You must continue to love Him, although you have never seen Him, but because you do believe in Him, although you do not now see Him, you must continue to rejoice with an unutterable and triumphant joy,

It must be so, because the Scriptures say: "Here now I lay in Zion a chosen stone, a costly cornerstone, And not a single one who puts his trust in Him will ever be put to shame."

So to you who put your trust in Him the honor belongs, but to those who fail to trust Him: "That stone which then the builders threw away Has now become the cornerstone,"

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once His mercy had not been shown you, but now it has.

for once you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of Your souls.

Baptism, which corresponds to this figure, now saves you, too -- I do not mean the mere removal of physical stains, but the craving for a clear conscience toward God -- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

who has gone to heaven and is now at God's right hand, with angels, heavenly authorities and powers made subject to Him.