These two Epistles he writeth to confirme them in the Apostles doctrine, and warneth them of
scorners that shal come, and denie Domes-day. 5. Whose vaine argument he answereth, and giueth
the reason of God's so long patience, 10. exhorting to al holines of life in respect of that
terrible day: 16. Finally giuing warning of such as misinterpret S. Paules Epistles & the other
Scriptures, and that we must not for any thing fal from the true faith.
1. THIS loe the second epistle I write to you, my Dearest, in which I stirre vp by
admonition your sincere mind:
2. that you may be mindful of those words which I told you before from the holy
Prophets, and of your Apostles, of the precepts of our Lord and Sauiour.
3. Knowing this first, that
*
2. Tim. 3,
1. Iude, 18.
in the last daies shal come mockers in deceit, walking
according to their owne concupiscences,
4. saying, Where is his promise or his comming? For since the time that the Fathers
slept, al things doe so perseuere from the beginning of creature.
5. For they are wilfully ignorant of this, that the Heauens were before, and the earth,
out of water, and through water, consisting by the word of God:
6. by the which, that world then, being ouerflowed with water perished.
7. But the Heauens which now are, and the earth, are by the same word kept in store,
reserued to fire vnto the day of iudgement and of the perdition of the impious men.
8. But this one thing be not ignorant of, my Dearest, that
*
Ps. 89,4.
one day with our Lord is
as a thousand yeares, & a thousand yeares as one day.
9. Our Lord slacketh not his promise, as some doe esteeme it: but he doth patiently
for you,
*
Ezec. 33.
not willing that any perish, but that al returne to penance.
10. And
*
1. Tim. 2
Mt. 24.
1. Thes. 5.
Apoc. 3.
the day of our Lord shal come as a theefe, in the which the Heauens shal passe
with great violence, but the elements shal be resolued with heat, and the earth and the workes
which are in it, shal be burnt.
11. Therfore whereas al these things are to be dissolued, what manner of men ought you
to be in holy conuersations and godlinesses,
12. expecting and hasting vnto the comming of the day of our Lord, by which the
Heauens burning shal be resolued, and the elements shal melt with the heat of fire?
13. But we expect
*
Psa. 65,17. Apoc. 2,1.
new Heauens and a new earth according to his promises, in which
iustice inhabiteth.
14. For the which cause, my Dearest, expecting these things, labour earnestly to be
found immaculate and vnspotted to him in peace:
15. and
*
Ro. 2,4.
the longanimitie of our Lord, doe ye account saluation, as also our most
deare Brother Paul according to the wisdom giuen him hath written to you:
16. as also in al epistles speaking in them of these things; in the which are certaine
things hard to be vnderstood, which the vnlearned and vnstable depraue, as also the rest of the
Scriptures, to their owne perdition.
17. You therfore, Brethren, fore-knowing, take heed lest led aside by the errour of
the vnwise you fal away from your owne stedfastnes.
18. But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Sauiour Iᴇꜱᴠꜱ Christ. To
him be glorie both now and vnto the day of eternitie. Amen.
ANNOTATIONS.
CHAP. III.
16. Certaine things hard. ) The heretical proud spirit of priuate interpretation of
Scriptures.
This is a plaine text to conuince the Protestants, who (as al heretikes lightly doe and did
from the beginning) say the Scriptures be easie to vnderstand, and therfore may be not only
read safely, but also expounded boldly of al the people, as wel vnlearned as learned: and
consequently euery one by himself and his priuate spirit, without respect of the
expositions of the learned Fathers, or expectation of the Churches, their Pastours and
Prelates iudgement, may determine and make choice of such sense as himself liketh or thinketh
agreable. For this is partly their saying, partly the necessarie sequele of their foolish
opinion, which admitteth nothing but the bare Scriptures. And Luther said that the
Scriptures were more plaine then al the Fathers commentaries: and so al to be superfluous
but the Bible. Prefat. assert. art. damnat.
The Scriptures be hard, namely S. Paules epistles, specially where he speaketh of
iustification by faith.
Against al which Diuelish and seditious arrogancie, tending to make the people esteem themselues
learned or sufficient without their Pastours and spiritual Rulers help, to guide themselues in
al matters of doctrine and doubts in religion: the holy Apostle here telleth and fore-warneth the
faithful, that the Scriptures be ful of difficultie, and specially S. Paules epistles of al other
parts of holy writ, and that ignorant men and vnstable or phantastical fellowes puffed to and
fro with euery blast of doctrine and heresie, abuse, peruert, and misconster them to their owne
damnation. And * S. Augustin saith, that the special difficulty in S. Paules epistles, which
ignorant, and euil men doe so peruert, and which S. Peter meaneth, is his hard speach and much
commendation of that faith which he saith doth iustifie. Which the ignorant euen from the
Apostles time, and much more now, haue and doe so misconster, as though he had meant that only
faith without good workes could iustifie or saue a man. Against which wicked collection and
abuse of S. Paules words, the said Father saith, al these Canonical or Catholike epistles were
written.
* De fid. & op. c. 14.
The Protestants idle distinction between difficultie in the Epistles and difficultie in the
things.
The Greek copies haue both, some ἐν οῖς, in which things: some ἐν ἀῖς, in which epistles.
But the Heretikes here to shift of the matter, and to creep out after their fashion, answer, that S.
Peter saith not, S. Paules epistles be hard, but that many things in them are hard. Which may be to the
Catholikes an example of their sophistical euasions from the euidence of God's word. As though it were
not alone to say, Such an Authour or Writer is hard: and, There be many things in that Writer
hard to be vnderstood. For, whether it be that the argument and matter be high and past vulgar
capacitie, as that of predestination, reprobation, vocation of the Gentils, & iustifying faith: or
whether his manner of stile and writing be obscure: al proue that his epistles be hard and other
Scriptures also: because S. Peter here affirmeth that by reason of the difficulties in them, whether in
the style, or in the depth of the matter, the ignorant and vnstable (such as Heretikes be) doe peruert
his writings, as also other Scriptures, to theyr owne damnation. Whereby it is plaine that it is a
very dangerous thing for such as be ignorant, or for wild witted fellowes, to read the Scriptures. For
such conditioned men be they that become Heretikes, and through ignorance, pride, & priuate phantasie,
meeting with hard places of S. Paules epistles or other Scriptures, breed Heresies.
Not only the matter, but the style of the Scriptures is hard.
And that not only the things treated of in the holy Scriptures, but also that the very manner of
writing and enditing thereof, is high and hard, and purposely by God's prouidence oppointed to be
written in such sort, see S. Augustin li. 2. de doct. Christ. c. 6. & ep. 119. S. Ambrose ep. 34.
in principio. S. Hierom to Paulinus ep. 103 c. 5. 6. 7. who also (ep. 65. c. 1.) saith that
in his old age, when he should rather haue taught then be taught, he went as farre as Alexandria,
only to heare Didymus, and to haue his help for the vnderstanding of the Scriptures, &
confesseth with great thankes to the said Didymus, that he learned of him that which before he
knew not. Dauid saith, Giue me vnderstanding, and I wil search thy law. The Eunuch in
the Actes said, How can I vnderstand without an interpreter? The Apostles, til Christ opened
their sense to vnderstand the Scriptures, could not vnderstand them. The holy Doctours by
continual studie, watching, and praying, had much a-doe to vnderstand them: that great
Clerke S. Augustin confessing in the foresaid epistle 119. c. 21. that there were many moe
things that he vnderstood not, then that he vnderstood. The Heretikes say the Fathers did commonly
erre, and how could such great wise learned men be deceiued in reading and expounding the
Scriptures, if they were not hard? And if they were hard to them, how are they easie to these
new Maisters the Heretikes? Finally, why doe they write so many new glosses, scholies,
commentaries, as a cart can not carrie? Why doe Luther, Zuinglius, Caluin, and their Companions
agree no better vpon the interpretation of the Scriptures, if they be not hard? Whereat stumbled
al the old heretikes & the new, Arîus, Macedonius, Vigilantius, Nestorius, Berengarius,
Wicleffe, Protestants, Puritanes, Anabaptists, and the rest, but at the hardnes of the Scriptures?
They be hard then to vnderstand, and Heretikes peruert them to their owne damnation.
Ps. 118.
Act. 8.
Luc. 24. v. 45.