And account [that] the longsuffering of our
Lord
Not his longsuffering towards the wicked, and his forbearance
with them, for that is not the means of, nor the way to, nor does
it issue in, their salvation, but in their sorer punishment and
greater damnation, see ( Romans 2:4 ) ( 9:22 ) ; but towards
the elect, as in ( 2 Peter 3:9 ) ; whom he
bears much and long with before conversion, while in their sins,
and in a state of unregeneracy, and waits to be gracious to them,
as he is in their calling, and to make known and apply his great
salvation to them; and as with particular persons, so with the
whole body of them, till they are all gathered in, and even with
the world for their sakes; and particularly the Lord's
longsuffering here intends the deferring of his coming, or his
seeming slackness in the performance of his promise: the reason
of which is,
salvation:
the salvation of all his chosen ones, and in that it issues; he
waits, he stays, that none of them might perish, but that they
might be all brought to faith and repentance, and so be saved:
wherefore the apostle would have the saints consider it in this
light, and not imagine and conclude, with the scoffing infidels,
that he is slack and dilatory, and will not come, but that his
view in it is the salvation of all his people, which by this
means is brought about: in confirmation of which, and other
things he had delivered, he produces the testimony of the Apostle
Paul;
even as our beloved brother Paul also;
he calls him a "brother", both on account of his being a believer
in Christ, one that belonged to the same family with him, and was
of the household of faith, born of the same Father, and related
to the same Redeemer, the firstborn among many brethren, and
likewise on account of his being a fellow apostle; for though he
was not one of the twelve apostles, but his call and mission were
later than theirs, yet Peter does not disdain to put him among
them, and upon an equal foot with them, nor was he a whit behind
the chief of them: he styles him a "beloved" brother; expressing
his affection for him, which the relation between them called
for, and which he bore to him, notwithstanding his public
opposition to him, and sharp reproof of him, ( Galatians
2:11 ) , and perhaps loved him the more for it; see (
Psalms
141:5 ) ( Proverbs
27:5 Proverbs
27:6 ) ; and he makes mention of him, and that under these
characters, partly to show their agreement and consent in
doctrine; and partly to recommend him to the Jews, to whom he
writes, who had, upon report of his doctrine and ministry,
entertained an ill, at least a mean opinion, of him; as also to
set us an example to speak well of one another, both as ministers
and private believers:
according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto
you;
meaning not all his epistles, as being written for the general
good of all the saints, as well as for those particular churches
or men to whom they were sent; for what Peter speaks of is what
was particularly written to them, and is distinguished in (
2 Peter
3:16 ) from the rest of Paul's epistles; nor does he intend
the epistle of Paul to the Romans, for the longsuffering of God
spoken of in that, as in ( Romans 2:4 ) ( 9:22 ) , is his
longsuffering to the wicked, which issues in their destruction,
and not his longsuffering to his elect, which is salvation, as
here; but he seems manifestly to have in view the epistle to the
Hebrews, for Peter wrote both his first and second epistles to
Jews; wherefore, since none of Paul's epistles but that were
written particularly to them, it should seem that that is
designed, and serves to confirm his being the author of it; in
which he writes to the Hebrews concerning the coming of Christ,
and of the deferring of it a little while, and of the need they
had of patience to wait for it, ( Hebrews
10:36 Hebrews
10:37 ) ; and in it also are some things difficult to be
understood concerning Melchizedek, the old and new covenant, the
removing of the Aaronic priesthood, and the abrogation of the
whole ceremonial law things not easily received by that nation;
and the whole is written with great wisdom, respecting the person
and office of Christ, the nature of his priesthood, and the glory
of the Gospel dispensation; and in a most admirable manner is the
whole Mosaic economy laid open and explained: he was indeed a
wise master builder, and whatever he wrote was "according to
wisdom"; not fleshly wisdom, the wisdom of this world, nor with
enticing words of men's wisdom, but according to the divine
wisdom, under the influence of the spirit of wisdom and
revelation; for he had not this of himself naturally, nor did he
learn it at Gamaliel's feet, but it was what was "given to him";
it came from above, from God, who gives it liberally; and as he
himself always owned it to be a free grace gift of God bestowed
on him, and that all his light and knowledge were by the
revelation of Christ, so Peter ascribes it to the same, that God
might have all the glory, and all boasting in man be stopped.