Matthew Henry Commentary 2 Peter 1:16-21

"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a voice to him by the Majestic Glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: and this voice we [ourselves] heard borne out of heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we have the word of prophecy [made] more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit." — 2 Peter 1:16-21 (ASV)

The gospel is no weak thing, but comes in power (Romans 1:16). The law sets before us our wretched state by sin, but there it leaves us. It discovers our disease, but does not make known the cure. It is the sight of Jesus crucified, in the gospel, that heals the soul. Try to dissuade the covetous worldly person from his greediness; one ounce of gold weighs down all reasons.

Offer to restrain a furious man from anger by arguments; he does not have patience to hear them. Try to restrain the licentious person; one smile has more influence on him than all reason. But come with the gospel, and urge them with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, shed to save their souls from hell and to satisfy for their sins, and this is that powerful pleading which makes good men confess that their hearts burn within them, and bad men, even an Agrippa, to say they are almost persuaded to be Christians (Acts 26:28).

God is well pleased with Christ, and with us in Him. This is the Messiah who was promised, through whom all who believe in Him shall be accepted and saved.

The truth and reality of the gospel also are foretold by the prophets and writers of the Old Testament, who spoke and wrote under the influence and according to the direction of the Spirit of God. How firm and sure our faith should be, since we have such a firm and sure word to rest upon! When the light of the Scripture is darted into the blind mind and dark understanding by the Holy Spirit of God, it is like the daybreak that advances and diffuses itself throughout the whole soul, until it makes perfect day.

As the Scripture is the revelation of the mind and will of God, everyone ought to search it to understand its sense and meaning. The Christian knows that book to be the word of God, in which he tastes a sweetness, and feels a power, and sees a glory, truly divine. And the prophecies already fulfilled in the person and salvation of Christ, and in the great concerns of the church and the world, form an unanswerable proof of the truth of Christianity.

The Holy Spirit inspired holy men to speak and write. He so assisted and directed them in delivering what they had received from Him, that they clearly expressed what they made known. So that the Scriptures are to be considered the words of the Holy Spirit, and all the plainness and simplicity, all the power, and all the propriety of the words and expressions, come from God. Mix faith with what you find in the Scriptures, and esteem and reverence the Bible as a book written by holy men, taught by the Holy Spirit.