The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 62

"When I draw this fleeting breath, When my eyelids close in death .. , Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee." IV. How DOES GoD INSPIRE AND PRESERVE THE HOPE? 1. It is a lwpe tlvit is born with man's new birth. A man is an heir, by birth, of his father's patrimony; a Christian is an heir, by regeneration, of heaven. (1) The godly man is born again. (2) The godly man is born again by the power of God. "He begat us again." (3) The godly man is born again by the power of God through the resurrection of Ohri-st. Cbrist's resurrection is not only a parable of the higher life you live, but it is the power of it. 2. It iB a hope that is continued by God in connection with a man's character. God, as we saw, is Trustee of the future; so is he Guardian of the heirs. They are: (1) Guarded by the power of God. Kept as with a garrison. (2) Guarded by the power of God through faith-fidelity on man's part. Peter bad at length learned implicitly to trust Jesus Christ, and to be brave in fidelity to him. This is the twofold thought of the word "faith" here, namely, trust and fidelity. God, who is reserving heaven for the redeemed, is by their faith training them for heaven. So that the old saying is wise and good, "Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people." "It a good land: let us go up and possess it."-U. R. T. Vers. 6, 7.-The testing of religious faith. As we saw in our exposition of the pre- ceding verses, Peter taught that a man's faith, i.e. trust in Christ and.fidelity to Christ, ie a pledge of and preparation for the heavenly inheritance. It is a pledge. The example of Columbus sailing westward in search of unknown America is often and rightly quoted as an instance of faith. The Christian man is a spiritual Columbus, whose faith alone leads him across mysterious seas of time to shores of eternity. Moreover, faith is a preparation for that inheritance; for it has been well said that Faith and Hope and Love a.re so related that if Faith dies-as, indeed, it does often die first-Hope and Love are very prone to say," Let us also die with her." Indeed, the three often perish hand-in- hand. Therefore a man's faith is of profound importance to him-" precious faith;" hence Peter touches here with a strong hand the question of the testing of religious faith. I. THAT THE PROCESS OF TESTING A MAN'S FAITH INVOLVES MUCH PAIN. Peter sees souls rejoicing in the hope of heaven-" wherein ye greatly rejoice "-and yet, by this very process of testing their faith, meanwhile, in much pain. How much pain we gather: 1. From the use of the word that descri"bes the process; i.e." temptations"- " trials." A. word that really means" testing," but that, because of the usual nature of testing, is e. synonym for "affliction." Does not the word " trial" contain in itself tears, battles, persecutions, martyrdom, even death? 2. From the spirit in which Peter says the tried are. In heaviness, in grief, sorrowful, dejected, heavy-hearted. 3. The nature of the element employed in the process. Compared to fire. No materiaJ. element causes so much pain as fire. II. THE PROCESS OF TESTING A MAN'S FAITH IS OF SUCH UNTOLD WORTH AS TO COMPENSATE FOR ALL BUCH PAIN. 1. The testing is only temporary. "For a season,,_ even if lifelong, the days dwindle to hours, etc. Already Peter uses words of retrospect : " ye have been," etc. 2. The worth of the soul for which testing is designed. Though not grammatical, this is application. "Much more precious than gold." This is implied that gold loses lustre and becomes worn out with hourly use. 'l'he soul is imperishiible ! 3. The purposes of the process. "If need be;" deep, inevitable, necessary. (1) Try the genuineness of faith. God knows whether it is genuin&. Men may not; we do not frequently. Chaff looks like wheat; hence the threshing-floor-the tribulum. Gilt looks like gold; hence the crucible. Devoutness of ceremonial, orthodoxy of creed, decorum of conduct, look like faith ; and yet it may be absent. (2) Tend to pwrifi- cation. That is even more merciful. Remove alloy and dross. Not only detect, but refine. As Elizabeth Browning says," purification being the joy of pain." This is the Christian woman's echo of the conviction of the old patriarch of U z, "When I am tried, I shall come forth as gold." (3) Train for Mghest uses. Higher purposes for which metal is designed-keener furnace, etc. •The most durable and precious metal in ancient art was Corinthian bronze, which was said to have been first obtained, at least discovered, by the fusing of all precious metals when the city of Corinth was burne,l. f\6 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF .l?ETER. [en. 1. 1-25,