Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Peter 3:10

"For, He that would love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile:" — 1 Peter 3:10 (ASV)

For.—St. Peter will show that he is not going beyond what is written when he says that the blessing is only to be obtained by those who bless.

He that will love life.—The “will” here is not merely the future tense, but “he that has a mind to love life.” St. Peter’s quotation, from Psalm 34:12-16, is not exact, according to either the Septuagint or Hebrew. However, the divergence is probably not due to a confusion of memory but (as often) designed to bring out an additional significance.

The Psalmist had asked merely, “What man is he that lusteth to live?” and he promises merely long life to self-restraint. The Apostle asks, Who cares to have a life worth having, a life which makes a man glad to live? This is the “blessing” spoken of in 1 Peter 3:9—not simply everlasting life, but a life of unruffled happiness . This healthy enjoyment of life, the opposite of a morbid craving for death , is implied to be attainable by any person who “wills.”

“Serene will be our days, and bright,
And happy will our nature be,
When love is an unerring light,
And joy its own security.”

See good days.—“See” in the same sense as—for example, Psalms 27:13; John 3:3; Hebrews 11:5—that is, to “experience”—consciously to enjoy or to suffer, as the case may be.

Let him refrain.—Literally, let him stop. The evil word is on the very tip of his tongue.

No guile.—“Guile” is often used, in a very wide sense, for almost anything wrong (see 1 Peter 2:22); but here, probably, the distinction is that “evil” means open railing and bitter speech, while “guile” may mean the words which are “softer than butter, having war in his heart” (Psalms 55:21).