i their departure hence, And the Comfort! 234mg, hence may ſerve «(49077 under other ſorrows as well 23 thew, whicn the Apoſtle al- 32h iicend 1n 1h: Words, . GCG:HAK.-K "is coming of Chriſt ſhall be unawares, Lo 3. H e ſhould therefore he hor, and warckful, and prepared, q=—= 2, Hes exhorts them to Þ.4C their Rulers in #g0ur; and div'rs Chriſtian Virtues, 13 -— 22. 1rayeth God ro keep them unblame able uno the coming of Chriſt ; and of this be is ofſured, 22, 24. He exbiris them to pray for him; and to [4- Jute ore another and adjures them thar this Epiſtle be read befure all : | The dprjtoltcal Benediction, 25——23, | 1 Ut of rhe times and the ſeaſons, brethren, ye have ITE B no nce( that I | write wnto you y. * 72 _ y But when ſhall theſe hings be, mizht ſome fay, as the Diſciples 25ked Chriſt, Mat, 24. 3, 36. Als 1,6, He tells them, 'ris nor for you 13 know times and. ſeaſons; Not that they knew them in particular already, but there was no need they ſhouid know them. It may be
- 14L
ye have 90 weed tar 1 write of them, The Apoſtle, . as in his: preach- ing, ſo his writing had reſpe& to what was moſt needtal; and profita- ble for the people z as when the Diſciples askt, Are there few that ſhall c{/2 Chrift anſwer them in that which was moſt needful to m, /uke 12. 24, And ſob doth the Apoſile here, inftead of acquaint» em with the times and ſeaſons, puts them upon watchtulnels, t they might not be ſurprized; as in the following Veries: and to improve the knowledge they had already, which was this, that Chriſt's coming would be iadden. 2 For your ſelves know || perfe@ly that * the day of ac Lord ſo cometh as a thiet in the night <. Jy times and je 1/ons then before-mentioned, he meant the time of 1: th I's coming, ; or he applies what he ſpoke in general to this par- 11, ticular, which he here calls rh: Day of the Lord, And though they o... 7 fnOW not the particular time, yet they did know this, it would be ſud- ; 0&1 and unexretted, coming as 4 thicf in the night, Rev. 16.15. the ) comparifon 15 to be reſtrained only to the ſuddenneſs of it ; tor his co- . 1:0 will be welcome, and {0 not as a 1hiet to all that believe: And it 5 Called the day of the Lord here and cl{ewhere, 1 Cor. 3. 13. Phil, 1. 6,10, And 17.r Jiy, 2 7im 1, 18. not to be taken for a Natural Day, Put a Certain period of fime, Any eminent manifeſtation of God ei- £201 i Works of Mercy or Judgment, are called bis day in Scripture, Jie 2 12, ere48, 10s And fo becauſe Chrift will be more eminently ni Hed now than Cver before, thereforc his coming is called bis day; Cn EV WoUulae fiiden, they did not only know, but know per- IT Or accurately, Eph.g. 15, circumſpectly. There could be only ©0115 F:re3 about the particular time: The influence hereor was pow- 21f.l upon their Hearts, and fo they may be ſaid to know 2t perfectly, : Religion, knowledge is not perfect which is not operative. 3 Fer when they ſhall ſay, Peace and ſatety a,.* then + {iden b deſtruction cometh upon them, as travel upon a " vOman with child c, and they ſhall not eſcape d. a By theie words the Apoſtle proves that the Day of the Lord will come unexpected, by the {ecurity that will be then found in the world, 1 hey /ay it in their Hearts and Pradtice,if not with their 'Fongues, And he ulſtth two words the better to exprels the greatneſs of this {ccurity, YL | preſeiit Peace, aud m9 danger of ſliding, as the words unport: Ant as the effect of Chriſt's coming will be Deſiruciion to ſuch, which will be Salvation fo others, eb, g. laſt. fo. through their ſecurity 1t will be þ (udden dltruttion, c which he deſcribes under the timilitude of Tra- ve! upon a Woman with Child, which doth for the moft part come of a iiien, and is the moſt exquiſite pains in Nature, and is often made ule of in *cripture tv ler forth extremity of miſery, Iſa. 13. 8. Fer, 13. 21, 4 Andthele pains come upon her unavoidably, fo laith the Apo- ca {ile of thele ens Deitruttion, and they ſhall not eſcap?, or in no wiſe oY e G12, OXpIett in the Greek by two Negatives, which do ftrongly af- on firm, 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkneſs e, that that auy ſhould overtake you as a thief. e Left theſe believing Theſſalonians ſhould be terrified in their Minds
by this Dilcoule, he adds this by way of comfort to them, that they 1n2!] 10t be ſurpriſed as others ; though they did not know the particu- [
i*, as the World would be, and the reaſon he gives is, becauſe they are rnot in darkneſs, Darkneſs is to be taken metaphorically, and ſo in cripture it's taken either for Sin, Ignorance, or Milzry, The two 1Tmerare hers meant, eſpecially Ignorance. Theſe i heſj.lonians were brought into the light of the Goſpel z they had the knowiedge of Chrift, nl 12 way of Salvation by him; particularly they knew of his coming, [the manner and ends of his coming, which the Infidel World did | hough Chritt's coming would be to others as a Thief in the 121, yet not to them.
1. 5 Yeare * a!l the children of light, and the children of Le Gay f; we are not of the night, nor of darkneſs g.
* 1nd} t \ GCTICE. Þ
Lizht, he therefore hereby deſcribes their preſent ſtate poſirively, Te re a" the children of the light, and the children of the day, which is an He- bra11;1- Ye are Vartakers of a Spiritual Light, and this Light is not the darker Light of Nature, or the Lizht of Prophecy which the Jews val, comparedtioa Lamp, 2 7er. 1, 19, but ye are Children of the i7,, as ths time of the Golpel is called Day, Rom. 13. 12. 2 Cor. 6.2,
£2 cyl 3, le are nut yy the night, nor of darkneſs ; your flate is exon ng uUnicrent from other Gentiles, and from what it once was, as Ihe Light 5 from Darknels, and Day from Night; not as if there Wis DOJENONTCE Temalning in them ; for the beſt men. ſee but through
dais dartiy, 1 Co. 13. 12, but the Apoſtle compares them with
Eno form te when they were Gentiles, and with the Jews under Law, anuvnithrefpect to their ſtate in Chritt, they were not Chi1- ITT LEt ys OF ag T0 their fate, of the Night, but Childten of
, arid OT the Day, | hereFor& It n3 not ſleep, as 60 Others þ but ® let V% Watch z2 and he {ber k Is © © 3
j And becauſe the Night 15 the time of darknels, and the Day of |
ALONIANS, Chap. V.