1 Peter 5

1 Peter 5:1

The apostle concludes this epistle with particular cautions to ministers and private Christians; urging on the former humility, diligence and watchfulness; and exhorting the latter to a steadfast and faithful discharge of their several duties, animated by this consideration, that the God of all grace had called them to his eternal glory, and would, after they had suffered a while, make them perfect, according to his earnest prayer for them. 1 Pet. V. 1, to the end.

PETER V. 1. T HE elders which are among you I I WOULD now in the most affectionate manner address myself to those who are the elders among you, or any other Christian societies into whose hands this epistle may come; and I would exhort them with the greater

The elders should ecd the ock o God.

warmth and freedom, [as I also am] an elder with them, and an eye witness of the sufferings of Christ, and as I also hope, through Divine grace, that I shall be a partaker of the glory, which shall hereafter be revealed, when he shall appear the second time, in circumstances so different from those in which we have seen and conversed with him on earth. By all the engagements of love and duty to him, and by all the regard you owe to your own honour and happiness in that important day, let me beseech you to feed the flock of God that is among you, the churches of Christ which you are called to preside over; discharge the episcopal office with that due inspection which its very name imports: not by constraint, as if it were an ungrateful burthen, but willingly and cheerfully; not for the sake of dishonourable gain, but of a ready mind, and because you love the flock, and really desire its edification and welfare. Not assuming to yourselves dominion over those who fall to your lot.

a Discharge the episcopal office.] This idea is so plainly suggested by the word starkowitz, that I thought it matter of duty to translate it as I have done; that every reader might observe, what all candid people seem to confess, that those who are styled bishops, from their having the oversight of others, and also presbyters, or elders, are spoken of as the same persons. Compare ver. 1. And I hope the time will come, when good men will join their efforts to remove that very hard imposition, by which the ministers of some churches are obliged, in order to their entering into the ministry, to declare, not only that they are different orders, but that it is evident unto all men diligently reading the holy scripture, that they are so.

b Not by constraint.] It is true, that in the primitive church some were almost against their will forced into the episcopal office by dint of importunity. And one would hope, it was not an affected modesty with which they declined the office, especially as it was then attended with no temporal emoluments, but exposed them to distinguished labours and sufferings. It is difficult to see how any could in the strictest sense be constrained; but perhaps the apostle saw some good men too unwilling to accept the office, when the churches close them to it, and when its ired teach-

ers urged it upon them. And though little gain could have been made of it, and the temptation to lord it over God’s heritage was not so great, as when ecclesiastical persons were invested with civil power, (in which most of the honour and influence of their ecclesiastical characters, as such, has been generally lost,) yet foreseeing what would happen in the church, and observing perhaps some discoveries of such a temper beginning to prevail, the caution was exceedingly just, proper, and important. Compare Luke x. 2, and the note there.

c Dishonourable gain.] See the note on 1 Tim iii 3 d Those who fall to your lot.] The word, God’s, is not in the original I think therefore it is with abundant reason, that the learned Mr. Boyse refers this to their not domineering over the particular congregations, or bishoprics, which were by Providence committed to their care; alluding to the division of Canaan by lots. Boyse’s Serm. Vol. II. p 413. An interpretation much preferable to Dr. Whitby’s who explains it of the possessions of the church. (Compare Col. i. 12, note k.) And yet after proposing this interpretation at large, he admits at the close of his note, that what is here styled x-2, believe in the same sentence expressed by

e younger should submit to the e er.

but being humble, and behaving towards them with such gentle tender solicitude for their souls, and such an entire freedom from the very appearance either of avarice or ambition, that your examples may be rendered worthy the imitation of the flock, and your conduct as instructive as any of your cautions and precepts can be: And if this be indeed your character and behaviour; you will render up your account hereafter with joy; for when he, who does you the honour to acknowledge himself the chief Shepherd of the flock, shall appear, to take the final survey of it, and examine into the conduct of those to whom he had partly committed it, you shall be most magnificently and nobly rewarded, and receive an unfading crown of glory: a crown which shall bloom in immortal beauty and vigour, when all the transitory glories of this world are withered like a fading flower.

But it is proper that I should likewise address some exhortations to others besides ministers; and particularly to you, O ye younger persons; and that I should urge you to be in subjection to those [who are] more advanced in age, and to pay a decent respect to their hoary hairs. Yea, let all [of you] be subject to one another, endeavouring, by mutual condescension, to make each other as easy and happy as possible; and for this purpose be clothed with unfeigned humility; for God opposeth himself to the proud, and draws up all his terrors, as it were, in battle array against him; but giveth grace and favour to the humble soul. Humble yourselves therefore with that just reverence under the mighty hand of God, (under all the dispensations of Divine Providence, even though wicked men should be made the instruments of effecting its purposes,) that so he

ἀντίμησιον, the flock of God, it seems to establish the common interpretation. What the learned Mr. Dodwell had offered in support of the sense Dr. Whitby mentions, is particularly considered and refuted by Wolfius, Curæ Philolog. Vol. V. page 163.

*Mighty hand of God.] Perhaps by this expression, the apostle may intend to

remind them, that the hand of a righteous Providence was concerned in those events which were owing to the wickedness of men; so far concerned, as to overrule them, and render them instrumental an subservient to the accomplishment of his own wise designs; as is strongly intimated Isa. x. 5; Psal. xvii. 14, and in many parallel places.*

They should resist their adversary, the evi.

may exalt you in due time; for in his own most proper and well chosen season, he will certainly raise you up, though for the present you may seem to be depressed to the lowest condition. In the mean while, whatever uncertainties and dangers may attend you, endeavour to live as easy as possible; casting all your anxious care, and all those burdens that might otherwise occasion it, upon him; leaving it to his all wise and all gracious Providence to determine every event of your lives; for he careth for you in a manner the most effectual; and his tender care will accomplish infinitely more, than your utmost anxiety can possibly effect. Turn your solicitude therefore into the right channel; be sober in the government of your appetites and passions; be watchful against every occasion of mischief from your spiritual enemies; for your great and inveterate adversary the devil is continually walking about, like a roaring lion, or evening wolf, prowling round the fold, seeking whom he may assault with the greatest likelihood of success, and may suddenly devour and swallow up: Whom therefore, as you regard your safety and life, be careful stoutly to resist, being steadfast in your adherence to the Christian faith, and armed with the most heroic courage and resolution in its defence. And to this you should the rather attend, as knowing that the trials, with which you are exercised, are now peculiar to you; but that the same afflictions, which you are called out to encounter, are accomplished in others of your Christian brethren, who are in the world; and you may reasonably hope, the same grace which is their support, will be also yours. But may the God who is the great fountain of all grace, from whom descendeth every good and every per-

¹ Your anxious care.] So I have rendered it necessary, because that is the proper signification of it; what does, as it were, tend and tear the mind to pieces. See Tillotson’s Works, Vol. II. p. 629.

² Be watchful.] St. Peter might well give such a caution as this, having himself received such particular and express warning from Christ his Master, (Luke xxii. 51, &c.) and so shamefully fallen im-

mediately after, for want of the watchfulness he here recommends.

³ Walking about.] I chose to express weight with this exactness, that the force of its signification in this similitude might be observed. The word xix in expresses more than devouring, even swallowing up; and so represents the insatiable rage of the enemy of our salvation, with great advantage.

e apost e gives them his benediction.

fect gift, and who hath displayed his goodness in innumerable important instances, even He who has called us to the hope and enjoyment of his eternal glory in Christ Jesus; may he grant you his perpetual presence and enlivening favour; and when you have suffered for a little while, such trials as his infinite wisdom shall see fit to appoint, may he make you perfect in every good disposition; in whatever improvements you are enabled to make, may he confirm, strengthen, and establish [you] upon a firm and unshaken foundation. To him, therefore, who of all beings is infinitely most worthy of it, [be] glory and dominion ascribed for ever and ever: amen. I have written briefly unto you by the bearer Silvanus, in whom I place great confidence, as I suppose and conclude him to be a sincere Christian and faithful brother; one who hath the interest of Christ at heart, and on whose fidelity we may rely; and I send it, exhorting and testifying with the greater solemnity, that this is the true grace of God wherein ye have hitherto stood; and urging it therefore upon you, that you steadily adhere to it in the midst of all your difficulties and persecutions. The [church, which is] here in Babylon, chosen with [you] to partake of the privileges of the gospel, saluteth you; and [so doth] Marcus, whom I may call my son, as being my convert, and

i Make you perfect.] If any one please to peruse Archbishop Leighton’s excellent discourse on these words, he will have a fine specimen of his commentary on this epistle; which I esteem to be among the most instructive and useful books our language affords, and cannot but consider it as a great honour conferred upon me by Providence, to have been an instrument of presenting it to the world in so correct a form; as well as of rescuing many other instructive pieces of that excellent and amiable author from the oblivion in which they had so long been buried.

k Silvanus, as I suppose, a faithful brother.] Whether this was the Silas, or Silvanus, mentioned several times in the Acts as the companion of St. Paul, and by St. Paul himself, 2 Cor. i. 19; 1 Thes. i. 1; 2 Thes. i. 1, we cannot certainly say. The phrase, as I suppose, does not seem to imply any doubt. Compare Rom. iii. 28, and viii. 18, in the original.

l At Babylon.] Hence Bishop Cumber-

land and Mr. Cradock argue, that probably St. Peter wrote from the neighbourhood of Babylon, and found many Je remaining there ever since the Babylonial captivity, among whom he had preached the gospel with considerable success.

m Marcus my son.] That is, my convert, or at least my assistant in the ministerial work I have observed, Vol. III. sect. xxviii. note b, that John Mark, who was the companion of Barnabas and Paul, was a different person from Mark the evangelist, who was the intimate companion of the Apostle Peter. And as he was so, it is likely that the evangelist is the Mark of which the apostle here speaks. Under St. Peter’s instructions he is said to have written his gospel, probably receiving at different times historical facts from him, which he records without very exact order, and which St. Luke afterwards greatly illustrated, without changing the order, by adding many more important circumstances.

Reflections on the regard due to St. Peter’s testimony;

seer. behaving to me with all filial tenderness and ix. respect. Salute one another with a kiss of 14 Greet ye one 1 Pet. pure and unfeigned love in your Christian another with a kiss v. 14 assemblies; and may grace and peace, and the of charity. Peace be truest happiness, ever [be] with you all who are with you all that are in Christ Jesus, who is the corner stone which men. God hath laid in Sion, and the great foundation of all our eternal hopes. Amen.

IMPROVEMENT.

THIS apostolic charge should be received with the profoundest regard and submission, by all those who profess to reverence the authority of Christ, who thus, by the mouth of his servants, 1 bespeaks their attention; and it should both regulate their conduct, and animate and exalt their hopes. Let us therefore attend to this venerable elder, this witness of the sufferings of Christ, who on the mount of transfiguration had been favoured with an illustrious representation of that glory, wherein our Lord shall be hereafter revealed, and with which he will then invest all those, who, in his cause, have approved themselves faithful until death. Let ministers, especially, ever maintain a most affectionate and 2 respectful regard for the flock of God, and take the oversight thereof with a ready and generous mind, and be examples to it in the mild 3 and condescending temper of their common Master, as well as in all other graces and virtues. It is indeed possible, they may pursue such a conduct as this, and meet with very little esteem or recompense, yea, with injurious and unworthy treatment, 4 from their fellow men. But a crown of glory, a royal diadem, incorruptible and immortal, will be hereafter conferred on them by their exalted Saviour, in the day of his triumphant appearance; and this crown, in itself so illustrious, will be a mark of still more distinguished honour, as it will be placed on their victorious heads in a season of such solemnity, in the view of the whole assembled world, and of the innumerable company of angels. But in the mean time, while we are continued in so lowly a condition in the present world, let us all cultivate humility of mind, being clothed with that amiable virtue, which is certainly the most graceful ornament of our nature; an ornament of singular value in the eye of that God, whose approbation is the surest mark and criterion of excellence and honour. And that we may accordingly entertain the more humble and lowly conceptions of ourselves, and the more grand and venerable ideas of the almighty Creator, Preserver, 6 and Disposer of all things, let us often and seriously reflect upon his mighty hand; how gloriously it hath been displayed in the infinite variety of the works of nature, in the continual agency and operation of Providence, and in the wonderful

and on the wiles and powers of Satan.

scheme of redemption and salvation; how powerful and resist- sect ix. less it is in the execution of all its works; and yet how graciously its awful power is tempered and moderated, and to what verse kind and merciful purposes it hath been already exerted, and still is, in behalf of such degenerate and unworthy creatures as ourselves. By these considerations, let us be disposed to bow to every Divine dispensation with all resignation and submission; fixing our dependence upon a power so wisely and graciously exerted; rejoicing that we are permitted to cast our cares on God, and abhorring both the ingratitude and folly of fainting and sinking under our burdens, when we are favoured with the permission of relying on him; indeed, with a paternal command, as well as permission; which accordingly requires our obedience in point of duty, as well as of gratitude and honour.

Our great adversary the devil is still continually prowling round the fold of Christ; and therefore it behoves us to be constantly on our guard. And if we would escape both his wiles and his power, let us be especially careful, that neither our security, nor intemperance, give him an advantage over us: but, on the contrary, as it is nothing less than our utter and eternal destruction he aims at, let us strenuously resist him, in the exercise of a steady faith, and with a firm resolution. Let us also remember, that trials and afflictions have been the lot of all the people of God in all generations: and that the God of all grace is able, if it seem good to his infinite wisdom, to shorten and contract the time of our sufferings, and by means of them whilst they last, to strengthen and perfect our immortal souls. Let us, therefore, as the close of all, continue to stand fast in what is so authentically testified to be the true grace of God; and real substantial peace will be with us, will be our everlasting portion, in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The END of the FAMILY EXPOSITOR on the FIRST CATHOLIC EPISTLE of ST. PETER.

VOL. 6.

THE

FAMILY EXPOSI

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PETER;

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THERE were some in the primitive church, who called in question the genuineness and authority of this epistle, though it expressly claims St. Peter for its author, and contains very strong internal characters of its authenticity. But this being no proper or convenient place to enter largely into the argument, if any are desirous of seeing it truly and accurately represented, as far as it depends upon the testimonies of the Christian fathers, they may consult the second part of Dr. Lardner’s Credibility of the Gospel History. As to the interna evidence, there are some general observations, which having made already in the Introduction to the epistle of James, I think it unnecessary to repeat, though they are very applicable to the present occasion. But it is fit to observe, in particular, that the author of this epistle hath some allusions or appeal to facts and circumstances as relative to himself, which evidently refer to St. Peter; and that besides, there is a remarkable coincidence between the sentiments of this and of the former epistle; insomuch that it is extremely probable, it was the production of the same author, intending to confirm the doctrine he had already advanced, in opposition to the scruple

A general introduction

of honest men, and the objections of designing ones. St. Jerom, acquainting us with the dispute which had been raised concerning the author and authority of this epistle, informs us at the same time, that it was owing to a remarkable difference of style, in this and the former unquestionably genuine epistle of St. Peter. But the truth is, there is, properly speaking, no difference of style between the two epistles, but only between the former epistle, and a part of this, namely, the second chapter; which indeed is as different from the style of the remainder of this, as it is from that of the whole former epistle. The fact therefore seems to be; (as the learned bishop of London, Dr. Sherlock, supposes, in his first dissertation, at the end of his discourses on prophecy, which is well worth the reader’s perusal;) I say, the fact seems to be, that the apostle in the second chapter of this epistle, describing the character of such seducers and false teachers, as endangered the faith of the Christian converts, adopts the language and sentiments of some Jewish author, containing a very strong description, in the eastern manner, of the character and conduct of some false prophets of that, or earlier ages. And as St. Jude hath likewise described these false teachers as well as St. Peter, and there is a remarkable similitude in some respects, and variation in others, between the account of these two apostles, it appears extremely probable, that they both took the principal features of their descriptions from the same author. And if this be a just account, the foundation of all the doubts concerning the genuineness of this epistle, is exceeding feeble; and no other reasonable conclusion can be drawn from them, except the singular caution of the primitive Christians, what writings they honoured with the veneration due to the oracles of God.

This epistle was very probably written about the year 67; which was six years after the date of the former. For the apostle speaks of his death as very near at hand: I think it meet, saith he, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I

to the second catholic epistle of Peter.

must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me; (chap. i. 13, 14;) and ecclesiastical history informs us, that the apostle finished his race by martyrdom in the year 68, the 14th of the emperor Nero.

The general design of this epistle is, To confirm the doctrines and instructions delivered in the former; “to excite the Christian converts to adorn and steadfastly adhere to their holy religion, as a religion proceeding from God, notwithstanding the artifices of false teachers, whose character is at large described; or the persecution of their bitter and inveterate enemies.”

The apostle, with this view, having first congratulated the Christian converts on the happy condition into which they were brought by the gospel, exhorts them, in order to secure the blessings connected with their profession, to endeavour to improve in the most substantial graces and virtues. (chap. i. 1—11.) And that their attention might be the more effectually engaged, he reminds them, both that he spoke to them in the near view of eternity, it being revealed to him that he should shortly put off his earthly tabernacle; and that the subjects on which he discoursed, were not cunningly devised fables, but attested by a miraculous voice from heaven, and by divinely inspired prophecies. (ver. 12, to the end.) And that this exhortation might not fail of producing the most kindly and genuine effects, he cautions them against the false teachers, whose character he describes; reminding them of the judgments executed on the apostate angels, on the old world, and on Sodom; and at the same time, of the deliverance of Noah, and of Lot; as suggesting considerations, which, on the one hand, should terrify such ungodly wretches, and on the other, comfort and establish the hearts of upright and pious Christians. (chap. ii. 1—9.) He then further describes the character of these seducers; warning all true Christians of the danger of being perverted by them, and them of the dreadful destruction to which they exposed themselves. (ver. 10, to the end.) And that the persons to whom he was writing,

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