He desireth their prayers for himself, testifieth what confidence he hath in them, maketh request to God in their behalf, giveth them divers precepts, especially to shun idleness and ill-company; and last of all, concludeth with prayer and salutation.
Anno Domino 52.
IN the end of the foregoing chapter, by praying God to comfort and establish the Thessalonians, the apostle insinuated, that God's assistance, obtained by their own prayers and by the prayers of others, is the best preservative from apostacy and sin. Wherefore St. Paul, at this time, being deeply affected with the malice and rage of the unbelieving Jews, who, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, had made an insurrection, in which the apostle's life was endangered, besought the Thessalonians to pray to God in behalf of him and his assistants; that, by their bold and faithful preaching, the gospel might be as speedily and successfully propagated through the world, as it had been among the Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians 3:1.—and that they might be delivered from those brutish and unreasonable men of the Jewish nation, who pretended to have faith in the true God, but had it not, 2 Thessalonians 3:2.—However, that the malice of theJews might not terrify the Thessalonians too much, he put them in mind of the power and faithfulness of Christ, who will not suffer his servants to be tempted above what they are able to bear, 2 Thessalonians 3:3.—then prayed God to direct them all to that which was good, 2 Thessalonians 3:4.—And because his former letter had not reclaimed the disorderly among them, he, in the name and by the authority of Christ, commanded the faithful to avoid the company and conversation of those who had not obeyed his former order concerning working for their own maintenance, 2 Thessalonians 3:6.—And to add the more weight to his command, he put the Thessalonians in mind, that when he and his assistants were with them, they did not, on pretence of their being employed in preaching the gospel, lead an idle life, 2 Thessalonians 3:7.—nor intrude themselves intothe houses of the rich, nor live on other people's labour; but wrought daily for their own maintenance, 2 Thessalonians 3:8.—This course they followed, not because they had no right to maintenance from their disciples, but to make themselves examples of prudent industryto the Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians 3:9.—Farther, he put them in mind, that when he was with them, he commanded, if any man did not work, noneof them should give him to eat, 2 Thessalonians 3:10.—And, because he was informed, that there were still among them persons who did not work at all, but who went about idly, observing and censuring other people's actions, pretending perhaps, that, as the day of judgment was at hand, to employ themselves in worldly affairs was inconsistent with the care of their salvation, 2 Thessalonians 3:11.—such idle persons he commanded immediately to correct their disorderly way of living, 2 Thessalonians 3:12.—and the faithful he exhorted, not to become weary of honestly working for their own maintenance, and of doing acts of charity to the reallyneedy, 2 Thessalonians 3:13.—At the same time, that his injunctions might be better obeyed by the disorderly than formerly, he desired the rulers of the church, if any refused to do the things commanded in this letter, to point them out to the faithful, that they might put them to shame, by avoiding their company, as he had directed, 2 Thessalonians 3:14 yet they were not to regard them as enemies, but to admonish them as brethren, who might still be reclaimed, 2 Thessalonians 3:15.—Next, to shew his great affection to the Thessalonians, he prayed for all manner of happiness to them, 2 Thessalonians 3:16.—Lastly, to authenticate this epistle, the apostle, with his own hand, wrote the salutation; and declared it to be the mark, bywhich all his genuine letters might be distinguished from such as were forged, 2 Thessalonians 3:17.—and finished this epistle with his apostolic benediction, 2 Thessalonians 3:18.