“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]” This was the sign or token; (see Gill on “Romans 16:20”) The subscription to this epistle is, “The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Athens”; though it seems rather to be written from Corinth. In the Syriac version it is said, “the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, which is written from Laodicea of Pisidia, and sent by the hands of Tychicus.”

“The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, &c.” In writing his epistles, the body and substance of them he used an amanuensis, but the salutation he wrote with his own hand: “which is the token in every epistle;” By which they might be known to be true and genuine, and be distinguished from counterfeit ones: and the rather he mentions this, that they might be troubled neither by word, nor by spirit, nor by epistle, as from them, as they had been, (2 Thessalonians 2:2) for it seems that this wicked practice of counterfeiting the epistles of the apostles, or carrying about spurious ones, under their name, began so early; to prevent which, the apostle took this method, “so I write,” As follows:

“Now the Lord of peace himself, &c.” The Prince of peace, who is peaceable himself, and the author of peace in all his churches, and who requires peace, calls for it, and encourages it: “give you peace always by all means;” Both a conscience peace, through the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ, and faith in them, which passes all understanding, and which, when he gives, none can take away; and a church peace, being freed from all such disorderly persons and their abettors, the disturbers of it: and indeed, the way to have true peace and prosperity in churches is to keep up the discipline of God's house. The apostle prays for it in faith, upon an observance of the rules he had given;…

“Yet count him not as an enemy, &c.” As an enemy of Christ, and the Christian religion, as the Jews and Pagans were; or as an enemy of all righteousness, as Elymas the sorcerer was; as one that has an implacable hatred to good men, and a persecutor of them, and has an utter aversion to them and their principles; nor deal with him in an hostile, fierce, furious, and passionate manner, as if you were seeking his destruction, and not his restoration. This seems to be levelled against the Jews, who allowed of hatred to incorrigible persons: they say, “an hater that is spoken of in the law, is not of the nations of the world, but of Israel; but how shall an Israelite…

“And if any man obey not our word, &c.” Of command, to work quietly, and eat his own bread, now signified “by this epistle”, particularly in (2 Thessalonians 3:12), “note that man;” Some read this clause in connection with the preceding phrase, “by this epistle”, or by an epistle; and so the Ethiopic version, “show”, or “signify him by an epistle”; that is, give us notice of it by an epistle, that we may take him under our cognizance, and severely chastise him, according to the power and authority given us by Christ; but that phrase rather belongs to the preceding words: and the clause here respects the notice the church should take of such a person; not in a private way, or merely by…