S
E C O N D T H E S S A L O N I A N S
CHAP. I.
After
the introduction (ver. 1, 2) the apostle begins this epistle with an account
of his high esteem for these Thessalonians, ver. 3, 4. He then comforts them
under their afflictions and persecutions (ver. 5-10) and tells them what his
prayers were to God for them, ver. 11, 12.
1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the
church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. 3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as
it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of
every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; 4 So that we
ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in
all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
Here we have,
I. The introduction (v. 1, 2), in the same words as in the former
epistle, from which we may observe that as this apostle did not count it
grievous to him to write the same things (Phil. iii. 1) in his epistles that
he had delivered in preaching, so he willingly wrote the same things to one
church that he did to another. The occurrence of the same words in this
epistle as in the former shows us that ministers ought not so much to regard
the variety of expression and elegance of style as the truth and usefulness of
the doctrines they preach. And great care should be taken lest, from an
affectation of novelty in method and phrases, we advance new notions or
doctrines, contrary to the principles of natural or revealed religion, upon
which this church of the Thessalonians was built, as all true churches are;
namely, in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
II. The apostle's expression of the high esteem he had for them. He not only
had a great affection for them (as he had expressed in his former epistle, and
now again in his pious wish of grace and peace for them), but he also
expresses his great esteem for them, concerning which observe,
1. How his esteem of them is expressed. (1.) He glorified God on their behalf:
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, v.
3. He chose rather to speak of what was praiseworthy in them in a way of
thanksgiving to God than by commendation of them; and, as what he mentions was
matter of his rejoicing, he accounted it matter of thanksgiving, and it was
meet or fit it should be so, for we are bound, and it is our duty, to be
thankful to God for all the good that is found in us or others: and it not
only is an act of kindness to our fellow-christians, but our duty, to thank
God on their behalf. (2.) He also glories in them before the churches of
God, v. 4. The apostle never flattered his friends, but he took
pleasure in commending them, and speaking well of them, to the glory of God
and for the excitement and encouragement of others. Paul did not glory in his
own gifts, nor in his labour among them, but he gloried in the grace of God
which was bestowed upon them, and so his glorying was good, because all the
commendation he gave to them, and the pleasure he took himself, centred in the
praise and glory of God.
2. For what he esteemed them and thanked God; namely, the increase of their
faith, and love, and patience. In his former epistle (ch. i. 3) he gave
thanks for their faith, love, and patience; here he gives thanks for the
increase of all those graces, that they were not only true Christians, but
growing Christians. Note, Where there is the truth of grace there will be
increase of it. The path of the just is as the shining light, which shines
more and more unto the perfect day. And where there is the increase of
grace God must have all the glory of it. We are as much indebted to him for
the improvement of grace, and the progress of that good work, as we are for
the first work of grace and the very beginning of it. We may be tempted to
think that though when we were bad we could not make ourselves good, yet when
we are good we can easily make ourselves better; but we have as much
dependence on the grace of God for increasing the grace we have as for
planting grace when we had it not. The matter of the apostle's thanksgiving
and glorying on behalf of the Thessalonians was, (1.) That their faith grew
exceedingly, v. 3. They were more confirmed in the truth of
gospel-revelations, confided in gospel-promises, and had lively expectations
of another world. The growth of their faith appeared by the works of faith;
and, where faith grows, all other graces grow proportionably. (2.) Their
charity abounded (v. 3), their love to God and man. Note, Where faith
grows love will abound, for faith works by love; and not only the charity of
some few of them, but of every one to each other, did abound. There were no
such divisions among them as in some other churches. (3.) Their patience as
well as faith increased in all their persecutions and tribulations. And
patience has then its perfect work when it extends itself to all trials. There
were many persecutions which the Thessalonians endured for the sake of
righteousness, as well as other troubles which they met with in this
calamitous life; yet they endured all these, by faith seeing him that is
invisible, and looking to the recompence of reward; and endured
them with patience, not with an insensibility under them, but with patience
arising from Christian principles, which kept them quiet and submissive, and
afforded them inward strength and support.
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Prospect of Persecuted Saints.
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A. D. 52.
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5 Which is a manifest token of the
righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of
God, for which ye also suffer: 6 Seeing it is a righteous
thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire
taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his
power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to
be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was
believed) in that day.
Having mentioned their persecutions and tribulations, which they endured
principally for the cause of Christ, the apostle proceeds to offer several
things for their comfort under them; as,
I. He tells them of the present happiness and advantage of their sufferings, v.
5. Their faith being thus tried, and patience exercised, they were improved by
their sufferings, insomuch that they were counted worthy of the kingdom of
God. Their sufferings were a manifest token of this, that they were worthy
or meet to be accounted Christians indeed, seeing they could suffer for
Christianity. And the truth is, Religion, if it is worth any thing, is worth
every thing; and those either have no religion at all, or none that is worth
having, or know not how to value it, that cannot find in their hearts to
suffer for it. Besides, from their patient suffering, it appeared that,
according to the righteous judgment of God, they should be counted worthy of
the heavenly glory: not by worthiness of condignity, but of congruity only;
not that they could merit heaven, but they were made meet for heaven. We
cannot by all our sufferings, any more than by our services, merit heaven as a
debt; but by our patience under our sufferings we are qualified for the joy
that is promised to patient sufferers in the cause of God.
II. He tells them next of the future recompence that shall be given to
persecutor and persecuted.
1. In this future recompence there will be, (1.) A punishment inflicted on
persecutors: God will recompense tribulation to those that trouble you,
v. 6. And there is nothing that more infallibly marks a man for eternal
ruin than a spirit of persecution, and enmity to the name and people of God:
as the faith, patience, and constancy of the saints are to them an earnest of
everlasting rest and joy, so the pride, malice, and wickedness of their
persecutors are to them an earnest of everlasting misery; for every man
carries about with him, and carries out of the world with him, either his
heaven or his hell. God will render a recompence, and will trouble those that
trouble his people. This he has done sometimes in this world, witness the
dreadful end of many persecutors; but especially this he will do in the other
world, where the portion of the wicked must be weeping, and wailing, and
gnashing of teeth. (2.) A reward for those that are persecuted: God will
recompense their trouble with rest, v. 7. There is a rest that remains
for the people of God, a rest from sin and sorrow. Though many may be the
troubles of the righteous now, yet God will deliver them out of them all. The
future rest will abundantly recompense all their present troubles. The
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
that shall be revealed. There is enough in heaven to countervail all that we
may lose or suffer for the name of Christ in this world. The apostle says, To
you who are troubled rest with us. In heaven, ministers and people shall
rest together, and rejoice together, who suffer together here; and the meanest
Christian shall rest with the greatest apostle: nay, what is far more, if we
suffer for Christ, we shall also reign with him, 2 Tim. ii. 12.
2. Concerning this future recompence we are further to observe,
(1.) The certainty of it, proved by the righteousness and justice of God: It
is a righteous thing with God (v. 6) to render to every man
according to his works. The thoughts of this should be terrible to wicked men
and persecutors, and the great support of the righteous and such as are
persecuted; for, seeing there is a righteous God, there will be a righteous
recompence. God's suffering people will lose nothing by their sufferings, and
their enemies will gain nothing by their advantages against them.
(2.) The time when this righteous recompence shall be made: When the Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, v. 7. That will be the day of
the revelation of the righteous judgment of God; for then will God
judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath appointed, even
Jesus Christ the righteous Judge. The righteousness of God does not so visibly
appear to all men in the procedure of his providence as it will in the process
of the great judgment-day. The scripture has made known to us the judgment to
come, and we are bound to receive the revelation here given concerning Christ.
As,
[1.] That the Lord Jesus will in that day appear from heaven. Now the heavens
retain him, they conceal him; but then he will be revealed and made manifest.
He will come in all the pomp and power of the upper world, whence we look
for the Saviour.
[2.] He will be revealed with his mighty angels (v. 7), or the angels
of his power: these will attend upon him, to grace the solemnity of that great
day of his appearance; they will be the ministers of his justice and mercy in
that day; they will summon the criminals to his tribunal, and gather in the
elect, and be employed in executing his sentence.
[3.] He will come in flaming fire, v. 8. A fire goeth before him, which
shall consume his enemies. The earth, and all the works that are therein,
shall be burnt up, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. This will be
a trying fire, to try every man's work,--a refining fire, to purify the
saints, who shall share in the purity, and partake of the felicity, of the new
heaven and the new earth,--a consuming fire to the wicked. His light will be
piercing, and his power consuming, to all those who in that day shall be found
as chaff.
[4.] The effects of this appearance will be terrible to some and joyful to
others.
First, They will be terrible to some; for he will then take vengeance
on the wicked. 1. On those that sinned against the principles of natural
religion, and rebelled against the light of nature, that knew not God (v.
8), though the invisible things of him are manifested in the things that are
seen. 2. On those that rebel against the light of revelation, that obey not
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the condemnation, that
light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light. This is
the great crime of multitudes--the gospel is revealed to them, and they will
not believe it; or, if they pretend to believe it, they will not obey it.
Note, Believing the truths of the gospel is in order to our obeying the
precepts of the gospel: there must be the obedience of faith. To such persons
as are here mentioned the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ will be
terrible, because of their doom, which is mentioned, v. 9. Here
observe, (1.) They will then be punished. Though sinners may be long
reprieved, yet they will be punished at last. Their misery will be a proper
punishment for their crimes, and only what they have deserved. They did sin's
work, and must receive sin's wages. (2.) Their punishment will be no less than
destruction, not of their being, but of their bliss; not that of the body
alone, but both as to body and soul. (3.) This destruction will be
everlasting. They shall be always dying, and yet never die. Their misery will
run parallel with the line of eternity. The chains of darkness are everlasting
chains, and the fire is everlasting fire. It must needs be so, since the
punishment is inflicted by an eternal God, fastening upon an immortal soul,
set out of the reach of divine mercy and grace. (4.) This destruction shall
come from the presence of the Lord, that is, immediately from God
himself. Here God punishes sinners by creatures, by instruments; but then he
will take the work into his own hands. It will be destruction from the
Almighty, more terrible than the consuming fire which consumed Nadab and Abihu,
which came from before the Lord. (5.) It shall come from the glory of his
power, or from his glorious power. Not only the justice of God, but this
almighty power, will be glorified in the destruction of sinners; and who knows
the power of his anger? He is able to cast into hell.
Secondly, It will be a joyful day to some, even to the saints, unto
those that believe and obey the gospel. And then the apostle's testimony
concerning this day will be confirmed and believed (v. 10); in
that bright and blessed day, 1. Christ Jesus will be glorified and admired by
his saints. They will behold his glory, and admire it with pleasure; they will
glorify his grace, and admire the wonders of his power and goodness towards
them, and sing hallelujahs to him in that day of his triumph, for their
complete victory and happiness. 2. Christ will be glorified and admired in
them. His grace and power will then be manifested and magnified, when it shall
appear what he has purchased for, and wrought in, and bestowed upon, all those
who believe in him. As his wrath and power will be made known in and by the
destruction of his enemies, so his grace and power will be magnified in the
salvation of his saints. Note, Christ's dealings with those who believe will
be what the world one day shall wonder at. Now, they are a wonder to many; but
how will they be wondered at in this great and glorious day; or, rather, how
will Christ, whose name is Wonderful, be admired, when the mystery of God
shall be finished! Christ will not be so much admired in the glorious esteem
of angels that he will bring from heaven with him as in the many saints, the
many sons, that he will bring to glory.
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The Apostle's Prayer.
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A. D. 52.
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11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that
our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good
pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in
him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In these verses the apostle again tells the Thessalonians of his earnest and
constant prayer for them. He could not be present with them, yet he had a
constant remembrance of them; they were much upon his thoughts; he wished them
well, and could not express his good-will and good wishes to them better than
in earnest constant prayer to God for them: Wherefore also we pray,
&c. Note, The believing thoughts and expectation of the second coming of
Christ should put us upon prayer to God for ourselves and others. We should
watch and pray, so our Saviour directs his disciples (Luke xxi. 36), Watch
therefore, and pray always, that you may be counted worthy to stand before the
Son of man. Observe,
I. What the apostle prayed for, v. 11. It is a great concern to be well
instructed what to pray for; and without divine instruction we know not what
to pray for, as without divine assistance we shall not pray in such a manner
as we ought. Our prayers should be suitable to our expectations. Thus the
apostle prays for them, 1. That God would begin his good work of grace in
them; so we may understand this expression: That our God would count you
(or, as it might be read, make you) worthy of this calling. We are
called with a high and holy calling; we are called to God's kingdom and glory;
and no less than the inheritance of the saints is the hope of our calling,
nothing less than the enjoyment of that glory and felicity which shall be
revealed when Christ Jesus shall be revealed from heaven. Now, if this be our
calling, our great concern should be to be worthy of it, or meet and prepared
for this glory: and because we have no worthiness of our own, but what is
owing purely to the grace of God, we should pray that he would make us worthy,
and then count us worthy, of this calling, or that he would make us meet to
partake of the inheritance of the saints in light, Col. i. 12. 2. That God
would carry on the good work that is begun, and fulfil all the good
pleasure of his goodness. The good pleasure of God denotes his gracious
purposes towards his people, which flow from his goodness, and are full of
goodness towards them; and it is thence that all good comes to us. If there be
any good in us, it is the fruit of God's good-will to us, it is owing to the
good pleasure of his goodness, and therefore is called grace. Now, there are
various and manifold purposes of grace and good-will in God towards his
people; and the apostle prays that all of them may be fulfilled or
accomplished towards these Thessalonians. There are several good works of
grace begun in the hearts of God's people, which proceed from this good
pleasure of God's goodness, and we should desire that they may be completed
and perfected. In particular, the apostle prays that God would fulfil in them
the work of faith with power. Note, (1.) The fulfilling of the work of
faith is in order to the fulfilling of every other good work. And, (2.) It is
the power of God that not only begins, but that carries on and perfects the
work of faith.
II. Why the apostle prayed for these things (v. 12): That the name
of the Lord Jesus may be glorified; this is the end we should aim at in
every thing we do and desire, that God and Christ in all things may be
glorified. Our own happiness and that of others should be subordinate to this
ultimate end. Our good works should so shine before men that others may
glorify God, that Christ may be glorified in and by us, and then we shall be
glorified in and with him. And this is the great end and design of the grace
of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ, which is manifested to us and wrought in
us. Or thus: it is according to the grace of God and Christ, that is, it is an
agreeable thing, considering the grace that is manifested to us and bestowed
on us, by God and Christ, that we direct all we do to the glory of our Creator
and Redeemer.
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