consistent with fair interpretation the
chief difHculties of the subject. Since that time
the most important conclusion then arrived at has
been brought forward, though apparently as the
result of his own independent investigations, by
Kliefoth, in the second part of his Commentary on
the Apocalypse, A.D. 1874. Kliefoth's inter-
pretation of the passage as a whole is indeed
entirely different from that adopted here, but
upon the particular point of the thousand years he
and the present writer are at one. Such a fact
may help to propitiate the reader in favour of
what has now to be said.

Before again suggesting the solution referred to,
it will be well to ue vote a few sentences to two
views, one or other of which is generally accepted
as upon the whole the best explanation of the
apostle's meaning The first ol these is that a
lengthened period of prosperity and happiness for
the Church of Christ on earth is to intervene
between the close of the present Dispensation and
the general Judgment. Almost everything indeed
connected with this period is matter of dispute
among those who accept the main idea, — its
length, the proportion of^ believers who shall be
paitakers of its glory, the condition in which they
are to live, the work in which they are to be
engaged, the relation in which the exalted
Redeemer is to stand to them. These differences
of detail it is impossible to discuss as if they were
so many separate theories, but the more important
will be noticed as we proceed. The second
explanation demanding notice is that which sup-
poses the thousand years to be a figure for the
whole Christian age from the First to the Second
Coming of the Lord.

Turning to the first of these explanations, it
would seem as if the difficulties surrounding it
were nearly, if not wholly, insurmountable.

(i) If we interpret the thousand years literally,
it will be a solitary example of a literal use of
numbers in the Apocalypse, and this objcclioo
alone is fatal. If, on the other hand, we regard the
thousand years as denoting an indefinite period,
the difficulties of doing so are hardly less for-
midable. The numbers of the Apocalypse may
be symbolical, but they are always definite in
meaning. They express ideas it is true, but the
ideas are distinct. They may belong to a region
of thought different from that with which arith-
metical numbers are concerned, but within that
region we cannot change the numerical value of the
numbers used without at the same time changing
the thought. Thus the thousand years cannot mean
two thousand or ten thousand or twenty thousand
years, as the necessities of the case may demand.
If they are a measure of time, the measure mast
be fixe<l, and we ought to be able to explain the
principles leading us to attach to it a value different
from tnat which it naturally possesses.

(2) It is impossible to form any reasonable
conception of the condition of the saints during the
thousand years. Multitudes of them must have
risen from their graves through Him who is ' the
first-fruits of them that sleep ; those who were alive
at the banning of the thousand years must have
been 'changed. This is admitted by such as
hold the theory: Believers raised, however, are
raised 'in glory,' and we have the absolutely
inconceivable spectacle presented to us of glorified
saints living in a world which has not yet received

Chap. XX. 11-15.]

THE REVELATION.

489

its own glorification, and is thus completely
unfitted for their residence. Nor is the dimculty
lessened by adopting the supposition that only
the Holy Land and Jerusalem shall be trans-
figured, for we cannot imagine one part of the
earth transfigured without the rest, and the part
chosen for this purpose is far too small to
accommodate those who are supposed to occupy
it. Still greater difficulties meet us when we
think of the relations existing between the saints
thus glorified and 'the nations.' It is not easy
to gather together in a single sentence the various
ideas upon this point of those who hold the view of
which we speak ; and it may be enough to say
that ' the nations ' are generally regarded as either
subject to the saints, and ruled by them in peace,
or as the objects of their missionary enterprise.
They are thus either harmless innocents, the
absence of Satan preventing all combination
and organized manifestation of evil, or they are
|)eculiarly accessible to the grandeur of*^ the
spectacle which they behold in the glorified
Saviour and His people. It is needless to say
that for all this, and much more of a similar kind,
there is absolutely not the slightest foundation in
the apostle's words. Indeed the total absence of
any mention of relations between the saints and
* the nations ' until we come to ver. 7 Is one of
the most remarkable characteristics of the vision.
Evidently the Seer has no thought of any complex
state of matters such as would spring out of the
long dwelling together of these different classes.
Or, if there is to l^ a fresh duration of existence, is
there also to be another probation for * the nations,*
a Gospel preached under circumstances very
different from what we have known, and con-
stituting a new Dispensation, while yet there is the
same judgment at tne end, and the conditions for
entrance into happiness or woe continue as before ?

(3) The great difficulty, however,- presented by
this view of the millennium arises from the teaching
of Scripture elsewhere upon the points involved
in it. If we suppose that the saints who are made
partakers of millennial glory are a selected com-
pany, we introduce a distinction between different
classes of believers unknown to the word of God,
in which all believers enjoy the same privileges on
earth, share the same hope, and are at length
rewarded with the same inheritance. Even if we
reject such distinctions, we are not entitled to
separate between believers and unbelievers, for it
cannot be denied that the New Testament always
brings the Parousia and the general judgment
into the closest possible connection. When
Christ comes again, it is to perfect the happiness
of all His saints, and to make all His enemies
II is footstool (Matt. xxv. 31-46 ; John v. 28, 29 ;
Acts xvii. 31 ; Rom. ii. 16 ; I Thess. iv. 17 ;
2 Thess. i. 5-7 ; 2 Pet. iii. 8-13). The teaching
of the Apocalypse itself in other passages corre-
sponds with this (chaps, iii. 20, 21, xi. 17, 18).
'V\it idea of masses of the nations continuing to
be Christ's enemies for years or ages after He nas
come is not only entirely novel, btit is at variance
with everything we are taught by the other sacred
writers upon the point.

The same remark may be made with regard to
the two resurrections (in whatever particular form
we imagine them to take place) which are
separated from each other by a thousand years. We
have already seen indeed that the simple exegesis
of the passage disproves this idea, and that the

' first resurrection ' is a stcUe, not an act. But,
apart from this, the New Testament knows only
of one, and that a general, resurrection (John v.
28, 29), and the passages usually quoted as con-
taining partial indications of the opposite, such as
I Cor. XV. 23, 24, I Thess. iv. 16, 17, to which
we shall afterwards advert, fail to support the
conclusion drawn from them. The resurrectior
of believers takes place at ' the last day ' (John
vi. 40).

Again, the idea that before the end the Church
shall enjoy a long period of prosperity and rest on
earth with Christ in her midst, is inconsistent with
that teaching of Scripture which seems distinctly
to imply that her history down to the close of her
pilgrimage shall be one of trouble. That this is
the meaning of Matt. xxiv. can hardly be dis-
puted, and the argument from that chapter is the
stronger because the discourse of Christ contained
in it nes at the bottom of the Apocalypse, and the
writer of the latter could not contradict the very
authority upon which his delineation is grounded.
Or, if it be said that Christ is only to come
personsdly at the end of this time of jov, what
can be the meaning of the exhortations addressed
to us to wait and long for His Second Coming ?
We ought rather to wait and long for the mil-
lennial bliss.

The second interpretation of which it is necessary
to sav a few words is that which understands by
the thousand vears the whole Christian age from
the First to the Second Coming of Christ. That
there is an element of truth in this view we shall
see by and by ; but, looking at it in the form in
which it is usually presented, it is not possible to
accept it. The number one thousand is inappropri-
ate to the purpose to which it is applied. The period
in Question has already been made known to us
as three and a half years. To make it one thousand
years now is to throw everything into confusion.
Still further, the place of the book in which the
vision is found is unsuitable to this view. No
doubt the Seer is in the habit of recapitulating.
But the thousand years' reign forms part of a series
of visions designed to point out the nature of the
Church's victory a/tfr her warfare is concluded.
We cannot separate it from the visions of chap. xix. ,
and these certainly belong to the end. Again, the
' reign ' of one thousand years is obviously granted
not to the generation of believers only who are
alive at the coming of the Lord, but to all who
have been faithful unto death ; and none of these
have lived through the whole Christian Dispensa-
tion. Once more, we cannot speak of Satan as
bound and shut up in the abyss during the whole
period of the Church's history. That there is a
sense in which he is so as r^ards the righteous
must be allowed, but his action upon the ungodly,
upon 'the nations,' has never ceased. He has
been their betrayer and destroyer in every age.
When he was cast out of heaven he was ' cast
down to the earth,' and there he persecuted the
woman ' for a time, and times, and half a time *
(chap, xiu 9, 14). Our Lord teaches us to pray,
' Deliver us from the evil one ' (Matt. vi. 13).
This view, too, equally with the last considered,
perplexes our ideas as to what is to happen when
the Christian Dispensation has run its course.
At this point the thousand years expire ; and, as
they have been understood of time, it becomes
necessary to allow some additional space of time
fqr ttie dosing war. We are thus brought into

490

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XX. 11-15.

fresh conflict with other statements of Scripture
relating to the same snbject. The second pro-
posed solution is not more satisfactory than the
nrst

It was in these circumstances that the writer
of this Commentary offered many years ago what
seemed to him the true solution of the question of
the millennial reign — thai the thousand years are
not a period cf time at all. They represent that
victory of the Lord over Satan which is shared by
His people in Him, and they complete the picture
of that glorious condition in which believers have
all along really been, but which only now reaches
its highest point, and is revealed as well as pos-
Mssed. The saints 'died' when they believed,
And entered into a Divine life, but one ' hid with
Christ in God.' At the manifestation of Christ
at His Second Coming the^ also are ' manifested
with Him in glory ' (Col. iii. 3, 4). Such is the
leading thought

That ' years' may be taken in this sense there can
l)e no doubt In £zek. xxxix. 9 it is said that the
inhabitants of the cities of Israel shall prevail
against the enemies described, and ' shall set on
fire and bum the weapons, both the shields and
the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the
hand-staves, and the spears, and they shall burn
them with fire seven years ^—i.e,^ they shall
utterly destroy them, not a vestige shall be left.

months shall the house of Israel be buiring of
Aem, that they may cleanse the land ; ^ where
the expression marks onlv the thoroughness with
which the land should be cleansed from every
remnant of heathenish impurity. The use of
'years' in the passage betore us seems to be
exactly similar ; and the probability that it is so
rises almost to certainty when we remember that,
as proved by the vision of Gog and Magog in the
subsequent part of the chapter, this prophecy of
Ezekiel is before the Seer's eyes, constituting the
foundation upon which his whole delineation rests.
Viewed in this light then, the thousand years,
when connected with the binding of Satan, repre*
sent the completeness of his overthrow ! when
connected with the reign of the saints they
represent their confirmation in happiness, their
establishment in the joy just about to be revealed
in fulness, the manifestation of their blessedness
to the eyes of all men, when even their enemies
shall see that they are safe for ever, and shall
follow them with longine eyes as they enter
within the gates of the New Jerusalem (comp.
chap. iii. 9). They are simply an exalted symbol
of the glory of the redeemed at the particular
moment relerred to by the Seer. Even before
this time indeed, and throughout the whole of
their struggle with the world, they have enjoyed
in principle all that is now bestowed upon them ;
and herein lies the element of truth belonging to
that interpretation which sees in the thousand
years the Christian era as it extends from the First
to the Second Advent of the Redeemer. During
all that period the children of God have not only
been sealed, watched over, nourished by their
Heavenly Guardians : they have constituted a
Resurrection people, living in the power of Christ's
resurrection and of their own resurrection life.
They have rested upon a risen and glorified
Redeemer, and they have been seated with Him

in 'the heavenly places.' Their Lord Himself
had been always triumphant : at the opening of
the first seal He had gone forth ' conquering and
to conquer' (chap. vi. 2), and in every song of
praise, raised by the heavenly hosts the Church
and universal nature, which meets us in the book,
His had been *the blessing, and the honour, and
the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever'
(chap. v» 13, comp. chaps. viL 12, xi. 15, xv. 3,
xix. 7). In this triumph of Christ the saints on
earth, as well as the saints in heaven, have their
share. For this end was Christ manifested, that
from His Incarnation onward ' He might destroy
the works of the devil' (i John iii. 8). He
Himself said when He was on earth, ^ Naso is
the judgment of this world : now shall the prince
of this world be cast out (John xiL 31). He
declared that ' the prince of this world hath been
judged' (John xvi. 11). He gave His disciples
reason to hope that they could 'bind the strong
man ' (Matt. xii. 29) ; He said that they had
'authority' from Him 'to tread upon serpents
and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy ' (Luke x. 19) ; and He allowed them a
foretaste and experience of this authority in their
healings of those who were possessed with
demons. There is an unquestionable sense, there-
fore, in which for the true children of God from
the beginning of the Christian era Satan always
has been, and still is, bound. He is beneath
their feet. For them as members of the Body of
Christ his head is bruised. Still the fact remains,
that their state in this book has been described as
one of tribulation. The object of the passage
before us is to show that there is another side to
the picture, and that that side, long hidden, shall
be at length revealed. Just as in the earthly life
of Jesus there came a time when, His struggle
over, His glory shone forth in the presence of His
disciples, and He spoke as one already glorified
(John xvii.), so there comes a time when His
people shall shine forth in the glory which they
have received from Him. This is the reign of a
thousand years.

It may be said that the words of ver. 7» which
speak of the thousand years being ' finished,'
together with the subsequent outbreak of the
devil and the nations against the Church, aic
inconsistent with the view now taken. The
difficulty thus suggested is specious, but by no
means insuperable. Let us familianze ourselves
with the idea that the * thousand years,* regarded
simply as an expression, may denote completeness,
thoroughness, either of defeat or victory. Above
all let us place ourselves in the position of the
Seer, and catch as far as possible the spirit in
which he writes. We shall then have little
difficulty in seeing that the loosing of Satan at the
end of the thousand years is not to be understood
literally. It is a mere incident necessary U> giye
verisimilitude to the poetic delineation. The
prophet has described Satan as completely subju-
gated ; but the whole evil of the earth is once more
to be presented to us gathered together against
the saints. Satani the head of its kinjgdom, the
prince of this world, must be there that he may
direct its energies and share its fate. For this

f)urpose it is needful that he shall be spoken of as
oosed. The loosing, then, is not chronological,
not historical ; it is only poetic, designed to give
consistency to the prophet s vision.
Let us apply this principle to the passage

Chap. XXI. 1-27.]

THE REVELATION.

491

already quoted from Ezek. xxxix. 9, by suppos-
ing that the prophet, immediately after saying,

* And they shall burn them with fire seven years,*
had desired to mention some other circumstance
that then took place, or some other vision that
followed the complete destruction of the weapons
of war referred to. Would he not have gone on,

* And when the seven years were finish*^,' etc.?
Is not such a method of expression involved in the
very nature of the previous figure? The figure
itself may be a strange one. That is not the
question. It is simply whether, having been used^
its use does not naturally draw along with it the
method of expression subsequently employed.

Besides this, it ought to be remembered that
there must be a struggle before the - exalted
Saviour, with His people as assessors, finally
dcstrovs His adversaries. We cannot suppose
that these do not resist the fate which they see
prepared for them. They shall rouse themselves
to a last effort of argument and despair (Matt.
XXV. 24, 44 ; Isa. viii. 21) ; but it will be a last
despair, the final effort of the serpent to stine
when it is in the strong hand of Him whom it is
powerless to resist. Finally, it may be said that
time is necessary for all this. We reply that it is
not time that is thought of but succession^ and all
Scripture implies tlmt in these events there is
succession, although not with a long interval
intervening. What i Cor. xv. 23^ 24, and
I Thess. iv. 16, 17, teach is no more than is
taught in the delineation of the last judgment
contained in Matt. xxv. 3i-46,->that the eternal
condition of the righteous is determined before
that of the wicked. There must be a succession
in order to enable us to form any conception of
the matter. But no sooner is the one sentence
pronounced, - ' Come, ye blessed of My Father,
mhcrit the kingdom prepared for you from the

foundation of the world,' than the other follows,
' Depart from Me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire
which is prepared for the devil and his angels : '
' And these shall go away into eternal punish-
ment : but the righteous intg eternal life.'

It is true that by the view now taken the
Millennium, as it is called, is resolved into a
figure of Speech. The argument of this note is
that 6t John intended it to be so, and that the
meaning found by us in the passage is that which
it was the purp>ose of the Apostle to convev. It is
the true historical interpretation of what ne says ;
and the idea of any millennial reign of Jesus and
His saints between the end of this present dispen-
sation and the beginning of eternity ought to be
dismissed from our minds.

Before closing this note it may be well to
remind the reader that the great Christian creeds

S resent the same striking exclusion of the
lillennium which is to be found both in the
passage that we h^ve been coasidering and in all
the oUier Scripture notices of the Lord's Second
Coining. — ' From whence He shall come ta judge
the quick and the dead' (Ap<>stles' Creed);
' Ascended into heaven ; shall come ta judge the
quick and the dead ' (Nicene Creed) ; ' And shall
come again with glory to judge the quick and the
dead, whose kingdom shall have no end ' (Cop-
stantinopolitan Creed) ; ' At whose coming all
men shall rise again wiOi their bodies ' (Athanasian
Creed).

To the same effect is the language of the West-
minster Confession, ' At the hki day, such as are
found alone shall not die, but be changed ; and
all the deadshaXX be raised up ' (chap, xxxii. 11) ;
while the Larger Catechism is still more definite,
'Immediately after the resurrection shall folloW
the general and final judgment of angels and
men^(Qu. 88).

Chapter XXI. 1-27.
The New Heavens and the New Earth ; and the New Jerusalem,

'A

ND I saw a " new heaven and a new earth : for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away ; and there

a Isa. Ixv. 17 ;
s Pet. iii. xj.

2 was no more *sea.* And I John* saw the holy city, new *ch. xx. 13.
^Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,' prepared ''g5[j'||;',V

} as a ^ bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great ^/isa. ui 10.
voice out of heaven * saying, Behbld, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and he will * ' dwell • -^ with them, and they shall be
his people,' and God himself shall be with them, and be^ their

\ God. And God ** shall wipe away all ''tears " from their eyes ;.
and there shall be no more * death," neither*' sorrow," nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain : " for " the

^ and the sea was no more * omit John ^ out of heaven, from God

* the throne * shall • tabecAacle ' peoples

* and he himself, even God-with them, ^ omit with them, and be
10 he ** every tear *' and death shall be no more
^' add shall there p^ ^^ mourning ^^ nor pain, any mor^ ^* pmit for

* Zech. viii. 8 ;

io. i. 14.
, fat. i. 23.

g Ch. vii. 17 ;
Isa. bcT. 19.

h I Cor. XT. 54.

492 THE REVELATION. [Chap. XXI. 1-27

5 former " things are passed away. And he that sat ** upon the
throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said ^*

unto me,** ' Write : for these words are true and faithful." «ch. xw. 13.

' XIX. 9.

6 And he said unto me, *It is done." I am" 'Alpha and" Jg;^'; ''•
Omega, the '"beginning and the end. I will "give unto him ^J5|»J>^^

7 that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He *Jo-»*-«4.
that overcometh shall inherit all** things; and I will be his

8 God, and he shall be my ''son. But** the fearful, and un- <» » Cor. vi. ,8.
believing, and the*' abominable, and murderers, and whore-
mongers,*' and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall

have *' their part ** in the lake which *° burneth with fire and

9 brimstone : which is the 'second death. And there came unto ^^^ «• «4
me'* ^ one of the seven angels which** had the seven vials'* ^ch. xyiLi.
full of** the seven last plagues, and talked** with me, saying,

10 Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And

he carried me away in the ''spirit to a great and high * moun- '-ch- *r"- ^
tain, and showed me that great ' city,*' the holy *' Jerusalem, / E«:k. xivia.

1 1 descending out of heaven from God, having the "'glory of God : «;•»;. i. u.
and** her '^ light was like unto a stone most precious, even" fi*hu.u.*is.

12 like** a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and*' had** a '^^ wall •'Z***- "- s-
great and high, and** had** twelve Agates, and at the gates -rK«k,xhrui.
twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are tAe ttames

13 of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel : on the east three
gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates;

14 and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had

twelve -^foundations, and in** them the** names of the twelve ^Hcb. xl 10.

1 5 ' apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked *' with me had ** * ^ph. u. ao.
a golden "reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and «Ezck. xi. 3.

16 the wall thereof. And the city lieth four-square, and the
length** is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city
with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the

17 breadth and the height of it are * equal. And he measured *cp. iiuiu

' 01 VI. ao.

the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, accord-

18 ing to the measure of a ^ man, that is, of the *** angel. And the c ck. xUi. 18:
building of the wall of it was <?/"** ''jasper: and the city was dWtr, xi.

19 pure gold, like unto clear** glass. And" the foundations of
the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious

' stones. The first foundation was jasper ; the second, sapphire ; ' ^^k.

" first " sitteth " saith *® omt unto me

•* faithful and true *• They are come to pass •' add the

** these •* add for ^^ omit the *' fornicators

*' omit shall have '^ add shall be '® that ** omit unto me

•' who *' bowls, '* who were laden with '* he spake

'® omit that great city *' add city •* omit and

^^ ofnit even *® as it were *^ omit and ** iiaving

*^ omit and ** having ** on *• twelve

*^ spake *® add for a measure ^^ add thereof

*•* an ^* omit of ^^ pure '' omit And

THE REVELATION.
** chalcedony ; the fourth, an " emerald ; the fifth,

493

Chap. XXI. 1-27.]

20 the third, a

sardonyx ; the sixth, sardius ; the seventh, chrysolite ; the
eighth, beryl; the ninth, a** topaz; the tenth, a" chryso-
prasus; the eleventh, a** jacinth; the twelfth, an" amethyst.

21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate

was of one -^ pearl: and the street of the city wtus pure gold, /MatxuL46.

22 as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein :

for the ''Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple ^'^^•*^- *^-

23 of it And the city had ** no need of the sun, neither of the
moon, to shine in" it: for the glory of God did * lighten it, *!»•>«• *«•

24 and the Lamb is the light ^ thereof. And the nations of them

which are saved** shall 'walk in* the light of it: and the /i».ii.«-5.
* kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour** into it *p».1xxu. 10,
And the ' eates of it shall not be shut at all by day : for there ,v^i:

25

m

26 shall be no night there. And they shall "* bring the glory and ««**»• «ii. li

27 honour of the nations into it And there shall in no wise

enter into it any thing that" "defileth," neither «///a/j^?rt'^r »'«^"«- «•
worketh*""* abomination, or** m^^/// ** a lie : but they*' which

are ^ written in the Lamb's book of life.

o Ch. xiii. 8,
xvii. 8.

•* omit a ** omit an

*^ omit of them which arc saved
** omit that ^ unclean

*• omit maketh

57

upon

M

lamp

*« hath

•• by •* o'mit and honour

•* or he that maketh an •* and

•' cM only

Contents. All the enemies of God have now
been vanquished, and nothing remains but to
perfect the happiness and glory of the redeemed
m their eternal home. To the description,
accordingly, of this home the chapter now oefore
us is devoted.

Ver. I. It is a new heaven and a new earth
that the Seer beholds, for the first heaven and
the fint eMhth were pawed away. Yet it is not
necessary to think of an entirely new creation, as
if the first had disappeared, and a second were
called into existence by a fresh creative act of the
Almighty. The last clause of the verse, and the
■ea was no more, is itself at variance with any
supposition of the kind ; for, had the old heavens
and earth been literally extinguished, the sea
would have shared their fate, and no special
mention of it would have been required. The
same conclusion b to be drawn from the word
used by St. John to mark the fact that the
heavens and the earth which he now saw were
•new.' Two words are employed in the New
Testament to express the idea of newness, the
one bringing prominently forward the thought of
a recent mtroduction into existence (as in the case
of young persons), the other of that freshness or
continumg greenness of quality which may belong
even to what is old. In this latter sense the body
of our Lord was laid in a ' new tomb,* in a tomb
not it may be recently prepared, but which,
because no man had as yet been laid in it,
retained that quality of fresmiess by which it was
fitted for Him who could see no corruption. In
like manner the 'tongues' referred to in Mark
xvi. 17 are described by the same word for 'new.'

In one sense old, they were devoted to a new
purpose, enabled to express the mysteries of a new
and higher state of being. The 'heavens,' the
'earth, and the 'Jerusalem' here spoken of are
in this sense ' new.' Thev are the ' new heavens
and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness'
(2 Pet iii. 13). — The meaning of the last clause of
this verse is difficult to determine. But it seems
clear that we are not to understand the words in
their literal acceptation. We must seek the
solution of the difficulty in that meaning of the
word ' sea ' which we have found it necessary to
apply in almost every passage of this book where
we have met it The ' sea is not the ocean ; it
is the emblem of the ungodly. It connects itself
with the thoupht of restlessness, disorder, and sin.
These shall be excluded from the better arKl
higher state of the redeemed in their abode of
future blessedness.

Ver. 2. The Apostle beholds the metropolb of
the renovated world under the figure of that
metropolis which was so intimately associated with
the memories and aspirations of the people of God,
a New Jemsalem. Her newness will be afterwards
more particularly described, but even now we are
told enough to convey to us a lofty idea of her
grandeur and beauty. She comes down ont of
heaven, from God, and she is prepared as a
bride adorned for her hnsbsAd. Is there not a
reminiscence in the word 'prepared' of that
great promise in John xiv. 3 which the apostle
who saw this vision was to record? The
Bridegroom is now the ' Husband ' (comp. ' wife '
in ver. 9).

Ver. 3. The Seer next hears a gieal voioe out

494 THE REVELATION. [Chap. XXI. 1-27.

of the throne^' The Voice may not be actually away; behold, 'they are become new' (2 Cor.

that of God Himself, but it certainly expresses y. 17).— It is possible that the next words spoken

the Divine thoughts and purposes.— Behold, the in this verse, Write; for these words are Caithfnl

tabernacle of CM ia with men, and he ahall and true, may be the voice not of God, but of an

tabemade with them, and they shall be his angel. As no angel, however, has been spoken

peoples, and. he himself, even Ood with fhenp^J :of in the preceding verses, and as the woids now

shall be their God. The allusion is to the uttered are properly a parenthesis indicating the

Tabernacle in the wilderness (not the temple), deep interest of the Almighty in His people, there
that sacred tent which was the dwelling^pli|ce of , is no sufficient cause to bring in the mterpositioo
God in the midst of Israel. That Tabernacle is . of Any third party. God Himself says to His
now ' with men/ no longer with a people separated ■ servant * Write,' nod Himself assures him not only
from the rest of the world but with men at large, ; that His words are 'faithful,' but that they are
for all sin is banished, and they who are aUve/ 'true.' The new heavens and the n^w earth are the

upon the earth are without exception members of end towards which God has been always working,

the Divine family. In the next words, especially The whole bistonr of the world, with its oppositioo

when viewed in the light of what seems to be the to the truth and with the judgments that have

correct translation, it is impossible to mistake the overtaken it ; the whole history of the Churchy

reference to John i. 14, ' Tne Word became flesh with her ftruggles and victories, has not been

and tabernacled among us,* for it b in Christ accidental, it has been the carrying oat of

Jesus that God dweUs with man: in the Son God's 'bright designs' from the moment when

only do we know the Father, Cbe * only God ' He expressed Himself in the works and in the

(John V. 44). Hence it is said that * He Himself,' creatures of His hands.

even ' God with them ' (' Immanuel, God witn Ver. 6. The voice of God is continued, as He

us '), shall be their God. He shall no longer be at says. They, 't,e the words of ver. 5, are come to

a distance from them, nor they from Him. No pass. The future for which the saints of God

boundary shall be placed around the motmt : no have longed, and of which the prophets spoke,

cloud shall conceal His glory. As brother dwells has come. All expectations are fulfilled ; all

with brother, so God incarnate shall dwell with His hopes are reaUxed ; the end to which all things

brethren in one blessed home of holinesis and love, pomted is reached. Hence, accordingly, the

From all eternity the Word had been with God close connexion of the next words with these, I

(John i. I] ; now He is to be to all eternity with am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning

men ; and men shall be a new Israel for the new and the end. God is the unchangeable, the

Jerusiedem (comp. 2 Cor. vi. II-18 and Lev. everlasting. One; the first cause, the last end, of

XX vi. 12 ; Zech. viii. 8). all thiftgs. He must finish that new creation for

Ver. 4. All the most precious fruits of such a the coming of which the sins and sorrows of the
fellowship shall also be experienced. He shall world have been only the preparatory throes. —
wipe away every tear fh>m th^ eyes. Not I will give nnto him that is athirst of the
'all tears ' are spoken of, but 'every tear.' Each fountain of the water of life freely. These
single tear they shed shall be wiped away, even words are neither a call nor a promise to labouring
before it falls. — And death shall be no mors. It and heavy-laden ones in search of rest, and they find
has been destroyed l^ Him who ' was dead, and their parallel in the words of John iv. 14 rather than
behold. He is alive tor evermore' (chap. i. 18); cf John vii. 37. Those spoken of have already
and it can no longer disturb with its terrors, or its drunk of the living water, and been refreshed by
separations between the loving and the loved. — it Not the longing after salvation, but the
Neithershall there be monming. The reference longinp; for a continued and ever deepening par-
is not to mourning in general, but to wailing for ticipation in its blessings, is expre^ed by the
the dead. — Nor crying, nor pain, any more, word 'athirst.' The r^eemed not only find
' Crying ' is the acute cry produced by any pain : their first life in Christ : they draw from Him
' pain ' is the burden laid upon us by any woe, continually those ever fresh supplies of grace by
especially by such woes as are connected with the which they are sustained in spiritual life and joy.
tcib and sunerings of the present outward world. Ver. 7. He that oreroometh is the same as he
From all sorrow whether sharp or dull ; from all that is ' athirst,' and b only viewed in another
burdens whether proceeding from the body or the aspect of his glorious position. In reference to
mind, the dwellers in the New Jerusalem shall be Jesus he is always thirsty ; in reference to the
for ever free. These trials belonged to the jUrst world and the devil he is always a conqueror.
thitigs^ to the old earth ; and the old earth, the By the use of the word ' overcometh,' the Ufit part
'first things,' has passed away. of the Apocalypse is boimd closely to its first

Ver. 5. What the Seer had before heard regard- (comp. the promises in chaps, it. iiiV. — The

ing the new creation had proceeded from a voice promise is, I will be his God, and he shall be my

'out of the throne ' (ver. 3). Now God Himself, son. God will be his God, his Father : he will

he that sitteth on the throne, speaks. For the be God's son, enjoying the spirit of adoption bj

first time in this book the direct voice of God is which we cry, Abba, Father, and living in that

heard. Hitherto He has been veiled in His own love and confidence which maik a son in a lovuig

unspeakable majesty and glory, watching indeed father's house and presence,

with the deepest interest the fortunes of His Ver. 8, The happiness of the saints of God has

Church, overruling all things lor her good, but been described, in contrast with this, the verse

Himself unseen, unheard. Now He breaks His before us pesents ns with the fiite of the ungodly,

silence ; and, as^One who dwells with men (ver. 4), who are classified first in general terms, and then

directs their thoughts to the accomplishment of by the particular sins which they commit. The

His own holy and gracious wilL His words are, ' fearful ' are mentioned first as occupying a

I make all things new, where the emphasis rests, position the reverse of them that ' overcome ; *

upon the word ' new : ' * Old things are passed they have shrunk from the struggle ; they have

Chap. XXI. 1-27.]

THE REVELATION.

495

yielded to the foe 'instead of conquering him.
Upon the description of the other classes it is
unnecessary to dwelh They are such as have
chosen the darkness rather than the light ; as
have loved the lie rather than the truth (John
viii. 44) ; as have deliberately resisted and cast
aside the grace that might have been theirs, —
their part can be only in the second death.

Ver. 9. At chap. xvii. i one of the angels that
had the seven bowls had come to the Seer and
shown him the great harlot that sitteth upon
many waters, the mystic Babylon. In like
manner one of the same group of angels, but
more fully described as one of the seven who had
the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven
last plagues, now shows him the city that was in
every respect the contrast of Babylon, not Babylon
)>ut the New Jerusalem, not a harlot but the
bride the Lamb's wife. The fuller description
of the angel brings out more completely the fact
(hat the last * plagues ' were over, and that nothing
remained to be exhibited to the Seer but the glory
of the redeemed in heaven. The combination of
the terms ' bride ' and ' Lamb's wife ' is remark-
able. The Church is not only espoused but
married to her Lord, yet she remains for ever in
a virgin purity.

Ver. la The Seer is carried in the spirit^ for
this purpose, to a great and high mountain.
The object is that he may command a more unin-
terrupted view of the holy city as she descends in
all her glory from heaven to earth. It was from
the top of an 'exceeding high mountain' that
Satan showed our Lord all the kingdoms of the
world and the glory of them, and for a similar
purpose, that he may see more clearly the grandeur
of the spectacle before his eyes, is St. John
elevated to this height. Comparison of Ezek.
xl. 3, Isa. ii. 2, and Heb. xii. 33 makes it
probable that the city was situated upon the
'mountain, 'and we are therefore to understand
this word not in the sense of a solitary pesdc but,
as often in the Gospels, in that of a range of
mountains where from peak to peak the view is
less hampered than in tne plain. The harlot in
chap. xvii. was a city, Babylon ; the Lamb's wife
is a city, New Jerusalem.

Ver. II. The description of the city begins,
and first she is spoken of as having the glory of
Ood. This light lightens her both within and
without. From the subsequent description it
appears that the idea of the Holy of Holies is in
the Seer's mind, and we cannot therefore be wrong
in thinking that the ' glory ' which he has in view
is that of the Shechinah. By it the Almighty
lightened of old the innermost recesses of His
sanctuary. By it He now lightens the whole of
that glorious abode in which His people dwell
with Him.— -Her light was like nnto a stone
most preoious, as it were a jasper stone, clear
as orystaL The word of the original translated
* light * is rather light-bearer or light-giver, and
it refers to the light which the dty sh^s every-
where around her like the sun or the stars of
heaven. It is light of crystalline clearness and
purity (comp. chap. iv. 3).

Ver. 12. uaving a wall great and high,
having twelve gates. The walls of ancient
cities were for protection against enemies, and of
such protection there was no need here. But so
important in this respect were walls, that they
were associated in the ancient mind with every-

thing that in a city was brave or bold (comp.
Ps. xlviii. ). Hence the New Jerusalem has not
only a wall, but a wall ' great and high.' — It has
also twelve gates, and at the gates twelve
angels. The word translated 'gate' is not so
much the gate itself as the porch or portal with
which it was connected (comp. Matt. xxvi. 71).
It includes the gate - tower under which the
traveller passes at this day into many an Eastern
city. These gates were twelve in number, dis-
posed like the gates of the encampment of Israel
around the Tabernacle. The angel at each gate
in all probability marks the heavenly protection
which IS extended by the Almighty to His people,
of each of whom it may be said that God ' gives
His angels charge concerning' him. — And names
written thereon which are the names of the
twelve tribes of the children of Israel. These
twelve tribes represent the whole people of God,
Gentile as well as Jew : and, if so, we have an
argument powerfully corroborative of what has
been said of the 144,000 sealed 'out of every tribe
of the children of Israel ' in chap. viL The figure
itself is from Ezek. xlviii. 31.

Ver. 13. The distribution of the gates follows
in this verse.

Ver. 14. From the gates we are next taken to
the foundations. And the wall of the city had
twelve foundations (comp. Heb. xi. 10). We
are not to think of foundations buried in the
earth, but of great and massive stones rising above
the soil as a pediment sustaining the whole
structure. At the same time we have not before
us twelve great foundation-stones going round the
city in one Tine, but twelve courses of stones, ' eadi
course encompassing the city, and constituting
one foundation' (see ver. 19). — And on them
twelve names of the twelve apostles of Uie
Lamb. There was one name doubtless on each
foundation, but the main point of the %ure is that
the city rested on the twelve Apostles of our Lord.
I Cor. iii. 1 1 is presupposed. The twelve Apostles
are 'Apostles of the Lamb,' placed by Him in
their several positions, and fulfilling in Him theur
several functions. It ought to be unnecessary to
say a single word in refutation of the idea that St.
John would not thus have referred to himself as
an Apostle had he really been the author of this
book. He is not thinkmg of himself. He is lost
in the magnitude and glory of the apostolic office.
Nor is the idea in the least degree better founded
that it is St. John's intention, out of hatred to St
Paul, to exclude him from the apostolic office.
The whole passage is symbolical; the Jewish
imagery could not have admitted thirteen instead
of twelve foundations, and St. Paul is no more
excluded from the number of Apostles than are
Gentile Christians from the happiness of the city.

Ver. 15. The city is to be measured, in order
that its noble and iJEur proportions may be seen.
The angel measures it with a golden reed, the
metal of the reed corresponding in dignity and
value to the city itself, which is of ' pure gold '
(ver. 18). A measuring reed, though not of gold,
is used in Ezek. xl. 3.

Ver. 16. The city itself is first measured- It
lieth four square . . . the length and the
breadth and the height of it are equal.* It was
thus a perfect cube; and, remembering the

General imagery of this book, there can be no
oubt that the Seer has the Holy of Holies of the
Tabernacle in his eye. That part of the Taber«

496

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XXL 1-27.

nacle was a cube. — The symlx)Iism which marks
the general shape marks also the details, each
dimension measuring 12,000 furlongs, 12 the
num1)er of the people of God multiplied by 1000
the heavenly number. It is indeed often sup-
posed that the 12,000 furlongs spoken of are tne
measure of the four sides of the city taken
together, in which case each side will measure
only 3000 furlongs. But were this view correct,
it would be difficult to account for the insertion of
the next clause, And the length thereof is as
great as the breadth, lliat clause would then
anticipate the last clause of the verse, whereas it
seems to assign a reason why the breadth alone
was actually measured. Nor is it of the smallest
moment to reduce the enormous dimensions spoken
of. No reduction brings them within the bounds
of verisimilitude, and no effort in that direction is
reouired. The idea is alone to be thought of.

Ver. 17. Thewall is next measured, an hundred
and forty and four cubits, according to the
measure of a man, that is of an angel. It is
hardly possible to think that we have here the
height of the wall. So insignificant would it be
when compared with the height of the city that
the combination would be unnatural and grotesque.
St. John, too, could then hardly have called the
wall ' great and high ' (ver. 12). The supposition,
moreover, that the wall is kept low in order that
the glorious light of the city may stream out over
it, is inconsistent with the general imagery (comp.
also on ver. 18). The wall is a part of the city
as strictly as the foundations are, and is itself, like
them, radiant vrith the light which shines forth
from the city as a whole. It seems better, there-
fore, to think here of the breadth of the wall. Its
length and height had been measured, and its
thickness is now added to complete the description
of its strength. The last clause of the verse has
occasioned considerable difficulty. The meaning
seems to be, that a human standard of measure-
ment was used ; and it was well to note this. The
New Jerusalem is not framed accordmg to angelic
ideas or for angelic purposes. It is to be the
dwelling-place of men ; and even, therefore, when
an angel measures it, he measures it 'according
to the measure of a man.'

Ver. 18. The measuring has been completed.
We have next the materials of which the city was
composed. Those of the wall are first mentioned.
And the building of the wall of it was jasper.
We have been already told in ver. 1 1 that the light
shining from the city was like that of a jasper
stone. The wall, which was of jasper, must have
shone with a like crystalline clearness, — a distinct
proof of the falseness of the idea which makes * the
wair low in order that it may not obstruct the light
of the city. — ^And the city was pure gold, the most
precious metal known, but in this case transfigured
and glorified, for it was like unto pure glass.

Vers. 19, 20. The materials of the twelve
courses of stones which formed the basement of
the city are next mentioned (comp. on ver. 14).
They are not merely beautified with precious
stones. The words garnished with f^ manner
of precious stones might suggest such an idea,
but the words that follow immediately correct it.
Each course was composed of the particular jewel
named. — The first foundation was jasper, the
clear brilliant stone already mentioned in con-
nection with the Might of the city* in ver. ii,
and with the * building of the wall ' in ver. 18.

The second was sapphire, a stone of a clear sky-
blue colour. The third was chalcedony, by
which is generally understood a greenish blue
emerald. ThB fourth was emerald, of a green
colour peculiarly pleasing to the eye (comp.
chap. iv. 3). The fifth was sardonyx, a form of
onyx stone, and of a palbh-white. The sizth
was sardins, a red stone (comp. chap. iv. 3).
The seventh was chrysolite, a stone highly
esteemed among the andents, of a coloor that was
golden yellow. The eighth was beryl, a gieen-
coloured stone. The ninth was topaz, a stone
the leading colour of which was green, but
modified by yellow. The tenth was chxTSopiasus,
a stone of greenish hue. The elcTenth was
jacinth, a stone of a yellow amber colour. The
twelfth was ametiiyst, a violet blue stone. Some
uncertainty attaches to the identification of each
of these stones, but to the interpreter who would
catch the idea of the Seer this uncertainty is of
little moment Two things are especially note-
worthy in regard to them when they are taken as
a whole. (l) All are precious, fitly. representing
the splendour of the celestial city. (2) All are
different from each other, though they blend into
a harmonious unity, llie glorious light of the
Divine presence streams through many colours,
and each course of predous stones retains beneath
the common light which all give forth its own
individual excellence and beauty.

Ver. 21. Having described the foundations, the
Apostle now passes to the gates and street of the
city. And the twelve gat^ were tweWe pearls ;
every several gate was of one pearl. No
attempt is made to attain verisimilitude. It is
enougn that the figure helps to bring out the
surpassing splendour. — And the street of the
city was pure gold, as it were transparent glasBw
We are probably not to think of only one street,
for a city so large, and with so many gates, must
have had many streets. But it is unnecessary to
dwell upon them all. Each is of the same
material as the rest, and all are of gold, but, as in
ver. 18, of gold transfigured and gloriBed.

Ver. 22. The glory of the city is illustrated by
other facts. And I saw no temple therein ; for
the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are
the temple of it What a revelation do these
words present of the local giving place to the
universal, the outward to the inwaH, the material
to the spiritual ! There could indeed be no
spot more holy than another where all was holy,
none purer than another where all was pure.
God Himself and the Lamb in whom He is
revealed to men sanctified every spot of ground
within the city by their immediate presence. The
inhabitants dwelt as if continually in the temple
'praising God.*

Ver. 23. As the city was independent of the
outward and ordinary means of ^ce, so also it
was independent of the outward mfluences which
nature supplies for the help of man. It hath no
need of tne sun neither of the moon to shine
upon it. In our present condition all nature is
sacramental to the believing eye or ear. All tells
of the supernatural behind nature. But now the
shadows flee away, and God and the Lamb
revealing God lighten the dty with their im-
mediate light. 'Die glory of God spoken of is
again the Shechinah, the visible symbol of His
presence. —The Lamb is the lamp thereot It
may seem as if mention of the ' lamp * detracted

Chap. XXII. 1-5.]

THE REVELATION.

497

from the loftiness of the imagery ; but, when there
is neither sun nor moon, we naturally think of the
lamp which men use at night. May there not
also be an allusion to the lamps of the Golden
Candlestick of the Sanctuary ?

Ver. 24. The description of the glory of the
New Jerusalem is continued in figures taken from
the prophets of the Old Testament (comp. Isa.
Ix. 2, 3). And the nationa shall walk by the light
of it. We are not required invariably to under-
stand the heathen by the word * nations,' or the
faithful of the Old Covenant by the word * people.*
It appears from John xi. 50-52 (see note there) that
there is a sense m which the theocratic people are
a 'nation,' and the heathen gathered into the
flock of Christ a part of His * people.' In ycr. 3
of this very chapter, too, we have read of a time
when God shall dwell with men, and they shall
be * His peoples.' The two terms 'nation 'and
' people ' may, therefore, be applied to the same
persons viewed ii> different aspects. The 'peoples'
of ver. 3 are the * nations ' of this verse and of
chap. xxii. 2 ; and the choice of the different
expressions is probably determined by the con-
sideration that in the one God is thought of as
* tabernacling ' in the midst of His people, in the
other as being His people's 'light (comp. note
on chap. i. 20, where we have a remarkable
parallel both in thought and structure). The
' nations ' are not converted heathen alone, but
all who, whether Jew or Gentile, walk in the
light.— And the kings of the e^rth do bring
thdr glory into it. Not the masses of the
nations only, but their highest representatives
and dignitaries submit themselves with all that
they have to the sway of Him who now rules in
righteousness, the universal King.

Ver. 25. ^d the gates of it shall not be shut
at all by day ; for there shall be no night there.
The design of the words is to set forth the perfect
peace and security of the inhabitants of the
heavenly city. How often had the gates of an
ancient city to be closed, always by night, often
by day ! How often had measures of pi-ecaution
to be taken against apprehended danger 1 Here
there is no danger, no apprehension, no enemy
to approach the gate, but happiness perfect and
for ever undisturbed. ^The explanation of the

last clause of the verse, beginning as it does with
the word ' for,' has aiifrorded some cause of per-
plexity to interpreters. Yet the explanation
generally given is satisfactory. In Isa. Ix. 1 1 the
prophet, speaking of the future city of God, had
said, ' Thy gates shall be open continually ; they
shall not bi shut day nor night.' St. John is
referring to that passac;e, but he could not adopt
it as it stood, and he would explain why he
stopped short at the word ' day ' of the prophet.
He could not bring the thought of ' night ' into
connection with the New Jerusalem, for there was
' no night there.* There may have been something
more in his thoughts. We know from John xiii. 30
the symbolical meaning which he attached to the
word 'night' 'It was night' when Judas went
out upon his errand of treachery and crime.
The first clause of the verse contains the emblem
of security and peacCf The second assigns the
reason why these shall continue undisturbed.
There shall be no night there, no darkness either
physical or moral| neither men nor deeds that
shun the light.

Ver. 26. And they shall bring the g^ry and
honour of the nations into it. Such shall be the
use made of the open gates. The nations shall
stream into the city with their gifts, to lay their
best upon its altars, and to enjoy in turn its rest
and peace and security and light. The New
Jerusalem receives freely, and possesses for ever,
the glory and honour of the Icings of the earth.
She receives without seeking it all that Babylon
had become a harlot to obtain, and could not
keep.

Ver.

27.
open gates
enter into
maketh

purposes alone shall
There shall in no

the

For these

be used.

it anything nndean, or he that
abomination and a lie. There Is
indeed now nothing unclean ; there is no wilful
sinner of ai)y kind to enter. All the enemies of
God have been overcome : all sin has been
banished for ever. — Bnt they only which are
written i4 the Lamb's book of life. Such alone
are found upon the earth ; and, as we lift our eyes
to the city, we behold them flocking in from the
East and from the West, from the North and from
the South, their toilsome pilgrimage closed, their
hard struggle ended, their glory pome.

Chapter XXII. 1-5,

The New Jerusalem (continued).

1 A ND he showed me a pure* ''river of water of life, clear* *p^";,!j;'^'
Jl\, as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of ^^^^ *»vii".

2 the Lamb.' In * the midst of the * street of it,* and • on either * ch. xxi. 21.
side of the river, ivas there ' the ^ tree of life, which * bare <• Gen. h. 9.
twelve manner^ of fruits, and^^ yielded" her fruit every

month : and the '^ leaves of the tree ivere for the healing of the </jer. viii. aa.

* otftit pure
« of it.

* bearing twelve harvests

VOL. IV.

« bright
«And

3a

• Lamb,

^ omit there

* omit md

♦in

• omit which
** yielding

498 THE REVELATION. [Chap. XXII. 1-5

3 nations. And there shall be no more curse : ^' but " the throne
of God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants shall

4 'serve him:" and they shall -^see his face; and his name '^^»-^«g

5 shall be in ** their ^ foreheads. And there shall be no * night ^^^
there ;*• and they need no candle/' neither light of the" sun ;
for the Lord God givcth *^ them ' light : and they shall reign « i*a. 1*. 19.
for ever and ever.

XIV. I.

xxi. 75

^* anything accun ed ^^ and ^* do him service

^^ shall be night no more " light of lamp ** omit the

"on

^® shall give

Contents. These verses bring to a close the
description of the New Jerusalem, and it is un-
fortunate that, in our Authorised Version, they
should have been separated as they are from the
parts of the same description contained in chap,
xxi. The verses are framed with an obvious
reference to the Paradise of Gen. i. ii.

Ver. I. And he showed me a river of water of
life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the
throne of God and of the Lamb. No scenery is
complete without water ; and more especially to
the Jew, accustomed to a burning climate and a
thirsty land, water was the constant symbol of all
that was refreshing and quickening to men. 1 he
joy of the heavenly city could not, therefore, be
perfect without it, * ITiere is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the
holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High '
(Ps. xlvi. 4; comp. also Ezek. xlvii. 1-12). The
river here spoken of corresponds to that of Gen.
ii. 10, but it is a still brighter stream. It comes

* out of the throne of GcS and of the Lamb,' out
Of the highest and most blessed of all sources,
God Himself, our God, revealed to us in His Son
in whom He is well pleased. The waters are
those of peace and spiritual life : Jerusalem's

* peace is like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles
like a flowing stream ' (Isa. Ixvi. 12). Not only
so ; the waters are * bright as crystal,* of sparkling
purity and clearness.

Ver. 2. In the midst of the street of it.
These words are best connected with the words
immediately preceding, and they thus describe the
course of the river. We are again, as in chap,
xxi. 21, to understand the word 'street' generically,
so that the picture presented to us is that of a
clear stream flowing down the middle of each
street of the city, bordered with trees on either
side. Yet these trees are one tree. — And on either
Bide of the river was the tree of life, bearing
twelve harvests of fmits, yielding her fruit
every month ; and the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations. The idea of the

* tree of life ' is no doubt taken from Gen. ii. 9.
It grows on either side of the river, nourished by
its waters and shading its banks. Interpreters
differ as to the meaning of the second clause of
the verse, some preferring the rendering given
above, others that of the Authorised Version,

* twelve manner of fruits.' A good sense may be
obtained from the latter interpretation, which will
point us to the variety, ever new, of the enjoy-
ments provided for the inhabitants of the city.
But the former interpretation appears to be pre-
ferable. It is almost demanded by the third
clause of the verse, 'yielding her fruit every

month,' which carries our thoughts much more to
the same fruit produced every month than to twelve
successive varieties of fruit. Besides this, the
general idea of the passage is rather that of con-
tinuous nourishment than of variety of blessings.
Finally, the thought has direct reference to that
upon which the believer lives, and this is alwaj^s
one and the same : ' Christ ' liveth in us (comp.
chap. ii. 7). It is unnecessary to say that the
number twelve is not to be understood literally.
The supply of fruit, at once for the nourishment
and the delectation of the saints, never fails. — In
the last clause of the verse it is not implied that
any inhabitants of the new earth stand in need of
healing. For the same reason it is impossible to
think that ' the nations ' here spoken of have yet
to be converted. They have already entered that
better world to which the old iworld has given
place. That they are ' healed ' can signify no
more than this, that they are kept in constant
soundness of health by what is there administered
to them. As we must persevere throughout
eternity in faith, so also snail we p>ersevere in
health (comp. on John xx. 31). 'The nations'
we have already seen to be full partakers of all
the blessings of the city (chap. xxi. 24). They
include Jewish as well as Gentile Christisms,
and the importance of both classes, not the
inferiority of either, is the leading thought.

Ver. 3. And there shall be no more anything
accursed, anything upon which the curse of the
Almighty rests, and fit only to be cast out of His
presence.— And the throne of God and of the
Ijamb shall be in it What throne is this ? The
three clauses that follow appear to show that it is
the throne of God in the innermost recess of His
sanctuary. The * throne ' therefore is not con-
cealed. The redeemed have constant access to
it.— And his servants shall do him service.
They shall perform their priestly functions for
ever in His presence.

Ver. 4. And they shall see his face. It had
been said to Moses by the Almighty, *Thou
canst not see my face : for there shall no man
see Me, and live ' (Ex. xxxiii. 20). But the
blessing denied to the great leader of the hosts of
Israel is granted to those who are taken up into
the Mount with God. He is revealed to them in
the Son, and they shall *see Him even as He is'
(i John iii. 2). The beatific vision of the pure in
heart is that * they shall see God ' (Matt. v. 8). —
And his name shiall be on their foreheada. The
name referred to is that of God and of the Lamb.
As the high priest of old wore upon his forehead
a plate of gold with the name of Jehovah in*
scribed upon it, so the redeemed, now all high

Chap. XXII. 6-21.]

THE REVELATION.

499

priests in the sanctuary, shall wear the same name
upon their foreheads. Nothing is said of the
golden plate. The name is written upon the
foreliead itself.

Ver. 5. And there shall be night no more.
We have already had a similar statement in
chap. xxi. 25, but it b now repeated in a different
connection and with a different purpose. Then it
was to indicate that the gates of the city shall be
continually open, so that the redeemed may con-
tinually enter with their gifts in order to magnify
its King. Now it is to show that, having entered,
they shall suffer no interruption in their joyful
service, and shall need no nightly rest to recruit
the weary frame for the service of the following
day. They shall be always strone and vigorous
for the service of their Lord. — And they need no
light of lamp, neither light of sun, for the Lord
God shall give them light. Did they need light
of lamp or sun, it would show that they were still
amidst the changes of this fleeting scene, for the
lamp wastes as it burns, and the sun hastens daily
to his setting. But He who is * without variable-
ness or shadow cast by turning' is now their
light, and that light never fades. As their frame

never wearies for service, so the conditions necessary
for the accomplishment of (hat service never fail. —
And they shall reign for ever and ever. The
transition is sudden, almost startling, for wc have
been reading only of * service. ' Yet it is eminently
characteristic of St. John, who constantly delights
at the close of a passage to return to his earlier
steps, and to close as he had begun. He has
reached the consummation of the happiness of the
saints of God, and of what can it remind him but
of his very earliest words, words too the echo of
which has run through the whole of the Apoca-
lypse, * And he made us to be a kingdom, to be
priests unto His God and Father ' (chap. i. 6) ? It
IS true that the redeemed are priests, but they are
more than priests. He with whom they are one
is a * priest after the order of Melchizedek,' both
priest and king. In like manner they are both
priests and kings ; they ' sit down with their
Lord in His throne, even as He also overcame,
and sat down with His Father in His throne'
(chap. iii. 21). They share the Divine authority
over all things around them, and their authority
is without interruption and without end* They
reign ' for ever and ever.'

Chapter XXIL 6-21.
Tlie Epilogue.

6 A ND he said unto me, These sayings * are faithful and true :

/jl and the Lord God of the holy * prophets* sent his angel «ch. i. 4.
to show unto his servants the things which must * shortly be *ch. i. x.

7 done.' Behold,* I come quickly : ^ blessed is he that keepeth ^ ch. l 3.

8 the sayings* of the prophecy of this book. And I ''John saw <^ch. i. 4.
these things, and heard tlum^ And when I had heard and

seen,* I ' fell down to worship before the feet of the angel • ^> <*• '• «7«

9 which showed me these things. Then saith he ^ unto me. See

thou do it not: for* I am thy -^ fellow-servant,* and of** thy/chLi.
brethren the prophets, and of ** them which keep the sayings *

10 of this book; worship God. And he saith unto me, ^ Seal /'£*»• ^- ».?»•

* , Dan. XII. 4.

not " the sayings * of the prophecy of this book : for the * time *ch. l 3.

11 is at hand. He that is unjust/* let him be unjust*' still : and
he which ** is filthy, let him be " filthy still : and ** he that is
righteous, let him be righteous " still : and he that is holy, let

12 him be" holy still. And," behold, I 'come quickly; and my iCh. i. 7.
reward is with me, to give '"^ every man according as his work

13 shall be." I am** * Alpha and '* Omega, the beginning and *ch. i. 8.

* words * and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets,
'** shortly come to pass * And behold

* And I John am he that heard and saw these things • I heard and saw
^ And he saith "^ omit for • a fellow-servant with thee

JO with ** addw^ '* unrighteous

*' do unrighteousness *Mhat "«//<:/ made *''^/////and

^'* do righteousness ^* omit And " render to ^^ is ^* ^^the

XXI. 3^

Cp. Gen. iiL

24-

500 THE REVELATION. [Chap. XXIJ. 6-21.

14 the end, the first and the last." Blessed are they that 'do his /ch 1 5-
commandments,'* that they tndy have right "to the ""tree of «*ch.n. 7.
life, and may "enter in through" the gates into the city. "Ch

15 For" without ai^c^^ dogs, and " sorcerers, and " whoremongers,^*
and*' murderers, and*^ idolaters, and whosoever loveth and

16 maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine ''angel to testify unto ^ch. i. i.
you these things in" the churches* I am the ^root and the /isa.xi«o.
offspring of David, and^"^ the bright and" morning ^star. f Cp.ch l ,6.

17 And the Spirit and the ''bride say, Come. And let him that rOi.xx1.9-
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And"

18 whosoever will," let him take the 'water of life freely* For" ''"•»''• '•
I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the pro-
phecy of this book. If any man shall ' add unto these " things," ' p~^- »^ «•
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this

19 book : and if any man shall take away from the words of the
"book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out" «ch. 1,3.
of" the book of life, and out of the holy city, ditiA^ from*^ the

20 things which are written in this book. He which tcstifieth
these things saith, *' Surely** I come quickly. Amen.** Even fCh. i. 7.

21 so,*' come, Lord Jesus. The "'grace
Christ ** be with you all.** Amen.

of our ** Lord Jesus wCh. l 4.

5' ihe first and the last, the beginning and the end
23 that wash their robes ** the right ** by

*" add the ** fornicators

3» the " omii And »3 h^ that will

^^ omit things '^ omit out

^° ovmi from ** Yea : ** Amen :

<* the ** omii Christ

"for

** omii For

*^ from ''•' even

*' omit Even so

*^ with the saints

2^ omit For

*® omit aftd

»^ them
39

Contents. The Apocalypse began with a
Prologue. As in the case of the Fourth Gospel,
it now ends with a corresponding Epilogue, in
which the great importance of all the revelations
it had contained is again set before us, and we
are urged anew to the acceptance of the blessings
and an avoidance of the plagues -of which it speaks.
At the same time various particulars of the Pro-
logue are taken up, and the whole book is pre-
sented to us in its compact unity.

Ver. 6. And he said unto me, These words
are faithful and true (comp. on chap. xxi. 5)*
There is no ground to think that we have here a
recapitulation by St. John himself of the things
that had been spoken to him* We hear rather
the words of the angel who has been throughout
the whole book the medium by whicji the revela-
tions contained in it have been communicated*
Nor are we to confine the * words ' to which refer-
ence is made to those connected with the vision
of the New Jerusalem. They refer, as appears
especially from ver. 7, to all the visions of the
l>ook. — And the Lord, the God of the spirits of
the prophets, sent his angel to show unto his
servants the things which must shortly come
to pass. It is doubtful whether by the expression
* the spirits of the prophets * we are to understand
the spirits of the prophets themselves, which
belon<: to Ood and which He uses for His own

purposes, or the Spirit of God, that Spirit by
which of old * men spake from God, being roov^
by the Holy Ghost^ (2 Pet. i. 21). The latter
appears to be the true interpretation, for it directs
us more immediately to that Divine inspiration to
which it is the object of the Seer to trace all the
revelations which he had enjoyed, and it connects
us more closely with that Prologue of the book
which is at present in his mind. In chap. i. 4 we
have read of the * seven Spirits which are before
His throne,' that is, of the one Spirit of God in
the completeness and manifoldness of His gifts.
Here, in like manner, we are led to think of the
varied gifts of prophetic power with which God
had been pleaseil to endow the commissioned
servants of Ilis will* The things revealed in this
instance were those already spoken of in chap. i. i,
where the same words are employed to describe
them. It is curious to find the word * servants*
in this verse, when in chap. i. I we had only one
servant spoken of. Yet we cannot suppose that
under the plural form are included those Chris-
tians for whose behoof the revelations had been
given. It can only include those to whom they
had been made. Perhaps the explanation may be
that, as *ihe testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy' (chap. xix. 10), St. John here unites
with himself the prophets of God in all past ages.
All of them, though 'in divers portions and by

Chap. XXII. 6-21.]

THE REVELATION.

501

divers manners* (Hcb, i. i), had had one revela-
tion to proclaim ; and, although that revelation
had now reached a fulness which it had not pre-
viously attained, the last stage in the unfolding
of God*s will was only the completing of what
had gone before.

Ver. 7. And behold, I come qoickiy. The
Lord Himself is introduced as the speaker, as He
at once summarises the contents of the book, and
presents to His Church that theme which was her
encouragement and hope amidst all her troubles.
The words are not to be regarded as those of the
angel. They are rather a parenthesis on the part
of St. John himself, as he lovingly recalls the
thought that was to him the chief spring of life
and joy. — Blessed is he that keepeth the words
of the prophecy of this book. After the paren-
thesis the words of the angel are resumed. It is
true, that at the time when they were uttered the
book had not been written. But the command
had been given that it should be written (chap.
i. 19), and the task might easily be viewed as
already accomplished. The book indeed was but
a transcript of those eternal verities which had
been written in the counsels of God from before
the foundation of the world (comp. on chap. xxi. 5).
The word * keepeth * is a favourite one with the
Apostle. It is not enough to hear or to enjoy.
The Son * kept * the Father's commandments, and
it is the test of the love of believers, * If ye love
Me, ye will keep My commandments' (John
xiv. 15).

Ver. 8. And I, John, am he thiit heard and
saw these things. Once more» as at chap, i*
I, 4, the Seer names himself, thus again binding
together the opening and closing paragraphs of
his book, — a clear proof that by the words * these
things * we are to understand the contents of the
whole book and not merely those of its latest
section. On the importance of seeing and hear-
ing, comp. I John i. i, 2. — And when I heard
and saw I fell down to worship before the feet
of the angel which showed me these things.
Once before, at chap. xix. 10, he had done the
same thing, and had been correcleil for it* We
need not wonder that he should do it again ; nor
is it necessary to think that, having just heard the
words * Behold, I come quickly, he may have
been doubtful whether the angel before him was
the Lord Himself or Jiot. Such had been the
glory of the revelations that a mistake of this
kind might easily be made tnote than once. But,
whenever made, it was needful that it should be
pointed out.

Ver. 9. The &ngel forbids the Worship that
would liave been paid him, and adds, I am a
fellow-servant with thee, and with thy brethreli
the prophets, and with them which keep the
words of this hook : worship God. Before God
alone must all His creatures bow. All are only
His 'servants,* and it is their duty to encourage
one another in their mutual service* It is need-
less to say that distinctions of office are not here
denied ; but there is something deeper than office
in which Christians are one.

Ver. 10. And he saith unto me, Seal not up
the words of the prophecy of this book, for the
time is at hand. At chap. i. 19 St. John had been
commanded to 'write,' now he is commanded to
proclaim what he had written. The Apocalypse
was not to be a sealed and hidden book like that
of Daniel (chaps, viii. 26, xii. 4). It was to be

opened for the instruction and the guidance of
the Church. There was not a moment to be
lost. The Lord was at hand. Let all who
believed that truth prepare themselves for Hi»
coming.

Ver. II. He that is unrighteous, let him do
nnrighteousness still: and he that is filthy, let
him be made filthy still : he that is righteoos,
let him do righteousness still : and he that is
holy, let him be made holy stilL It is not pos-
sible to separate these words from the last clause
of ver* 10 or from ver. 12. But the question still
remains, In what sense are they to be understood ?
Are they a warning to the wicked as well as the
good, so that the former may repent while there
is time ? They can hardly be looked at in this
light. There is no appearance of an exhortation
to the wicked to repent either in the passage
before us or in any other part of the Apocalypse ;
and in ver. 12 'reward' only, not punishment, is
spoken of. The Apocalypse is a book for the
Church, although indirectly it appeals to the
world. Or, do the words contain the truth that
the mystery of God's dealings is finished, and that
nothing more will be done by Him to lead men to
change their state ? This we must take to be the.
meaning, a meaning applicable not simply to the
few moments immediately preceding the Lord's
coming, but to the whole Christian era. The
words contain that solemn lesson often taup^ht in
Scripture, but nowhere so impressively as m the
writings of St. John, that the revelation of Christ
is the final test of the character, and the final
arbiter of the fate, of man. It is the revelation
of that Light which appeals to the spark of light
in the breast of every one. Will one listen to the
appeal ; will he follow that voice of his nature
which bids him bring his light to the Light, — then
his little spark will be kindled into a bright ever-
enduring name. Will he close himself against the
light, will he, because he loves the darkness, refuse
to admit the light, — then his darkness shall con-
tinue and deepen, and the little spark that might
have been fanned into ever- increasing brightness
will expire. Under the influences of the Gospel
of Christ we make out our own destinies ; we
sow the harvest that we shall eventually reap.
Such is the great moral spectacle upon which, as
he surveys the history of man, the eye of SL John
always rests. It is this that lends to the world its
solemnity, and to the revelation that is in Christ
Jesus its unspeakable importance. We need not
remain unrighteous and nlthy : we may not remain
righteous and holy ; but, whatever the chan|;es
that we experience, this is true, that we are fixmg
our own character and conduct every day we live,
and that, if judgment overtake us at the last, the
result will be traceable to no arbitrary decree, but
to the manner in which, as moral beings, we met
the conditions of that moral system in the midst
of which we have been placed.

Ver. 12. In conformity with the general tenor
of the Apocalypse, this verse is to be regarded as
addressed only to the righteous. The word reward
in it is not to be understood in a neutral sense,
but as indicating what it naturally means. Every
man whose work is pleasing to the Lord shall
receive the welcome and the blessing which the
faithful Lord is ready to bestow.

Ver. 13. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
first and the last, the beginning and the end.
These words confirm the statement made in the

502

THE REVELATION.

[Chap. XXIL 6-21.

previous verse (comp. chap. xxi. 6). They take
us hack also to chap. i. 8.

Ver. 14. Blenea are they that wash their
robes, that they may have the right to the tree
of life, and may enter in by the gates into the
city. The thought of the blessed * reward ' that
had been spoken of fills the mind of Him who is
to bestow It, and He accordingly continues in this
• and the next following verse to enlarge upon it.
Those who are to enjoy that reward are evidently
conceived of as one class, the Church of Christ as
a whole, not two classes, Jewish and Gentile
Christians. All have * washed their robes,' and
in that respect they are one. In the two last
clauses of the verse their blessedness is presented
under two points of view — first, they have * a right
to,' literally, they have authority over, * the tree
of life,' so that they may eat continually of its
fruit ; secondly, they * enter in by the gates into
the city.* This last we might have expected to
be mentioned first, for the tree of life grows within
the city. But the first is the most important, and
therefore receives the place of prominence. It is
also possible that, as it is * the right ' to the tree
of life that is spoken of, the eating of the tree may
• be separately viewed. The order may be— first,
the light; secondly, the entering; thirdly, the
eating.

Ver. 15. Withont are the dogs, and the sor-
oereiB, and the fornicators, and the murderers,
and Uie idolaters, and whosoever loveth and
maketh a lie. These words appear to be added,
not so much for the sake of telling us what shall
be the fate of the sinful classes mentioned, as for
the sake of enhancing by contrast that description
of the blessedness of the righteous which had been
given in the previous verse. The latter are within
the city, separated for ever from the classes now
described, the very mention of which awakens
pain and horror in the mind. The word * dogs *
is a general appellative applicable to all these
clashes, and is to be explained by remembering
the light in which such animals were regarded by
the Jews (Ps. xxii. 16, 20; comp. Matt. vii. 6;
Phil. iii. 2). This general appellation is then
subdivided (comp. chap. xxi. 8).

Ver. J 6. I Jesus have sent mine angel to
testify unto you these things for the churches.
The closing message of the book begins with these
words, and it comes from Him who only here,
and in His words to Saul (Acts ix. 5), calls
Himself by t4ie name * Jesus.' The word, there-
fore, must be understood in its most emphatic
sense, the Saviour, He who saves His people
from iheir sins and leads them in triumph to the
promised rest. In the words employed by Him
He first confirms what had been said in chap. i. i,
and then points out the persons to whom as well
as those lor whose behoof the testimony had been
given. *I have sent,* it is stated, *unto you.'
The persons thus referred to seem to be the
* angels ' of the churches, not special office-bearers
of any kind, but the churches in their action, in
their presentation of themselves to the world in
life and action. It is indeed possible that, as in
ver. 6 of this chapter we found the Seer coming
before us as the representative of all those there
called God's *ser\anls,' so here we may have the
plural * you ' because he is again regarded in the
same light. The other explanation, however, is
simpler, and finds some confirmation in the con-
nection between so many different parts of the

Prologue and the Epilogue. While thus testified
to the churches in action, the things contained in
this book are testified *for the churches,' i.«. for
the seven churches mentioned in chap, i., but
considered as a representation and embodiment of
the whole Church. — In the first words of this
verse the Lord had described Himself as Jesus.
The words which follow, I am the root and the
offiipring of David, the bright, the morning star,
enlarge this description, and that in the manner
of those double pictures which are so common in
the writings of St. John. The first picture is
taken from the "circle of Jewish associations, the
second from the field of the world. By the * root*
of David, we axe not to understand that root out
of which David sprang as if, when taken along
with the following words, we had here a declara-
tion that Jesus was both the ' Lord ' and the

• Son * of David (comp. Matt xxii. 45). 1 he

* root of David ' is rather the shoot which proceeds
from David after he and his house have fallen,
and it only expresses in a figure what is more
plainly stated in the use of the word * offspring.*
But not only so, Jesus is also * the bright, the
morning star,' the most brilliant star in the firma-
ment ofhcaven, now the harbinger of that day the
light of which never dims. Tliis is the Gentile,
perhaps more properly the general, portion of the
figure. David's was a /acal name : the eyes of
a// nations are fixed with interest and delight upon
the morning star (comp. chaps, v. 5, ii. 28).

Ver. 17. And the Spirit and the bride say,
Cpme. And let him that heareth say. Come.
And let him that is athirst come. He that will*
let him take the water of life freely. It is not
easy to determine exactly the bearing of the dif-
ferent clauses of this verse, and much diversity of
opinion prevails upon the point. They are com-
monly regarded either as a continuation of the
words of Jesus in ver. 16, or as the answer of the
Church and the believing soul. Neither view is
consistent with them as a whole. On the one
hand, there is something unnatural in putting into
the mouth of the Lord Himself those two cries
addressed to Him to ' come ' which are contained
in the first two clauses. No other instance of the
kind occurs in the Apocalypse, frequently as
His Coming is there spoken of. On the other
hand, it is equally unnatural to look upon the last
two clauses as a response of the Church to her
Lord ; while, if her mind is at the moment as full
as we know it to be of the Coming of Jesus, it is
not easy to comprehend how she could pass so
rapidly to a meaning of the word * come ' different
from that which occupied all her thoughts. In
these circumstances we venture to suggest that we
may have here an interchange of thought and
feeling between Jesus and His Church. He is
coming : the Church is waiting in joyful assurance
that He is at hand. Both the Lord and His
Church are at a moment of highest rapture.
What more natural than that at such a moment
they should exchange their sentiments in the
blessed fellowship of a common joy ? If this be
allowed, the first two clauses will be the answer
of the Church to Him who has just described
Himself by the glorious titles of ver. 16. The
Spirit working in the Church, and teaching her
to long and cry for that Coming with which all
her hopes are associated, together with the Church
herself, no sooner think of the testimony of Christ
as ended than they can restrain themselves no

Chap. XXII. 6-21.]

THE REVELATION.

503

longer, and by the voice of the Church they both
cry 'Come* (comp. on John xv. 26, 27). The
Seer adds, in words expressing substantially the
same thought, * Let him that heareth,* — him that
hcarcth in faith, and to whom the glorious pros-
l>ects of this book are a reality, — let him cry
'Come.* Then Jesus Himself takes up the
*Comc,' 'Let him that is athirst come. We
must understand these words in the same sense as
that in which we have understood the similar
words of chap. xxi. 6. The thirst referred to is
not the first thirst of the sinner after salvation.
It is the constant lon^^ing of one who has already
l)een rcfreshetl for deeper and fuller draughts ;
and to each one who so thirsts the Lord says
*Comc.* So also with the last clause of the
verse. The persons referred to are already be-
lievers, within the city, within reach of the water
of life ; and to them the Lord says. Let them take
it 'freely,* without hesitation and without stint.

Vers. 18, 19. It seems best to suppose that we
have the Aix)stle before us as the speaker in this
verse. Nothing in it is stronger, or more incom-
|>atible with what we know of his meekness and
humility, than are the words of chap. i. 3 to a
very similar effect. Besides, we have not so much
the man as the prophet before us, one who is in
the Spirit, who speaks in the consciousness of his
Divine commission, and to whom are imparted
the boldness of his Master and His cause. For a
similar command of Moses, see Deut. iv. 2, xii. 32.

Ver. 2a He which teBtifieth these things
saith Tea : I oome quickly. Amen : Gome,
Lord Jesus. The structure of this verse resembles
what we have already found to be that of ver. 17,
an exchange of sentiment between the Lord and
the believer. Jesus Himself speaks first, testify-
ing to that great truth of His Coming which has
been the main theme of the whole revelation of
this book ; and adding, as suited the moment at
.which we have arrived, tht^t He comes 'quickly.*
To this the believer or the Church answers
'Amen,' and then adds, 'Come, Lord Jesus.'
The Coming of Christ has been the source of her
hope, the spring of her joy, throughout all her
troubles. When she hears that it is at hand, what
can she do but lift up her head and cry ' Come ' ?

Nothing now remains but that the Apostle, as
he had l^gun at chap. i. 4 in epistolary form,
should in like manner close. He does it with a
benediction which ought to read differently from
that of the Authorised Version, The grace of the
Lord Jesus be with the saints. The words are
in striking harmony with what we have found to
be the tone and character of the whole book. It
was especially intended to describe the fortunes
of ' the saints ; ' it was written for their sakes, to
encourage and strengthen them ; it has now
reached a point at which we behold nothing but
saints in the new heavens and new earth ; and its
closing salutation is to them. — Amen, so let
it be.

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In Three Volumes^ Imperial 8vo, Price 24s. each,
VOLUME III. In the Press,

ENCYCLOPEDIA

OR

DICTIONARY

OF

BIBLICAL, HISTORICAL, DOCTRINAL, AND

PRACTICAL THEOLOGY.

BASED ON TIE REU-EMCTKLOPlDIE OP HERZ06, PUTT, AND HAUCK.

EDITED BY

PHILIP SCHAFF, D.D., LL.D.,

PBOFKSSOR IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL SEHINARY, NSW TOBX.

^As a compreheiisiye work of reference, within a moderate compass, we know
nothing at all equal to it in the large department which it deals with.' — Church Belli.

'■ The work will remain as a wonderfol monument of industry, learning, and skilL It
will be indispensable to the student of specifically Pratestant theology ; nor, indeed, do
we think that any scholar, whatever be his especial line of thought or study, would
find it superfluous on his shelves.* — Literary Churehtaan,

* We commend this work with a touch of enthusiasm, for we have often wanted such
ourselves. It embraces in its range of writers all the leading authors of Europe on
ecclesiastical questions. A student may deny himself many other volumes to secure
this, for it is certain to take a prominent and permanent place in our literature.' —
Evangelical Magazine,

* Dr. SchafiTs name is a guarantee for valuable and thorough work. His new Encydo-
psBdia (based on Hersog) will be one of the most useful works of the day. It will prove
a standard authority on all religious knowledge. No man in the country is so well fitted
to perfect such a work as this distinguished and exact scholar.' — Howabd Obosbt, D.D.,
LL.D., ex-Chancellor of the UnivertUy, New York,

'This work wiU prove of great service to many; it supplies a distinct want in our
theological literature, and it is sure to meet with welcome from readers who wish a
popular book of reference on points of historical, biographical, and theological interest.
Many of the articles g^ve facts which may be sought far and wide, and m vain in our
encyclop»dia8.' — ScoUman,

* Those who possess the latest edition of Herzog will still find this work by no meant
superfiuous. . . . Strange to say, the condensing process seems to have improved the
orig^al articles. . . . We hope thai no minister's library will long remain without a
copy of this work.' — Dailjf Review.

*For fulness, comprehensiveness, and accuracy, it wiU take the first place among
Biblical Encydopadias.'— Wm. M. Tatlor, D.D.

T. and T. Clark s Publications.

In Twenty Handsome 8t*o Volumes^ SUBSCRIPTION Pbice £5, 5s.,

MEYER'S

Commentary on the New Testament.

' M&jn ham been Umg and w«ll known to loliolan m ona of Um Tsiy ftUMt of tbo OermAB
expoilion of the Nownftamont. Wo an not run wbotlier wo ought not to nj tliat ho it
nnrlTftllod m an intorprotor of tho gramsiatioal and hiftorloal moanliig of tha laorod
wrlton. Tho PnttUahon ha^o now rondored another leaaonablo and ImpcHrtant lezrloo to
English itndonti in iirodnoing thia tranalatlon.*— gicordian>

Each Volume wm be told igxiraielif a< 10«. 6d to Non-Stibeeriben.

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL

COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT.

By Dr. H. A. ^V. MEYER,
Oberconsistorialrath, Hannover.

The portion contributed by Dr. Meter has been placed nnder the editorial
care of Rev. Dr. Dickson, Professor of Divinity in the Uniyeisity of Glasgow ;
Rev. Dr. Grombie, Professor of Biblical Gritidam, St Mary's Goll^e, St.
Andrews; and Rev. Dr. Stewart, Plrofessor of Biblical Gritidsm, Uniyersity
of Glasgow.

l8t Year— Romans, Two Yolames.
Galatians, One Yolome.
8t John's Gospel, YoL I.

fid Year^-St John's Ckispel, YoL II.

Fhili^pians and Oolossians, X)ne Yolmne.

Acts of the Apostles, YoL I.

Oorinthians, YoL I.
8d Year— Acts of the Apostles, YoL IL

St Matthew's Gospel, Two Yolames.

Oorinthians, YoL II.

4th Year— Mark and Lnke, Two Yolames.

Ephesians and Philemon, One Yolame.
ThesBalonians. (Dr. LUnemann.)

Bth Year— Timothy and Titos. (Ihr. Huther.)
Peter and Jnde. (Dr. HtUher.)
Hebrews. (Dr, Liinemann,)
James and John. {Dr. Buther,)

The aenes, ae written hy Meyer himself, i$ completed by the pMieatum of Ephedam
ViUh PMlenum in one volume. But to thi$ the PMiehere have thought U right to add
2%e8»alonian$ and Hdbrewe, by Dr. iMnemannj and the Pastoral and Oatholie Epistles,
by Dr, Huther. So few, however, of the Subscribers have expressed a desire to have Dr.
DUsterdieck*s Commentary on Mevdiuion included, that it has been resolved in the mean*
time not to undertake it.

* I need hardlv add that the last edition of the aecnntte, perspicaoas, and learned oom-
mentary of Dr. Meyer has been most oarefolly oonsolted thronghont ; and I must again,
as in the preface to the Qalatians, avow my great obligations to the acumen and scholar-
ship of the learned editor.'— Bishop Eluoott in Prtfaee to his * Commentary on Ephesians,*

* The ablest grammatical exegete of the age.* — Phujp Sghaff, D.D.

* In accnracy of scholarship and freedom from prejndice, he ia equalled by few.*—
Lsterary Churchman.

* We have only to repeat that it remains, of its own kind, the very best Oommentary
of the New Testament which we possess.' — Church Bells.

* No exegetical work is on the whole more Taluable, or stands in higher pablio esteem.
As a critic be is candid and cautions ; exact to minuteness in philology ; a master ol the
grammatical and historical method of interpretation.' — Princeton Revuw.

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In Tvo Volumes, 8vo (1600 pagee), price 288.,

THE DOCTRINE OF SACRED SCRIPTURE,

A Critical, Historical, and Dogmatic Inqthry into the Origin
AND Nature op the Old and New Testaments.

By GEORGE T. LADD, D.D.,

rRonasoB of mbsttal and moral philosopht, talb oolleoe.

CONTENTS.

VOLUME I.

Part I. — Introduction.— Chap. I. The Nature of Old Testament Scripture as
determined by the Teaching of Christ. II. The Nature of New Testament
Scripture as determined by the Promises of Christ. III. The Claims of the
Old Testament in general, and of Mosaism in particular. IV. The Claims of
Prophetism and of the Hokhmah. V. The Claims for the Old Testament by
the Writers of the New. VI. The Claims for the New Testament by its own
Writers.

Part II. — Chap. I. Introductory. II. The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture as related
to the Scientific Contents of the Bible. III. The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture
as related to the Miraculous Contents of the Bible. IV. The Doctrine of
Sacred Scripture as related to the Historical Contents of the Bible. V. Tho
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture as related to the Predictive Contents of the Bible.
VI. The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture as dependent upon the Ethico-Religious
Contents of the Bible. VII. The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture as related to the
Authorship and Composition of the Biblical Books. VIII. The Doctrine of
Sacred Scripture as related to the Language and Style of the Biblical Books.

IX. The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture as related to the History of the Canon.

X. The Doctrine of Sacred Scnpture as related to the Text of the Bible.

XI. Inductire Theory of Sacred Scripture.

VOLUME n.

Part III.— Chap. I. Introductory— The Nature of the Testimony of the Church in
History to the Bible. II. The Period precedina; the Christian Era — The
Doctrine of the Old Testament Apocrypha, of the Taxmud, Philo, and Jx)sephus.
III. The Period of the Early Christian Church (down to about 250 A.D.). IV.
The Second Period of the Church (from 250 to Augustine and Jerome). V. The
Period from Augustine and Jerome to the Reformation. VI. Tho Doctrine of
Sacred Scripture in the Period of the Reformation. VII. The Period from tho
Beginning of the Post-Reformation Era to the Present Time.

Part Iv. — Chap. I. Introductory — The Relations of the Dogmatic and Synthetic
Statement of the Doctrine to the Induction Theory. II. The Bible and the
Personality of God. III. Revelation : its Possibility, Nature, Stages, Criteria,
etc. IV. The Spirit and the Bible. V. Man as the Subject of Revelation and
Inspiration (Psychological). VI. The Media of Revelation. VII. Inspiration.
VIII. The Bible and the Church. IX. The Bible and the Word of God (dis-
tinguished in idea and extent). X. The Authority of the Bible. XI. The
Bible as Translated and Inteipreted. XII. The Bible as a Means of Grace.
XIII. Tlie Bible and the Individual Man. XIV. The Bible and the Race.

This elaborate work embodies the studies and labour of several years, and has
been looked forward to, with interest, bv biblical scholars on account of the author's
known competence for his difficult task. It need hardly be said that tho subject
is one which at present stirs theological thought throughout English-speaking
Christendom.

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THE LIFE OF CHRIST.

BY DR BERNHAED WEISS,

FROFE880B OF TBBOLOOT, BEBLIN.

*Tli6 aatbority of John*s Gospel is vindicated irith g^^eat fulness and sncoess.
Altogether the book seems destined to hold a yery distinguishedf if not absolutely
unique, place in the criticism of the New Testament Its fearless search after trutb,
its independence of spirit, its extent of rosearob, its thougbtful and discriminating tone,
must secure for it a very high reputation.'— Coni7r«sra/i<ma/M^

* If the work in its completeness fulfil the promise of this instalment, it will be an
exposition of the divine character and mission of our Lord more tborougb and pene-
trating and conclusive than any that we yet possess.*— Bn7isA Quarterly Bevie^o.

*Able and learned volumes. ... A careful perusal of tbese books will amply repay
tbe reader. They are replete witb original matter, and are evidently the result of
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of the most severe type, combined with a perfect knowledge of the language drawn
upon, for the elucidation of his purpose, are apparent in every page.'— Pefff Weekly
MeiBenffer.

*From the thoroughness of the discussion and clearness of the writer, we anticipate a
very valuable addition to the Great Biography.*— /V^eman.

By the same Author.

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BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF THE NEW

TESTAMENT.

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power.'— J?ap(M< Magazine.

* Further references to this work, so far from diminishing the high estimate we have
previously expressed, have induced us to value it still more. The issue of the second
and concluding volume gives aid to this enhanced appreciation.* — Theological Library,

* Written throughout with freshness, vigour, and perfect command of the material. . . .
This is a field which Weiss has made his own. His work far excels the numerous works
of his predecessors in thoroughness and completeness.* — Methodist Recorder,

* The work which this volume completes is one of no ordinary strength and acumen.
It is an exposition of the books of the New Testament arranged scientifically, that is,
according to the authorship and development. It is the ripe fruit of many years of New
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ono.^—Britith Quarterly Beview.

* A work so thorough as this, and which so fully recognises the historical character of
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*Able contributions to theological literature.*— ^cofoman.

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In Three Volumes^ 8vo, price 31«. 6</.,
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PROFESSOR OF THEOLOOT, NEUCHATEL.

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spiritual truth that it is impossible to exunine it too closely ; and we welcome this treatise
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THE GOSPEL OF ST. LUKE.

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ST. PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

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its fine touches of spiritual intuition, and its appositeness of historical illustration.' —
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DEFENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH.

TRANSLATED BT THE

Hon. and Rev. Canon LYTTELTON, M.A.,

RBCrOB OF HAOLET.

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ft shows the same breadth of reading and extent of learning as his previous works, and
the same power of eloquent utterance.' — Church Bdlt,

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intelligent in his apprehension of truth, tliat we shall all welcome these contributions to
the study of much debated subjects with the utmost satisfaction.' — Chrittian World.

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MODERN DOUBT AND CHRISTIAN BELIEF.

A Series of Apologetic Lectures addressed to Earnest

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U5IVEBS1TT PREACHEB AND FBOFESSOR OF TUKOLOOT AT BONN.

Translated, with the Author's sanction, chiefly by the Rev. H. U. Weitbrecht,
Ph.D., and Edited by the Rev. T. L. Eixosburt, M.A.

* We recommend the volume as one of the most valuable and important among recent
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learned Author and to his translators.' — Guardian.

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rv

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CHRISTIAN ETHICS.

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FINAL CAUSES.

By PAUL JANET, Member of the Institute, Paris.
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CONTENTS.— FBKLiMiirABT Chaptkr— The Problem. Book L— The Iaw of
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* A great contribution to the literature of this subject H. Janet has mastered tbo
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* A wealth of scientific knowledge and a logical acumen which will win the admiration
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THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF MAN

(£e6mt|y &ttU$i of (Eunninsfiain %tttmt».)
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* An important and valuable contribution to the discussion of the anthropology of the
sacred writings, perhaps the most considerable that has appeared in our own language.*
—IMertKry Ckigrokman.

*The work is a thoughtful contribution to a subject which must always have deep
interest for the devout student of the Bible.*— .firituA Quarterly Review,

* Dr. Laidlaw*s work is scholarly, able, ioteresting, and valuable . . • Thoughtful
and devout minds will find much to stimulate, and not a little to assist, their meditations
in this learned and, let us add, charmingly printed volume.*— iSeoord

* On the whole, we take this to be the most sensible and reasonable statement of the
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(The book will give ample material for thought to the reflective reader; and it holds
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*The Notes to the Lectures, which occupy not less than 180 pages, are exceedingly
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j udgment predominates.*— JSii^/ii& IndependenL

It

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THE HUMILIATION OF CHRIST,

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PROFESSOR OF DIYUrXTT, FREB CUUKCH COLLEGE, GLASGOW.

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THE TRAINING OF THE TWELVE ;

OB,

(S^x)iosition of l^assaQts in t^e (SFosjiels
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for tf;e '^ositltslfiip.

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faith and practice.' — British and Foreign Evangelical Review,

* It is some five or six years since this work first made its appearance, and now that a
second edition has been called for, the Author has taken the opportunity to make some
alterations which are likely to render it still more acceptable. Substantially, however,
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