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Having exhorted them to salute one another, he now sends them his own salutation; not in a lip compliment, as the mode now is, but in a serious expression of the desire of his soul: and this, or words to the same purpose, are his salutation in every Epistle, which he makes to be his token, 2Th_3:17. And by grace here he means favour and good will, rather than inherent grace: and all blessings which spring from grace, as sometimes all are comprehended under the word peace. Yet grace and peace are sometimes in his salutations both joined together. And though here Christ is only mentioned, yet in many other places God the Father is mentioned with him, 2Th_1:2 2Pe_1:2; yea, and God the Holy Ghost also, 2Co_13:14; and where they are not mentioned, yet are all to be understood, for in all works ad extra they co-operate. And because grace is so eminently manifested in the whole work of our salvation, therefore the apostle doth still mention it in all his salutations. And with this he concludes this Epistle, and with this St. John concludes the whole Bible, Rev_22:21. And the seal added, not to shut up, but confirm the whole is: Amen; and is added as the voice of the whole church upon reading the Epistle, as some think, and not by the apostle himself.
The first (epistle) unto the Thessalonians was written from Athens. These postscripts to the apostle’s Epistles are judged to be added by some scribes that copied them out, and not by the apostle himself, as might be made evident; and they are not found in any Epistles but in St. Paul’s alone. But as it is usual to date letters from the places where they are written, so is this dated from Athens. Hither he was conducted by some brethren after his persecution at Thessalonica and Berea, Act_17:15, and here we read he stayed for some time; but that from thence he wrote this Epistle, either then, or any time after, is but conjecture; it is more probable he wrote it from Corinth, because he sends it from Timotheus and Silvanus, as well as from himself, and they came to him from Macedonia when he was at Corinth, as Act_18:5.