The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 55

and tben glorified. 1. Old Testament eveni& were but stPps leading up to it. Promised in Eden, again to Noah, again with additions to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jncob, ck. Prepared for in the work of Moses, in the calling out and training of Isrnel, to the choice of their land, in their being made the depositary of Divine truth, in the lives of David, Solomon, and the prophets, in the scattering of the Jews, in their connection with Roman power and Greek literature; all these were but, like th(1 Baptist, preparing the way of the Lord. 2. Old Testament rwophecics were bitt the heralds of salvation thmugh (Jhrist. Whatever the origin of sacrifice by bloo,l, it goes back to the first family; and since they were accepted by God-and it would bo slrn.nge indeed for man to anticipate this great method of salvation-we regard them as prefigurings of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Later on tbey were developed in the elaborate Jewish ritual-atonement, high priest, me<1iation, entrance into the holiest, sprinkling of blood, etc. In the psalmists and prophets there is a yet further development of this-the nature, the date, the birthplace, the character, the work, the death, the resurrection, the universal reign of the Messiah, are drawn in outline, so that "beginning at Moses and all the prophets," etc. Salvation in Christ, therefore, is the termination of a wondrous system promoted from the beginning, and was, after being worked out, "the mystery which from the beginning hath been hid in God according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." II. ~ALVATION THROUGH CHRIST THE SUBJECT OF DIVINE REVELATION. The prophets taught through "the Spirit of Christ which was in them." So much for the Old Testament. The apostles-" them that have preached the gospel unto you "-have done this" with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." So much for the New Testament. 1. The Spirit of Christ, therefore, is the author of Sacred Writ. Inspiration was the operation of the Divine Spirit on the minds of men so that they were led to utter infallible truth. It sometimes consisted simply in power to narrate facts and discourses accurately; bnt sometimes it included the suggestion of the very thoughts they should express, and of the very words they should use. So in listening to prophets and apostles we listen to God himself. 2. Consider the evidence of tl,e Divine inspiration of Scripture. The great central witness to this is Christ. 'l'he Old 'l'estament of his time and ours is identical; he always regarded it as the authoritative voice of God; we accept its Divine inspiration because we accept him. As to the New 'l'estament, the apostles claim an inspiration equal to that of the Old, e.g. 1 Cor. ii. 12, 13. And unless that claim be true, how can Christ's words be fulfilled? as e.g. to Peter as the representative of the twelve, "I will give unto thee the keys," etc., or after his resurrection, "As the Father hath sent me, so send I you; . . . receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose- soever sins ye remit," etc. Thus "the Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ," etc. 3. Then in Scripture we have the infallible declaration ef the most high God. In all Scripture. ,v e must take the whole, or we have no Divino warrant for any part. There is no power which can be trusted to discriminate between what therein is Divine and what not; those who affirm such discrimination to be needful differ among themselves as to the test. Here God has deigned to speak; what is here is certain truth; here God has declared salvation; then that salvation is real. III. SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST THE SUBJECT OF ANGELIC RESEARCH. "Which things the angels," etc. Another evidence of the sublimity of the salvation offered in this book. The word is a graphic one, descriptive of the idea of bending down and fixing an intense, searching gaze on something, as when John stooped down and looked into the sepulchre; Peter may have been thinking of that. 1. The angels have vast privileges, yet they seem to envy the knowledge granted to us. They have all the blessings of a sinless state in God's presence, but they look down on the mysteries of grace revealed to us, as though coveting the revelation. 2. The angels have great acquaintance with God, yet appan-ently they discern the grootest revelation of him here. They arc familiar with nature and heaven, but "God in the person of his Son Hath all hi.a mightiest workll outdone," "To the principalities and powers in heavealy places may be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God." 3. The angels haue wonderful faculties of insight, yet there is more here than they can fathom. Snch is the fulness of the gospel tha,t th~y are still fo.r from comprehending it.-C. N.  OR, J, 1-25.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 49