The Apostolical History, Chapter 7 · Section 13
SECT. XIII.
THE Apoſtle Peter, not long after this, ſeems to have receiv'd a revelation from the Lord of his approaching departure out of this life; and therefore writes this his ſecond Epiſtle to the diſperſed Jews, intimating the ſame unto them, Chap. 1.14. Our Saviour had long before given him an intimation that he ſhould dye a Martyr, Joh. 21.18, 19. Verily I ſay unto thee, when thou waſt young thou girdedst thy ſelf, and walkedſt whither thou wouldſt; but when thou ſhalt be old, thou ſhalt ſtretch forth thy hands, and another ſhall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldſt not. This he ſpake, ſignifying by what death he ſhould glorifie God. Our Saviour further told him, That this ſhould be before His coming in judgment againſt Jeruſalem, which John ſhould live to ſee, Joh. 21. v. 22. It ſeems the Apoſtle was now more particularly warn'd thereof, and accordingly ſends this his Epiſtle as his laſt farewel to the believing-Jews ſcattered at that time through many Nations. And this is the laſt we find in the Scripture of this great Apoſtle.
In the Epiſtle there are theſe three parts,The Second Epi… of Peter.
1. The Preface.
2. The Body of the Epiſtle.
3. The Concluſion.
1. THE Preface; which ſhews us to whom the Epiſtle is directed, viz. to the believing-Jews ſcattered up and down in the Roman Empire, who had obtained like precious faith, for quality and nature, with the Apoſtle himſelf, and which intereſſed them all in the ſame precious promiſes and priviledges which he himſelf had intereſt in, and whoſe object is the righteouſneſs of Chriſt (a)foreign] Ex Graeco apparet, haec de uno & eodem dici, non autem de duobus diverſis, vid. Tit. 2.13. Justitia illa quam fides in actu juſtificationis amplectitur, non eſt justitia Dei eſſentialis, ſed juſtitia activâ & paſſivâ obedientiâ Chriſti parta. Fridlib.our God and Saviour. To all theſe he heartily wiſhes an abundance of grace, and of that peace which does accompany it, together with all kind of proſperity; and that, in order hereunto, they may daily grow up in larger meaſures of the knowledg of God, and of Jeſus Chriſt whom he hath ſent. Ver. 1, 2.
2. He comes to the Body of the Epiſtle, wherein he expreſſes the ground of his confidence, that God would encreaſe grace in them, becauſe*V. 3. foreign inſervit illationi; & ſignificat idem, quod foreign poſtquam vel ſiquidem. Fridlib. he had of his own goodneſs, and the free exerciſe of his divine power, afforded them all the helps needful for the attaining of eternal life hereafter, and for the making them truly pious here; having brought them to a ſaving-knowledg of Chriſt▪ who had called them by his own glory and vertue (a)foreign hic aliqui poſitum putant p…o foreign vid. Bez. & Piſcut. Alii per gloriam & virtutem intelligunt glorioſam virtutem & potentiam Chriſti., that is, by his Goſpel [which is the great power of God, Rom, 1.16.], to glory and eternal felicity, as the end; and to the practiſe of vertue (that is, of grace and holineſs), as the means. By which Saviour(b)foreign (not foreign) as ſome Greek Copies read it. Sic Vatablus per quem. he tells them, are given unto us great and precious promiſes, as of juſtification, ſanctification, and eternal life. The fulfilling of which promiſes to believers, doth make them partakers (not of the infinite Eſſence of God, which can neither be divided nor communicated to any creature; but) of ſuch heavenly qualities as make them in ſome meaſure to reſemble their heavenly Father, they having eſcaped hereby the corrupt manners and debauchedneſs whi…h the generality of the world run into, by following the ſinful inclinations and luſts of their own hearts. And this ſame thing*V. 5. foreign.], that they have receeved ſuch great benefits from God, ſh…uld mind and excite them to give all diligence to grow in grace, and to add one vertue to another; particularly to faith to add the Chriſtian vertue of fortitude (d)Per foreign hic recte puto poſſe accipi fortitudinem in fide. Grot.or courage; to Chriſtian-courage, a greater meaſure of knowledg; to knowledg, temperance; to that, patience; to that, godlineſs, or religiouſneſs (which conſiſts in a due care rightly to worſhip God); to that, brotherly kindneſs, and an eſpecial love to the houſhold of faith; and to that ch…ri…y, or good-will to all ſorts of perſons. He tells them, that if theſe vertues and graces be in them (eſpecially in any eminent degree), they will produce excellent fruits and effects(e)V. 8. Iſta efficiunt ut cognitio Chriſti & Evangelii quam adepti eſtis ne que inutilis ſit aliis ne que vobis infructuoſa. Grot.; ſo that their knowledg of Chriſt and the Goſpel, will neither be unprofitable to themſelves, nor uſeleſs to others. But that Chriſtian-prof…ſſor who lacks theſe graces, whatever illuminaeion he may pretend to, is indeed blind as to ſpirituals, and cannot have any true ſight or knowledg of the things of the other life, and hath forgotten (as it ſeems) the purification(f)foreign. Non meminit inquit baptiſmi in quo profeſſus fuit ſe vitià omnia velle deſerere. Vid. Eph. 5.26. Idem. of himſelf from his former ſins, which he profeſſed and obliged himſelf to in his Baptiſm. He exhorts them therefore earneſtly to endeavour after theſe graces and vertues, that ſo they may prove and demonſtrate themſelves to be effectually called and elected, and may make their calling and election ſure and evident to themſelves, and by this means they ſhall be kept from apoſtaſie, and a total and final falling away; and God will with a larger and more copious affection, receive them into the everlaſting kingdom of his Son, and eternal life will (as it were) more largely open it ſelf to receive them, and they ſhall have the ſenſe and firſt-fruits of it in a more abundant meaſure. And ſeeing the hazzard of negligence, and the advantage of diligence, was ſo great, therefore he tells them, he would not be negligent to ſtir them to their duty, and to mind them of theſe things, though many of them he apprehended were both diſcerning and ſolid Chriſtians. And he judged it meet ſo to do, whilſt he was in the tabernacle of this body, knowing that ſhortly he muſt end his life by a glorious Martyrdom, as Chriſt had told him, Joh. 21.18, 19. And this exhortation which he had written, would be profitable to mind them of their duty after his departure. From Ver. 3, to 16.
He comes now to exhort them to conſtancy in the faith, and ſtedfaſtly to adhere to the doctrine taught by himſelf and the other Apoſtles. And to aſſure them of the truth and certainty thereof, he tells them, that himſelf and his fellow-Apoſtles had not followed artificially-deviſed fables, when they made known and teſtified unto them the firſt coming of Chriſt in the fleſh, and how by his Doctrine and Miracles he powerfully ſhewed▪ himſelf to be the true promiſed Meſſias. For himſelf, James, and John, had been with him in his transfiguration on Mount Tabor (g)Called here the holy Mountain, becauſe it was hallowed by the evident preſence of God, and the glorious appearing of Chriſt upon it; as the City of Jeruſalem is called the holy City, Mat. 4.5, becauſe there God hath planted his Worſhip and Sanctuary.Mat. 17, and had there ſeen the Majeſty that was then inſtated on him, and heard the voice that came from the excellent Glory (that is, from the Majeſty of God the Father out of the ſhining-Cloud), ſaying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleaſed. But beſides this, he tells them they had the Prophecies of the Old Teſtament, which fore-told theſe very things concerning the Meſſiah, which have been fulfill'd and accompliſhed in the Perſon of Jeſus of Nazareth; which prophecies were a more ſure word to them than the voice from Heaven. Not that there was any uncertainty in the Lord's voice uttered from Heaven, but becauſe a tranſient voice is more eaſily miſtaken or forgotten, than a ſtanding authentick Record. Therefore ſeeing the written word was ſo ſure a ground for their faith to reſt upon, they did well to attend unto it, as to a light that ſhined in the dark and ſhadowy time of the Old Teſtament [ſee Rom. 13. v. 12.]. And they ſhould continue ſo to do, till(h)Vox donec antecedens tempus ſemper includit, ſed conſequens non neceſſ…riò excludit, ut Mat. 28.20, & alibi. Gousar. by conſidering thoſe ancient prophecies, and comparing them with what Chriſt hath really done and ſuffer'd, they might find the day dawning upon them, and the morning-ſtar ariſing in their hearts, that is, the Spirit of Chriſt himſelf (who is the Sun of Righteouſneſs, and the Morning-ſtar of the Church, Rev. 22.16.), ſo enlightning their minds, and ſo fully convincing their conſciences, that no more doubts or ſcruples ſhould be left in them concerning this great Truth atteſted by the voice from Heaven, and confirmed by the writings of the Prophets [Acts 10.43.], namely, that Jeſus is true Meſſias, the Son of God. This alſo he ſhews, they muſt hold as a firſt principle, and a thing eſpecially to be believed, That none of the writings of the Prophets were of any private impulſe (i)Omnino aſſentior iis qui hic legendam putant foreign, Non est prophetia res nostri impetus. Grot. Hammondus noſter vocem foreign retinendam cenſet & ſic interpretatur. No prophecy of Scripture is of their own incitation, motion, or letting looſe; that is, is not without particular miſſion and appointment of God. Amiraut ſic: Qu' aucune des propheties qui ſont continues en l'Eſcriture, n'eſt de l'inſtinct particulier d'aucun homme, ni ne doit ſa revelation aux lumieres de ſon eſprit. See his Paraphraſe on this Epiſtle.or incitation, or ſprang meerly out of their own brains; neither did prophecy come upon them according to the will of man; that is, they did not propheſie when they would, or what they would [ſee 2 King. 4.27.], but they ſpake by the inſtinct and impulſe of the Holy Ghoſt. From Ver. 16, to the end.
He now forewarns them of falſe Teachers (a)Hinc diſcamus Satanam ſemper veritati, Eccleſiae que inſidiatum & inſidiaturum eſſe. Diſcamus etiam non propterea deſinere aliquem caetum eſſe Eccleſiam, quia in eo tumultuentur aliqui ſeductores. Nam Satan ſua Zizania potiſſimùm in ipſo culto agro Domini inter bonum triticum ſpargit, non in Sylveſtribus ac ſaxoſis ſpinetis. Et ſicut Deus ipſe olim tentavit populum ſuum an in ſemel acceptâ puritate religionis perſeverare velint Deut. 13. Sic etiam Chriſtus & Apoſtoli, conſtitutâ ſemel doctrinâ, juſſerunt Chriſtianos in eâ conſtantiſſimè perſeverare, quià ſint venturi pſeudo-prophetae facientes magna miracula & ſigna Mat. 24. Hoc idem etiam hic Petrus agit. Fl. Illyricus., and Heretical Seducers that ſhould ariſe among them. He tells them, that as there were true Prophets among the people of Iſrael of old (who ſpake by the inſtinct and impulſe of the Spirit of God); ſo there were ſome alſo falſe, and ſuch as were meer Cheats and Deceivers, who ſlily crept in: And thus they muſt expect it will be with them now; there will ariſe ſome falſe Teachers among them, who will privily bring in damnable Hereſies, and by their falſe doctrines (either directly or implicitly) deny*Dominum ſuum à quo ſunt redempti negabunt] Si non ipſis verbis expreſſè, tamen ipſo facto; ſi non directe, tamen per ea quae ex impiâ eorum doctrinâ conſequuntur. Fridlib. the Lord Chriſt and his benefits, who by his precious blood ſhed on the Croſs, paid a ſufficient(a)Mors Chriſti ſufficiens remedium pro omnibus ſed non ſufficiens medium, ſine Fide. Vid. Heb. 2.9. price for them (which would have been available for them, if they had truly believed in him), and ſo will bring upon themſelves ſpeedy deſtruction. And many, he foretells them, will be led away with their deſtructive carnal doctrines, whereby the glorious, pure Goſpel of Chriſt will be evil-ſpoken of, whilſt the very Gentiles ſhall take notice, that ſome that profeſs themſelves Chriſtians, teach impure doctrines, and live wicked lives.
He further tells them, that th…ſe Deceivers being acted by covetouſneſs, will, with their cunning words and diſcourſes, ſeek to circumvent them, and make advantage of them. However he ſuggeſts to them, they ſhould not fear the being long expos'd to their temptations. For the judgment to which ſuch Impoſtors were long ſince adjudged by God, is now approaching, and will certainly ſurprize them. And that he might the more clearly convince them of this, he ſets before them a threefold inſtance: 1. Of the Angels that ſinned, whom God did not ſpare, but upon their rebellion againſt him, caſt them preſently out of Heaven, and condemning them to the pains of Hell(b)foreign] ad poenas tartarreas damnavit. Mede., reſerved them under the reſtraints of his irreſiſtible power in a ſtate of miſery and horror (as condemned Malefactors are reſerved in ch…ins and darkneſs) to the day of judgment, the time of their execution, when they ſhall be caſt into everlaſting torments, Mat. 8.29. And if God ſpared not the Angels that ſinned, they might eaſily imagine, he will not ſpare falſe prophets and their followers. 2. He inſtances in the people of the old world, on whom God brought the Flood, and drowned them, only preſerving Noah (with ſeven more of his Family) who often warned them to repent and amend their lives. Laſtly, He inſtances in the wicked Cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, and their neighbouring villages or ſuburbs, which he adjudged to utter deſtruction, and conſum'd them by fire from heaven, and made them an exemplary ſpectacle and document to all that ſhould ever live in the like ſins. Yet at that time when he manifeſted ſo much ſeverity towards thoſe wicked Cities, he delivered Righteous Lot, and his Family, whoſe pious ſoul was daily vext with the unrighteous deeds of theſe impure Sodomites.
From all th ſ… examples he inferrs, That God knows how to preſerve his own faithful ſ…rvants from the temptations and troubles wherewith they are here exerciſed, and he can reſerve the wicked to the day of judgment, to be puniſhed according to their deſerts. From Ver. 1, to 10.
Now among theſe wicked ones, he ſhews theſe Hereticks and Seducers are chiefly to be reckoned; whom he thus characterizeth. 1. They are impure and unclean perſons. 2. They deſpiſe government, and ſpeak evil of dignities. 3. They are preſumptuous, audacious, and ſelf-will'd. Their ſin in deſpiſing lawful authority, he aggravates by ſetting before them the contrary example of good Angels [ſee Jude v. 9.], who are greater in power and might than any Magiſtrates here on earth; yet even theſe, though God employs them to protect his Church, and ſometimes to withſtand and puniſh the tyranny and rage of wicked Rulers*Ut apparuit in Aegypto & Sennacheribo; yet they bring not a railing-accuſation againſt them before the Lord (that we can find in all the Scripture); neither do they ſet out, with reviling words, what they have to ſay againſt them, that bear upon them a lawful authority. But the temper of theſe Seducers is far different from this: For as brute-beaſts, following the brutiſh impetus and force of their appetites, purſue after their prey till they run themſelves into the net (and ſo ſeem made(c)Quae ad interitum facta ſunt] h. e. dum eſcam bruto impetu perſequuntur, ultro in retia & exitium ſuum ruunt. to be taken and deſtroyed of men); ſo theſe falſe Teachers ſpeaking vilely and reproachfully of Magiſtrates (the uſe and benefit of whom they underſtand not), ſhall periſh by the deſtruction(d)foreign] Praepoſitiò foreign redundat: ſuo interitu interibunt. Piſc. which they juſtly bring upon themſelves, and ſhall receive the reward of their wickedneſs and unrighteouſneſs. He further ſhews them, That theſe are they who count daily(e)foreign pro foreign in die delicias, i. e. quotidianas delicias. Glaſs. voluptuouſneſs their Heaven, and in the day-time take pleaſure in thoſe villanies which are wont to need the night to cover their ſhame. He tells them, They are ſpots and blemiſhes to the Chriſtian name. They are ſuch as deliciouſly(f)foreign] legendum videtur foreign qui deliciantur in agapis veſtris. vide Ep. Judae v. 12. Piſc. foreign dicebantur convivia illa in quibus Chriſtiani divites, & pauperes pari victu utebantur. Divitum enim ſumptu pauperes iſto quaſi refrigerio juvabantur. Ea convivia claudi ſolebant ſacramento Dominicae paſſionis. Grot. pleaſe themſelves in the cunning artifices and fair pretences whereby they deceive others, inſinuating themſelves into them, both at their religious and ordinary Feaſts. And whereas at ſuch Aſſemblies nothing but modeſty and charity ſhould be expreſſed; theſe Deceivers come thither with eyes full of adultery, and by their laſcivious glances are continually ſolliciting others to ſin. They alſo enſnare with their errors and vile practiſes, ſuch as are not well ſ…tled and grounded in Chriſtianity. He further adds, That their hearts are a ſhop full of avaritious and covetous inventions and deſigns of extortion, whereby they manifeſt themſ…lves children of perdition, and ſuch as having forſaken the pure Chriſtian Doctrine, are gone aſtray from the right path, following the example of the falſe(g)Yet by the inſpiration of God he propheſied the truth concerning the Meſſiah, Numb. 24.17. prophet Balaam, the ſon of Bozor (h)Beor fuit pater ejus Num. 22, unde binominis cenſendus eſt. Fridlib., who inſtead of obeying the commandment of the Lord, was ſo tempted by that great reward which Balak King of Moab promiſed him, that he would for the hope of it (even againſt his Conſcience) have curſed Iſrael: but the madneſs of this Soothſayer was miraculouſly rebuked by an Aſs ſpeaking with Man's voice. He further ſhews, that theſe Deceivers pretend to be deep Fountains of ſaving-knowledg; but they have no ſuch thing in them. They pretend to be Clouds (i)Nubes quae à procellâ feruntur. Loquitur de falſis Doctoribus, qui in doctrinâ & confeſſione ſuâ fluctuant; nec ſalutaris doctrinae & conſolationis pluviam praebent. Jud. v. 12.that drop down the ſaving-doctrine, as rain, to make the Church fruitful; whereas they are only Clouds driven impetuouſly by every wind and tempeſt, from one vicious doctrine and practiſe to another; never affording the rain they promiſed, but only darkning the skie; to whom is reſerved, by the juſt judgment of God, eternal darkneſs (k)Poenae alterius ſeculi modò ſub incendii, modò ſub tenebrarum figurâ deſcribuntur, ut Mat. 8.12, & 22.13. Augetur ſignificatio cum non foreign tantum dicitur ſed foreign, ut & Judae v. 13.and blackneſs. He ſhews, that with a lofty and an affected ſtile they propound their vain and falſe doctrines, and thereby amuſe the ſimple [Jude v. 16.], and allure to their party (by indulging a liberty to the luſts of the fleſh, and to much wantonneſs) ſuc… Novice-Chriſtians who had left the heatheniſh beſtiality, and had embraced the Chriſtian profeſſion; which they might do, and yet not be really regenerate. He tells them, They promiſe indeed to bring them into a ſtate of liberty, when alas they draw them into the bondage of ſin, and they themſelves are the baſeſt ſlaves to luſt and corruption in the world. For thoſe luſts by which they have been conquered and brought into bondage, the… muſt needs be ſlaves unto. And they had need take heed of being thus inveagled by theſe Seducers, leſt they prove flat Apoſtates from Chriſt, and then the…r condition will be far worſe than that of ignorant unconverted Heathens. For they that have been converted from their Heatheniſm, and the Paganiſh ſin▪ wherein they lived, by being brought to the knowledg of Chriſt and his Gopel, and then relapſe and return to them again; this later eſtate of theirs, thi… Chriſtian-Heatheniſm (as I may ſo call it) is far worſe than their bare Heitheniſm at firſt was. For it had been better for them never to have known the way of righteouſneſs and juſtification revealed in the Goſpel, than having known it, to turn away from the holy Doctrine thereof, and the pure precepts it enjoins, and to fall back again into their former vicious and heatheniſh courſes. But ſuch as do ſo, plainly ſhew, that they were never truly and inwardly renewed by the Spirit, as the ſheep of Chriſt are; but were only outwardly waſhed in Baptiſm; and by an external profeſſion of Chriſtianity only, had renounced that vileneſs whereunto now they are return'd; ſo that the old Proverb mentioned Prov. 26.11, is verified of them; The dog is turned to lick up his vomit, which before, when it troubled his ſtomach, he vomited up; and the ſow that was waſhed, is returned to her wallowing in the mire. From Ver. 10 to the end.
Chap. 3 The Apoſtle having thus preſt growth in grace and holineſs, in the firſt part of his Epiſtle; and cautioned them againſt error in the ſecond: He comes now, in this laſt, to clear up and defend the Doctrine of the laſt Judgment, and to ſhew what uſe believers ſhould make of it. He ſhews, the end intended by him in both his Epiſtles, was to be their Remembrancer, and to awaken and ſtir up the ſincere-hearted among them, to obey the inſtructions which had been given them by the writings of the Prophets, and by the teaching of the Apoſtles. And in the firſt place he would have them to conſider this (and to arm themſelves accordingly againſt it); That in theſe laſt days *The last days are to be reckoned from the time that Chriſt began to execute his Miniſterial function, to the end of the world., viz. the times of the Meſſias, which were now arrived; certain ſcoffers will ariſe, who walking according to their own luſts, and deſiring to ſin ſecurely, will queſtion the ſecond-coming of Chriſt, and plead that this preſent world ſhall always continue as it is; and they ſhall ſcoffingly ſay, How long will it be ere that promiſe (a)Promiſſio per Metonym. pro complemento promiſſionis, vel p…omiſſio adventûs, i e. adventus promiſſus. Intelligitur autem adventus Chriſti ſecundus, glorioſus & majeſticus. Fridlib.and prediction be fulfill'd, That Chriſt ſhall come to judg the quick and dead [ſee Mal. 2.17.]? We find this indeed long ago foretold in the prophecy of Enoch [Jude v. 14, 15.]; but yet we ſee no appearance of its accompliſhment: for from the time(b)foreign ſubintellige foreign: & foreign ſume pro tempore. Grot. that the firſt men, that were known in the world, dyed, and their children after them; there has been no reſurrection, or ſummoning men to judgment. And excepting this, that people have dyed in all ages, there has been no conſiderable change (ſay they) ſince the creation, but all things have gone on in a ſetled conſtant courſe.
The Apoſtle replies to theſe ſcoffers, ſhewing them the ground of their vain reaſoning to be their own voluntary and affected ignorance. For firſt, they ſeem'd not to underſtand how God created the world at firſt by his word; and how the earth, being the loweſt and heavieſt of the Elements, was yet by his power kept from being totally overflowed by the waters (c)V. 5. foreign pro foreign ut 1 Pet. 3. v. 20. ſcil. tanquam natans in illa, vel per aquam ſcil. tanquam per fundamentum cui incumbit. vid. Pſal. 24.2. Piſc.that go about it, and cover it in many places. By which miracle they might have perceived, that Nature is governed by the will of God; and from the whole they might have argued, That if all things were made by God, they might alſo eaſily be deſtroyed by Him. 2. He ſhews, they ſeemed ignorant how God brought the Flood upon the old world in the days of Noah, and drowned them for their wickedneſs; Heaven (d)V. 6. foreign per quae intelligit foreign.and Earth, both contributing at His command their waters thereunto. And if …hey had known this, they might have clearly ſeen, that all things have not co…tinued ſince the Creation as they were at firſt. And he that made ſo grea… an alteration in the world then, can eaſily do ſo again if it pleaſe him. 'Tis true, he acknowledges the world that now is (by the word and promiſ… of God, Gen. 9.11.) is ſecured from being drowned again, it being reſerv'd to be deſtroy'd by fire (e)Seneca Natural. Ignis, exitus mundi est.at the day of judgment, that day that will be ſo terrible to the ungodly, when they ſhall receive a full reward of all their wickedneſs. But theſe prophane ſcoffers will perhaps again reply, If Chriſt intend to come to judgment, why does he ſo long defer his coming? The Apoſtle anſwers, That this delay ought not to be judged according to our ſenſe and apprehenſion. For God doth not meaſure times as we do; but unto him (in regard of his Eternity and Omniſcience, comprehending all things paſt, preſent, and to come), theſe periods of time which ſeem ſo long to us, are but a moment, Pſal. 90.4. 2. This delay doth not proceed from ſlackneſs in God, as ſome may imagine. For that perſon cannot be ſaid to be ſlack who is long ere he comes; but he is ſlack that comes not at his due and appointed time. Now God will not put off his coming one hour beyond his own ſet and determin'd time [ſee. Heb. 10.37,]. And they ought to conſider, that God's deferring his coming, proceeds not from any other reaſon than the abundance of his patience and long-ſuffering towards poor ſinners, not willing(d)Vult autem hoc non planè & abſolutè, ſed quantum juſtitiae & bonitati ejus ſufficit. Confer Ezek. 18.32. & 33.11. 1 Tim. 2.4. Grot. See Harm. of the Four Evang. ch. 5. pag. 163. (as far forth as may conſiſt with his Juſtice and Goodneſs) that any ſhould periſh, but that all ſhould come to repentance; and accordingly, that time ſhould be given them for that purpoſe. But though this great day of the Lord(e)Dies illa ultima qua Chriſtus homines judicabit: cujus arrhabo ſunt judicia illa in Judaeos, Luc. 17.24. The day of the Lord] that is, of Chriſt, when he ſhall come to judg the world; or of God the Father, who ſhall the world by him, Act. 17.31. ſeem ſlow in coming, yet it will come, and that ſuddenly, as a thief in the night, and will ſurprize many ſecure and unprepared ſinners▪ who ſhall then be found on the face of the earth. And when it ſhall come, there will be a great change and diſſolution of the whole frame of Nature, the Heavens will paſs away with a great noiſe, and the elements ſhall melt with fervent heat; and the earth, and all the works therein, ſhall be burnt up (f)Non quidem in nihilum redacta ſed in novam formam tranſmutata. Conſer Pſal, 102. v. 26. Rom 8. v. 19. Piſc.; yet ſo, as poſſibly out of this conflagration God will bring forth a new edition of Heaven and Earth, and of all or moſt of the Creatures in them contained, to be laſting monuments of His own Power and Glory, and objects of the Saints delightful contemplation. From Ver. 1, to 11.
The Apoſtle comes now to make a practical improvement of this Doctrine, exhorting them, from the certain, ſudden, and terrible coming of Chriſt, to the practiſe of ſundry duties. 1. If the whole Syſteme and Frame of Heaven and Earth muſt be ſo wonderfully alter'd to make it a fit habitation for the Saints, then they ſhould conſider how holy they ought to be, and how great a degree of purity they ſhould labour to attain, who profeſs themſelves the people of the Lord, and hope to live in this new world. 2. Such perſons, he tells them, ought not only to expect that day, and to look for it; but to haſten to it in their longing-deſires; and by their prayers and other endeavours (in their places), …o further, what they can, thoſe works which muſt he done, before it come; and ſo, as much as lies in them, haſtning that day, which will be ſo full of terror and majeſty, and wherein (as he ſaid before) the Heavens, being on fire, ſhall be diſſolved, and the elements ſhall melt with fervent heat. Yet this great change, he tells them, will not tend to the utter ruin and annihilation, but to the refining(g)Ex reliquiis molis antiquae reſurget melior. Grot. of the world. For according to the promiſe (ſays he) which God hath made unto us by his Prophet Iſa. 65.17, and 66.22. (h)Iſta promiſſio Iſa. 65.17, agit de regno gratiae, ſeu ſtatu Eccleſiae Chriſtianae in Novo Teſtamento. Solenne eſt Prophetis à deſcriptione regni gratiae tranſitum facere ad deſcriptionem regni gloriae, à ſtatu regni Chriſti in hoc mundo, ad ſtatum ipſius in altero ſeculo; quia regnum Chriſti hic duntaxat inchoatur, in futuro ſeculo conſummabitur. Fridlib.we look for new heavens and a new earth (not for ſubſtance, but renewed in qualities) wherein only righteous and holy perſons*See Mat. 13.43. and Mat. 25.34. ſhall dwell, Rev. 21.7. 3. From the conſideration of that comfortable eſtate and everlaſting bleſſedneſs which believers have ground to expect hereafter, he exhorts them to give all diligence, that they may be without ſpot, and blameleſs(i)Eph. 5.27. Jude v. 24. Col. 1.22., being waſhed in the blood of Chriſt, and ſanctified by his Spirit; and if it ſhall ſo happen that any of them ſhould live to that day, that then they may be found of him (when he comes to judgment) in a ſtate of peace and reconciliation with God, and in peace of mind and conſcience, not being affrighted at the coming of it. 4. He exhorts them to interpret and account the Lord's delay in coming to judgment, and his patience and long-ſuffering exercis'd towards ſinners, as intended by him (not as a connivance at their ſins, but) to bring them to repentance, and ſo to ſalvation, if they will make a right uſe of it. And agreeably hereunto, he tells them, his Brother and fellow-Apoſtle Paul (according to the great wiſdom given him by God) had written unto them in his Epiſtle to the Romans (wherein there are many things that properly concern the Jews), and in his Epiſtle to the Hebrews, and ſo in ſeveral of his other Epiſtles. In which he acknowledges, there are ſome things hard to be underſtood, which unlearned and unſtableminded-men do often-times wreſt (as they do alſo other Scriptures) to their own ruin and deſtruction. And therefore they had need to labour after a clear underſtanding of thoſe Scriptures, that they may not miſtake about them. From Ver. 11, to 17.
He comes now to the Concluſion of his Epiſtle; wherein he tells them, That ſeeing they were fore-warned of their danger, and acquainted how to prevent it, they ſhould be more wary, leſt they be drawn aſide by the ſeduction of wicked men, from the way of Truth and Holineſs wherein they had been in ſome meaſure eſtabliſhed, and which they had hitherto profeſſed. But on the contrary, they ſhould labour daily to grow more and more in grace, and in a clear and diſtinct knowledg of our Lord and Saviour, and his Doctrine. To this bleſſed Saviour he deſires humbly and affectionately, that all honour and glory may be for ever aſcribed. Amen. From Ver. 17, to the end.