The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 141

wilful unbelief which sets itself in direct been once enlighlcnerl and made partakers cpposition to the will of God. They were of the heavenly gift and the powers of the guilty of unbelief, unrl of the cliimbedience worlcl to come? Is it not possible that in which results from unbelief'. Noah was n. those words, "which sometime were disobe- "preacher of righteousness" (2 Pet. ii. 5, dient," there may be a hint that that dis- where the Greek worcl is,6)pu!,thesn bstn.ntive obedience of theirs was not the "eternal concsponding with the verb l,c-,fpu!ev here); sin" which, a:cording to the rending of the the vust structure of the a1·k was n. stn.ncling two most ancient manuscripts in Mark iii. warning ae it rose slowly before their eyes. 29, is the awful lot of those who have never Tho long-suffering of Goel waited 1111 those forgiveness? 'fhe Lorri pr,ached to the hundred and twenty Y\!ars (Gen. vi. B), as epirite in prison; that word (eK,lpv~,v) is now the Lord is "long-suffering to uswarcl, commonly UAed of the heralds of salrn.tion, not willing that any should perish, but that and St. Peter himself, in the next ch,irter, all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. iii. tells us that '' the gospel was preached 9). But they heeded neither the preaching (<u11yy,~[ulir)) to them that are deacl." The of Noah nor the long-suffering of God; and gospel is the good tidings of salvatin11 at last "the Floocl came, and took them e.11 through the cross of Christ. The Lord had uway. So shall also the coming of the just died upon the cross: is it not possible Son of man be." .Eight only were saved that, iu the moment of victory, he an- then; they doubtless suffered for well-doing; nounced the saving power of the cross to they had to endure much scorn and derision, some who hail greatly sinned; as at tLe perhaps pe1·secution. But they were not time of hi3 resurrection "many bodies of disobedient. "By faith Noah, being we.rued the saints who elept arose"? There i3 nne of God of things not seen as yet, moved more question which forces it1elf upon m- with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of What was the result of thls preach in.,;? bis house." The eight were brought safe Diel the spirits in prison listen to the through ( omrwB11uav); they were saved Saviour's voice? Were they delivered from through the water ; the . water bore them that prison where th&y had been so long up, possibly rescued them from persecu- confined? Here Scripture is almost silent; tion. But the rest perished; the clestruc- yet we read the words of hope iu eh. iv. 6, tion of life was tremendous ; we know not "For this cause was the gospel preached how many thousands perished: they suffered also to them that are dead, that they might for evil-doing; But the degrees of guilt be judged according to men iu the flesh, must have varied greatly from open pro- but live according to God in the spirit." fanity and hostility to silent doubt; while The good news was announced to them that there were many children and ¥01·y young they might live; then may we not clare to persons; and it may be that many repented hope that some at least listened to that at the lo.st moment. It is better to suffer gracious preaching, and were saved emu for well-doing than for evil-doing; but out of that prison by the power of tho even suffering for evil-doing is sometimes Saviour's cross? May WQ not venture to blessed to the salvation of the eoul; and it believe, with the author of tbe 'Christian may be that eome of these, ho.ving been Year,' that even in that drnary scene the "judged according to men in the flesh," Saviour's eye reached the thronging bau-l o[ now "live according to Gorl in the spirit" souls, and that his cross and I'asshn, his (eh. iv. 6). For it is impossible to believe agony and bloody sweat, might (we know not that the Lord's prnaching was a "concio how or in what men.sure)" ~et the shaclowy cfomnatoria." The Lord spoke sternly some- realms from sin and sorrow free''? times in the days of his flesh, but it was the It seems desirable to ndd a bril'f summary warning voice of love; even that sternest of the history of opinion on tllis much- denunciation of tho concentrated guilt and controverted po.ssage. Tho early Greek hypocrisy of the Pharisees ended in a Fathers appear to ho.ve held, with me piteous wail of loving sorrow. It cannot be consent, that St. Peter is here speaking that tho most merciful Saviour woulrl have of that descent into H11des of which he ¥ieited souls inetl'ievably lost merely to had spoken iu his first great srrmon (Acts upbraid them and to enhance their misery. ii. 31). Justin l\lartyr, in his' Dialogue with He ho.cl just suffered for sine, the Just for Trypho' (sect. 72), accuses the Jews of the unjust: ie it not possible tho.t one of the htwing erased from the prophecies of effects of that suffering might hn.ve been Jeremiah the following words: "The Lord "to bring unto God" some souls who once God of Ismel remembered his dead who bad been alienated from God by wicked slept in the land of the lomb, ancl clescenclecl works, but hncl not wholly hardened their to them to preach to them the good news of hearts; who, like the men of Tyre nnd his salvation." Irenrous q notes the same Sidon, Sodom nllll Gomorrn.h, hncl not the passago, attributing it in one place to o~portunities which we enjoy, who had not Iaainh, in nnother to Jercruii1h, and nclcls  136 THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER [cH. m. 1-22,