The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 21

that it is GO<-l who eaves us, a.nd not we ourselves I All that is really good within ua comes from his grace. Then, if there be any sense of sin it1 us, any yearning for forgi,cness, nny hunger after righteousness, we may humbly and hopefully look upon these as indications of the work of God's good Spirit in our hearts; we may trust that he who bath begun the good work within us will complete it unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,. "B_v grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; ic is the gift of God." 'l'hus if we approach the mysteries of God's election from the practical point of view, as the Scripture leads us, rather than from the speculative, in which ca.se wo r;et at once beyond our depth, these awful and blessed truths should help to produce in us a childlike spirit, and teach us to live in loving trustfulness and humble dependence upon G0d. (2) Their election is in sanctification of the Spirit. This is the sphere in which God's election works, the form of life in which tho elect mu~t necessarily walk; for God's Holy Spirit s.'lnctifieth the elect people of God-they are "sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance." The l 1ible tells us that "without holiness no man shall sec the Lord;" and these words are full of awful meaning, for holiness is the sum of all Christian graces; it is that heavenly mindedness which ever turns to things Divine and spiritual with a love so strong and deep that it rules the life and fills the soul, leaving but little room for this present world of sense. No power of man can effect this complete change of heart; it is the peculiar work of God the Holy Ghost. 'l'he still small voice of the Spirit whispering in tbe heart bath a power beyond all human effort, working sweetly, but with a still and quiet strength that draws God's people out of this lost world, ns the voice of God called .Abram from his country and his father's house. The Holy Spirit brings vi,idly before onr hearts the teaching and the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He reveals unto the chosen the fair beauty of the Saviour, so that the heavenly vision kindles in the soul the flame of that Divine love which constrains a man to live no longer to himself, but unto Christ. That love, once awakened, spreads itself through the heart, and draws the whole man within the range of its sanctifying influences, driving out all low and earthly desires, and lifting up the soul to God. 'l'his is the sanctification of the Spirit, the pledge and earnest of our election. For (in the words of Archbishop Leight.on)" if men ca.n read the characters of God's image in their own souls, they are the connterpart of the golden characters of his loYe in which their names are written in the book of life. . . . He that loves God may be sure that he was first loved of God, and he that chooses God for his delight and portion may con- clude confidently that God bath chosen him to be one of those that shall enjoy him, aud be happy in him for ever; for that our love of him is but the return and reper- cussion of the beams of bis love shining upon us." (3) Their election is unto obedience. God's election, drawing bis chosen to himself through the sanctifying influences of his Spirit, must issne in obedience. "If we live in the Spirit," says St. Paul, "let us also walk in the Sp;rit." He whose daily life ie irradiated by the indwelli □ g grace of the Holy Spirit, must walk with God like Enoch, before God like Abraham, in the consciousness of God's presence; and when we feel that God's eye is on us, and God's presence with us, it must become more and more the great effort of our life to please him in all things, and to do hie blessed will. "Thy will be done" is the constant prayer of his elect, filling their hearts more and more, fashioning their lives more and more after the example of their Lord. They are made righteous by his obedience, for his obedience is their pattern; and it is their strength, for he is theirs, they are one with him ; and bis obedience, revealed into their hearts by the Holy Spirit, works in them obedience unto life. (4) .And ~prinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. •At Sinai Moses sprinkled. with the blood of the covenant, not only the altar, but the people also. The blood of the Lord Jesus was shed once upon the cross; but Holy Scripture says of all believers, "Ye are come . . . unto the blood of sprinkling" (Heb. xii. 24). "Without shedding of blood there is no remission." The precious blood, once shed for the sins of the whole world, must be applied individually to each believer's soul. Therefore, St. Peter says that election is "unto the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." The Spirit spri.nkleth the heart with the blood of Christ through the energy of faith, revealing to the believer bis exceeding love in dying on the cross for us. Then the cross fills the believer's soul, and gathers round itself bis best affections; then he walks in the light which streams from the cross; and while l:e is walking. OH, r. 1--25,] 'l'HE FIRS'r EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 15