2 Thessalonians 1

2 Thessalonians 1:1

The apostle expresses his joy in the constancy with which the Thessalonians adhered to the Christian cause, and animates them against the persecutions to which they were still exposed, by the prospect of that glory that would be conferred upon them at the coming of Christ. 2 Thes. I. throughout.

THES. I. 1. PAUL, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians, in God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace unto you,

THESSALONIANS I. 1. PAUL and Sylvanus, or Silas, and Timothy, being still continued together, renew the address we formerly made to the church of the Thessalonians; which is now by Divine goodness in a state of union and friendship with God, our great and ever blessed Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ; having been so happy as some time since to receive the gospel, and still to retain the profession of it. And we must now, as before, express that sincere benevolence, which reigns in all our hearts towards

THESSALONIANS I. 1.

Paul animates the Thessalonians under their

you, by wishing, as we then did, the communication of grace to you, and abundance of peace, tranquillity and happiness, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

We sincerely sympathize with you in all your trials, yet we are sensible, that we ought always to give thanks to God on your account, brethren, as it is fit and reasonable, because your faith, notwithstanding all that is done to blast it and trample it down, groweth exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all towards one another aboundeth more and more; your faith drawing new confirmation from your sufferings, and your sense of them engaging you tenderly to pity, and to do your utmost for the relief of those who share in them, and at the same time endearing to you that one body which the world so cruelly hates, and so maliciously endeavours to destroy. And these good dispositions are, through the Divine grace, so remarkable in you, that we do ourselves indeed boast of you in all the churches of God to whom we come, on account of your unwearied patience and lively unshaken faith in the midst of all your persecutions, and the various tribulations of one kind and another which you endure; [Which shall,] on the whole, appear to [be] so far from proving inconsistent with the honour of the Divine government, that, on the contrary, they shall terminate in a glorious and advancing display of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be approved in some degree worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer; that ye may appear by these trials to be possessed of such integrity and patience, of such meekness and superiority to this transitory world, as to be fit for those seats of superior dignity and blessedness on which you are to enter. It shall also be the means of displaying the Divine justice, in the punishment to be inflicted on your implacable enemies; for [it is] a most righteous and honourable thing with God, to repay tribu-

A display, &c.] Perhaps always may terminate in such a display of Divine ven farther imply, that the sufferings of good grace, but that these seeming irregular men, and the triumphant prosperity of ities do even now declare, that there shall their persecuting enemies, should not only be such a day of retribution.

aspect o Christ’s appearance to judgment.

lation to them who bring tribulation on you, accounting with them in the great day for all the evils they have inflicted on you unprovoked, and while you were engaged in the most equitable and benevolent cause. And, on the other hand, it will appear equally suitable to the honour of the Divine government, to repay unto you who suffer this tribulation rest with us, if not in the present world, where we do not ourselves expect it, yet at last in the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, with his mighty angels, who shall be the ministers of his power in the execution of his great and awful judgment. And nothing can be more comfortable to the persecuted saint, than to think of this illustrious appearance, when Jesus shall descend in his Father’s glory and his own, surrounded with flaming fire, to execute vengeance on those who know not God, but presumptuously neglect and despise the intimations, yea and the express declarations of his will, with which he has favoured them; and especially to inflict deserved punishment upon those who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, though they have received it in all its evidence. They who add the rejection of that to all their other crimes, can expect neither remedy nor mercy, but shall assuredly be punished [with] eternal destruction, which shall, as it were, break forth like lightning upon them, from the face of the Lord, and drive them from his presence, as it will be utterly impossible for them to stand against his glorious power, which will be armed for their ruin, and shine forth with irresistible brightness and majesty. When he shall come to be glorified in the full assembly of his saints, and to be admired in the efforts of his almighty power and love, for the complete salvation of all them who believe.

b From the face of the Lord.] Bishop Hopkins has justly observed, (Hopkins’s Works, p. 370,) that this phrase expresses, not only that they shall be expelled from that joy and glory which reigns in the presence of Christ, but that his presence shall appear active in the infliction of their punishment, so that they shall, as it were, be blasted by the lightning of his eye.

c To be admired.] This strongly implies, not only that the saints themselves shall admire at what he does for them, so far above all their expectations and conceptions, but that it shall reflect an admirable glory upon our Redeemer, in the judgment of all who shall be spectators of it.

VOL. 5.

He prays or their further establishment in re

They shall be accomplished in that glorious day, to which our faith and hope have been so long directed, and in which the promises of his covenant do so remarkably centre. It is the hope and joy of all his people, and it is yours in particular; because our testimony among you was credited, and you have given substantial evidences, that your faith was cordial and sincere. In which regard, as we rejoice in what is already done, and have the tenderest concern that the precious seed we have sown may answer the hope with which we see it springing up, and at length advance to full maturity, we continue to pray always for you, that our God would, by the working of his grace, render you more and more worthy of [this] high and holy calling, and would fulfil in you all the good pleasure of [his] goodness, all that amiable and happy temper, which his paternal regard to our happiness engages him to recommend and require. And to speak all in one word, that he would accomplish and perfect the work of faith with power, that is, would powerfully impress upon your hearts the great principles of that religion which he hath revealed to you, and which you have embraced; since nothing can tend more effectually to produce and nourish every good disposition in your mind. That so the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, while you act in a manner so suitable to the relation you bear to him: and that you may also be glorified in him, may now have the honour of approving yourselves his faithful servants, the excellent of the earth, and may for ever share in the glory he hath prepared for such; according to the grace of our merciful God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom it is so plentifully bestowed upon us.

d Good pleasure of his goodness.] Mr. Blackwall would render it the benevolence of his goodness, and says, it is the shortest and most charming representation any where to be found, of that infinite goodness which surpasses all expression, but was never so happily and properly expressed as here. Blackwall’s Soc. Class. Vol. I. p. 242. We may add, that when seems at once to express, that it is sovereign pleasure, and also that he feels, as it were, a sacred complacency in the display of it. And for that reason I chose rather to retain, with our received version, good pleasure, than to substitute the word benevolence in its stead.

Reflections on Christ’s appearance at the last day.

IMPROVEMENT.

How wisely has the apostle chosen the representation we have now been reading, to promote the glory of our Saviour’s name, by strengthening the saints who are already established, and awakening any who might be careless and irregular, by the very same considerations, which may so justly awe and intimidate the enemies of the church! How forcible in all these views is the description we here read, of the glorious and triumphant appearance of our Lord! Let it be ever placed before our eyes. He shall surely come in flaming fire, to take vengeance on all his enemies. The troublers and persecutors of his people shall have their peculiar share in it, and it is most righteous with God that they should. Yet it is not intended for them alone, but for all who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ. How diligently should we examine, what our knowledge of God is, and what our obedience to his gospel! whether the one be merely speculative, and the other verbal, or our knowledge practical, and our obedience sincere and universal! Everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power, is a vengeance dreadful enough, one would imagine, to awaken, even by its distant sound, all who are not sunk into the last and lowest degrees of insensibility. Who can stand in his presence when once he is angry? Who can resist his power? But there are a happy number, who shall be glorified by him, and, which should give us peculiar joy, in whom he also shall be admired and glorified, in that day and for ever. The holy and blessed creation of God shall see to all eternity, from what ruin Jesus could raise, and to what felicity he could exalt those, who were once the captives of Satan, the slaves of sin, and the heirs of death and hell. May the expectation of it influence our hearts in a suitable manner! May all the good pleasure of God’s goodness be fulfilled in us, and the work of faith with power! Then while our faith groweth exceedingly, our mutual love will abound, our patience will be adequate to every trial, and we shall be approved, as in some measure, through Divine grace, worthy of that kingdom to which God hath called us.