saw it in his own
life and learned from his own experience, and as he gathered from
examples of the dear fathers from the beginning of the world. "Come
hither, dear children," he would say, "if you will be taught and
advised, I will give you sound instruction as to how we are to fear
God and become his children. Who desires peace and comfort?" "Oh, who
would not desire peace and comfort?" cries the world. For these
everyone seeks and strives, and all the efforts of the world are
directed toward this end.

THE CHRISTIAN'S PEACE.

28. There are two ways to the goal of peace. One is that chosen by
the world. The world seeks to obtain peace by preserving its own with
violence. It desires the death of all who oppose it and will suffer
injury or evil in word or deed from no one. This method, it is true,
is appointed to governmental authority. It is the duty of civil
rulers to faithfully employ it to arrest and hinder evil as far as
possible. But they can never wholly restrain evil nor punish every
offense. Much wickedness will remain, particularly secret evil, which
must punish itself, either by repentance here or in hell hereafter.
By this procedure Christians will not accomplish for themselves any
personal advantage; the world is too wicked and it will not give them
support.

29. Therefore, if you desire peace for yourself personally,
particularly as a Christian, you must choose another way. The Psalm
shows it to you when it says: "Refrain thy tongue from evil, and thy
lips that they speak no guile." This injunction really applies to
doctrine, meaning that we are to abide by the true Word of God and
not to allow ourselves to be seduced by false teaching. But Peter
here extends the application to the outward life and conduct of
Christians in the work, the circumstances being such as to call for
this admonition in the matter of refraining the tongue. On account of
the faith and confession for which men are called Christians, they
must suffer much; they are endangered, hated, persecuted, oppressed
and harassed by the whole world. Christ foretold (Mt 10, 22): "Ye
shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." Easily, then,
Christians, might believe they have cause to return evil, and being
still flesh and blood mortals, they are inevitably moved to be angry
and to curse, or to forsake their confession and doctrine and with
unbelievers to join the false church with its idolatrous teaching.
Here the Psalm admonishes: Dear