12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother, as I suppose, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and adding my testimony, 13 that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand. The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, 14 saluteth you, and Mark my son. Salute ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ.

V. 12. As I suppose-As I judge, upon good grounds, though not by immediate inspiration, I have written-That is, sent my letter by him, adding my testimony-To that which ye before heard from Paul, that this is the true gospel of the grace of God.

V. 13. The church that is at Babylon-Near which St. Peter probably was when he wrote this epistle; elected together with you-Partaking of the same faith with you. Mark-It seems the evangelist; my son-Probably converted by St. Peter. And he had occasionally served him as a son in the gospel.

NOTES

ON

THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF ST. PETER.

THE parts of this Epistle, wrote not long before St. Peter's death, and the destruction of Jerusalem, with the same design as the former, are likewise three:

I. The Inscription,

II. A farther Stirring up of the Minds of true Believers, in which, 1. He exhorts them, having received the precious Gift, to give

all Diligence to grow in grace:

2. To this he incites them,

1. From the Firmness of true Teachers,

2. From the Wickedness of false Teachers,

2. He guards them against Impostors,

1. By confuting their Error,

C. i. 1, 2

3-11.

12-21.

C. ii. 1-22.

C. iii. 1-6.

2. By describing the great Day, adding suitable Exhortations, 10-14.

III. The Conclusion, in which he,

1. Declares his Agreement with St. Paul,

2. Repeats the Sum of the Epistle,

15, 16 17, 18.

JJ. St. Peter.

CHAP. I. 1. SIMON PETER, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteousness of our

CHAP. I. Ver. 1. To them that have obtained-Not by their own works, but by the free grace of God, like precious faith with us-The apostles. The faith of those who have not seen, being equally precious with that of those who saw our Lord in the flesh: through the righteousness-Both active and passive, of our God and Saviour-It is this alone by which the justice of Ged is satisfied, and for the sake of which he gives this precious faith.

2 God and Saviour Jesus Christ, Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, through the knowledge of God, and of 3 Jesus our Lord: As his divine power hath given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us by glory and 4 virtue, Through which he hath given us precious and exceeding great promises; that by these, having escaped the corruption which is in the world through desire, ye 5 may become partakers of the divine nature: For this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith courage, 6 and to courage knowledge, And to knowledge temperance,

V. 2. Through the Divine, experimental, knowledge of God and of Christ. V. 3. As his divine power has given us all things-There is a wonderful cheerfulness in this exordium, which begins with the exhortation itself: that pertain to life and godliness-To the present, natural life, and to the continuance and increase of spiritual life, through that divine knowledge of him—Of Christ, who hath called us by-His own glorious power, to eternal glory-As the end, by Christian virtue-Or fortitude, as the means.

V. 4. Through which-Glory and fortitude, he hath given us exceeding great -And inconceivably precious promises-Both the promises and the things promised, which follow in their due season, that, sustained and encouraged by the promises, we may obtain all that he has promised: that, having escaped the manifold corruption which is in the world-From that fruitful fountain, evil desire; ye may become partakers of the divine nature-Being renewed in the image of God, and having communion with him, so as to dwell in God, and God in you.

V. 5. For this very reason— -Because God hath given you so great blessings, giving all diligence-It is a very uncommon word which we render giving. It literally signifies, bringing in by the bye, or over and above; implying, that God works the work, yet not unless we are diligent. Our diligence is to follow the gift of God, and is followed by an increase of all his gifts; add to-And in all the other gifts of God. Superadd the latter, without losing the former. The Greek word properly means, lead up, as in a dance, one of these after the other, in a beautiful order. Your faith, that evidence of things not seen, termed before, the knowledge of God and of Christ-The root of all Christian graces: courage-Whereby ye may conquer all enemies and difficulties, and execute whatever faith dictates. In this most beautiful connexion, each preceding grace leads to the following: each foilowing, tempers and perfects the preceding. They are set down in the order of nature, rather than the order of time. For though every grace bears a relation to every other, yet here they are so nicely ranged, that those which have the closest dependance on each other, are placed together: and to your courage knowledge-Wisdom, teaching how to exercise it on all occasions.

V. 6. And to your knowledge temperance, and to your temperance patienceBear and forbear; sustain and abstain. Deny yourself, and take up your cross daily. The more knowledge you have, the more renounce your own will; indulge yourself the less. Knowledge puffeth up, and the great boasters of knowledge, (the Gnostics,) were those that turned the grace of God into wantonness. But see that your knowledge be attended with temperance. Christian temperance implies, the voluntarily abstaining from all pleasure which does not lead to God. It extends to all things inward and outward: the due government of every thought, as well as affection. It is using the world, so to use all outward, and so to restrain all inward things, that they may become a means of what is spiritual; a scaling-ladder to ascend to what is above. Intemperance is to abuse the world. He that uses any thing below, VOL. II. X

and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly 8 kindness love. For these being in you, and abounding, make you neither slothful nor unfruitful in the knowledge 9 of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that wanteth these is blind, not able to see afar off, having forgotten the puri10 fication from his former sins. Wherefore, brethren, ba the more diligent to make your calling and election firm; 1 for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

looking no higher, and getting no farther, is intemperate. He that uses the creature only so as to attain to more of the Creator, is alone temperate, and walks as Christ himself walked. And to patience, godliness-Its proper support; a continual sense of God's presence and providence, and a filial fear of, and confidence in him. Otherwise your patience may be pride, surliness, stoicism; but not Christianity.

V. 7. And to godliness, brotherly kindness No sullenness, sternness, moroseness: sour godliness, so called, is of the devil. Of Christian godliness it may always be said,

"Mild, sweet, serene, and tender is her mood,

Nor grave with sternness, nor with lightness free:
Against example resolutely good,

Fervent in zeal, and warm in charity."

And to brotherly kindness, love-The pure and perfect love of God, and of all mankind. The apostle here makes an advance upon the preceding article, brotherly kindness, which seems only to relate to the love of Christians toward one another.

V. 8. For these being really in you-Added to your faith, and aboundingIncreasing more and more, otherwise we fall short; make you neither slothful nor unfruitful-Do not suffer you to be faint in your mind, or without fruit in your lives. If there is less faithfulness, less care and watchfulness, since we were pardoned, than there was before, and less diligence, less outward obedience, than when we were seeking remission of sin, we are both slothful and unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ-That is, in the faith, which then cannot work by love.

V. 9. But he that wanteth these-That does not add them to his faith, is blind-The eyes of his understanding are again closed. He cannot see God, or his pardoning love. He has lost the evidence of things not seen: not able to see afar off-Literally, purblind. He has lost sight of the precious promises: perfect love and heaven are equally out of his sight. Ñay he cannot now see what himself once enjoyed; having, as it were, forgot the purification from his former sins-Scarce knowing what he himself then felt, when his sins were forgiven.

V. 10. Wherefore-Considering the miserable state of these apostates, brethren-St. Peter no where uses this appellation, in either of his epistles, but in this important exhortation: be the more diligent By courage, knowledge, temperance, &c. to make your calling and election firm-God hath called you by his word and his Spirit: he hath elected you, separated you from the world, through the sanctification of the Spirit. O cast not away these inestimable benefits! If ye are thus diligent to make your election firm, ye shall never finally fall.

V. 11. For if ye do so, an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly inte the everlasting kingdom-Ye shall go in full triumph to glory.

12 Wherefore I will not neglect always to remind you of these things, though ye know them, and are established 13 in the present truth; Yea, I think it right, so long as I

am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by reminding you: 14 Knowing that shortly I must put off my tabernacle, even 15 as our Lord Jesus Christ shewed me. But I will endeavour, that ye may be able, after my decease, to have these things always in remembrance.

16

For we have not followed cunningly-devised fables, while we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his 17 majesty: For he received honour and glory from God the Father, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, *This is my beloved Son, in whom 18 I delight. And we being with him in the holy mountain, 19 heard this voice coming from heaven. And we have the word of prophecy more confirmed, to which ye do well

* Matt. xvii. 5.

V. 12. Wherefore-Since everlasting destruction attends your sloth, everlasting glory your diligence, I will not neglect always to remind you of these things-Therefore he wrote another, so soon after the former epistle, though ye are established in the present truth-That truth which I am now declaring. V. 13. In this tabernacle-Or tent. How short is our abode in the body! How easily does a believer pass out of it!

V. 14. Even as the Lord Jesus shewed me In the manner which he foretold, John xxi. 18, &c. It is not improbable, he had also shewed him, That the time was now drawing nigh.

V. 15. That ye may be able-By having this epistle among you.

V. 16. These things are worthy to be always had in remembrance. For they are not cunningly devised fables-Like those common among the heathens; while we made known to you the power and coming-That is, the powerful coming, of Christ-In glory. But if what they advanced of Christ was not true, if it was of their own invention, then to impose such a lie on the world, as it was, in the very nature of things, above all human power to defend, and to do this at the expense of life and all things, only to enrage the whole world, Jews and Gentiles, against them, was no cunning, but was the greatest folly that men could have been guilty of: but were eye-witnesses of his majesty-At his transfiguration, which was a specimen of his glory at the last day.

V. 17. For he received divine honour and inexpressible glory-Shining from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, when there came such a voice from the excellent glory-That is, from God the Father.

V. 18. And we-Peter, James, and John, St. John was still alive: being with him in the holy mount-Made so by that glorious manifestation, as mount Horeb was of old, Exod. iii. 4, 5.

V. 19. And we-St. Peter here speaks in the name of all Christians, have the word of prophecy-The words of Moses, Isaiah, and all the prophets, are one and the same word, every way consistent with itself. St. Peter does not cite any particular passage, but speaks of their entire testimony; more confirmed By that display of his glorious majesty; to which word ye do well that ye take heed, as to a lamp which shone in a dark place-Wherein there was neither light nor window. Such anciently was the whole world, except that little spot where this lamp shone, till the day should dawn-Till the full light of the gospel should break through the darkness: as is the difference between