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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC61002.HTM">Previous</A>]
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D P E T E R.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The apostle drawing towards the conclusion of his second epistle,
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begins this last chapter with repeating the account of his design and
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scope in writing a second time to them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:1-2">ver. 1-2</A>.
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II. He proceeds to mention one thing that induced him to write this
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second epistle, namely, the coming of scoffers, whom he describes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:3-7">ver. 3-7</A>.
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III. He instructs and establishes them in the coming of our Lord Jesus
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Christ to judgment,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:8-10">ver. 8-10</A>.
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IV. He sets forth the use and improvement which Christians ought to
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make of Christ's second coming, and that dissolution and renovation of
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things which will accompany that solemn coming of our Lord,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:11-18">ver. 11-18</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="2Pe3_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Pe3_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Adhere to Words of the Prophets and Commandments of the Apostles.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 67.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in <I>both</I>
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which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
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2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before
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by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles
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of the Lord and Saviour:
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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That the apostle might the better reach his end in writing this
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epistle, which is to make them steady and constant in a fiducial and
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practical remembrance of the doctrine of the gospel, he,
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1. Expresses his special affection and tenderness for them, by calling
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them <I>beloved,</I> hereby evidencing that he <I>added to godliness
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brotherly-kindness,</I> as he had
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+1:17"><I>ch.</I> i. 17</A>)
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exhorted them to do. Ministers must be examples of love and affection,
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as well as life and conversation.
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2. He evinces a sincere love to them, and hearty concern for them, by
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writing the same thing to them, though in other words. It being safe
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for them, it shall not be grievous to him to write upon the same
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subject, and pursue the same design, by those methods which are most
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likely to succeed.
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3. The better to recommend the matter, he tells them that what he would
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have them to remember are,
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(1.) <I>The words spoken by the holy prophets,</I> who were divinely
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inspired, both enlightened and sanctified by the Holy Ghost; and,
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seeing these persons' minds were purified by the sanctifying operation
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of the same Spirit, they were the better disposed to receive and retain
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what came from God by the holy prophets.
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(2.) <I>The commandments of the apostles of the Lord and Saviour;</I>
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and therefore the disciples and servants of Christ ought to regard what
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those who are sent by him have declared unto them to be the will of
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their Lord. What God has spoken by the prophets of the Old Testament,
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and Christ has commanded by the apostles of the New, cannot but demand
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and deserve to be frequently remembered; and those who meditate on
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these things will feel the quickening virtues thereof. It is by these
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things the pure minds of Christians are to be stirred up, that they may
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be active and lively in the work of holiness, and zealous and unwearied
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in the way to heaven.</P>
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<A NAME="2Pe3_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Pe3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Pe3_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Pe3_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Pe3_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Cavils of Infidels; Destruction of the World.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 67.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days
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scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
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4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the
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fathers fell asleep, all things continue as <I>they were</I> from the
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beginning of the creation.
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5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of
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God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the
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water and in the water:
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6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water,
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perished:
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7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same
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word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
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judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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To quicken and excite us to a serious minding and firm adhering to what
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God has revealed to us by the prophets and apostles, we are told that
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there will be <I>scoffers,</I> men who will <I>make a mock of sin,</I>
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and of salvation from it. God's way of saving sinners by Jesus Christ
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is what men will scoff at, and that <I>in the last days,</I> under the
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gospel. This indeed may seem very strange, that the New-Testament
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dispensation of the covenant of grace, which is spiritual and therefore
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more agreeable to the nature of God than the Old, should be ridiculed
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and reproached; but the spirituality and simplicity of New-Testament
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worship are directly contrary to the carnal mind of man, and this
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accounts for what the apostle seems here to hint at, namely, that
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scoffers shall be more numerous and more bold in the last days than
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ever before. Though in all ages those who were born and walked after
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the flesh persecuted, reviled, and reproached those who were born and
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did walk after the Spirit, yet in the last days there will be a great
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improvement in the art and impudence of bantering serious godliness,
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and those who firmly adhere to the circumspection and self-denial which
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the gospel prescribes. This is what is mentioned as a thing well known
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to all Christians, and therefore they ought to reckon upon it, that
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they may not be surprised and shaken, as if some strange thing happened
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unto them. Now to prevent the true Christian's being overcome, when
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attacked by these scoffers, we are told,</P>
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<P>
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I. What sort of persons they are: they <I>walk after their own
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lusts,</I> they follow the devices and desires of their own hearts, and
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carnal affections, not the dictates and directions of right reason and
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an enlightened well-informed judgment. This they do in the course of
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their conversation, they live as they list, and they speak as they
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list; it is not only their inward minds that are evil and opposite to
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God, as the mind of every unrenewed sinner is
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:7">Rom. viii. 7</A>),
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alienated from God, ignorant of him, and averse to him; but they have
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grown to such a height of wickedness that they proclaim openly what is
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in the hearts of others who are yet carnal; they say, "Our tongues are
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our own, and our strength, and time, and <I>who is lord over us?</I>
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Who shall contradict or control us, or ever call us to an account for
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what we say or do?" And, as they scorn to be confined by any laws of
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God in their conversation, so neither will they bear that the
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revelation of God should dictate and prescribe to them what they are to
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believe; as they will walk in their own way, and talk their own
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language, so will they also think their own thoughts, and form
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principles which are altogether their own: here also <I>their own
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lusts</I> alone shall be consulted by them. None but such accomplished
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libertines as are here described can take a seat, at least they cannot
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sit in the seat of the scornful. "By this you shall know them, that you
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may the better be upon your guard against them."</P>
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<P>
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II. We also are forewarned how far they will proceed: they will attempt
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to shake and unsettle us, even as to our belief of Christ's second
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coming; they will scoffingly say, <I>Where is the promise of his
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coming?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Without this, all the other articles of the Christian faith will
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signify very little; this is that which fills up and gives the
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finishing stroke to all the rest. The promised Messiah has come, he
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<I>was made flesh, and dwelt among us;</I> he is altogether such a one
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as in stated before, and has done all that for us which has been before
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taken notice of. These principles the enemies of Christianity have all
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along endeavoured to overturn; but as these all rest upon facts which
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are already past, and of which this and the other apostles have given
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us the most sure and satisfying evidence, it is probable that they will
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at last grow weary of their opposition to them; and yet, while one very
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principal article of our faith refers to what is still behind, and only
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has a promise to rest upon, here they will still attack us, even to the
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end of time. Till our Lord shall have come, they will not themselves
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believe that he will come; nay, they will laugh at the very mention of
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his second coming, and do what in them lies to put all out of
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countenance who seriously believe and wait for it. Now therefore let us
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see how this point stands, both on the believer's part and on the part
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of these seducers: the believer not only desires that he may come, but,
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having a promise that he will come, a promise that he himself has made
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and often repeated, a promise received and reported by faithful
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witnesses, and left upon sure record, he is also firmly and fully
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persuaded that he will come: on the other hand, these seducers, because
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they wish he never may, therefore do all that in them lies to cheat
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themselves and others into a persuasion that he will never come. If
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they cannot deny that there is a promise, yet they will laugh at that
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very promise, which argues much higher degrees of infidelity and
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contempt: <I>Where is the promise,</I> say they, <I>of his
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coming?</I></P>
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<P>
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III. We are also forewarned of the method of their reasoning, for while
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they laugh they will pretend to argue too. To this purpose they add
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that <I>since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were
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from the beginning of the creation,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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This is a subtle, though not a solid way of reasoning; it is apt to
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make impressions upon weak minds, and especially upon wicked hearts.
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<I>Because sentence against them is not speedily executed,</I>
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therefore they flatter themselves that it never will, whereupon
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<I>their hearts are fully set in them to do evil</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+8:11">Eccl. viii. 11</A>);
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thus they act themselves, and thus they would persuade others to act;
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so here, say they, "<I>The fathers have fallen asleep,</I> those are
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all dead to whom <I>the promise was made,</I> and it was never made
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good in their time, and there is no likelihood that it ever will be in
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any time; why should we trouble ourselves about it? If there had been
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any truth or certainty in the promise you speak of, we should surely
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have seen somewhat of it before this time, some signs of his coming,
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some preparatory steps in order to it; whereas we find to this very day
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<I>all things continue as they were,</I> without any change, even
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<I>from the beginning of the creation.</I> Since the world has
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undergone no changes in the course of so many thousand years, why
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should we affright ourselves as if it were to have an end?" Thus do
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these scoffers argue. <I>Because they see no changes, therefore they
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fear not God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+55:19">Ps. lv. 19</A>.
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They neither fear him nor his judgments; what he never has done they
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would conclude he never can do or never will.</P>
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<P>
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IV. Here is the falsehood of their argument detected. Whereas they
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confidently had said there had not been any change <I>from the
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beginning of the creation,</I> the apostle puts us in remembrance of a
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change already past, which, in a manner, equals that which we are
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called to expect and look for, which was the drowning of the world in
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the days of Noah. This these scoffers had overlooked; they took no
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notice of it. Though they might have known it, and ought to have known
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it, yet <I>this they willingly are ignorant of</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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they choose to pass it over in silence, as if they had never heard or
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known any thing of it; if they knew it, they did not like to retain it
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in their knowledge; they did not receive this truth in the love of it,
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neither did they care to own it. Note, It is hard to persuade men to
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believe what they are not willing to find true; they are ignorant, in
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many cases, because they are willing to be ignorant, and they do not
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know because they do not care to know. But let not sinners think that
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such ignorance as this will be admitted as an excuse for whatever sin
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it may betray them into. Those who crucified Christ did not know who he
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was; for <I>had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of
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glory</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+2:8">1 Cor. ii. 8</A>);
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but, though ignorant, they were not therefore innocent; their ignorance
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itself was a sin, willing and wilful ignorance, and one sin can be no
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excuse for another. So it is here; had these known of the dreadful
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vengeance with which God swept away a whole world of ungodly wretches
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at once, they would not surely have scoffed at his threatenings of any
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after equally terrible judgment; but here <I>they were willingly
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ignorant,</I> they did not know what God had done because they had no
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mind to know it. Now therefore we shall proceed to consider the
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representation which the apostle here lays down both of the destruction
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of the old world by water and that which awaits this present world at
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the final conflagration. He mentions the one as what God has done, to
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convince and persuade us the rather to believe that the other both may
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be and will be.</P>
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<P>
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1. We begin with the apostle's account of the destruction which has
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once already come upon the world
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>):
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<I>By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing
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out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was,
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being overflowed with water, perished.</I> Originally the world was
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otherwise situated, the waters were most wisely divided at the creation
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and most beneficially for us; some of the waters had proper
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repositories above the firmament, here called the heavens (as it is
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also
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:8">Gen. i. 8</A>),
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and others, under the firmament, gathered together unto one place;
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there were then both sea and dry land, commodious habitation for the
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children of men. But now, at the time of the universal deluge, the case
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is strangely altered; the waters which God had divided before,
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assigning to each part its convenient receptacle, now does he, in
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anger, throw together again in a heap. <I>He breaks up the fountain of
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the great deep, and throws open the windows (that is, the clouds) of
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heaven</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+7:11">Gen. vii. 11</A>),
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till the whole earth is overflowed with water, and not a spot can be
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found upon the highest mountains but what is <I>fifteen cubits under
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water,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+7:20">Gen. vii. 20</A>.
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Thus he made known at once his terrible power and his fierce anger, and
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made an end of a whole world at once: <I>The world that then was, being
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overflowed with water, perished,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Is not here a change and a most awful change! And then it is to be
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observed that all this was done by the word of God; it was by his
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powerful word that the world was made at first, and made in so
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commodious and beautiful a frame and order,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:3">Heb. xi. 3</A>,
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<B><I>Katertisthai</I></B>. <I>He said, Let there be a firmament,</I>
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&c.,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:6,7">Gen. i. 6, 7</A>.
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<I>And let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one
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place,</I> &c.,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
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Thus he spoke, and it was done,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+33:9">Ps. xxxiii. 9</A>.
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Thus, says our apostle, <I>by the word of the Lord the heavens
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were,</I> as they were <I>of old</I> (that is, at first creation)
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<I>and the earth</I> (as it was at first a terraqueous globe)
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<I>standing out of the water and in the water.</I> Not is it only the
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first frame and order of the world that is here said to be <I>by the
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word of God,</I> but the after-confusion and ruin of the world, as well
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|
as the utter destruction of its inhabitants, were also by the same
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word; none but that God who <I>stretched out the heavens and laid the
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foundation of the earth</I> could destroy and overthrow such a vast
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fabric at once. This was done by the word of his power, and it was also
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done according to the word of his promise; God had said that he would
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destroy man, even all flesh, and that he would do it by bringing a
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flood of waters upon the earth,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+6:7,13,17">Gen. vi. 7, 13, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was the change which God had before brought upon the world, and
|
|
which these scoffers had overlooked; and now we are to consider,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What the apostle says of the destructive change which is yet to come
|
|
upon it: <I>The heavens and the earth, which now are, by the same word
|
|
are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and
|
|
perdition of ungodly men,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here we have an awful account of the final dissolution of the world,
|
|
and which we are yet more nearly concerned in. The ruin that came upon
|
|
the world and its inhabitants by the flood, we read, and hear, and
|
|
think of, with concern, though those who were swept away by it were
|
|
such as we never knew; but the judgment here spoken of is yet to come,
|
|
and will surely come, though we know not when, nor upon what particular
|
|
age or generation of men; and therefore we are not, we cannot be, sure
|
|
that it may not happen in our own times: and this makes a very great
|
|
difference, though it should be admitted that they were equal in every
|
|
other respect, which yet must not be allowed, for there were some,
|
|
though very few, who escaped that deluge, but not one can escape in
|
|
this conflagration. Besides, we were not in reach of the one, but are
|
|
not sure that we shall not be included in the other calamity. Now
|
|
therefore to see the world to which we belong destroyed at once--not a
|
|
single person only, not a particular family only, nor yet a nation
|
|
(even that which we are most nearly interested in and concerned for),
|
|
but the whole world, I say, sinking at once, and no ark provided, no
|
|
possible way left of escaping for any one from the common ruin, this
|
|
makes a difference between the desolation that has been and what we yet
|
|
are to expect. The one is already past, and never to return upon us any
|
|
more (for God has said expressly <I>that there shall never any more be
|
|
a flood to destroy the earth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:11-17">Gen. ix. 11-17</A>);
|
|
|
|
the other is still behind, and is as certain to come as the truth and
|
|
the power of God can make it: the one came gradually upon the world,
|
|
and was growing upon its inhabitants forty days, before it made an
|
|
utter end of them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+7:12,17">Gen. vii. 12, 17</A>);
|
|
|
|
this other will come upon them swiftly and all at once
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+2:1">2 Pet. ii. 1</A>):
|
|
|
|
besides, there were in that overthrow (as we have said) a few who
|
|
escaped, but the ruin which yet awaits this world, whenever it comes,
|
|
will be absolutely a universal one; there will not be any part but what
|
|
the devouring flames will seize upon, not a sanctuary left any where
|
|
for the inhabitants to flee to, not a single spot in all this world
|
|
where any one of them can be safe. Thus, whatever differences may be
|
|
assigned between that destruction of the world and this here spoken of,
|
|
they do indeed represent the approaching as the most terrible judgment;
|
|
yet that the world has once been destroyed by a universal deluge
|
|
renders it the more credible that it may be again ruined by a universal
|
|
conflagration. Let therefore the scoffers, who laugh at the coming of
|
|
our Lord to judgment, at least consider that it <I>may be.</I> There is
|
|
nothing said of it in the word of God but what is within reach of the
|
|
power of God, and, though they still should laugh, they shall not put
|
|
us out of countenance; we are well assured that it will be, because he
|
|
has said it, and we can depend upon his <I>promise.</I> They <I>err,
|
|
not knowing</I> (at least not believing) <I>the scriptures, nor the
|
|
power of God;</I> but we know, and we do or ought to depend upon, both.
|
|
Now that which he has said, and which he will certainly make good, is
|
|
that <I>the heavens and the earth which now are</I> (which we are now
|
|
related to, which still subsist in all the beauty and order in which we
|
|
see them, and which are so agreeable and useful to us, as we find they
|
|
are) <I>are kept in store,</I> not to be, what earthly minds would wish
|
|
to have them, treasures for us, but to be what God will have them, in
|
|
his treasury, securely lodged and kept safely for his purposes. It
|
|
follows, they are <I>reserved unto fire.</I> Observe, God's following
|
|
judgments are more terrible than those which went before; the old world
|
|
was destroyed by water, but this is reserved unto fire, which shall
|
|
burn up the wicked at the last day; and, though this seems to be
|
|
delayed, yet, as this wicked world is upheld by the word of God, so it
|
|
is only reserved for the vengeance of him to whom vengeance belongs,
|
|
who will at the day of judgment deal with an ungodly world according to
|
|
their deserts, for the day of judgment is the day of <I>the perdition
|
|
of ungodly men.</I> Those who now scoff at a future judgment shall find
|
|
it a day of vengeance and utter destruction. "Beware therefore of being
|
|
among these scoffers; never question but the day of the Lord will come;
|
|
give diligence therefore to be found in Christ, that that may be a time
|
|
of refreshment and day of redemption to you which will be a day of
|
|
indignation and wrath to the ungodly world."</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_8"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Conception of Eternity.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 67.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day
|
|
<I>is</I> with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as
|
|
one day.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The apostle comes in these words to instruct and establish Christians
|
|
in the truth of the coming of the Lord, where we may clearly discern
|
|
the tenderness and affection wherewith he speaks to them, calling them
|
|
<I>beloved;</I> he had a compassionate concern and a love of good-will
|
|
for the ungodly wretches who refused to believe divine revelation, but
|
|
he has a peculiar respect for the true believers, and the remaining
|
|
ignorance and weakness that the apprehends to be in them make him
|
|
jealous, and put him on giving them a caution. Here we may observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The truth which the apostle asserts--<I>that with the Lord one day is
|
|
as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day.</I> Though,
|
|
in the account of men, there is a great deal of difference between a
|
|
day and a year, and a vast deal more between one day and a thousand
|
|
years, yet in the account of God, who inhabits eternity, in which there
|
|
is no succession, there is no difference; for all things past, present,
|
|
and future, are ever before him, and the delay of a thousand years
|
|
cannot be so much to him as the deferring of any thing for a day or an
|
|
hour is to us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The importance of this truth: This is the <I>one thing</I> the
|
|
apostle would not have us ignorant of; a holy awe and reverential fear
|
|
of God are necessary in order to our worshiping and glorifying him, and
|
|
a belief of the inconceivable distance between him and us is very
|
|
proper to beget and maintain that religious fear of the Lord which is
|
|
the beginning of wisdom. This is a truth that belongs to our peace, and
|
|
therefore he endeavours that it may not be hidden from our eyes; as it
|
|
is in the original, <I>Let not this one thing be hidden from you.</I>
|
|
If men have no knowledge or belief of the eternal God, they will be
|
|
very apt to think him such a one as themselves. Yet how hard is it to
|
|
conceive of eternity! It is therefore not very easy to attain such a
|
|
knowledge of God as is absolutely necessary.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_9"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_10"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Destruction of the World.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 67.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men
|
|
count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing
|
|
that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
|
|
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
|
|
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
|
|
the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the
|
|
works that are therein shall be burned up.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We are here told that <I>the Lord is not slack</I>--he does not delay
|
|
beyond the appointed time; as God kept the time that he had appointed
|
|
for the delivering of Israel out of Egypt, to a day
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+12:41">Exod. xii. 41</A>),
|
|
|
|
so he will keep to the time appointed in coming to judge the world.
|
|
What a difference is there between the account which God makes and that
|
|
which men make! Good men are apt to think God stays beyond the
|
|
appointed time, that is, the time which they have set for their own and
|
|
the church's deliverance; but they set one time and God sets another,
|
|
and he will not fail to keep the day which he has appointed. Ungodly
|
|
men dare charge a culpable slackness upon God, as if he had slipped the
|
|
time, and laid aside the thoughts of coming. But the apostle assures
|
|
us,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. That what men count slackness is truly <I>long-suffering,</I> and
|
|
that <I>to us-ward;</I> it is giving more time to his own people,
|
|
<I>whom he has chosen before the foundation of the world,</I> many of
|
|
whom are not as yet converted; and those who are in a state of grace
|
|
and favour with God are to advance in knowledge and holiness, and in
|
|
the exercise of faith and patience, to abound in good works, doing and
|
|
suffering what they are called to, that they may bring glory to God,
|
|
and improve in a meetness for heaven; for God is not willing that any
|
|
of these should perish, but that all of them should come to repentance.
|
|
Here observe,
|
|
|
|
1. Repentance is absolutely necessary in order to salvation. <I>Except
|
|
we repent, we shall perish,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+13:3,5">Luke xiii. 3, 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. God has no delight in the death of sinners: as the punishment of
|
|
sinners is a torment to his creatures, a merciful God does not take
|
|
pleasure in it; and though the principal design of God in his
|
|
long-suffering is the blessedness of those <I>whom he has chosen to
|
|
salvation, through sanctification of the spirit, and belief of the
|
|
truth,</I> yet his goodness and forbearance do in their own nature
|
|
invite and call to repentance all those to whom they are exercised;
|
|
and, if men continue impenitent when God gives them space to repent, he
|
|
will deal more severely with them, though the great reason why he did
|
|
not hasten his coming was because he had not accomplished <I>the number
|
|
of his elect.</I> "Abuse not therefore the patience and long-suffering
|
|
of God, by abandoning yourselves to a course of ungodliness; presume
|
|
not to go on boldly in the way of sinners, nor to sit down securely in
|
|
an unconverted impenitent state, as he who said
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+24:48">Matt. xxiv. 48</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>My Lord delayeth his coming,</I> lest he come and surprise you;"
|
|
for,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. <I>The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here we may observe,
|
|
|
|
1. The certainty of the day of the Lord: though it is now above sixteen
|
|
hundred years since this epistle was written, and the day has not yet
|
|
come, it assuredly will come. God has <I>appointed a day wherein he
|
|
will judge the world in righteousness,</I> and he will keep his
|
|
appointment. <I>It is appointed to men once to die, and after this the
|
|
judgment,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+9:27">Heb. ix. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Settle it therefore in your hearts that the day of the Lord will
|
|
certainly come, and you shall certainly be called to give an account of
|
|
all things done in the body, whether good or evil; and let your exact
|
|
walking before God, and your frequent judging yourselves, evidence your
|
|
firm belief of a future judgment, when many live as if they were never
|
|
to give any account at all."
|
|
|
|
2. The suddenness of this day: It <I>will come as a thief in the
|
|
night,</I> at a time when men are sleeping and secure, and have no
|
|
manner of apprehension or expectation of the day of the Lord, any more
|
|
than men have of a thief when they are in a deep sleep, in the dark and
|
|
silent night. <I>At midnight there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom
|
|
comes,</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+25:6">Matt. xxv. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and at that time not only the foolish, but also the wise virgins
|
|
slumbered and slept. <I>The Lord will come in a day when we look not
|
|
for him, and an hour when men are not aware.</I> The time which men
|
|
think to be the most improper and unlikely, and when therefore they are
|
|
most secure, will be the time of the Lord's coming. Let us then beware
|
|
how we in our thoughts and imaginations put that day far away from us;
|
|
but rather suppose it to be so much nearer in reality, by how much
|
|
further off it is in the opinion of the ungodly world.
|
|
|
|
3. The solemnity of this coming.
|
|
|
|
(1.) <I>The heavens shall pass away with a great noise.</I> The visible
|
|
heavens, as unable to abide when the Lord shall come in his glory,
|
|
shall pass away; they shall undergo a mighty alteration, and this shall
|
|
be very sudden, and with such a noise as the breaking and tumbling down
|
|
of so great a fabric must necessarily occasion.
|
|
|
|
(2.) <I>The elements shall melt with fervent heat.</I> At this coming
|
|
of the Lord it shall not only be very <I>tempestuous round about
|
|
him,</I> so that the very heavens shall pass away as in a mighty
|
|
violent storm, but <I>a fire shall go before him, that shall melt the
|
|
elements</I> of which the creatures are composed.
|
|
|
|
(3.) <I>The earth also, and all the works that are therein, shall be
|
|
burnt up.</I> The earth, and its inhabitants, and all the works that
|
|
are therein, shall be burnt up. The earth, and its inhabitants, and all
|
|
the works, whether of nature or art, shall be destroyed. The stately
|
|
palaces and gardens, and all the desirable things wherein
|
|
worldly-minded men seek and place their happiness, all of them shall be
|
|
burnt up; all sorts of creatures which God has made, and all the works
|
|
of men, must submit, all must pass through the fire, which shall be a
|
|
consuming fire to all that sin has brought into the world, though it
|
|
may be a refining fire to the works of God's hand, that the glass of
|
|
the creation being made much brighter the saints may much better
|
|
discern the glory of the Lord therein.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
And now who can but observe what a difference there will be between the
|
|
first coming of Christ and the second! Yet that is called <I>the great
|
|
and dreadful day of the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+4:5">Mal. iv. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
How much more dreadful must this coming to judgment be! May we be so
|
|
wise as to prepare for it, that it may not be a day of vengeance and
|
|
destruction unto us. O! what will become of us, if we set our
|
|
affections on this earth, and make it our portion, seeing all these
|
|
things shall be burnt up? Look out therefore, and make sure of a
|
|
happiness beyond this visible world, which must all be melted down.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Pe3_18"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec5"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Solemn Exhortations.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 67.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>11 <I>Seeing</I> then <I>that</I> all these things shall be dissolved,
|
|
what manner <I>of persons</I> ought ye to be in <I>all</I> holy
|
|
conversation and godliness,
|
|
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
|
|
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the
|
|
elements shall melt with fervent heat?
|
|
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new
|
|
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
|
|
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be
|
|
diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and
|
|
blameless.
|
|
15 And account <I>that</I> the longsuffering of our Lord <I>is</I>
|
|
salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the
|
|
wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
|
|
16 As also in all <I>his</I> epistles, speaking in them of these
|
|
things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which
|
|
they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as <I>they do</I> also the
|
|
other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
|
|
17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know <I>these things</I> before,
|
|
beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked,
|
|
fall from your own stedfastness.
|
|
18 But grow in grace, and <I>in</I> the knowledge of our Lord and
|
|
Saviour Jesus Christ. To him <I>be</I> glory both now and for ever.
|
|
Amen.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The apostle, having instructed them in the doctrine of Christ's second
|
|
coming,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Takes occasion thence to exhort them to purity and godliness in
|
|
their whole conversation: all the truths which are revealed in
|
|
scripture should be improved for our advancement in practical
|
|
godliness: this is the effect that knowledge must produce, or we are
|
|
never the better for it. <I>If you know these things, happy are you if
|
|
you do them. Seeing all these things must be dissolved, how holy should
|
|
we be,</I> that are assured of it, departing from and dying to sin,
|
|
that has so corrupted and defiled all the visible creation that there
|
|
is an absolute need of its dissolution! All that was made for man's use
|
|
is subject to vanity by man's sin: and if the sin of man has brought
|
|
the visible heavens, and the elements and earth, under a curse, from
|
|
which they cannot be freed without being dissolved, what an abominable
|
|
evil is sin, and how much to be hated by us! And, inasmuch as this
|
|
dissolution is in order to their being restored to their primitive
|
|
beauty and excellency, how pure and holy should we be, in order to our
|
|
being fit for the <I>new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth
|
|
righteousness!</I> It is a very exact and universal holiness that he
|
|
exhorts to, not resting in any lower measure or degree, but labouring
|
|
to be eminent beyond what is commonly attained--holy in God's house and
|
|
in our own, holy in our worshipping of God and in our conversing with
|
|
men. All our conversation, whether with high or low, rich or poor, good
|
|
or bad, friends or enemies, must be holy. We must <I>keep ourselves
|
|
unspotted from the world</I> in all our converses with it. We must be
|
|
<I>perfecting holiness in the fear of God,</I> and in the love of God
|
|
too. We must <I>exercise ourselves unto godliness</I> of all sorts, in
|
|
all its parts, trusting in God and delighting in God only, who
|
|
continues the same when the whole visible creation shall be dissolved,
|
|
devoting ourselves to the service of God, and designing the glorifying
|
|
and enjoyment of God, who endures for ever; whereas what worldly men
|
|
delight in and follow after must all be dissolved. Those things which
|
|
we now see must in a little while pass away, and be no more as they now
|
|
are: let us look therefore at what shall abide and continue, which,
|
|
though it be not present, is certain and not far off. This <I>looking
|
|
for the day of God</I> is one of the directions the apostle gives us,
|
|
in order to our being eminently <I>holy and godly in all manner of
|
|
conversation.</I> "Look for the day of God as what you firmly believe
|
|
shall come, and what you earnestly long for." <I>The coming of the day
|
|
of God</I> is what every Christian must hope for and earnestly expect;
|
|
for it is a day when Christ shall <I>appear in the glory of the
|
|
Father,</I> and evidence his divinity and Godhead even to those who
|
|
counted him a mere man. The first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when
|
|
he <I>appeared in the form of a servant,</I> was what the people of God
|
|
earnestly waited and looked for: that coming was for <I>the consolation
|
|
of Israel,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:25">Luke ii. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
How much more should they wait with expectation and earnestness for his
|
|
second coming, which will be the day of their complete redemption, and
|
|
of his most glorious manifestation! Then he shall <I>come to be admired
|
|
in his saints, and glorified in all those that believe.</I> For though
|
|
it cannot but terrify and affright the ungodly to see the visible
|
|
heavens all in a flame, and the elements melting, yet the believer,
|
|
whose <I>faith is the evidence of things not seen,</I> can rejoice in
|
|
hope of more glorious heavens after these have been melted and refined
|
|
by that dreadful fire which shall burn up all the dross of this visible
|
|
creation. Here we must take notice,
|
|
|
|
1. What true Christians look for: <I>new heavens and a new earth,</I>
|
|
in which a great deal more of the wisdom, power and goodness of our
|
|
great God and Saviour Jesus Christ will be clearly discerned than we
|
|
are able to discover in what we now see; for in these new heavens and
|
|
earth, freed from the vanity the former were subject to, and the sin
|
|
they were polluted with, only righteousness shall dwell; this is to be
|
|
the habitation of such righteous persons as do righteousness, and are
|
|
free from the power and pollution of sin; <I>all the wicked shall be
|
|
turned into hell;</I> those only who are clothed with a righteousness
|
|
of Christ, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost, shall be admitted to dwell
|
|
in this holy place.
|
|
|
|
2. What is the ground and foundation of this expectation and
|
|
hope--<I>the promise of God.</I> To look for any thing which God has
|
|
not promised is presumption; but if our expectations are according to
|
|
the promise, both as to the things we look for and the time and way of
|
|
their being brought about, we cannot meet with a disappointment; <I>for
|
|
he is faithful who has promised.</I> "See therefore that you raise and
|
|
regulate your expectations of all the great things that are to come
|
|
according to the word of God; and, as to <I>the new heaven and new
|
|
earth,</I> look for them as God has allowed and directed by the
|
|
passages we have in this portion of scripture how before you, and in
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+65:17,66:22">Isa. lxv. 17; lxvi. 22</A>,
|
|
|
|
to which the apostle may be thought to allude."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. As in
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>
|
|
|
|
he exhorts to holiness from the consideration that <I>the heavens and
|
|
the earth shall be dissolved,</I> so in
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>
|
|
|
|
he resumes his exhortation from the consideration that they shall be
|
|
again renewed. "Seeing you expect the day of God, when our Lord Jesus
|
|
Christ will appear in his glorious majesty, and these heavens and earth
|
|
shall be dissolved and melted down, and, being purified and refined,
|
|
shall be erected and rebuilt, prepare to meet him. It nearly concerns
|
|
you to see in what state you will be when the Judge of all the world
|
|
shall come to pass sentence upon men, and to determine how it shall be
|
|
with them to all eternity. This is the court of judicature whence there
|
|
lies no appeal; whatever sentence is here passed by this great Judge is
|
|
irreversible; therefore get ready to <I>appear before the judgment-seat
|
|
of Christ:</I> and see to it,"</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. "That you be <I>found of him in peace,</I> in a state of peace and
|
|
reconciliation with God through Christ, in whom alone God is
|
|
<I>reconciling the world to himself.</I> All that are out of Christ are
|
|
in a state of enmity, and reject and oppose the Lord and his anointed,
|
|
and shall therefore <I>be punished with everlasting destruction from
|
|
the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power.</I> Those whose
|
|
sins are pardoned and their peace made with God are the only safe and
|
|
happy people; therefore follow after peace, and that with all."
|
|
|
|
(1.) Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Peace in our own consciences, through the Spirit of grace
|
|
witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Peace with men, by having a calm and peaceable disposition wrought
|
|
in us, resembling that of our blessed Lord.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That you be <I>found of Christ without spot, and blameless. Follow
|
|
after holiness</I> as well as peace: and even spotless and perfect; we
|
|
must not only take heed of all spots which are not the spots of God's
|
|
children (this only prevents our being found of men without spot), we
|
|
must be pressing towards spotless purity, absolute perfection.
|
|
Christians must be <I>perfecting holiness,</I> that they may be not
|
|
only blameless before men, but also in the sight of God; and all this
|
|
deserves and needs the greatest diligence; he who does this work
|
|
negligently can never do it successfully. "Never expect to be found at
|
|
that day of God in peace, if you are lazy and idle in this your day, in
|
|
which we must finish the work that is given us to do. It is only the
|
|
diligent Christian who will be the happy Christian in the day of the
|
|
Lord. Our Lord will suddenly come to us, or shortly call us to him; and
|
|
would you have him find you idle?" Remember there is a curse denounced
|
|
against him <I>who does the work of the Lord negligently,</I> Marg.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+48:10">Jer. xlviii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Heaven will be a sufficient recompence for all our diligence and
|
|
industry; therefore let us labour and take pains in the work of the
|
|
Lord; he will certainly reward us if we be diligent in the work he has
|
|
allotted us; now, that you may be diligent, <I>account the
|
|
long-suffering of our Lord to be salvation.</I> "Does your Lord delay
|
|
his coming? Do not think this is to give more time to make provision
|
|
for your lusts, to gratify them; it is so much space to repent and work
|
|
out your salvation. It proceeds not from a want of concern or
|
|
compassion for his suffering servants, nor is it designed to give
|
|
countenance and encouragement to the world of the ungodly, but that men
|
|
may have time to prepare for eternity. Learn then to make a right use
|
|
of the patience of our Lord, who does as yet delay his coming. Follow
|
|
after peace and holiness, or else his coming will be dreadful to you."
|
|
And inasmuch as it is difficult to prevent men's abuse of God's
|
|
patience, and engage them in the right improvement thereof, our apostle
|
|
quotes St. Paul as directing men to make the same good use of the
|
|
divine forbearance, that in the mouth, or from the pen, of two apostles
|
|
the truth might be confirmed. And we may here observe with what esteem
|
|
and affection he speaks of him who had formerly publicly withstood and
|
|
sharply reproved Peter. If a righteous man smite one who is truly
|
|
religious, it shall be received as a kindness; and let him reprove, it
|
|
shall be as an excellent oil, which shall soften and sweeten the good
|
|
man that is reproved when he does amiss. What an honourable mention
|
|
does this apostle of the circumcision make of that very man who had
|
|
openly, <I>before all, reproved him,</I> as not walking uprightly
|
|
according to the truth of the gospel!
|
|
|
|
(1.) He calls him <I>brother,</I> whereby he means not only that he is
|
|
a fellow-christian (in which sense the word brethren is used
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+5:27">1 Thess. v. 27</A>),
|
|
|
|
or a fellow-preacher (in which sense Paul calls Timothy the evangelist
|
|
a <I>brother,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+1:1">Col. i. 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
but a fellow-apostle, one who had the same extraordinary commission,
|
|
immediately from Christ himself, to preach the gospel in every place,
|
|
and to disciple all nations. Though many seducing teachers denied
|
|
Paul's apostleship, yet Peter owns him to be an apostle.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He calls him <I>beloved;</I> and they being both alike
|
|
commissioned, and both united in the same service of the same Lord, it
|
|
would have been very unseemly if they had not been united in affection
|
|
to one another, for the strengthening of one another's hands, mutually
|
|
desirous of, and rejoicing in, one another's success.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He mentions Paul as one who had an uncommon measure of wisdom
|
|
given unto him. He was a person of eminent knowledge in the mysteries
|
|
of the gospel, and did neither in that nor any other qualification come
|
|
behind any of all the other apostles. How desirable is it that those
|
|
who preach the same gospel should treat one another according to the
|
|
pattern Peter here sets them! It is surely their duty to endeavour, by
|
|
proper methods, to prevent or remove all prejudices that hinder
|
|
ministers' usefulness, and to beget and improve the esteem and respect
|
|
in the minds of people towards their ministers that may promote the
|
|
success of their labours. And let us also here observe,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The excellent wisdom that was in Paul is said to be <I>given</I>
|
|
him. The understanding and knowledge that qualify men to preach the
|
|
gospel are the gift of God. We must seek for knowledge, and labour to
|
|
get understanding, in hopes that it shall be given us from above, while
|
|
we are diligent in using proper means to attain it.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The apostle imparts to men according as he had received from God.
|
|
He endeavours to lead others as far as he himself was led into the
|
|
knowledge of the mysteries of the gospel. He is not an intruder into
|
|
the things he had not seen or been fully assured of, and yet he does
|
|
not fail to declare the whole counsel of God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+20:27">Acts xx. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
[3.] The epistles which were written by the apostle of the Gentiles,
|
|
and directed to those Gentiles who believed in Christ, are designed for
|
|
the instruction and edification of those who from among the Jews were
|
|
brought to believe in Christ; for it is generally thought that what is
|
|
here alluded to is contained in the epistle to the Romans
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+2:4"><I>ch.</I> ii. 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
though in all his epistles there are some things that refer to one or
|
|
other of the subjects treated of in this and the foregoing chapter; and
|
|
it cannot seem strange that those who were pursuing the same general
|
|
design should in their epistles insist upon the same things. But the
|
|
apostle Peter proceeds to tell us that in those things which are to be
|
|
met with in Paul's epistles there are some things hard to be
|
|
understood. Among the variety of subjects treated of in scripture, some
|
|
are not easy to be understood because of their own obscurity, such are
|
|
prophecies; others cannot be so easily understood because of their
|
|
excellency and sublimity, as the mysterious doctrines; and others are
|
|
with difficulty taken in because of the weakness of men's minds, such
|
|
are the things of the Spirit of God, mentioned
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+2:14">1 Cor. ii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
And here the unlearned and unstable make wretched work; for they wrest
|
|
and torture the scriptures, to make them speak what the Holy Ghost did
|
|
not intend. Those who are not well instructed and well established in
|
|
the truth are in great danger of perverting the word of God. Those who
|
|
have heard and learned of the Father are best secured from
|
|
misunderstanding and misapplying any part of the word of God; and,
|
|
where there is a divine power to establish as well as to instruct men
|
|
in divine truth, persons are effectually secured from falling into
|
|
errors. How great a blessing this is we learn by observing what is the
|
|
pernicious consequence of the errors that ignorant and unstable men
|
|
fall into--even their own destruction. Errors in particular concerning
|
|
the holiness and justice of God are the utter ruin of multitudes of
|
|
men. Let us therefore earnestly pray for the Spirit of God to instruct
|
|
us in the truth, that we may know it as it is in Jesus, and have our
|
|
hearts established with grace, that we may stand firm and unshaken,
|
|
even in the most stormy times, when others are tossed to and fro with
|
|
every wind of doctrine.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The apostle gives them a word of caution,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>,
|
|
|
|
where,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He intimates that the knowledge we have of these things should make
|
|
us very wary and watchful, inasmuch as there is a twofold danger,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) We are in great danger <I>of</I> being seduced, and turned away
|
|
from the truth. The unlearned and unstable, and they are very numerous,
|
|
do generally wrest the scripture. Many who have the scriptures and read
|
|
them do not understand what they read; and too many of those who have a
|
|
right understanding of the sense and meaning of the word are not
|
|
established in the belief of the truth, and all these are liable to
|
|
fall into error. Few attain to the knowledge and acknowledgment of
|
|
doctrinal Christianity; and fewer find, so as to keep in the way of
|
|
practical godliness, which is the narrow way, which only leadeth unto
|
|
life. There must be a great deal of self-denial and suspicion of
|
|
ourselves, and submitting to the authority of Christ Jesus our great
|
|
prophet, before we can heartily receive all the truths of the gospel,
|
|
and therefore we are in great danger of rejecting the truth.
|
|
|
|
(2.) We are in great danger <I>by</I> being seduced; for,
|
|
|
|
[1.] So far as we are turned from the truth <I>so far are we turned out
|
|
of the way to true blessedness,</I> into the path which leads to
|
|
destruction. If men corrupt the word of God, it tends to their own
|
|
utter ruin.
|
|
|
|
[2.] When men wrest the word of God, <I>they fall into the error of the
|
|
wicked,</I> men without law, who keep to no rules, set no bounds to
|
|
themselves, a sort of free-thinkers, which the psalmist detests.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:113">Ps. cxix. 113</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love.</I> Whatever opinions
|
|
and thoughts of men are not conformable to the law of God, and
|
|
warranted by it, the good man disclaims and abhors; they are the
|
|
conceits and counsels of the ungodly, who have forsaken God's law, and,
|
|
if we imbibe their opinions, we shall too soon imitate their practices.
|
|
|
|
[3.] Those who are led away by error <I>fall from their own
|
|
stedfastness.</I> They are wholly unhinged and unsettled, and know not
|
|
where to rest, but are at the greatest uncertainty, like a wave of the
|
|
sea, driven with the wind and tossed. It nearly concerns us therefore
|
|
to be upon our guard, seeing the danger is so great.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That we may the better avoid being led away, the apostle directs us
|
|
what to do,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+3:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
And,
|
|
|
|
(1.) We must <I>grow in grace.</I> He had in the beginning of the
|
|
epistle exhorted us to add one grace to another, and here he advises us
|
|
to grow in all grace, in faith, and virtue, and knowledge. By how much
|
|
the stronger grace is in us, by so much the more stedfast shall we be
|
|
in the truth.
|
|
|
|
(2.) We must grow <I>in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.</I>
|
|
"Follow on to know the Lord. Labour to know him more clearly and more
|
|
fully, to know more of Christ and to know him to better purpose, so as
|
|
to be more like him and to love him better." This is the knowledge of
|
|
Christ the apostle Paul reached after and desired to attain,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+3:10">Phil. iii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Such a knowledge of Christ as conforms us more to him, and endears him
|
|
more to us, must needs be of great use to us, to preserve us from
|
|
falling off in times of general apostasy; and those who experience this
|
|
effect of the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will, upon
|
|
receiving such grace from him, give thanks and praise to him, and join
|
|
with our apostle in saying, <I>To him be glory both now and for ever.
|
|
Amen.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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