The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Peter — Section 93

the ee.rth ; and if tbouFande of years have to elapse before the winding up of human history, in the sure and effectual evolving of his purpose that may not be long to God. VI. ExPJ.ANATION OF SEEMING DET,AY. ., The Lord is not slack coocernin" his promise, e.s some count slackness; but is long-suffering to you-ward, not wishing° that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." When a promise is made for a specified time, and is not fulfilled at that time, there is real delay there, the expla- nation of which may be found to be slackness. Such slackness cannot be attributed to God. There is apparent delay, and some, in the disappointment of their expectation, and in the working of unbelief, may say it is slackness; but that cannot be justified. It is said that" the Judge is before the door," which may be construed as an immediate coming. But the real meaning is that Christ is ready for judgment. Why, then, does he not come? The answer is that things are not ready for his coming. Christ's people are charged with making things ready for his coming, so far as they themselves are concerned, and so far as others are concerned; and they have not things in sufficient readiness. It is not, then, that God is slack concerning his promise, as though he were not sufficiently interested; it is, says Peter, that he is long-suffering to you-ward. He is bearing with Christian people in their dereliction of duty, in their slackness in performing their part. And not merely they, but others, are thought of by God. He does not wish that any should perish. It is not according to his heart that even one whom he has created, and for whom Christ has died, should remain in misery. This is a thought which comes out strongly in the prophecy of Ezekiel. " Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord God?" " For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God." "Say unto them [that pine away in their sins], As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." 'l'he positive side of the Divine wish is that all should come to repentance. He has not an interest merely in some, but in all. None can be happy in sin; it can only be pining away, a.s the prophet puts it. None can be happy without repentance, i.e. change of mind; but this change of mind he wishes for all. And it is not a mere wish, but it is a wish that has been manifested in the cross of Christ; and, in the operations of the Spirit, and in the workings of Providence, this is the end which is sought. Let us all respond, then, to the Divine wish. which .accompanies the Divine long-suffering. VII. THE COMING CHARACTERIZED. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up." By "the day of tbe Lord" we are to understand the day of Christ's glorious mani- festation. 'l'he interest of that day will all centre round his appearance and judicial action. The coming of the day is regarded with certainty. In the original "will come" has the emphatic position: "Will come the day of the Lord." Whether our thoughts are contrary to it, or whether we have not thoughts about it at all, it will come. Peter touches on the suddenness of the coming, in this echoing the Master, as Paul also did: "Will come the day of the Lord as e. thief." He more than touches on an awe-inspiring association .:>f the coming. There will be a general conflagration. It was said in pro- phecy that the heavens shall vanish away like smoke. Here it is said that they shall pass away with a great noise. This is to be explained by the clause which follows, which is to be taken with it. 'fbe elements, i.e. of which the heavens are composed, shall be iissolved with fire. The noise, then, is the rushing souud of the destroying fire, or the consequent crash. The conflagration is to embrace the earth: "The earth and the works that arc therein shall be burned up." 'fhe works must be understood as includ- ing man's works. Some works long outlive the workers. It is hoped that some works of art may survive for centuries. But, however long they survive, they will at last be burnt up. That teaches us that there is what is higher than art. And we need not wonder at this being the destiny of man's works on earth, when it is to he the de,tiny of even God's works on earth. Lift up your eyes to the heavens in the stillness of night, or look upon the earth beneath bathed in the sun- light of a summer day: can it be that catastrophism shall reign wherever your eyes rest? can it be that the wild, all-devouring element of fire shall le.y bold on all this material fabric? So propheoy tells us the.lit will be, It will come, the day of general conflagration.-R. F.  88 THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [en. m, 1-18.