God will "comfort your hearts and stablish you in every good word and work";[1] and says "the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil."[2] So St Peter desires that God would "stablish, strengthen, settle"[3] the Christian; and says that Christians are "established in the present truth."[4] The Revelation of St John again says: "Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain, which are ready to die."[5]
This scriptural use of the term "strengthen," or "stablish," shows conclusively that any kind of moral support may be intended. The strengthening may be that which Divine Grace supplies; or that which comes from the knowledge of the Truth; or that which comes from the encouragement of Christian ministers. But in no solitary instance is there any suggestion of infallibility as essential to enable one to be a strengthened Thus, "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren," would naturally mean, When thou hast by repentance recovered from thine own moral infirmity, do thou become a moral support to the impulsive and the weak. It is a merciful promise to St Peter before his sin, of restoration to Apostleship after the sin had been committed. It suggests that even through the denial he may gain a humility and self-knowledge which may enlarge his sympathies and increase his strength. It is all in the moral rather than in the purely intellectual sphere.
2. But further: The utterance, "strengthen thy brethren," is a command and not a promise. We cannot infer, from a duty enjoined, its invariable fulfilment. Otherwise, we are all perfect: For this command is laid upon us all. Moreover, whatever Peter
