1 Peter 1:4 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - Bible Study & Commentary

Verse 4

To an inheritance; so eternal life is called, Ephesians 1:18, and elsewhere, as being given not as wages to hirelings, but as an inheritance to children born of God, and adopted to him.

Incorruptible; immortal, everlasting, which being once possessed, cannot be taken away, nor pass over to others.

And undefiled; both as being pure in itself, and having nothing to offend them that enjoy it; and likewise as being incapable of any pollution or defilement, contrary to what is said of the land of Canaan, the earthly inheritance of the Israelites, Jeremiah 2:7; Ezekiel 36:17.

And that fadeth not away; always retains its vigour and gratefulness, never causes weariness or satiety in them that possess it. It seems to be a metaphor taken from flowers, probably the amaranthus, (the very word here used), which still keeps its freshness and verdure, without any decay or withering.

Reserved; laid up, Colossians 1:5; 2 Timothy 4:8; secured for the heirs, though not yet possessed by them.

In heaven; and therefore safe, and out of the reach of enemies. This is opposed to the uncertain condition of earthly possessions, such as Canaan was.

For you; margin, for us, viz. whom God hath begotten again: or if we read it, as in the text, for you, the apostle may change the person in order to his exhortation.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

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Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Matthew Poole (1624 - 1679) was an English Nonconformist theologian.He was born at York, the son of Francis Pole, but he spelled his name Poole, and in Latin Polus; his mother was a daughter of Alderman Toppins there. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, from 1645, under John Worthington. Having graduated B.A. at the beginning of 1649, he succeeded Anthony Tuckney, in the sequestered rectory of St Michael le Querne, then in the fifth classis of the London province, under the parliamentary system of presbyterianism. This was his only preferment. He proceeded M.A. in 1652. On 14 July 1657 he was one of eleven Cambridge graduates incorporated M.A. at Oxford on occasion of the visit of Richard Cromwell as chancellor.Poole was a jure divino presbyterian, and an authorised defender of the views on ordination of the London provincial assembly, as formulated by William Blackmore. After the Restoration, in a sermon of 26 August 1660 before the lord mayor Sir Thomas Aleyn at St Paul's Cathedral, he made a case for simplicity of public worship. On the passing of the Uniformity Act 1662 he resigned his living, and was succeeded by R. Booker on 29 August 1662.Perhaps the only true rival to Matthew Henry! A standard for more than 400 years, Poole's insightful commentary continues to be a trusted resource for pastors and laypeople. Offering verse-by-verse exposition, he also includes summaries for each chapter and book, questions and answers, information on cultural context, historical impact, and cross-references. Practical, readable, and applicable.Though he occasionally preached and printed some tracts, Poole made no attempt to gather a congregation. He had a patrimony of £100 a year, on which he lived.He was one of those who presented to the king 'a cautious and moderate thanksgiving' for the indulgence of 15 March 1672, and were offered royal bounty. Gilbert Burnet reports, on Edward Stillingfleet's authority, that Poole received for two years a pension of �50. Early in 1675 he entered with Richard Baxter into a negotiation for comprehension, promoted by John Tillotson, which came to nothing. According to Henry Sampson, Poole made provision for a nonconformist ministry and day-school at Tunbridge Wells, Kent.In his depositions relative to the alleged Popish plot (September 1678), Titus Oates had represented Poole as marked for assassination, because of his tract (1666) on the Nullity of the Romish Faith. Poole gave some credit to this, reportedly after a scare on returning home one evening near Clerkenwell with Josiah Chorley. Poole left England, and settled at Amsterdam. Here he died on 12 October 1679 (N.S.), and was buried in a vault of the English Reformed Church, Amsterdam. His wife was buried on 11 August 1668 at St Andrew Holborn, Stillingfleet preaching the funeral sermon. He left a son, who died in 1697.In 1654 Poole published a tract against John Biddle. In 1658 he put forward a scheme for a scholarship for university courses, for those intending to enter the ministry. The plan was approved by Worthington and Tuckney, and had the support also of John Arrowsmith, Ralph Cudworth, William Dillingham, and Benjamin Whichcote. Money was raised, and supported William Sherlock at Peterhouse. His Vox Clamantis gives his view of the ecclesiastical situation after 1662.The work with which his name is principally associated is the Synopsis criticorum biblicorum (5 vols fol., 1669-1676), in which he summarizes the views of one hundred and fifty biblical critics. On the suggestion of William Lloyd, Poole undertook the Synopsis as a digest of biblical commentators, from 1666. It took ten years, with relaxation often at Henry Ashurst's house. The prospectus of Poole's work mustered of eight bishops and five continental scholars. A patent for the work was obtained on 14 October 1667, and the first volume was ready for the press, when difficulties were raised by Cornelius Bee, publisher of the Critici Sacri (1660); the matter was decided in Poole's favour. Rabbinical sources and Roman Catholic commentators are included; little is taken from John Calvin, nothing from Martin Luther. The book was written in Latin and is currently being translated into English by the Matthew Poole Project.Poole also wrote English Annotations on the Holy Bible, a work which was completed by several of his Nonconformist brethren, and published in 2 vols fol. in 1683. The work was continued by others (last edition, three volumes, 1840). This work has chapter outlines which are among the best available.... Show more

Finished by friends after his death, Matthew Poole's two volume commentary on the Bible is highly regarded for his very prudent and judicious expositions. Considered one of the great Puritans, few names will stand so high as Poole's in the Biblical scholarship of Great Britain.... Show more

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