We need to do what Peter does here – exalt God. I Sam 2:30 states, “The Lord says…for those who honor Me, I will honor.” God wants us to honor Him – to bless Him “who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” God is pleased when we review what He has done for us – when we praise Him for it. We read in verse four that God has begotten us to a living hope, “to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled.” It is an inheritance that does not fade away. It is reserved in heaven. It is a living hope brought to us through the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. As we contemplate all this, it helps to remind us that we are just pilgrims passing through. Indeed, our living hope for the future is our inheritance.

But Peter expresses even more that exalts God. In verse five, we find that we “are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The inheritance is ours, kept by the power of God, but who doesn’t feel insecure and unsure at times? Perhaps we have an occasional thought, “What if my reservations have been canceled?” Verse five states that we “are kept by the power of God.” Kept is a military term which means “guarded, shielded.” The tense of the verb indicates that we are constantly being guarded and shielded by God. We are not kept by our own power, but by the power of the living God, and that is in large part why we have a living hope. Peter writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen. As we realize our inheritance, we join Peter in exaltation.

Luigi Tarisio died in his home and had lived a very fugal lifestyle. His home was far from comfortable, but when they came to clean out his house, they found 246 exquisite violins. He had been collecting them all of his life. They found the best one in the bottom drawer of an old rickety bureau. It was a Stradivarius which had remained silent for years. Tarisio had robbed the world of beautiful music that could have come from these highly crafted instruments. Let us not be like this miserly man who kept his treasure to himself. Let us be quick to treasure God and all He has done for us. Let us be givers of praise. Let us allow the music of our faith to play the rich notes of exaltation to our God.