This is gathered from verse 16. He doth not say this of all Pauls Epistles, nor of any one whole Epistle, much lesse of the whole Scripture, (as the Patrons of traditions, and Enemies of Scripture would have it,) but of some few things. And he seemes to point chiefly at some of those things, which Paul wrote concerning the comming of the Lord, because he speaks of that in this place, & therefore it is very likely that he hath reference unto those things which are spoken of, 2 Thessalonians 2.2.
Reason 1. Because there are some divine mysteries so farre remote from us, that in what words soever they be expressed, they will alwayes be hard to be understood.
2. Because God would have some things, that are not of so generall and necessary a use, out of his singular wisdome to be more obscurely propounded: which seemes to be the proper reason, why those things of Antichrist, 2 Thessalonians 2. were in the Primitive Church hard to be understood. For God would for just causes, that Antichrist should come, and that most men should be ignorant who he was, untill he did come.
3. God would exercise the industry and diligence of the faithfull in searching the Scriptures, and finding out the sense and meaning of them, not to deter men from reading them, as the Papists use to do, by wresting this argument amisse. For Peter in this place doth not discourage so much as the [♦]common sort of the faithfull from reading the Scriptures, but rather stirs them up to read all the Epistles of Paul, although he tels them that there are some things in them that must be read warily.
[♦] “comon” replaced with “common”
Vse 1. This may serve to admonish us, not to think it sufficient that we know the words of the Scripture, but to give all diligence and labour to find out the true sense and meaning of them.
2. To comfort us, that we should not be too much cast down, if we do not fully understand some things in the Scripture, because we are told that there are some things hard to be understood.
Doctrine 9. They are unlearned and unstable men, that wrest the Scripture to maintaine their impiety.
For that the Apostle means, when he saith that they wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction; not that it is such an exceeding dangerous thing to interpret some place of Scripture otherwise then it should be, but that it is the property of a very wicked man to argue out of the word of God against God, or against his will. Now they are called unlearned, not because they have no skill in the tongues or arts, wherein such pestiferous men may sometimes excell; but because they never effectually learned or were taught those things which pertaine unto religion: And in the like manner are they called unstable, because in that knowledge of the truth which they had and professed, they were not grounded and rooted, but as men not grounded nor setled they are easily turned from their profession.
Vse. This may serve for admonition, that the people should not therefore be deterred from reading the Scriptures, as the Papists would have it, (who in this very thing shew themselves to be unlearned and unstable, because they do mischievously wrest this place, where they are expresly told, with how great danger it is wont to be done:) but that we should labour to cast off all ignorance and unsteadfastnesse, that so we may be made fit to read the Scriptures with profit. For this is the scope of the admonition, as the Apostle useth it in this place.