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1:1
Paul, and
Silvanus, and
Timotheus, unto the church of the
Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 1:2 Grace
unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet,
because that your faith groweth
exceedingly, and the charity of every
one of you all toward each other aboundeth; 1:4 So that we ourselves
glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all
your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 1:5 Which is a
manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be
counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 1:6
Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to
recompense tribulation to
them that trouble you; 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us,
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels, 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not
God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 1:9 Who
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of
the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 1:10 When he shall come to
be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe
(because our
testimony among you was believed) in that day.
1:11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count
you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his
goodness, and the work of faith with
power: 1:12 That the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to
the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
2 Thessalonians
Book: 2 Thessalonians
Chapter: 1
Overview:
The
Apostle blesses
God for the growing state of the
Love and
patience of the
Thessalonians.
(1-4) And encourages them to
persevere under all their sufferings for
Christ, considering his
coming at the great
Day of account.
(5-12)
1-4 Where there is the
Truth of
Grace, there will be an
increase of it. The path of the just is as the shining
Light,
which shines more and more unto the perfect
Day. And where there
is the increase of
Grace,
God must have all the
Glory. Where
Faith grows,
Love will abound, for
Faith Works By Love. It shows
Faith and patience, such as may be proposed as a pattern for
others, when trials from
God, and persecutions from men, quicken
the
Exercise of those graces; for the patience and
Faith of
which the
Apostle gloried, bore them up, and enabled them to
endure all their tribulations.
5-10 Religion, if worth anything, is worth every thing; and
those have
No religion, or none worth having, or know not how to
value it, cannot find their hearts to suffer for it. We cannot
By all our sufferings, any more than
By our services, merit
Heaven; but
By our patience under sufferings, we are prepared
for the promised joy. Nothing more strongly marks a
Man for
eternal ruin, than a
Spirit of
Persecution and
Enmity to the
name and people of
God.
God will trouble those that trouble his
people. And there is a
Rest for the people of
God; a
Rest from
Sin and sorrow. The certainty of future recompence is proved
By
the
Righteousness of
God. The thoughts of this should be
terrible to wicked men, and support the righteous.
Faith,
looking to the great
Day, is enabled partly to understand the
Book of
Providence, which appears confused to unbelievers. The
Lord Jesus will in that
Day appear from
Heaven. He will come in
the
Glory and power of the upper world. His
Light will be
piercing, and his power consuming, to all who in that
Day shall
be found as
Chaff. This appearance will be terrible to those
that know not
God, especially to those who rebel against
Revelation, and obey not the
Gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the great crime of multitudes, the
Gospel is revealed,
and they will not believe it; or if they pretend to believe,
they will not obey it. Believing the truths of the
Gospel, is in
order to our obeying the precepts of the
Gospel. Though sinners
may be long spared, they will be punished at last. They did
Sin's work, and must receive
Sin's
Wages. Here
God punishes
sinners
By creatures as instruments; but then, it will be
Destruction from the Almighty; and who knows the power of his
Anger? It will be a joyful
Day to some, to the saints, to those
who believe and obey the
Gospel. In that bright and blessed
Day,
Christ Jesus will be glorified and admired
By his saints. And
Christ will be glorified and admired in them. His
Grace and
power will be shown, when it shall appear what he has purchased
for, and wrought in, and bestowed upon those who believe in him.
Lord, if the
Glory Put upon thy saints shall be thus admired,
how much more shalt thou be admired, as the Bestower of that
Glory! The
Glory of thy
Justice in the
Damnation of the wicked
will be admired, but not as the
Glory of thy
Mercy in the
Salvation of believers. How will this strike the adoring angels
with holy admiration, and transport thy admiring saints with
eternal rapture! The meanest believer shall enjoy more than the
most enlarged
Heart can imagine while we are here;
Christ will
be admired in all those that believe, the meanest believer not
excepted.
11,12 Believing thoughts and expectations of the second coming
of
Christ should lead us to pray to
God more, for ourselves and
others. If there is any good in us, it is owing to the good
pleasure of his
Goodness, and therefore it is called
Grace.
There are many purposes of
Grace and good-will in
God toward his
people, and the
Apostle prays that
God would complete in them
the work of
Faith with power. This is to their doing every other
good work. The power of
God not only begins, but carries
On the
work of
Faith. And this is the great
End and design of the
Grace
of our
God and
Lord Jesus Christ, which is made known to us, and
wrought in us.