The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 121

Vers. 1-10.-Newborn babes and the higher Israel. I. NEWBORN BABES. 1. Duty conditioning appetite for the Word. "Putting away therefore a.II wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil-speakings." This duty is connected with the foregoing (''therefore"), as coming under it. As the regenerate, we are to put a\l"ay all dispositions and manifestations that offend against good brotherhood. \Ve are to put away first, as being the radical vice, all malice (as we should read, with the old translation), i.e. the desire to hurt, from the sli~htest beginnings up to the most deadly passion. \Ve are also to put away all guile, i.e. want of openness, of straightforwardness, also in the whole compa$S of the idea. With all guile we are to put away its manifestations in hypocrisies, i.e. o.11 attempts to personate, especially to make ourselves appear better than we really are. We are also to put away envies, i.e. pinings on account of the good estate of others. Finally, we a.re to put away mani- festations of envy in <tll evil-spealcings, i.e. attempts to injure the good name of others. .From the way in which this duty is brought in, it is evident that it has a bearing on what follows, which is probably this-that unbrolherliness is a bar to our life being properly sustained. 2. .Appetite for the Word. ".A,s newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, tl,at ye may grow thereby unto salvation." 'l'he apostle seizes upon the fact of his readers having been lately regenerated, and calls them "newborn babes" in relation to God. Babes have suitable nourishment pro- vidc(l for them in thr,ir mother's milk: as (whether lately or long ago regenerated) we ha7o suitable nourishment provided for us in what in the spiritual sphere is milk, viz. the Word (without any reference to the distinction of weaker or stronger in it). Babes hnve a pure providon (" without guile" is another unhappy change); so what i8 J?rovi'lcJ for us iu l be Won! is pure as mother's milk. Babes have '\ strong no.tural  116 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [err. 11. 1-25.