tion, since an
outward holiness, and one that pertains to the flesh, is of no avail
before God. And so God, by this sprinkling, has typified the
spiritual sprinkling. As though Peter had said, the Jews who were in
that holiness which was outward were held as righteous, and persons
of a pure life. But you are reputed base, yet you have a better
sprinkling; you are sprinkled in the Spirit, that you may be pure
from within. The Jews were sprinkled outwardly with the blood of
bullocks, but we are sprinkled inwardly in the conscience, so that
the heart is made pure and joyful.

Thus the Gentiles are Gentiles no longer. The righteous Jews, with
their sprinkling, are no more righteous, but all is reversed. There
must be a sprinkling which converts us and makes us spiritually
minded.

To preach sprinkling is to preach that Christ has shed his blood, and
for us has ascended to his Father, and intercedes, saying, "Beloved
Father! behold my blood which I have shed for these sinners." If you
believe this, you are sprinkled. Thus you see the right method of
preaching. If all the popes, monks and priests were to fuse all the
matter of their preaching into one mass, they would not even then
teach and present as much as St. Peter here does in these few words.

Thus you have the subscription of the Epistle, wherein he manifests
his office and what he preaches, as you have now heard. For this
alone is the Gospel, and all else that does not accord with it is to
be trodden under foot, and all other books are to be avoided in which
you find some fine pretence of works and prayers and indulgence that
does not teach similar doctrine, and is not confessedly grounded
thereon. All Papal books have not a letter of this obedience, of this
blood and sprinkling. Now follows the greeting to those to whom he
writes.

_Grace and peace be multiplied._ Here St. Peter adopts the Apostle
Paul's mode of greeting, although not to the same extent, and it is
as much as though he had said, ye have now peace and grace, but yet
not in perfection; therefore must ye continue to increase in them
till the old Adam die. Grace is God's favor, which now begins in us,
but which must continue to advance and grow even till death. Whoever
confesses and believes that he has a gracious God, possesses it,
while his heart gains peace also, and he is afraid neither of the
world nor of the devil; for he knows that God, who controls all
things, is his friend, and will deli