The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained Part 12

As though he would say, "Your office is so great that it never can be rewarded here, but ye shall receive an eternal crown, which shall follow it, if ye truly feed the sheep of Christ." This is the admonition which St. Peter gives to those who are to care for souls, from whence you may confidently infer and clearly prove, that the Pope, along with his bishops, is Antichrist, or an enemy of Christ, since he does nothing of that which St. Peter here requires, and neither teaches nor practices it himself, but even acts the counterpart, and will not only not feed the sheep or let them be fed, but is himself a wolf and tears them, and yet makes it his boast that he is the vicar of the Lord Christ. He certainly is that, for since Christ is not there, he, like the devil, sits and rules in Christ's place.

Whence it is necessary carefully to remember these plain texts and others like them, and to hold them up against the Pope's government, so that when any one asks or questions you, you may be able to answer and say, "Christ said and practised so and so; the Pope teaches and practices directly the opposite. Since they are opposed to one another one of them must be false; but certainly Christ is not.

Whence I conclude that the Pope is a liar and the real Antichrist."

In this way must you be prepared with Scripture, so that you can not only challenge the Pope as Antichrist, but know how to prove it clearly, so that you could die secure of it, and withstand the devil even in death.--It follows, further:

V. 5. _Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elders._ We have now the last admonition in this chapter. St. Peter would have such order in the christian church, that the young should follow the old, so that all may go on harmoniously; those beneath submissive to those above them. If this were now to be enforced, we should not need many laws. He would strictly have it so that the younger shall be directed according to the understanding of the older, as these shall best judge that it shall be for the praise of G.o.d. But St. Peter presumes that such elders are to be instructed and established in the Holy Ghost. For should it happen that they are themselves fools, and without understanding, no good government could originate with them; but if they are persons of good understanding, then it is well that they should rule the youth. But St. Peter is not speaking here of civil, but of church government, that the elders should rule those that are spiritually younger, whether they be priests or even old men.

_Be ye all of you subject one to another, and therein manifest humility._ Here he turns and modifies his command, directing each to be subject one to another. But how is that consistent, that the elders should rule, and yet all should be subject one to the other?

Are we then to overturn what has been said? Some one perhaps would give such a gloss as this, that St. Peter spoke above of the elders,--here he speaks of the younger. But we shall let the words stand, granting that they are spoken generally; as Paul also says in Rom. xii., "That each in honor prefer one another." The younger should be subject to the old, yet in such a manner that the latter shall not regard themselves as masters, but even should submit and follow, where a younger is more judicious and learned; just as G.o.d in the Old Testament often selected young men, provided they were more wise than the old.

So Christ also teaches, in Luke xiv.: "When thou art bidden, sit not down in the highest place, lest a more honorable than thou be bidden, and then he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lower place; but when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place, that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee: Friend, go up higher;" and then he introduces the pa.s.sage as it is found in many places: "He who exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Therefore should the younger be subject to the elder, and yet the elder on the other hand should be so disposed that each one in his heart shall hold himself as the least. Were this done we should have delightful peace, and all would go well on earth. This, therefore, says he, should we do, _exhibit humility_.

_For G.o.d resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble._ That is, those who will not give place G.o.d casts down; and on the other hand, he exalts those who humble themselves. It is a common expression--would to G.o.d he lived like common folks.

V. 6. _Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of G.o.d._ Since G.o.d requires that each should be subject to the other; if it is done willingly and cheerfully, he will exalt you. But if you will not do it willingly, you shall do it from constraint. He will cast you down.

_That He may exalt you in his own time._ It seems, when G.o.d suffers his own children to be cast down, as though he would at length desert them. Therefore he says: Do not mistake on this account, and suffer yourself to be blinded, but be confident, since you have a sure promise that it is G.o.d's hand and will. Therefore should you not regard the time, however long it be, that you are brought low; for though He has cast you down, He will yet lift you up. Hence it follows:

V. 7. _Cast all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you._ You have such a promise as this, whereby you may rest secure that G.o.d doth not forsake you, _but careth for you_. Therefore let all your cares go, and cast your burden on Him. These words are exceedingly precious; how could He have made them more sweet or tender? Why does He employ so great allurement? It is in order that no one might easily despond and give up his purpose. Therefore He gives us such consolation as this: that G.o.d not only looks upon us, but cares also for us, and has a heartfelt regard for our lot. He further says:

V. 8. _Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour._ Here he gives us a warning, and would open our eyes, and it would be well worthy that the text should be written in golden letters. Here you perceive what this life is, and how it is described, so that we might well be ever wis.h.i.+ng that we were dead. We are here in the devil's kingdom, just as in case a pilgrim should arrive at an inn, where he knew that all in the house were robbers; if he must enter there he will yet arm himself in the best way he can devise, and will sleep but little: so are we now on earth, where the prince is an evil spirit, and has the hearts of men in his power, doing by them as he will. It is a fearful thought if we properly regard it. Therefore St. Peter would warn us to take heed to ourselves, and act the part of a faithful servant, who knows the state of things here. For this reason he says: be sober, for they who indulge themselves here in eating and drinking, and are like fat swine, are such as can be fitted for nothing useful.

Therefore must we have ever by us such a talisman as this.

And be vigilant (he says), not only as to the spirit but also as to the body. For a vitiated body, p.r.o.ne to sleep when it eats and drinks itself full, will give the devil no opposition, though it belong even to those swine who have a faith and spirit.

Wherefore should we then be sober and vigilant? _Because your enemy the devil goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour._ The evil spirit, sleeps not--is cunning and wicked. He has purposed with himself that he will a.s.sault us, and he knows the right trick therefor; goes about like a lion that is hungry, and roars as though he would gladly devour all. Here St. Peter gives us an important admonition, and forewarns us of our enemy, that we may protect ourselves against him; as Paul also says, "we are not ignorant of the devices of the wicked spirit." That "going about" tends to make us heedless, and thereupon follow wrath, hatred, pride, l.u.s.t, contempt of G.o.d.

And here observe especially, that he says _the devil goeth about_. He does not pa.s.s before your eyes, when you are armed against him, but looks out before and behind you, within and without, where he may attack you. If he now meets you here, he will quickly return there, and attack you in another place; he changes from one side to the other, and employs every kind of cunning and art that he may bring you to fall; and if you are well prepared in one place, he will quickly fall in upon another; and if he cannot overthrow you there, then he a.s.saults you somewhere else, and so never gives it up, but goes round and round, and leaves no rest to any one. If we then are fools and do not regard it, but go on and take no heed, then has he as good as seized upon us.

Let every one now look to this; surely each shall trace something of this in his own experience. He that has examined knows it well.

Therefore it is so sad for us that we go about so heedlessly. If we rightly regard it, we should cry out, _death rather than life_. Job has spoken thus: "Man's life on earth is nothing but an encampment, a mere conflict and strife." Why then does G.o.d thus leave us in life and misery? In order that faith may be exercised and grow, and that hastening out of this life, we may have a desire of death, and an anxiety to depart.

V. 9. _Whom withstand, firm in the faith._ Sober you should be, and vigilant, but to this end,--the body must be in a proper frame. Yet with all this, the devil is not routed; this only suffices to afford the body less occasion for sin. The true sword is this, that ye be strong and firm in the faith. If you in heart grasp hold of the word of G.o.d and maintain your hold by faith, then the devil cannot gain the advantage, but will be compelled to fly. If you can say, "This has my G.o.d said--on this I stand," then shall ye see that he will quickly depart, and ill-humor, evil l.u.s.ts, wrath, avarice, melancholy and doubt, will all vanish. But the devil is artful, and does not readily permit you to come to this, and so a.s.saults you in order to take the sword out of your hand; if he can make you full, so that your body is unguarded and inclined to wantonness, then will he quickly wrench the sword from your grasp. Thus He served Eve: she had G.o.d's word; if she had continued to depend on it she would not have fallen, but when the devil saw that she held the word so loosely, he tore it from her heart, so that she let it go and he triumphed.

Thus St. Peter has sufficiently instructed us how to contend with the devil. It requires not much running hither and thither; is besides a work that you can do, yet no longer than you depend through faith on the word of G.o.d. If he comes and would drive you into despondency because of sin, only seize hold of the word of G.o.d that speaks of the forgiveness of sin, and venture yourself thereon; then will he be compelled quickly to let you alone. St. Peter says, moreover:

_Knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world._ That is, be not surprised that you must meet opposition from the devil; but comfort yourselves, inasmuch as ye are not alone, but there are others besides you who must endure such suffering, and reflect that you have your brethren to share with you in the strife.

There now you have the Epistle in which you have sufficiently heard a truly christian doctrine; in what a masterly manner he has described faith, love, and the Holy Cross; and how he instructs and warns us as to how we should contend with the devil. Whoever comprehends this Epistle, has doubtless enough, so that he needs nothing more but that G.o.d teach him richly from that which likewise overflows in the other books. But that is besides nothing different from this; for here the Apostle has forgotten nothing which it is necessary for a Christian to know.

Finally, he does what every faithful preacher should do, in that he not only takes care to feed the sheep, but also cares and prays for them; and concludes with a prayer that G.o.d may give them grace and strength, that they may understand and retain the word.

V. 10. _But the G.o.d of all grace who hath called us unto His Eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you._ That is the wish wherewith he commits them to G.o.d--G.o.d, who alone bestows grace, and not a single grace, but all grace richly in one, who has called you through Christ that ye might have Eternal glory, not through any desert of your own, but for Christ's sake; if ye have Him, ye have through faith, without merit of yours, Eternal glory and salvation, which will prepare you, that you may be strong, grow, and stand, and that ye may be able to accomplish much; and to this end He will strengthen and establish you, that ye may be able to bear and suffer all.

V. 11. _To him be praise and power for ever and ever, Amen._ Praise is the sacrifice that we as Christians should offer up to G.o.d. He only adds, in conclusion:

V. 12. _By your faithful brother Silva.n.u.s, (as I suppose), have I written briefly, to admonish and manifest that this is the true grace of G.o.d wherein ye stand._ Although I well know (he would say) that you have heard this before and know it well, so that you do not need that I should teach it unto you, yet have I written this to you (as those that are truly Apostles should do), that I might also admonish you that you abide therein, since you are tried and exercised; and you are not to imagine that I preach any otherwise than as you have already heard.

V. 13. _The Church that is at Babylon greets you._ Such was the practice of writing in the Epistles the farewell. _The Church at Babylon_, says he, _greets you_. I suppose, but am not fully confident, that he here meant Rome, for it has been generally supposed that the Epistle was written from Rome. Still, there were two Babylons,--one in Chaldea, the other in Egypt, which is now Al Cair. But Rome is not called Babylon, except figuratively, in the sense, as was said above, of thronging corruption. Thus, Babel means, in the Hebrew, a confusion. So, perhaps, he has called Rome a confusion, or Babel, since _there_ was also such disorderly conduct, and a confused mult.i.tude of all kinds of shameful practices and vices; and whatever in the whole world was scandalous had flown together there. In this same, he says, is a church gathered of such as are Christians, who greet you. But I will readily leave every one to hold it as he will, for no importance attaches to it.

_My son, Marcus, also._ Some say that he here means Mark, the Evangelist, and calls him his son, not literally, but spiritually,--as Paul calls Timothy and t.i.tus his sons, and says to the Corinthians that he has begotten them in Christ.

V. 14. _Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity._ This custom has now pa.s.sed away. In the Gospel we read distinctly that Christ received his disciples with a kiss, and such was then a practice in those lands. Of this kiss, St. Paul often speaks, also.

_Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen._ That is, who believe in Christ. This is the adieu wherewith he commits them to G.o.d.--Thus we have concluded this first Epistle. G.o.d grant His grace, that we may hold and keep it. Amen.

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF ST. PETER.

PREFACE.

St. Peter wrote this Epistle because he saw how the true, pure doctrine of faith had become falsified, darkened and suppressed. And he has wished to meet a two-fold error, springing from a wrong understanding of the doctrine of faith, and guard against it in both directions; namely, that we should not ascribe to works the power of making us righteous and acceptable before G.o.d, though these works belong to faith; and, on the other hand, that no one should think that there may be faith without good works. For if any one preaches concerning faith, that it justifies us without any addition of works, the people say, "One need do no works," as we see it in our daily experience; and, on the other hand, when they fall on works and exalt them, faith must be prostrated, so that the middle way is one to be retained with difficulty, where there are not preachers of the right kind.

Now, we have ever taught this doctrine, that to faith we are to ascribe all things, one as well as another; that it alone makes us just and holy in the sight of G.o.d. Moreover, that if faith is present, out of it good works must and should proceed, since it is even impossible that we should pa.s.s this our life quite indolent, and do no works. Thus St. Peter in this Epistle would also teach us, and thus meet those who perhaps out of the former Epistle might have received the wrong apprehension that it sufficed for faith, though we should at the same time do no work. And against this the first chapter especially aims, wherein he teaches that believers should try themselves by good works, and become a.s.sured of their faith.

The second chapter is against those who exalt works merely, and depreciate faith. Therefore he admonishes them against the false teachers who should come, who, through the teachings of men, should destroy faith entirely. For he clearly saw what a cruel trial there would yet be in the world, as had even then already begun; as St.

Paul says, II. Thes. ii., "The mystery of iniquity already works."

Thus is this Epistle written as a warning for us, that we prove our faith by our good works, and yet that we trust not to our works.

CHAPTER I.