their eſtabliſhment, which the Apoſtle had before prayed for, chi + 17 verſe 17. and here aſſures them of it, what God hath promiſed vl | we may and ought to pray for. And Minifters ſhould exhort tins © ſeek that grace which they may be ſure before hand God wit! 30k Ang this eſtabliſhment relpetts either their mird,in the belief of th;- Golne againſt falſe DoQtrine, or their hearts againſt inordinate fears of oY or their practice, againſt departing from the way of Holine, The % poſtle well knew the Tenure of the New Covenant,which contains 51; : miſes of perſeverance and eſtabliſhment, as well as of pardoning Mer. cy,and ſanifying Grace,Fer. 32. 40, And he grounds his confidence gc their eſtabliſhment upon God's faithfulneſs, as upon the ſame SG he comforts the Corinthians, 1 Cor, Io. 13. and theſe Theſſuonizn; I Epiſt, 5. 24. and it may be the Apoftle hath here reference to what he had ſaid before z though we ſhall meet with wicked and unreaſona)js men, yet fear not, God will eſtabliſh you, for he is faithful, as Go , promiſes are according to his purpoſes, ſo his performances will he 2c, cording to his promiſes, which is his faithfulneſs. 6 2. As God , a eftabliſh them, ſo keep them from evil, There is moral and penal Evi of fin and ſuffering z the Greek word imports the former : Never uſs but for ſinful Evil, or ſometimes for the Devil, with ref pet to thej that dwells in him, and occaſioned by him, Zph. 6. 16. 1 Fobn 5 by And it's true, that God will keep his People Gon the Devil, as ſome read the word. But 1 ſuppoſe the Apoitle means here by evil, ezjj | work ; as he ſpeaks, 2 Tim. 4. 18, God will preſerve me from every evil work, But whether the evil work of others, or their own ? the latter I incline to, for he could not well aſſure them of the former, But how could he aſſure them of the latter ? did he think God would keep them from all ſin ? The Apoſtle doth not mean ſo,.nor ſay ſo; God keeps his People from much evil and fin which others fall into, though not from all. And he keeps them from falling under the power of it Though they may be tempted by Satan, the World, or thcir on hearts, yet not ſo as finally to be overcome. However the more Go doth eſtabliſh his People, the more will they be kept from evil, And ns Apoſtle doth alſo comfort them in this from the cofideration gf God's faithfulneſs, But theſe promiſes of God's keeping us, do not ex- clude our endeavours of keeping our ſelves. He that is boy of Gil teeperh himſelf, and the wicked one toucheth bim not, i Fo. $. 18. Hence choſe exhortations, .Keep thy beart with all diligence, Prov, 4. 22, and keep your ſelves in the love of God, Fude 21, Gr. And our keeping is aſcribed to our own faith with the power of God, 1 Per. x. <,
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. o w, that ye both do, and will do the things that we command 7.16, YOU C. c The Apoſtle had before declared his confidence that God would eſtabliſh them; and keep them from evil, and now here dec!ire; his confidence in them concerning their obedience, For he knew well that chis 1s the way of God's keeping, men, and whereby he ſhews that he built his confidence concerning what he had before declared abou! th:ir Ele&ion, Calling, Eftabliſhment and Preſeryation upon ſome 2004 ground. And he deſcribes their obedience by doing what the Apoſtle and his Fellow-Labourers in the Goſpel among them commanded thern whether they were Commandments about the duties of the Law of the firſt or ſecond Tables, or the Dottrine, Order, Worſhip or Ditcinline of the Goſpel. So that their Commandments were no other b1;: the Commandments of the Eord himſelf, Mar, 28. 20. t Coy. 14. 37, Mi- nifters are not arbitrary Commanders in the Church. Not Lords over God's Heritage, 1 Pet. «, 3}. or have dominion over the Peoples Faith, 2 Cor, 1. 24. nor may they, as the Phariſee, teach for Doetrine the Commandments of men, Mar. 15, 9. And he ſpeaks before of thele Theſſalonians that they received the word preached by them, not asthe word of men, but of God, 1 Theſ; 2, 13. Both our Faith and Practice in Religion is,to be built upon Divine Authority. Either upon what God hath expreſly declared, or what by clear Conſequence may be derived from it, So that what they command the People is from the Lord, and not themſelves, Their work is to ſearch out the Mind and will of Chriſt, as revealed in the Scripture, ſeeing they have not that immediate in- fallible inſpiration that the Apoſtles had, who were called to lay the foundation which others were to build upon. And as to thoſe things that are but Appendixes, and not of the ſubſtance of Religion, and for which no particular Rule is or can be laid down, Chriſtian prudence is to regulate them according to general Rules, wherein the advice, ap- pointment and authority of the Miniſter is to be regarded in every Church, Yet nothing ought to be enjoyned in theſe things that 15 un- comly, thatis not for edification, that is not of good report, that hath an a»pearance of Evil, that gives juſt occaſion of offence, and tran(- greffeth the general Rule of Mercy, that is a direQion of ſuperſtition, whereby many of the Commandments of the Romiſh Church are juſtly condemned, And obedience to theſes Commandments of the Apoſtle he deſcribes it by the univerſality of it, the thing that we command joit3 thats all things z the indefinite being equivalent to the univerſal, And by theconftancy of it, that you borb do, and will do, ©c. ye will peric- vere to do what Commandments ye have already received, or any new Commandments we ſhall further give you; ſome whereof are probably ſuchas are mentioned in the following part of this Chapter, And their preſent obedience gave the Apoſtle confidence about that which was fu- ture, At leaſt he declares to them this confidence, as an inſinuating argument to perſwade them thereunto.
God d, and into the || patient waiting for Chriſt e.