a li,·ing, acfrve power in it, which can 11fver fail. 'l'he bearing of thi1 is t-lrnt, being alike in having been born into the new abiding life, we a.re plainly intended for loving onc :mother. As on the way to the same inheritance, we are to keep up good brother- hood. (2) Confirmation of the a.bidi'11g power of the Woi·d. "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass, 'l'he grass withereth, nnd the flower fa!leth: but the Word of the Lord abideth for ever." 'l'hat with which grass is com- pared is all flesh, i.e. man on the earthly side of his life. That with which the flower of grass is compared is all the glory of flesh-beauty of form, strength of muscle, greatness of intellect, riches, honours. The image sets forth the transitoriness of human life and glory. Grass bas only a certain amount of vitality, and, when a certain sta"e is reached, it witbers; it is not otherwise with the flower-it falleth, The language is graphic-the grass we looked upon withered and the flower fell. So the life of man on its earthly side has only a certain amount of endurance, which is soon exhausted, and its greatness soon comes to its decadence. It is otherwise with the Word of the Lord- it abi<letb for ever. The language in this verse, which is from Isa. xl. 6-8, is not formally introduced as a. quotation, and is quoted freely. It gives us an exalted conception of the Word as that by which we are introduced into a life that is never to end. (3) Means of recognizing the Word. " And this is the Word of good tidings which was preached unto you." The Word, in this as in the preceding verse, is appro- priately the spolcen Word. It is thought of as the ,vord of glad contents. It is the Word which had been preached to Pater's readers by Paul and others, so that they could have no difficulty in understanding what was meant by it. "This, therefore, also instrncts us where we must seek for the Word of God, viz. in the authentic originals of the apostolic preaching" (Stager).-R. F.
EXPOSITION. CHAPTER II. again ; they were new-born babes in Christ; they must remember their regeneration. Ver. 1.-Wherefore laying aside. Those The rabbis used the same metaphor of their who would wear the white robe of regene- proselytes ; but the apostle was doubtless ration must lay a.aide the filthy garments thinking of the Saviour's words (Matt. xviii. (Zech. iii 3) of the old carnal life. So St. 3 ; Mark x. 14, 15). Desire the sincere milk Panl bids ns pnt off the old man and put on of the Word, Desire, long for it eagerly the new (Eph. iv. 22, 24; Col. iii 8, 10; ('1r,1rollr,rrciTE);as babes long for milk, their comp. also Rom. xiii 14, "Put ye on the proper food, the only food necessary for Lord Jesus Christ." The metaphor would them. It seems that in the adjective i\o-y,,,&v be more striking when, at baptism, the old (paraphrased in the Authorized Ver.ion "of dress was laid aside, and the white chrisom the Word," rendered " spiritual" or " reason- was pnt on. St. Panl connects the putting able" in the Revised Version) there must on of Christ with baptism in Gal iii 27, and be e. reference to the Word of God (71.o-yor St. Peter, when speaking of baptism in eh. 0eou), mentioned in eh. i. 23 as the instru- iii 21, uses the substantive (lt1roll,cm) cor- ment of regeneration, and ca.lltid by 0111' Lord responding to the word here rendered "lay- (Matt. iv. 4, from Deut. viii. 3) the food ing aside " (lt,rolle!J.€110,). All me.lice, and all of man (but the Greek in Matthew is ~:;,µci, guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and ell as in eh, i. 25). The paraphrase of th6 evil-speakings. Tbe sins mentioned hero Authorized Version gives the genern,l mean, are oil offences against that "unfeigned ing; but the adjective means literally, love of the brethren" wliieh formed the " reasonable " or "rational." The apostle subject of St. Peter's exhortation in the is not thinking of natural milk, but of that latter part of eh. i St. Augustine, quoted nolll'isbment which the Christian reason can here by most commentators, says, •• Malitia regard as milk for the soul-spiritual food, malo delectatlll' alieno; invidia bono cruci- pure and simple and nourishing, capo.hie atur alieno; dolus duplicat; adulatio dupli- of eupporting o.nd strengthening those new- cat linguam; detrectatio vulnerat famam" born babes who not long ago had been (comp. Eph. iv. 22-31); the close resem- begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but blance between the two passages proves St. of incorruptilJle, through the Word of God. Peter's knowledge of tbe Epistle to the 'fhe adjective occurs only in one other placo Ephesians. of Holy Scripture (possibly St. Peter may Ver. 2.-AB new-born be.bes. The words have read it therc)-Tiom. xii. 1, •dw look Lack to eh. i. 3, 23. God begat fhem i\o-yu,~v i\ci-rpe/civ vµwv, where it means th~ cu. It. 1-25.] THE FIUST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.