Peter exhorteth them

• Prov. 21. 31.

Anno Domini

66.

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14 If ye be reproached for the name of Chrift, happy are ye: for the spirit of glory, and of God, refteth upon you. On their part he is evil fpoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

15 But let none of you fuffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer, or as a busybody in other mens matters.

16 Yet if any man fuffer as a Chriftian, let him not be afhamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

17 For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God: and if it firft begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

e

18 And if the righteous fcarcely be faved, where fhall the ungodly and the finner appear?

19 Wherefore, let them that fuffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their fouls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

to feed their flocks, &c.

2 Feed the flock of God which is among Anno you, taking the overfight thereof, not by con- Domini ftraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

cir. 60. | Or, as much as in you is. Or, over.

3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being enfamples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd fhall appear, ruling. ye thall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not

away.

5 Likewife, ye younger, fubmit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be fubject one to another, and be clothed with humility. For • God refifteth the proud, and giveth grace to a James 4. the humble.

6. b

6 Humble yourfelves therefore under the James 4. mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you 10. in due time :

7 Cafting all your care upon him, for he Pfal. 55+ careth for you.

22.

8 Be fober, be vigilant: becaufe your adver- Matth. 6.] fary the devil, as a roring lion, walketh about, 25. seeking whom he may devour;

9 Whom refift, ftedfast in the faith, knowing that the fame afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

to But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jefus, after that ye have fuffered a while, make you perfect, ftablish, ftrengthen, fettle you.

11 To him beglory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

12 By Silvanus a faithful brother unto you (as I fuppofe) I have written briefly, exhorting, and teftifying, that this is the true grace of God wherein ye ftand.

13 The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, faluteth you; and fo doth Marcus my son.

14 d Greet ye one another with a kifs of cha- Rom. 16, rity. Peace be with you all that are in Chrift 16. Jefus. Amen.

CHAP. I.

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godlinefs, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promifes; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through luft.

5 And befides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge,

6 And to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godlinefs,

7 And to godlinefs brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity.

8. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren,

nor

Or, by.

He foretelleth them

66.

9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot fee far off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old fins.

ro Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election fure: tor, if ye do these things, ye fhall never fall: 1

I For so an entrance fhall be ministered unto you abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift.

12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to ftir you up, by putting you in remembrance;

14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this John 21. my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath fhewed me.

18.

bi Cor. 1. 17. & 2. 1.

* Matth. $7.5.

d2 Tim. 3.

16.

Or, at any time.

15 Moreover, I will endeavour, that ye may be able, after my decease, to have these things always in remembrance.

16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift, but were eye-witneffes of his majefty.

17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came fuch a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

c

UT there were falfe prophets also among the people, even as there thall be falle teachers among you, who privily fhall bring in damnable herefies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves fwift destruction.

Or, lasci- 2 And many hall follow their || pernicious vious ways, ways; by reafon of whom the way of truth shall as fome co- be evil spoken of.

pies read,

of false teachers.

Anno

13 And through covetoufnefs fhall they, with feigned words, make merchandise of you: whofe Domini judgement now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation flumbereth not.

a

66.

4 For if God fpared not the angels that fin- a Job 4. 18. ned, but caft them down to hell, and delivered Jude 6. them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgement;

5 And fpared not the old world, but faved Noah the eighth perfon, a preacher of righte-Gen. 7. oufnefs, bringing in the flood upon the world of 1. the ungodly;

6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Go- c Gen. 19. morrha into afhes, condemned them with an 24. overthrow, making them an enfample unto those that after should live ungodly;

7 And delivered juft Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous foul from day to day with their unlawful deeds)

9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjuft unto the day of judgement to be punished:

10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the luft of uncleannefs, and defpife || govern- Or, domiment: Prefumptuous are they, felf-willed, they nion. are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

• Jude 8.

11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accufation || against Some them before the Lord.

12 But these, as natural brute beafts, made to be taken and deftroyed, fpeak evil of the things that they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

13 And fhall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day-time. Spots they are and blemises, sporting themselves with their own deceivings, while they feaft with you;

read, against themselves.

14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that + Gr. an cannot ceafe from fin; beguiling unftable fouls: adulterefs. an heart they have, exercifed with covetous practices; curfed children:

15 Which have forlaken the right way, and are gone aftray, following the way of Balaam Numb. the fan of Bofor, who loved the wages of unrigh- 22. 23. teoufnefs; Jude 11.

16 But was rebuked for his iniquity. The dumb afs fpeaking with man's voice, forbad the madness of the prophet.

17

f These are wells without water, clouds Jude 12, that are carried with a tempeft; to whom the 13. mist of darkness is reserved for ever,

18 For when they fpeak great fwelling words of vanity, they allure, through the lufts of the flesh, through much wantonnefs, thofe that were clean efcaped from them who live in

error.

Or, for a little, or, a while, as

fome read.

& John 8.

19 While they promife them liberty, they themselves are the fervants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the fame is he brought in bondage. N 2 20 For 16.

34. Rom. 6.

B Tim. 4.

I.

I

2 Tim. 3.

Jude 18.

CHAP. III.

He affureth them of the certainty of Christ's coming to judgement, against thofe fcorners who difpute against it; 8 warning the godly for the long patience of God, to haften their repentance. 10 He defcribeth alfo the manner how the world fall be destroyed: 1 exhorting them, from the expectation thereof, to all holiness of life; 15 and again, to think the patience of God to tend to their falvation, as Paul wrote to them in his epiftles.

HIS fecond epiftle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I ftir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

a

3 Knowing this first, that there fhall come in the last days fcoffers, walking after their own lufts,

4 And faying, Where is the promise of his coming? for fince the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old,

+ Gr. con- and the earth + standing out of the water, and in ffling. the water:

6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perifhed:

7 But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the fame word are kept in store, reserved unto fire, againft the day of judgement, and perdition of ungodly men..

day..!

9

b

66. b Pfal. 90.

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The Lord is not flack concerning his pro- 4. mife, as fome men count flackness, but is longfuffering to us-ward, not willing that any Ezek. 18. fhould perish, but that all fhould come to 32. & 33. repentance;

c

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the hea, vens fhall pass away with a great noife, and the elements thall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up.

11 Seeing then that all these things shall be diffolved, what manner of perfons ought ye to be in all holy converfation and godliness;

1

II.

d

I

Tim. 2.

12 Looking for and hafting unto the com- || Or, baffing of the day of God, wherein the heavens be- ing the com ing on fire fhall be diffolved, and the elements ing. fhall melt with fervent heat?

13 Nevertheless we, according to his promife, look for f new heavens and a new earth, wherein f Ifai. 65. dwelleth righteousness.

17. & 66.

14 Wherefore, beloved, feeing that ye look 22.. for fuch things, be diligent that ye may be Rev. 21. 1. found of him in peace, without fpot, and blameless;

15 And account that s the long-fuffering of 8 Rom. 2. our Lord is falvation; even as our beloved bro- 4. ther Paul alfo, according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you;

16 As alfo in all his epiftles, speaking in them of these things in which are fome things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wreft, as they do alfo the other fcriptures, unto their own deftruction.

17 Ye therefore, beloved, feeing ye know thefe things before, beware left ye alfo, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own ftedfastness.

18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift. To him be glory both now and for. ever. Amen.

T

The

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HAT which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have feen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life;

2 (For the life was manifefted, and we have feen it, and bear witness, and thew unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us)

3 That which we have feen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye alfo may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift.

1

4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

5 This then is the meffage which we have John 8.12. heard of him, and declare unto you, that a God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we fay that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkne's, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jefus Chrift his Son cleanfeth us from all fin.

8 If we fay that we have no fin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our fins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our fins, and to cleanfe us from all unrighteoufnefs.

10 If we fay we have not finned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

CHA P. II.

He comfortèth them against the fins of infirmity.: 3 Rightly to know God is to keep his commandments, to love our brethren, 15 and not to love the world. 18 We must beware of Jeducers: 20 from whofe deceits the godly are fafely preServed by perfeverance in faith, and holiness of life.

Y little children, these things write I unto

M you, that ye fin not. And if any man

fin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righteous :

2 And he is the propitiation for our fins: and not for ours only, but also for the fins of the whole world.

3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

4 He that faith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5 But whofo keepeth his word, in him verily

is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

6 He that faith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Anno Domini

90.

7 Brethren, I write no new commandment ↳ 2 John 5. unto you, but an old commandment, which ye had from the beginning: The old commandment ning. is the word which ye have heard from the begin

8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him, and in you: because the darkness is paft, and the true light now fhineth.

9 He that faith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

C

10 He that loveth his brother, abideth in the e Chap. 3. light, and there is none + occafion of ftumbling 14. in him.

† Gr. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in dark- fcandal. nefs, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not blinded his eyes. whither he goeth, because that darkness hath

12 I write unto you, little children, because your fins are forgiven you for his name's fake.

13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father..

14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked

one.

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the luft of the flesh, and the luft of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world paffeth away, and the luft thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

18 Little children, it is the laft time: and as ye have heard that antichrift fhall come, even now are there many antichrifts; whereby we know that it is the last time.

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us for if they had been of us, they would, no doubt, have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifeft, that they were not all of us.

20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

22 Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jefus

God's love to us.

go.

Or, it.

Ifai. 53. , &c.

John 8.

23 Whofoever denieth the Son, the fame hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son, hath the Father alfo.

24 Let that therefore abide in which you, ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning, fhall remain, in you, ye alfo fhall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

25 And this is the promife that he hath promifed us, even eternal life.

26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that feduce you.

27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: But, as the fame anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie; and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in || him.

28 And now, little children, abide in him; that when he thall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

29 If ye know that he is righteous, || ye know that every one that doeth righteoufnefs is born of him. CHA P. III.

1. He declareth the fingular love of God towards us, in making us his fons: 3 who therefore ought obediently to keep his commandments, I as also brotherly to love one another.

Below what manner of love the Father hath

bestowed upon us, that we should be called the fons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

2 Beloved, now are we the fons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he fhall appear, we fhall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Whofoever committeth fin tranfgreffeth alfo the law for fin is the tranfgreffion of the law.

5 And ye know that he was manifefted to take away our fins; and in him is no fin.

6 Whofoever abideth in him, finneth not: whofoever finneth hath not feen him, neither known him.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous :

8 He that committeth fin is of the devil; for the devil finneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifefted that he might deftroy the works of the devil.

9 Whofoever is born of God doth not commit fin; for his feed remaineth in him and he cannot fin, because he is born of God.

10 In this the children of God are manifeft, and the children of the devil: Whofoever doeth not righteoufnefs is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

II For this is the meffage that ye heard.

c

Try the Spirits.

from the beginning, that we should love one another..

Anno Domini

12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked go. one, and flew his brother. And wherefore flew John 13. he him? Because his own works were evil, and 34. & 15. his brother's righteous.

12.

13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world "Gen. 4. 8. hate you.

14 We know that we have paffed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death.

15 Whofoever hateth his brother, is a murderer and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

17 But whofo hath this world's good, and Luke 3.11. feeth his brother have need, and fhuttcth up his bowels of compaffion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall + affure our hearts before him. †Gr. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is great- perfuade er than our heart, and knoweth all things.

21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God.

He warneth them not to believe all teachers who boast of the Spirit,, but to try them by the rules of the catholick faith: 7 and by many reafons exhorteth to brotherly love.

Eloved, believe not every spirit, but try the fpirits, whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every fpirit that confeffeth that Jefus Chrift is come in the flesh, is of God.

3 And every fpirit that confeffeth not that Jefus Chrift is come in the flesh, is not of God.. And this is that spirit of antichrift, whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now. already is it in the world.

4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

6 We are of God. He that knoweth God, John 8.47. heareth us; he that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of truth, and the fpirit of error.

7 Behold,