I charge you by the Lord, &c.— This was in the nature of a solemn oath, which the apostle upon occasion used himself, and by which he here obliges the Thessalonians. See Joshua 6:26. Matthew 26:63-64. St. Paul was not for having the scripture locked up from the common people, nor did he recommend it to them, first of all, to read a system of divinity, drawn up by uninspired and fallible men. See Colossians 4:16. How easy was it for the primitive Christians to distinguish St. Paul's genuine epistles from any counterfeit ones, when he sent them to the several churches by approved persons, and commonly by some of his own companions and attendants, when he ordered them to be read publicly upon the receipt of them, and took care to affix his name, written in some peculiar distinguishing manner, or with some very particular mark annexed to it: and if the fact was once ascertained, how easy was it to transmit it to posterity! See Philemon 1:19.
Inferences. Since we continually see so many around us suddenly surprised into the eternal world, and fixed in that state in which judgment will find them, it should render us very careful that the day of the Lord may not overtake us as a thief, but that we maintain a continual watch. How many are at this hour speaking peace and safety to themselves, over whose heads instantaneous destruction is hovering; such a destruction, as they shall never be able to escape, never able to recover from, if once it overtake them!
Let us endeavour, through grace, to awaken ourselves and each other to a due sense of these things. Are we indeed children of the day? Let us then rouze ourselves, and use the light; that by it we may dispatch our labours, and, favoured by it, be guarded against the most sudden attacks of our spiritual enemies. Let us be sober and vigilant, lest our adversary, the devil, break in upon us by surprize; which the unexpected weapons wherewith he attacks us, may render yet more dangerous.
Our armour is described, and provided, if we seek it from the magazine of God. Let faith and love ever defend our breast; let the hope of salvation cover our head. Let us adore the divine clemency and mercy, and enjoy the views of that salvation which is to be obtained by Jesus Christ. As he hath done his part to procure it for us, having died for this important purpose, be it our care to exert ourselves in our proper sphere for securing it, that we may lay hold on eternal life: then may we be happily indifferent to life or to death. While we continue in the body;—and when that is sleeping in the grave, and our souls remain in the invisible world;—and when our sleeping dust shall be rouzed, and both soul and body live in unremitting vigour and energy, beyond the need of that repose which is now so necessary;—still, in each of these different states, the faithful shall live with him; and he will make the progression of the soul from one state of being to another, its progression to stages of increasing goodness and joy. In the persuasion of this, let us comfort, exhort, and edify each other; and we shall feel the energy of the exhortations we give, and the sweetness of the consolations we administer.
What a variety of excellent instructions does the short close of this chapter contain! yea, how much is expressed in some of its shortest sentences,—on this habitual joy in God,—this constant disposition to prayer,—this grateful temper which, upon every call, overflows in thanksgiving,—this abstinence from all appearance of evil! "Blessed Father of mercies, we need a better Spirit than our own, to teach us these things! May thy grace be with us, and may none of us quench thy Spirit, nor despise those ordinances which, by his heavenly communications, he so often vouchsafes to own! O may we endeavour, by the daily importunity of prayer, to engage more of his efficacious and purifying influences, to sanctify the whole frame of our nature, our spirits, and souls, and bodies; so shall we understand and choose, so shall we love and delight in things divine, and maintain that constant command over our appetites of flesh and blood, as to be continually fit for the appearance of thy dear Son, and more like what we hope we shall be, when presented before the presence of his glory."
To promote this, let us watch over each other in the Lord: may Christian societies preserve a regular discipline, with a due mixture of zeal and tenderness: may the friendship of private persons be rendered mutually subservient to religious improvement; and a due regard be ever paid to those who labour among them, and preside over them in the Lord. They will not require a blind submission to their dictates, if they rightly understand the gospel which they are to teach: they will allow, they will encourage, they will urge their hearers to prove all things; which even the apostles themselves, with all their plenitude of inspiration, did not think it beneath them to do. But they who thus candidly inquire, and are determined to hold fast what is truly good,—knowing how excellent an office the ministry is; knowing how much the edification of the church depends upon it; will esteem those who bear it, very highly in love, for their work's sake; and, in whatever instances they may be constrained by what they judge to be the evidence of truth, to differ from their brethren, or even from their teachers,—will be solicitous to maintain harmony and love in the society to which they belong, as it becomes them to do who are the disciples of that wisdom from above, which hath taught them inseparably to connect their regards to purity and peace.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, Having mentioned the second advent of the Lord Jesus, the apostle bids them prepare for it.
1. Respecting the precise time of his coming, it is left in an aweful uncertainty, that we might be always ready, But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you: for yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night, so suddenly and unexpectedly. Note; It is a needless curiosity to desire precisely to know the hour of Christ's coming; but a most needful piece of wisdom to be always ready for his appearing.
2. His coming will be the terror and surprise of an ungodly world. For when they, who are secure in their sins, shall say, Peace and safety, promising themselves long years of sinful pleasures and indulgences, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. Note; When the day of the Lord comes, it will spread a terrible alarm through a world that lieth in wickedness; and then the ungodly and the sinner will in vain cry to rocks and mountains to cover their guilty heads.
3. This will be a day of light and triumph to the faithful people of God. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, sleeping in sinful and sensual security, but brought into the marvellous light of the gospel; and therefore need not terrify yourselves that that day should overtake you as a thief, though you must be prepared. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day, walking under the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness: we are not of the night, nor of darkness, in heathen ignorance, and under the blindness of the natural mind; but tread the shining path of truth, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the Son of man. Note; It is an unspeakable blessing to be delivered from the darkness of the fallen heart, and, walking in the light of life, to have ever in our view the bright crown of righteousness which fadeth not away. Then we can say, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.
2nd, On the foregoing considerations the apostle grounds his exhortations to the practice of several necessary duties.
1. Therefore let us not sleep as do others, in carelessness about these eternal concerns, trifling away the precious moment of opportunity; but let us watch and pray, awake to the great affairs of our immortal souls, ever listening when the sound Behold he cometh, Go ye out to meet him, shall reach our ears. Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. And,
2. Be sober, temperate in the use of all God's creatures, neither overcharged with surfeiting or drunkenness, nor with the cares or pleasures of this life. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken, are drunken in the night, and seek the darkness to hide their guilty heads, stupifying their consciences till the dreadful hour shall startle them into sensibility. But let us who are of the day, and walk in the light of truth, be sober and vigilant, not intoxicated with any earthly pursuits or enjoyments, but seeking in the first place the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
3. We must be armed, as well as on our guard; putting on the breast-plate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation; these being the cardinal graces, by which the soul, like a warrior completely clad in armour, is able to resist every attack of the enemy, unhurt amidst all the fiery darts which sin and Satan can hurl against it. Note; (1.) We have mighty foes to grapple with, and need be well armed against them. (2.) Where faith is grounded on Christ, love in lively exercise, and hope with piercing eye looking up to eternal things, then none of our enemies can hurt us, nor will any of the snares of this world be able to prevail to draw our affections off from God and the things which are above.
4. He encourages them, from past experience, with confidence still to trust on the Lord. For God hath not appointed us to wrath; but, as is evident from his grace which we have already received, wills and entreats us to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, to purchase for us pardon, and for all his faithful saints eternal redemption; that, whether we wake or sleep, are numbered among the living or among the dead—at the day of his appearing, we should live together with him in glory everlasting. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and exhort or edify one another, even as also ye do; nothing affording such animating ground of hope, and serving to quicken the soul in all holy walking before God, as these blessed prospects and expectations. Note; (1.) The more we are enabled to exercise confidence in Christ, the more steadily shall we bear up under all opposition. (2.) Christians should delight in exhorting, comforting, and edifying one another; and nothing can afford them more abundant matter than the expected coming of their Lord.
3rdly, The apostle passes on to other needful exhortations.
1. He enjoins them to respect and honour their ministers. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, presiding in your worshipping assemblies, and admonish and instruct you in the good ways of the Lord, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Note; (1.) The duty of ministers is to labour with zeal and diligence for the good of their people's souls, to be over them, watching for their good, as the shepherd tends his flock, with a constant eye to the great Shepherd who hath committed his trust to them; and to admonish them publicly and privately, without partiality, instructing them in all God's holy will. (2.) The duty of the people to their ministers is to love them, to esteem them highly for their work's sake, to know and to acknowledge them, with thankfulness for their labours, and serious attention to their advice.
2. He exhorts them to the discharge of those duties, which, as Christians, they owed each other.
(1.) Be at peace among yourselves, cultivating that mutual harmony and love with each other, and your ministers, which, as a church, will most especially tend to your establishment.
(2.) Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, reprove them for their disorderly walk, and threaten them with the church's censures if they amend not their ways; comfort the feeble-minded, whose hearts are ready to sink under their trials, and are dejected with temptation or affliction, encourage them to bear up, and suggest every reviving motive to cheer their drooping spirits; support the weak, whose attainments are low in grace and knowledge, and are therefore more easily offended; we should therefore bear with their infirmities, and endeavour to strengthen their faith; be patient toward all men, put up with every affront or provocation, forbearing and forgiving one another in love, and still waiting and hoping for their amendment.
(3.) See that none render evil for evil unto any man, in look, in word or deed; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men; do good to their bodies and souls, and be ready to every work and labour of love.
4thly, We have divers short and weighty exhortations.
1. Rejoice evermore in God as your portion, in Christ as your Redeemer, in the Spirit as your Comforter; in one another, in all holy ordinances, and under every tribulation.
2. Pray without ceasing; be daily and often employed in this blessed work, in private, in your families, or among the faithful, and in ejaculatory and mental prayer. Note; To live without prayer, is the sure proof of an unregenerate heart.
3. In every thing give thanks, under every dispensation of Providence, not only for mercies received, but also under every affliction, maintaining still a cheerful spirit: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, and the constant, grateful return we owe for the rich redemption which we have obtained in his dear Son.
4. Quench not the Spirit, by indulging any evil temper in your heart, or allowed sin in your conduct; by resisting his gracious motions, or neglecting those means of grace wherein his divine influences are communicated to you. (See the annotations.)
5. Despise not prophesyings, or prophesies, which still contain most useful matter, and should be constantly read and regarded; and attend upon the ministrations of the word. See the annotations for other views of this text.
6. Prove all things, and try, by the gospel test, every doctrine which is advanced, that you may not be a prey to deceivers: hold fast that which is good, unmoved by seducers among yourselves, or the persecutions of your enemies from without.
7. Abstain from all appearance of evil, dreading sin in its most distant approaches, and avoiding whatever may have a tendency to lead you into evil, under however innocent a guise it may present itself to you.
5thly, The apostle concludes,
1. With his prayers for them. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; may he, who is the author and giver of peace to your consciences, and who unites you together in this happy bond, may he cleanse you from all iniquity, and perfect you in holiness: and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body, in every member and every faculty, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Note; Prayer is one of the great means of sanctification.
2. He expresses his confidence in God's promises and protection. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it; he never hath failed, never can fail, those that continue to trust him.
3. He entreats an interest in their prayers. Brethren, pray for us. The greatest ministers need the prayers of all their people; and the more they are mindful of them at a throne of grace, the more good will they receive from their ministrations.
4. He adds his salutation. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. Let every member of the church be assured of my most cordial and affectionate regards.
5. He adjures them solemnly to read this epistle to the whole church. I charge you by the Lord, in his name, that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. Note; (1.) All Christians are bound to read the scriptures diligently; nor can there be a stronger mark of Antichrist, than the keeping these sacred records sealed up in an unknown tongue. (2.) That public worship is very defective, where the scriptures are not read in the congregation.
6. He closes with his usual benediction. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. May the boundless and everlasting favour of the adored Jesus be your portion now and for ever. Amen!