The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 137

from tbe fo.ot that Goel hos mRde them tation. If God's eye is over the righteous, inheritors of hie blessing. " Benbclictionem and hie ear open to their prayers, who shall mternam," snys Bengel, "oujus primitie.s harm them? St. Peter does not mean-Who jnm none pii ho.bent." Goel has Lleseecl will have the heart to harm yon? He knew tht1m; therefore they must bless others. the temper of Jews and heathens; he knew Ver. 10.-For he that will love life; also the Saviour's prophecies of comin" literally, he that willeth to love life. St. persecution too well to say that. The word~ Peter deviates somewhat from the Septua- remind us of the Septuagint renderin"' of gint Version of Ps. xxxiv. 12-16, which he Isa. 1. 9, K6pios /30718-fiu,. µo,, -rfs 1<ct1<0Jr;-ei"'µ,; is quoting. 'l'ho literal rendering of it is, None can do real harm to the Lord's peo•,le · "What man is he the.t clesireth life, loving they may persecute them, but he will n;ak~ good clays?" His connection of the parti- all things work together for their good. It ciple BeJ\.wv witll a:ya1rav is remarkable. ye be followers of that which is good; Perhaps the meaning ia be8t given by rather, if ye become zea/.ou., of that which i• Bengel," Qui vult itn vivere, ut ipsum non good, with the oldest manuscripts. The taideat vitm"-"Who w;shes to live so that Authorized Version adopts the reaJing he will not weary oflife;" so that he may love µ1µ71rai, follo.,er3 or imitators, which is r,ot it, so that he may have a. life really worth so well supported. TIie geniti,;e rov a:yaeov living. There is a love of life which can admits the masculine translation, "of him only lead to the loss of the true life (John that i3 good," but it is prob:.,,b]y neuter xii. 25). St. Peter is teaching us to love in thi~ place ( comp. ver. 11 ). With the life wisely, not with that selfish love which masculine rendering, comp. Acts xxii. 3, Christ condemns. And see good days. Not "and was zealous toward God ((71,\wr~s necessarily in outward pro8perity, hut in inr&.pxwv -roii 0eoi,)." the favour of God; days of suffering may Ver. 14.-llnt and if ye Guft'er for right- be good days in the ti-uest sense. Let him eousness' sa.ke, happy are ye; better, but refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips although ye should suffer. St. Peter knew that they spea.k no guile. We have here that persecution was coming; he wished to the usual parallelism of Hebrew poetry. prepare his readers for it. He recalls to The word "refrain" (1rau11cl-rw, literally, their thoughts the eighth beatitu,le, almost "let him make it cease") implies a. natural reproducing the Lortl's words (Matt. v. 10). tendency to sins against charity. Such suffering (·• ,raux«v, lenius vcrbum Ver. 11.-Let him eschew evil, and do quaw icrzicoii116a1," n~ngel) would do them good; literally, let him turn away from evil. no real harm; nay, it would bring with it Let him seek peace, and ensue it. Let him o. true and deep blessing. "Righteousness" seek it as a. hidden treasure, and pursue it here seems synonymous with "that which as if it might escape from him. is good" in the last verse. Christians had Ver. 12.-For the eyes of the Lord are often to suffer, not only because of their over the righteous, and his ears are open confession of Christ, but because of the unto their prayers. 'fhe apostle adds the purity of their lives, which was a. standing conjunction "for" (8r,, because) to mark reproach to the heathen. Compare St. Au- the connection. God's people must turn gustine's well-known 81\ying, "Martyreru a.way from evil and do good, because the focit non pceno., sed cnusa." And be not all-seeing eye is upon them; they will find afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. strength to do so, because God heo.reth From Isa.. Yiii. 12. The genitive m"y be prayer. Perhaps when the apostle was to.ken as objective: "Be not afraid of the writing those words he remembered how terror which they cause;" or as subjecti,e, once "the Lord turned, and looked upon "with the terror which they feel." Tho Peter." But tha face of the Lord is ago.inst former view is more suitable here. them that do evil. The proposition in the Ver. 15.-Bnt sanctify the Lord God in two clauses is the same (bri, over, or upon). your hearts. From Isa. viii. 13. The reading The Lord's eye is upon tht! good and the of the best e.nd oldest manuscripts here is evil. The apostle omits the words that Kvpiov 5, -rov Xp,ur&v, "Sanctify the Lord follow in the psalm, "to out off the remem- Christ," or, "Sanctify the Christ as Lord." brance of them from the earth," perhaps The absence of the article with Kup,ov is in because he wishes us to regard the spiritual favour of the second translation; but the rather than the temporal consequences of first seems more natural, more in uccorde.nce our actions. with the original passage in Isaiah, and the Ver. 13.-And who is he that will harm common expression, Kvprns 6 €le&,, is in its you 1 'l'he apostle, as he began his quoto.- favour. Whichever translation is adopted, tiou from Pe. xxxiv. without marks of oita- St. Peter here substitutes the Saviour's tiou, so adds at onoe his inference from it in No.me where the prophet wrote, "the Lord the form of a. question. The conjunction of hosts, Jehovah Sa.baoth "-a. change which "and" conncots the 4ueation with the quo • would be nothing less thiw impious if the  182 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [oH, m. 1-22.