(17) The salutation.--At this point St. Paul takes the pen out of his secretary's hand, and adds the closing words himself. The actual salutation does not begin until the benediction of the 18th verse, to which this 17th is intended to attract attention.

Which.--Namely, the autograph addition of a salutation, or valedictory prayer, not the special words in which it was couched.

The token.--Rather, a token--a mark, that is, by which to tell an authentic Epistle of his from those forged letters with which false brethren had troubled the Thessalonian Church (2Thessalonians 2:2). At first sight, it seems to us too audacious for any one to have conceived the thought of writing a letter under the name of St. Paul; but, on the other hand, we must recollect several points. (1) St. Paul's genuine First Epistle, in spite of its claim to inspiration (1Thessalonians 4:15), could not yet have acquired in the eyes of the Thessalonians the sanctity it wears for us; they had no notion of such a thing as Holy Scriptures, and even if they had, St. Paul was a familiar figure, a mechanic who had just left them, not yet invested with the heroic halo. (2) Such literary forgeries were not uncommon in that age, and scarcely considered reprehensible, unless they were framed to inculcate with authority some heretical teaching. Apocryphal Gospels soon after abounded, under false titles, and works fathered upon St. Clement and other great Church teachers. (3) There need nor always have been a direct intention to deceive the readers as to the authorship, but the renowned name acted as a tempting advertisement for the work, and the theories thus shot forth hit their mark; whether the real authorship were discovered or not mattered little in comparison. Such points must be borne in mind before we accept as genuine any of the early Christian writings.

In every epistle.--That is, naturally, "in every Epistle which I write." It cannot be narrowly restricted to mean, "in every Epistle which I shall for the future write to you Thessalonians," though that is, of course, the practical significance. Nor does it imply a formed design of writing other Epistles to other churches. It seems necessary to suppose that St. Paul had already made a practice of concluding Letters with his autograph, though only one Letter of his is now extant of an earlier date than our present Epistle. There is no reason whatever to suppose that all the Letters ever written by St. Paul have been preserved to us (see Dr. Lightfoot's Philippians, p. 136, et seq.), any more than all the sayings and acts of Jesus Christ (John 21:25); and even when he wrote his First Epistle to Thessalonica he had seen the necessity of giving careful directions about his Letters (1Thessalonians 5:27), and of rousing his correspondents to a reasonable scepticism (1Thessalonians 5:21). The same solicitude re-appears in 1Corinthians 16:21; Galatians 6:11. And the rule which St. Paul had already made he always observed, so far as we can test; for all his extant Epistles, as Bishop Wordsworth points out on 1Thessalonians 5:28, contain his "salutation" at the end.

So I write.--"Such is my handwriting." It need not mean that the Thessalonians hitherto were unacquainted with his hand; he only calls their attention closely to it. The great bold handwriting (comp. Galatians 6:11) would not easily be mistaken.

Verse 17. - The salutation of Paul with mine own hand. The apostle usually dictated his Epistles to an amanuensis, but wrote the concluding words with his own hand. Thus Tertius was his amanuensis when he wrote the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 16:22). Probably the Epistle to the Galatians is an exception (Galatians 6:11), and also the Epistle to Philemon on (Philemon 1:19). The same authentication expressed in the same words is found in the First Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16:21), and in the Epistle to the Colossians (Colossians 4:18). Which; referring, not to the salutation, but to the whole clause; which circumstance. Is the token; the mark of authentication. Of every Epistle. Such authentication was especially necessary in the case of the Thessalonians, as it would seem that a forged epistle had been circulated among them (2 Thessalonians 2:2). Some restrict the words to the Epistles which the apostle would afterwards write to the Thessalonians (Lunemann); but they are rather to be understood of a caution which the apostle practised, or was to practise, in all his Epistles. Some refer the token to the words, "The salutation of Paul with mine own hand," and although these words are only found in two other Epistles, yet it is asserted that the other Epistles were otherwise sufficiently authenticated. But it appears better to understand by the salutation the benediction which follows; and a similar salutation or benediction is found at the close of all Paul's Epistles (see 1 Thessalonians 5:28).

3:16-18 The apostle prays for the Thessalonians. And let us desire the same blessings for ourselves and our friends. Peace with God. This peace is desired for them always, or in every thing. Peace by all means; in every way; that, as they enjoyed the means of grace, they might use all methods to secure peace. We need nothing more to make us safe and happy, nor can we desire any thing better for ourselves and our friends, than to have God's gracious presence with us and them. No matter where we are, if God be with us; nor who is absent, if God be present. It is through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we hope to have peace with God, and to enjoy the presence of God. This grace is all in all to make us happy; though we wish ever so much to others, there remains enough for ourselves.The salutation of Paul with mine own hand,.... 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: