I. The man who saw this vision may be described as a dreamer, and the glorious dream which he has put before us here still waits for its fulfilment. But dreamers are the pioneers of workers, and there are few movements of progress which have not had them amongst their leaders. It is the dreamer by whom the thought is first presented. A glorious dream surely is this: "A new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." There is, in fact, something pathetic in the attention that is given to every man who professes to have seen a vision or dreamed a dream provided only it be one that promises to deliver us from the power of that callous selfishness which has made the lives of multitudes so bare of all enjoyment, so full of care and misery, so abandoned to vice and wickedness. The new prophet may have little help to give, but he is heard, and heard with a patient thoughtfulness which indicates the desire to profit by any hint for a solution of the terrible problems by which the minds of enlightened men are exercised. The danger of the hour is scarcely "faithless coldness."
II. It would be useless, indeed, to deceive ourselves into the belief that some marvellous change has come over the spirits of men, that the demon of selfishness has been exorcised, that the lessons of the past have been wisely learned, and that we are about, under the influence of nobler thoughts and purposes, to enter upon an uninterrupted course of reform. In times of depression, looking at the force of opposition which all such changes have to encounter, a feeling of despair comes over the heart. The inroads made upon the kingdom of selfishness seem but small, and are with difficulty effected. The tendencies which in the past have not been altogether infrequent to reaction awaken the fear that the date of reform must be postponed to a very distant future. But in such moods we show not only a lack of faith, but also an inability to read correctly the signs of the times. We are progressing; we are in the midst of changes whose full significance we do not yet appreciate. The Church and the world are feeling the living forces of the Gospel as they have never felt them before. The victory is not yet, but the signs of success are many. We, at least, who believe in Christ "according to His promise look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
J. Guinness Rogers, Christian World Pulpit,Dec. 1892.
References: 2 Peter 3:13. F. D. Maurice, Sermons,vol. vi., p. 257. 2 Peter 3:14. R. Roberts, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xxiv., p. 116; Homiletic Magazine,vol. viii., p. 326. 2 Peter 3:14; 2 Peter 3:15. R. L. Browne, Sussex Sermons,p. 15; J. Keble, Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany,p. 214. 2 Peter 3:15; 2 Peter 3:16. G. Dawson, Sermons on Disputed Points,p. 166.