The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary of the Books of the Bible: Volume 29 (of 32) The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary of the Epistles of St. Paul the Apostle: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and I-II Thessalonians (part 2 of 5)

The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary of the Books of the Bible: Volume 29 (of 32) The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary of the Epistles of St. Paul the Apostle: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and I-II Thessalonians (part 2 of 5)

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.

Ver. 1. +And you did He quicken.+--The italics in A.V. and R.V. show a broken construction of St. Paul's meaning, the verb being supplied from ver. 5, where the broken thread is taken up again. +Dead in trespasses and sins.+--"Dead through," etc. (R.V.). "What did they die of?" it might be asked; and the apostle answers, "Of trespasses and sins" (so Alford). "The word for trespasses is one of a mournfully numerous group of words" (Trench). It has sometimes the milder meaning of "faults," "mitigating circumstances" being considered. It makes special reference "to the subjective passivity and suffering of him who misses or falls short of the enjoined command" (Cremer). Meyer denies any "real distinction between the words for 'trespasses' and 'sins.' They denote the same thing as a 'fall' and a 'missing.'"

Ver. 2. "Shadows," says Meyer, "before the light which arises in ver. 4." +Wherein in time past ye walked.+--It is a sombre picture--men walking about "to find themselves dishonourable graves" in the "valley of the shadow of death," knowing not whither they go because the darkness--the gloom of spiritual death--"hath blinded their eyes" (1 John ii. 11). +According to the course of this world.+--Well translated by our modern "zeit-geist," or "spirit of the age." +The prince of the power of the air.+--However contemptuous St. Paul may be of the creations of the Gnostic fancy, he never dreams of saying there is nothing existent unless it can be seen and felt. The dark realm and its ruler are not myths to the apostle.

Ver. 3. +Among whom also we all had our conversation.+--St. Paul does not glorify himself at the expense of his readers' past life. True his had not been a life swayed by animal delights (Acts xxvi. 5), but it had been marked by implacable enmity to the Son of God. +And were by nature children of wrath.+--"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, . . . whether it be Jewish or Gentile."

Ver. 4. +But God, who is rich in mercy.+--"Unto all that call upon Him" (Rom. x. 12). "He hath shut all up into disobedience, that He might have mercy upon all" (Rom. xi. 32), +For His great love wherewith He loved us.+--"A combination only used when the notion of the verb is to be extended" (Winer).

Ver. 5. +Even when we were dead in sins.+--The phrase which closes ver. 3, difficult as it is, must receive an interpretation in harmony with this statement. It is the very marrow of the Gospel that, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly." That the wrath of God is real we know, but "God is love." +By grace ye are saved.+--"Grace" is as truly characteristic of St. Paul's writing as his autograph signature; it, too, is the token ("sign-manual") in every epistle (2 Thess. iii. 17, 18).

Ver. 6. +In heavenly places.+--As in ch. i. 3.

Ver. 7. +The exceeding riches of His grace.+--The wealth of mercy mentioned in ver. 4 more fully stated. Grace is condescension to an inferior or kindness to the undeserving. +In kindness toward us.+--"Kindness" here represents in the original "a beautiful word, as it is the expression of a beautiful grace" (Trench). It is that "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. v. 22) called "gentleness" in the A.V., but which would be better named "benignity."

Ver. 8. +For by grace are ye saved, through faith.+--"'By grace' expresses the motive, 'through faith' the subjective means" (Winer). The emphasis is on "by grace."

Ver. 9. +Not of works, lest any man should boast.+--The more beautiful the works achieved the more natural it is for a man to feel his works to be meritorious. One can understand that a man jealous for the honour of God, like Calvin, should speak of the excellencies of those out of Christ as "splendid vices," even though we prefer another explanation of them.

Ver. 10. +For we are His workmanship.+--We get our word "poem" from that which we here translate workmanship, lit., "something made." Every Christian belongs to those of whom God says, "This people have I formed for Myself, that they should show forth My praise" (Isa. xliii. 21). The archetype of all our goodness lies in the Divine thought, as the slow uprising of a stately cathedral is the embodiment of the conception of the architect's brain.

Ver. 11. +Wherefore remember, that ye, etc.+--All that follows in the verse serves to define the "ye," the verb following in ver. 12 after the repeated "ye"--"ye were without Christ." "Called Uncircumcision . . . called the Circumcision." As much rancour lies in these words as generally is carried by terms of arrogance on the part of those only nominally religious, and the scornful epithets flung in return. They can be matched by our modern use of "The world" and "Other-worldliness."

Ver. 12. +Without Christ.+--Not so much "not in possession of Christ" as "outside Christ," or, as in R.V., "separate from Christ." The true commentary is John xv. 4, 5. The branch "severed from" the trunk by knife or storm bears no fruit thenceforth; disciples "apart from Christ can do nothing." +Being aliens from the commonwealth.+--What memories might start at this word! Did St. Paul think of the separation from the Jewish synagogue in Ephesus or of the fanatical outburst created in Jerusalem when "the Jews from Asia" saw Trophimus the Ephesian in company with the apostle? To such Jews the Gentiles were nothing but massa perditionis. Like vers. 2, 3, this is a reminder of the dark past, the misery of which did not consist in a Jewish taunt so much as in a life of heathenish vices. +Having no hope, and without God in the world.+--To be godless--not sure that there is any God--this is to take the "master-light of all our seeing" from us; to live regardless of Him, or wishing there were no God--"that way madness lies." To be "God-forsaken" with a house full of idols--that is the irony of idolatrous heathenism.

Ver. 13. +Ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh.+--The Gentile may sing his hymn in Jewish words: "Doubtless Thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer; from everlasting is Thy name." "Lo-ammi" ("not My people") is no longer their name (Hos. ii. 23; Rom. ix. 24, 25).

Ver. 14. +For He is our peace, who hath made both one.+--"Not the Peacemaker merely, for indeed at His own great cost He procured peace, and is Himself the bond of union of both" (Jew and Gentile). +The middle wall of partition.+--M. Ganneau, the discoverer of the Moabite Stone, found built into the wall of a ruined Moslem convent a stone, believed to be from the Temple, with this inscription: "No stranger-born (non-Jew) may enter within the circuit of the barrier and enclosure that is around the sacred court; and whoever shall be caught [intruding] there, upon himself be the blame of the death that will consequently follow." Josephus describes this fence and its warning inscription (Wars of the Jews, Bk. V., ch. v., § 2). It is rather the spirit of exclusiveness which Christ threw down. The stone wall Titus threw down and made all a common field, afterwards.

Ver. 15. +Having abolished in His flesh the enmity.+--The enmity of Jew and Gentile; the abolition of their enmity to God is mentioned later. "First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift," for reconciliation to God. +The law of commandments contained in ordinances.+--The slave whose duty it was to take the child to his teacher might say, "Don't do that." St. Paul does not regard the function of the law as more than that (Gal. iii. 23-25). +One new man.+--Trench, in an admirable section, distinguishes between the new in time (recens) and the new in quality (novum). The word here means new in quality, "as set over against that which has seen service, the outworn." "It is not an amalgam of Jew and Gentile" (Meyer).

Ver. 16. +That He might reconcile both unto God.+--The word "reconcile" implies "a restitution to a state from which they had fallen, or which was potentially theirs, or for which they were destined" (Lightfoot, Col. i. 20). +The cross having slain the enmity.+--Gentile authority and Jewish malevolence met in the sentence to that painful death; and both Gentile and Jew, acknowledging the Son of God, shall cease their strife, and love as brethren.

Ver. 17. +Came and preached peace.+--By means of His messengers, as St. Paul tells the Galatians that Christ was "evidently set forth crucified amongst them." +To you afar off, and to them that were nigh.+--Isaiah's phrase (Isa. lvii. 19). The Christ uplifted "out of the earth" draws all men to Him.

Ver. 18. +For through Him we both have access.+--St. Paul's way of proclaiming His Master's saying, "I am the door; by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved"; including the other equally precious, "I am the way: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me." "Access" here means "introduction."

Ver. 19. +So then.+--Inference of vers. 14-18. +Strangers and foreigners.+--By the latter word is meant those who temporarily abide in a place, but are without the privileges of it. There is a verb "to parish" in certain parts of England which shows how a word can entirely reverse its original meaning. It not only means "to adjoin," but "to belong to." +Fellow-citizens with the saints.+--Enjoying all civic liberties, and able to say, "This is my own, my native land," when he finds "Mount Zion and the city of the living God" (cf. Heb. xi. 13, 14). +And of the household of God.+--The association grows more intimate. The words might possibly mean "domestics of God" (Rev. xxii. 3, 4); but when we think of the "Father's house" we must interpret "of the family circle of God."

Ver. 20. +Being built upon the foundation.+--From the future of a household St. Paul passes easily to the structure, based on "the Church's One Foundation." +The chief corner-stone.+--"The historic Christ, to whom all Christian belief and life have reference, as necessarily conditions through Himself the existence and endurance of each Christian commonwealth, as the existence and steadiness of a building are dependent on the indispensable cornerstone, which upholds the whole structure" (Meyer). The difference between our passage and 1 Cor. iii. 11 is one of figure only.

Ver. 21. +All the building.+--R.V. "each several building." +Fitly-framed-together.+--One word in the original, found again only in ch. iv. 16 in this form.

Ver. 22. +For a habitation.+--The word so translated is found again only in Rev. xviii. 2, a sharp contrast to this verse.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 1-3.

The Children of Wrath--

+I. Are spiritually dead.+--"Who were dead in trespasses and sins" (ver. 1). The only life of which they are conscious, and in which all their activities are displayed, is a life of sin. They have no conception of a higher life. They are capable of a higher life and know it not. The spiritual, the higher form of life, is entombed and buried under a mass of sin. It is inert, dead, in process of corruption. Dante refers to such as, "These wretched ones who never were alive; I ne'er forsooth could have believed it true, that death had slain such myriads of mankind." Sin first benumbs, then paralyses, and finally slays our spiritual sensibilities. The soul dead to God shall not be insensible to the reality of the Divine wrath.

+II. Are under the spell of an unseen evil power+ (ver. 2).--"The children of disobedience" are those who are withholding their allegiance from the Lord Jesus Christ, all those who are unconverted; not mere gross sinners and open profligates, but such persons as are strangers to the spiritual life, although they may have many excellencies of nature and disposition. The apostle plainly asserts that before he was brought to the knowledge of Christ he was under the influence of the "prince of the power of the air." This is a startling statement. It is more startling still if we consider what sort of man Paul was before his conversion--how excellent, how earnest, how devoted to the external duties of a religious life. But startling as it is, it is the apostle who makes it of himself; and the inference is unavoidable, that all that mass of persons who are out of Christ and who are not partakers of His resurrection life, who have given their hearts to the world and not to the Saviour, are just the captives of Satan, and, without knowing it, are doing his lusts and accomplishing his will. The disease is not less deadly because it eats out the life without inflicting pain. The pestilence is not the less awful because it comes without giving notice of its presence, borne on the balmy breezes of the bright, cloudless, summer eve. The vampire does not do its work the less effectually because it fans its victim with its perfumed wings into an unconscious slumber whilst it drains away his life-blood and leaves him a corpse. And Satan is not the less real or the less destructive because he works his fatal work upon our souls without our even being conscious of his approach.

+III. Are prompted to sin by the instincts of a depraved nature+ (ver. 3).--There is the twofold province of a man's being, by the lower of which he is allied to the brute creation, and by the higher to the angels, both being under the dominion of sin. There is the corrupt body of flesh, and in a higher sense there is the fleshly mind. Every unregenerate person lives more or less in one or the other of these provinces--either in the sphere of fleshly lusts or in the sphere of the fleshly mind. Either he lives simply an animal life, and is in consequence a fleshly man, whose life consists only in fulfilling the desires of his lower nature; or he lives in the higher province of the mind, but it is nevertheless the mind in darkness, in uncertainty, in doubt--mind and heart alike alienated from God through the unbelief which is in them. It would not do to argue from this that our passions are our sins. Sin is not in appetite but lies in the insubordination of appetite. There is need of a curbing and governing will, and our discipline consists in subjugating the lower to the higher. A due balance between the two regions must be preserved, and it is when passion becomes master and the lower invades the province of the higher, when the subordinate becomes insubordinate, that appetite and passion become sin. The flesh is the great rival of the Spirit, for it asserts that dominion over a man which the Holy Spirit alone ought to occupy, and these two are constantly opposed to each other. The depravity within, working in the thoughts of the mind and the passions of the flesh, prompts to a course of disobedience and sin.

+IV. Are exposed to condemnation.+--"And were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men." The apostle shows that even the Jews, who boasted of their birth from Abraham, were by natural birth equally children of wrath, as the Gentiles whom the Jews despised on account of their birth from idolaters. The phrase "children of wrath" is a Hebraism, meaning we are objects of God's wrath from childhood, in our natural state, as being born in sin, which God hates. Wrath abides on all who disobey the Gospel in faith and practice.

+Lessons.+--1. Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. 2. Your adversary the devil walketh about seeking whom he may devour. 3. Because there is wrath, beware!

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Ver. 1. A State of Sin a State of Death.

+I. There are some respects in which the death of the soul does not resemble the death of the body.+--1. It does not involve the extinction of faculties and affections. The dead body moves not, nor feels, nor acts. The dead soul still thinks and feels and wills. 2. It does not exempt from responsibility. The dead soul is commanded to repent and believe and obey. 3. It is not incapable of restoration on earth. The spiritually dead may become spiritually alive here.

+II. There are some respects in which the death of the soul does resemble the death of the body.+--1. In its cause. Sin. 2. In its extent. All men without exception. 3. In its consequences. The dead are utterly insensible, they fulfil none of the functions or duties of the living, they can be reanimated only by Divine power. Address: (1) Those who are spiritually dead. (2) Those who have reason to believe that they are spiritually alive.--G. Brooks.

Vers. 1-3. The State of Men without the Gospel.

+I. The moral state of wicked men resembles a state of natural death+ (ver. 1).--From the metaphor used in the text we are not to conclude that all sinners are alike, for though all are in a sense dead some are under a greater death than others. The metaphor is usually applied to sinners of the most vicious character. When we speak of human nature as totally depraved we mean only a total destitution of real holiness, not the highest possible degree of vitiosity. In order to denominate one a sinner it is not necessary that he should be as bad as possible. Though natural death does not, yet spiritual death does, admit of degrees. Evil men wax worse and worse, add sin to sin, and treasure up wrath against the day of wrath.

1. Sinners may be said to be dead in respect of their stupidity.--We read of some who are past feeling, whose conscience is seared, who have eyes which see not, ears which hear not, and a heart which is waxed gross. Their hearts are like a mortified limb which feels no pain under the scarifying knife.

2. They are represented as wanting spiritual senses.--They savour the things of the world, not the things which are of God. They indeed love the effects of God's goodness to them, but they delight not in His character as a holy, just, and faithful Being. They may feel a natural pleasure in certain mechanical emotions of the passions excited by objects presented to the sight, or by sounds which strike the ear, as the artificial tears from the image of the Virgin Mary will melt down an assembly of Catholics, or as a concert of musical instruments will rapture the hearers; but they relish not the Word and ordinances of God, considered as means of holiness and as designed to convince them of their sins and bring them to repentance. If the Word dispensed comes home to their conscience, they are offended. They lose the music of the pleasant song and talk against it by the walls and in the doors of their houses.

3. They resemble the dead in the want of vital warmth.--If they have any fervour in religion, it is about the forms and externals of it, or about some favourite sentiments which they find adapted to soothe their consciences, not about those things in which the power of religion consists. As death deforms the body, so sin destroys the beauty of the soul. It darkens the reason, perverts the judgment, and disorders the affections. To be carnally-minded is death.

4. They may be denominated dead as they are worthy of and exposed to punishment.--This is called death because it is the separation of the soul from God and heaven, from happiness and hope, from all good and unto all evil. This is a death which awaits the impenitent.

+II. There is in ungodly men a general disposition to follow the way of the world.+--"According to the course of this world" (ver. 2). They, like dead carcases, swam down the stream of common custom, and were carried away with the general current of vice and corruption.

1. Most men have a general idea that religion is of some importance.--Few can wholly suppress it, or reason themselves out of it. But what religion is and wherein it consists they seldom inquire, and never examine with any degree of attention. Such opinions as flatter their ungodly lusts, or pacify their guilty consciences, they warmly embrace. That scheme of doctrine which will make converts without exacting reformation, and give assurance without putting them to much trouble, they highly approve. The path which will lead men to heaven with little self-denial they readily pursue.

2. There are many who blindly follow the examples of the world.--Whether such a practice is right or wrong they take little pains to examine. It is enough that they see many who adopt it. They would rather incur the censure of their own minds and the displeasure of their God than stand distinguished by a singularity in virtue.

+III. They are under the influence of evil spirits.+--"According to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience" (ver. 2). The number of evil spirits is very great, but there is one distinguished from the rest, and called the devil, Satan, the prince of the power of the air. The manner in which he works in the minds of men is by gaining access to their passions and lusts, which he inflames by suggesting evil thoughts or by painting images on the fancy. It was by the avarice of Judas and Ananias that he entered into them and filled their hearts.

+IV. The wickedness of men consists not merely in their evil works, but in the corrupt dispositions which prompt them to those works.+--"The lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (ver. 3). The lusts of the flesh are the vices of sensuality, as intemperance, uncleanness, debauchery, and excess of riot. The desires of the fleshly mind are the lusts which arise from the corruption of the mind in its connection with flesh, as pride, malice, envy, wrath, hatred, ambition, and covetousness. Though no man indulges every vice, yet every unregenerate man obeys the carnal mind.

+V. The indulgence of carnal lusts and passions brings on men the wrath of God.+--"The children of wrath" (ver. 3). A mind sunk in carnality is incapable of rational felicity; it is miserable in itself and from its own corruption and perverseness. If man subjects his nature to the lusts and passions, the order of nature is inverted, the law of creation violated, and the Creator dishonoured and offended.

+Lessons.+--1. If you have not abandoned yourselves to the grossest forms of vice, it is because you have been placed under superior light and enjoyed a happier education than the heathen. 2. Though you may not have indulged all the lusts and vices which others have done, yet if you are children of disobedience you can no more be saved without renovation of heart and repentance of sin than they can.--Lathrop.

Ver. 3. The State of Nature.

I. If by human nature you mean nature as seen in this man or that, then +unquestionably nature is evil+--individual nature, personal nature, is contrary to God's will. But if by human nature you mean nature as God made it, as it has been once in one man of our species and only one, and as by God's grace it shall be again; if you mean nature as it is according to the idea of the Creator as shown in Jesus Christ, as it is in the eyes of God imputed not as it is but as it shall be,--then that nature is a noble thing, a thing Divine; for the life of the Redeemer Himself, what was it but the one true exhibition of our human nature?

+II. Paul says that by nature we fulfil the desires of the flesh and of the mind.+--I pray you to observe that it is the second and not in the first sense that he here speaks of nature. The desires of the flesh mean the appetites; those of the mind mean the passions: to fulfil the desires of the flesh is to live the life of the swine; to fulfil those of the mind is to live the life of the devil. But this is the partiality, not the entireness, of human nature. Where is the conscience, where the Spirit with which we have communion with God? To live to the flesh and to the mind is not to live to the nature that God gave us. We can no more call that living to our nature than we can say that a watch going by the mere force of the main-spring without a regulator is fulfilling the nature of a watch. To fulfil the desires of the flesh and of the mind is no more to fulfil the nature which God has given us than the soil fulfils its nature when it brings forth thorns and briars. St. Paul, in the epistle to the Romans, draws a distinction between himself and his false nature: "It is not I, but sin that dwelleth in me." Sin is the dominion of a false nature; it is a usurped dominion.

III. The next thing that Paul tells us is +that by nature we are children of wrath.+--In the state of nature we are in the way to bear the wrath of God. Yet God is not wrath; He is infinite love. The eternal severity of His nature does not feel our passions, He remains for ever calm; yet such is our nature that we must think of Him as wrath as well as love: to us love itself becomes wrath when we are in a state of sin. God must hate sin and be forever sin's enemy. If we sin He must be against us: in sinning we identify ourselves with evil, therefore we must endure the consuming fire. So long as there is evil, so long will there be penalty. Sin, live according to the lusts of the flesh, and you will become the children of God's wrath; live after the Spirit, the higher nature that is in you, and then the law hath hold on you no longer.--F. W. Robertson.

The Worst of Evils.

+I. By nature all are the children of wrath.+--1. Because we want that original righteousness in which we were created, and which is required to the purity and perfection of our nature. 2. Because all the parts and powers of our soul and body are depraved with original corruption. Our understandings are so bad that they understand not their own badness, our wills which are the queens of our souls become the vassals of sin, our memories like jet good only to draw straws and treasure up trifles of no moment, our consciences through errors in our understandings sometimes accusing us when we are innocent, sometimes acquitting us when we are guilty, our affections all disaffected and out of order. 3. Some may expect that as the master of the feast said to him that wanted the wedding garment, "Friend, how camest thou in hither?" so I should demand of original sin, "Foe, and worst of foes, how camest thou in hither, and by what invisible leaks didst thou soak into our souls?" But I desire, if it be possible, to present you this day a rose without prickles, to declare plain and positive doctrine without thorny disputes or curious speculations, lest, as Abraham's ram was caught in the thicket, so I embroil you and myself in difficult controversies. Let us not busy our brains so much to know how original sin came into us, as labour in our heart to know how it should be got out of us. But the worst is, most men are sick of the rickets in the soul, their heads swell to a vast proportion, puffed up with the emptiness of airy speculations, whilst their legs and lower parts do waste and consume, their practical parts decay, none more lazy to serve God in their lives and conversations.

Transcriber's Note: Baptism is not a sacrament that confers salvation. It is an ordinance that serves as a public statement that salvation has already taken place. Parents are to raise their children in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. vi. 4).

+II. Ye parents to children,+ see how, though against your wills, ye have propagated this wrath-deserving on your children unto your children; you are bound, both in honour and honesty, civility and Christianity, to pluck them out of this pit. 1. This you may do by embracing the speediest opportunity to fasten the sacrament of baptism upon them. 2. Let them not want good prayers, which if steeped in tears will grow the better, good precepts, good precedents, and show thy child in thyself what he should follow, in others what he should shun and avoid. 3. In the low countries, where their houses lie buried in the ground, the laying of the foundation is counted as much as the rest of the foundation; so half our badness lies secret and unseen, consisting in original corruption, whereof too few take notice. Witches, they say, say the Lord's Prayer backward; but concupiscence, this witch in our soul, says all the commandments backward, and makes us cross in our practice what God commands in His precepts. Thus every day we sin, and sorrow after our sin, and sin after our sorrow. The wind of God's Spirit bloweth us one way, and the tide of our corruption hurrieth us another. These things he that seeth not in himself is sottish, blind; he that seeth and confesseth not is damnably proud; he that confesseth and bewaileth not is desperately profane; he that bewaileth and fighteth not against it is unprofitably pensive; but he that in some weak manner doeth all these is a saint in reversion here, and shall be one in possession hereafter.--T. Fuller.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 4-9.

Salvation an Act of Divine Grace.

+I. Springing from the benevolence of God+ (vers. 4, 7).--A good old saint once said, "There is nothing that affects me more profoundly, or more quickly melts my heart, than to reflect on the goodness of God. It is so vast, so deep, so amazing, so unlike and beyond the most perfect human disposition, that my soul is overwhelmed." The apostle seems to have been similarly affected as he contemplated the Divine beneficence, as the phrases he here employs indicate. He calls it "the great love wherewith He loved us." God is "rich in mercy"--in irrepressible, unmerited compassion (ver. 4). Language is too poor to express all he sees and feels, and he takes refuge in the ambiguous yet suggestive expression, "The exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Jesus Christ" (ver. 7)--hinting at the sublime benignity of the Divine nature longing to express itself through the noblest medium possible. By his rebellion and deliberate sin man had forfeited all claim to the Divine favour, and his restoration to that favour, impossible of attainment by any efforts of his own, was an act of sheer Divine goodness. Its spontaneity breaks in as a sweet surprise upon the sinning race. The most vicious and abandoned are included in its gracious provisions, and all men are taught that their salvation, if accomplished at all, must be as an act of free and undeserved grace.

+II. Salvation has its life and fellowship in Christ+ (vers. 5, 6).--God has given us as unquestioned a resurrection from the death of sin as the body of Christ had from the grave, and the same Divine power achieved both the one and the other. The spiritual life of both Jew and Gentile has its origin in Christ, and the axe is thus laid to the very root of spiritual pride and all glorying in ourselves. We are raised by His resurrection power to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This we do already by our spiritual fellowship with Him, and by anticipation we share the blessedness which we shall more fully enjoy by our union with Him in the heavenly world. The spiritual resurrection of the soul must precede and will be the inviolable guarantee of the future glorious resurrection of the body. As the great Head of the Church is already in the heavenlies, so ultimately all the members that make up the body shall be gathered there. We are already seated there in Him as our Head, which is the ground of our hope; and we shall be hereafter seated there by Him, as the conferring cause, when hope shall be swallowed up in fruition. Our life and fellowship in Christ are susceptible of indefinite expansion and enjoyment in the progressive evolutions of the future.

+III. Faith, the instrument of salvation, is the gift of Divine grace+ (ver. 8).--The question whether faith or salvation is the gift of God is decided by the majority of critics in favour of the former. This agrees with the obvious argument of the apostle, that salvation is so absolutely an act of Divine grace that the power to realise it individually is also a free gift. Grace, without any respect to human worthiness, confers the glorious gift. Faith, with an empty hand and without any pretence to personal desert, receives the heavenly blessing. Without the grace or power to believe, no man ever did or can believe; but with that power the act of faith is a man's own. God never believes for any man, no more than He repents for him. The penitent, through this grace enabling him, believes for himself; nor does he believe necessarily or impulsively when he has that power. The power to believe may be present long before it is exercised, else why the solemn warnings which we meet everywhere in the Word of God and threatenings against those who do not believe? This is the true state of the case: God gives the power, man uses the power thus given, and brings glory to God. Without the power no man can believe; with it any man may.

+IV. Salvation, being unmeritorious, excludes all human boasting.+--"Not of works, lest any man should boast" (ver. 9). Neither salvation nor the faith that brings it is the result of human ingenuity and effort. The grand moral results brought about by saving faith are so extraordinary, and so high above the plane of the loftiest and most gigantic human endeavours, that if man could produce them by his own unaided powers he would have cause indeed for the most extravagant boasting, and he would be in danger of generating a pride which in its uncontrollable excess would work for his irretrievable ruin. The least shadow of a ground for pride is however excluded. God protects both Himself and man by the freeness and simplicity of the offer of salvation. It is the complaint of intellectual pride that the reception of the Gospel is impossible because it demands a humiliation and self-emptying that degrade and shackle intellectual freedom. Such an objection is a libel on the Gospel. It humbles in order to exalt; it binds its claims upon us to lift us to a higher freedom. So completely is salvation a Divine act, that the man who refuses to accept it on God's terms must perish. There is no other way.

+V. The glory of Divine grace in salvation will be increasingly demonstrated in the future.+--"That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace" (ver. 7). The most valuable function of history is not that which deals with the rise and fall of empires, the brutal ravages of war, the biographies of kings, statesmen, and philosophers, but that which treats upon the social and moral condition of the people and the influence of religion in the development of individual and national character. The true history of the world is the history of God's dealings with it. The ages of the past have been a revelation of God; the ages to come will be an enlargement of that revelation, and its most conspicuous feature will be an ever-new development of the riches of Divine grace in the redemption of the human race. In all successive ages of the world we are authorised to declare that sinners shall be saved only as they repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

+Lessons.+--Salvation--1. Is a revelation of what God does for man. 2. Is absolutely necessary for each. 3. Should be earnestly sought by all.

GERM NOTES OF THE VERSES.

Vers. 4-7. The Great Change effected in Man by the Gospel.

+I. The happy change which the Gospel made in the Ephesians.+--A change not peculiar to them, but common to all sincere believers.

1. God hath quickened us.--Made us alive with Christ. (1) True Christians are alive; they have spiritual senses and appetites. (2) Spiritual motions. (3) Spiritual pleasures. (4) Spiritual powers. The spiritual life comes through Christ and is conformed to Him.

2. God hath raised us up together with Christ (ver. 6).--His resurrection is a proof and pattern of that of believers.

3. God hath made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ.--His entrance into heaven is a proof of the final salvation of believers. He sits there for them, to take care of their interests, and in due time will bring them to sit where He is.

+II. Contemplate the mercy of God in this great change.+--"God, who is rich in mercy" (ver. 4). The mercies of God are rich in extent, in number, in respect of constancy, in variety, in value. "The great love wherewith He loved us." He first loved us. His love shines brighter when we consider what a being He is. He is infinitely above us. He is self-sufficient. The Gospel gives us the most exalted conceptions of God's character.

+III. The general purpose of God's particular mercy to the Ephesians+ (ver. 7).--God's mercy in reclaiming one transgressor may operate to the salvation of thousands in ages to come. The Gospel dispensation was intended to serve some useful purposes among other intelligences. Not only God's gracious dispensation to fallen men, but also His righteous severity toward irreclaimable offenders, is designed for extensive beneficial influence.--Lathrop.

Vers. 4, 5. The State of Grace.

1. Salvation originates in the love of God.

2. That it consists in emancipation from evil.--"Quickened us together with Christ;" that is, gave life. The love and mercy of God were shown in this--not that He saved from penalty, but from sin. What we want is life, more life, spiritual life, to know in all things the truth of God, and to speak it, to feel in all things the will of God and do it.

3. The next word to explain is grace.--It stands opposed to nature and to law. Whenever nature means the dominion of our lower appetites, then nature stands opposed to grace. Grace stands opposed to law. All that law can do is to manifest sin, just as the dam thrown across the river shows its strength; law can arrest sometimes the commission of sin, but never the inward principle. Therefore, God has provided another remedy, "Sin shall not have dominion over you," because ye are under grace.

4. Paul states salvation here as a fact.--"By grace ye are saved." There are two systems. The one begins with nature, the other with grace: the one treats all Christians as if they were the children of the devil, and tells them that they may perhaps become the children of God; the other declares that the incarnation of Christ is a fact, a universal fact, proclaiming that all the world are called to be the children of the Most High. Let us believe in grace instead of beginning with nature.--F. W. Robertson.

Vers. 4-6. The Believer exalted together with Jesus Christ.

+I. The believer is assured he is raised up with Christ by the proofs which assure him of the exaltation of Christ.+--These proofs, irresistible as they are, do not produce impressions so lively as they ought. 1. From the abuse of a distinction between mathematical evidence and moral evidence. 2. Because the mind is under the influence of a prejudice, unworthy of a real philosopher, that moral evidence changes its nature according to the nature of the things to which it is applied. 3. Because the necessary discrimination has not been employed in the selection of those proofs on which some have pretended to establish it. 4. Because we are too deeply affected by our inability to resolve certain questions which the enemies of religion are accustomed to put on some circumstances relative to that event. 5. Because we suffer ourselves to be intimidated more than we ought by the comparison instituted between them and certain popular rumours which have no better support than the caprice of the persons who propagate them. 6. Because they are not sufficiently known.

+II. The means supplied to satisfy the believer that he is fulfilling the conditions under which he may promise himself that he shall become a partaker of Christ's exaltation.+--Though this knowledge be difficult, it is by no means impossible of attainment. He employs two methods principally to arrive at it: 1. He studies his own heart; 2. He shrinks not from the inspection of the eyes of others.

+III. The believer is raised up with Christ by the foretastes which he enjoys on earth of his participation in the exaltation of Christ.+--This experience is realised by the believer. 1. When shutting the door of his closet and excluding the world from his heart, he is admitted to communion and fellowship with Deity in retirement and silence. 2. When Providence calls him to undergo some severe trial. 3. When he has been enabled to make some noble and generous sacrifice. 4. When celebrating the sacred mysteries of redeeming love. 5. Finally, in the hour of conflict with the king of terrors.--Saurin.

Ver. 5. Justification by Faith.

I. We hold +that we are justified by faith,+ that is, by believing, and that unless we are justified we cannot be saved. Of all men whoever believed this, those who gave us the Church catechism believed it most strongly. Believing really what they taught, they believed that children were justified. For if a child is not justified in being a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, what is he justified in being? They knew that the children could only keep in this just, right, and proper state by trusting in God and looking up to Him daily in faith and love and obedience.

II. +These old reformers were practical men and took the practical way.+--They knew the old proverb, "A man need not be a builder to live in a house." At least they acted on it; and instead of trying to make the children understand what faith was made up of, they tried to make them live in faith itself. Instead of puzzling and fretting the children's minds with any of the controversies then going on between Papists and Protestants, or afterwards between Calvinists and Arminians, they taught the children simply about God, who He was, and what He had done for them and all mankind, that so they might learn to love Him, look up to Him in faith, and trust utterly to Him, and so remain justified and right, saved and safe for ever. By doing which they showed that they knew more about faith and about God than if they had written books on books of doctrinal arguments.

III. +The Church catechism, where it is really and honestly taught, gives the children an honest, frank, sober, English temper of mind which no other training I have seen gives.+--I warn you frankly that if you expect to make the average of English children good children on any other ground than the Church catechism takes, you will fail. If it be not enough for your children to know all the articles of the Apostles' Creed, and on the strength thereof to trust God utterly and so be justified and saved, then they must go elsewhere, for I have nothing more to offer them, and trust in God that I never shall have.--C. Kingsley.

Ver. 8. Salvation by Faith.

+I. What faith it is through which we are saved.+--1. It is not barely the faith of a heathen. 2. Nor is it the faith of a devil, though this goes much further than that of a heathen. 3. It is not barely that the apostles had while Christ was yet upon earth. 4. In general it is faith in Christ: Christ and God through Christ are the proper objects of it. 5. It is not only an assent to the whole Gospel of Christ, but also a full reliance on the blood of Christ, a trust in the merits of His life, death, and resurrection, a recumbency upon Him as our atonement and our life, as given for us and living in us, and in consequence hereof, a closing with Him and cleaving to Him as our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, or, in one word, our salvation.

+II. What is the salvation which is through faith?+--1. It is a present salvation. 2. A salvation from sin. 3. From the guilt of all past sin. 4. From fear. 5. From the power of sin. 6. A salvation often expressed in the word "justification," which taken in the largest sense implies a deliverance from guilt and punishment by the atonement of Christ actually applied to the soul of the sinner now believing on Him, and a deliverance from the power of sin, through Christ formed in his heart.

+III. The importance of the doctrine.+--Never was the maintaining this doctrine more seasonable than it is at this day. Nothing but this can effectually prevent the increase of the Romish delusion among us. It is endless to attack one by one all the errors of that Church. But salvation by faith strikes at the root, and all fall at once where this is established.--Wesley.

Vers. 8, 9. Our Salvation is of Grace.

+I. Consider how we are saved through faith.+--1. Without faith we cannot be saved. 2. All who have faith will be saved.

+II. What place and influence works have in our salvation.+--1. In what sense our salvation is not of works. (1) We are not saved by works considered as a fulfilment of the original law of nature. (2) We are not saved by virtue of any works done before faith in Christ, for none of these are properly good. 2. There is a sense in which good works are of absolute necessity to salvation. (1) They are necessary as being radically included in that faith by which we are saved. (2) A temper disposing us to good works is a necessary qualification for heaven. (3) Works are necessary as evidences of our faith in Christ and of our title to heaven. (4) Good works essentially belong to religion. (5) Works are necessary to adorn our professions and honour our religion before men. (6) By them we are to be judged in the great day of the Lord.

+III. The necessity of works does not diminish the grace of God in our salvation nor afford us any pretence for boasting.+--1. Humility essentially belongs to the Christian temper. 2. The mighty preparation God has made for our recovery teaches that the human race is of great importance in the scale of rational beings and in the scheme of God's universal government. 3. It infinitely concerns us to comply with the proposals of the Gospel. 4. Let no man flatter himself that he is in a state of salvation as long as he lives in the neglect of good works. 5. Let us be careful that we mistake not the nature of good works.--Lathrop.

Ver. 8. True Justifying Faith is not of Ourselves.--It is through grace that we believe in the grace of God. God's grace and love, the source; faith, the instrument; both His gift. The origin of our coming to Christ is of God. Justifying faith, not human assent, but a powerful, vivifying thing which immediately works a change in the man and makes him a new creature and leads him to an entirely new and altered mode of life and conduct. Hence justifying faith is a Divine work.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verse 10.

The Christian Life a Divine Creation.

+I. The true Christian a specimen of the Divine handiwork.+--"We are His workmanship." So far is man from being the author of his own salvation, or from procuring salvation for the sake of any works of his own, that not only was his first creation as a man the work of God, but his new spiritual creation is wholly the result of Divine power. Man, in the marvellous mechanism of his body, and in his unique mental and spiritual endowments, is the noblest work of God. He is the lord and high priest of nature and has such dominion over it as to be able to combine and utilise its forces. But the creation of the new spiritual man in Christ Jesus is a far grander work, and a more perfect and exalted specimen of the Divine handiwork. It is a nearer approach to a more perfect image of the Divine character and perfections. As the best work of the most gifted genius is a reflection of his loftiest powers, so the new spiritual creation is a fuller revelation of the infinite resources of the Divine Worker.

+II. The Christian life is eminently practical.+--"Created in Christ Jesus for good works" (R.V.). The apostle never calls the works of the law good works. We are not saved by, but created unto, good works. Works do not justify, but the justified man works, and thus demonstrates the reality of his new creation. "I should have thought mowers very idle people," said John Newton, "but they work while they whet the scythe. Now devotedness to God, whether it mows or whets the scythe, still goes on with the work. A Christian should never plead spirituality for being a sloven; if he be but a shoe-cleaner, he should be the best in the parish."

+III. The opportunities and motives for Christian usefulness are Divinely provided.+--"Which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Every man has his daily work of body or mind appointed him. There is not a moment without a duty. Each one has a vineyard; let him see that he till it, and not say, "No man hath hired us." "The situation," says Carlyle, "that has not its duty, its ideal, was never yet occupied by man. Yes, here in this poor, miserable, hampered, despicable Actual wherein thou even now standest, here or nowhere is thy ideal. Work it out therefrom, and working, believe, live, and be free." There is no romance in a minister's proposing and hoping to forward a great moral revolution on the earth, for the religion he is appointed to preach was intended and is adapted to work deeply and widely and to change the face of society. Christianity was not ushered into the world with such a stupendous preparation, it was not foreshown through so many ages by enraptured prophets, it was not proclaimed so joyfully through the songs of angels, it was not preached by such holy lips and sealed by such precious blood, to be only a pageant, a form, a sound, a show. Oh no! It has come from heaven, with heaven's life and power--come to make all things new, to make the wilderness glad, and the desert blossom as the rose, to break the stony heart, to set free the guilt-burdened and earth-bound spirit, and to present it faultless before God's glory with exceeding joy.

+Lessons.+--1. Christianity is not a creed, but a life. 2. The Christian life has a manifest Divine origin. 3. The Christian life must be practically developed in harmony with the Divine mind.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSE.

Ver. 10. Interruptions in our Work, and the Way to deal with Them.--In proportion to the seriousness with which a Christian does his work will be his sensitiveness to interruptions, and this sensitiveness is apt to disturb his peace. The remedy is a closer study of the mind that was in Christ, as that mind transpires in His recorded conduct. The point in the life of our Lord is the apparent want of what may be called method or plan. His good works were not in pursuance of some scheme laid down by Himself, but such as entered into God's scheme for Him, such as the Father had prepared for Him to walk in.

+I. Notice His discourses both in their occasions and their contexture.+--1. His discourses often take their rise from some object which is thrown across His path in nature, from some occurrence which takes place under His eyes, or from some question which is put to Him. 2. The contexture of His discourses are not systematic in the usual sense of the word. There is the intellectual method, and the method of a full mind and loving heart. The only plan observable in our Lord's discourses is that of a loving heart pouring itself out as occasion serves for the edification of mankind.

+II. Study the life of Christ.+--The absence of mere human plan, or rather strict faithfulness to the plan of God as hourly developed by the movements of His providence, characterises the life of our Lord even more than His discourses. Illustrated from Matthew ix. God has a plan of life for each one of us, and occasions of doing or receiving good are mapped out for each in His eternal counsels. Little incidents, as well as great crises of life, are under the control of God's providence. Events have a voice for us if we will listen to it. Let us view our interruptions as part of God's plan for us. We may receive good, even when we cannot do good. It is self-will which weds us to our own plans and makes us resent interference with them. In the providence of God there seems to be entanglements, perplexities, interruptions, confusions, contradictions, without end; but you may be sure there is one ruling thought, one master-design, to which all these are subordinate. Be not clamorous for another or more dignified character than that which is allotted to you. Be it your sole aim to conspire with the Author, and to subserve His grand and wise conception. Thus shall you find peace in submitting yourself to the wisdom which is of God.--E. M. Goulburn.

The New Spiritual Creation.--God has kindled in us a new spiritual life by baptism and the influence of the Holy Spirit connected therewith. He has laid the foundation of recreating us into His image. He has made us other men in a far more essential sense than it was once said to Saul--"Thou shalt be turned into another man." What is the principal fruit and end of this new creation? A living hope. Its object is not only our future resurrection, but the whole plenitude of the salvation still to be revealed by Jesus Christ, even until the new heavens and the new earth shall appear. Birth implies life; so is it with the hope of believers, which is the very opposite of the vain, lost, and powerless hope of the worldly-minded. It is powerful, and quickens the heart by comforting, strengthening, and encouraging it, by making it joyous and cheerful in God. Its quickening influence enters even into our physical life. Hope is not only the fulfilment of the new life created in regeneration, but also the innermost kernel of the same.--Weiss.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 11, 12.

The Forlorn State of the Gentile World.

+I. Outcast.+--"Gentiles, . . . called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision" (ver. 11). The circumcised Jew regarded himself as a special favourite of Heaven, and superior to all other men. He hardly felt himself a member of the human family. He was accustomed to speak of himself as chosen of God, and as holy and clean; whilst the Gentiles were treated as sinners, dogs, polluted, unclean, outcast, and God-abandoned. Between Jew and Gentile there was constant hatred and antagonism, as there is now between the Church and the world. On the one hand, the old religion, with its time-honoured teachings, its ancient traditions, the Church of the Fathers, the guardian of revelation, the depositary of the faith, the staunchness that tends to degenerate into bigotry--here is the Jew. On the other hand, the intellectual searchings, the political aspirations and mechanical contrivings--science, art, literature, commerce, sociology, the liberty which threatens to luxuriate into licence--here is the Gentile. Ever and again the old feud breaks out. Ever and again there is a crack and a rent. The gulf widens, and disruption is threatened. The majority is outside the circle of the Church.

+II. Christless.+--"That at that time ye were without Christ." The promises of a coming Deliverer were made to the Jews, and they were slow to see that any other people had any right to the blessings of the Messiah, or that it was their duty to instruct the world concerning Him. They drew a hard line between the sons of Abraham and the dogs of Greeks. They erected a middle wall of partition, thrusting out the Gentile into the outer court. Christ has broken down the barrier. On the area thus cleared He has erected a larger, loftier, holier temple, a universal brotherhood which acknowledges no preferences and knows no distinctions. In Christ Jesus now there is neither Jew nor Greek, but Christ is all and in all--a vivid contrast to the Christlessness of a former age.

+III. Hopeless.+--"Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope" (ver. 12). Where there is no promise there is no hope. Cut off from any knowledge of the promises revealed to the Jews, the Gentiles were sinking into despair.

+IV. Godless.+--"Without God in the world." With numberless deities the Gentiles had no God. They had everything else, but this one thing they lacked--knowledge of God their Father; and without this all their magnificent gifts could not satisfy, could not save, them. Culture and civilisation, arts and commerce, institutions and laws, no nation can afford to undervalue these; but not only do all these things soon fade, but the people themselves fall into corruption and decay, if the Breath of Life is wanting. As with nations, so is it with individuals. Man cannot with impunity ignore or deny the Father of earth and heaven.

+Lessons.+--1. Man left to himself inevitably degenerates. 2. When man abandons God his case is desperate. 3. The rescue of man from utter ruin is an act of Divine mercy.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 11, 12. The Condition of the Ephesians before their Conversion descriptive of the State of Sinners under the Gospel.

+I. They were in time past Gentiles in the flesh.+--He admonishes them not to forget the dismal state of heathenism out of which they had been called, and often to reflect upon it, that they might ever maintain a sense of their unworthiness and awaken thankful and admiring apprehensions of that grace which had wrought in them so glorious a change.

+II. Reminds them of the contempt with which they had been treated by the Jews.+--The Jews, instead of improving the distinction of their circumcision to gratitude and obedience, perverted it to pride, self-confidence, and contempt of mankind. They not only excluded other nations from the benefit of religious communion, but even denied them the common offices of humanity. One of their greatest objections to the Gospel was that it offered salvation to the Gentiles.

+III. They were without Christ.+--To the Jews were chiefly confined the discoveries which God made of a Saviour to come. From them in their captivities and dispersions the Gentiles obtained the knowledge they had of this glorious Person. This knowledge was imperfect, mixed with error and uncertainty, and at best extended only to a few. The Gentiles, contemplating the Messiah as a temporal prince, regarded His appearing as a calamity rather than a blessing.

+IV. They were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.+--To the forms of worship instituted in the Mosaic law none was admitted but Jews and such as were proselyted to the Jewish religion. All uncircumcised heathens were excluded as aliens.

+V. They were strangers from the covenants of promise.+--The discovery of the covenants of promise until the Saviour came was almost wholly confined to the Jews. How unhappy was the condition of the Gentile world in the dark, benighted ages which preceded the Gospel!

+VI. They had no clear hope of a future existence.+--Many of them scarcely believed or thought of a life beyond this. They had no apprehension, hardly the idea of a restoration of the body. Those who believed in a future state had but obscure and some of them very absurd conceptions of it. Still more ignorant were they of the qualifications necessary for happiness after death.

+VII. They were atheists in a world in which God was manifest.+--The heathens generally had some apprehension of a Deity; but they were without a knowledge of the one true God and without a just idea of His character. There are more atheists in the world than profess themselves such. Many who profess to know God in works deny Him.--Lathrop.

Ver. 12. Hopeless and Godless.--The soul that has no God has no hope. The character of the God we love and worship will determine the character of our hope. 1. The heathen religion was the seeking religion. Their search arose out of a deeply felt want. They felt the need of something they did not possess; and the finest intellects the world has ever known bravely and anxiously devoted all their colossal powers to the task of fathoming the mysteries of life. The hope of discovery buoyed them up and urged them onwards; but their united endeavours brought them only to the borderland of the unseen and the unknown, where they caught but glimmerings of a truth that ever receded into the great beyond. "The world by wisdom knew not God," and therefore had no hope. 2. The Hebrew religion was the hoping religion. Favoured with a revelation of the only true God, their hope expanded with every advancing step of the progressive revelation. Their hope was based on faith, as all true hope must be--faith in the promises of God. They had the promise of a Deliverer whose wisdom should excel that of Moses and Solomon, and whose power should surpass that of Joshua and of his heroic successors in the most brilliant period of their military career; and, through the centuries of prosperity and decline, of scattering and captivity, and amid unparalleled sufferings which would have extinguished any other nation, hope fastened and fed upon the promises till the true Messiah came, whom St. Paul justly described as "the Hope of Israel, the Hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers." 3. The Christian religion is the complement and perfection of all previously existing systems; it is the grand realisation of what the heathen sought, and the Hebrew hoped for. It is in Jesus we have the clearest, fullest, and most authoritative revelation of God, and it is in Him, and in Him alone, that the loftiest hope of man finds its restful and all-sufficient realisation. The apostle Paul refers to Jesus specifically as our Hope--"Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is our Hope" (1 Tim. i. 1). 4. In the light of this great and indubitable truth the words of our text may be clearly and unmistakably interpreted, and they assume a terrible significance. To be without Christ is to be without God and without hope. (1) Hope is not simply expectation. We expect many things we do not hope for. In the natural course of things we expect difficulties, we expect opposition and misrepresentation--"black wounding calumny the whitest virtue strikes"--we expect infirmities and disabilities of age; but we are none of us so fond of trouble for trouble's sake as to hope for any of these things. (2) Hope is not simply desire. Our desires are as thick and plentiful as apple blossoms, few of which ever ripen into the fruit they promise. We desire uninterrupted health, we desire wealth--the most dangerous and disappointing of all human wishes--we desire pleasure, success in life, and the realisation of the most ambitious dreams; but we have no reasonable ground for hoping that all our desires will ever be attained. (3) Hope is the expectation of the desirable, and it must have a foundation on which the expectation rests and an object to which the desire can rise. The foundation of hope is Christ, and the object of hope is to live with Him in eternal glory. To be without hope and without God does not mean that hope and God do not exist. The world is full of both; they are among you, they surround you, the very air vibrates with the ever-active presence of these grand realities; but they are as though they did not exist for you unless you know and feel they do exist within you. (4) Hope presupposes faith; they cannot exist apart. Faith discovers "the only foundation which is laid, which is Christ Jesus," fastens the soul to and settles it on this foundation, and faith and hope rouse all the activities of the soul to build on this foundation a superstructure which shall grow in solidity, in symmetry, and in beauty, until it becomes a perfect marvel of moral architecture, richly ornamented with the most delicate tracery and shimmering and flashing with the resplendent glory of God. (5) Hope is the balloon of the soul, soaring majestically into the heavens, scanning scenes of beauty and grandeur never beheld by our earth-bound senses, and faithfully reporting to the soul the state of affairs in the skies; but it is a captive balloon, and the connecting cords are firmly held in the hand of faith. The loftiest flights and the swing of what might seem the most eccentric gyrations of hope are held in check by the friendly, the sympathetic, but unswerving grasp of faith. "My dear Hope," Faith says, "it is very nice for you to be up there, basking in the cloudless sunshine and drinking in the melody of the ascending lark as it ripples up the heights; and I like you to be there. I could never get there myself; and you tell me of things I should never otherwise know, and they do me good. But, remember, I cannot let you go. We are linked together in the sacred bonds of a holy wedlock. We are necessary to each other and cannot do without each other. If you were to break away from me, you would vanish like vapour into space, and I should be left forlorn and powerless." And Hope replies: "I know it, my dear Faith. Divorce would be fatal to us both, and our union is too sweet and precious ever to dream of separation. I live in these upper regions purely for your sake. You know I have cheered you up many a time and will do so again. My joy is to brighten your life of toil and conflict down there. When the soul has done with you it will have done with me, and when my work is finished I shall be content to die." Thus, faith and hope are essentially united, and both are wedded together by the soul's living union with Christ. (6) A false hope is really no hope. It rests on no solid foundation; it is not justified by sound reason. It is but the blue light of a frantic conjecture generated amid the restless tumults of a soul in the last stages of despair. At the best a false hope is but a beautiful dream spun from the gossamer threads of a busy and excited fancy, a dream of what we wish might be, and, like all other dreams having no substantial basis, it dissolves into space under the first touch of reality. A false hope lures its victims on to destruction, as the flickering lights of the marsh gases seduce the belated traveller into the dismal swamps from which there is no release.

A State of Sin a State of Ungodliness.--1. Men do not recognise the existence of God. 2. They do not acknowledge His moral government. 3. They do not seek His favour as their chief good. 4. They do not delight in His communion. 5. They do not anticipate their final reckoning with Him. 6. They do not accept His own disclosures concerning the attributes of His nature and the principles of His administration.--G. Brooks.

Man without God.--He is like a ship tossed about on a stormy sea without chart or compass. The ship drifts as the waves carry it. The night is dark. The pilot knows not which way to steer. He may be close to rocks and quicksands. Perhaps a flash of lightning falls on a rock, or he hears the waves breaking over it. But how shall he escape, or how prepare to meet the danger? Shall he trust in providence? What providence has he to trust in? Poor man! He is without God. Shall he throw out an anchor? But he has no anchor. He wants the best and only safe anchor, hope--the anchor of the soul. Such is the state of man when he is far off, without a God to trust in, without hope to comfort and support him. But give the man a true and lively faith in Christ, tell him of a merciful and loving Father who careth for us and would have us cast all our care upon Him, show him that hope which is firm to the end, and straightway you make a happy man of him. You give him a course to steer, a chart and compass to guide him, an anchor which will enable him to withstand the buffeting of every storm. You insure him against shipwreck, and you assure him of a blessed haven where at length he will arrive and be at rest.--A. W. Hare.

Practical Atheism.--If it had been without friends, without shelter, without food, that would have made a gloomy sound; but without God! That there should be men who can survey the creation with a scientific enlargement of intelligence and then say there is no God is one of the most hideous phenomena in the world.

+I. The text is applicable to those who have no solemn recognition of God's all-disposing government and providence+--who have no thought of the course of things but just as going on, going on some way or other, just as it can be; to whom it appears abandoned to a strife and competition of various mortal powers, or surrendered to something they call general laws, and these blended with chance.

+II. Is a description of all those who are forming or pursuing their scheme of life and happiness independent of Him.+--They do not consult His counsel or will as to what that scheme should be in its ends or means. His favour, His blessing are not absolutely indispensable. We can be happy leaving Him out of the account.

+III. Is a description of those who have but a slight sense of universal accountableness to God as the supreme authority+--who have not a conscience constantly looking and listening to Him and testifying for Him. This insensibility of accountableness exists almost entire--a stupefaction of conscience--in very many minds. In others there is a disturbed yet inefficacious feeling. To be thus with God is in the most emphatical sense to be without Him--without Him as a friend, approver, and patron. Each thought of Him tells the soul who it is that it is without, and who it is that in a very fearful sense it never can be without.

+IV. The description belongs to that state of mind in which there is no communion with Him+ maintained or even sought with cordial aspiration. How lamentable to be thus without God! Consider it in one single view only, that of the loneliness of a human soul in this destitution.

+V. A description of the state of mind in which there is no habitual anticipation of the great event of going at length into the presence of God;+ in which there is an absence of the thought of being with Him in another world, of being with Him in judgment, and whether to be with Him for ever.

+VI. A description of those who, professing to retain God in their thoughts, frame the religion in which they are to acknowledge Him according to their own speculation and fancy.+--Will the Almighty acknowledge your feigned God for Himself, and admit your religion as equivalent to that which He has declared and defined? If He should not, you are without God in the world. Let us implore Him not to permit our spirits to be detached from Him, abandoned, exposed, and lost; not to let them be trying to feed their immortal fires on transitory sustenance, but to attract them, exalt them, and hold them in His communion for ever.--John Foster.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 13-18.

Christ the Great Peacemaker.

+I. His mission on earth was one of peace.+--"And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh" (ver. 17). His advent was heralded by the angelic song, "Peace on earth, and goodwill toward men." The world is racked with moral discord; He is constantly striving to introduce the music of a heavenly harmony. It is distracted with war; He is propagating principles that will by-and-by make war impossible. The work of the peacemaker is Christ-like. Shenkyn, one of whose anomalies was that with all his burning passions he was a notorious peacemaker, and had means of pouring oil upon troubled waters, once upon a time was deputed to try his well-known skill upon a Church whose strife of tongues had become quite notorious. He reluctantly complied and attended a meeting which soon proved to his satisfaction that the people were possessed by a demon that could not easily be expelled. The peacemaker got up, staff in hand, paced the little chapel, and with his spirit deeply moved, cried out, "Lord, is this Thy spouse?" Faster and faster he walked, thumping his huge stick on the floor, and still crying out, "Lord, is this Thy spouse? Slay her!" Then there came, as it were from another, a response, "No, I will not." "Sell her, then!" "No, I will not." "Deny her, then!" Still the answer came, "I will not." Then he lifted up his voice, saying, "I have bought her with My precious blood; how can I give her up? How can I forsake her?" The strife had now ceased, and the people looked on with amazement, crying out for pardon.

+II. He made peace between man and man.+--"For He is our peace, who hath made both one; . . . to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace" (vers. 14, 15). The hostility of Jew and Gentile was conquered; the new spiritual nature created in both formed a bond of brotherhood and harmony. The Jew no longer despised the Gentile; the Gentile no longer hated and persecuted the Jew. Where the Christian spirit predominates personal quarrels are speedily adjusted.

+III. He made peace between man and God.+--"That He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross" (ver. 16). The enmity of man against God is disarmed and conquered by the voluntary suffering of Jesus in man's stead, and by Him thus opening up the way of reconciliation of man with God. God can now be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. The violated law is now atoned for, and the violator may obtain forgiveness and regain the forfeited favour of the offended God. There is peace only through forgiveness.

+IV. His death removed the great barrier to peace.+--This paragraph is very rich and suggestive in the phrases used to explain this blessed result: "Ye are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (ver. 13). "By the cross, having slain the enmity thereby" (ver. 16). "Hath broken down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in His flesh the enmity" (vers. 14, 15). It is not the calm, silent, featureless, helpless, forceless, peace of death, but a living, active, aggressive, ever-conquering peace. The death was the result of agonising struggle and intense suffering, and the peace purchased is a powerfully operating influence in the believing soul.

"A peace is of the nature of a conquest; For then both parties nobly are subdued, And neither party loser."--Shakespeare.

+V. True peace is realised only in Christ.+--"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (ver. 13). "For He is our peace" (ver. 14). "For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (ver. 18). "Christ takes us by the hand, and leads us to the Father." Men seek peace in the excitements of worldly pleasures, or in the pursuit of ambitious aims, but in vain. They only stimulate the malady they seek to cure. Christ is the restful centre of the universe, and the sin-tossed soul gains peace only as it converges towards Him. The efforts of men to find rest independent of Christ only reveal their need of Him, and it is a mercy when this revelation and consciousness of need does not come too late.

+Lessons.+--1. Sin is the instigator of quarrels and strife. 2. Only as sin is conquered does peace become possible. 3. Christ introduces peace by abolishing sin.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 13-18. Nearness to God.

+I. They were brought into the Church of God and admitted to equal privileges with His ancient people the Jews.+

+II. They were brought near to God as they were admitted to enjoy the Gospel, which is a dispensation of grace and peace.+

+III. They were brought near to God by the renovation of their souls after His image.+

+IV. This nearness to God implies a state of peace with Him.+

+V. Another circumstance of the nearness is access to God in prayer.+

+VI. Another is the presence of His Holy Spirit.+--Let us be afraid of everything that tends to draw us away from God, and love everything which brings us nearer to Him. Let us seek Him with our whole heart, persevere daily communion with Him, choose His favour as our happiness, His service as our employment, His Word as our guide, His ordinances as our refreshment, His house as the gate of heaven, and heaven as our eternal home.--Lathrop.

Ver. 13. Our State by Nature and by Grace.

+I. Our state by nature.+--The distance from God here spoken of is not a local distance, neither is it that which separates us from Him as an infinite Being. 1. It is legal. Banished by a righteous sentence and by a sense of guilt and unworthiness. 2. It is moral. Estrangement. Absence of sympathy. Want of harmony. 3. In both these respects it is ever-widening. 4. It is miserable and dangerous.

+II. Our state by grace.+--1. The legal barriers are removed by the blood of Christ shed on the cross. 2. The moral alienation is removed by the blood of Christ as applied to the believer by the Holy Spirit. 3. The nearness to God thus effected is a valuable privilege. It includes reconciliation, friendship, communion. Sinner, apply now to be made nigh. Believer, remember thy obligations.--G. Brooks.

Vers. 14, 15. Death a Peacemaker.--The struggle between the Northern and Southern States of America closed for ever at the funeral of General Grant. The armies of rebellion surrendered twenty years before; but the solemn and memorable pageant at the tomb of the great Union soldier, where the leading generals of the living Union and of the dead Confederacy stood shoulder to shoulder and mingled their tears in a common grief--this historical event marked the absolute conclusion of sectional animosity in America.

Ver. 16. The Power of the Gospel to dissolve the Enmity of the Human Heart against God.--1. The goodness of God destroys the enmity of the human mind. When every other argument fails, this, if perceived by the eye of faith, finds its powerful and persuasive way through every barrier of resistance. Try to approach the heart of man by the instruments of terror and of authority, and it will disdainfully repel you. There is not one of you skilled in the management of human nature who does not perceive that, though this may be a way of working on the other principles of our constitution--of working on the fears of man, or on his sense of interest--this is not the way of gaining by a single hair-breadth on the attachments of his heart. Such a way may force, or it may terrify, but it never, never can endear; and after all the threatening array of such an influence as this is brought to bear upon man, there is not one particle of service it can extort from him but what is all rendered in the spirit of a painful and reluctant bondage. Now this is not the service which prepares for heaven. This is not the service which assimilates men to angels. This is not the obedience of those glorified spirits, whose every affection harmonises with their every performance, and the very essence of whose piety consists of delight in God and the love they bear to Him. To bring up man to such an obedience as this, his heart behoved to be approached in a particular way; and no such way is to be found but within the limits of the Christian revelation. There alone you see God, without injury to His other attributes, plying the heart of man with the irresistible argument of kindness. There alone do you see the great Lord of heaven and of earth, setting Himself forth to the most worthless and the most wandering of His children--putting forth His hand to the work of healing the breach which sin had made between them--telling them that His Word could not be mocked, and his justice could not be defied and trampled on, and that it was not possible for His perfections to receive the slightest taint in the eyes of the creation He had thrown around them; but that all this was provided for, and not a single creature within the compass of the universe He has formed could now say that forgiveness to man was degrading to the authority of God, and that by the very act of atonement, which poured a glory over all the high attributes of His character, His mercy might now burst forth without limit and without control upon a guilty world, and the broad flag of invitation be unfurled in the sight of all its families. 2. Let the sinner, then, look to God through the medium of such a revelation, and the sight which meets him there may well tame the obstinacy of that heart which had wrapped itself up in impenetrable hardness against the force of every other consideration. Now that the storm of the Almighty's wrath has been discharged upon Him who bore the burden of the world's atonement, He has turned His throne of glory into a throne of grace and cleared away from the pavilion of His residence all the darkness which encompassed it. The God who dwelleth there is God in Christ; and the voice He sends from it to this dark and rebellious province of His mighty empire is a voice of the most beseeching tenderness. Goodwill to men is the announcement with which His messengers come fraught to a guilty world; and, since the moment in which it burst upon mortal ears from the peaceful canopy of heaven, may the ministers of salvation take it up, and go round with it among all the tribes and individuals of the species. Such is the real aspect of God towards you. He cannot bear that His alienated children should be finally and everlastingly away from Him. He feels for you all the longing of a parent bereaved of his offspring. To woo you back again unto Himself He scatters among you the largest and the most liberal assurances, and with a tone of imploring tenderness does He say to one and all of you, "Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die?" (Ezek. xxxiii. 11). He has no pleasure in your death. He does not wish to glorify Himself by the destruction of any one of you. "Look to Me, all ye ends of the earth, and be saved" (Isa. xlv. 22), is the wide and generous announcement by which He would recall, from the outermost limits of His sinful creation, the most worthless and polluted of those who have wandered away from Him. 3. Now give us a man who perceives, with the eye of his mind, the reality of all this, and you give us a man in possession of the principle of faith. Give us a man in possession of this faith; and his heart, shielded as it were against the terrors of a menacing Deity, is softened and subdued, and resigns its every affection at the moving spectacle of a beseeching Deity; and thus it is, that faith manifests the attribute which the Bible assigns to it, of working by love. Give us a man in possession of this love; and, animated as he is with the living principle of that obedience, where the willing and delighted consent of the inner man goes along with the performance of the outer man, his love manifests the attribute which the Bible assigns to it when it says, "This is the love of God, that ye keep His commandments." And thus it is, amid the fruitfulness of every other expedient, when power threatened to crush the heart which it could not soften--when authority lifted its voice, and laid on man an enactment of love which it could not carry--when terror shot its arrows, and they dropped ineffectual from that citadel of the human affections, which stood proof against the impression of every one of them--when wrath mustered up its appalling severities, and filled that bosom with despair which it could not fill with the warmth of a confiding attachment--then the kindness of an inviting God was brought to bear on the heart of man, and got an opening through all its mysterious avenues. Goodness did what the nakedness of power could not do. It found its way through all intricacies of the human constitution, and there, depositing the right principle of repentance, did it establish the alone effectual security for the right purposes and the right fruits of repentance.--Dr. T. Chalmers.

Ver. 18. The Privilege of Access to the Father.--In the Temple service of the Jews all did not enjoy equal privileges. The court of the Gentiles was outside that of the Jews and separated from it by "a marble screen or enclosure three cubits in height, beautifully ornamented with carving, but bearing inscriptions, in Greek and Roman characters, forbidding any Gentile to pass within its boundary." Such restricted access to God the new dispensation was designed to abolish. The middle wall of partition is now broken down, and through Christ we, both Jews and Gentiles--all mankind--have equal access by one Spirit unto the Father. Observe:--

+I. The privilege of access unto the Father.+--That God is the proper object of worship is implied in our text, and more explicitly declared in other portions of the sacred writings. According to the nature of the blessings desired, prayer may be addressed to any of the three Persons in the Godhead; but the Bible teaches that prayer generally is to be presented to the Father through Christ and by the Holy Spirit. And so appropriate are the offices of the Persons in the Trinity that we cannot speak otherwise. We cannot say that through the Spirit and by the Father we have access to Christ, or through the Father and by Christ we have access to the Spirit. We must observe the apostle's order--through Christ and by the Spirit we have access to the Father. Access unto the Father implies:--

1. His sympathy with us.--God is our Creator and Sovereign, but His authority is not harsh or arbitrary. He does not even deal with us according to the stern dictates of untempered justice. On the contrary, in love and sympathy He has for our benefit made His throne accessible. He will listen to our penitential confessions, our vows of obedience, our statements of want. He has sympathy with us.

2. His ability to help us.--That access is permitted to us, taken in connection with God's perfections, prove this. He raises no hope to disappoint, does not encourage that He may repel, but permits access that He may help and bless.

3. His permission to speak freely.--There is nothing contracted in God's method of blessing. We are introduced to His presence not to stand dumb before Him, nor to speak under the influence of slavish fear. We have such liberty as those enjoy who are introduced to the presence of a prince by a distinguished favourite, or such freedom as children have in addressing a father. We are brought into the presence of our King by His Own Son; to our heavenly Father by Christ, our elder Brother. The results of this access to ourselves: 1. It teaches dependence; 2. Excites gratitude; 3. Produces comfort; 4. Promotes growth in grace.

+II. The medium of access.+--Under the law the high priest was the mediator through whom the people drew near to God. He went into the "holiest of all, once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people" (Heb. ix. 7). Under the new covenant "boldness to enter into the holiest" is "by the blood of Jesus" (Heb. x. 19). But as the mediation of the Jewish high priest, though "done away in Christ," was typical, it may serve to teach us how we are to come to God. He sprinkled the blood of the sin-offering on the mercy-seat and burnt incense within the veil (Lev. xvi.), thus symbolising the sacrifice and intercession of Christ.

1. We, then, have access to God through Christ as a sacrifice.--"Without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. ix. 22). But, "that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," we could never, as suppliants, have found acceptance with God.

2. Through Christ as an intercessor.--"But this man," etc. (Heb. x. 12). A disciple in temptation cries for deliverance from evil, and Christ prays, "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me" (John xvii. 11). A dying saint asks for "an entrance into the heavenly kingdom," and Christ pleads, "Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am" (John xvii. 24). None need deem himself too unworthy to call on God who comes to Him through Christ's sacrifice and intercession.

+III. The assistance afforded by the Holy Spirit.+--As we have access unto the Father through Christ pleading for us, so we have access unto the Father by the Spirit pleading in us.

1. The Spirit kindles holy desire.--It is the work of the Spirit to draw off the hearts of men from the world and raise them to God in prayer. As in playing on a musical instrument no string sounds untouched, so without this influence of the Spirit man would never look heavenward, or his heart fill with desire toward God.

2. Prompts to immediate application.--Blessings are often desired but feebly. The Spirit rebukes this hesitancy, and urges on to immediate application.

3. Aids in that application.--"Without the Spirit we know not what we should pray for" (Rom. viii. 26). Our thoughts wander, our affections chill, the fervour of our importunity flags, unless the Spirit "helpeth our infirmities."

+Reflections.+--1. Those who do not enjoy this privilege are highly culpable. 2. Those who do enjoy this privilege are indeed happy.--The Lay Preacher.

Access to God, revealing the Trinity in Unity.

+I. The end of human salvation is access to the Father.+--That is the first truth of our religion--that the source of all is meant to be the end of all, that as we all come forth from a Divine Creator, so it is into Divinity that we are to return and to find our final rest and satisfaction, not in ourselves, not in one another, but in the omnipotence, the omniscience, the perfectness, and the love of God. Now we are very apt to take it for granted that, however we may differ in our definitions and our belief of the deity of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we are all at once, there can be and there is no hesitation, about the deity of the Father. God is Divine. God is God. And no doubt we do all assent in words to such a belief; but when we think what we mean by that word "God"; when we remember what we mean by "Father," namely, the first source and the final satisfaction of a dependent nature; and then when we look around and see such multitudes of people living as if there were no higher source for their being than accident and no higher satisfaction for their being than selfishness, do we not feel that there is need of a continual and most earnest preaching by Word and act, from every pulpit of influence to which we can mount, of the Divinity of the Father. The Divinity of the Father needs assertion first of all. Let men once feel it, and then nature and their own hearts will come in with their sweet and solemn confirmations of it. But nature and the human heart do not teach it of themselves. The truest teaching of it must come from souls that are always going in and out before the Divine Fatherhood themselves. By the sight of such souls, others must come to seek the satisfaction that comes only from a Divine end of life--must come to crave access to the Father. So we believe, and so we tempt other men to believe, in God the Father.

II. And now pass to +the Divinity of the method.+--"Through Jesus Christ." Man is separated from God. That fact, testified to by broken associations, by alienated affections, by conflicting wills, stands written in the whole history of our race. And equally clear is it to him who reads the Gospels, and enters into sympathy with their wonderful Person, that in Him, in Jesus of Nazareth, appeared the Mediator by whom was to be the Atonement. His was the life and nature which, standing between the Godhood and the manhood, was to bridge the gulf and make the firm, bright road over which blessing and prayer might pass and repass with confident, golden feet for ever. And then the question is--and when we ask it thus it becomes so much more than a dry problem of theology; it is a question for live, anxious men to ask with faces full of eagerness--Out of which nature came that Mediator? Out of which side of the chasm sprang the bridge leaping forth toward the other? Evidently on both sides that bridge is bedded deep and clings with a tenacity which shows how it belongs there. He is both human and Divine. But from which side did the bridge spring? It is the most precious part of our belief that it was with God that the activity began. It is the very soul of the Gospel, as I read it, that the Father's heart, sitting above us in His holiness, yearned for us as we lay down here in our sin. And when there was no man to make an intercession, He sent His Son to tell us of His love, to live with us, to die for us, to lay His life like a strong bridge out from the Divine side of existence, over which we might walk fearfully but safely, but into the Divinity where we belonged. Through Him we have access to the Father. As the end was Divine, so the method is Divine. As it is to God that we come, so it is God who brings us there. I can think nothing else without dishonouring the tireless, quenchless love of God.

+III. The power of the act of man's salvation is the Holy Spirit.+--"Through Christ Jesus we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." What do we mean by the Holy Spirit being the power of salvation? I think we are often deluded and misled by carrying out too far some of the figurative forms in which the Bible and the religious experience of men express the saving of the soul. For instance, salvation is described as the lifting of the soul out of a pit and putting it upon a pinnacle, or on a safe high platform of grace. The figure is strong and clear. Nothing can overstate the utter dependence of the soul on God for its deliverance; but if we let the figure leave in our minds an impression of the human soul as a dead, passive thing, to be lifted from one place to the other like a torpid log that makes no effort of its own either for co-operation or resistance, then the figure has misled us. The soul is a live thing. Everything that is done with it must be done and through its own essential life, If a soul is saved, it must be by the salvation, the sanctification, of its essential life; if a soul is lost, it must be by perdition of its life, by the degradation of its affections and desires and hopes. Let there be nothing merely mechanical in the conception of the way God treats these souls of ours. He works upon them in the vitality of thought, passion, and will that He put into them. And so, when a soul comes to the Father through the Saviour, its whole essential vitality moves in the act. When this experience is reached, then see what Godhood the soul has come to recognise in the world. First, there is the creative Deity from which it sprang, and to which it is struggling to return--"the Divine End, God the Father." Then there is the incarnate Deity, which makes that return possible by the exhibition of God's love--the Divine Power of salvation, God the Holy Spirit. To the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. This appears to be the truth of the Deity as it relates to us. I say again, "as it relates to us." What it may be in itself; how Father, Son, and Spirit meet in the perfect Godhood; what infinite truth more there may, there must, be in that Godhood, no man can dare to guess. But, to us, God is the end, the method, and the power of salvation; so He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is in the perfect harmony of these sacred personalities that the precious unity of the Deity consists. I look at the theologies, and so often it seems as if the harmony of the Father, Son, and Spirit has been lost, both by those that own and those that disown the Trinity. One theology makes the Father hard and cruel, longing as it were for man's punishment, extorting from the Son the last drops of life-blood which man's sin had incurred as penalty. Another theology makes the Son merely one of the multitude of sinning men, with somewhat bolder aspirations laying hold on a forgiveness which God might give but which no mortal might assume. Still another theology can find no God in the human heart at all; merely a fermentation of human nature is this desire after goodness, this reaching out towards Divinity. The end is not worthy of the method. I do not want to come to such a Father as some of the theologians have painted. Or the method is not worthy of the end. No man could come to the perfect God through such a Jesus as some men have described. Or the power is too weak for both; and all that Christ has done lies useless, and all the Father's welcome waits in vain for the soul that has in it no Holy Ghost. But let each be real and each be worthy of the others, and salvation is complete. But each cannot be worthy of the others unless each is perfect. But each cannot be perfect unless each is Divine; that is, our faith is in the Trinity--three Persons and one God.--Philips Brooks.

The Christian Law of Prayer--

+I. To the Father.+--1. How honourable! Right of entry to an earthly sovereign. 2. How delightful! Our pleasures may be graduated according to the part of our nature in which they have their rise. The pleasures of devotion are the highest taste for devotion. 3. How profitable! God is able to bestow all temporal and spiritual blessings. 4. How solemn! The intercourse of our spirit with the Father of our spirits. Heart to heart.

+II. Through the Son.+--1. Through His atonement. Legal barriers to our access must be removed. Have been removed by the death of Christ as a satisfaction to Divine Justice. He has demolished the wall, He has constructed a bridge across the chasm, He has laid down His own body as the medium of approach. 2. Through His intercession. It perpetuates His sacrifice. The Jewish high priest entering the holy of holies on the Great Day of Atonement. Amyntas, mother of Coriolanus; Philippa after the siege of Calais.

+III. By the Spirit.+--1. He teaches us what are our wants. For the most part we are likely to be aware of our temporal wants. In spiritual things the greater our need the less our sense of need. 2. He makes us willing to ask the supply of our wants. Aversion to beg. Aversion to lay bare the symptoms of humiliating disease. 3. He gives us power to spread our wants before God. One person employed to write a letter or a petition for another. 4. He inspires us with confidence to plead with importunity and faith. Confidence in the Father, in the Son, in the power of prayer.--G. Brooks.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 19-22.

The Church the Temple of God.

+I. Enjoying special privileges.+--1. A saintly citizenship. "No more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints" (ver. 19). The apostle has spoken of the separation and enmity existing between Jew and Gentile. The Jew, trained to believe in the one invisible and only true God, who could not be imagined by any material form, learned to look with hatred and contempt on the outcast, lawless Gentile, with his idol deities in every valley and on every hill; and the intellectual Gentile looked with philosophic pride on the stern land of the Hebrew and in philosophic scorn on his strange, exclusive loneliness. They were not only at enmity with each other, but both were at enmity with God. Now the writer is showing that by the provisions of the Gospel both Greek and Jew are united as citizens of one Divine kingdom. They enjoy the same privileges and are in actual fellowship with prophets and apostles and all holy souls in all ages and are sanctified subjects of a kingdom that can never be moved.

2. A family life.--"And of the household of God" (ver. 19). The Church is a family having one Father in God, one Brother in Christ, one life in the Spirit, and one home in Heaven. As in earthly families, there are diversities of character, tastes, gifts, tendencies, and manifestations, but all the members of the heavenly household are bound together by the one common bond of love to God and to each other.

+II. Resting on a sure foundation+ (ver. 20).--The materials composing the foundation of the Church are living stones--teachers and confessors of the truth, "apostles and prophets"; but Christ, as the one foundation, is the "chief corner-stone." The foundation of the Church is not so much in the witnesses of the truth as in the truth itself, and in propagating which truth the first teachers and confessors sacrificed their all. The truth which produced and sustained the martyrs is itself immovable. The apostles and prophets--teachers in the apostolic times--laid the first course in the foundation of the Church and were careful to recognise and build only one foundation, united and held together by the one corner-stone--Christ Jesus. They fixed the pattern and standard of Christian doctrine and practice. The Christian Church is sure because the foundation is deep and broad and can never be removed and replaced by any human structure.

+III. Ever rising to a higher perfection+ (ver. 21).--The image is that of an extensive pile of buildings, such as the ancient temples commonly were, in process of construction at different points over a wide area. The builders work in concert upon a common plan. The several parts of the work are adjusted to each other, and the various operations in process are so harmonised that the entire construction preserves the unity of the architect's design. Such an edifice was the apostolic Church--one but of many parts--in the diverse gifts and multiplied activities animated by one Spirit and directed towards one Divine purpose (Findlay). Since the Day of Pentecost, when three thousand living stones were laid on the foundation, the Church has been growing in symmetry, beauty, and vastness, and it is constantly advancing towards perfection. The building, though apparently disjoined and working in separate parts, is growing into a final unity.

+IV. Made by the Spirit His glorious dwelling-place+ (ver. 22).--The Holy Spirit is the supreme Builder as He is the supreme Witness to Jesus Christ (John xv. 26, 27). The words "in the Spirit" denote not the mode of God's habitation--that is self-evident--but the agency engaged in building this new house of God. With one chief corner-stone to rest upon, and one Spirit to inspire and control them, the apostles and prophets laid their foundation, and the Church was builded together for a habitation of God. Hence its unity. But for this sovereign influence the primitive founders of Christianity, the later Church leaders, would have fallen into fatal discord (Findlay). The Church is a spiritual organisation, pervaded and made vital and progressive by the presence and operation of the Spirit of God. An organ is composed of several instruments--the choir, the swell, the pedal, the great; and many stops--the diapason, the flute, the trumpet; and yet it is one. And the Church of God is one. One Spirit--one breath of wind turned on by one living Hand--makes all the organ vocal.

+Lessons.+--1. The Church is the depositary of great religious privileges. 2. God dwells in the Church by dwelling in the heart of every member of it. 3. The Church provides every facility for worship and service.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 19-22. The Church of God a Spiritual Building.

+I. The apostle represents the Church of God under the figure of a city and a household.+--1. A Church must resemble a family or city in respect of order and government; for without these a religious society can no more subsist than a civil community or a household. 2. In a city or household all the members have a mutual relation and partake in the common privileges; and though they are placed in different stations and conditions, they must all contribute to the general happiness. 3. In a city and also in a family there is a common interest. 4. In a well-ordered city or household there will be peace and unity; so there ought to be in a Christian Church.

+II. The manner in which the Church is founded.+--The mediation of Christ is the foundation of our faith and hope. The apostles and prophets are a foundation only as they describe and exhibit to use the doctrines and works, the atonement and intercession, of the Redeemer. In Him all the doctrines of the apostles and prophets meet and unite, as the stones in the foundation are fixed and bound together by the corner-stone.

+III. The Church must be united with and framed into the foundation.+--Thus it may stand secure. Christ is the chief corner-stone in which all the building is framed. That only is true faith in Christ which regards Him as the foundation of our present hope and final acceptance.

+IV. As the Church must rest on the foundation, so the several parts of it must be framed and inserted into each other.+--As it is faith which fixes the saints on Christ the foundation, so it is love which binds them together among themselves. If we would preserve the beauty, strength, and dignity of the spiritual house, we must be watchful to repair breaches as soon as they appear, and to remove those materials which are become too corrupt to be repaired, lest they communicate their own corruption to sounder parts.

+V. The Church is to grow into a holy temple for God through the Spirit.+--We must not content ourselves with having built on the true foundation, but must bring the structure to a more finished and beautiful condition. The Church may grow and make increase both by the progress of its present members in knowledge and holiness and by the addition of new members who become fellow-workers in the spiritual building. God dwells in His Church, not only by His Word and ordinances, but also by the influence of His Spirit which He affords to assist His people in the duties of His worship and to open their hearts for the reception of His Word.--Lathrop.

Ver. 19. Christian Prayer a Witness of Christian Citizenship.

+I. The foundation of the citizenship of the Christian.+--In access to the Father--in the power of approaching Him in full, free, trustful prayer.

1. Christian prayer is the approach of the individual soul to God as its Father.--Until a man utterly believers in Christ he can never pray aright. There are veils around the unbelieving spirit which hinder this free, confiding approach. The touch of God startles memories, rouses ghosts of the past in the soul's secret chambers; they flutter fearfully in the strange Divine light, and the man shudders and dare not pray. A man bathed in the life of God in prayer feels he is no more a stranger and a foreigner, but has entered into God's kingdom, for God is his Father.

2. That prayer of the individual soul must lead to the united worship of God's Church.--We cannot always pray alone. The men who stand most aloof from social worship are not the men who manifest the highest spiritual life. Our highest prayers are our most universal. I do not say we don't feel their individuality, we do--but in and through their universality.

+II. The nature of Christian citizenship.+--1. Prayer a witness to our fellowship with the Church of all time. Realising the Fatherhood of God in the holy converse of prayer, we are nearer men. Our selfishness, our narrow, isolating peculiarities begin to fade. In our highest prayers we realise common wants.

2. Prayer a witness to our fellowship with the Church of eternity.--All emotions of eternity catch the tone of prayer. Sometimes in the evening, when the sounds of the world are still, and the sense of eternity breaks in upon us, is not that feeling a prayer? We know that we are right, that in worship we have taken no earthly posture, but an attitude from higher regions.

+Lessons.+--1. Live as members of the kingdom. 2. Expect the signs of citizenship--the crown of thorns, the cross. 3. Live in hope of the final ingathering.--E. L. Hull.

The Communion of Saints.

+I. Society becomes possible only through religion.+--Men might be gregarious without it, but not social. Instinct which unites them in detail prevents their wider combination. Intellect affords light to show the elements of union, but no heat to give them crystalline form. Self-will is prevailingly a repulsive power, and often disintegrates the most solid of human masses. Some sense of a Divine Presence, some consciousness of a higher law, some pressure of a solemn necessity, will be found to have preceded the organization of every human community, and to have gone out and perished before its death.

+II. Worship exhibits its uniting principle under the simplest form, in the sympathies it diffuses among the members of the same religious assembly.+--There is, however, no necessary fellowship, as of saints, in the mere assembling of ourselves together; but only in the true and simple spirit of worship. Where a pure devotion really exists, the fellowship it produces spreads far beyond the separate circle of each Christian assembly. Surely it is a glorious thing to call up, while we worship, the wide image of Christendom this day. Could we be lifted up above this sphere and look down as it rolls beneath this day's sun, and catch its murmurs as they rise, should we not behold land after land turned into a Christian shrine? In how many tongues, by what various voices, with what measureless intensity of love, is the name of Christ breathed forth to-day!

+III. But our worship here brings us into yet nobler connections.+--It unites us by a chain of closest sympathy with past generations. In our helps to faith and devotion we avail ourselves of the thought and piety of many extinct ages. Do not we, the living, take up in adoration and prayer the thoughts of the dead and find them Divinely true? What an impressive testimony is this to the sameness of our nature through every age and the immortal perseverance of its holier affections!

+IV. And soon we too shall drop the note of earthly aspiration and join that upper anthem of Diviner love.+--The communion of saints brings us to their conflict first, their blessings afterwards. Those who will not with much patience strive with the evil can have no dear fellowship with the good; we must weep their tears ere we can win their peace.--Martineau.

Characteristics of Believers.

+I. Believers are here described as having been strangers and foreigners.+--1. There are relative expressions, meaning that natural men are strangers to the household of God and foreigners as respects the city of Zion. 2. Consider the natural man with reference to the city of Zion, and the truth of this representation will appear. (1) He is a stranger and foreigner--(a) By a sentence of exile (Gen. iii.). (b) By birth (Gen. v. 3; John iii. 6). (2) He is proved to be a stranger and foreigner--(a) By features (Gal. v. 19-21). (b) By manners (1 Pet. iv. 3). (c) By language. As such he is under another ruler (Eph. ii. 2), he is at war (Gal. iv. 29). 3. Though "strangers and foreigners" in relation to Zion, yet men are naturalised in another country. 4. This does not imply living beyond the pale of the visible Church. The Parable of the Tares. An alien to the saints and a stranger to God may be in the visible Church. 5. That there are "strangers and foreigners" in the Church seems a calamity. (1) They are thereby deceived. (2) They injure Christians. (3) They betray Christ.

+II. Believers are described as being fellow-citizens with the saints.+--1. They are citizens. (1) Their sentence of exile is cancelled (ver. 13). (2) They are naturalised by birth (John iii. 5). (3) They are reconciled to God and believers. (4) They are under Zion's government. 2. They are "fellow-citizens with the saints." (1) They have intercourse--holy. (2) They are united by mutual love. (3) They have reciprocal duties. (4) They have common rights and privileges. (5) They have common honour and reputation. (6) They have common prosperity and adversity. (7) They have common enemies. (8) They have common defence and safety. (9) They have a common history. 3. As a congregation we are professedly a section of this peculiar and spiritual community. (1) Do we seek each other's welfare? (2) Is our intercourse the communion of saints? (3) Are we careful of each other's reputation? 4. Are we as a congregation isolating ourselves from each other? Are we "fellow-citizens with the saints"? 5. The city is above.

+III. Believers are here described as belonging to the household of God.+--1. Believers as citizens are God's subjects. 2. As belonging to God's household they are His children. 3. As in God's household--(1) They are like Him. (2) They are near to Him. (3) They see His face. (4) They enjoy His fellowship. (5) They are provided for by Him. (6) They are under His protection. (7) They serve Him. (8) They worship Him--His house is a temple. 4. These are very tangible privileges and belong to this present life. 5. Many may suppose that they are "fellow-citizens with the saints" whose experience does not prove that they are "of the household of God." 6. For this "household" God has "a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."--Stewart.

Vers. 20, 21. The Church a Divine Edifice.--1. Though God Himself be the principal Author and Builder of this spiritual edifice, yet He employs His called ministers and servants as instruments, among whom He made special use of the prophets and apostles for laying the foundation in so far as they first did reveal and preach Jesus Christ, and commit to writings such truths concerning Him as are necessary for salvation, while other ministers are employed in preaching Christ to build up the elect on the foundation laid by them. 2. There is a sweet harmony and full agreement between the doctrines and writings of the prophets and apostles in holding forth Christ for a foundation and rock of salvation, the latter having taught and written nothing but what was prefigured in types and foretold in prophecies by the former. 3. As growth in grace is a privilege which appertains to all parts of this spiritual building who are yet on earth, so this growth of theirs flows from their union and communion with Christ; and the more their union is improved by daily extracting renewed influence from Him, they cannot choose but thrive the better in spiritual growth.--Fergusson.

Ver. 22. The Church the Habitation of God.--1. Jesus Christ differs from the foundation of other buildings in this, that every particular believer is not only laid upon Him and supported by Him as in material buildings, but they are also indented in Him, and hid, as it were, in the clefts of the rock by saving faith. 2. As all believers, however far soever removed by distance, are yet more strictly tied and joined together, so by taking band with Christ the foundation, they are fastened one to another as the stones of a building. 3. So inseparable is the union among the persons of the Trinity that the presence and indwelling of One is sufficient to prove the indwelling of all; for believers are a habitation to God the Father and Son, because the Spirit dwells in and sanctifies them.--Ibid.

* * * * * * * *

+CHAPTER III.+

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.

Ver. 1. +The prisoner of Jesus Christ+ may be regarded as "the prisoner whom the Lord has bound" (so Winer and Meyer), or as "a prisoner belonging to Christ," or again as "the prisoner for Christ's sake." The indignity of an ambassador being "thrown into irons" is lost in the feeling of being, even though bound, the representative of such a Lord.

Ver. 2. +If ye have heard.+--We have the same form of expression at ch. iv. 21--"assuming that is, that ye heard" (cf. Col. i. 23). +Of the grace.+--The favour which God conferred on me in appointing me your apostle. The Divine "Taskmaster" (to use Milton's expression) confers honour upon us when He sets us to work. "He is not served by men's hands as though He needed anything" (Acts xvii. 25).

Ver. 3. +How that by revelation.+--The familiar disavowal of any other source than the will of God (cf. Gal. i. 12).

Ver. 4. +Ye may understand my knowledge.+--You may, as the public reader proceeds to read my letter, discern my insights of the mystery.

Ver. 5. +Which in other ages.+--R.V. "other generations." Might possibly refer to those dim ages of the past national history when the Gentiles were thought of only as left to "unconvenanted mercies." We must note the word for "other"--it means a "different kind." +Was not made known . . . as it is now revealed.+--If any distinction is to be observed, we may say the "revelation" is one of the ways of "making known" (see ver. 3) the intuitional. +Unto His holy apostles and prophets.+--"If all saints were holy à fortiori the apostles" (Bishop Alexander).

Ver. 6. +Fellow-heirs . . . the same body . . . partakers.+--"The A.V. loses a point of similarity in the three Gentile privileges by not expressing the force of the Greek compounds by the same English word. Lit. 'heirs together,' 'incorporated together,' 'sharers together,' not heirs after, but together with, the Jews; not attached to the Hebrew body, but incorporated into it together with the element that previously constituted it; not receivers of the promise after others had been satisfied, but partakers of it together with them" (Bishop Alexander). "Co-heirs, and concorporate, and comparticipant. The strange English words may perhaps correspond to the strange Greek words which St. Paul invented to express this newly revealed mystery in the strongest form, as though no words could be too strong to express his conception of the reunion in Christ of those who apart from Him are separate and divided" (Farrar).

Ver. 7. +Whereof I was made a minister.+--A deacon, a runner of errands. A lowly word, which reminds us of his own self-estimate--"not worthy to be called an apostle"--and prepares us for the strange expression in ver. 8.

Ver. 8. +Less than the least of all saints.+--"As though he said 'leaster than all Christians'" (Bishop Alexander). "The greatest sinner, the greatest saint, are equidistant from the goal where the mind rests in satisfaction with itself. With the growth in goodness grows the sense of sin. One law fulfilled shows a thousand neglected" (Mozley, quoted by Farrar). +The unsearchable riches.+--"The untrackable wealth" (Farrar), inexplicable by creaturely intelligences, unspeakable therefore by human tongues.

Ver. 9. +And to make all men see.+--He says to the Galatians (Gal. iii. 1), "Christ was placarded before you"--so here he wants men to see for themselves.

Ver. 10. +To the intent that now . . . might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God.+--The Church as it expands from a "little flock" to a "multitude which no man can number" is to declare the multiform wisdom of God, ever fertile in new modes of operation. "Manifold" represents a word used to describe a floral wreath as consisting of "variegated" flowers.

Ver. 12. +In whom we have boldness.+--Originally meaning as regards speech. In Christ the reconciled child of God has the right of speaking to God without reserve. The same word is translated "confidence" in 1 John v. 14, A.V.: "It is the free, joyful mood of those reconciled to God" (Meyer). +And access.+--As in ch. ii. 13. +With confidence.+--Hardly as equal to assurance--certainly never self-assurance, but in quiet leaning on the arm of Christ.

Ver. 13. +I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations.+--Compare 2 Cor. iv. 1-16, where the same word is used. As an agonised sufferer, heroically suppressing every sign of pain, begs those who wait on him not to give way to grief; as Socrates, having quaffed the poison, rallies his friends, who have broken out into uncontrollable weeping, with the words, "What are you doing my friends? What! such fine men as you are! Oh, where is virtue?"; so (with a possible reminiscence of Acts xx. 36-38) St. Paul begs his readers not to lose heart.

Ver. 15. +The whole family.+--R.V. "every family." The word for "family" is only found in the New Testament in St. Luke ii. 4 and Acts iii. 25; in one translated "lineage," in the other "kindreds" in A.V.; consistently as "family" by R.V. Chrysostom, and others who followed him, have surely a special claim to be heard. They translate it "races." Bishop Alexander contends for the A.V. translation, "the whole." He says, "A special force and signification in the expression make this translation necessary" (cf. ch. ii. 19).

Ver. 16. +The riches of His glory.+--"The whole glorious perfection of God." +To be strengthened with might.+--There may be a verbal connection with the "fainting" of ver. 13, but the thought goes far out beyond that. +In the inner man.+--We are reminded again of the text quoted above (2 Cor. iv. 16). A mode of expression derived from the Platonic school, not necessarily presupposing any acquaintance with that system of philosophy.

Ver. 17. +That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.+--The condition of this, declared by Christ Himself, is that a man should keep the word of Christ. +Being rooted and grounded.+--A double metaphor--of a tree that has struck its roots deep into the crevices of the rock, and of a building with a foundation of bed-rock. "Every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God" (1 John iv. 7). Love conditions knowledge of things Divine (see ver. 18).

Ver. 18. +May be able.+--Perfectly able. +With all saints.+--The highest and most precious knowledge Paul can desire only as a common possession of all Christians. +What is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height.+--"The deeply affected mind with its poetico-imaginative intuition looks upon the metaphysical magnitude as a physical, mathematical one. Every special attempt at interpretation is unpsychological, and only gives scope to that caprice which profanes by dissecting the outpouring of enthusiasm" (Meyer).

Ver. 19. +And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.+--"An adequate knowledge of the love of Christ transcends human capacity, but the relative knowledge of the same opens up in a higher degree the more the heart is filled with the Spirit of Christ, and thereby is strengthened in loving. This knowledge is not discursive, but based in the consciousness of experience" (Meyer).

Ver. 20. +Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly.+--After his prayer proper is ended the full heart of the apostle swells out into a solemn doxology. The frequent and bold compound expressions of St. Paul (Farrar says twenty of the New Testament twenty-eight with ὑπέρ are St. Paul's) spring from the endeavours adequately to express his energetic thought. +According to the pour that worketh in us.+--"The measure of a man" or "of an angel" is insufficient here. Things are not achieved by creaturely mensuration where God works (cf. ch. i. 19-23).

Ver. 21. +To Him be the glory.+--"The honour due to His name." +By Christ Jesus.+--He that "climbeth up some other way" with his offering courts his own destruction. +Throughout all ages, world without end.+--R.V. "Unto all generations, for ever and ever." A good specimen of the "exceeding abundantly above all that we . . . understand" as regarded under the aspect of time. It carries our thoughts along the vista of the future, till time melts into eternity.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 1-6.

An Enlarged Gospel--

+I. Declaring the admission of the Gentiles on the same footing as the Jews to its highest privileges+ (ver. 6).--It came as a surprise to the world of the apostle's day that the Gospel he preached offered its blessings on equal terms to Jew and Gentile. The Jew, accustomed to be the sole repository of Divine revelation, was staggered at the discovery that heaven extended its favours to the outcast, heathenish Gentile; and the Gentile, proudly trusting to his own intellectual activity in the search after truth, greeted with wonder the ampler and loftier revelations of the new evangel. It seemed too good to be true. A new era was dawning, and men were dazzled and bewildered with the splendour of the vision. It is now authoritatively declared that, on the simple conditions of penitence and faith, the Gentile world is incorporated into the body of Christ. So far from being excluded from the Divine favour, the believing Gentiles are reckoned as "fellow-heirs, and of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel"; and the marvel is increased by the discovery that this astounding privilege is no new thought in the Divine mind, but was an essential part of the purpose concerning the race that had been developing in the slow march of the ages. The Hebrew Scriptures with their records of extraordinary theophanies, the saintly characters of Old Testament times, the Messianic revelations and the wealth of spiritual blessing which the isolated Jew had selfishly appropriated to himself, are the heaven-given privileges of universal man.

+II. Was wrapped in mystery for ages.+--"Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men" (ver. 5). The mystery all centres in Christ. The revelation of Messiah as the hope and salvation of the race was dimly and slowly unveiled in progressive stages. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing." Some of His grandest movements are veiled in mystery till the right moment comes, when the obscurity vanishes and the vastness and beauty of the completed work elicit our admiration and praise. We are familiar with this process in the natural world and in the progress of human history. The fruits of the earth do not reach maturity at a bound. Slowly and in secret the bud is rounded, then comes the delicately tinted blossom, and afterwards the tempting, mellow fruit. The same may be said of the growth of human character. It reaches the higher grades of mental and moral excellence by slow and silent stages, and advances in the ratio of the fidelity and energy with which the man carries out the great plan of his life-career. So the revelation of the Gospel mystery has been gradual and progressive. The purpose itself is incapable of progress--it has been fixed from eternity; but it has been made known to the world in portions suited to each succeeding period of its history. The law shadowed forth that purpose with more fulness than any previous dispensation, and the prophets went beyond the law, occupying a middle place between it and the Gospel, while the Gospel in its fuller revelation has gone as far beyond the prophets as they went beyond the law. Thus we see that God "who appears deliberate in all His operations" has unfolded His great purpose to save the race by slow and successive stages. The mystery of yesterday is the sunlit epiphany of to-day.

+III. Was specially revealed by the Spirit.+--"How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery" (ver. 3). "As it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit" (ver. 5). Notwithstanding the gradual disclosure of the mystery of the Gospel, its full significance could not have been caught without supernatural help. Mere flux of time adds nothing to our knowledge; nor can the most active intelligence decipher the spiritual meaning of truth. The Spirit of God, operating on the alert and awakened mind of the apostle, revealed to him the glory and power of Christ--the hidden mystery of ages--and opened to him the far-reaching provisions of the enlarged Gospel of which Christ is the inexhaustible theme. There is still much mystery in the Gospel that remains to be fathomed--the problem of the atonement, the origin of sin, the future destiny and eternal state of human souls, and the revelation of Christ and His Church to present-day social and economic questions in their bearing on human development and the future prosperity of the kingdom of God on earth. We are in daily need of the light and teaching of the Holy Spirit.

+IV. Was entrusted to man as a stewardship of Divine grace.+--"The dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward" (ver. 2). The mystery of the Gospel was revealed to Paul that he might dispense its benefits to others. Former generations had received light from heaven; but not sufficiently appreciating it, or wishing to keep it within too narrow a sphere, it grew dim and went out. Where it fell on prepared hearts it was used for the illumination and blessing of others. Paul was Divinely prepared for the revelation; he received it in trust for others; he saw the boundless provisions of the Gospel, and became a powerful advocate for its universal claims. Every minister is a steward of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, and it is his joy to minister to others whatever of insight into truth and grace of experience the Divine Spirit may entrust to him. The Gospel is an ever-enlarging Gospel to the soul lit up and informed by the revealing Spirit.

+Lessons.+--1. The Gospel is an advance on all previous revelations. 2. It is the grandest revelation of saving truth. 3. It can be known and enjoyed only by the Spirit.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 1-21. Riches of Christ.--Many make Christianity something local, temporary, and thus degrade it. Christ is inexhaustible for mind and heart; we find all in Him. Let us never make of this rich Christ a poor one. What Christ has instituted must be something transcendent, and not so common that every intellect can discover it.--Heubner.

Vers. 1-6. The Calling of the Gentiles.

+I. Paul calls himself a prisoner of Christ for the Gentiles.+--The liberality of his sentiments towards them and the boldness with which he asserted their title to equal privileges with Jews were the principal reasons why the latter persecuted him with such violence, and caused him to be sent a prisoner to Rome. The spring of this bitter enmity in the Jews was their spiritual pride and worldly affection. Liberality of sentiment essentially belongs to true religion. Bigotry, hatred, and envy among Christians debase their character and scandalise their profession. We should entertain exalted thoughts of the Divine Goodness. Such thoughts enlarge the mind and liberalise the feelings.

+II. The Gospel is called a dispensation of the grace of God.+--It is a discovery of that method which the wisdom of God has chosen for dispensing His grace and mercy toward fallen men. It is called the Gospel of God as it originated in His pleasure; and the Gospel of Christ as He is the immediate author of it, and His doctrines and works, His life and death, His resurrection and ascension, and the blessings procured by Him are the subjects on which it principally treats. The grace which the Gospel offers is pardon and glory. Under such a dispensation how inexcusable are the impenitent, and how amazing will be the punishment of those who finally perish in their guilt!

+III. This dispensation was committed to the apostle for the benefit of mankind.+--It was a trust committed to him by the will of God, not a power arrogated by his own presumption. He did not rely on a secret, internal call as what alone would warrant him to commence as a preacher. He carefully conformed to the order which Christ has instituted in His Church. He instructed Timothy and Titus to do likewise. Ministers are not to found their warrant to preach on any immediate revelation. If they should pretend to this, it would be no warrant for them to assume it, unless they can by miracles prove to the world the reality of the pretended revelation.

+IV. The knowledge of the Gospel was communicated to Paul by revelation.+--God did not, at the expense of inspiration, teach the apostles those things which they knew or might know by other means. But where actual knowledge and the means of obtaining it were wanting, there inspiration supplied the defect. It is not necessary for us to know the nature of this inspiration, or the manner in which the apostles were assured of its divinity. If we believe there is an infinite and all-perfect Spirit, who pervades universal nature, we must believe He can reveal His will to men by such an immediate influence as shall carry its own evidence and leave no possible doubt of its reality. If we deny the possibility of a certain inspiration from God, we deny that power to Him which we ourselves possess, for we can speak to men in such a manner that they shall certainly know we speak to them and perfectly understand our meaning.--Lathrop.

Vers. 4, 6. The Knowledge of Christ intended for All.--It is significant that the inscription on the cross was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 1. Hebrew, the language of religion, of the revelation concerning the one true God. 2. Greek, the language of literature, of arts and culture, the best medium in which to transmit the literature of the New Testament, as Hebrew was for that of the Old. It might be designated as the human language. 3. Latin, the language of the conquerors and masters of the world--also of the Roman Empire, as that kingdom of worldly aggrandisement and power, falsehood and wrong, in opposition to the kingdom of God destined to uproot and replace it. The Roman soldiers stationed throughout Europe became useful factors in the spread of the Gospel. Note also the synoptic gospels of 1. Matthew--Hebrew in thought and diction, written to convince Jews. 2. Mark--Latin in thought, and written for the Roman mind. 3. Luke--Greek in thought and style, written for Gentiles.

Vers. 4, 5. God known in Christ.--After the death of Pascal there was found in the lining of his coat a parchment which he never parted from, in order to keep in his memory a certain epoch in his life. It contained these words: "Certainty--joy--the God of Jesus Christ, not of the philosophers and savants. O that I may never be separated from Him!" The explanation of this is, that on one memorable night, during a holy watching, he had met, not merely the Machinist of the universe, the God who is but the substance or the law of the world, but the God who wills and creates the happiness of His children.

Vers. 5, 6. The Comprehensiveness of the Gospel.--1. God's purpose to call the Gentiles was not altogether unknown to the ancient Church; but it was not so clearly revealed under the Old Testament as under the New. 2. Though God might easily communicate the knowledge of Himself unto all immediately and without the help of second means, yet He hath chosen so to communicate His mind to some few only who have, at His appointment, set down in sacred writ what they immediately received, by which means the knowledge of God may, in an ordinary way, be conveyed to others. 3. It is a great and glorious privilege to be a part of that mystical body of which Christ is Head, because of the strict union such have with Christ and with all believers in Christ, and because of their interest in all the privileges of that body and in the gifts and graces of every member of it.--Fergusson.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 7-9.

An Exalted Ministerial Commission--

+I. To distribute the unbounded wealth of the Gospel.+--"Unto me . . . is this grace given, that I should preach the unsearchable riches of Christ" (ver. 8). In calling the Gospel "the unsearchable riches of Christ" the apostle signifies that Christ, the whole truth about Him and centred in Him, is the theme of his preaching, and that in Christ he finds a mine of inexhaustible wealth, a treasure of truth which cannot be told. He speaks as one who has searched--searched so long, so far, as to have produced on his mind the impression of unsearchableness. His whole style of writing in this chapter is that of a man overwhelmed with a sense of the infinite grace of God revealed in Christ. The expression "unsearchable riches," while conveying the impression of infinitude as the words "breadth," "length," "height," "depth," suggests a different idea--that of a mine of precious metal, rather than that of a vast continent of great length and breadth with high mountains and deep valleys spread over its surface. Paul speaks as a man digging in a recently discovered gold-field, who finds particles of the precious metal in such abundance that he cannot refrain from exclaiming ever and anon, "What an inexhaustible supply of gold is here!" He speaks further as one who feels it his special business to let all the world know of this gold-field, and invite all to come and get a share of its wealth (A. B. Bruce).

+II. To reveal to men the secret mind of God.+--1. The Gospel was for long hidden alone in God. "Which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God" (ver. 9). It was a mystery hid in God, not from God. The idea of the universality of the Gospel, though veiled for ages by the limitations of the Divine dealings with the Jewish people, was never absent from the mind of God. Down through the rolling years one eternal purpose runs, and now and then the most gifted of the Hebrew seers caught a glimpse of its ever-widening range. This great secret of the ages was revealed to Paul in such clearness and fulness that he regarded it as the one purpose of his life--his heaven-sent commission--to make it known to his fellow-men, of whatever nationality.

2. The purpose of the creation of all things by Christ was also a part of the Divine mystery.--"Who created all things by Jesus Christ" (ver. 9). The statement of this fact--thrown in by way of parenthesis--links the whole created things with the development of the Divine purpose, and asserts the absolute sovereignty of Jesus over all worlds. In some way yet to be more fully explained as the Divine purpose ripens all created beings are to be advantaged by the sublime redemptive work unfolded in the Gospel. "For He hath created all things, and by Him all things consist."

3. The mystery was revealed to one for the benefit of all.--"And to make all men see what is the fellowship [the stewardship] of the mystery" (ver. 9). It was well for us and the race that the revelation and commission were committed to one who by training and gifts was so well qualified to explain and propagate the grand Divine idea. The barriers of Jewish prejudice in Paul were swept away by the vastness and universality of the message. He saw it included his Hebrew brethren--and to them the Gospel was first preached--but he saw also it included all in its comprehensive sweep. Paul was not alone among the apostles in comprehending the breadth of the Gospel; but he was foremost and most resolute and unbending in battling for the right of the Gentiles to be admitted to all its blessed privileges. He thought out the Gospel for himself, and he became the fearless and astute champion of the sinning race. What is accepted as a commonplace to-day was not won without argument, suffering, and struggle.

+III. Bestowed as an act of Divine grace.+--1. As an act of Divine grace it was confirmed by the conscious possession of Divine power. "Given unto me by the effectual working of His power" (ver. 7). Paul himself experienced the transforming power of the Gospel. He was deeply convinced of its truth, he believed and embraced its provisions, he accepted Christ as the living core of the Gospel, and he was thrilled with the Divine power that wrought in him a great moral change. He spoke not only with the force and authority of clearly apprehended truth, but with the unfaltering certitude of personal experience. He was henceforth the willing agent of the Divine power working within him.

2. As an act of Divine grace his commission overwhelmed him with a sense of personal unworthiness.--"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given" (ver. 8). The immense favour humbles him to the dust. That Saul, the Pharisee and the persecutor, the most unworthy and unlikely of men, should be the chosen vessel to bear Christ's riches to the Gentile world, how shall he sufficiently give thanks for this! how express his wonder at the unfathomable wisdom and goodness that the choice displays in the mind of God! But we can see that this choice was precisely the fittest. A Hebrew of the Hebrews, steeped in Jewish traditions and glorying in his sacred ancestry, none knew better than the apostle Paul how rich were the treasures stored in the house of Abraham that he had to make over to the Gentiles. A true son of that house, he was the fittest to lead in the aliens, to show them its precious things, and make them at home within its walls (Findlay).

+Lessons.+--1. The minster of the Gospel has a solemn responsibility. 2. Should be faithful and earnest in his work. 3. Should guard against temptations to pride.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Ver. 7. A God-made Minister.--1. It is not sufficient warrant for any to meddle with the ministerial office that he hath competent gifts, except he have also ministerial power and authority conveyed to him, either immediately by God, as it was in the calling of the apostles, or mediately according to that order which God has established in His Church, as in the calling of ordinary ministers. 2. As it is required to make a man a minister that he be endued with competent abilities and gifts for that employment, so it is no less requisite that God concur with him. God giveth not to all one and the same gift, or in the same measure, but to some a greater, to others a less, as He hath more or less to do with them. 3. So great and many are the difficulties of ministers before they attain to freedom and boldness in exercising their ministerial gift that no less is required than the power of God, working effectually with a kind of pith and energy. A minister will be always ready to acknowledge his gifts as from God and His powerful working in him, and not to his own dignity, diligence, or parts.--Fergusson.

Vers. 8, 9. The Apostle's View of his Ministry.

+I. Consider what a humble opinion the apostle had of himself.+--"Who am less than the least of all saints." In his abilities and gifts he was not a whit behind the chiefest apostles, and in sufferings he was more frequent and in labours more abundant than they all. But in respect to worthiness he esteemed them his superiors; for they had not, like him, persecuted the Church, and they were in Christ and became apostles before him. Good Christians in honour prefer one another. True religion will produce self-abasing thoughts. The true convert forgets not his former character. He reflects often on his past guilty life, that he may be more humble in himself, more thankful, more watchful, more diligent.

+II. The apostle expresses his admiring apprehensions of God's grace in calling him to the ministry.+--To the same grace which had called him he ascribes all his furniture for the ministry and all his success. However contemptible some render themselves in the Gospel ministry, the office itself is honourable.

+III. The apostle's elevated sentiments concerning the Gospel.+--He calls it "the unsearchable riches of Christ." The blessings of the Gospel, being purchased by the blood of Christ, are called His riches. They are called riches on account of their excellency, fulness, and variety. They are undiscoverable by human reason, and made known only by revelation. They were but imperfectly made known in the prophetic revelation. They are of inestimable value.

+IV. Consider the grand and enlarged conceptions the apostle entertained of the design and importance of his ministry+ (ver. 9).--It was to open to mankind that mighty scheme which the wisdom of God had formed, and which His goodness had for ages been carrying into execution, for the redemption of our fallen race. His ministry was designed for the benefit, not of men only, but of angels too (ver. 10).--Lathrop.

Ver. 8. Christian Humility illustrated in the Character of Paul.

+I. The apostle remembered his past sins.+--Wherever there is a quickened conscience, it will prompt the possessor to think of his past sins, and this even when he has reason to believe that they have been forgiven. The apostle continued to remember the natural and deeply seated pride and self-righteousness which he had so long cherished. Allusion is made in every one of his public apologies and in a number of his epistles to the circumstance of his once having been an enemy of the cross of Christ and a persecutor. It is for the benefit of the believer to remember his past sinfulness. The recollection of his infirmities may enable him to guard against their recurrence. Our sins, even when past and forgiven, are apt to leave a prejudicial influence behind. Our sins are like wounds, which even when cured and closed are apt to leave a scar behind. It is most meet and becoming, and in every respect for his own profit and the advantage of the Church and world, that the sinner, and more particularly the man whose former life has been known, should walk humbly before God and his fellow-men all the days of his life. Nor let it be forgotten that the remembrance of past sin is one of the motives impelling the Christian to be "zealously affected in every good thing." The remembrance of the injury he had done to the Church stimulated him to make greater endeavours to benefit it. The persecution which he had inflicted on others made him more steadfast in bearing the sufferings to which he was now exposed. According to the account handed down from the early Church, the apostle had to suffer a violent death in the reign of Nero, when Christians were covered with pitch and burned as torches, or clothed with the skins of wild beasts and dogs let loose upon them. We can conceive that as he saw the terrible preparations for putting him to death, his memory would go back thirty years, and he would remember how he himself had stood by and consented to the death of the holy martyr Stephen, and he would feel himself thereby the more strengthened to endure what the Lord was now pleased to lay upon him.

+II. The apostle mourned over the sin yet cleaving to him.+--He had not only a recollection of past sin, he had a sense of present sin. This sense of indwelling sin is one of the elements that conduce to the onward progress of the believer. Why is it that so many professing Christians, ay, and too many true Christians, are not advancing in the spiritual life; are the same this week as they were the previous week; the same this year as they were the last year; and to all appearance, and unless God arouse them, will be the same the next week or next year as they are this? It is because they are contented with themselves and with their condition, they have reached a state of self-complacency, they have "settled upon their lees," and they do not wish to be disturbed by so much as an allusion to their sin. Very different was the temper of the apostle. Conscious of the sin that still adhered to him, he longed to have it completely exterminated, and sought the heavenly aid which might enable him to reach that after which he was always striving--"unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

+III. The apostle acknowledged God to be the Author of all the gifts and graces possessed by him.+--Paul on more than one occasion found it necessary to speak of his gifts. And when he follows this train of reflection, he arrests himself to explain that his faults are his own, and to ascribe the glory of his gifts to God. There may be circumstances requiring us to speak of our attainments in the spiritual life; but there can be no excuse for our thinking of them or alluding to them in a spirit of complacency. Of all pride, spiritual pride is the most hateful, and the most lamentably inconsistent. How often does it happen that, when persons are suddenly elevated to places of honour, they see nothing but their own merits, their own talent, their own skill or good management? Elevation of rank thus leads in too many cases to an increase of pride and vanity. This is painfully illustrated in the history of Saul, the son of Kish. Setting out in search of his father's asses, he received before he returned a kingdom for the discharge of the offices of which he had many qualifications. But his rise seems to have fostered the morbid vanity of his mind; and when this was not fed by constant incense, when the Israelites cried: "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands," it led to envy and revenge, which goaded him on to deeds of utter infatuation. How different with Saul of Tarsus! At every step of his elevation in the Church he saw the finger of God, and was the more impressed with his own unworthiness.

+IV. The apostle took a high standard of excellence: he took as his model the law of God and the character of Jesus.+--All actual excellence, whether earthly or spiritual, has been attained by the mind keeping before it and dwelling upon the ideas of the great, the good, the beautiful, the grand, the perfect. The tradesman and mechanic reach the highest eminence by never allowing themselves to rest till they can produce the most finished specimens of their particular craft. The painter and sculptor travel to distant lands that they may see and as it were fill their eye and mind with the sight of the most beautiful models of their arts. Poets have had their yet undiscovered genius awakened into life as they contemplated some of the grandest of nature's scenes; or as they listened to the strains of other poets the spirit of inspiration has descended upon them, as the spirit of inspiration descended on Elisha while the minstrel played before him. The soldier's spirit has been aroused even more by the stirring sound of the war-trumpet than by the record of the courage and heroism of other warriors. The fervour of one patriot has been created as he listened to the burning words of another patriot; and many a martyr's zeal has been kindled at the funeral pile of other martyrs. In this way fathers have handed down their virtues to their children, and those who could leave their offspring no other have in their example left them the very richest legacy; and the deeds of those who perform great achievements have lived far longer than those who do them, and have gone down from one generation to another. Now the believer has such a model set before him in the character of Jesus, which as it were embodies the law and exhibits in it the most attractive and encouraging light. We may copy others in some things; we should copy Christ in all.--Dr. J. McCosh.

Ver. 8. Paul's Humility.

+I. In what it consisted.+--1. In the unreserved submission of his reason to the authority of revelation. He was a great thinker, and he was a great scholar. 2. In the unwavering reliance of his heart on Christ for the salvation of his soul. Self-righteous by constitution and education. 3. In ascribing to God alone the glory of all that he was and of all that he did. He could not but be conscious how far he stood above the ordinary in point of Christian excellence and supernatural gifts and ministerial usefulness. He never took any part of the praise to himself: "Yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me." 4. In cherishing a sense of his unworthiness and guilt: "Sinners, of whom I am chief." 5. In forming a lowly estimate of his own comparative standing: "Less than the least of all saints."

+II. How it was cultivated.+--1. By frequent meditation on the holiness of God. 2. By looking away from self to Christ. 3. By gratitude to God and to Christ for an interest in the blessings of redemption. 4. By a due appreciation of the importance of humility. It is ornamental, but it is also useful. It lies at the very root of all the graces of the Christian character.--G. Brooks.

Humility a Growth.--The progress which St. Paul made in humility has often been given by comparing three expressions in his epistles with the supposed dates when they were written: "Not meet to be called an apostle" (1 Cor. xv. 9: A.D. 59); "Less than the least of all saints" (Eph. iii. 8: A.D. 64); "Sinners, of whom I am chief" (1 Tim. i. 15: A.D. 65).

The Unsearchable Riches of Christ.--The riches of Christ's Divinity are unsearchable, the riches of His condescension are unsearchable, the riches of His tenderness are unsearchable, the riches of His redeeming love are unsearchable, the riches of his intersession are unsearchable, the riches of his faithfulness are unsearchable, and the riches of his supporting grace are unsearchable. These riches will never be expressed, even to all eternity. No! not by the noble army of martyrs, nor the glorious company of the apostles, nor the goodly fellowship of the prophets, nor the general assembly and Church of the first-born, nor the innumerable company of angels, nor the spirits of just men made perfect, nor by all the ransomed throng of heaven. It will form their most ecstatic employment in heaven. Join, all ye happy throng--join, holy Abel and Enoch, upright Job, perfect Noah, souls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, grand souls of Moses, Samuel, and Elijah, pardoned David and Manasseh, soul of Isaiah the prophet. Join, all ye whose souls are under the altar cry, "How long, O Lord, wilt Thou not avenge our blood upon the earth?" Join, holy Stephen and Polycarp, holy Latimer, Ridley, Hooper, Rowland Taylor, and Anne Askew. Join, brave Wicklif, gallant Luther, stern John Knox, sweet John Bunyan, and praying George Fox. Join, pious Doddridge and tuneful Watts, noble George Whitefield, holy Fletcher, exhaustless John Wesley, dauntless Rowland Hill, and grand though lowly Robert Hall. Ye sweetest trebles of the eternal choir, ye million million babes who died without actual sin, join all your notes of praise! Pull out every stop of the grand organ of heaven, from the deep swell diapason to the lofty flute and cornet! Gabriel, strike the loftiest note of thy harp of gold. And let all the host of heaven, angels and men, begin the grand anthem, "Worthy is the Lamb." And let the eternal +Amen+ peal and roll and reverberate through all the arches of heaven! But never through all eternity shall the gathered host be able fully to express the unsearchable riches of Christ.--Thomas Cooper.

Ver. 9. The Fellowship of the Mystery.

I. It is +a mystery+ it should be so long hid; a mystery, because when it was plainly revealed it was not understood by those to whom it was manifested; a mystery, for God was pleased to raise up a special apostle to explain and reveal, to make an epiphany of this great truth--the will of God that all men should be saved, that His Gospel should be universally known, should be open to all for acceptance.

II. +Our share and fellowship in the work of the Gospel is to make all men see their interest in it,+ to make them understand its true catholicity, to make all men see that it is from the first the will of God that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs. By the Church is to be made known the manifold wisdom of God. Every member of the Church is to have his or her part in doing this work. We are all to take part in it by our lives, our conversation, our example, our good works and words. By availing ourselves of opportunities we are to help to make known this manifold wisdom of God.

III. Think for a moment +what is the state of those men who do not know what is their fellowship with this mystery.+--I am not speaking of the entirely ignorant. Even religious people do not half understand or appreciate the deep meaning of such words as these. Christianity means expansion, comprehension; it embraces all, and all men must see in it what is the fellowship of the mystery that we have received and that has been made known to us. We must be a light that cannot be hid.--Bishop Claughton.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 10-13.

The Manifold Wisdom of God--

+I. Seen in the development of a long-cherished plan.+--1. This plan was carried out by Christ. "According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ" (ver. 11). The plan is here called the "eternal purpose," and that purpose was the redemption of man, and the personage selected for its accomplishment was the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the unchanging theme of "the Gospel of which the apostle was made a minister," this the Divinely freighted argosy of "the unsearchable riches of Christ," the veiled and sacred repository of all heavenly mysteries. The plan is significantly called the "manifold wisdom of God"--as manifold as mysterious, for there is variety in the mystery and mystery in every part of the variety. The wisdom is seen, not so much in one act as in the masterly combination of a multitude of acts, all marshalled and disposed with consummate skill to the attainment of one grand end; just as the light that fills and irradiates the valley, penetrating every nook and crevice and clothing every object with beauty, is produced, not by a solitary ray, but by manifold rays poured from the central sun, and all uniting in one harmonious illumination. The crowning wisdom of the plan was in God appointing His only Son as the agent in carrying it out. He, the sinless One, must suffer for sin; the Innocent die for the guilty, and by dying conquer sin. Only thus could the righteous claims of the violated law be fully satisfied, the offence of the sinning one condoned, the authority of the Divine government maintained, and the character of the Holy One vindicated to the whole universe.

2. That the plan has been accomplished is evident from the attitude assumed towards man and towards God by believers (ver. 13).--As regards the attitude of the believer towards man, he has now "boldness" in declaring the whole truth, and towards God he has "access with confidence by the faith of Him"--he has confidential fellowship with God. Both these experiences are the result of the redeeming plan, and would have been impossible without it.

+II. Seen in the indifference to suffering its revelations inspire.+--"I desire that ye faint not [do not lose heart] at my tribulations for you, which is your glory" (ver. 13). Paul had no anxiety for himself. He almost playfully alludes to his imprisoned state: "The prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles" (ver. 1). His soul was too full of heavenly visions and of the practical bearing of the Gospel on the destiny of the race to be harassed about his personal suffering. When he thought about it at all it was to rejoice in the honour of being allowed to suffer for such a cause, and in the opportunities afforded of spreading the Gospel in quarters that might otherwise have been closed to him. But the Church feared for their champion's life, and was troubled about his prolonged sufferings and imprisonment. The apostle assures his friends there was more reason for joyous boasting than for pity and dread. The sufferings and misfortunes of the Church have been overruled in promoting her enlargement. The flames of the martyrs have illumined the truth, and the captivity of its professors has prepared the throne of its universal empire. Personal religion has grown stronger by opposition and suffering, and the Church has multiplied by the very means which were intended to destroy her.

+III. Seen in making the Church of the redeemed the means of instructing the heavenly intelligences+ (ver. 10).--These lofty beings, with their vast knowledge and gigantic powers, learn something from the Divine treatment of sinful, rebellious men. They gain new light, fresher and more expansive views, regarding the character and perfections of God; and perhaps the chief point on which their angelic knowledge will be increased is in the glorious revelations the Gospel unfolds of the infinite love of God. The Church on earth, with all its contradictions and imperfections, presents a magnificent picture of self-denial, devotion, and praise; but this is only a faint representation of the splendour of the Church above in its more completed state. The Church above is a society organised; the church below is a society organising. The heavenly intelligences are watching both processes, and their wondering adoration is being continually excited as they observe the building up and ever-advancing completion of the redeemed community. If there is one thing more than another that amazes "the principalities and powers"--amazes them more than the manifold wisdom of God unfolded to them by the Church--it must surely be the apathy and indifference of men on earth to their redemptive blessings!--that so much has been done to make man wise, and he remains willingly and contentedly ignorant; that God has been so prodigal of His wealth, and man is so slow to appreciate and seize the proffered enrichment; that God offers the abundant bread of eternal life, and man prefers to starve in lean and comfortless poverty, and grumbles against heaven that he is so poor; that salvation is pressed on his acceptance, and man persists in perishing; that "heaven lies about him in his infancy," and the celestial gate opens before him in every subsequent stage of life, and yet man resists the alluring glory, and stumbles at last into the bottomless chasm of eternal darkness.

+Lessons.+--1. The wisdom of God is continually presenting new illustrations of its manifoldness. 2. The most signal display of Divine wisdom is seen in the redemption of the race. 3. The future history of the Church will reveal new features in the manifold wisdom of God.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Ver. 10. The Manifold Wisdom of God--

+I. Seen in the gradual unfolding of His great purpose to save the human race.+--1. This process suited the revelation to men's nature and condition as finite and sinful beings. Had the revelation been more rapid and brilliant it could not have been so readily appreciated, nor could men have dared to hope they had any share in it. It was adapted to the infantile state of the Church and the world when the mind is most powerfully affected by sensible objects. 2. This method was a training for appreciating the fuller discoveries of the Divine will. It has been an education and discipline, has provoked inquiry, and encouraged full submission to the will of God and faith in His wisdom and power.

+II. Seen in the means He employed to carry out His saving purpose.+--1. By the gift of His Son. 2. As a subsidiary means, by the institution of preaching, and by selecting men, and not angels, as instruments in spreading the knowledge of Gospel redemption.

+III. Seen in using the Church of the redeemed as an object-lesson in teaching the heavenly intelligences.+--The Church teaches the angels: 1. By its composition. 2. By its marvellous history. 3. By its glorious completion.

+Learn.+--1. The dignity and glory of the Church. 2. Let it be your all-important concern to become a member of this spiritual community.

Vers. 11-13. Access to God.

+I. We have access.+--The word signifies an approach to some object. Here it intends a near approach to God in worship, or such a state of peace with God as allows a freedom of intercourse. It is a familiar expression suited to convey the idea of great condescension on God's part and high privilege on ours.

+II. We have boldness of access.+ The word signifies a freedom of speaking in opposition to that restraint which we feel when in the presence of one we dread and in whose goodness we can place no confidence. It expresses the fulness of that liberty which under the Gospel all Christians enjoy of drawing near to God, and that freedom of spirit with which we should come to God. The disposition of our hearts should correspond with the liberal and gracious dispensation under which we are placed. We should come to God with a spirit of love, in opposition to servile fear. This boldness imports frequency in our approaches to God. Slaves, under fear, stand at a distance. Children, invited by the goodness of a father, come often into his presence.

+III. We have access with confidence.+ This confidence is elsewhere called a better hope and the full assurance of faith. It is opposed to doubting and distrust. Confidence in prayer is a full reliance on God; but this may be accompanied with a humble diffidence of ourselves.

+IV. All our hope of success in prayer must rest upon the mediation of Christ+ (ver. 12).--In His name we are to come before God; and in the virtue of His atonement and intercession we may hope for acceptance.

+V. Access to God a refuge in trouble+ (ver. 13).--Fearing lest his sufferings in the cause of the Gospel should dishearten his converts, the apostle sets before them a view of their security under the protection of Divine grace. Dangers were before them; but what had they to fear who had boldness of access to God? It was one of the glories of their religion that he who preached it was not ashamed to suffer for it.

+Lessons.+--1. In the apostle Paul we have a noble example of benevolence. 2. New converts should be assisted and encouraged. 3. Our best support under trouble is boldness of access to God. 4. Let the grace and condescension of God encourage us to come often into His presence.--Lathrop.

Ver. 12. Access to God in Prayer.--Prayer is to be exercised with the greatest caution and exactness, being the most solemn intercourse earth can have with heaven. The distance between God and us, so great by nature and yet greater by sin, makes it fearful to address Him; but Christ has smoothed a way, and we are commanded to come with a good heart, not only in respect of innocence, but also of confidence.

+I. There is a certain boldness and confidence very well becoming our humblest addresses to God.+--It is the very language of prayer to treat God as our Father. The nature of this confidence is not so easily set forth by positive description as by the opposition it bears to its extremes. It is opposed: 1. To desperation and horror of conscience. 2. To doubtings and groundless scrupulosities. 3. To rashness and precipitation. 4. To impudence.

+II. The foundation of this confidence is laid in the mediation of Christ.+

+III. The reason why Christ's mediation ought to minister such confidence to us.+--His incomparable fitness for the performance of that work. Considering Him: 1. In respect to God, with whom He has to mediate. God sustains a double capacity of Father and Judge. Christ appears not only as an Advocate, but as a Surety, paying down the utmost justice can exact. 2. In reference to men for whom He mediates. He is a friend, brother, surety, lord or master. 3. In respect to Himself. (1) He is perfectly acquainted with all our wants and necessities. (2) He is heartily sensible of and concerned about them. (3) He is best able to express and set them before the Father.

+IV. Whether there is any other ground that may rationally embolden us in our addresses to Him.+--If there is, it must be either: 1. Something within us as the merit of our good actions. But this cannot be--(1) because none can merit but by doing something absolutely by his own power for the advantage of him from whom he merits; (2) because to merit is to do something over and above what is due. 2. Something without us. This must be the help and intercession either of angels or saints. Angels cannot mediate for us--(1) because it is impossible for them to know and perfectly discern the thoughts; (2) because no angel can know at once all the prayers that are even uttered in words throughout the world. These arguments are still more forcible against the intercession of saints. The invocation of saints supposed to arise: 1. From the solemn meetings used by the primitive Christians at the saints' sepulchres, and there celebrating the memory of their martyrdom. 2. From those seeds of the Platonic philosophy that so much leavened many of the primitive Christians. 3. From the people being bred in idolatry. But the primitive fathers held no such thing; and the Council of Trent, that pretended to determine the case, put the world off with an ambiguity. Christ is the only true way.--R. South.

Ver. 13. Courage under Suffering.--1. Affliction and tribulation for the Gospel is a trial not only to those under it, but to others who look on, and are in no less hazard to be thereby brangled (made to disagree) in their confidence, blunted in their zeal, and rendered remiss in their forwardness, than the person himself who suffers. 2. A faithful minister suffering for truth will not be so solicitous for his own outward estate as for the Church and people of God, lest they be turned aside, or made to faint by reason of his sufferings. This may guard from discouragement when we consider the excellent worth of truth, and how those who suffer for it have not cast themselves without necessity upon their sufferings, but were necessitated to meet them in the way of their calling. 3. So honourable is it to suffer for Christ and truth that not only the persons who suffer are honoured, but also all such as have interest in them, who should not faint, but rather glory in them and take encouragement from them.--Fergusson.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 14-21.

A Sublime and Comprehensive Prayer--

+I. For spiritual strengthening+ (ver. 16).--The first necessity of the new convert is strength. The change from the former life is so new and strange. The spiritual faculties are but recently called into exercise; and though they are thrilled with the vigour of youth, they possess the inherent weakness and are exposed to the temptations of youth. Their newly acquired strength is at once their glory and their danger--their glory in giving them the capacity and impulse for the highest kind of work; their danger because they are tempted to rely upon their own conscious power rather than upon the grace of God within them, which is the source of their best strength. If that strength is once undermined or eaten away, it can never be replaced. The strength of youth, physical or spiritual, belongs only in the period of youth; if lost in youth, it can never be regained in maturer life. Whatever strength we may gain in after-years will never be what it might have been if ye had never lost the strength of our first love. The apostle here prays that his converts may be invigorated with a manful courage, the moral strength to meet dangers and to battle with difficulties without quailing.

Transcriber's Note: The Transcriber is unsure what the author means by "faith . . . must be constantly exercised to keep Him there" in this next paragraph. Please remember Christ's words in Hebrews xiii. 5: "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

1. This spiritual strengthening is achieved by the indwelling Christ welcomed and retained in the heart by faith.--"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (ver. 17). The source of this strength is not in us; we cannot evoke it by any voluntary effort of our own. It is a Divine power working in us (ver. 20). It is the Christ within us making Himself felt in our otherwise enfeebled powers. We are invested with the strength of Christ by our faith in Christ; and increase of strength comes with increase of faith. The faith that receives Christ into the heart must be constantly exercised to keep Him there, and to derive inspiration and help from Him in attaining spiritual growth and in doing useful work.

2. This spiritual strengthening is cherished by an accession of Christian love.--"That ye, being rooted and grounded in love" (ver. 17). The double metaphor gives emphasis to the idea--"rooted," a tree; "grounded" a building. When Christ is planted and settled in our hearts, love is shed abroad there, and becomes the genial soil in which our graces grow, and the basis of all our thought and action. Love is strength, the most reliable, sustaining, and victorious kind of strength.

+II. For a clearer comprehension of the immeasurable love of Christ+ (vers. 18, 19).--Here the prayer rises in sublimity and comprehensiveness. The apostle prays that we may know the unknowable--"know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." There is nothing so fascinating as the love of Christ, ever leading us on by fresh revelations, and ever leaving the impression that there are unfathomable depths and inaccessible heights yet to be discovered. "Oh that Christ would," exclaimed the saintly Rutherford, "arrest and comprise my love and my heart for all. I am a bankrupt who have no more free goods in the world for Christ, save that it is both the whole heritage I have, and all my moveables besides. Lord, give the thirsty man a drink. Oh to be over ears in the well! Oh to be swimming over head and ears in Christ's love! I would not have Christ's love entering in me, but I would enter into it, and be swallowed up of that love. But I see not myself here, for I fear I make more of His love than of Himself, whereas He Himself is far beyond and much better than His love. Oh, if I had my sinful arms filled with that lovely one Christ! Blessed be my rich Lord Jesus, who sendeth not away beggars from His house with an empty dish. He filleth the vessel of such as will come and seek. We might beg ourselves rich, if we were wise, if we would but hold out our withered hands to Christ, and learn to seek, ask, and knock." The highest conceptions of the love of Christ are realised by the soul that prays.

+III. For the attainment of the most complete endowment of the Divine fulness.+--"That you might be filled with all the fulness of God" (ver. 19). The prayer asks that man may gain the sum-total of God's gifts, be filled in every capacity of his nature with the whole plenitude (the πλήρωμα) of God. To reach this glorious result, we need, indeed, special spiritual strengthening. New wine bursts old bottles; and a large and sudden inflow of Divine grace would be disastrous to the soul unprepared to receive it. What is wanted is strength--strength of the highest and purest kind. Muscular strength--a magnificent healthy physique--is a great gift; but it is one of our lowest endowments, and its abuse sinks us to a worse than brutish sensuality. Intellectual strength is a still higher gift, and if rightly used will lift us into a loftier world of wonders, of beauty, of purity and joy; but if abused will drag us down to the base level of the vapouring, scoffing sceptic, whose attempts to glorify error are instigated by a savage but utterly powerless hatred of truth. Spiritual strength is the highest gift of all. It is the motive-power that gives movement and direction to thought and action. Without it man is the plaything and victim of unrestrained passions. A short time ago I inspected one of the finest ocean-going steamships, a marvellous combination of strength and elegance. Everything seemed as perfect as engineering science could make it. But there was something wanting; it was a fatal defect. The giant shaft and powerful screw, the triple expansion cylinders, the cranks, pistons, and wheels were all there, but the noble vessel was useless, heaving helplessly on the rolling tide. The fires were out, and the active driving-power was lacking. What steam is to that great floating mass of complicated mechanism, giving it life, movement, direction, purpose--that spiritual strength is to our mental and physical organism. To receive the fulness of indwelling Deity the soul must be strengthened with spiritual strength. We cannot pray too earnestly for this.

+IV. Uttered with a reverential recognition of the great Giver of all blessing.+--1. Beginning with the submissive awe of a humble suppliant. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father," etc. (vers. 14, 15). The apostle is overwhelmed with the contemplation of the rich blessings stored up for man in Christ Jesus, and prostrates himself with lowly homage in the conscious presence of the great Donor of all spiritual good. Nothing humbles us more than a sight of the blessings possible of attainment by the greatest sinner.

2. Ending with an outburst of triumphant praise (vers. 20, 21).--Praise soars higher than prayer. Man's desires will never overtake God's bounty. When the apostle desires that God's praise may resound in the Church "throughout all ages," he no longer supposes that the mystery of God may be finished speedily as men count years. The history of mankind stretches before his gaze into its dim futurity. The successive generations gather themselves into that consummate age of the kingdom of God, the grand cycle in which all the ages are contained. With its completion time itself is no more. Its swelling current, laden with the tribute of all the worlds and all their histories, reaches the eternal ocean. The end comes; God is all in all. At this furthest horizon of thought, Christ and His own are seen together rendering to God unceasing glory (Findlay).

+Lessons.+--1. Prayer is the cry of conscious need. 2. Increases in importunity as it is strengthened by faith. 3. Finds its sublimest themes in the culture of the spiritual life.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 14, 15. The Christian Church a Family.

+I. The definition here given of the Christian Church.+--1. A society founded upon natural affinities--"a family." A family is built on affinities which are natural, not artificial; it is not a combination, but a society. In ancient times an association of interest combined men in one guild or corporation for protecting the common persons in that corporation from oppression. In modern times identity of political creed or opinion has bound men together in one league in order to establish those political principles which appeared to them of importance. Similarity of taste has united men together in what is called an association, or a society, in order by this means to attain more completely the ends of that science to which they had devoted themselves. But, as these have been raised artificially, so their end is, inevitably, dissolution. Society passes on, and guilds and corporations die; principles are established, and leagues become dissolved; tastes change, and then the association or society breaks up and comes to nothing. It is upon another principle altogether that that which we call a family, or true society, is formed. It is not built upon similarity of taste nor identity of opinion, but upon affinities of nature. You do not choose who shall be your brother; you cannot exclude your mother or your sister; it does not depend upon choice or arbitrary opinion at all, but is founded upon the eternal nature of things. And precisely in the same way is the Christian Church formed--upon natural affinity, and not upon artificial combination.

2. The Church of Christ is a whole made up of manifold diversities.--We are told here it is "the whole family," taking into it the great and good of ages past now in heaven, and also the struggling, the humble, and the weak now existing upon earth. Here, again, the analogy holds good between the Church and the family. Never more than in the family is the true entirety of our nature seen. Observe how all the diversities of human condition and character manifest themselves in the family. First of all, there are the two opposite pales of masculine and feminine, which contain within them the entire of our humanity; which together, not separately, make up the whole of man. Then there are the diversities in the degrees and kinds of affection. For, when we speak of family affection, we must remember that it is made up of many diversities. There is nothing more different than the love which the sister bears towards the brother, compared with that which the brother bears towards the sister. The affection which a man bears towards his father is quite distinct from that which he feels towards his mother; it is something quite different towards his sister; totally diverse, again, towards his brother. And then there are diversities of character. First, the mature wisdom and stern integrity of the father, then the exuberant tenderness of the mother. And then one is brave and enthusiastic, another thoughtful, and another tender. One is remarkable for being full of rich humour; another is sad, mournful, even melancholy. Again, besides these, there are diversities of condition in life. First, there is the heir, sustaining the name and honour of the family; then perchance the soldier, in whose career all the anxiety and solicitude of the family is centred; then the man of business, to whom they look up, trusting his advice, expecting his counsel; lastly, perhaps, there is the invalid, from the very cradle trembling between life and death, drawing out all the sympathies and anxieties of each member of the family, and so uniting them all more closely, from their having one common point of sympathy and solicitude. Now, you will observe that these are not accidental, but absolutely essential to the idea of a family; for so far as any one of them is lost, so far the family is incomplete. And precisely in the same way all these diversities of character and condition are necessary to constitute and complete the idea of a Christian Church.

3. The Church of Christ is a society which is for ever shifting its locality and altering its forms.--It is the whole Church, "the whole family in heaven and earth." So, then, those who were on earth and now in heaven are members of the same family still. Those who had their home here, now have it there. The Church of Christ is a society ever altering and changing its external forms. "The whole family"--the Church of the patriarchs and of ages before them; and yet the same family. Remember, I pray you, the diversities of form through which, in so many ages and generations, this Church has passed. Consider the difference there was between the patriarchal Church of the time of Abraham and Isaac and its condition under David; or the difference between the Church so existing and its state in the days of the apostles and the marvellous difference between that and the same Church four of five centuries later; or, once again, the difference between that, externally one, and the Church as it exists in the present day, broken into so many fragments. Yet, diversified as these states may be, they are not more so than the various stages of a family.

+II. Consider the name by which this Church is named.+--"Our Lord Jesus Christ," the apostle says, of whom "the whole family in heaven and earth is named."

1. First, the recognition of a common Father.--That is the sacred truth proclaimed by the Epiphany. God revealed in Christ--not the Father of the Jew only, but also of the Gentile. The Father of a whole family. Not the partial Father, loving one alone--the elder--but the younger son besides, the outcast prodigal who had spent his living with harlots and sinners, but the child still, and the child of a Father's love.

2. The recognition of a common humanity.--He from whom the Church is named took upon Him not the nature merely of the noble, of kings, or of the intellectual philosopher, but of the beggar, the slave, the outcast, the infidel, the sinner, and the nature of every one struggling in various ways.

3. The Church of Christ proceeds out of and rests upon the belief in a common Sacrifice.--F. W. Robertson.

The Family in Heaven and Earth.--With the boldness of a true and inspired nature the apostle Paul speaks with incidental ease of one family distributed between heaven and earth. There is, it seems, domesticity that cannot be absorbed by the interval between two spheres of being--a love that cannot be lost amidst the immensity, but finds the surest track across the void--a home affinity that penetrates the skies, and enters as the morning or evening guest. And it is Jesus of Nazareth who has effected this; has entered under the same household name, and formed into the same class, the dwellers above and those beneath. Spirits there, and spirits here, are gathered by Him into one group; and where before was saddest exile, He has made a blest fraternity.

I. +Members of the same home cannot dwell together, without either the memory or the expectation or some mutual and mortal farewell.+--All we who dwell in this visible scene can think of kindred souls that have vanished from us into the invisible. These, in the first place, does Jesus keep dwelling near our hearts; making still one family of those in heaven and those on earth. This He would do, if by no other means, by the prospect He has opened, of actual restoration. And since the grave can bury no affection now, but only the mortal and familiar shape of their object, death has changed its whole aspect and relation to us; and we may regard it, not with passionate hate, but with quiet reverence. It is a Divine message from above, not an invasion from the abyss beneath; not the fiendish hand of darkness thrust up to clutch our gladness enviously away, but a rainbow gleam that descends through Jesus, without which we should not know the various beauties that are woven into the pure light of life. Once let the Christian promise be taken to the heart, and as we walk through the solemn forest of our existence, every leaf of love that falls, while it proclaims the winter near, lets in another patch of God's sunshine to paint the glade beneath our feet and give a glory to the grass. Tell me that I shall stand face to face with the sainted dead; and, whenever it may be, shall I not desire to be ready, and to meet them with clear eye and spirit unabashed? Such and so much encouragement would Christianity give to the faithful conversation of all true affections, if it only assured us of some distant and undefinable restoration. But it appears to me to assure us of much more than this; to discountenance the idea of any, even the most temporary, extinction of life in the grave; and to sanction our faith in the absolute immortality of the mind. Rightly understood, it teaches not only that the departed will live, but that they do live, and indeed have never died, but simply vanished and passed away.

II. But it is not merely the members of the same literal home that Christ unites in one, whether in earth or heaven. +He makes the good of every age into a glorious family of the children of God;+ and inspires them with a fellow-feeling, whatever the department of service which they fill. Keeping us ever in the mental presence of the Divinest wisdom and in veneration of a perfect goodness, it accustoms us to the aspect of every grace that can adorn and consecrate our nature; trains our perceptions instantly to recognise its influence or to feel its want. It looks with an eye of full and clear affection over the wide circle of human excellence. Such hope tends to give us a prompt and large congeniality with them; to cherish the healthful affections which are domestic in every place and obsolete in no time; to prepare us for entering any new scene, and joining any new society where goodness, truth, and beauty dwell.--Martineau.

The Christian Brotherhood of Man.--The brotherhood of man has been the dream of old philosophers, and its attainment the endeavour of modern reformers. Man can only reach his highest life when he forms part of a society bound together by common sympathies and common aims, for by a great law of our nature it is true that he who lives utterly apart from his fellows must lose all true nobleness in selfish degradation. There is no real progress for the individual but through social sympathy. There is no strong and enduring aspiration but in the fellowship of aspiring souls. That conviction which men have so strongly felt and so vainly endeavoured to realise is perpetually asserted in the Book of God.

+I. The brotherhood of man in Christ.+--1. The Christian brotherhood is a unity of spirit under a diversity of form. Thus with the Church of the first century. At first it was one band of brotherhood; but as it grew and individual thought expanded and experience deepened there arose infinite diversities. The more men think and the more they grow, the more will they differ.

2. There are spiritual ties in action which in Christ bind man to man.--Paul's words imply a threefold unity. 1. The fellowship of devotion to a common Father. 2. The fellowship with Christ our common Brother. 3. That fellowship is unbroken by the change of worlds.

+II. Results of realising this fact of brotherhood.+--1. Earnestness of life. 2. Power and grandeur of hope.--Some complain that their ideas of heaven are vague and ineffective. Only realise the brotherhood of man, and then the hope of the future will become a power in life.--E. L. Hull.

The One Family.--1. Believers on earth and saints and angels in heaven spring from the same common parent. 2. Are governed by the same general laws. 3. Share in the same pleasures and enjoyments. 4. Have the same general temper, the same distinguishing complexion. 5. Have one common interest. 6. Look to, rely upon, and are guided by the same Head. 7. Are all objects of God's love. 8. At the last day will meet in God's presence, be openly acknowledged as His children, and admitted to dwell in His house for ever.

+Lessons.+--1. If we estimate the dignity of men from the families with which they are connected, how honourable is the believer! 2. We see our obligations to mutual condescension, peaceableness, and love. 3. Let those who are not of this family be solicitous to obtain a place in it.--Lathrop.

Vers. 16-19. Paul's Prayer for the Ephesians.

+I. For spiritual strength.+--It was not bodily strength, civil power, or worldly distinction; it was the grace of fortitude and patience.

+II. For an indwelling Christ.+--As we become united to Christ by faith, so by faith He dwells in our hearts.

+III. For establishment in love.+--True love is rooted in the heart. It is a spiritual affection towards Christ. Its fruits are love to men, imitation of Christ's example, obedience to His commands, zeal for His honour, and diligence in His service.

+IV. For increase of knowledge in the love of Christ.+--The love of Christ passeth all known examples of love. This love passeth our comprehension in respect of its breadth or extent, its length, its depth, as the benefits it has procured exceed all human estimate. Though the love of Christ passeth knowledge, there is a sense in which it is known to the saints. They have an experimental knowledge, an influential knowledge, an assimilating knowledge of the love of Christ.

+V. For the fulness of God.+--That they may have such a supply of Divine influence as would cause them to abound in knowledge, faith, love, and all virtues and good works.--Lathrop.

Ver. 19. The Love of Christ.

+I. The love of Christ passeth knowledge.+--1. He Himself furnishes an illustrative instance when Paul says, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die"--a merely just and righteous man would be admired; but he would not so take hold of the heart of another to produce a willingness to die for him;--"yet peradventure," in some rare case, "for a good man," a man of benevolence, adorned with the softer virtues and abounding in the distribution of his favours--for such a one "some might even dare to die"; some one, overcoming even the love of life in the fulness of his gratitude, might venture to give his own life to preserve that of such a one. But we were neither just nor good; we were sinners, and "God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." Passes it not, then, all knowledge, all reasonable conception and probability, that this fallen nature should be so sympathised with that these flagrant rebellions should excite, not an inexorable anger, but pity and love? And such love that our Saviour--looking not so much on man as offending, but as His creature, and as His creature still capable of restoration--should melt in compassion and die to effect his redemption; this is indeed love "that passeth knowledge."

2. The manner in which this love is manifested carries the principle beyond all conception and expression.--It was love to the death. It was death for sinners, death in their stead; death, that the penal claims of law, and that law the unchangeable, unrelaxable law of God, might be fully satisfied. The redemption price was fixed by a spotless justice, and the love of Christ to the sinner was to be tested by the vastness of the claims to be made upon Him. But the wages of sin is death; and His love shrank not from the full and awful satisfaction required. It was death in our stead. Then it must be attended with anxious forebodings. Of what mysteries have I suggested the recollection to you? Can you comprehend them? That feeling with which He spoke of the baptism of blood? That last mysterious agony? That complaint of being forsaken of God? You feel you cannot. They transcend all your thought; and the love which made Him stoop to them is therefore love "which passeth knowledge."

3. The love of Christ passeth knowledge if we consider it as illustrated by that care for us which signalises His administration.

4. The subject is further illustrated by the nature of the blessings which result to men from the love of Christ.--We usually estimate the strength of love by the blessings it conveys or, at any rate, would convey. And if the benefits be beyond all estimate, neither can we measure the love.

5. The love of Christ passeth knowledge because it is the love of an infinite nature. Love rises with the other qualities and perfections of the being in whom it is found. Among animals the social attachments are slight, and the instinctive affection dies away when its purposes are answered. In man love arises with his intellect. In him it is often only limited by his nature, and when rightly directed shall be eternal. Many that love on earth shall doubtless love for ever. Were Christ merely a man His love could not pass knowledge. What man has felt man can conceive. Love can be measured by the nature which exercises it. But this love passeth all knowledge but that of the Divine nature, because itself is Divine. Christ is God, and he who would fully know His love must be able to span immensity and to grasp the Infinite Himself.

+II. But while it is true that the love of Christ passeth all knowledge, it is equally true that it is to be known by us.+--To know the love of Christ is: 1. To recognise it in its various forms and expressions in our constant meditations. And where shall we turn and not be met by this, to us, most important subject? How delightful an occupation, to track all the streams of mercy up to their source. We are surrounded by the proof of the love of Christ. Let us see to it that the blinding veil be not on our heart, that our eyes be not holden that we should not know Him. We are called to know the love of Christ. Let us accustom ourselves to reflect upon it, to see it in its various forms and results; and then shall our meditation of Him be sweet. 2. To know the love of Christ is to perceive it in its adaptation to our own personal condition. 3. To know the love of Christ is to experience it in its practical results. He offers you pardon, and the offer is a proof and manifestation of His love; but properly to know it pardon itself must be accepted and embraced. This is to know his love. Seek it, and you must find it. Rest without it, and you are but "as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal." 4. To know the love of Christ we must put forth those efforts through which that love is appointed to express itself in our daily experience.

+Lessons.+--1. The rejection of love, especially of redeeming love, involves the deepest guilt. 2. Remember that the grace is common to you all.--R. Watson.

The Unknown and Known Love of Christ.

+I. There are some respects in which the love of Christ passeth our knowledge.+--1. In its objects; so unworthy and degraded. 2. In its sufferings; love to the death. 3. In its care. 4. In its blessings. 5. In its degree. It is the love of an infinite nature.

+II. There are some respects in which the love of Christ may be known.+--1. Our views of it may be clearer and more consistent. 2. Our views of it may be more confidential and appropriating. 3. Our views of it may be more impressive and more influential.--G. Brooks.

The Transcendent Love of Christ.

+I. This representation must be confirmed.+--1. This love is Divine. 2. Consider the objects it embraced. 3. The means by which it manifested itself. 4. The blessings it secured.

+II. The perception the Christian may acquire of this love, notwithstanding its Divine infinitude.+--1. It is the great interpreting principle which he applies to all the tremendous facts of redemption. 2. The sacred element and incentive of all piety--the theme of contemplation, the ground of confidence, the motive of obedience. 3. The impulse and model of all benevolence and zeal.

+III. Conclusions from a review of the subject.+--1. It is only natural to expect a transcendent character in Christianity. 2. No better test exists of what is genuine Christianity than the level of the views which it exhibits concerning the person and work of Christ and the tone of the affections which it encourages towards Him. 3. There is much of implicit as well as declarative evidence in support of the Saviour's supreme Divinity. 4. How necessary is it that we should live habitually under the influence of this transcendent love.--R. W. Hamilton.

Vers. 20, 21. A Devout Doxology.

+I. The acknowledgment the apostle makes of God's all-sufficiency.+--1. God often does for men those favours which they never thought of asking for themselves. 2. God answers prayers in ways we think not of. 3. The mercies God is pleased to grant often produce consequences far beyond what we asked or thought. 4. The worth of the blessings we ask and God bestows infinitely exceeds all our thought.

+II. The ascription of glory the apostle makes to this all-sufficient God.+--1. God is glorified by the increase of his Church. 2. God is glorified in the Church when a devout regard is paid to the ordinances He has instituted. 3. By the observance of good order in the Church, and by the decent attendance of the members on their respective duties. 4. That God may be glorified there must be peace and unity in the Church.--Lathrop.

God's Infinite Liberality.

+I. The object of this doxology.+--The God of all grace. Whatever we think we ask. No limit to our asking but our thinking. God gives beyond our thinking. Here, take all this! Ah, poor thing, that transcends thine asking and even thy thinking, but take it. If it transcend all communicated power of mind, I say, "I thank Thee, my God, for it. I know it is exceeding good, but I cannot understand it. Keep it among Thy treasures. My blessedness rests not in my intellect, but in Thy favour. Remember Thou hast given it me. It may come I shall be able to understand it better and appreciate it more." I shall never have asked too much, I shall never have thought too much, till I have asked beyond God's ability, till I have thought beyond God's ability. That ability is not a bare abstraction of the omnipotence of God, but it is the omnipotence of God as working in the Church and in the people of God. He is not omnipotent in heaven, and impotent in thee, or partially powerful in thee.

+II. The doxology itself+ (ver. 21).--All should glorify God, but all will not. In the Church alone will God get glory. It is as the name of Christ is glorified in us that we are glorified in Him. It is when the glory that God reflects on the creature is by the creature ascribed as due only to God when He is glorified as the Author of it, transcendently and infinitely glorious, it is then that the glory rests. When it is appropriated it is lost, but it is possessed when it is tossed back and fro between God and the creature. When the creature gives it to God, God of His rich grace sends it back in greater measure; but the humble creature, emulous of God's glory, sends it all back again to Him, and as it reciprocates so it increases. God gives not to end by enriching us--that is an immediate end; but the ultimate end is that He may be glorified. Be ashamed to get little--get all things. Get out of your poverty, not by fancying you are rich, but by coming and getting. The more you get always give glory, and come and ask and receive.--Dr. John Duncan.

* * * * * * * *

+CHAPTER IV.+

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.

Ver. 1. +Walk worthy of the vocation.+--They had been called to life in the Spirit, and they must also "walk in the Spirit."

Ver. 2. +With all lowliness.+--The Christian--"born from above"--is to exhibit a trait of character with the "high-born" Greek despised, and which Heine in modern times called "a hound's virtue." "The pride that apes humility" steals in under Chrysostom's description of this "lowliness." He says, "It is a making of ourselves small when we are great." +And meekness.+--"A grace in advance of 'lowliness,' not as more precious than it, but as presupposing it, and as being unable to exist without it" (Trench). +With longsuffering.+--The exact opposite of our "short-tempered"--e.g. "Is the Spirit of the Lord straitened?" means "Has the Lord become irritable?" (Mic. ii. 7). The word suggests to men by nature irascible that "slowness to wrath" recommended by St. James. +Forbearing one another in love.+--The brother who is tempted to anger is not to look down from the height of a lofty pride on those who try his patience, but in compassionate love, remembering his own frailty, must "suffer long and be kind."

Ver. 3. +Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Sprit in the bond of peace.+--It is no easy-going indifference that is inculcated; they will have to "exert themselves," "give diligence" (R.V.), before that peace obtains which is the harmonious and frictionless working of each part of the machine.

Vers. 4-6. +One body . . . and in you all.+--"Seven elements of unity St. Paul enumerates. . . . They form a chain stretching from the Church on earth to the throne and being of the universal Father in heaven" (Findlay).

Ver. 7. +But unto every one of us is given grace.+--The distributing Spirit (1 Cor. xii. 11) leaves no humblest member of the body of Christ without His endowment.

Ver. 8. +Wherefore He saith.+--What follows is a quotation of Ps. lxviii. 18 "with free alteration" (Meyer), adapting the return of the hero-king to his own city to that most magnificent of all triumphs--over Hades and Death--achieved by Him "who was dead and is alive for evermore." "Being by the right hand of God exalted He hath poured forth this" abundance, as a conqueror scatters his largesse.

Vers. 9, 10. +Now that He ascended . . . that He might fill all things.+--The exaltation, in His case, presupposed the humiliation. From the throne of the universe--"the glory which He had with the Father"--to the profoundest depths where any poor lost piece of humanity that is redeemable can be found, and thence again to the throne He relinquished. +The same also.+--Exalted, to be confidingly and adoringly loved; humbled, to be worshipped no less as "the Son of man who is in heaven."

Ver. 11. +And He gave some to be, etc.+--"Christ gave the persons, and the community gave to them the service" (Meyer). +Apostles . . . prophets . . . evangelists.+--We cannot accept the order as significant of rank. It would grace an angel to be the "evangelist" of such a salvation. As apostles they went forth "sent" by their Master to men in their need; as prophets they "spoke out" what He had taught them; as evangelists they were the messengers of good tidings. They were apostles that they might be evangelists (Matt x. 5-7), "going about heralding" the kingdom and gathering men into it. +Pastors and teachers.+--Shepherds and instructors of those gathered together by men of another order. These are the true "bishops," whatever "other name" they bear (1 Pet. v. 1-4).

Ver. 12. +For the perfecting of the saints.+--"Saints," whilst a title of the highest honour, is often expressive of the ideal rather than the real life of those who bear it; the "perfecting" is the rendering into actual life of what is implied in the term of honour. +For the work of the ministry.+--R.V. "into the work." If the end of all Christ's gifts so far as "the saints" are concerned is their perfect equipment, so far as His messengers are concerned they go forth unto service first, honour afterwards. +For the edifying of the body of Christ.+--Practically the same as the foregoing, but with an ultimate reference to Christ. The double figure of a building and of a body is familiar to our own speech, as when we speak of "building up a strong frame."

Ver. 13. +Till we all come.+--Suggestive of standing opposite to something towards which we have been toiling. Can one think without a tremor of joy, of the moment when he will find himself in perfect correspondence with the Divine Archetype? +In the unity of the faith.+--The world has seen many attempts to bring about uniformity of creed, after the manner of Procrustes, by stretching or chopping. "The unity of the faith" is a very different thing, and much to be desired. +The knowledge of the Son of God.+--Lit. the complete knowledge. +Unto a full-grown man.+--As above intimated, a child does not become a man by means of the rack. The significance of the word "man" here is as great as when we bid some one who has lost his self-respect to "be a man."

Ver. 14. +That we henceforth be no more children.+--In what respects his readers are not to be children the apostle makes plain, viz. in helplessness and credulity. +Tossed to and fro.+--With no more power of resistance than a cork on the waves. +By the sleight of men and cunning craftiness.+--As some poor simpleton, who thinks himself capable, falls a victim to card-sharpers, so unstable souls fall victims to those who say with Falstaff, "If the young dace be a bite for the old pike, I see no reason in the law of nature but I may snap at him."

Ver. 15. +But speaking the truth in love.+--If it be possible to make the medicine palatable without destroying its efficacy--to capsule the bitter pill--its chances are so much the greater of doing good. The A.V. margin gives "being sincere," and the R.V. "dealing truly," the different renderings indicating the difficulty of finding an English equivalent.

Ver. 16. +Fitly joined together and compacted.+--R.V. "fitly framed and knit together." Bengel suggests that the first expression means the fitting together, and the second the fastening together. Meyer, denying this, says the distinction is that the former corresponds to the figure, the latter to the thing represented. The grammar, like the physiology, of this verse is difficult. Are we to read, "The whole body . . . maketh increase of the body"? Apparently we must, for the body "builds itself up in love."

Ver. 17. +That ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk.+--In this and the two following verses we have again the lurid picture of ch. ii. 2, 3: "in the vanity of their mind."

"The creature is their sole delight, Their happiness the things of earth."

Ver. 18. +Having the understanding darkened.+--Remembering our Lord's saying about the single eye and the fully illuminated body we might say, "If the understanding--by which all light should come--be darkened 'how great is that darkness'!" +Because of the blindness.+--R.V. "hardness." The word describes the hard skin formed by constant rubbing, as the horny hand of a blacksmith.

Ver. 19. +Who being past feeling.+--Having lost the "ache" which should always attend a violation of law. An ancient commentator uses the now familiar word "anæsthetes" to explain the phrase. +Having given themselves over.+--"Given" represents a word which often connotes an act of treason--and "themselves" is emphatic--"the most tremendous sacrifice ever laid on the altar of sin" (Beet). +To lasciviousness.+--"St. Paul stamps upon it the burning word ἀσέλγεια like a brand on the harlot's brow" (Findlay). +To work all uncleanness with greediness.+--R.V. margin, "to make a trade of all uncleanness with covetousness." Their "sins not accidental, but a trade"; and a trade at which they work with a "desire of having more."

Ver. 20. +No not so.+--As differently as possible. The same mode of speech which led St. Paul to say to the Galatians, "Shall I praise you? . . . I praise you not."--i.e. "I blame you highly."

Ver. 21. +If so be that ye have heard Him.+--The emphasis is on "Him"--"assuming, that is, that it is He, and no other."

Ver. 22. +That ye put off concerning the former conversation.+--It is no "philosophy of clothes" inculcated here. It is a deliverance from "the body of death," like stripping oneself of his very integument. +Conversation.+--R.V. "manner of life." +Which is corrupt.+--R.V. much more strikingly--"waxeth corrupt." St. Paul's figure elsewhere is appropriate--"like a gangrene eating into the flesh."

Vers. 23, 24. The stripping off being complete, and the innermost core of the man being renewed, the investiture may begin. The "habit" laid aside is never to be resumed, and the new robes, "ever white," are not to be soiled. +Righteousness and true holiness.+--R.V. "Righteousness and holiness of truth." See the "dealing truly" of ver. 15, R.V. margin.

Ver. 25. +Putting away lying.+--Findlay holds to it that "the lie, the falsehood, is objective and concrete; not lying, or falsehood as a subjective act, habit, or quality." +Members one of another.+--Let there be "no schism in the body."

Ver. 26. +Let not the sun go down on your wrath.+--The word for "wrath" is not the usual one. It almost seems as if the compound form had reference to the matter "alongside which" wrath was evoked. If "curfew" could ring out the fires of wrath at sundown, we might welcome the knell. Meyer quotes the Pythagorean custom of making up a quarrel by the parties "shaking hands" before sunset.

Ver. 28. +Let him that stole steal no more.+--Though we have not here the word for "brigand," we may think that the thieving had not always been without violence. +That he may have to give.+--Not the profits of wickedness, but "the good" results of his own labour, and may give it to the needy "with cheerfulness" (Rom. xii. 8), with a "hilarity" beyond that of "those who divide the spoil" (Isa. ix. 3).

Ver. 29. +Let no corrupt communication.+--R.V. "speech." Putrid speech can never come forth from any but a bad person, "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." +But that which is good to the use of edifying.+--The word in season "fitly spoken" has an æsthetic charm (Prov. xxv. 11), but it was more necessary to teach these loquacious Asiatics the utilitarian end of having a human tongue. "It is the mere talk, whether frivolous or pompous--spoken from the pulpit or the easy-chair--the incontinence of tongue, the flux of senseless, graceless, unprofitable utterance that St. Paul desires to arrest" (Findlay).

Ver. 30. +Grieve not.+--"Do not make Him sorrow." A strong figure like that which says that God was sorry that He had made man (Gen. vi. 6). +Whereby ye are sealed.+--Cf. ch. i. 13. "In whom ye were sealed" (R.V.)

Ver. 31. +Let all bitterness.+--i.e. "of speech." "Sarcasm I now see to be, in general, the language of the devil," said one liberally endowed with it. The satirist Hipponax--a native of Ephesus--was called "the bitter." Such a man as "speaks poniards," and whose "every word stabs," may be brilliant and a formidable opponent; he will never be loved. +Wrath and anger.+--The former is the fuming anger, "the intoxication of the soul," as St. Basil calls it; the latter is the state after the paroxysm is over, cherishing hatred and planning revenge. +Clamour and railing.+--"Clamour" is the loud outcry so familiar in an Eastern concourse of excited people (Acts xxiii. 9), like that hubbub in Ephesus when for two hours the populace yelled, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians" (Acts xix. 28). "Railing," blasphemy--speech that is calculated to do injury. +Malice.+--"Badness." "This last term is separated from the others as generic and inclusive" (Beet).

Ver. 32. +Be ye kind.+--The word is found in Christ's invitation to the weary--"My yoke is easy." It is characteristic of the Father that "He is kind to the unthankful." The man who drinks wine that is new and harsh says, "The old is good" (mellow). +Tenderhearted.+--Soon touched by the weakness of others. +Forgiving . . . as God . . . forgave you.+--The motive and measure of our forgiveness of injuries is the Divine forgiveness shown to "all that debt" of our wrong-doing (Matt. xviii. 32).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 1-3.

The Dignity of the Christian Life--

+I. Imposes the obligation to act in harmony with its lofty aims.+--"Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called" (ver. 1). There is the practical, stimulative influence of a high ideal. The Spirit within us has not only changed our nature and cleansed our spiritual vision, but He has lifted our horizon, formed within us distinct outlines of the Christian ideal after which we are to labour, and furnished us with the moral forces with which we are to attain the beauty and unity of a perfect spiritual character. We who are created in God's image and restored in Christ and made partakers of the Divine nature in Him, are bound by condition of our creation and redemption to endeavour to be like Him here that we may have the fruition of His glorious Godhead hereafter. The true Christian cannot stoop to any meanness either in thought or action. He is dignified without being proud.

+II. Involves the practice of self-suppression.+--1. In a just estimate of ourselves. "With all lowliness and meekness." In endeavouring to balance the value and use of our powers and faculties, and in measuring the degree and volume of our influence, we must observe humility--not a cringing cowardly spirit which would deter us from the right for fear of doing wrong, but an elevated sense of right with courage to perform it, and with humility to acknowledge and confess when we are in the wrong. It does not mean the craven surrender of our honest convictions and carefully formed judgment. We may efface ourselves, but not the truth within us. An Italian bishop being asked the secret of his habitual humility and patience replied, "It consists in nothing more than in making good use of my eyes. In whatever state I am, I first of all look up to heaven and remember that my principal business here is to get there. I then look back down to earth and call to mind the space I shall shortly occupy in it. I then look abroad into the world and observe what multitudes there are who in all respects have more cause to be unhappy than myself. Thus I learn where true happiness is placed, where all our cares must end, and how very little reason I have to repine or complain."

2. In a loving forbearance towards each other.--"With longsuffering, forbearing one another in love" (ver. 2). The meek man may be severe with himself, and his constant habit of self-suppression may render him somewhat impatient with the unreasonable outbreaks of temper in others. Meekness must be balanced and moderated with patience, and both virtues exercised in the all-pervading element of love. Love softens every harshness, tones down asperity, and welds together the Christian character in a firm but not too rigid a unity. "Bind thyself to thy brother," said Chrysostom. "Those who are bound together in love bear all burdens lightly. Bind thyself to him and him to thee. Both are in thy power; for whomsoever I will, I may easily make my friend."

+III. Demands an earnest striving after a peaceful spiritual unity.+--"Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (ver. 3). Peace--"a silken cord binding into one the members of the Church; the encompassing element of the unity of the Spirit" (Beet). The apostle repeatedly and solemnly inculcates unity and peace on all the Churches, warns them against contentions and divisions, and kindles into righteous indignation against all those insidious and false teachers who, under the pretence of advocating a higher piety really disturb and rend the Church of Christ. On what an enormous scale are preparations made for war! We should not be less diligent and elaborate in taking every precaution in promoting and maintaining peace.

+Lessons.+--1. True humility is always dignified. 2. Personal happiness is not the highest aim of the Christian life. 3. The noblest virtues of the Christian character are not attained without earnest endeavour.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 1-3. True Church Life.--1. The word "walk" is a very extensive signification. It includes all our inward and outward motions, all our thoughts, words, and actions. It takes in, not only everything we do, but everything we either speak or think. 2. We are called to walk, first, "with all lowliness," to have the mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus; not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think; to be little, and poor, and mean, and vile in our own eyes; to know ourselves as also we are known by Him to whom all hearts are opened; to be deeply sensible of our own unworthiness. Who can be duly sensible how much remains in him of his natural enmity to God, or how far he is still alienated from God by the ignorance that is in him? 3. Yea, suppose God has now thoroughly cleaned our heart, and scattered the last remains of sin; yet how can we be sensible enough of our own helplessness, our utter inability to all good, unless we are every hour, yea, every moment, endued with power from on high? 4. When our inmost soul is thoroughly tinctured therewith, it remains that we "be clothed with humility." The word used by St. Peter seems to imply that we be covered with it as with a surtout; that we be all humility, both within and without; tincturing all we think, speak, and do. Let all our actions spring from this fountain; let all our words breathe this spirit; that all men may know we have been with Jesus, and have learned of Him to be lowly in heart. 5. And being taught of Him who teacheth as never man taught, to be meek as well as lowly in heart. This implies not only a power over anger, but over all violent, turbulent passions. It implies the having all our passions in due proportion; none of them either too strong or too weak, but all duly balanced with each other, all subordinate to reason, and reason directed by the Spirit of God. 6. Walk with all "longsuffering." This is nearly related to meekness, but implies something more. It carries on the victory already gained over all your turbulent passions, notwithstanding all the powers of darkness, all the assaults of evil men or evil spirits. It is patiently triumphant over all opposition, and unmoved though all the waves and storms thereof go over you. 7. The "forbearing one another in love" seems to mean, not only the not resenting anything, and the not avenging yourselves; not only the not injuring, hurting, or grieving each other, either by word or deed, but also the bearing one another's burdens, yea, and lessening them by every means in our power. It implies the sympathising with them in their sorrows, afflictions, and infirmities; the bearing them up when, without our help, they would be liable to sink under their burdens. 8. Lastly, the true members of the Church of Christ "endeavour," with all possible diligence, with all care and pains, with unwearied patience, to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," to preserve inviolate the same spirit of lowliness and meekness, of longsuffering, mutual forbearance, and love; and all these cemented and knit together by that sacred tie--the peace of God filling the heart. Thus only can we be and continue living members of that Church which is the body of Christ. 9. Does it not clearly appear from this whole account why, in the ancient creed commonly called the Apostles', we term it the universal or catholic Church, "the holy catholic Church"? The Church is called holy, because it is holy, because every member thereof is holy, though in different degrees, as He that called them is holy. How clear this is! If the Church, as to the very essence of it, is a body of believers, no man that is not a Christian believer can be a member of it. If this whole body be animated by one Spirit, and endued with one faith, and one hope of their calling, then he who has not that Spirit and faith and hope is no member of this body. It follows, that not only no common swearer, no Sabbath-breaker, no drunkard, no whoremonger, no thief, no liar, none that lives in any outward sin, but none that is under the power of anger or pride, no lover of the world--in a word, none that is dead to God--can be a member of His Church.--Wesley.

Brotherly Love in Action.

+I. Walk in lowliness.+--Humble thoughts of ourselves, of our own knowledge, goodness, and importance are necessary to Christian peace and union. We shall not despise our brethren for their want of the internal gifts or external advantages we enjoy. We shall not lean to our own understanding; but, conscious of our liability to err, we shall be attentive to instruction and reproof, open to conviction, ready to retrace our errors and confess our faults.

+II. Walk in meekness+--in a prudent restraint and government of the passions. We shall not be easily provoked, our resentments will not be sudden, without cause or without bounds. If a variance happens, we shall stand ready to be reconciled. We shall be cautious not to give, and slow to take offence. In matters of religion our zeal will be tempered with charity.

+III. To our meekness we must add longsuffering and forbearance.+--These terms express the patient and exalted exercise of meekness rather than virtues distinct from it. We are not only to be meek, but longsuffering in our meekness; not only to restrain anger under ordinary offences, but to suppress malice and forbear revenge under the most provoking injuries.

+IV. We must endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.+--Not unity of opinion--this is not possible, nor reasonable to be expected, in the present state of mankind; but unity of spirit, of heart and affection, disposing us to preserve the bond of peace and maintain all the duties of Christian fellowship, whatever differences of sentiment take place. To the same purpose are the apostle's exhortations to all the Churches, and especially to those in which diversity of opinion concerning ceremonial usages threatened their external peace.--Lathrop.

Ver. 3. Peace the Bond of Unity.

+I. There is a union of the visible Church and the members thereof among themselves, and this is twofold:+ the one necessary to the being of a Church and being of a Church member, so that a Church cannot be a Church nor a man a member without it, the tie of which is God's covenant with the visible Church, and the Church's laying hold of it; the other necessary to the well-being of the Church, which is entertained by unity in judgment, in heart and affection, by concurrences in purposes and actings.

+II. Neither fair pretences for peace and union in the Church, nor seconded but contradicted by practice, nor yet careless endeavours easily broken by difficulties, will God accept as the duty required for preserving or restoring unity.+--There is no less called for than the utmost of our serious endeavours for that end, so that we not only eschew what may give cause of rending, but also be not easily provoked when it is given by others, and when a rent is made spare no pains for having it removed, and weary not under small appearances of success.

+III. Whatever differences may fall out among the members of the Church they are not to break the bond of peaceable walking+ one with another by factious sidings, but ought to study unanimous and joint practice in those things wherein there is agreement; and where this peaceable deportment is, it tends to preserve what remains of spiritual unity and to regain what is already lost.--Fergusson.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 4-6.

The Sevenfold Unity of the Church reflected in the Trinity of Divine Persons.

+I. One Spirit+ (ver. 4), the animating Principle of the +one body+ (ver. 4)--the Church; the Source of its life and ever-watchful Guardian of the Church's unity; the Inspirer of the +one hope,+ "Even as ye are called in one hope of your calling" (ver. 4). Where the Spirit of Christ dwells as a vitalising, formative principle, He finds or makes for Himself a body. Let no man say, "I have the spirit of religion, I can dispense with forms, I need no fellowship with men, I prefer to walk with God." God will not walk with men who do not care to walk with His people. The oneness of communion amongst the people of Christ is governed by a unity of aim. The old pagan world fell to pieces because it was without hope; the golden age was in the past. No society can endure that lives upon its memories, or that contents itself with cherishing its privileges. Nothing holds men together like work and hope. Christianity holds out a splendid crown of life. It promises our complete restoration to the image of God, the redemption of the body with the spirit from death, and our entrance upon an eternal fellowship with Christ in heaven. The Christian hope supplies to men more truly and constantly than Nature in her most exalted forms--

"The anchor of their purest thoughts, the nurse, The guide, the guardian of their heart, and soul Of all their moral being."

The hope of our calling is a hope for mankind, nay, for the entire universe. We labour for the regeneration of humanity. We look for the actual ingathering into one in Christ of all things in all worlds, as they are already gathered in God's eternal plan. If it were merely a personal salvation that we had to seek, Christian communion might appear to be an optional thing and the Church no more than a society for mutual spiritual benefit. But seen in this larger light, Church membership is of the essence of our calling (Findlay).

+II. One Lord+ (ver. 5), or Master, whom we are called to serve. A consentaneous and harmonious obedience to His mandates blends His servants into one compact unity. +One faith+ (ver. 5), one body of inviolable truth, one code of Divine commands, one Gospel of promise, presenting one object of faith. +One baptism+ (ver. 5), one gateway of entrance into the company of believers forming the one Church, one initiatory rite common to all. Christians may differ as to the mode of baptism and the age at which it should be administered, but all agree it is an institution of Christ, a sign of spiritual renewal, and a pledge of the righteousness that comes by faith. Wherever the sacraments are duly observed, there the supremacy of Christ's rule is recognised, and this rule is the basis on which future unity must be built.

+III. One God,+ the supreme and final unity, who is "the Father of all," who is above all, and through all, and in you all (ver. 6). Above all--He reigns supreme over all His people (Rom. ix. 5). Through all--informing, inspiring, stimulating, and using them as instruments to work out His purpose (Rom. xi. 36). In all--dwelling in and filling their hearts and the ever-widening circle of their experience. "The absolute sovereignty of the Divine Mind over the universe," said Channing, "is the only foundation of hope for the triumph of the human mind over matter, over physical influences, over imperfection and death." With what a grand simplicity the Christian conception of the one God and Father rose above the vulgar pantheon, the swarm of motley deities--some gay and wanton, some dark and cruel, some of supposed beneficence, all infected with human passion and baseness--which filled the imagination of the Græco-Asiatic pagans. What rest there was for the mind, what peace and freedom for the spirit, in turning from such deities to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! This was the very God whom the logic of Greek thought and the practical instincts of Roman law and empire blindly sought. Through ages He had revealed Himself to the people of Israel, who were now dispersed amongst the nations to bear His light. At last He declared His full name and purpose to the world through Jesus Christ. So the gods many and lords many have had their day. By His manifestation the idols are utterly abolished. The proclamation of one God and Father signifies the gathering of men into one family of God. The one religion supplies the basis for one life in all the world. God is over all, gathering all worlds and beings under the shadow of His beneficent dominion. He is through all and in all; an omnipresence of love, righteousness, and wisdom, actuating the powers of nature and of grace, inhabiting the Church and the heart of men (Findlay).

+Lessons.+--1. In the moral as in the material world there is diversity in unity and unity in diversity. 2. All phases of good find their consummation in an imperishable unity. 3. To disturb the balance of unity is a great evil.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 4-6. The Unity of the Church.

+I. There is one body.+--The Church is a body of which Christ is the Head, and believers are the members. Though Christians are formed into distinct societies, they constitute but one body. They are united to the Head by faith and to their fellow-members by love.

+II. There is one Spirit.+--As all members of the natural body are animated by one soul, so all the members of Christ's body are sanctified, strengthened, and led by the same Spirit. Since there is one Spirit which dwells in all Christians, all contention, bitterness, and envy, all animosity, division, and separation in the Church are offences against the Holy Spirit.

+III. There is one hope of our calling.+--We are all called by the same Word, our hope is grounded on the same promises, the object of our hope is the same immortal life.

+IV. There is one Lord.+--Christ is Lord of all by the same right. He has bought us with a high price, redeemed us by His own blood. There is no respect of persons with him. We are called to the same service, are under the same laws, and must appear at the same judgment.

+V. There is one faith.+--The same Gospel is the rule of our faith, and this all Christians profess to receive. The faith of all true Christians is essentially the same. The object of it is the Word of God, the nature of it is receiving the love of the truth, the effect of it is to purify the heart.

+VI. There is one baptism.+--We are all baptised in the name of Christ, and He is not divided. May differ as to the age at which persons become the subjects of baptism and the manner of administration, but regarding the design of it we are one. Baptism intended not to divide, but unite the whole Christian world.

+VII. There is one God and Father.+--The Father of the whole creation, but in a more eminent sense the Father of Christians. He is above all. He reigns supreme. He is through all. His essence pervades our frame, His eyes search and try our souls, His influence preserves our spirits. He is in all. In all true Christians by His Spirit. They are the temple of God, and His Spirit dwelleth in them.--Lathrop.

Ver. 4. The Oneness of the Church.--1. All the members of the Church being one body is a strong argument enforcing the duty of keeping peace and unity; it being no less absurd for Christians to bite and devour one another than if the members of the selfsame natural body should tear and destroy one another. 2. As those in nature are in a hopeless state, having no right to heaven and happiness, so the Gospel doth open to the person called a large door of well-grounded hope, that, whatever be his misery here, he shall be perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God for ever hereafter. 3. The joint aiming of the saints at one mark should make them of one mind and heart, seeing there is that in glory which will suffice all. Their seeking of one thing need be no occasion of strife and emulation, but rather of unity, for why should they strive together who not only are brethren but also heirs together of the grace of life and shall one day reign together in glory?--Fergusson.

One Body and One Spirit.

+I. The unity or oneness of the Church as set forth by the unity or oneness of the body.+--One life animates the whole. The parts mutually subserve one another, while the head thinks and the heart beats for all. There is a certain harmony existing between all the members; they constitute a symmetry among themselves, so that one could not be taken away without destroying the perfection of all the others, more or less marring the grace and beauty of the whole frame. So the Church is one--one mystical body--having one author, God; one Head, which is Christ; and one informing Spirit, the Holy Ghost; one country towards which all its members are travelling, heaven; one code of instructions to guide them thither, the Word of God; one and the same band of enemies seeking to bar their passage, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Despite all miserable divisions, wherever there is a man with true love to God and man, any true affiance on Christ, any true obedience to the Spirit and His leadings, there exists a member of this mystical body.

+II. As in the human body there is unity, so there is also variety, diversity, multiplicity.+--This is true of the Church of Christ. Its different members have different functions and offices, and in performing these the Church makes equable and harmonious growth.

+Lessons.+--1. As members of the same body, let us not separate from brethren in Christ. 2. If we are members one of another, many are the debts as such we owe the one to the other. (1) We owe one another truth. (2) Love one to another. (3) Honour one to another.--R. C. Trench.

Ver. 5. One Lord.

+I. Christ is our Lord according to every notion and acceptation of the word "Lord."+--He is our Prince and Governor, we are His subjects and vassals; He is our Master, and we are His servants; He is our Owner, or the Possessor and Proprietary of us; He is our Preceptor or Teacher; that is, the Lord of our understanding, which is subject to the belief of His dictates; and the Lord of our practice, which is to be directed by His precepts. He is therefore also our Captain and Leader, whose orders we must observe, whose conduct we should follow, whose pattern we are to regard and imitate in all things.

+II. Christ is also our Lord according to every capacity or respect of nature or office that we can consider appertaining to Him.+--1. He is our Lord as by nature the Son of God, partaking of the Divine essence and perfection. 2. He is our Lord as man, by the voluntary appointment and free donation of God His Father; in regard to the excellency of His Person, and to the merit of His performances. 3. He also, considered as God and man united in one Person, is plainly our Lord. 4. If we are to consider Him as Jesus, our Saviour, that notion doth involve acts of dominion, and thence resulteth a title thereto. Nothing more becomes a Lord than to protect and save; none better deserves the right and the name of a Lord than a Saviour. 5. Likewise, if He be considered as the Christ, that especially implieth Him anointed and consecrated to sovereign dominion, as King of the Church.

+III. Survey the several grounds upon which dominion may be built,+ and we shall see that upon all accounts He is our Lord.--1. An uncontrollable power and ability to govern is one certain ground of dominion. 2. To make, to preserve, to provide and dispense maintenance, are also clear grounds of dominion. 3. He hath acquired us by free donation from God His Father. 4. He hath acquired us by just right of conquest, having subdued those enemies unto whom (partly by their fraud and violence, partly from our own will and consent) we did live enslaved and addicted. 5. He hath also further acquired us to Himself by purchase, having by a great price bought us, ransomed us out of sad captivity, and redeemed us from grievous punishment due to us. 6. He likewise acquired a lordship over us by desert, and as a reward from God, suitable to His performance of obedience and patience, highly satisfactory and acceptable to God. 7. He hath acquired a good right and title to dominion over us as our continual most munificent benefactor. 8. Our Saviour Jesus is not only our Lord by nature and by acquisition in so many ways (by various performances, deserts, and obligations put on us), but He is also so by our own deeds, by most free and voluntary, most formal and solemn, and therefore most obligatory acts of ours. (1) If we are truly persuaded that Christ is our Lord and Master, we must then see ourselves obliged humbly to submit unto and carefully to observe His will, to attend unto and to obey His law, with all readiness and diligence. (2) If Christ be our Lord, then are we not our own lords or our own men; we are not at liberty, or at our own disposal, as to our own persons or our actions. (3) If Christ be our Lord (absolutely and entirely such), then can we have no other lords whatever in opposition to Him, or in competition with Him, or otherwise any way than in subordination and subserviency to Him. (4) If Christ be our Lord, we are thereby disobliged, yea, we are indeed prohibited, from pleasing or humouring men, so as to obey any command, to comply with any desire, or to follow any custom of theirs, which is repugnant to the will or precept of Christ. (5) Finally, for our satisfaction and encouragement, we may consider that the service of Christ is rather indeed a great freedom than a service.--Barrow.

Ver. 6. God the Father.

+I. God is the universal Father.+--1. God is the Father of all things, or of us as creatures, as the efficient Cause and Creator of them all. 2. The Father of intellectual beings. He is styled the Father of spirits; the angels, in way of excellency, are called the sons of God. 3. The Father in a more especial manner to mankind. 4. The Father of all good men, with a relation being built upon higher grounds; for as good they have another original from Him, virtue springs in their hearts from a heavenly seed, that emendation and perfection of nature is produced by His grace enlightening and quickening them; they are images of Him, resembling Him in judgment and disposition of mind, in will and purpose, in action and behaviour, which resemblances argue them to be sons of God and constitute them such.

+II. The uses of this truth.+--1. It may teach us what reverence, honour, and observance are due from us to God, in equity and justice, according to ingenuity and gratitude. 2. This consideration may instruct and admonish us what we should be and how we should behave ourselves, for if we be God's children it becometh us, and we are obliged in our disposition and demeanour to resemble, to imitate Him. It is natural and proper for children to resemble their parents in their complexion and countenance, to imitate them in their actions and carriage. 3. This consideration may raise us to a just regard, esteem, and valuation of ourselves; may inspire noble thoughts and breed generous inclinations in us; may withdraw us from mean, base, and unworthy designs or practices; may excite and encourage us to handsome, brave, worthy resolutions and undertakings suitable to the dignity of our nature, the nobleness of our descent, the eminence of so high a relation, of so near an alliance to God. 4. This consideration is a motive to humility, apt to depress vain conceit and confidence in ourselves. If we are God's children, so as to have received our beings, all our powers and abilities, all our goods and wealth, both internal and external, both natural and spiritual, from His free disposal, so as be continually preserved and maintained by His providence to depend for all our subsistence upon His care and bounty, what reason can we have to assume or ascribe anything to ourselves? 5. This consideration shows us the reason we have to submit entirely to the providence of God with contentedness and acquiescence in every condition. 6. Obligeth us to be patient and cheerful in the sorest afflictions, as deeming them to come from a paternal hand, inflicted with great affection and compassion, designed for and tending to our good. 7. Shows the reason we have to obey those precepts which enjoin us to rely on God's providence. 8. Serves to breed and cherish our faith, to raise our hope, to quicken our devotion. For whom shall we confide in if not in such a Father? From whom can we expect good if not from Him? To whom can we have recourse so freely and cheerfully on any occasion if not to Him? 9. Considering this point will direct and prompt us how to behave ourselves towards all God's creatures according to their respective natures and capacities. If God be the Father of all things, they are all thence in some sort our brethren, and so may claim from us a fraternal affection and demeanour answerable thereto.--Barrow.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 7-12.

The Gifts of Christ to His Church--

+I. That each member of the Church possesses some gift from Christ.+--"Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (ver. 7). All are not alike talented, but each one has some gift of grace. Every gift is not from earth, but from heaven; not from man, but from Christ. Look not down, then, as swine to the acorns they find lying there, and never once up to the tree they come from. Look up; the very frame of our body bears that way. It is nature's check to the body. "Graces are what a man is; but enumerate his gifts and you will know what he has. He is loving, he has eloquence, or medical skill, or legal knowledge, or the gift of acquiring languages, or that of healing. You have only to cut out his tongue, or to impair his memory, and the gift is gone. But you must destroy his very being, change him into another man, obliterate his identity, before he ceases to be a loving man. Therefore you may contemplate the gift separate from the man; you may admire it and despise him. But you cannot contemplate the grace separate from the man" (F. W. Robertson).

"If facts allure thee, think how BACON shined, The wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind."--Pope.

The humblest member of the Church of Christ is not without his gift. The grace of the Gospel elevates and sanctifies all his powers and opportunities, and turns them into noblest uses.

+II. That the gifts of Christ to His Church are distributed with the lavish generosity of a conqueror returning from the field of victory+ (vers. 8-10).--We have read of the profuse gifts of victorious warriors:--of Gonsalvo, the great Spanish captain, whose unselfish prodigality was proverbial. "Never stint your hand," he was accustomed to say: "there is no way of enjoying one's property like giving it away";--of Alexander the Great, who on one occasion gave a blank draft to one of his generals with liberty to fill in any amount he chose. When the treasurer, surprised at the enormous sum inserted, asked his imperial master if there was not some mistake, he answered: "No; pay it, pay it; the man honours me by assuming the inexhaustible resources of my empire";--of Belisarius, whose victories were always followed by liberal and extravagant largesses. "By the union of liberality and justice," writes Gibbon, "he acquired the love of his soldiers, without alienating the affections of the people. The sick and wounded were relieved with medicines and money, and still more efficaciously by the healing visits and smiles of their commander. The loss of a weapon or a horse was instantly repaired, and each deed of valour was rewarded by the rich and honourable gifts of a bracelet or a collar, which were rendered more precious by the judgment of Belisarius. He was endeared to the husbandmen by the peace and plenty which they enjoyed under the shadow of his standard. Instead of being injured, the country was enriched by the march of the Roman armies; and such was the rigid discipline of their camp that not an apple was gathered from the tree, not a path could be traced in the fields of corn. Victory by sea and land attended his armies. He subdued Africa, Italy, and the adjacent islands, led away captives the successors of Genseric and Theodoric, filled Constantinople with the spoils of their palaces, and in the space of six years recovered half the provinces of the Western empire";--and of Aurelian, whose triumphant entry into Rome after his victories in the East was the longest, most brilliant, and imposing of any recorded in the annals of the empire, and was signalised by rich donations to the army and the people; the Capitol and every other temple glittered with the offerings of his ostentatious piety, and the temple of the sun alone received above fifteen thousand pounds of gold. But who can measure the munificence of the ascended Saviour, the Divine Conqueror, who, as the fruit of His unparalleled victory, has scattered His gifts among men, to enrich them for ever? He gives not grudgingly and sparingly, but after the measure of His own great nature. He gives not for display but for blessing, and His smallest gift out-values the most lavish donation of the richest earthly benefactor.

+III. That the gifts of Christ qualify man for special work in His Church+ (ver. 11).--The "apostles, prophets, evangelists" linked Church to Church and served the entire body; the "pastors and teachers" had charge of local and congregational affairs. The apostles, with the prophets, were the founders of the Church. Their distinctive functions ceased when the foundation was laid and the deposit of revealed truth was complete. The evangelistic and pastoral callings remain; and out of them have sprung all the variety of Christian ministries since exercised. Evangelists, with apostles or missionaries, bring new souls to Christ and carry His message into new lands. Pastors and teachers follow in their train, tending the ingathered sheep, and labouring to make each flock that they shepherd, and every single man, perfect in Christ Jesus.

+IV. That the gifts of Christ furnish the full moral equipment of the members of His Church+ (ver. 12).--Christ's gifts of great and good men in every age have been bestowed for a thoroughly practical purpose--"the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, the edifying of the body of Christ." No one man has all the gifts requisite for the full development of the Church; but it is the privilege and honour of each worker to use his special gift for the general good. The combination of gifts, faithfully and diligently employed, effects the desired end. The Church must be built up, and this can be done only by the harmonious use of the gifts of Christ, not by mere human expedients. "We may have eloquent preaching, crowded churches, magnificent music, and all the superficial appearance of a great religious movement, whilst the vaunted revival is only a poor galvanised thing, a corpse twitching with a strange mimicry of life, but possessed of none of its vital energy and power." Gifts are dangerous without the grace and wisdom to use them. Many a brilliant genius has gone down into oblivion by the reckless abuse of his gifts. Christ endows His people with gifts that they may use them for the increase and upbuilding of His Church, and they must be exercised in harmony with the rules and purposes of the Divine Architect. "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it."

+Lessons.+--1. Christ's estimate of His Church is seen in the spiritual riches He has lavished upon it. 2. The gifts of each member of the Church are for the benefit of all. 3. The gifts of Christ to His Church are the offerings of a boundless love.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Ver. 7. The Gospel according to Mark.--The writers of the four Gospels completed their work not for the sake of making a literary reputation for themselves, or of adding to the literary masterpieces of the world, but for the spiritual benefit of the Christian Church. Christ our Lord sitting in the heavens, seeing exactly what was wanted in the apostolic Churches, and in the Church of all time, seeing what was wanted in the evangelists themselves if they were to supply the Church's wants, measured out His gifts to the evangelists. Accordingly, to each evangelist He gave that special gift which was needed in order to do his particular work. What was the grace that was given to St. Mark? It has been said that St. Mark's Gospel has no special character, that it is the least original of the four, that it is insipid, that it might have been dispensed with without loss to the harmony of the evangelical narrative. Even St. Augustine has spoken of it as an epitome of St. Matthew; and his deservedly great authority has obtained a currency of this opinion in the Western Church. But in point of fact, although St. Mark has more in common with St. Matthew than with any other evangelist, he is far from being a mere epitomist of the first Gospel. He narrates at least three independent incidents which St. Matthew does not notice. He has characteristics which are altogether his own.

+I. St. Mark is remarkable for his great attention to subordinate details.+--He supplies many particulars which evangelists who write more at length altogether omit. From him, for instance, we learn the name of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, and of Bartimæus, the blind man healed by our Lord. From him we learn how Simon of Cyrene was related to well-known Christians of the next generation--Alexander and Rufus. He it is who tells us that the woman of Canaan whose petition our Lord so indulgently received was a Syrophenician, and that our Lord was popularly spoken of as the carpenter. He is careful to point out more minutely than do others the scenes in which our Lord took part on four occasions. He describes particularly our Lord's look. He notes the express affections of our Lord's human soul, His love for the rich young man, His anger with the Pharisee, His pity for the leper, His groaning in spirit on two separate occasions. And here we have something more than a literary peculiarity--than a style of writing which corresponds to those pre-Raphaelite artists who render every leaf and every blade of grass with scrupulous accuracy. I say that we are here face to face with a moral and spiritual excellence which forms part of the special grace given to St. Mark. Close attention to details in any workman means a recognition of the sacredness of fact. Where details are lost sight of, or blurred over, in the attempt to produce a large, general, indistinct effect, there is always a risk of indifference to the realities of truth. The very least fact is sacred, whatever be its relative importance to other facts. But in a life like that of our Lord, everything is necessarily glowing with interest, however trivial it might appear to be in any other connection. This care for details is thus the expression of a great grace--reverence for truth, reverence for every fragment of truth that touched the human life of the Son of God.

+II. St. Mark is remarkable for the absence of a clearly discernible purpose in his Gospel,+ over and above that of furnishing a narrative of our Lord's conflict with sin and evil during His life as man upon the earth. The three other evangelists have each of them a manifest purpose in writing of this kind. St. Matthew wishes to show to the Jews that our Lord is the Messiah of the Jewish prophecy. St. Luke would teach the Gentile Churches that He is the Redeemer whose saving power may be claimed through faith by the whole race of men. St. John is, throughout, bent upon showing that He speaks and acts while in the flesh as the eternal Word or Son of God, who has been made flesh and was dwelling among us. And it has been said that St. Mark's narrative is an expansion of those words of Peter--that Jesus of Nazareth "went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him." Probably this is true; but then these words describe not a purpose beyond the narrative, but the substance of the narrative itself. St. Mark simply records a sacred life as he had learned it from the lips of Peter, not for any purpose beyond the narrative itself; but whatever it might prove beyond itself, it was to a believing Christian unspeakably precious.

+III. A few words in conclusion.+--"Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." As no two human souls exactly resemble each other, so no two souls are endowed in an exactly similar way. And for the difference of endowment let us be sure there is always a reason in the Divine Mind, for each soul in every generation has its appointed work to do, without itself as within itself; and it is endowed with exactly the grace, whether of mind or heart, which will best enable it to do that particular work. Some may think that they have received little or nothing--some gift so small as to be scarcely appreciable. The probability is that they have not yet considered what God has done for them. They have spent their time in thinking of what He has withheld, instead of thinking of what He has given; of what they might have been, instead of what they are. Certainly the grace which our Lord gave to St. Paul when he wrote his great epistle to the Romans was immensely greater than that which He gave to Tertius, the poor amanuensis, who took it down from the apostle's dictation, and who inserts a greeting from himself just at the end of the document. And yet Tertius, too, had his part in the work--a humble but a very real part, according to the measure of the gift of Christ. He did not say, "Because I am not the eye I am not of the body." He made the most of the grace which was certainly his. And others may think, rightly or wrongly, that unto them very great graces have been given according to the gift of Christ, that they are the hands or the eyes of the holy body, the men who do its work, or the men who discern the truths which support its life. Well, if it be so, this is a reason, not for confident satisfaction, but for anxiety. Such gifts as these are edge tools; they may easily prove the ruin of their possessors. For all such gifts an account must one day most assuredly be rendered; and if self has appropriated that which belongs to God or to His Church, it cannot but entail misery on the possessor. If a man has wealth, or ability, or station; much more if he has cultivated intelligence and generous impulses; most of all if his heart has been fixed by the love of God, and the unseen is to him a serious reality, and he has hopes and motives which really transcend the frontiers of the world of sense, then, assuredly, his safety lies in remembering that he is a trustee who will one day have to present his account at the great audit, when the eminence of his gifts will be the exact measure of his responsibility. Eighteen centuries have passed since St. Mark went to reign somewhere beneath his Master's throne whose life he had described; but he has left us the result of his choicest gift--he has left us his Gospel. What has it--what have the four Gospels--hitherto done for each of us? It is recorded that John Butler, an excellent Church of England layman of the last generation, stated on his death-bed that on looking back on his life the one thing he most regretted was that he had not given more time to the careful study of the life of our Lord in the four evangelists. Probably he has not been alone in that regret; and if the truth were told, many of us would have to confess that we spend much more thought and time upon the daily papers, which describe the follies and errors of the world, than on the records of that Life which was given for the world's redemption. The festival of an evangelist ought to suggest a practical resolution that, so far as we are concerned, the grace which he received, according to the measure of the gift of Christ, shall not, please God, be lost. Ten minutes a day seriously spent on our knees, with the Gospel in our hands, will do more to quicken faith, love, reverence, spiritual and moral insight and power, than we can easily think.--H. P. Liddon.

Vers. 9, 10. The contrasted Humiliation and Exaltation of Christ.

+I. The circumstances of the Saviour's depression from His original state.+--We say that a person stoops, that he bends, that he sinks. Moral correspondencies to these actions are understood. They are condescensions. Immanuel is the name of our Saviour when born into our world and dwelling in it--God with us. A local residence is thus described. And we are informed of the degree which marks His coming down from heaven, of the manner in which He came into the world--He descended into the lower parts of the earth. What lowliness is this! Similar terms are employed in other portions of the inspired volume; by collating them with those of the text we shall most satisfactorily determine its sense.

1. The incarnation of Christ may be thus expressed.--To what did He not submit? By what was He not buffeted? What insult did not disfigure His brow? What shade did not cloud His countenance? What deep waters did not go over His soul? His was humanity in its severest pressures and humblest forms.

2. This form of language may denote the death of Christ.--It is the ordinary phrase of the Old Testament; "They shall go into the lower parts of the earth: Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps." Does it not seem strange that His soul should be commended hence who had often bound death to His bidding and summoned from the grave its prey? He is brought low to the dust of death. The erect figure is prostrated. The instinctive life is arrested. That mysterious frame--related to the infinite and the Divine temple of all greatness, shrine of all sanctity--that "Holy Thing" sleeps in death.

3. This style may be intended to intimate that burial to which He yielded.--"Lest I become like them that go down into the pit." "So must the Son of man be in the heart of the earth." He has made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death! He is put away into darkness. He is held of death in its gloomy chambers. He is as a victim and a prey. It is a prison-keep.

4. The separation of the Redeemer's body and spirit may be described in these words.--We mark in this departure of His soul the simple requirement of death. It could not be retained. It descended into the lower parts of the earth. This is the reverse of resurrection and heavenward flight. It was humiliation. These are the gradations of His descent. These are the "lower parts of the earth" to which He declined. This is His coming forth from the Father! This is His coming down from heaven! This is His coming into the world! His measureless surrender of claims! His inconceivable renunciation of honours! Stooping to inferior and still inferior levels of ignominy! Plunging to deeper and still deeper abysses of shame!

+II. The glory of His subsequent exaltation.+--1. It is in itself an absolute expression of love.

2. It justifies an expectation of surpassing benefits.

3. The act regulates and secures its own efficiency.

4. This act is to be regarded as of incomparable worth and excellence.--The mission of Christ contemplated the highest principles which can direct the Divine conduct. He came to vindicate that character which to conceive aright is the happiness of all creatures--to uphold and avenge that law which cannot be infringed without an utter loss of good and overthrow of order--to atone for sin whose slight and impunity would have been the allowance of infinite mischiefs and evils--to bring in an everlasting righteousness adequate to the justification of the most guilty, and of the most multiplied objects who needed it--leaving it for ever proved that no rule nor sanction of God's moral government can be violated without a necessary and meet resentment! His ascension was a radiant triumph. Scarcely is it more descried than His resurrection. We catch but a few notes of the resounding acclaim, we mark but a few fleeces of the glory-cloud, we recognise but a few attendants of the angel-train. With that laconic force which characterises holy writ, it is simply recorded, "Who is gone into heaven."

+III. The reciprocal influence of these respective facts.+--"The same" was He who bowed Himself to these indignities and who seized these rewards. And this identity is of the greatest value. Not only do we hail Him in His reinstatement in original dignities, but in the augmentation of His glories. Deity was never so beheld before. There is a combination and a form of the Divine perfections entirely new. We repine that He is not here. We forget that it is expedient that He should go away. Heaven alone provides scope for His undertakings and channel for His influences. There must He abide until the restitution of all things. But nothing of His sympathy or His grace do we forego.--R. W. Hamilton.

Vers. 9, 10. The Ascension and its Results.

+I. With respect to the new heavens and the new earth, what may we not infer from the ascension of Christ in full integrity of His nature above all heavens with respect to the conversion and transformation and ennobling of this material?+--The nature and history of His person revealed the relations clearly between heaven and earth, between God and man, between the material and the spiritual. We cannot for a moment look upon the transformation and exaltation of Christ's nature as an isolated fact dissociated from the restitution and exaltation of all things spoken of in His Word. The nature with which He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven was the same nature in which He was crucified, though glorified and swallowed up of life. Must we not say, then, that the body which ascended in relation to the body which was crucified and laid in the grave may illustrate the relation of the present heavens and the new earth? And, in accordance with this idea, are there not every way most wonderful changes and transformations of which the ascension of Christ's body seems to be the fulfilment and crown and also the firstfruits? The flower from its imprisoned bud, the insect from its grovelling form, light out of darkness, electricity from ponderable elements, the strange affinities of matter striving to break forth from their captivity, the unerring instincts of animal life held, as it were, in bondage--all seem to point with prophetic finger to a future deliverance and ennobled state and condition whilst meekly waiting, but with earnest expectation, with the whole creation for the deliverance and glorious liberty of the sons of God. The Gospel therefore contains a Gospel for nature as well as for man--the prediction of the day when the strife of elements shall cease, when the powers of darkness shall be swallowed up of life, when the lion shall lie down with the lamb, when the tares shall no longer grow with the wheat, when creation, now so weary, shall lift up her head and rejoice in the redemption for which she now groans and travails.

+II. If we cannot dissociate the history of Jesus from the history of the earth, much less can it be dissociated from the history of mankind.+--He is humanity, root and crown. Humanity exists nowhere else but in Him. No aggregate of men make humanity, nor can personality be ascribed to humanity except in Him. Individual men may have a personality, but humanity is only an idea except it exists in Him who is its root and crown; and it is in this sense that He is spoken of, and that He speaks of Himself as, the Son of man. In His ascension, therefore, which carries as a necessary presupposition all the facts of His history, mankind is delivered from its curse and from bondage. Identity of nature and reciprocity of choice now constitute the most intimate union and most blessed fellowship of which we are conscious, and it is the fair offshoot, the true type of that which is to be the highest, to which He is exalted above all heavens, from which height He has promised to gather together our common humanity. In such and for such a relation He is exalted to the throne of universal dominion as the Bridegroom of mankind, to be the Head over all things to His Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him which filleth all in all.

+III. What may we not learn from the fact of Christ's ascension+--not merely with respect to the new heavens and the new earth, not merely with respect to mankind and its history, but with respect to the government and providence of earth? If all nature is gathered up and represented in human nature, and if all human nature is gathered up and represented in the Son of man, and if the Son of man resteth and sitteth upon the throne of universal dominion, then, my brethren, the conclusion is as direct as it is clear, that all things must be working together in the interests of His kingdom and of His Church, that all things have but one purpose and one end to which the whole creation moves. We may say with Herbert:

"For us the winds do blow, The earth does rest, heavens, move, and fountains flow; Nothing we see but means our good-- 'Tis our delight or has our treasure. The whole is either cupboard of our food Or cabinet of pleasure."

These lines contain as deep a philosophy as they do good poetry. "All things unto our flesh are kind in their descent and being." As they descend to us they bless our lower nature, but as we follow them in their ascent they bless our minds. And in history are there not changes similar to and commensurate with those which we have seen in nature, and all subordinated to one end? Mighty nations and kingdoms have arisen and passed away, and passed away, we might add, in the greatness of their might. What strange development, as it has well been asked, is it that the power of the world should rise to a great height of glory, and, not able to sustain it, pass away? Because they knew not God--because they were prejudicial to the interests of man. The present state and prospects of the world are but the results of all its past history, of the action and reaction, the strife and ceaseless conflict, which have been going on from the first--the strife and ceaseless conflict between the spirit of man's revolt in all the forms of will-worship and idolatrous power, and the returning spirit of allegiance towards God and His kingdom of life and love. On the one hand, therefore, we have a series of rapid and mighty developments of the very power which destroyed them when at the very height of their glory; on the other hand, we have the continuous and silent growth and expansion of the same ideas--all-conquering ideas and all-conquering beliefs personally embodied from the first in men confessing their allegiance to God.--Dr. Pulsford.

Ver. 10. The Humiliation and Exaltation of Christ.

+I. Christ's humiliation.+--Implied in the words, "He that descended." These words bear the same sense with those of Ps. cxxxix. 15, and may be properly taken for Christ's incarnation and conception in the womb of the Virgin.--1. Because other expositions may be shown to be unnatural, forced, or impertinent, and there is no other besides this assignable. 2. Since Paul here uses David's words it is most probable he used them in David's sense. 3. The words descending and ascending are so put together in the text that they seem to intend a summary of Christ's whole transaction in man's redemption, begun in His conception and consummated in His ascension.

+II. Christ's glorious advancement and exaltation.+--"He ascended far above all heavens" to the most eminent place in dignity and glory in the highest heaven.

+III. The qualification and state of Christ's person in reference to both conditions.+--He was the same, showing the unity of the two natures in the same person.

+IV. The end of Christ's ascension.+--"That He might fill all things." All things may refer--1. To the Scripture prophecies and predictions. 2. To the Church as He might fill that with His gifts and graces. 3. To all things in the world. This latter interpretation preferred. He may be said to fill all things--1. By the omnipresence of His nature and universal diffusion of His Godhead. 2. By the universal rule and government of all things committed to Him as Mediator upon His ascension.--South.

Vers. 11, 12. The Work of the Ministry.

+I. It is evident that public teachers in the Church are to be a distinct order of men.+--Christ has given some pastors and teachers. None has a right publicly to teach in the Church but those who are called, sent, authorised to the work in the Gospel way. All Christians are to exhort, reprove, and comfort one another as there is occasion; but public teaching in the Church belongs peculiarly to some--to those who are given to be pastors and teachers.

+II. Public teachers are here called Christ's gifts.+--"He gave some pastors and teachers." The first apostles were commissioned immediately by Christ. They who were thus commissioned of Heaven to preach the Gospel were authorised to ordain others. Christ gave pastors and teachers, not only to preach His Gospel, but to train up and prepare holy men for the same work.

+III. Ministers are to be men endued with gifts suitable to the work to which they are called.+--As in the early days of the Gospel public teachers were called to extraordinary services, so they were endued with extraordinary gifts; but these gifts were only for a season. As the business of a minister is to teach men the things which Christ has commanded in the Scriptures, so it is necessary he himself should be fully instructed in them. In the early days, as there were evangelists who went forth to preach the Gospel where Christ had not been named, so there were pastors and teachers who had the immediate care of Churches already established.

+IV. The great object of the ministry is the building up of the Church of Christ.+--The ministry is intended for the improvement of saints, as well as for the conversion of sinners. The apostle mentions also the unity of the knowledge of Christ. We must not rest in attainments already made, but continually aspire to the character of a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.--Lathrop.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 13-16.

True Christian Manhood--

+I. Attained by the unity of an intelligent faith in Christ.+--1. This faith must be based on knowledge. "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God" (ver. 13). A faith, so called, not based on knowledge is fanaticism. True faith is the result of conviction--a profound consciousness of the truth. Many reach this stage. They have heard the evidence, examined it, and are clearly persuaded of its truth; but they never get beyond that. They are like the neap tide that comes rolling in as if it would sweep everything before it; but when it arrives at a certain point, it stops, and with all the ocean at its back it never passes the mark where it is accustomed to pause. It is well to get to the neap-tide mark of conviction; but there is no salvation till the soul is carried by the full spring tide of conviction into a voluntary and complete surrender to Christ. It is weak, it is cowardly, when convinced of the right, not to do it promptly and heartily. Faith acquires its full-rounded unity when it is exercised, not on any abstract truth, but on a Person who is the living embodiment of all truth. The final object of faith is "the Son of God," and any truth is valuable only as it helps us to Him. Christ has Himself revealed the truth essential to be believed in order to salvation: He is Himself that truth.

2. Perfect manhood is a complete Christ-likeness.--"Unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (ver. 13). Man is so great that he is perpetually striving after a loftier ideal; nothing that has limits can satisfy him. "It is because there is an infinite in him which with all his cunning he cannot quite bury under the finite. Will the whole finance ministers and upholsterers and confectioners of modern Europe undertake in joint-stock company to make one shoeblack happy? They cannot accomplish it above an hour or two; for the shoeblack also has a soul quite other than his stomach, and would require, if you consider it for his permanent satisfaction and saturation, simply this allotment, no more and no less--God's infinite universe altogether to himself, therein to enjoy infinitely and fill every wish as fast as it arose. Try him with half a universe of an omnipotence, he sets to quarrelling with the proprietor of the other half and declares himself the most maltreated of men" (Carlyle). True manhood does not consist in the development of a fine physique, or a brilliant mentality, or in the pursuit of heroic ambitions. It lies in the nobleness of the soul at peace with God, seeking in all things to please Him, and to possess and exhibit the mind of Christ. The pagan hero is the warrior, the ruler, the poet, the philosopher; the Christian hero is the Christ-like man. The supreme type of manhood is Christ-likeness. The ideal is conceived by faith, and the actual is attained only by the exercise of the same grace.

+II. Superior to the childish vacillation induced by deceptive teaching+ (ver. 14).--The false teachers played with truth, as men play with dice, with the reckless indifference of gamblers, and they and their victims were swayed to and fro, with ruin for the ultimate goal. Like a rudderless ship they were tossed about at the caprice of every current, with the inevitable result of wreckage among the rocks and quicksands. Professing a zeal for truth, they deceived themselves and others by ever changing their point of view, and craftily avoiding the practical bearing of truth in the aims to change the heart and reform the life. The moment the application of truth pressing upon the conscience made them uncomfortable, they tacked about and sailed off under another issue. As the restless seaweed, waving to and fro in the ever-changing tide, can never grow to the dignity of a tree, so those who were swayed by every changing phase of error can never grow up to the strength and stability of true Christian manhood. We can sympathise with the doubts and perplexities of an earnest seeker after truth; but our sympathy changes into impatience when we discover that the seeker is more in search of novelty than truth, of variety rather than certainty. To be for ever in doubt is to be in the fickle stage of mental and moral infancy. It is the worst phase of childishness.

+III. It is a continual growth in the truth and love of Christ+ (vers. 15, 16).--It is the high distinction of man that he is susceptible of almost unlimited growth in mental and moral attainments. One of the greatest distances between animalism and man is seen in the unbridged gulf of progress. The animal remains where he was, but man has been progressing in every department of life from the very first. There is between them all the breadth of history. The animal builds its nest as it ever did, the bee by the same marvellous instinct constructs its geometrical cells now as at the first; but man is a genius--he creates. His first rude efforts in shaping his dwellings have gone on progressing and improving until we have the architectural development of to-day. In every kind of art it is the same--rude flint knives, lance heads, needles, were his first weapons and implements; to them succeeded bronze, and then iron--each marking stages in that history of progress up to the beautiful cutlery, stores, and arsenals of the present day. The animal roars or chatters to-day as it has done all along. It has made no progress towards intelligent speech--a Rubicon the animal will never cross. But man, who began with one speech, and a very limited vocabulary of words, has developed speech into the great languages of ancient and modern literature. A wider gulf than this is hardly conceivable. But the moral growth of man is more remarkable. The era of the Gospel is a revelation of the power of love. With the ancients a mere sentiment, Christianity teaches that love is the essence of religion; and that nature is the manliest and noblest that advances in the knowledge of Divine truth and in the self-sacrificing love of Christ. The whole fabric of the Christian character is built up in the ever-increasing exercise of Christ-like love.

+Lessons.+--Christian manhood is--1. Acquired by an intelligent faith in Christ. 2. Developed by an imitation of Christ. 3. Maintained and strengthened by constant fidelity to Christ.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 13-16. The Growth of the Church.

+I. The goal of the Church's life+ (ver. 13).--The mark at which the Church is to arrive is set forth in a two-fold way--in its collective and its individual aspects. We must all unitedly attain the oneness of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God; and we must attain, each of us, a perfect manhood, the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. All our defects are, at the bottom, deficiencies of faith. We fail to apprehend and appropriate the fulness of God in Christ. The goal of the regenerate life is never absolutely won; it is hid with Christ in God. But there is to be a constant approximation to it, both in the individual believer and in the body of Christ's people. And a time is coming when that goal will be practically attained, so far as earthly conditions allow. The Church after long strife will be reunited, after long trial will be perfected. Then this world will have had its use, and will give place to the new heavens and earth.

+II. The malady which arrests its development+ (ver. 14).--The childishness of so many Christian believers exposed them to the seductions of error, and ready to be driven this way and that by the evil influences active in the world of thought around them. So long as the Church contains a number of unstable souls, so long she will remain subject to strife and corruption. At every crisis in human thought there emerges some prevailing method of truth, or of error, the resultant of current tendencies, which unites the suffrages of a large body of thinkers, and claims to embody the spirit of the age. Such a method of error our own age has produced as the outcome of the anti-Christian speculation of modern times, in the doctrines current under the names of Positivism, Secularism, or Agnosticism. Modern Agnosticism removes God farther from us, beyond the reach of thought, and leaves us with material nature as the one positive and accessible reality, as the basis of life and law. Faith and knowledge of the Son of God it banishes as dreams of our childhood. This materialistic philosophy gathers to a head the unbelief of the century. It is the living antagonist of Divine revelation.

+III. The means and conditions of its growth+ (vers. 15, 16).--To the craft of false teachers St. Paul would have his Churches oppose the weapons only of truth and love. Sincere believers, heartily devoted to Christ, will not fall into fatal error. A healthy life instinctively repels disease. Next to the moral condition lies the spiritual condition of advancement--the full recognition of the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. He is the perfect ideal for each, the common source of life and progress for all. He is the Head of the Church and the heart of the world. Another practical condition of Church growth is organization--"all the body fitly framed and knit together." A building or a machine is fitted together by the adjustment of its parts. A body needs, besides this mechanical construction, a pervasive life, a sympathetic force, knitting it together. And so it is in love that this body of the Church builds up itself. The perfect Christian and the perfect Church are taking shape at once. Each of them requires the other for its due realisation. The primary condition of Church health and progress is that there shall be an unobstructed flow of the life of grace from point to point through the tissues and substance of the entire frame.--Findlay.

Vers. 13-15. Christian Manhood.

+I. Christian manhood is a growth.+--1. A growth having its inception in the simple fact of becoming a Christian. This is a decided advance upon the most moral and cultivated state otherwise attainable. It involves the quickening into a new life which is to grow. 2. A growth marking a continual advancement till we all come in the unity--the respect in which one grows--the union, conjunction of faith and of knowledge. 3. A growth resulting from culture under Divinely appointed agencies. The most splendid growth, other things being equal, is the result of the highest culture. The highest culture is possible only through the most rigid conformity to the laws of development and the appliance of the best agencies. 4. A growth the standard of whose completeness is the fulness of Christ. The stature--the adultness, the full-grown manhood of Christ--is the standard of growth, whose attainment is the Christian's noblest zeal.

+II. The elements of Christian manhood.+--1. Largeness--in the Christian's views of truth, of man's need, of Christ's work, of schemes and plans for its greater furtherance.

2. Dignity.--That deep, inwrought sense of the true worth and greatness of his nature, as a renewed man, and of his position as a child of God and joint-heir with Christ. Christian ethics are the best ethics; highest, purest, noblest, safest. He lives by these naturally who has a well-developed Christian manhood.

3. Courageousness and strength.--Courage makes a man put forth his best strength, while strength enables courage to achieve its best deeds.

+III. The outworking of Christian manhood.+--It gives:--

1. Steadfastness.--No more children. No more carried about--borne round and round as in the swiftly whirling eddy of the sea--by every wind of doctrine.

2. Sincerity.--"Speaking the truth in love" refers both to the sincerity of life and our relation to the truth.

3. A further growth.--As the full-grown tree, leaves and blossoms and bears; as fruit, after it is full-grown, mellows, matures, sweetens; ripening as wheat for the garner.--J. M. Frost.

Vers. 14-16. Christian Maturity.

+I. The negative part of this description.+--1. Christians must not remain children.--In humility, meekness, and teachableness, let them be children; but in understanding, constancy, and fortitude they should be men. Children have but little knowledge and a weak judgment. They believe hastily and act implicitly. They are governed by passion more than reason, by feeling more than judgment.

2. The apostle cautions that we be not tossed to and fro like a ship rolling on the waves.--The man without principle, knowledge, and judgment is at the mercy of every rude gust. He is driven in any direction, as the wind happens to blow. He makes no port, but is every moment in danger of shipwreck.

3. We must not be carried about with every wind of doctrine.--False doctrines, like winds, are blustering and unsteady. They blow from no certain point, but in all directions, and frequently shift their course. The light and chaffy Christian, the hypocritical and unprincipled professor, is easily carried about by divers and strange doctrines. He shifts his course and changes his direction, as the wind of popular opinion happens to drive.

4. We are in danger from the cunning craftiness of men.--True ministers use plainness of speech, and by manifestation of the truth commend themselves to the consciences of men. Corrupt teachers use sleight and craft, that they may ensnare the simple, decoy the unsuspecting, and thus make proselytes to their party. They pretend to superior sanctity. They are watchful to take advantage of an unhappy circumstance in a Church. They unsettle men's minds from the established order of the Gospel, and prejudice them against the regular maintenance of the ministry, representing all order in Churches as tyranny and all stated provision for the ministry as oppression. They promise men liberty, but are themselves the servants of corruption.

+II. The positive part.+--1. The mature Christian must speak the truth in love. Be sincere in love. We should acquire a good doctrinal knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. We should be well established in the truth. We should see that our hearts are conformed to the truth. We must walk in the truth.

2. We must grow up in all things into Christ.--A partial religion is not that which the Gospel teaches. We must have respect to the whole character of Christ, to the whole compass of duty, to every known doctrine and precept of Scripture. All the graces of the Gospel unite in forming the Christian's temper. They all operate in harmony. His religion is one continued, uniform, consistent work.

+III. How Christian maturity is attained.+--From the growth of the human body the apostle borrows a similitude to illustrate the spiritual growth of the Christian Church. It is as absurd to expect growth in knowledge and holiness without the means instituted for the edifying of the body of Christ as it would be to expect the growth of a natural body without supplies of food.

+Lessons.+--1. There is no Christian growth where love is wanting. 2. Christians are bound to seek the peace in order to the edification of the Church.--Lathrop.

Ver. 14. The Case of Deceivers and Deceived considered.

+I. Consider the case of deceivers or seducers such as by their sleight and cunning craftiness lie in wait to deceive.+--The particular motives by which men may be led to beguile others are reducible to three--pride, avarice, and voluptuousness: love of honour, or profit, or pleasure. 1. There is often a great deal of pride and vanity in starting old notions and broaching new doctrines. It is pretending to be wiser than the rest of the world, and is thought to be an argument of uncommon sagacity. Upon this footing some are perpetually in quest of new discoveries. Nothing pleases them, if they have not the honour of inventing it or of receiving it in their times. When once a man has thus far given loose to his vanity and thinks himself significant enough to be head of a sect, then he begins first to whisper out his choice discoveries to a few admirers and confidants, who will be sure to flatter him in it; and next to tell aloud to all the world how great a secret he had found out, with the inestimable value of it. And now at length comes in the use of sleight and cunning craftiness and all imaginable artifices; first to find out proper agents to commend and cry up the conceit, next to spread it in the most artful manner among the simple and least suspecting, and after that to form interests and make parties; and so, if possible, to have a public sanction set to it or a majority at least contending for it. Love of fame and glory is a very strong passion, and operates marvellously in persons of a warm complexion. 2. Observe how avarice or love of profit may sometimes do the same thing. There is a gain to be made in some junctures by perverting the truth and deceiving the populace. Men who are not worthy to teach in the Church, or who have been set aside for their insufficiency or immorality, may bring up new doctrines and draw disciples after them, for the sake of protection and maintenance or for filthy lucre. With such the vending of false doctrines is a trade and preaching a merchandise. Thus has avarice been the mother of heresies and has brought many deceivers into the Church of Christ; but they have contrived generally to give some plausible turn and colour to their inventions through their "sleight" and "cunning craftiness," in order to deceive the hearts of the simple and to beguile unwary and unstable souls. 3. One motive more--voluptuousness, or love of pleasure. As religious restraints set not easy upon flesh and blood, but bear hard upon corrupt nature, so men of corrupt minds will be ever labouring to invent and publish smooth and softening doctrines, such as may either qualify the strictness of the Gospel rule or sap the belief of a future reckoning. Many ancient heretics had such views as these in the first broaching of their heresies. Their design was to take off the awe and dread of a future judgment, and thereby to open a door to all licentiousness of life and dissoluteness of manners.

+II. Consider the case of the deceived who suffer themselves to be "tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine."+--They are supposed to be ignorantly, and in a manner blindly, led on by others, otherwise they would be rather confederates and confidants in managing the deceit, and so would be more deceivers than deceived. 1. Now as to those who are so ignorantly imposed upon. They are more or less to blame, according as their ignorance is more or less blamable; and that, again, will be more or less blamable, according as it is more or less affected or wilful. There are, I think, three cases which will take in all sorts of men who suffer themselves to be deceived in things of this kind. The first is of those who have no opportunity, no moral possibility of informing themselves better; the second is of those who might inform themselves better, but do not; the third of those who might also be better informed, but will not. If they be "like children tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine," yet if they are really children in understanding and are overborne by others in such a way as is morally irresistible considering their circumstances, then it seems to be their misfortune to be so imposed upon rather than their fault, and so is not imputable. 2. A second case is of those who may inform themselves better but neglect to do it. I suppose it to be merely neglect in them, not design. Perhaps they have little or no leisure for inquiries; they are taken up with worldly cares and business. They have a very great esteem and value for the man who so misleads them, and they know no better, but swallow everything he says without considering; or they are not aware of any ill consequences of the doctrine, see or suspect no harm in it. They are much to blame in this affair, because God has given them the faculty of reason, which ought not to be thus left to lie dormant and useless. Men who can be sharp enough in secular affairs to prevent being imposed upon may and ought to have some guard upon themselves with respect also to their spiritual concernments. 3. There is yet a third sort of men, worse than the former, who suffer themselves to be deceived and might know better, but will not; that is to say, their ignorance is affected and wilful, they "love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil." These are such as readily run in with "every wind of doctrine" which hits their taste and chimes in with their favourite inclinations. They admit the doctrine because they like it, and they easily believe it true because they would have it so. It is with this kind of men that deceivers prevail most and make their harvest.

+III. Some advices proper to prevent our falling in with either.+--The best preservative in this case is an honest and good heart, well disposed towards truth and godliness, having no by-ends to serve, no favourite lust or passion to indulge. If any man is but willing to know and to do God's commandments, he will easily discern in most cases whether a doctrine be of God or whether it be of men. The evidences of the true religion and of its main doctrines are so bright and strong when carefully attended to, that common sense and reason are sufficient to lead us, when there is no bias to mislead us. For several years last past rude and bold attacks have been made against the important doctrines of Christianity and against all revealed religion, and this is what they are still carrying on with exquisite subtlety and craftiness many ways and with a great deal of fruitless pains and labour. For I may have leave to suppose that no man can in this case be deceived who has not first a desire to be so, and is not the dupe and bubble to his own lust and vices.--Dr. Waterland.

Ver. 15. Speaking the Truth in Love.--1. A different thing from the irritating candour of the professed friend. 2. Implies an experimental knowledge of the truth and its spiritual mission. 3. Is the most effectual way of winning a hearing and gaining adherents. 4. A method conspicuously exemplified in the teaching of Christ.

Growth into Christ in Love and Truth.

+I. The standard of Christian excellence--Christ's headship.+--1. The prominent notion suggested is His rank in the universe. He rules as God in creation. But evidently the apostle does not mean this in the text. We are to grow into Him as Head. Growth into Christ's Godhead is impossible. God-like we may, God we cannot even by truth and love, become. 2. He is the Head as being the Source of spiritual life. This is implied in metaphor. The highest life-powers--sensation, feeling, thought--come from the brain. To one who has read the history of those times, there is an emphatic truth in Christ's being the life of the world. The world was like a raft becalmed in the tropics--some of its freight dead and baking in the sun, some sucking as if for moisture from dried casks, and some sadly, faintly looking for a sail. Christ's coming to the world was as life to the dead, imparting new impulse to human heart and human nature. It was like rain and wind coming to that bark--once more it cuts the sea, guided by a living hand. So also with each man who drinks Christ's Spirit. He becomes a living character. Not sustained on dogmas or taken-up opinions, but alive with Christ. 3. He is Head as chief of the human race. Never had the world seen, never again will it see, such a character. Humanity found in Him a genial soil, and realised God's idea of what man was meant to be. He is chief. Nothing comes near Him.

+II. Progress towards the standard of Christian excellence.+--"We grow up into Him in all things."

1. Growth in likeness to Him.--The human soul was formed for growth, and that growth is infinite. The acorn grows into the oak, the child into the philosopher. And at death the soul is not declining; it is as vigorous as ever. Hence nothing but an infinite standard will measure the growth of the soul of man.

2. Growth in comprehension of Him.--Christ is not comprehensible at first. Words cannot express the awe with which a man contemplates that character when it is understood. This is the true heroic, this the only God-like, this the real Divine. From all types of human excellence I have made my choice for life and death--Christ.

+III. The approved means of growth the mode of progress.+--"Speaking the truth in love." Truth and love--and these joined. To "grow into Christ" we must have both traits of character. Would you be like Christ? Cultivate love of beauty and tenderness. His soul was alive to beauty. He noted the rising and setting sun, the waving corn, the lily of the field. His was love which insult could not ruffle nor ribaldry embitter, and which only grew sweeter and sweeter. Would you be like Christ? Be true! He never swerved. He was a martyr to truth. Would He soften down truth for the young man whom He loved, or make it palatable? No; not for friendship, not for love, not for all the lovely things this world has to show. "One thing thou lackest: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me" (Mark x. 17-22; Luke xviii. 17-23). That was "speaking the truth in love." There is no good to be got out from Christ, except by being made like him. There is no pardon, no blessing, separate from inward improvement. Sanctity of character alone blesses. Each man is his own hell and his own heaven. God Himself cannot bless you unless He gives you His own character.--F. W. Robertson.

Ver. 16. The Law of Mutual Dependence.

I. This text admonishes us of +the manifold instruments and agencies on whose concurrence and harmonious action the prosperity and the perfection of the Christian Church depend.+--It likens the Church to that most complicated, admirable machine, the human body, which only produces its proper results, the preservation and comfort of human life, by the healthful tone and right performance of its various powers and functions. We live, and are at ease, in virtue of the sound condition and regular operation of all the multitude of parts and organs which compose our corporeal frame. Should the heart refuse to circulate the blood, and to diffuse through all the various channels of inter-communication with the members of the body its life-sustaining pulses, death ensues in a moment.

II. +The same law of mutual dependence reigns in improved civilised society.+--In man, social as well as individual, the body politic and social must prosper, or its members suffer. The individual too cannot suffer without inflicting, by so much, an injury on the community. The ruler and the subject, the capitalist and the operative, the merchant, the farmer, the scholar and the artisan, the manufacturer and the sailor, perform functions alike indispensable to the great result aimed at or desired by all communities. They are mutually dependent, are indissolubly united in interest by ties not always visible, but yet real and essential to the well-being of all parties.

III. I hasten to +apply my subject to the Church,+ where the text finds illustration yet more pertinent and affecting. The Church is a community, organised, with special ends to be accomplished, and endowed with special capabilities and adaptations, yet having many points of resemblance to human society in general. All the members and all the officers of the Church are appointed and honoured of God to be co-workers with Himself, co-agents with the Holy Ghost, in the edification of the body of Christ. The pastor, not less in the study, when he gathers things new and old from holy books and common, than in the pulpit or in breaking the bread of the sacrament at the altar, or in the sick-chamber--all the subordinate lay ministries devoted to godly counsel, to faithful admonition, or to the management and conversation of the material interests of the Church--the pious mother nurturing up her children in God's love--the sufferer on a bed of languishing, giving forth blessed examples of patience and resignation and faith--the teacher of the Sabbath school--they who, in the Spirit, lift up our joyous songs of praise in the sanctuary--all who pray in the closet or in the congregation, are, and should be deemed, essential parts of that good, great system through whose wondrous, harmonious working God is pleased to renew and sanctify souls and train them up to be heirs of glory. Who, in this great co-partnership for honouring Christ, has any ground of complaint?--the foot, that it is not the head? the eye, that it is too feeble to do the functions of the brawny arm? the ears, that they cannot do the office of locomotion? Every part is indispensable. None can say which is most important in God's plan; and achievements, ascribed hastily to the eloquence of the preacher, often stand credited in the record kept above to the prayer of faith.--Dr. Olin.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 17-24.

A Thorough Moral Transformation--

+I. Contrasted with a former life of sin.+--1. A state of self-induced mental darkness. "Having the understanding darkened, . . . because of the blindness of their heart" (ver. 18). Infidelity is more a moral than a mental obliquity. The mind is darkened because the heart is bad. Men do not see the truth because they do not want to see it. The light that would lead to righteousness and to God is persistently shut out.

2. A state of moral insensibility that abandoned the soul to the reckless commission of all kinds of sin.--"Who being past feeling have given themselves over . . . to work all uncleanness with greediness" (ver. 19). Sin is made difficult to the beginner. The barriers set up by a tender conscience, the warnings of nature, the teachings of providence, the light of revelation, the living examples of the good, have all to be broken down. Early transgressions are arrested by the remorse they occasion; but gradually the safeguards are neglected and despised, until the habit is acquired of sinning for the love of sin. A spirit of recklessness ensues, the reins are relaxed and then thrown upon the neck of the passions, and the soul is abandoned to the indulgence of all kinds of iniquity.

"We are not worst at once. The course of evil Is of such slight source an infant's hand Might close its breach with clay; But let the stream get deeper, and we strive in vain To stem the headlong torrent."

3. A state that rendered all mental activities worthless.--"Walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind" (ver. 17). The art of right thinking was lost. For the man that will not think, think clearly and justly, the calamities and the raptures of life, the blessing and the curse, have no meaning. They evoke neither gratitude nor fear. The beauties of nature, as they sparkle in the stars, or shine in the flowers, or gleam in the coloured radiance of the firmament, are unheeded. The voice of God that speaks in the events of daily life has no lesson for him. The senses, which are intended as the avenues of light and teaching to the soul, are dulled by inaction, clogged by supine indifference, and polluted and damaged by inveterate sin. When the reason is poisoned at its source, all its deductions are aimless and worthless.

+II. Effected by the personal knowledge of the truth in Christ.+--"But ye have not so learned Christ, . . . as the truth is in Jesus" (vers. 20, 21). The Gospel has introduced to the world the principles of a great moral change. It announces Christ as the light of the world--a light that shines through all the realms of human life. The diseased reason is restored to health, the intellectual faculties have now a theme worthy of their noblest exercise, and are made stronger and more reliable by being employed on such a theme, and the moral nature is lifted into a purer region of thought and experience. The world is to be transformed by the moral transformation of the individual, and that transformation is effected only by the truth and a personal faith in Christ.

+III. Involves the renunciation of the corrupting elements of the former life.+--"That ye put off . . . the old man, which is corrupt" (ver. 22). The inward change is evidenced by the outward life. The old man dies, being conquered by the new. Corruption and decay marked every feature of the old Gentile life. It was gangrened with vice. It was a life of fleshly pleasure, and could end in only one way--in disappointment and misery. The new moral order inaugurated by the Gospel of Christ effected a revolution in human affairs, and the corrupting elements of the old order must be weeded out and put away. An excellent man in London kept an institution near the Seven Dials at his own expense. He spent his nights in bringing the homeless boys from the streets into it. When they came in he photographed them, and then they were washed, clothed, and educated. When he sent one out, having taught him a trade, he photographed him again. The change was marvellous, and was a constant reminder of what had been done for him. The change effected in us by the grace of God not only contrasts with our former life, but should teach us to hate and put away its corrupting sins.

+IV. Evidenced in investing the soul with the new life Divinely created and constantly receiving progressive renewal by the Spirit+ (vers. 23, 24).--It is a continual rejuvenation the apostle describes; the verb is present in tense, and the newness implied is that of recency and youth, newness in point of age. But the new man to be put on is of a new kind and order. It is put on when the Christian way of life is adopted, when we enter personally into the new humanity founded in Christ. Thus two distinct conceptions of the life of faith are placed before our minds. It consists, on the one hand, of a quickening constantly renewed in the springs of our individual thought and will; and it is at the same time the assumption of another nature, the investiture of the soul with the Divine character and form of its being. The inward reception of Christ's Spirit is attended by the outward assumption of His character as our calling amongst men. The man of the coming times will not be atheistic or agnostic; he will be devout; not practising the world's ethics with the Christian's creed; he will be upright and generous, manly and God-like (Findlay).

+Lessons.+--1. Religion is a complete renewal of the soul. 2. The soul is renewed by the instrumentality of the truth. 3. The renewal of the soul is the renewal of the outward life.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 17-19. The Gentile Life--a Warning.

+I. The Gentiles walked in the vanity of their minds.+--The false deities the Gentiles worshipped are called vanities. The prevalence of idolatry is a melancholy proof of the depravity of human nature. Atheism and idolatry proceed not from the want of sufficient evidence that there is one eternal, all-perfect Being, but from that corruption of heart which blinds the understanding and perverts the judgment.

+II. The heathens were darkened in their understanding.+--Not in respect of natural things, for in useful arts and liberal sciences many of them greatly excelled; but in respect of moral truth and obligation. Their darkness was owing, not solely to the want of revelation, but to the want of an honest and good heart. Religion consists not merely in a knowledge of and assent to Divine truths, but in such conformity of heart to their nature and design, and in such a view of their reality and importance as will bring the whole man under their government.

+III. They were alienated from the life of God.+--They walked according to the course of the world, not according to the will of God. Their alienation was through ignorance. Particular wrong actions may be excused on the ground of unavoidable ignorance. This ignorance had its foundation in the obstinacy and perverseness of the mind. Such a kind of ignorance, being in itself criminal, will not excuse the sins which follow from it.

+IV. They were become past feeling.+--This is elsewhere expressed by a conscience seared with a hot iron. By a course of iniquity the sinner acquires strong habits of vice. As vicious habits gain strength, fear, shame, and remorse abate. Repeated violations of conscience blunt its sensibility and break its power.

+V. They gave themselves over to lasciviousness.+--If we break over the restraints the Gospel lays upon is, and mock the terrors it holds up to our view, we not only discover a great vitiosity of mind, but run to greater lengths in the practice of iniquity. As water, when it has broken through its mounds, rushes on with more impetuous force than the natural stream, so the corruptions of the human heart, when they have borne down the restraints of religion, press forward with more violent rapidity, and make more awful devastation in the soul than where these restraints had never been known.

+Reflections.+--1. How extremely dangerous it is to continue in sin under the Gospel. 2. You have need to guard against the beginnings of sin. 3. Christians must be watchful lest they be led away by the influence of corrupt example. 4. Religion lies much in the temper of the mind.--Lathrop.

Vers. 17, 18. The Life of God.

+I. There is but one righteousness, the life of God; there is but one sin, and that is being alienated from the life of God.+--One man may commit different sorts of sins from another--one may lie, another may steal; one may be proud, another may be covetous; but all these different sins come from the same root of sin, they are all flowers off the same plant. And St. Paul tells us what that one root of sin, what that same devil's plant, is, which produces all sin in Christian brethren. It is that we are every one of us worse than we ought to be, worse than we know how to be, and, strangest of all, worse that we wish or like to be. Just as far as we are like the heathen of old, we shall be worse than we know how to be. For we are all ready enough to turn heathens again, at any moment. They were alienated from the life of God--that is, they became strangers to God's life; they forgot what God's life and character was like; or if they even did awake a moment, and recollect dimly what God was like, they hated that thought. They hated to think that God was what He was, and shut their eyes and stopped their ears as fast as possible. And what happened to them in the meantime? What was the fruit of their wilfully forgetting what God's life was? St. Paul tells us that they fell into the most horrible sins--sins too dreadful and shameful to be spoken of; and that their common life, even when they did not run into such fearful evils, was profligate, fierce, and miserable. And yet St. Paul tells us all the while they knew the judgment of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death.

+II. These men saw that man ought to be like God; they saw that God was righteous and good; and they saw, therefore, that unrighteousness and sin must end in ruin and everlasting misery.+--So much God had taught them, but not much more; but to St. Paul He had taught more. Those wise and righteous heathen could show their sinful neighbours that sin was death, and that God was righteous; but they could not tell them how to rise out of the death of sin into God's life of righteousness. They could preach the terrors of the law, but they did not know the good news of the Gospel, and therefore they did not succeed; they did not convert their neighbours to God. Then came St. Paul and preached to the very same people, and he did convert them to God; for he had good news for them, of things which prophets and kings had desired to see, and had not seen themselves, and to hear, and had not heard them. And so God, and the life of God, was manifested in the flesh and reasonable soul of a man; and from that time there is no doubt what the life of God is, for the life of God is the life of Christ. There is no doubt now what God is like, for God is like Jesus Christ.

+III. Now what is the everlasting life of God, which the Lord Jesus Christ lived perfectly,+ and which He can and will make every one of us live, in proportion as we give up our hearts and wills to Him, and ask Him to take charge of us and shape us and teach us? And God is perfect love, because He is perfect righteousness; for His love and His justice are not two different things, two different parts of God, as some say, who fancy that God's justice had to be satisfied in one way and His love in another, and talk of God as if His justice fought against His love, and desired the death of a sinner, and then His love fought against His justice, and desired to save a sinner. The old heathen did not like such a life, therefore they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. They knew that man ought to be like God; and St. Paul says they ought to have known what God was like--that He was love; for St. Paul told them He left not Himself without witness, in that He sent rain and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and gladness. That was, in St. Paul's eyes, God's plainest witness of Himself--the sign that God was love, making His sun shine on the just and on the unjust, and good to the unthankful and the evil--in one word, perfect, because He is perfect love. But they preferred to be selfish, covetous, envious, revengeful, delighting to indulge themselves in filthy pleasures, to oppress and defraud each other.

+IV. God is love.+--As I told you just now, the heathen of old might have known that, if they chose to open their eyes and see. But they would not see. They were dark, cruel, and unloving, and therefore they fancied that God was dark, cruel, and unloving also. They did not love love, and therefore they did not love God, for God is love. And therefore they did not love each other, but lived in hatred and suspicion and selfishness and darkness. They were but heathen. But if even they ought to have known that God was love, how much more we? For we know of a deed of God's love, such as those poor heathen never dreamed of. And then, if we have God abiding with us, and filling us with His eternal life, what more do we need for life, or death, or eternity, or eternities of eternities? For we shall live in and with and by God, who can never die or change, an everlasting life of love.--C. Kingsley.

Ver. 19. Past Feeling.--1. Though original sin has seized upon the whole soul, yet the Lord has kept so much knowledge of Himself and of right and wrong in the understanding of men as they may know when they sin, and so much of conscience as to accuse or excuse according to the nature of the fact, whereupon follows grief or joy in their affections. Wicked men may arrive at such a height of sin as to have no sense of sin, no grief, nor check, nor challenge from conscience from it. 2. A watchful conscience doing its duty is the strongest restraint from sin; and where that is not, all other restraints will serve for little purpose. For a man to be given over to lasciviousness without check or challenge argues a great height of impiety. 3. As upon senseless stupidity of conscience there follows an unsatiableness in sinning especially in the sin of uncleanness, so when a man comes to this, he is then arrived at the greatest height of sin unto which the heathens, destitute of the knowledge of God, ever attained.--Fergusson.

Vers. 20-24. Putting off the Old Nature and putting on the New.

+I. The change here spoken of is radically seated in the mind.+--These terms do not import the creation of new powers and faculties, but the introduction of new tempers and qualities. The renovation enlightens the eyes of the understanding, and gives new apprehensions of Divine things. It purifies the affections and directs them to their proper objects. There are new purposes and resolutions.

+II. He who is renewed puts off the old man.+--The new spirit is opposite to sin and strives against it. The Christian mortifies the affections and lusts of the flesh because he has found them deceitful. He in deliberate and hearty purpose renounces all sin. He abstains from the appearance of evil.

+III. He puts on the new man.+--As the former signifies a corrupt temper and conversation, so the latter must intend a holy and virtuous disposition and character. The new man is renewed in righteousness and true holiness. He not only ceases to do evil, but learns to do well.

+IV. The pattern according to which the new man is formed is the image of God.+--The likeness must be understood with limitations. The image of God in us bears no resemblance to the perfections in the Divine nature, such as immensity, immutability, and independence. There are some essential properties of the new man to which there is nothing analogous in the Deity. Reverence, obedience, trust, and resignation are excellencies in rational creatures; but cannot be ascribed to the Creator. In those moral perfections in which the new man is made like God there is only a faint resemblance, not an equality. The new man resembles God in mercy and goodness, in holiness, in truth.

+V. This great change is effected by the Gospel.+--It was the consequence of their having learned Christ. The first production and improvement of this change is the work of Divine grace, and the Spirit of God works on the soul by means of the Word. To this change the use of means and the grace of God are both necessary.

+VI. The change is great.+--Let none imagine he is a subject of this change merely because he entertains some new sentiments, feels transient emotions, or has renounced some of his former guilty practices. The real nature and essence of conversion is the same in all.--Lathrop.

Religious Affections are attended with a Change of Nature.

+I. What is conversion?+--1. A change of nature. 2. A permanent change. 3. A universal change. 4. A union of God's spirit with the faculties of the soul. 5. Christ by His grace savingly lives in the soul.

+II. Its connection with sanctification.+--1. All the affections and discoveries subsequent to the first conversion are transforming. 2. This transformation of nature is continuous until the end of life, when it is brought to perfection in glory.

+III. Reflections.+--1. Allowance must be made for the natural temper. 2. Affections which have no abiding effect are not spiritual and gracious. 3. In some way it will be evident, even to others, that the true disciple has been with Jesus.--Lewis O. Thompson.

Ver. 23. The Christian Spirit, a New Spirit.

+I. There are some changes in men which come not up to the renewed spirit, and yet are too often rested in.+--1. The assuming of a new name and profession is a very different thing from a saving change in the temper of the mind. We may be of any profession, and yet be unrenewed. People value themselves upon wearing the Christian name, instead of that of Pagan, or Jew, or Mahometan; or upon being styled Papists or Protestants; or upon their attaching themselves to one or another noted party, into which these are subdivided, and upon such a new appellation they are too ready to imagine that they are new men: whereas we may go the round of all professions, and still have the old nature remaining in full force. 2. A bare restraint upon the corrupt spirit and temper will not come up to this renovation, though the one may sometimes be mistaken for the other. The light of nature may possess conscience against many evils, or a sober education lay such a bridle upon the corrupt inclination as will keep it in for a season, the fear of punishment or of shame and reproach may suppress the outward criminal act, while the heart is full of ravening and wickedness. Therefore, though it is a plain sign of an unrenewed mind if a man live in any course of gross sin, yet it is not safe to conclude merely from restraints that a man is truly renewed. 3. A partial change in the temper itself will not amount to such a renovation as makes a true Christian. Indeed, in one sense the change is but partial in any in this life; there will be remains of disorder in all the powers of the soul, so as to exclude a pretence to absolute perfection. It is not enough to have the mind filled with sound knowledge and useful notions, nor barely to give a dead assent to the doctrines of the Gospel, unless we believe with the heart, and the will and affections be brought under the power of those truths; and even here there may be some alteration, and yet a man not be renewed. Nor is it sufficient that we should find ourselves disposed to some parts of goodness, while our hearts are utterly averse to others which are equally plain. And therefore, though we should be of a courteous, peaceable, and kind temper towards men; though we should be inclined to practise justice, liberality, truth, and honesty in our transactions with them, and to temperance and chastity in our personal conduct; though these are excellent branches of the Christian spirit; yet if there be not a right temper towards God also, if the fear and love of God are not the ruling principles of the soul, there is an essential defect in the Christian spirit.

+II. A particular view of this renovation in some principal acts of the mind.+--1. The mind comes to have different apprehensions of things, such as it had not before. The new creation begins with light, as the old is represented to do. Light bearing in, and the mind being fixed in attention, man discerns the great corruption of his heart, and the badness of the principles and ends which governed him in the appearances of goodness, upon which he valued himself before. And so the excellency and suitableness of Christ, in all His offices, and the necessity of real, inward holiness, appear in quite another manner to his soul than hitherto. 2. The practical judgment is altered. This light, shining with clearness and strength into the mind, unsettles and changes the whole practical judgment by which a man suffered himself to be governed before in the matters of his soul. He judges those truths of religion to be real which once had no more force with him than doubtful conclusions, and accordingly he cannot satisfy himself any longer barely not to disbelieve them, but gives a firm and lively assent to them. 3. A new turn is given to the reasoning faculty, and a new use made of it. When the Word of God is mighty it casts down imaginations; so we render the original word (2 Cor. x. 5). It properly signifies "reasonings." Not that the faculty itself is altered, or that when men begin to be religious they lay aside reasoning; then in truth they act with the highest reason; they reason most justly and most worthy of their natures. But now the wrong bias, which was upon the reasoning faculty from old prejudices and headstrong inclinations, is in a good measure taken off; so that instead of its being pressed at all adventures into the service of sin, it is employed a better way, and concludes with more truth and impartiality. 4. There is an alteration in man's governing aim, or chief end. This is like the centre, to which all inferior aims and particular pursuits tend. The original end of a reasonable creature must be to enjoy the favour of God as his supreme happiness, to be acceptable and pleasing to Him. By the disposition of depraved nature we are gone off from this centre, and have changed our bias, from God to created good, to the pleasing of the flesh, to the gratification of our own humour, or to the obtaining of some present satisfaction, according to the prevailing dictate of fancy or appetite. This makes the greatest turn that can be in the spirit of the mind; all must be out of course till this be set right. Now it is the most essential part of the new nature to bring a sinner in this respect to himself, that is, to bring him back to God. All the light he receives, all the rectification of his judgment, is in order to this; and when this is well settled, everything else, which was out of course before, will return to its right channel. 5. There is hereupon a new determination to such a course of acting as will most effectually secure this end. As long as this world is the chief good which a man has in view, he contrives the best ways he can think of to promote his particular ends in it. But when the favour of God comes to have the principal share in his esteem, he carefully examines and heartily consents to the prescribed terms of making that sure. Now he is desirous to be found in Christ upon any terms. 6. The exercise of the affections becomes very different. A change will appear in this respect, through the different turns of his condition as well as in the prevailing tenor of his practice. While a man is a stranger to God and blind to the interests of his soul, he is little concerned how matters lie between God and him. But a sinner come to himself is most tenderly concerned at anything that renders his interests in God doubtful or brings his covenant-relation into question; and nothing sets the springs of godly sorrow flowing so much as the consciousness of guilt, or of any unworthy behaviour to God.

+Lessons.+--1. Let us seriously examine our own minds, whether we can discern such an alteration made in our spirit. 2. If we must answer in the negative, or have just ground to fear it, yet let us not despair of a change still, but apply ourselves speedily in the appointed way to seek after it. 3. Let the best retain a sense of the imperfection of the new nature in them, and of their obligation still to cultivate it, till it arrive at perfection.--Dr. Evans.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 25-32.

Christian Principles applied to Common Life.

Let us put these principles into the form of concrete precepts.

+I. Be truthful.+--"Putting away lying, speak every man truth, . . . for we are members one of another" (ver. 25). Society is so clearly welded together and interdependent that the evil effects of a falsehood not only damage others but rebound ultimately towards the man who uttered it. A lie is a breach of promise; for whosoever seriously addresses his discourse to another tacitly promises to speak the truth, because he knows the truth is expected. Truth never was indebted to a lie. "In the records of all human affairs," writes Froude, "it cannot be too often insisted on that two kinds of truths run for ever side by side, or rather crossing in and out with each other form the warp and woof of the coloured web we call history: the one the literal and eternal truths corresponding to the eternal and as yet undiscovered laws of fact; the other the truths of feeling and thought, which embody themselves either in distorted pictures of outward things or in some entirely new creation--sometimes moulding and shaping history; sometimes taking the form of heroic biography, tradition, or popular legend."

+II. Avoid sinful anger.+--"Be ye angry, and sin not: . . . neither give place to the devil" (vers. 26, 27). Anger is not forbidden. A nature ardent for truth and justice burns with indignation against cruelty and wrong. But it is a dangerous passion even for the best of men, and is apt to exceed the limits of prudence and affection. To nurse our wrath and brood over our imagined wrongs is to give place to the devil, who is ever near to blow up the dying embers of our anger. Plutarch tells us it was an ancient rule of the Pythagoreans that, if at any time they happened to be provoked by anger to abusive language, before the sun set they would take each other's hands, and embracing make up their quarrel. The Christian must not be behind the pagan in placability and forgiveness.

+III. Be honest.+--"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour" (ver. 28). Laziness is a fruitful source of dishonesty, and is itself dishonest. There are sensitive natures to whom it is very difficult to be dishonest. In Abraham Lincoln's youthful days he was a storekeeper's clerk. Once, after he had sold a woman a little bill of goods and received the money, he found on looking over the account again that she had given him six and a quarter cents too much. The money burned in his hands until he had locked the shop and started on a walk of several miles in the night to make restitution before he slept. On another occasion, after weighing and delivering a pound of tea, he found a small weight upon the scales. He immediately weighed out the quantity of tea which he had innocently defrauded the customer, and went in search for her, his sensitive conscience not permitting any delay. The thief is not reformed and made an industrious worker by simply showing him the advantages of honesty. The apostle appeals to a higher motive--sympathy for the needy--"That he may have to give to him that needeth." Let the spirit of love and brotherhood be aroused, and the indolent become diligent, the pilferer honest.

+IV. Be circumspect in speech.+--"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth" (ver. 29). The possession of a human tongue is an immense responsibility. Infinite good or mischief lies in its power. The apostle does not simply forbid injurious words; he puts an embargo on all that is not positively useful. Not that he requires all Christian speech to be grave and serious. It is the mere talk, whether frivolous or pompous--spoken from the pulpit or the easy-chair--the incontinence of tongue, the flux of senseless, graceless, unprofitable utterance, that he desires to arrest (Findlay).

+V. Grieve not the Holy Spirit+ (ver. 30).--Perhaps in nothing do we grieve the Spirit more than by foolish and unprofitable speech, or by listening willingly and without protest to idle gossip and uncharitable backbiting. His sealing of our hearts becomes fainter, and our spiritual life declines, as we become indiscreet and vain in speech.

+VI. Guard against a malicious disposition.+--"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away, with all malice" (ver. 31). Malice is badness of disposition, the aptness to envy and hatred, which apart from any special occasion is always ready to break out in bitterness and wrath. Bitterness is malice sharpened to a point and directed against the exasperating object. Wrath and anger are synonymous, the former being the passionate outburst of resentment in rage, the latter the settled indignation of the aggrieved soul. Clamour and railing give audible expression to these and their kindred tempers. Clamour is a loud self-assertion of the angry man who will make every one hear his grievance; while the railer carries the war of the tongue into his enemy's camp and vents his displeasure in abuse and insult. Never to return evil for evil and railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing--this is one of the lessons most difficult to flesh and blood (Findlay).

+VII. Cherish a forgiving spirit.+--"Be ye kind, . . . forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you" (ver. 32). It is man-like to resent an injury; it is Christ-like to forgive it. It is a triumph of Divine grace when the man who has suffered the injury is the most eager to effect a reconciliation. Dean Hook relates he was once asked to see a gentleman who had ill-treated him. Found him very thin and ill. Told me that he was conscious that his feelings and conduct had not been towards me what they ought to have been for years. I told him that whenever there was a quarrel there were sure to be faults on both sides, and that there must be no question as to the more or less, but the forgiveness must be mutual. I kissed his hand, and we wept and prayed together. O God, have mercy on him and me for Jesu's sake! I have had a taste of heaven where part of our joy will surely consist in our reconciliations.

+Lessons.+--1. Religion governs the whole man. 2. True religion is intensely practical. 3. Religion gives a nameless charm to the commonest duties.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Ver. 25. Truth between Man and Man.

+I. The duty of veracity here recommended.+--1. Truth is to be observed in common conversation. People have more special need, in some respects, to be admonished of their obligations inviolably to maintain truth here; for many are more ready to allow themselves to transgress in what they account trivial instances than upon solemn occasions; and yet by such beginnings way is made for the disregard of truth, in the most considerable matters, in process of time. 2. Truth should be maintained in bearing testimony. A conscientious regard to truth will engage us to be very careful that we spread nothing to the lessening or reproach of our neighbour of which we have not good assurance; that we publish not a defamation upon hearsay, nor take up, without sufficient grounds, "a report against our neighbour." If we are called to give public testimony between man and man, a sincere respect to truth will engage us to a careful recollection, before we give our testimony, as to what we can say upon the matter. It will dispose to lay aside affection on one hand and prejudice on the other, and impartially to relate the true state of things as far as we can bear witness to them, nakedly to represent facts as they have come within our notice. 3. Truth must be exercised in our promises and engagements, and veracity requires two things in relation to them: (1) That we really intend to perform them when they are made; (2) That we are careful of performance after they are made.

+II. The reason the apostle gives for the inviolable maintenance of truth: because we are members one of another.+--1. This argument is applicable to mankind in general. We are members one of another, as we partake of the same human nature, and in that respect are upon a level. We are members of society in common, entitled to the same rights, claims, and expectations one from another as men, and are mutually helpful and subservient as the members of the body are to each other; and the principal link that holds us together is mutual confidence, founded upon the hope of common fidelity. Now, lying makes void and useless the great instrument of society, the faculty of speech or writing. The power of speech was given us by our Creator, and the art of writing, since found out, on purpose that we might be able so to convey our sense to others, that they may discern it, where we pretend to express it, just as if they were so far privy to what passed in our minds. And unless truth be inviolably observed in everything, the bonds of human society cannot fail to be weakened. 2. This argument may be particularly applicable to Christians. We are members one of another in a more distinguishing sense, as we belong to the body of Christ. And this lays additional engagements upon all the visible members of that body to put away lying and to speak the truth one to the other,--in conformity to the common Father, to whom we belong, who is eminently styled "a God of truth"; in conformity to our head the Lord Jesus, there should be a strict observation of truth among Christians; in conformity to the Spirit that animates us, who is eminently described by this attribute, "the Spirit of truth."

+Inferences.+--1. This is one remarkable evidence how much Christianity is calculated for the benefit of mankind and the good of society at present, as well as for our everlasting welfare, in that it so strictly enjoins and enforces the exacted regard of truth. 2. We see thence upon how good reason the Christian religion strictly forbids common swearing. 3. All that name the name of Christ are concerned to see that they comply with the exhortation. 4. Christians should do all they can to promote truth among others, both for the honour of God, and the spiritual and eternal good of their neighbours, and the general interest of society.--Jeremiah Seed.

The Sin of Falsehood.

+I. There are cases in which one may speak that which is not true and yet not be chargeable with lying, for he may have no intention to deceive.+

+II. The grossest kind of lying, or speaking a known falsehood under the awful solemnity of an oath.+--Men violate truth when they affix to words an arbitrary meaning or make in their own minds certain secret reservations with a design to disguise facts and deceive the hearers. When we express doubtful matters in terms and with an air of assurance, we may materially injure as well as grossly deceive our neighbour. Men are guilty of malicious falsehood when they repeat with romantic additions and fictitious embellishments the stories they have heard of a neighbour that they may excite against him severer ridicule or cast on his character a darker stain. Men may utter a falsehood by the tone of their voice, while their words are literally true.

+III. We are bound to speak truth in our common and familiar conversation.+--We must speak truth in our commerce with one another. In giving public testimony we must be careful to say nothing but truth, and conceal no part of the truth. We must adhere to truth when we speak of men's actions or characters. We must observe truth in our promises.

+IV. A regard to truth is a necessary part of the Christian character.+--Deceitfulness is contrary, not only to the express commands of the Gospel, but to the dictates of natural conscience.

+V. The argument the apostle urges for the maintenance of truth.+--"We are members one of another." As men we are members one of another. As Christians we are children of the same God, the God of truth; we are disciples of the same Lord, the faithful and true Witness. If we walk in guile and deceit, if we practise vile arts of dishonesty, we contradict our human and our Christian character. We see the danger of profane language, as it leads to the grossest kind of falsehood, even to perjury in public testimony. We see how dangerous it is to practise those diversions which are attended with temptations to fraud.--Lathrop.

College Life. "For we are members one of another."

+I. It is for us who govern and teach to remember how great is our responsibility in those respects.+--We are not merely instructors but educators of youth. The question of what books we use or what vehicles of teaching we employ sinks into insignificance compared with the question what end it is we design in our teaching. Are we prepared to abdicate our higher functions of educators and to sink down to the lower one of teachers? Must we not, if we are are true to our calling, strive to instil into you that manliness which springs from the fear of God, that truthfulness which is seen in the frank look and unshrinking eye, that obedience which is rendered in no spirit of servility as unto the Lord and not as unto men, that self-mastery which is the foundation of all wisdom and all power? If the soul is of more value than the body, if the life to come is of more importance than the life that now is, if the knowledge of God and His Christ is infinitely more precious than all the knowledge of this world and all the distinction to which it leads--then there can be no question that education is infinitely before instruction, that principles are higher than knowledge, that knowledge is only of value in proportion as it is pervaded and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ. But precept without example is powerless. A man whose life is pure and high may not open his lips, yet his very silence shall be eloquent for God. Day by day a virtue is going out of him; day by day he is giving strength to one who is wrestling with doubt or temptation; day by day he is a beacon to those who are tossed on the waves of irresolution and uncertainty. The teacher, if he is to produce a powerful moral effect, if he is to mould character, if he is to leave an impress upon the minds and hearts of those whom he teaches, must be what he teaches, must live what he inculcates.

+II. And now I would place before you your duties.+--1. Keep distinctly before you the end and aim of your coming here--the ministry of Christ's Church. 2. You are members of a community. You are all united to one another. You have all common pursuits, common ends, common interests. You may all help greatly to make or to mar the lives and characters of those with whom you are in such constant and daily intercourse. Let this consideration have its full weight with you. Be but true to yourselves, and to the God who has called you to the knowledge of Himself and His Son Jesus Christ, and by you this college shall grow and prosper. If principles and aims such as those I have endeavoured to indicate prevail in a college, there will be a real and substantial harmony between those who govern and those who are governed. Let us strive one and all, teachers and taught, to make this our college a college of which none can be ashamed.--J. J. Stewart Perowne (preached on the forty-sixth anniversary of St. David's College, Lampeter).

Vers. 26, 27. Sinful Anger.

+I. These words are not an injunction to be angry, but a caution not to sin when we are angry.+--As there is in our nature a principle of resentment against injury, so there is in us a virtuous temper, a holy displeasure against moral evil.

+II. Anger is sinful when it rises without cause.+--Rash anger is sinful. Anger is sinful when it breaks out into indecent, reviling, and reproachful language; when it promotes to designs or acts of revenge; when it settles into malice.

+III. Neither give place to the devil.+--See that you subdue your lusts and rule your spirits. Arm yourselves with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Take time to consider whether any motive suggested in favour of sin is so powerful as the arguments the Scriptures offer against it. Our greatest danger is from ourselves.--Lathrop.

Ver. 26. Anger and Meekness.

+I. In what cases our anger may be innocently indulged.+--1. On the approach of any injurious aggressor threatening our destruction, or using any act of violence that may endanger our safety. 2. How far soever the harsh gratings of anger may seem to be removed from the soft motions of benevolence, yet these sometimes, as oil does to steel, give an edge to our resentment; where it will be found not only innocent and excusable, but even commendable and generous. As in the natural system of the world there are some repelling qualities, which yet must conspire to aid the grand power of attraction; so even those passions which, considered in a simple view, have but an unfriendly and unsociable aspect, are yet, in their general comprehension, aiding and assisting to preserve inviolable the bonds of the great community. 3. Our anger is apt to kindle at the apprehension of a slight or an affront, a contempt or reproach thrown upon us; on which occasions, if the apprehension be well grounded, our resentment, to a certain degree, must be allowed to be excusable, and so not sinful. Our tameness in these instances would be construed into stupidity, and be treated as such by the pert and petulant. 4. We may not only be angry without sinning in the instances alleged, as we sometimes may sin in not being angry. God, who designed human society, designed the good of it; and that good to be promoted by every individual to the utmost of his power. Hereby there is tacitly committed to every man a kind of trust and guardianship of virtue whose rights he is obliged to support and maintain in proportion to his abilities; not only by example, by advice and exhortation, but even by reproof and resentment, suitable to the circumstances of the offender and the offence.

+II. When our anger becomes intemperate and unlawful.+--1. When it breaks out into outrageous actions; for then, like a boisterous wind, it quite puts out that light which should guide our feet in the way of peace; it dethrones our reason, and suspends its exercise. An extravagance of this kind is the more dangerous, and therefore the more sinful, because, though the impulse of passion should meet with no opposition to inflame it--which, however, is generally the case--yet, when it has worked the blood into so violent a ferment, it is apt of itself to redouble its force. And no one can tell what fury, wound up to the highest pitch, may produce. 2. Anger becomes unlawful when it vents itself in unseemly and reviling language. It were to be wished that those who have such a peculiar delicacy of feeling when they are affronted would abstain from all appearance of an affrontive and disrespectful behaviour to others; that they who are so quick to receive would be as slow to give an affront. On the contrary it often happens that they only feel for themselves; they are not the least sensible of the indignities offered to others. How frequently do those who are highly enraged pass a general and undistinguishing censure upon a man's character? 3. We are not always to judge of the sinfulness of anger from the open and undignified appearance of it, either in our words or actions; it may be concealed and treasured up in our thoughts, and yet retain as much malignity as when it immediately breaks out and discovers itself in contumelious language or acts of violence. For by brooding in the mind it becomes the parent of a very untoward issue, malice, and hatred. Malice is a cool and deliberate resentment; but sometimes more keen and malevolent than that which is rash and precipitate. It is like a massive stone, slowly raised, but threatening the greater danger to him on whom it shall fall. Anger is yet sinful when encouraged in our thoughts to the degree of hatred.

+III. Consider its opposite virtue, meekness.+--Meekness, is, as Aristotle long ago defined it, a due mean between tameness and stupidity on the one hand, and rage and fury on the other. It is not absolute freedom from passion, but such a command over it as to prevent our being transported beyond the bounds of humanity and good sense. It is this virtue which, if it does not give a man such a glaring and shining figure as some other good qualities, yet constitutes the most lovely, beautiful, and agreeable character, and gains unenvied praise. 1. A meek man will have sense enough to know when he is injured, and spirit enough to resent it; but then he will consider whether he can do more good by openly resenting the offence and punishing the offender than by overlooking it and passing it by. 2. A man of meek temper will distinguish between a man's general standing sentiments when he is perfectly calm and undisturbed and his occasional sentiments when his spirits are ruffled and overheated. 3. A meek man will never be angry with a person for telling him what he imagines to be a fault in him, provided it be done in a private manner, and the advice be conveyed in the most palatable vehicle. 4. A man of a meek spirit is glad to be reconciled to the person who has offended or injured him, and therefore is ready to hearken to all overtures of accommodation. A meek man will show such an inclination and readiness to forgive the offences of others as if he had perpetual need of the same indulgence, but will so carefully avoid giving the least offence as if it might be thought he would forgive nobody.

+Lessons.+--1. Let us endeavour to acquire a greatness of mind: by this I do not mean arrogance, for that bespeaks a little mind--a mind that can reflect on nothing within itself that looks great except arrogance; but a true greatness of mind arises from a true judgment of things, and a noble ascendency of the soul inclining us to act above what is barely our duty. It is rising to the sublime in virtue. This will create a reverence for ourselves, and will set us as far above the mean gratification of giving any real occasion of passion to others, as of being susceptible of it when an occasion may be given to us. 2. One of the ancients said that he had gained one advantage from philosophy: that it had brought him to wonder at nothing. But it looks as if we, the generality of us, were strangers in the world; we are ever expressing our surprise and wonder at everything; and thus surprise prepares the way for passion. We wonder that we should meet with such a behaviour, such a treatment, such an affront; whereas the greatest wonder is that we should wonder at it. 3. Nothing can have so prevalent a power to still all the undue agitations of passion so apt to arise from the various connections we have with the prejudices and passions of others, nothing so fit to induce a smooth and easy flow of temper, as a frequent application to the throne of grace, to beseech Him, who is the God of Peace, that His peace may rule in our heats, that it may be the fixed and predominant principle there.--Jeremiah Seed.

Ver. 28. A Warning against Theft.

+I. Here is a general prohibition of theft.+--This supposes distinct rights and separate properties. Stealing is taking and carrying away another's goods in a secret manner and without his consent. The prohibition relates to every unfair, indirect, dishonest way by which one may transfer to himself the property of another.

+II. This prohibition of theft is a virtual injunction of labour.+--If a man may not live at the expense of others, he must live at his own; and if he has not the means of subsistence, he must labour to acquire them. No man has a right to live on charity so long as he can live by labour. The obligation to labour is not confined to the poor; it extends to all according to their several capacities.

+III. Every man must choose for himself an honest calling, and must work that which is good.+--A work in which a man makes gain by the expense and enriches himself by the loss of others is theft embellished and refined. Gaming, when it is used as an art to get money, is criminal, because it is unprofitable, and what one gains by it another must lose.

+IV. In all our labours we should have regard to the good of others.+--The man who is poor should aim to mend his circumstances and to provide not only for his immediate support but for his future necessities. The condition which subjects us to labour does not exempt us from obligations to beneficence. We must confine ourselves within our own proper sphere, for here we can do more good than elsewhere. In all our works, secular or spiritual, charity must direct us. Love is an essential principle in religion, and as essential in one man as another.--Lathrop.

St. Paul's Exaltation of Labour.

+I. St. Paul often recurs to the plain and quiet work of humble life.+--He enforces not only the duty of it, but how high the duty ranks; and if it is well done, how it raises those who do it. Having worked with his own hands, he appreciated the sterling test of honest attention to work. He knew what temptations there were to relax and to give in to the sense of tediousness day by day and hour by hour. St. Paul, who honours the industry of a slave, will not allow it to be dishonoured by the slave himself thinking himself superior to it, and discourages all high flights which set him at enmity with his work and draw him away from the sterling Christian yoke of humble labour to which he has been called in God's providence.

II. At the same time the apostle +does not honour all industry;+ far from it. He always reprobates the covetous, money-getting spirit. He admires industry, but it must be industry which is consecrated by the motive; and the motive which he requires for it is that of duty--when a man fulfils in the fear of God the task which is allotted to him. Men form their religious standard by two distinct tests: one the law of conscience and obedience to God, the other what is striking to man. St. Paul's standard is seen in his sympathy with the work of the ruler of a household, with the work of a father or mother of a family, the work of hospitality and attention to strangers, the work of common trades and callings, the work even of the slave in doing his assigned daily tasks.

III. We see the spirit of this great apostle--how +it embraced the whole appointed lot of man,+ from his highest to his most humble field of employment. He rejected nothing as mean or low that came by God's appointment; all was good, all was excellent, all was appropriate that He had commanded. The heathen valued all labour by which men became eloquent or became able soldiers or statesmen; but they had not the slightest respect for the ordinary work of mankind. They thought this world made for the rich. How different is St. Paul's view! No work allotted to man is servile work in his eyes, because he has an insight into what faithful labour is--what strength of conscience it requires, what resistance to temptations and snares it demands. The Word of God consecrates the ordinary work of man--it converts it into every one's trial, and as his special trial his special access to a reward also.--J. B. Mozley.

Ver. 29. The Government of the Tongue.

I. The apostle +cautions us against all loose and licentious language.+

+II. Enticing language is forbidden.+

+III. Corrupt communication includes all kinds of vain discourse;+ all such language as offends Christian sobriety, seriousness, and gravity, savours of profaneness and impiety, or borders on obscenity and lewdness.

+IV. Instruction is useful to edifying.+

+V. Reproof conducted with prudence is useful to edifying.+

+VI. Exhortation is good for the use of edifying.+

+VII. Christians may edify one another by communicating things they have experienced in the course of the religious life.+

+VIII. Conversing on religious subjects in general is good for the use of edifying.+--Lathrop.

Ver. 30. The Benefit conferred by the Spirit on Believers.

+I. That believers are sealed by the Spirit implies that they are recognised and set apart and in a peculiar sense the Divine property.+--1. A seal is often a distinguishing mark or token by which a claim to property may be shown and established (Rev. iii. 2, 3). 2. That believers are thus sealed proves that they are His in a peculiar manner. 3. The sense in which they are His is clearly brought out (1 Cor. iii. 23). They are Christ's by gift, by purchase, by conquest, by surrender. Christ is God's, and His people in Him. 4. They who are sealed are thus a peculiar people, separated to God's worship, service, and glory. 5. Have you recognised practically that you are God's?

+II. That believers are sealed implies that attempts will be made to alienate them from God's possession.+--1. A mark or token is affixed to that which is in danger of being taken away. 2. We are distinctly taught that believers are exposed to efforts to separate them from God (John x. 7-10, 27-29). 3. The activity of the wicked one seems in a great measure directed to this point. 4. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints does not lead him to indolence. 5. Your safety is not merely to get into the place of safety, but to continue there.

+III. That believers are sealed implies that they have received the impress of the Divine image.+--1. The sealing is the work of the Spirit, whose office it is to regenerate and sanctify. 2. The seal is that which distinguishes the believer from the unbeliever, and the true distinguishing mark is regeneration. 3. We therefore conclude that the seal has engraven on it the image of God, which it leaves. 4. The confidence of no one should outrun his sanctification. 5. Can you discern the outline of the image? There are counterfeits.

+IV. That believers are sealed implies that, though associated and mixed up with others, they are not confounded with them.+--1. A distinguishing mark is necessary when things which are again to be separated and classified are mingled with each other. 2. The seal leads to recognition. Hence the believer is known by himself, fellow-believers, the world, the devil, angels, Christ, the Father. 3. This recognition takes place in time, at the judgment, in eternity.

+V. That believers are sealed implies that God will visit the earth with distinguishing judgments.+--In proof and illustration (Exek. ix.; Rev. vii., ix.). The Passover. The destruction of Jerusalem. Now. The judgment day. Are you prepared for such a season?

+VI. That believers are sealed implies that they are in a state of reservation.+--A seal is a pledge, a signature. An engagement presently fulfilled needs no pledge.--Stewart.

The Office of the Holy Spirit and the Danger of grieving Him.

+I. His office is to seal us unto the day of redemption.+--That day in which the people of God will be put into complete possession of the blessings purchased for them by Christ. To seal us to this day is to prepare us and to set us apart from it, to fix such a mark on us as in that day shall distinguish us from others and make it fully appear to whom we belong. When a man sets his seal to a paper, he thereby declares his approbation of it and acknowledges it to be his own deed. Those who bear the seal of the Spirit will be approved by Christ and acknowledged for His own in the day of resurrection. A seal stamps its own image on the wax. The Spirit stamps on the soul the image of Himself. This seal is said to be the earnest of our inheritance. An earnest is a pledge of something to be bestowed and enjoyed hereafter--a part of it is already bestowed to assure us that in due time we shall receive the whole.

+II. He is not to be grieved.+--1. Beware of doing anything which your conscience, enlightened by the Word of God, forbids you to do. 2. Beware of running into temptation. 3. Beware of indulging fleshly lusts. 4. Beware of practising deceit and falsehood. 5. Beware of profaning the Lord's Day. 6. Beware of cherishing evil and malignant tempers.--E. Cooper.

On Grieving the Holy Spirit.

+I. Our duty is to render to the Holy Spirit cheerful and universal obedience.+

+II. The Spirit is the great Sanctifier.+

+III. We must co-operate diligently in the production of the fruits of the Spirit.+

+IV. Our danger is in quenching the Spirit.+--Our light grows dim, and we gradually adopt evil habits. We neither see nor heed spiritual dangers. Religious sensibilities are blunted. How far any of us have gone in resisting the Spirit God alone knows. Many who resist great light and strong impressions seem never to feel again.--Olin.

Grieving the Spirit.

+I. Indifference and carelessness in religion+ is opposition to the grace of God.

+II. Spiritual pride+ grieves the Divine Spirit.

III. The Spirit is grieved +when we neglect the means appointed for obtaining His influence.+

+IV. Opposition+ to the strivings of the Spirit is another way in which He is often grieved.

V. There are +particular sins+ which are opposite to the work of the Spirit. Impurity, intemperance, dissipation, and all the vices of sensuality. The indulgence of malignant passions grieves the Spirit. Contentions among Christians are opposite to the Spirit. Men grieve the Spirit when they ascribe to Him those motions and actions which are contrary to His nature. If they blindly follow every impulse of a heated imagination, every suggestion of the common deceiver, every motion of their own vanity and pride, they profane and blaspheme His sacred name.--Lathrop.

Grieve not the Spirit.--But wherewith can we so grieve Him? Alas! that one must rather ask, "Wherein may he not?" I fear that one of the things which will most amaze us when we open our eyes upon eternity will be the multitude of our own rudenesses to Divine grace, that is, to God the Holy Ghost whose motions grace is. Oh, let not that His seal upon you, the gift of His Spirit, mark you as a deserter! O Holy Creator Spirit, come down once more into our souls in Thine own thrilling fire of life and light and heat, kindling our senses with Thy light, our hearts with Thy love! wash away our stains, bedew our dryness, heal our wounds, bend our stubbornness, guide our wanderings, that Thou, being the inmate of our hearts, the instructor of our reason, the strength of our will, we may see by Thy light whom as yet we see not and know Him who passeth knowledge, and through God may love God now as wayfarers, and, in the day of perfect redemption, in the beatific vision of our God!--E. B. Pusey.

The Sealing of the Spirit.--1. The seal is used in conveying and assuring to any person a title to his estate, in delivering which a part is put into the hands of the new proprietor. We are sealed as an assurance of our title to our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. 2. In sealing any person, the contra-part of the seal is impressed on that which is sealed. We are thus sealed by the Spirit, stamped with the image of God. 3. Sealing is used for preservation. It is by this we are to be preserved until that day. By grieving the Spirit we break this seal.--E. Hare.

Vers. 31, 32. Vices to be renounced and Virtues to be cherished.

+I. Put away all bitterness.+--All such passions, behaviour, and language as are disgusting and offensive to others, wound their tender feelings, and embitter their spirits. No temper is more inconsistent with the felicity of social life than peevishness.

+II. Put away wrath and anger.+--The former signifies heat of temper, the latter this heat wrought into a flame. Though anger, as a sense and feeling of the wrongs done us, is innocent and natural, all the irregular and excessive operations of it are sinful and dangerous.

+III. Put away all malice.+--This is a degree of passion beyond simple anger. It is a fixed, settled hatred, accompanied with a disposition to revenge. It is anger resting in the bosom and studying to do mischief. Malice is a temper which every one condemns in others, but few discern in themselves.

+IV. Put away all clamour and evil speaking.+--Clamour is noisy, complaining, and contentious language in opposition to that which is soft, gentle, and courteous. Never believe, much less propagate, an ill report of your neighbour without good evidence of its truth. Never speak ill of a man when your speaking may probably do much hurt, but cannot possibly do any good.

+V. Christians are to be kind one to another.+--Such kindness as renders us useful. Kindness wishes well to all men, prays for their happiness, and studies to promote their interest. It will reprove vice and lend its aid to promote knowledge and virtue.

+VI. Christians should be tenderhearted.+--They should not be guided by a blind, instinctive pity; but by habitual goodness of heart, cultivated with reason, improved by religion, and operating with discretion. While they commiserate all who appear to be in affliction, they should regard among them the difference of characters and circumstances.

+VII. We are to forgive one another.+--Forgiveness does not oblige us tamely to submit to every insult and silently bear every injury. To those who have injured us we should maintain goodwill and exercise forbearance. God's forgiveness of our sins is urged as a motive to mutual forgiveness. "Even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." He who forgives not an offending brother will not be forgiven of his heavenly Father.--Lathrop.

Malice incompatible with the Christian Character.

I. +That we may be convinced of the hatefulness of a malignant temper look to the source whence it proceeds.+--From the bitterness of the fountain we may judge of the character of the water which it sends forth. From the corruptness of the tree we may estimate the character of the fruit. The author of malice is the devil.

II. Let us after the same manner +proceed to appreciate the loveliness of the opposite quality,+ the quality of mercy and lovingkindness, by a reference to its Author. Malice is gratified by murder. In God we live and move and have our being. Malice is envious. God giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Malice is false and calumnious. God sent His Son into the world to give light to them that sit in darkness. Malice is resentful and vindictive, impatient of offence, and intemperate in requiring satisfaction. God is love.

III. Let us turn for a +further motive to the character and conduct of the Son of God.+--He has given us an example of the most profound humility, a temper in which malice has no portion, and which cannot exist independently of lovingkindness and tenderness of heart.

IV. +To the example of our blessed Redeemer let us add His commandments; and there arises another forcible motive to put away all malice and to be kind one to another.+--"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another."

V. +If we would avoid a malicious and cultivate a charitable temper, we must renounce the devil and all his works.+--We must triumph over those passions which he plants and propagates in the heart of man.--R. Mant.

Ver. 32. Errors respecting Forgiveness of Sin.

+I. That forgiveness of sin is unnecessary.+--Every sin is punished on the spot. This natural punishment is felt as long as the sin is indulged, and it ceases as soon as the sin is abandoned. This error may be exposed by a reference to the philosophy of human nature, to experience, and to Scripture.

+II. That forgiveness of sin is impossible.+--The consequences of every sin stretch out into infinity, and they cannot be annihilated without a supernatural interposition; but it would derogate from the supremacy of law to allow that a miracle is possible. The possibility of miracle is contrary neither to intuition nor to experience. A supernatural Being is the Author of a supernatural system: creation, incarnation, the Bible, spiritual influence.

+III. That forgiveness of sin might be dispensed without an atonement.+--"If a man suffer insult or injury from his fellow-man, he ought to forgive him freely; why should not God?" Because He is God, and not man. He is the moral Governor of the universe, and must consult for the majesty of His law and the interests of His responsible creatures. Forgiveness without atonement would not satisfy the conscience of the awakened sinner.

+IV. That forgiveness of sin will not be bestowed till the day of judgment.+--Pardon through Christ is immediate. It is enjoyed as soon as we believe.

+V. That forgiveness of sin as freely offered in the Gospel is inimical to morality.+--"Pay a workman before he begins his work, and he will be indolent; pay him when he has finished his work, and he will be diligent." Not if he were an honest man, and no one is forgiven who is not sanctified. A sense of unpardoned guilt is the greatest hindrance to obedience. A sense of redeeming love the most powerful incentive.--G. Brooks.

Christian Forgiveness.

I. +The reality of forgiveness, or the grace of a forgiving spirit in us, lies not so much in our ability to let go or to be persuaded to let go the remembrance of our injuries, as in what we are able to do,+ what volunteer sacrifices to make, what painstaking to undergo, that we may get our adversary softened to want or gently accept our forgiveness.

II. In all that you distinguish of a nobler and Diviner life, in Christ's bearing of His enemies and their sins, He is simply showing +what belongs in righteousness to every moral nature from the uncreated Lord down to the humblest created intelligence.+ Forgiveness, this same Christly forgiveness, belongs to all--to you, to me, to every lowest mortal that bears God's image.

III. +Christ wants you to be with Him in His own forgiveness.+ He wants such a feeling struggling in your bosom that you cannot bear to have an adversary, cannot rest from your prayers and sacrifices and the lifelong suit of your concern, till you have gained him away from his wrong and brought him into peace. This in fact is salvation: to be with Christ in all the travail of His forgiveness. As Christ was simply fulfilling the right in His blessed ways of forgiveness, so we may conceive that He is simply fulfilling the eternal love. For what is right coincides with love, and love with what is right.

IV. When a true Christian goes after his adversary in such a temper as he ought--tender, assiduous, proving himself in his love by the most faithful sacrifices--+he is not like to stay by his enmity long.+ As the heat of a warm day will make even a wilful man take off his overcoat, so the silent melting of forgiveness at the heart will compel it, even before it is aware, to let the grudges go. A really good man may have enemies all his life long, even as Christ had, and the real blame may be chargeable not against him, but against them.

V. +Have then Christian brethren under Christ's own Gospel nothing better left than to take themselves out of sight of each other just to get rid of forgiveness,+ going to carry the rankling with them, live in the bitterness, die in the grudges of their untamable passion? What is our Gospel but a reconciling power even for sin itself, and what is it good for, if it cannot reconcile? No, there is a better way. Christ laid it on them by His own dear passion when He gave Himself for them, by His bloody sweat, His pierced hands, and open side, to go about the matter of forgiving one another even as He went about forgiving them.--Bushnell.

* * * * * * * *

+CHAPTER V.+

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.

Ver. 1. +Followers of God.+--R.V. imitators. St. Paul gathers up all duties into one expression, "imitation of God," and urges them on his readers by a reminder of their high birth laying them under obligation, and rendering their copying easier.

Ver. 2. +Walk in love.+--"Love must fulfil all righteousness; it must suffer law to mark out its path of obedience, or it remans an effusive, ineffectual sentiment, helpless to bless and save."

Ver. 3. +Let it not be once named.+--After the things themselves are dead let their names never be heard.

Ver. 4. +Nor jesting.+--"Chastened insolence," as Aristotle's description of it has been happily rendered. "Graceless grace" [of style], as Chrysostom called it. It is the oozing out of the essential badness of a man for whom polish and a versatile nature have done all they can.

Vers. 5, 6. +Because of these things cometh the wrath of God, etc.+--Look down beneath the pleasing manners to the nature. If such terms as are used in ver. 5 describe the man, he is simply one of Disobedience's children, and all his versatility will not avert the descending wrath of God.

Ver. 7. +Be not ye therefore partakers with them.+--Do not wish to share the frivolity and impiety of their life, as you would shun the wrath that inevitably awaits it. How could they so partake and continue to be what ch. iii. 6 calls them?

Ver. 8. +Ye were . . . ye are . . . be.+--The lesson must be learnt, and therefore reiteration is necessary.

Ver. 9. +For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.+--Neither here nor at Gal. v. 22 does St. Paul intend a complete list of the fruits of the Spirit. St. John's tree of life bore "twelve manner of fruits" (Rev. xxii. 2). All Christian morality lies in the good, the right, and the true.

Ver 10. +Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.+--Each is to be an assayer--rejecting all base alloys. Nothing must be accepted because it looks like an angel of light--"the spirits" must be put to the proof (1 John iv. 1).

Ver. 11. +Rather reprove them.+--It may be with a voice as firm as the Baptist's; it may be by gentle and yet unflinching "showing up" of certain proceedings (cf. St. John iii. 20). "This chastening reproof is an oral one," says Meyer.

Ver. 12. +It is a shame even to speak of.+--Though the only sign of their shame having touched them is that they seek the cover of secrecy, and our own cheeks burn as we speak of what they do, we must convict.

Ver. 13. +Made manifest by the light.+--Whatever the light falls upon is no longer of the darkness, but belongs to the light. Shame is one of the influences by which the light conquers a soul from darkness.

Ver. 14. +Wherefore He saith.+--What follows is "a free paraphrase from the Old Testament formed by weaving together Messianic passages--belonging to such a hymn as might be sung at baptisms in the Pauline Churches" (Findlay). The thought is that of the change from darkness to light--a change produced by the opening of the eyes to the light shining in the face of Jesus Christ.

Ver. 15. +See then that ye walk circumspectly.+--R.V. "Look then carefully how ye walk." The way of life must be one of exactitude; and that it may be so the steps must not be haphazard, but carefully taken.

Ver. 16. +Redeeming the time.+--R.V. margin, "buying up the opportunity." Seizing the crucial moment as eagerly as men bid for a desirable article at an auction sale. +Because the days are evil.+--A man in Paul's circumstances and with his consuming earnestness of spirit may be forgiven if he does not see everything rose-coloured.

Ver. 18. +Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.+--The word for "excess" is found again in Tit. i. 6 as "riot," and in 1 Pet. iv. 4. In all three texts the warning against intoxication is near the word. In Luke xv. 13 we have the adverbial form--"riotously."

Ver. 19. +Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.+--When the spirit is elevated so that ordinary prose conversation is inadequate to express the feelings let it find vent in sacred music. St. James's advice to the "merry" heart is, "Sing psalms" (James v. 13). The "psalm" is properly a song with accompaniment of a stringed instrument; "a 'hymn' must always be more or less of a Magnificat, a direct address of praise and glory to God." "Spiritual songs" were "such as were composed by spiritual men and moved in the sphere of spiritual things" (Trench). No spiritual excitement, however highly wrought, can be injurious that flows between the banks of thanksgiving and mutual submission in the fear of God.

Ver. 20. +Giving thanks always for all things.+--If one who speaks as a philosopher merely can praise the "sweet uses of adversity" and discern the "soul of goodness in things evil," how much more should one believing Rom. viii. 28!

Ver. 21. +Submitting yourselves one to another.+--In another Church the endeavour to take precedence of each other had produced what a stranger might have taken for a madhouse (1 Cor. xiv. 23). St. Paul's word for "submitting" means "ranging yourselves beneath," and finds its illustration in the Lord's words, "Go and sit down in the lowest place" (Luke xiv. 10).

Ver. 22. +Submit yourselves.+--Same word as in previous verse; neither here nor there does it involve any loss of self-respect. The wife's tribute to her husband's worth is submission--the grace of childhood to both parents equally is obedience.

Ver. 23. +Christ is the head of the Church.+--Defending her at His own peril ("If ye seek Me, let these go their way," John xviii. 8); serving her in utmost forgetfulness of self ("I am amongst you as he that serveth," Luke xxii. 27); "Giving Himself up for her," (ver. 25).

Ver. 25. +Husbands, love your wives.+--This will prevent the submission of the wife from ever becoming degrading--as submission to a tyrant must be.

Ver. 26. +That He might sanctify and cleanse.+--There is no "and" between "sanctify" and "cleanse" in what St. Paul wrote. "Sanctify it, having cleansed it" (R.V.). "I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified" (John xvii. 19).

Ver. 27. +Spot or wrinkle.+--"Spot," a visible blemish, used in the plural, figuratively, in 2 Pet. ii. 13, of men who disfigure Christian assemblies. "Wrinkle"--"a wrinkled bride" is an incongruity, just as the mourning which produces wrinkles is out of place in the bridechamber (Matt. ix. 15).

Ver. 28. +As their own bodies.+--Not "as they love their own bodies" merely, but "as being their own." See ver. 31, "one flesh."

Ver. 31. +For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife.+--We must regard these words, not as a continuation of Adam's in Gen. ii. 23, but as the words of the narrator, who regards what our first father said as a mystical hint of the origin of marriage.

Ver. 32. +This is a great mystery.+--The meaning of which is known only to the initiated. Something having a significance beyond what appears on the surface. +But I speak.+--The "I" is emphatic: "I give my interpretation." My chief interest in this mystery is as it relates to Christ and to the Church.

Ver. 33. +Nevertheless.+--"I pursue the matter no further"; and though this mystical turn is given to the words, still in actual life let the husband love (ver. 25) and the wife show reverence (ver. 22). Let all the married among you apply the mystery to their own case, so that the husband may love the wife and the wife fear the husband.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 1, 2.

The Life of Love--

+I. Is an imitating of the Divine life.+--"Be followers of God: . . . walk in love" (vers. 1, 2). Though God is infinitely beyond us, and lifted above all heights, we are to aspire towards Him. When we contemplate His glorious perfections we are more deeply conscious of our limitations and sins, bend before Him in lowly awe, and seem to despair of ever being able to approach to anything within ourselves, that can be like Him. Nevertheless God is the pattern of all excellence, and we can attain excellence ourselves only by imitating Him. The ideal character is ever above and beyond the seeker, growing more beautiful, but seeming as distant as ever. The life of God is the life of love--love is the essence of His nature and the crowning glory of all His perfections. The chief way in which He is imitable by us is in that direction: to love God is to be like Him. Our life, in all its impulses, outgoings, and accomplishments, must be suffused and penetrated with love. As the soul opens to the inflow of God's love and is filled with it, it becomes like God. Loving God is allowing God to love us. The love of God is the most transcendent revelation of the Gospel. In Paris, a little girl, seven years old, was observed to read the New Testament continually. Being asked what pleasure she found in doing so, she said, "It makes me wise, and teaches how to love God." She had been reading the history of Martha and Mary. "What is the one thing needful?" asked her friend. "It is the love of God," she earnestly replied.

+II. Is befitting the relation in which the believer is Divinely regarded.+--"Followers of God, as dear children" (ver. 1). God is our Father, and He loves us. That is enough; but how much is implied in that, who can tell? To realise the Divine Fatherhood is to become acquainted with the love of God. When we discover we are dear to Him our hearts melt, our rebellion is conquered, we seek His forgiveness, we revel in His favour, we exult in His service. When we discover He has always loved us we are overwhelmed. A mother, whose daughter had behaved badly and at length ran away from home, thought of a singular plan to find the wanderer and bring her back. She had her own portrait fixed on a large handbill and posted on the walls of the town where she supposed her daughter was concealed. The portrait, without name, had these words painted underneath: "I love thee always." Crowds stopped before the strange handbill, trying to guess its meaning. Days elapsed, when a young girl at last passed by, and lifted her eyes to the singular placard. She understood: this was a message for her. Her mother loved her--pardoned her. Those words transformed her. Never had she felt her sin and ingratitude so deeply. She was unworthy of such love. She set out for home, and crossing the threshold was soon in her mother's arms. "My child!" cried the mother, as she pressed her repentant daughter to her heart, "I have never ceased to love thee!"

+III. Is a love of Christ-like sacrifice.+--"As Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us" (ver. 2). The offering of Christ as a sacrifice for the sins of men was acceptable to God, and came up before Him as a sweet-smelling savour, because it was the offering and sacrifice of love. The life of love is the life of obedience; it is eager to serve, and it shrinks not from suffering. Nothing can be love to God which does not shape itself into obedience. We remember the anecdote of the Roman commander who forbade an engagement with the enemy, and the first transgressor against whose prohibition was his own son. He accepted the challenge of the leader of the other host, met, slew, spoiled him, and then with triumphant feeling carried the spoils to his father's tent. But the Roman father refused to recognise the instinct which prompted this as deserving of the name of love. Disobedience contradicted it and deserved death. Weak sentiment--what was it worth? It was the dictate of ambition and self-will overriding obedience and discipline; it was not love. A self-sacrificing life is prompted, sustained, and ennobled by love. The trials which love cheerfully undergoes in its ministry of love to others and in obedience to the will of God are often transformed into blessings. There is a legend that Nimrod took Abraham and cast him into a furnace of fire because he would not worship idols; but God changed the coals into a bed of roses. So it will ever be. The obedience that leads to the furnace of fire will find in the end that it is a bed of roses. The life of loving sacrifice will issue in eternal blessedness.

+Lessons.+--The life of love is--1. The highest life. 2. The happiest life. 3. The life most fruitful in usefulness to others.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 1, 2. St. Paul's Doctrine of Christian Ethics.

+I. The fundamental truth of the Fatherhood of God.+--Man's life has its law, for it has its source in the nature of the Eternal. Behind our race instincts and the laws imposed on us in the long struggle for existence, behind those imperatives of practical reason involved in the structure of our intelligence, is the presence and active will of Almighty God our heavenly Father. Institutional morals bear witness to the God of creation, experimental morals to the God of providence and history. The Divine Fatherhood is the keystone of the arch in which they meet. The command to be imitators of God makes personality the sovereign element in life. If consciousness is a finite and passing phenomenon, if God be but a name for the sum of the impersonal laws that regulate the universe, for the "stream of tendency" in the worlds, Father and love are meaningless terms applied to the Supreme, and religion dissolves into an impalpable mist. Love, thought, will in us raise our being above the realm of the impersonal; and these faculties point us upward to Him from whom they came, the Father of the spirits of all flesh. It is not the loss of strength for human service nor the dying out of joy which unbelief entails that is its chief calamity. The sun in the soul's heaven is put out. The personal relationship to the Supreme which gave dignity and worth to our individual being, which imparted sacredness and enduring power to all other ties, is destroyed. The heart is orphaned, the temple of the Spirit desolate. The mainspring of life is broken.

+II. The solidarity of mankind in Christ+ furnishes the apostle with a powerful lever for raising the ethical standard of his readers. The thought that we are "members one of another" forbids deceit. Self is so merged in the community that in dealing censure or forgiveness to an offending brother the Christian man feels as though he were dealing with himself--as though it were the hand that forgave the foot for tripping, or the ear that pardoned some blunder of the eye. The Christ loved and gave; for love that does not give, that prompts to no effort and puts itself to no sacrifice, is but a luxury of the heart--useless and even selfish. The Church is the centre of humanity. The love born and nourished in the household of faith goes out into the world with a universal mission. The solidarity of moral interests that is realised there embraces all the kindreds of the earth. The incarnation of Christ knits all flesh into one redeemed family. The continents and races of mankind are members one of another, with Jesus Christ for Head.

+III. Another ruling idea lying at the basis of Christian ethics is St. Paul's conception of man's future destiny.+--There is disclosed a world beyond the world, a life growing out of life, an eternal and invisible kingdom of whose possession the Spirit that lives in Christian men is the earnest and firstfruits. Human reason had guessed and hope had dreamed of the soul's immortality. Christianity gives this hope certainty, and adds to it the assurance of the resurrection of the body. Man's entire nature is thus redeemed. Our bodily dress is one with the spirit that it unfolds. We shall lay it aside only to resume it--transfigured, but with a form and impress continuous with its present being.

+IV. The atonement of the cross stamps its own character and spirit on the entire ethics of Christianity.+--The Fatherhood of God, the unity and solidarity of mankind, the issues of eternal life or death awaiting us in the unseen world--all the great factors and fundamentals of revealed religion gather about the cross of Christ; they lend to it their august significance, and gain from it new import and impressiveness. The fact that Christ "gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God" throws an awful light upon the nature of human transgression. All that inspired men had taught, that good men had believed and felt, and penitent men confessed in regard to the evil of human sin, is more than verified by the sacrifice which the Holy One of God has undergone in order to put it away. What tears of contrition, what cleansing fires of hate against our own sins, what scorn of their baseness, what stern resolves against them, are awakened by the sight of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! The sacrifice of Christ demands from us devotion to Christ Himself. Our first duty as Christians is to love Christ, to serve and follow Christ. There is no conflict between the claims of Christ and those of philanthropy, between the needs of His worship and the needs of the destitute and suffering in our streets. Every new subject won to the kingdom of Christ is another helper won for His poor. Every act of love rendered to Him deepens the channel of sympathy by which relief and blessing come to sorrowful humanity.--Findlay.

Christ's Sacrifice of Himself explained, and Man's Duty to offer Spiritual Sacrifice inferred and recommended.

+I. Our Lord's unexampled sacrifice.+--1. The Priest. As a prophet or an apostle properly is an ambassador from God to treat with men, so a priest is an agent or solicitor in behalf of men to treat with God.

2. The sacrifice.--Our Lord was both offering and sacrifice. Every sacrifice is an offering to God, but every offering to God is not a sacrifice. Perfect innocence and consummate virtue, both in doing and suffering, were not only the flower and perfection but the very form and essence of our Lord's sacrifice. These were the sacrifice of sweet odour, acceptable to Him who alone could judge perfectly of the infinite worth and merit of it.

3. The altar.--From the third century to this time the cross whereon our Lord suffered has been called the altar. There is another altar, a spiritual altar--the eternal Spirit, the Divine nature of our Lord. The sacrifice of our Lord is an undoubted Scripture truth; but as to a proper altar for that sacrifice, it is a more disputable point, about which wise and good men may be allowed to judge as they see cause.

4. The Divine Lawgiver.--To whom the sacrifice was made, and by whom it was graciously accepted. God the Father is Lawgiver-in-chief, and to Him our Lord paid the price of our redemption. Thus the glory of God and the felicity of men are both served in this dispensation.

+II. Our own sacrifice of ourselves.+--As Christ give Himself for us, so we ought to give up ourselves to God in all holy obedience, and particularly in the offices of love towards our brethren, as these are the most acceptable sacrifices we can offer to God. We cannot do greater honour to our Lord's sacrifice than by thus copying it in the best manner we are able--a sacrifice of love to God and love to our neighbours.--Waterland.

The Imitation of God.--No argument is so frequently urged as the example of Christ to persuade us to mutual love, because none is so well adapted to influence the mind of a Christian. God's approbation of Christian charity is expressed in the same terms as His acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ; for charity to our fellow-Christians, flowing from a sense of Christ's dying love, is a virtue of distinguished excellence. As the death of Christ is called "a sacrifice for a sweet-smelling savour," so Christian charity is called "an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God." Let it be our care to follow Christ in His goodness and love, and to learn of Him humility, condescension, mercy, and forgiveness. Religion is an imitation of the moral character of God, brought down to human view and familiarised to human apprehension in the life of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ is of great use, not only as an atonement for guilt, but also as an example of love.--Lathrop.

Ver. 1, The Duty and Object of a Christian's Imitation.

+I. The duty enjoined.+--1. Remove the hindrances to imitation. (1) Spiritual pride and self-conceit. (2) This self-conceit works in us a prejudiced opinion, and makes us undervalue and detract from the worth of our brother. (3) Spiritual drowsiness. 2. Observe the rules of imitation. (1) We must not take our pattern upon trust; no, not St. Paul himself. He brings it in indeed as a duty--"Be ye followers of me"; but he adds this direction, "as I am of Christ" (1 Cor. xi. 1). "For in imitation, besides the persons, there is also to be considered," saith Quintilian, "what it is we must imitate in the persons. We must no further follow them than they follow the rules of art." "Some there were," said Seneca, "who imitated nothing but that which was bad in the best." It is so in our Christian profession: we must view, and try, and understand what we are to imitate. We must not make use of all eyes, but of those only which look upon the Lord. (2) That we strive to imitate the best. Saith Pliny: "It is great folly not to propose always the best pattern"; and saith Seneca, "Choose a Cato," a prime, eminent man, by whose authority thy secret thoughts may be more holy, the very memory of whom may compose thy manners; whom not only to see, but to think of, will be a help to the reformation of thy life. Dost thou live with any in whom the good gifts and graces of God are shining and resplendent, who are strict and exact, and so retain the precepts of God in memory that they forget them not in their works? Give men the instructive examples of these good men: let them always be before my eyes; let them be a second rule by which I may correct my life and manners; let me not lose this help, which God hath granted me, of imitation.

+II. The object of imitation.+--We must make God the rule of goodness in all our actions: we must be just, to observe the law; valiant, to keep down our passions; temperate, to conform our wills to the rule of reason; and wise, to our salvation. But there is no virtue which makes us more resemble God than this which the apostle here exhorts the Ephesians to; and that is mercy. For although all virtues are in the highest degree, nay, above all degrees, most perfect in Him; yet, in respect of His creatures, none is so resplendent as mercy. Mercy is the queen and empress of God's virtues; it is the bond and knot which unites heaven and earth, that by which we hold all our titles--our title to be men, out title to the name of Christian, our title to the profession of Christianity, our title to earth, our title to heaven. 1. As God forgiveth us, so we must forgive our enemies. 2. As we must forgive, so God's mercy must be the motive: we must do it "out of a desire to imitate God." 3. We must conform our imitation to the Pattern. He with one act of mercy wipes out all scores; so must we. When He forgives our sins, He is said to cast them behind Him, never to think of them, so to forget them as if they never had been; so must we. He doth it too without respect of persons; and so we ought to do. We must forgive all, for ever; and so far must we be from respect of persons that we must acknowledge no title but that of Christian.--Farindon.

Likeness to God.

+I. Likeness to God belongs to man's higher or spiritual nature.+--It has its foundation in the original and essential capacities of the mind. In proportion as these are unfolded by right and vigorous exertion, it is extended and brightened. In proportion as these lie dormant it is obscured. Likeness to God is the supreme gift. He can communicate nothing so precious, glorious, blessed as Himself. To hold intellectual and moral affinity with the supreme Being, to partake His Spirit, to be His children by derivations of kindred excellence, to bear a growing conformity to the perfection which we adore--this is a felicity which obscures and annihilates all other good. It is only in proportion to this likeness that we can enjoy either God or the universe. To understand a great and good being we must have the seeds of the same excellence.

+II. That man has a kindred nature with God,+ and may bear most important and ennobling relations to Him, seems to me to be established by a striking proof. Whence do we derive our knowledge of the attributes and perfections which constitute the supreme Being? I answer, We derive them from our own souls. The Divine attributes are first developed in ourselves, and thence transferred to our Creator. The idea of God, sublime and awful as it is, is the idea of our own spiritual nature, purified and enlarged to infinity. It is the resemblance of a parent to a child, the likeness of a kindred nature.

+III. God is made known to us as a Father.+--And what is it to be a father? It is to communicate one's own nature, to give life to kindred beings; and the highest function of a father is to educate the mind of the child, and to impart to it what is noblest and happiest in his own mind. God is our Father, not merely because He created us, or because He gives us enjoyment: for He created the flower and the insect, yet we call Him not their Father. This bond is a spiritual one. This name belongs to God, because He frames spirits like Himself, and delights to give them what is most glorious and blessed in His own nature. Accordingly Christianity is said with special propriety to reveal God as the Father, because it reveals Him as sending His Son to cleanse the mind from every stain, and to replenish it for ever with the spirit and moral attributes of its Author.

+IV. The promise of the Holy Spirit+ is among the most precious aids of influence which God imparts. It is a Divine assistance adapted to our moral freedom, an aid which silently mingles and conspires with all other helps and means of goodness, and by which we are strengthened to understand and apply the resources derived from our munificent Creator. This aid we cannot prize too much, or pray for too earnestly.--Channing.

Ver. 2. "And walk in love." The Nature, Properties, and Acts of Charity.

+I. The nature of charity.+--1. Loving our neighbour implies we value and esteem him. 2. Implies a sincere and earnest desire for his welfare and good of all kinds in due proportion. 3. A complacence or delightful satisfaction in the good of our neighbour. 4. Condolence and commiseration in the evils befalling him.

+II. Properties of charity.+--1. Love appropriates its object in apprehension and affection, embracing it, possessing and enjoying it as its own. 2. It desires reciprocal affection. 3. Disposes to please our neighbour, not only by inoffensive but by an obliging demeanour. 4. Makes a man deny himself--despising all selfish regards--for the benefit of his neighbour. 5. To be condescending and willing to perform the meanest offices needful or useful to his friend.

+III. Acts of charity.+--1. To forbear anger on provocation. 2. To remit offences, suppressing revenge. 3. To maintain concord and peace. 4. To be candid in opinion and mild in censure. 5. Abstain from doing anything which may occasion our neighbour to commit sin, or disaffect him towards religion, or discourage him in the practice of duty.--Barrow.

The Sacrifice of Christ.

+I. A Divine person was absolutely necessary.+--1. He who atones must be in possession of infinite worth. Nothing less than the glory of infinity and eternity can atone for transgression. The individual must also be possessed of humanity for this obvious reason: that man hath transgressed, and man must atone. In the person of the Messiah we behold everything God could possibly desire. A Divine person, comprising Deity and humanity in Himself, atones for sin.

2. It was absolutely necessary that the individual who atoned should be wholly at his own disposal.--Now, no finite being is at his own disposal; no finite being can say, "I will do as I please;" but Messiah speaks of Himself in language that finite being could not adopt without insulting God. The doctrine of the Trinity is opposed; but when we peruse Scripture we shall find the absolute necessity of a plurality of persons. A Divine person to present a sacrifice; and if so, a Divine person to receive that sacrifice.

+II. Christ's love in giving Himself.+--And here we behold the love of God in all its glory. Christ hath saved us, and given Himself for us. Here we behold the love of Christ; the love of a Divine person embracing God, embracing the law of God, and embracing the sinner in all his shame. Two of the attributes of this love never unfolded their glories before. The intenseness and the holiness of it were never before manifested. Behold God as well as man, a Divine person suffering for us. Here for once, and once only, behold the sovereignty of God in all its glory, in all its lowliness, connected with the justice of God in all its terrors. Messiah is punished, that the transgressor may live for ever.

+III. God's pleasure in the sacrifice of His Son.+--1. God is infinitely delighted with His Son, as He is one in essence with Him. The pious Baptist gives his disciples a volume of Divinity in a few words. He traces everything to its source. "The Father loveth the Son." Surely, then, we must anticipate God's pleasure in everything the Saviour does. 2. The resurrection and ascension of Christ prove God's acceptance of the sacrifice. 3. The success of the Gospel another proof.

+Lessons.+--1. See the evil and danger of unbelief. 2. All spiritual good comes from God; all spiritual evil flows from the creature. 3. Learn the work of faith--to accept Christ.--Howels.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 3-14.

The Children of Darkness and of Light.

+I. The children of darkness are known by their deeds+ (vers. 3-5).--A loathsome and unsightly list! Sin marks its victims. Deeds done in darkness do not escape detection and exposure. The revolting sins of the heathen reveal the depth of wickedness to which man may sink when he abandons God and is abandoned of God. Every single sin, voluntarily indulged, weakens the power of self-control, and there is no deed of darkness a reckless sinner may not commit. Sensuality is a devil-fish--a vampire of the sea--preying upon and devouring the best powers of mind and body.

1. Their deeds exclude them from the inheritance of the good.--They have no "inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (ver. 5). The children of darkness can have no company and no place with the children of light; the two cannot co-exist or blend together. The sinner excludes himself, and unfits himself for fellowship with the good. Their purity is a constant reproof of his vileness; he shrinks from their society, and hates them because they are so good. We may well be on our guard against sins that shut us out of the kingdom of grace on earth, and out of heaven hereafter.

2. Their deeds expose them to the Divine wrath.--"Because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience" (ver. 6). The wrath of God is already upon them (Rom. i. 18), and shall remain so long as they are disobedient. Deeds such as theirs carry their own punishment; but there is also the righteous vengeance of God to reckon with. For sin God can have nothing but wrath; but yet that is mercifully restrained to afford every opportunity for repentance. The Roman magistrates, when they gave sentence upon any one to be scourged, had a bundle of rods tied hard with many knots laid before them. The reason was this: whilst the beadle was untying the knots, which he was to do by order and not in any other or sudden way, the magistrates might see the deportment and carriage of the delinquent, whether he was sorry for his fault and showed any hope of amendment, that then they might recall his sentence or mitigate his punishment; otherwise he was corrected so much the more severely. Thus God in the punishment of sinners. How patient is He! How loth to strike! How slow to anger!

+II. The children of light are Divinely illumined.+--1. They were once in darkness. "Ye were sometimes darkness" (ver. 8). Their present condition as children of the light should remind them by contrast of their former state, and should excite their gratitude to God for the change He had wrought in them. They were not to be deceived by specious arguments (ver. 6) that they could return to their old sins and yet retain their new inheritance. To go back to the old life is to go back to darkness.

2. Their possession of Divine light is evident.--"But now are ye light in the Lord. . . . For the fruit of the Spirit [the fruit of light] is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (vers. 8, 9). True virtue is of the light and cannot be hid. Genuine religion manifests itself in goodness of heart, in righteousness of life, and in truthfulness of character and speech--in a holy reality that is both experienced and expressed. On Herder's grave at Weimar there was placed by royal authority a cast-iron tablet with the words, "Light, Love, Life." The life illumined by the Spirit is its own bright witness.

3. Their conduct aims at discovering what is acceptable to God.--"Walk as children of the light, . . . proving what is acceptable unto the Lord" (vers. 8, 10). Their outward life must be in harmony with the new nature they have received. They were adopted as children of the light, and they must think, speak, and act in the light and with the light they had received. The light will show what it is that God approves; and striving in all things to please Him our light will increase. We may sometimes be mistaken, but we shall get light from our mistakes, as well as from our success, as to the will of God. Life is a trial, and our conduct will be the test as to how we are using the light God has given us. The light we shed will be a help and guide to others. There is a kind of diamond which, if exposed for some minutes to the light of the sun and then taken into a dark room, will emit light for some time. The marvellous property of retaining light and thereby becoming the source of light on a small scale shows how analogous to light its very nature must be. Those who touched the Saviour became sources of virtue to others. As Moses' face shown when he came from the mount, so converse with spiritual things makes Christians the light which shines in the dark places of the earth. "Let your light so shine before men" (Matt. v. 16).

+III. The children of light cannot participate in deeds of darkness.+--1. They are to shun them. "Be not partakers with them . . . Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness" (vers. 7, 11). We may not actually commit certain sins; but if we tolerate or encourage them, we are partakers with the transgressors. The safest place is that which is farthest from evil. It is a perilous experiment to try how near we can approach and how far daily with sin without committing ourselves. The easiest way to resist temptation is to run away. It is beneath the dignity of the children of light to patronise or trifle with sin.

2. They were not even to speak of them.--"It is a shame even to speak of those things" (ver. 12). There are some subjects about which silence is not only the highest prudence but a sacred duty. The foolish talking and jesting of ver. 4 belonged to the period when they were the children of darkness. Sparkling humour refreshes; the ribald jest pollutes. The best way to forget sayings that suggest evil is never to speak of them.

3. They are to expose them by bringing the light of truth to bear upon them.--"But rather reprove them. . . . All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light," etc. (vers. 11, 13, 14). Silent absence or abstinence is not enough. Where sin is open to rebuke it should at all hazards be rebuked. On the other hand, St. Paul does not warrant Christians in prying into the hidden sins of the world around them and playing the moral detective. Publicity is not a remedy for all evils, but a great aggravation of some, and the surest means of disseminating them. It is a shame--a disgrace to our common nature, and a grievous peril to the young and innocent--to fill the public prints with the nauseous details of crime, and to taint the air with its putridities. The fruit of the light convicts the unfruitful works of darkness. The light of the Gospel disclosed and then dispelled the darkness of the former time. So will it be with the night of sin that is spread over the world. The light which shines upon sin-laden and sorrowful hearts shines on them to change them into its own nature. The manifested is light; in other words, if men can be made to see the true nature of their sin, they will forsake it. If the light can but penetrate their conscience, it will save them. "Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest." With this song on her lips the Church went forth, clad in the armour of light, strong in the joy of salvation; and darkness and the works of darkness fled before her (Findlay).

+Lessons.+--The Children of darkness and of light differ--1. In their conduct. 2. In their spirit and aims. 3. In the way in which they are Divinely regarded.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 3-6. Christian Sobriety inculcated.

+I. The vices condemned.+--1. Impurity. Fornication is sometimes used in Scripture to comprehend the grosser forms of uncleanness, as incest, adultery, and prostitution; but in common speech it is appropriated to intimacy between unmarried persons. If acts of uncleanness are criminal, so are impure thoughts and desires. The Gospel forbids filthy communication, which indicates a vicious disposition and corrupts others. Christians must abstain from everything that tends to suggest wanton ideas, to excite impure desire, and to strengthen the power of temptation.

2. Covetousness.--An immoderate desire of riches.

3. Foolish talking and jesting.--The Gospel is not so rigid and austere as to debar us from innocent pleasures and harmless amusements. Jesting is not foolish when used to expose the absurdity of error and the folly of vice. The apostle condemns lewd and obscene jesting, profane jesting, and reviling and defamatory jesting. Evil-speaking never wounds so deeply nor infuses in the wound such fatal poison as when it is sharpened by wit and urged home by ridicule.

+II. The arguments subjoined.+--1. Impurity, covetousness, and foolish talking are unbecoming in saints. 2. Foolish talking and jesting are not convenient, as the heathen imagined them to be, but are criminal in their nature and fatal in their tendency. 3. The indulgence of these sins is inconsistent with a title to heaven. 4. These sins not only exclude from heaven, but bring upon the sinners the wrath of God.--Lathrop.

Ver. 4. Against Foolish Talking and jesting.

+I. In what foolish talking and jesting may be allowed.+--1. Facetiousness is not unreasonable which ministers harmless delight to conversation. 2. When it exposes things base and evil. 3. When it is a defence against unjust reproach. 4. When it may be used so as not to defile the mind of the speaker or do wrong to the hearer.

+II. In what should it be condemned.+--1. All profane jesting or speaking loosely about holy things. 2. Abusive and scurrilous jesting which tends to damage our neighbour. 3. It is very culpable to be facetious in obscene and smutty matters. 4. To affect to value this way of speaking in comparison to the serious and plain way of speaking. 5. All vainglorious ostentation. 6. When it impairs the habitual seriousness that becomes the Christian.--Barrow.

Ver. 6. The Dissipation of Large Cities.

+I. The origin of a life of dissipation.+--Young men on their entrance into the business of the world have not been enough fortified against its seducing influences by their previous education at home. Ye parents who, in placing your children on some road to gainful employment, have placed them without a sigh in the midst of depravity, so near and so surrounding that without a miracle they must perish, you have done an act of idolatry to the god of this world, you have commanded your household after you to worship him as the great divinity of their lives, and you have caused your children to make their approaches to his presence, and in so doing to pass through the fire of such temptations as have destroyed them.

+II. The progress of a life of dissipation.+--The vast majority of our young, on their way to manhood, are initiated into all the practices and describe the full career of dissipation. Those who have imbibed from their fathers the spirit of this world's morality are not sensibly arrested in this career, either by the opposition of their friends or by the voice of their own conscience. Those who have imbibed an opposite spirit, and have brought it into competition with an evil world, and have at length yielded with many a sigh and many a struggle, are troubled with the upbraidings of conscience. The youthful votary of pleasure determines to be more guarded: but the entanglements of companionship have got hold of him, the inveteracy of habit tyrannises over all his purposes, the stated opportunity again comes round, and the loud laugh of his partners chases all his despondency away. The infatuation gathers upon him every month, a hardening process goes on, the deceitfulness of sin grows apace, and he at length becomes one of the sturdiest and most unrelenting of her votaries. He in his turn strengthens the conspiracy that is formed against the morals of a new generation, and all the ingenuous delicacies of other days are obliterated. He contracts a temperament of knowing, hackneyed, unfeeling depravity, and thus the mischief is transmitted from one year to another, and keeps up the guilty history of every place of crowded population.

+III. The effects of a life of dissipation.+--We speak not at present of the coming death and of the coming judgment, but of the change which takes place on many a votary of licentiousness when he becomes what the world calls a reformed man. He bids adieu to the pursuits and profligacies of youth, not because he has repented them, but because he has outlived them. It is a common and easy transition to pass from one kind of disobedience to another; but it is not so easy to give up that rebelliousness of heart which lies at the root of all disobedience. The man has withdrawn from the scenes of dissipation, and has betaken himself to another way; but it is his own way. He may bid adieu to profligacy in his own person, but he lifts up the light of his countenance on the profligacy of others. He gives it the whole weight and authority of his connivance. Oh for an arm of strength to demolish the firm and far-spread compact of iniquity, and for the power of some such piercing and prophetic voice as might convince our reformed men of the baleful influence they cast behind them on the morals of the succeeding generation! What is the likeliest way of setting up a barrier against this desolating torrent of corruption? The mischief will never be combatted effectually by any expedient separate from the growth and the transmission of personal Christianity throughout the land.--T. Chalmers.

Vers. 7-12. Fellowship in Wickedness and its Condemnation.

+I. Illustrate this fellowship in wickedness.+--1. Not to oppose, in many cases, is to embolden transgressors, and to be partakers with them. 2. We have more direct fellowship with the wicked when we encourage them by our example. 3. They who incite and provoke others to evil works have fellowship with them. 4. They who explicitly consent to and actually join with sinners in their evil works have fellowship with them. 5. To comfort and uphold sinners in their wickedness is to have fellowship with them. 6. There are some who rejoice in iniquity when they have lent no hand to accomplish it.

+II. Apply the arguments the apostle urges against it.+--1. One argument is taken from the superior light which Christians enjoy. 2. Another is taken from the grace of the Holy Spirit, of which believers are the subjects. 3. The works of darkness are unfruitful. 4. This is a shameful fellowship. 5. If we have fellowship with sinners in their works, we must share with them in their punishment.--Lathrop.

Ver. 8. Light in Darkness.--I was in a darkened room that I might observe the effect produced by the use of what is called luminous paint. A neat card on which the words "Trust in the Lord" were printed rested upon the bookcase and shone out clearly in the darkness. The effect startled me. How remarkable that if from any cause the light of sun or day failed to rest upon the card its luminousness gradually declined, but returned when the sun's action infused fresh light! Truly we also, if hidden from the face of our Lord, cease to shine. "Are ye light in the Lord? walk as children of light."--H. Varley.

Ver. 9. Fruit of the Spirit.--As oftentimes when walking in a wood near sunset, though the sun himself be hid by the height and bushiness of the trees around, yet we know that he is still above the horizon from seeing his beams in the open glades before us illuminating a thousand leaves, the several brightnesses of which are so many evidences of his presence. Thus it is with the Holy Spirit: He works in secret, but His work is manifest in the lives of all true Christians. Lamps so heavenly must have been lit from on high.--J. C. Hare.

Ver. 10. The Rule of Christian Conduct.--1. We cannot conform ourselves to what is acceptable to the Lord and walk as children of light except we make serious search into the rule of duty revealed in the Word and do our utmost to come up to that rule. We walk not acceptably when we do things rashly without deliberation, or doubtingly after deliberation, nor when the thing done is in itself right, but we do it not from that ground, but to gratify ourselves. 2. It is not sufficient to make this inquiry in order to some few and weighty actions, but in order to all, whether greater or less, whether advantage or loss may follow our conforming to the rule. 3. The finding out of what is acceptable to the Lord, especially in some intricate cases, is not easily attained. There must be an accurate search, together with an exercising ourselves in those things we already know to be acceptable, that so we may experimentally know them to be such, and get our knowledge bettered in those things of which we are ignorant.--Fergusson.

Vers. 11, 12. Works of Darkness.--1. Though we are not in all cases to abstain from the fellowship of wicked men, but may converse with them as we are bound by necessity, or by any civil, religious, or natural bond, yet no tie of that kind can warrant us to partake with them in their sins. 2. Though the command to reprove the sins of others is an affirmative precept, and not binding at all times and in all cases, yet not reproving when occasion offers is a partaking with them in their sins. 3. There should be such a holy bashfulness in Christians as to think shame to utter in speech, at least without detestation, those things godless sinners are not ashamed to practise. Ministers in their public preachings should be modest and sparing in deciphering filthy sins, lest they teach others how to commit the sin they reprove. 4. When men do not seek the veil of secrecy to cover their sins, but glory in their shame, they are more corrupt than the grossest of pagans.--Fergusson.

Vers. 13, 14. Slumbering Souls and their Awakening.

+I. The character of the persons addressed.+--They are in a state of sleep. 1. If you allow yourselves in the practice of known wickedness, your conscience is asleep. 2. If you live in the customary neglect of self-examination, you are in a state of slumber. 3. If you have never been in any degree affected with a sense of your guilt and your dependence on the mercy of God in Christ, you are among those who are asleep. 4. If you have no conflicts with sin and temptation, you are in a state of slumber. 5. The prevalence of a sensual and carnal disposition is a sign of spiritual death. 6. Stupidity under the warnings of God's Word and providence indicates such a state of soul as the Scripture compares to sleep. 7. The soul in which the temper of the Gospel is formed hungers and thirsts after righteousness, desires spiritual growth, and reaches after perfection.

+II. The awakening call.+--1. This awakening must suppose and imply a conviction of your sin and a sense of your danger. 2. This awakening from sleep and arising from the dead imply a real repentance of sin and turning to God. 3. They who have awoke from their sleep and risen from the dead will experience the properties and maintain the exercises of a holy and spiritual life.

+III. The encouragement to attend to the awakening call.+--"Christ shall give thee light." 1. This may be understood as a promise of pardon and eternal life on your repentance. 2. The words import God's gracious attention to awakened souls when they frame their doings to turn to Him.--Lathrop.

Ver. 13. The Light of God.

+I. Light comes from God.+--God is light, and He wishes to give light to His children. "Whatsoever doth make manifest is light"--that which is made manifest is light. There has been a steady progress in the mind of the Christian race, and this progress has been in the direction of light. Has it not been so in our notions of God?--a gradual discovery that when God is manifested, behold, God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all--a gradual vindication of His character from those dark and horrid notions of the Deity which were borrowed from the pagans and the Jewish rabbis--a gradual return to the perfect good news of a good God which was preached by St. John and by St. Paul. The day shall come when all shall be light in the Lord--when all mankind shall know God from the least unto the greatest, and, lifting up free foreheads to Him who made them and redeemed them by His Son, shall in spirit and in truth worship the Father.

+II. In the case of our fellow-men whatsoever is made manifest is light.+--How easy it was to have dark thoughts about our fellow-men simply because we did not know them,--easy to condemn the Negro to perpetual slavery, when we knew nothing of him but his black face; or to hang by hundreds the ragged street boys, while we disdained to inquire into the circumstances which had degraded them; or to treat madmen as wild beasts, instead of taming them by wise and gentle sympathy. But with a closer knowledge of our fellow-creatures has come toleration, pity, sympathy. Man, in proportion as he becomes manifest to man, is seen, in spite of all defects and sins, to be hallowed with a light from God who made him.

+III. It has been equally so in the case of the physical world.+--Nature, being made manifest, is light. Science has taught men to admire where they used to dread, to rule where they used to obey, to employ for harmless uses what they were once afraid to touch, and where they once saw only fiends to see the orderly and beneficent laws of the All-good and Almighty God. Everywhere, as the work of nature is unfolded to our eyes, we see beauty, order, mutual use, the offspring of perfect love as well as perfect wisdom. Let us teach these things to our children. Tell them to go to the light and see their heavenly Father's works manifested, and know that they are, as He is, light.--C. Kingsley.

Ver. 14. Moral Stupidity.--How many scarcely think of God from day to day! It cannot therefore be uncharitable to consider the mass of the people, compared with the wakefulness their infinite interests require, as sunk in a profound slumber. Unless this slumber is soon broken they must sleep the sleep of eternal death.

+I. Search for the cause of this stupidity.+--The proximate cause may be comprehended in these two words--ignorance and unbelief. The remote cause is opposition to God and truth. Were not the heart opposed, no man with the Bible in his hand could remain ignorant of truths which claim to have so important a bearing on his eternal destiny. Fortified by sevenfold ignorance, men can no more be awakened to contemplate their condition with alarm than the pagans of the wilderness. It is perfectly in character for them to slumber. But there are men who are respectable for their knowledge of Christian truth who yet are asleep. The cause with them is unbelief--the want of a realising sense. Their understanding assents to the awful verities of religion, but they do not realisingly believe them.

+II. Apply some arguments to remove the evil.+--Consider that these awful truths are as much realities as though you were now overwhelmed with a sense of their importance. Neither the ignorance nor the unbelief of man can change eternal truth. God is as holy, as awful in majesty, He is as much your Creator, Preserver, and Master, He as much holds your destinies in His hands, as though you were now lying at His feet beseeching Him not to cast you down to hell. What would it avail if all the people should disbelieve that the sun will ever rise again, or that spring-time and harvest will ever return? Can the soldier annihilate the enemy by marching up to the battery with his eyes and ears closed? You have the same means with others: why should you remain ignorant while they are informed? If your knowledge is competent and it is unbelief that excludes conviction, then call into action the powers of a rational soul and cast yourselves for help on God. If you ever mean to awake, awake now. The longer you sleep the sounder you sleep. The longer you live without religion the less likely that you will ever possess it. You are sleeping in the presence of an offended God. In His hands you lie, and if He but turn them you slide to rise no more.--E. D. Griffin.

The Call of the Gospel to Sinners.

+I. The state in which the Gospel finds mankind.+--A state of sleep and of death.

1. It is a state of insensibility and unconcern with respect to the concerns of another world.--Busied about trifles, men overlook the great concerns of eternity. Having their minds darkened, they see no world but the present, they live as if they were to live here for ever. And if at any time this false peace is shaken, they try all means to prevent it from being destroyed, and to lull themselves again to rest.

2. How indisposed and unwilling men are to set about the work of true religion.--Nothing but this religion of which men are so ignorant, about which they care so little, against which they have conceived such a dislike, can in the end deliver them from everlasting shame, sorrow, and punishment. Here is their extreme misery and danger. They are unconcerned about an object which of all others ought to concern them most, and are set against the only remedy which can be of any real service to them. They are every moment liable to fall into utter perdition; but they are not aware of their danger, and reject the only hand which is stretched out to save them.

+II. The duty the Gospel calls on them to discharge.+--To awake out of sleep and arise from the dead. 1. Their duty is to consider their state and danger. 2. To break off their sins by repentance. 3. To seek the knowledge and favour of God.

+III. The encouragement the Gospel affords.+--1. Christ will give thee knowledge. He will enlighten thy darkened mind, He will teach thee by His good Spirit, and will effectually lead thee into all saving truth.

2. Christ will give thee peace.--Whatever peace thou mayest have arising from not knowing and not feeling that thou art a sinner and daily exposed to the wrath of God, the peace which Christ offers thee is a peace which will arise from a consciousness that thy sins are forgiven, and that, although though art a sinner, thou art yet reconciled to God.

3. Christ will give thee holiness.--Holiness is our meetness for heaven. It is that state and disposition of heart which alone can fit us for seeing and serving God.--E. Cooper.

A Summons to Spiritual Light.

+I. A lamentable moral condition.+--Sleep implies a state of inactivity and security. Men are busily employed about their worldly concerns; but a lamentable supineness prevails with respect to spiritual things. The generality do not apprehend their souls to be in any danger--death, judgment, heaven, and hell do not seem worthy their notice. God's threatenings against them are denounced without effect--they are like Jonah, sleeping in the midst of a storm. Death includes the ideas of impotence and corruption. An inanimate body cannot perform any of the functions of life. It has within itself the seeds and the principles of corruption. The soul also, till quickened from the dead, is in a state of impotence, it is incapable of spiritual action or discernment. Yet, notwithstanding this state appears so desperate, we must address to every one that is under it the command, "Awake." Your inactivity and security involve you in the deepest guilt; your corruption of heart and life provokes the majesty of God. Nor is your impotence any excuse for your disobedience. They who exert their feeble powers may expect Divine assistance. To convince us that none shall fail who use the appointed means God enforces His command with--

+II. A promise.+--Sleep and death are states of intellectual darkness: hence light is promised to those who obey the Divine mandate. Light in Scripture imparts knowledge (Isa. viii. 20), holiness (1 John i. 7), comfort (Ps. xcvii. 11), and glory (Col. i. 12). And all these blessings shall they receive from Christ, the fountain of light (Mal. iv. 2; John i. 9).

+Lessons.+--1. Let each one consider the command addressed to himself--"Awake thou." 2. Let all our powers be called into action. 3. In exerting ourselves let us expect the promised aid.--Theological Sketch Book.

The Gospel Call and Promise.

+I. Many of mankind are in a state of deadly sleep.+--In sleep the animal spirits retire to their source, the nerves are collapsed or embraced; and as the nerves are the medium of sensation and motion, the whole system is in a state of insensibility and inactivity. How exactly resembling this is your spiritual state.

1. You are insensible.--Your eyes and ears are closed; and you have no proper sense of pleasure or of pain.

2. You are in a state of security.--You have no fear of evil, no apprehension of danger, and consequently no concern for your safety.

3. You are in a state of inactivity.--You are not inquiring, labouring, wrestling. When the body is locked in slumber, thought roves at random and produces gay dreams of fancied happiness. Thus many are dreaming their lives away. (1) In this sleep many are as void of sense and motion as if they were actually dead. (2) In common sleep a person after due repose spontaneously awakes, renewed in vigour. But from this sleep, unless God should awake you, you will never awake till the heavens be no more. (3) It is a sleep unto death. Like one who has taken a large quantity of opium, unless you are awakened by some external cause, you will insensibly sink into the second death, the death which never dies.

+II. God is using means to awaken them.+--While you are asleep, light, however bright and clear, shines upon you in vain. Till warning has waked attention, instruction and illumination will be lost upon you. 1. God calls you to awake from your dreams of fancied happiness, and reflect upon the vanity of the objects by which you are deluded. 2. Struggle to shake off the dull slumber which weighs you down. 3. Consider your misery and danger. 4. Rouse all that is within you to activity. God calls you--(1) By the language of His law. (2) By the severe dispensations of His providence. (3) By the strivings of His Spirit. (4) By the voice of the Gospel.

+III. God will give light to all who awake at His call.+--It is the peculiar property of light to make manifest (ver. 13). Christ will give you light. 1. He shall make manifest to yourself your character and your situation. 2. You shall behold the light of life. 3. He shall reveal to you the God of pardoning love. 4. He shall chase the darkness of sin from your soul, and you shall walk in the light of holiness. 5. He shall put an end to your mourning.

+Learn.+--1. The deceitfulness and destructive character of sin. 2. How fully God provides for your salvation. 3. _Hear the voice of God.--E. Hare._

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 15-18.

Christian Wisdom--

+I. Cautiously regulates the outward life.+--"See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise" (ver. 15). The Christian needs not only spiritual fervour and enthusiasm, but also prudence--sanctified common sense. It is possible to do a right thing in a wrong way, or in such a way as to cause more mischief than benefit. There is a severity of virtue that repels, and rouses resentment; and there is a parade of Christian liberty that shocks the sensitive. The truth lies between two extremes, and Christian wisdom is seen in maintaining the truth and avoiding extremes. "I wisdom dwell with prudence." Mr. Edward Everett Hale is generally credited as the author of the following motto for Christian workers:

"Look up, and not down; Look out, and not in; Look forward, and not back; Lend a hand."

Success in soul-winning is only given to skill, earnestness, sympathy, perseverance, tact. Men are saved, not in masses, but by careful study and well-directed effort. It is said that such is the eccentric flight of the snipe when they rise from the earth that it completely puzzles the sportsman, and some who are capital shots at other birds are utterly baffled here. Eccentricity seems to be their special quality, and this can only be mastered by incessant practice with the gun. But the eccentricity of souls is beyond this, and he had need be a very spiritual Nimrod--a mighty hunter before the Lord--who would capture them for Christ. "He that winneth souls is wise."

+II. Teaches how to make the best use of present opportunity.+--1. Observing the value of time amid the prevalence of evil. "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (ver. 16). Time is a section cut out of the great circle of eternity, and defines for us the limits in which the work of life must be done. It is a precious gift bestowed by the beneficent hand of God--a gift involving grave responsibility; and we must render a strict account of the use we make of every swing of the pendulum. It is doled out to us in minute fragments. One single year is made up of 31,536,000 seconds. Every tick of the clock records the ever-lessening opportunities of life. Time is in perpetual motion. Like a strong, ever-flowing river, it is bearing away everything into the boundless ocean of eternity. We never know the value of time till we know the value of the fragments into which it is broken up. To make the most of a single hour we must make the most of every minute of which it is composed. The most dangerous moments of a man's life are those when time hangs heavily on his hands. He who has nothing to do but kill time is in danger of being killed himself. It is a miracle of Divine goodness if he is preserved from serious folly, or something worse; and such miracles rarely occur. The man who has learnt the value of time can learn any lesson this world may have to teach him. Time is the opportunity for the exercise of Christian wisdom, and should be the more sedulously used "when the days are evil"--when evil is in power. Oh for wisdom to number our days, to grasp the meaning of present opportunity! Here come the moments that can never be had again; some few may yet be filled with imperishable good. Let us apply our hearts--all our powers--unto wisdom.

2. Having the good sense to recognise the Divine will.--"Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is" (ver. 17). We must read and interpret the signs of the times in the light of God's purpose. A close and deep study of the Divine mind will reveal to us the significance of the passing opportunity, and aid us in making the wisest use of it. Our biggest schemes are doomed to failure if they are not in accordance with the will of God. The noblest tasks are reserved for those who have the keenest spiritual insight and are most in harmony with the Divine purpose.

+III. Avoids the folly and waste of intemperance.+--"Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess" (ver. 18). The Asian Christians were a social, light-hearted people, fond of convivial feasts. Wine was their danger; and even in the celebration of the Lord's Supper they ran into excess, and degraded the holy ordinance. There were doubtless converted drunkards among them; and the warning of the text was specially needed. Intemperance is not only a folly and a waste; it is a degradation and a sin. It is the excessive indulgence of a craving that at bottom may be in itself good, if wisely regulated--a craving for an intenser life. "One finds traces," says Monod, "of the primitive greatness of our nature even in its most deplorable errors. Just as impurity proceeds at the bottom from an abuse of the craving for love, so drunkenness betrays a certain demand for ardour and enthusiasm which in itself is natural and even noble. Man loves to feel himself alive; he would fain live twice his life at once; and he would rather draw excitement from horrible things than have no excitement at all." When the physicians told Theotimus that except he abstained from drunkenness and licentiousness he would lose his eyes, his heart was so wedded to his sins that he answered, "Then farewell, sweet light."

+IV. Seeks to be under the complete control of the Divine Spirit.+--"But be filled with the Spirit" (ver. 18). The excitement of drunkenness must be supplanted by a holier and more elevating stimulus: the cup that intoxicates exchanged for the new wine of the Spirit. The general adoption of this principle will be the grandest triumph of temperance. The cure of drunkenness will not be accomplished simply by the removal of temptation, unless a relish for higher things is created and springs of holier pleasure are opened in the hearts of men. A lower impulse is conquered and expelled by the introduction of a higher. Anachonis, the philosopher, being asked by what means a man might best guard against the vice of drunkenness, answered, "By bearing constantly in his view the loathsome, indecent behaviour of such as are intoxicated." Upon this principle was founded the custom of the Lacedæmonians of exposing their drunken slaves to their children, who by that means conceived an early aversion to a vice which makes men appear so monstrous and irrational. There is no excess in drinking copious draughts of the Spirit. Christian wisdom opens the soul to the ever-flowing tide of His influence, and strives to be animated and filled with His all-controlling power.

+Lessons.+--1. Wisdom is the best use of knowledge. 2. Christianity opens the purest sources of knowledge. 3. "Get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding" (Prov. iv. 7).

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 15-17. Walking circumspectly.

+I. The duty recommended.+--1. Walk circumspectly that you may keep within the line of your duty. Your course often lies in a medium between two extremes. If from this course you deviate, you step into the territory of vice. Be circumspect that you may not mistake your duty. Be watchful that you may retain a sense of virtue and rectitude. Be attentive that you may conform to the Spirit of God's commands.

2. Walk circumspectly that you may escape the snares in your way.--Often look forward to descry your dangers. Attend to your particular situation and condition in life. Often review your past life, and reflect on former temptations. Be circumspect that you may detect your enemies when they approach you in disguise. Never neglect your duty under pretence of shunning a temptation.

3. Walk circumspectly that you may wisely comport with the aspects of Providence.

4. Be circumspect that you may do every duty in its time and place.--Attend on the daily worship of God in your families and closets. Be kind and beneficent to the poor. Neglect not the care of your body. Attend on the instituted ordinances of the Gospel.

5. Walk circumspectly that your good may not be evil spoken of.

+II. The argument by which the apostle urges the duty.+--"The days are evil." The argument was not peculiar to those early times, but is pertinent to all times. 1. The days are evil because the Christian finds in himself much disorder and corruption. 2. The days are evil as he is exposed to various afflictions. 3. There are many adversaries. 4. Iniquity abounds.--Lathrop.

Ver. 15. The Wise Conduct of Life.--1. The more light and knowledge a man receives from God he ought to take the more diligent heed that in all things he practises according to his light. 2. Those only are most fit to reprove sin in others who walk most circumspectly and live so as they cannot be justly blamed themselves. Even the righteous walking of such is a forcible reproof of sin in others, though they speak nothing. 3. As those are only truly wise in God's account who labour to walk most exactly by the rule of God's Word, so where this sanctified wisdom is it will render itself evident by making the person endowed with it walk circumspectly. 4. The less circumspect and exact men be in walking by the rule of God's Word the greater fools they are in God's esteem.--Fergusson.

Ver. 16. Redeeming the Time.--To redeem time is to regain what is lost and to save what is left.

+I. Enter on your work speedily.+--Do you ask what is your work? It is time you knew. Consult God's Word; that will tell you.

+II. Attend to your work with diligence.+--A sense of past slothfulness must excite you to severer industry. Be not only fervent but steady in your work.

+III. Guard against the things which rob you of your time.+--An indolent habit is inconsistent with laudable actions. A versatile humour is active, but wants patience. An excessive fondness for company and amusement is the cause of much waste of time.

+IV. Do every work in its season.+--Youth is the most promising season. The time of health is more favourable than a time of sickness. There are seasons friendly to particular duties. In doing works of charity observe opportunities.

+V. Wisely divide your time among your various duties.+--Lathrop.

The Redemption of Time.

+I. The subject of the exhortation.+--1. Time sometime signifies the whole duration assigned to the present world.

2. The period of human life.--The time we occupy in the present state is that which God allots for our personal probation and trial. All God's dispensations in respect to us refer to this period and have their limits fixed by it.

3. Time means season or opportunity.--In this sense the apostle uses it here. We are to redeem all the opportunity God bestows on us for getting and doing good, for acquainting ourselves with Him and being at peace.

+II. The duty enjoined on us.+--"Redeeming the time"--the opportunity.

1. We redeem time by consideration.

2. When we turn everything we have to do, in the common concerns of life, into a religious channel.

3. By living in a devotional spirit.--(1) This will cast out everything trifling, much more everything sinful, from our leisure hours. (2) Its preservation and exercise are perfectly compatible with the affairs of life.

4. The principal way by which time is to be redeemed is not merely by making efforts to promote our final blessedness, but by actually securing our present salvation.

+III. The motives by which the exhortation is enforced.+--"Because the days are evil."

1. The days are evil in a general sense.--This age, as well as the age of the apostles, is a wicked one.

2. Because they are days of distress.

3. The days are evil individually.--In the sense of affliction to a number of individuals.

4. It is an evil day that we are ever exposed to enemies and temptations.

5. Every day opportunities of improvement are wasted is an evil day.

6. The time will come when, as to many unhappy spirits, the opportunity of salvation will be lost for ever.--R. Watson.

The Redemption of Time.--The more the days are beset by things that grievously invade them, disturb them, waste them, the more careful and zealous should we be to save and improve all that we can. To this end--

+I. It is of the highest importance that time should be a reality in our perception and estimate;+ that we should verify it as an actual something, like a substance to which we can attach a positive value, and see it as wasting or as improved as palpably as the contents of a granary or as the precious metals. The unfortunate case with us is, that time is apprehended but like air, or rather like empty space, so that in wasting it we do not see that we are destroying or misusing a reality. Time is equivalent to what could be done or gained in it.

+II. Keep established in the mind, and often present to view, certain important purposes or objects that absolutely must be attained.+--For example: that there is some considerable discipline and improvement of the mind, some attainment of Divine knowledge, some measure of the practice of religious exercises, and there is the one thing needful in its whole comprehensive magnitude.

+III. That time be regarded in an inseparable connection with eternity is the grand principle for redeeming it;+ to feel solemnly that it is really for eternity, and has all the importance of this sublime and awful relation. It might be a striking and alarming reflection suggested to a man who has wasted his time--now the time has gone backward into the irrevocable past, but the effect of it, from the quality you have given it, is gone forward into eternity, and since you are going thither, how will you meet and feel the effect there?

+IV. Nothing short of the redemption of the soul is the true and effectual redemption of time.+--And this object gives the supreme rule for the redeeming of time. How melancholy to have made so admirable a use of time for all purposes but the supreme one!--John Foster.

Ver. 17, 18. Sensual and Spiritual Excitement.--There is the antithesis between drunkenness and spiritual fulness. The propriety of this opposition lies in the intensity of feeling produced in both cases. There is one intensity of feeling produced by stimulating the senses, another by vivifying the spiritual life within. The one commences with impulses from without, the other is guarded by forces from within. Here, then, is the similarity and here the dissimilarity which constitutes the propriety of the contrast. One is ruin, the other salvation. One degrades, the other exalts.

+I. The effects are similar.+--On the day of Pentecost, when the first influences of the Spirit descended on the early Church, the effects resembled intoxication. It is this very resemblance which deceives the drunkard; he is led on by his feelings as well as by his imagination. Another point of resemblance is the necessity of intense feeling. We have fulness--it may be produced by outward stimulus or by an inpouring of the Spirit. The proper and natural outlet for this feeling is the life of the Spirit. What is religion but fuller life?

+II. The dissimilarity or contrast in St. Paul's idea.+--The one fulness begins from without, the other from within. The one proceeds from the flesh, and then influences the emotions; the other reverses this order. Stimulants like wine inflame the senses, and through them set the imaginations and feelings on fire; and the law of our spiritual being is, that that which begins with the flesh sensualises the spirit; whereas that which commences in the region of the spirit spiritualises the senses, in which it subsequently stirs emotion. That which begins in the heart ennobles the whole animal being; but that which begins in the inferior departments of our being is the most entire degradation and sensualising of the soul. The other point of difference is one of effect. Fulness of the Spirit calms; fulness produced by excitement satiates and exhausts. The crime of sense is avenged by sense which wears with time--the terrific punishment attached to the habitual indulgence of the senses is that the incitements to enjoyment increase in proportion as the power of enjoyment fades. We want the Spirit of the life of Christ, simple, natural, with power to calm and soothe the feelings which it rouses; the fulness of the Spirit which can never intoxicate!--F. W. Robertson.

Christian Mirth versus Drunken Mirth.--Carnal men seek the joys of life in revelry, but Christians must seek them in a higher inspiration--that of the Holy Ghost, whose fulness is the source of the blithest and most joyous life.

+I. The mirth begotten of wine is the mother of all kinds of profligacy.+

+II. The mirth begotten of wine destroys men body and soul.+

+III. The fulness of the Holy Spirit produces a truly blithe and merry life.+--In this life, with its many causes of depression, men need exhilaration, and the text points us to the only place where it is to be found without any alloy.--G. A. Bennetts, B.A.

What is your Heart filled with?

+I. The heart of man must be full of something.+

+II. Those who are full of wine cannot be filled with the Spirit.+

+III. Those who are filled with the Spirit will not be full of wine.+

+IV. The joy that is kindled by fulness of wine is degrading while it lasts, and will soon expire.+

+V. The joy that is kindled by the fulness of the Spirit makes us like the angels, and it will never end.+--Lay Preacher.

The Vice of Drunkenness.

+I. The nature and extent of the sin.+--The use of meat and drink is to support and comfort the body. Whatever is more than these is excess. The highest degree of intemperance is such an indulgence as suspends the exercise of the mental and bodily powers. If by the indulgence of your appetite you unfit your body for the service of your mind, or your mind for the service of God, you waste your substance as to defraud your family of a maintenance or your creditors of their dues, become enslaved to a sensual habit and fascinated to dissolute company, stupefy your conscience, extinguish the sentiments of honour and banish the thoughts of futurity, you are chargeable with criminal excess.

+II. The guilt and danger which attend the vice.+--1. It is an ungrateful abuse of God's bounty. 2. It divests the man of his native dignity and sinks him below the brutal herds. 3. Is injurious to the body as well as mind. 4. Consumes men's substance. 5. Wastes a man's conscience as well as his substance. 6. Intemperance generates other vices--impure lustings, angry passions, profane language, insolent manners, obstinacy of heart, and contempt of reproof. 7. Has most lamentable effects on families. 8. The Scripture abounds in solemn warnings against this sin. 9. This sin must be renounced, or the end of it will be death.--Lathrop.

Being filled with the Spirit.--1. It supposes a sufficiency and fulness in the Spirit and His influences every way to fill our souls, to supply all our spiritual wants, and to help our infirmities. 2. It imparts an actual participation of His influences and fruits in a large and plentiful measure. (1) As men come to have every power and faculty of their souls more subject to the Spirit's authority and under the influence proper to it. (2) As they grow to experience His operations in all the several kinds of them. (3) As His agency comes to be more stated and constant in them. (4) As His grace becomes more mighty and operative in them, so as actually to produce its proper and genuine effects. (5) As they taste such a sweetness and delight in the measure of participation attained that they reach forward with greater ardour toward perfection. 3. That every one should esteem the fulness of the Spirit a desirable thing. (1) It puts us into a fit posture of mind for daily communion with God. (2) Would settle our minds in the truest pleasure and peace. 4. That we should look upon it as an attainable good. (1) From the Spirit's own gracious benignity and His declared inclination to fill our souls. (2) From the purchase and intercession of Christ. (3) From the nature of the Spirit's work in consequence of redemption (4) From the Gospel being described as the ministration of the Spirit. (5) From the declarations of God concerning the Spirit. (6) From the instances of His grace already made in others. (7) From the beginnings of His saving grace in themselves, good men may conclude the greatest heights attainable by them, if they be not wanting to themselves.--John Evans.

On being filled with the Spirit--

+I. Implies that the Spirit has been largely given to the Church.+

+II. That as God has given the Spirit largely so He has been abundantly received.+

+III. Is to be possessed by His graces in all their variety.+

+IV. Is to be wholly guided by His influence and subject to His control.+

+V. Is to be the instrument of fulfilling His mission on earth.+

+VI. Is to have God as the only portion of the soul.+--1. The Spirit is God on the earth. 2. To be filled with the Spirit is to be fully occupied with God.--Stewart.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 19-21.

Spiritual Enjoyment--

+I. Expressed in heartfelt praise to God.+--"Speaking . . . in spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" (ver. 19). Men filled with wine seek their enjoyment in singing bacchanalian odes and songs; but the men of the Spirit find a higher and more satisfying joy in chanting psalms and hymns of praise to God. The holiest excitement seeks expression in music and song. In the praise meetings of the Ephesians we have the beginnings of Christian psalmody. The psalms of the Old Testament were sung, accompanied by musical instruments. "Singing and making melody" means singing and playing, voice and instrument blending in joyous strains of praise. Then would follow hymns expressing the great ideas of the Gospel. Regarding the early Christians Pliny wrote: "They are wont on a fixed day to meet before daylight--to avoid persecution--and to recite a hymn among themselves by turns to Christ, as being God." There might not be much artistic taste in the music, either of voice or instrument; but the sincerity of the heart was the true harmony. The contrast of the verse is between the heathen and the Christian practice. Let your songs be not the drinking songs of heathen feasts, but psalms and hymns; and their accompaniment, not the music of the lyre, but the melody of the heart. Is any merry, let him sing, not light and frivolous songs, breathing questionable morality, but psalms. The glad heart is eager first to acknowledge God.

+II. Largely consists in thanksgiving.+--"Giving thanks always for all things unto God" (ver. 20). God is the active Source of all blessings in creation, providence, and grace, and should be constantly acknowledged in grateful adoration. The thankful heart is the happiest; and it is the happy who sing. Thanksgiving is the predominating element in praise; and praise is the essence of true worship. Prayer is not the essence of worship, though it is an important help. Prayer becomes worship when it merges into praise. The reading and exposition of God's Word are not worship. Preaching accomplishes one of its loftiest functions when it incites to praise. Music is not worship but it may become a valuable accessory. Christianity has taken hold of music and consecrated and elevated it to the highest uses of worship. It has produced the greatest musicians and the grandest music. All true music is the outward and melodious expression of our dearest and most sacred thoughts and feelings. The musical artist touches what is deepest and best in us. Nature has no false notes. When we praise God aright, worship becomes an act of the highest intelligence, calling forth and exercising our noblest powers. We are to sing with the Spirit, and we are to sing with the understanding also. Worship is acceptable to God as it is the joyous expression of the soul, brimming over with thankfulness and reverence. We are then brought under the spiritually transforming power of the Being we worship; the worshipper becomes like the object worshipped.

+III. Soberly recognises the relation in which we stand to each other and to Christ.+--"Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God" (ver. 21). In the fear of Christ--so read all the old MSS, and authorities. The believer passes from under the bondage of the law to be the servant of Christ, which through the instinct of love to Him is really to be the Lord's freeman, for he is under the law to Christ. Thus reverential fear of displeasing Him is the motive for discharging our relative duties as Christians. The Church should be a pattern and an example of harmony and peace, and this can only be by the members submitting themselves one to another "in the fear of Christ." The man with the most distinguished gifts must not be above submitting himself to the judgment and will of his fellow-members. Preacher, organist, choir, and congregation must vie with each other in harmonious rivalry in the service and worship of God.

+Lessons.+--1. Spiritual enjoyment is not dependent on fictitious excitement. 2. Expresses itself in holiest song. 3. Is unselfish.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Ver. 19. Singing in the Worship of God.

+I. The singing of psalms is here enjoined as a sacred branch of social worship.+--We are to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits. To Him we are to consecrate the use of all our powers. And there is the same reason why the musical as any other faculty should be employed in His service. Praise is the most excellent part of Divine worship.

+II. The matter or subject of our singing.+--In psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. By psalms is intended that collection of sacred poems which passes under this name and is one of the canonical books of Scripture. By hymns may be designed other poetical compositions of Scripture as the songs of Moses, Hannah, Zechariah, Simeon, and others. By spiritual songs may be meant those pious and devout songs which in that age were composed by prophets and holy men in the Church under the immediate influence of the Spirit. The matter we sing should be accommodated to the occasion of the worship. If in the days of David it was thought necessary that on extraordinary occasions a new song should be sung, surely now we may sing some new songs on the glorious occasion of the Gospel.

+III. We are to sing, making melody.+--The use of music in social worship is to assist and enliven the devotion of the heart. When music is performed with melody of sound, exactness of time, and harmony of voices, it greatly contributes to this end. Singing cannot be performed to edification and comfort without skill. The singers in the Jewish Temple were carefully instructed, and this branch of worship conducted with great order and solemnity.

+IV. In singing we must make melody in our hearts to the Lord.+--Singing as part of religious worship must be directed to God. We sing in obedience to His command, with a sense of His presence, with hearts disposed for His service, with affections corresponding to the matter of the psalm. The man who can hear holy anthems sung to the universal Parent, with voices sweetly mingling and harmonising together, and not feel himself softened into benevolence and love and moulded into condescension and peace, must have a soul rugged as the rocks and stubborn as an oak.

+Lessons.+--1. If singing is an instituted part of Divine worship, all should take a share in it. 2. Every one according to his ability is bound to promote the psalmody of the Church. 3. Psalmody as a branch of Divine worship should be regarded, not as a theatrical exhibition, but as a religious solemnity.--Lathrop.

Ver. 20. The Duty of Thanksgiving.

+I. The duty to which we are exhorted.+--1. Implies a right apprehension and considerate attention to benefits conferred. 2. Requires a faithful retention of benefits in memory and frequent reflections on them. 3. A due esteem and valuation of benefits. 4. That benefits be received with a willing mind, a hearty sense, a vehement affection. 5. Always attended with the esteem, veneration, and love of the benefactor.

+II. The time allotted to the performance of the duty.+--"Always." 1. Hereby is required a frequent performance thereof. 2. Appointing and punctually observing convenient times for the purpose. 3. A vigilant attendance on the duty such as men bestow on their employments. 4. Implies a ready disposition to give thanks ever permanent in us. 5. That we embrace every opportunity of actually expressing our thankfulness.

+III. The matter of this duty.+--"For all things." 1. We are to give thanks not only for great but the least favours of God. 2. Not only for new and present benefits, but for all we have formerly or may hereafter receive. 3. Not only for pleasant occurrences of providence, but also those which are adverse. 4. Not only for temporal but for spiritual and eternal blessings.--Barrow.

Thanksgiving.

+I. The duty here enjoined is to give thanks.+

+II. Consider the character of that Being to whom our thanks must be supremely directed.+--"To God, even the Father."

+III. We are required to give thanks always to God.+

+IV. The matters for which we are to give thanks.+--"For all things."

+V. Consider the medium of our access to God in this duty.+--"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."--Lathrop.

Ver. 21. Mutual Submission.

+I. A degree of submission is due to superiors.+--Superiors in age, in knowledge and wisdom, in authority. Honour a virtuous character wherever you see it.

+II. Mutual submission as it respects equals.+--All men have the same immutable right to an equitable treatment from all with whom they have intercourse. Mutual subjection ought to be seen in families.

+III. There is a submission due to those who on some accounts may be deemed inferiors.+--Superiors owe respect to those below them. They should be easy of access, gentle in language, and condescending in deportment.

+IV. This mutual submission ought to appear in Christian Churches.+--Ibid.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 22-33.

Duties of Wives and Husbands.

+I. The duty of the wife is submission to her husband.+--"Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands."

1. A submission defined by religious obligation.--"As unto the Lord" (ver. 22). This submission implies no inferiority. Husband and wife are equal before God, and each is separately responsible to Him. The husband cannot love and serve God for the wife, nor the wife for the husband; each stands related to Him as a distinct personality, with distinct duties and responsibilities for each. God has the first claim upon them both, and their relation and duties to each other must be in harmony with that supreme claim. The submission demanded is not the subjection of an inferior to a superior, but the voluntary, sympathetic obedience that can be gracefully and appropriately rendered only by an equal to an equal. "It is here that Christianity, in contrast with paganism and notably with Mahometanism, raises the weaker sex to honour. In soul and destiny it declares the woman to be man, endowed with all rights and powers inherent in humanity. It is one of the glories of our faith that it has enfranchised our sisters, and raises them in spiritual calling to the full level of their brothers and husbands."

2. A submission recognising the headship of the husband.--(1) Analogous to the headship of Christ to His Church. "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the Church" (ver. 23). (2) Unlike that headship inasmuch as Christ is not only the head but also the Saviour of the Church. "And He is the Saviour of the body" (ver. 23). As the Saviour His headship is unrivalled and must be acknowledged by every member alike. The wife must not think too much of her husband: there is One who is superior to him, and who must be all in all to them both.

3. A submission after the pattern of that of the Church to Christ.--"As the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything" (ver. 24; cf. ver. 33). Religion sanctifies all relationships and makes duty a joy. As the wife obeys Christ in spiritual things, so she will obey her husband in all things righteous. Mary, wife of Prince William of Orange and the heir-apparent to the English throne, was asked what her husband the prince should be if she became queen. She called in her husband and promised him he should always bear rule; and asked only that he would obey the command, "Husbands, love your wives," as she should do that, "Wives, be obedient to your husbands in all things."

+II. The duty of the husband is to love his wife.+--1. A love that seeks to promote the highest spiritual interests of the wife (vers. 25-29). It must be a Christ-like, self-sacrificing, all-devoted love. It is greatly within the power of the husband to help or hinder the spiritual life of the wife. The man is apt to become so self-absorbed and forgetful that he needs reminding of his duty to love and cherish the one who should be dearer to him than any other. Assured of the reality and unselfishness of her husband's love, there is no sacrifice she will hesitate to make, nor will she spare any effort to attain the Christ-likeness of character to which he may wish to lead her. "One with Christ. This is the ideal Christian state. We have a faint reflection of this in that which should be flesh. They are to be as nearly as possible one person. Their thoughts, their interests, their hopes, their aims are one. Marriage was given that it might be a representation of the spiritual union between Christ and His Church. The union of each separate soul with Christ is a fragment of His union with the whole Church, and must partake of the same character. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him."

2. A love arising from the intimacy and sacredness of the marriage bond (vers. 30-32).--Marriage is a union for life between one man and one woman; consequently bigamy, polygamy, and voluntary divorce are all inconsistent with its nature. It must be entered into freely and cordially by the parties, with the conviction that one is suited to the other, and to take the positions involved in the natural and scriptural view of the relation. "Marriage," said Jeremy Taylor, "is a school and exercise of virtue. Here is the proper sense of piety and patience, of the duty of parents, and the charity of relatives; here kindness is spread abroad and love is united and made firm as a centre. Marriage is the nursery of heaven, hath in it the labours of love and the delicacies of friendship, the blessing of society and the union of hands and hearts. Like the useful bee, marriage builds a house, unites into societies and republics, exercises many virtues, promotes the interest of mankind, and is that state of good things to which God has designed the present constitution of the world."

3. A love strengthened by the observance of mutual duties (ver. 33).--Love manifested begets love, and strengthens with exercise. The loving reverence of the wife follows on the frank and genuine love of the husband. This was an epitaph in a churchyard inscribed by a husband after sixty years of married life: "She always made home happy." The Christian conception of love and marriage began a new era in the world, and has exalted woman to her true place.

+Lessons.+--1. Marriage is not to be lightly entered into. 2. Is dignified as a symbol of the union between Christ and His Church. 3. Binds the contracting parties to fidelity in observing the most sacred vows.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 22-33. Wives and Husbands.

+I. There are duties which are common to both the correlates.+--The husband and wife are in some respects equals. As they are one and have one common interest they ought to act with an undivided concern for the happiness of the family. They are alike bound to mutual fidelity and a chaste conversation. They are under equal obligations to study each other's peace and comfort.

+II. There are some duties particularly incumbent on the wife.+--These the apostle expresses by the terms submission, reverence, obedience, and subjection. Since the Church is subject to Christ, the woman ought to be subject to her husband, who, by Christ's authority, is constituted her head. A family should resemble a Church in union, peace, and subordination. The honour and interest of religion require that wives, by a cheerful subordination, co-operate with their husbands in all the important concerns of the household, and in the nurture, education, and government of the dependent members.

+III. There are duties particularly incumbent on the husband towards his wife.+--These the apostle expresses by the word "love," which here stands opposed to sharpness and severity. One argument for this love is the example of Christ in His love and devotion to the Church. Another reason is, the intimacy of the relationship--"Whoso loveth his wife loveth himself." Where the spirit of religion reigns in both, the union will be easy and their joint government in the family have efficacy. The maintenance of family religion depends on nothing more than the union of the heads. For how can they unite in prayers and praises who unite in nothing else.--Lathrop.

Vers. 23-32. Christ and His Bride.

+I. Christ's love to the Church+ (vers. 25-27). We must value and joyfully assert our individual part in the redeeming love of the Son of God; but we must equally admit the sovereign rights of the Church in the Redeemer's passion. There is in some an absorption in the work of grace within their own hearts, an individualistic salvation-seeking that like all selfishness defeats its end, for it narrows and impoverishes the inner life thus sedulously cherished. The Church does not exist simply for the benefit of individual souls; it is an eternal institution, with an affiance to Christ, a calling and destiny of its own; within that universal sphere our personal destiny holds its particular place. The Christ is worthy and she must be made worthy. From eternity He set His love upon her; on the cross He won her back from her infidelity at the price of His blood. Through the ages He has been wooing her to Himself, and schooling her in wise and manifold ways that she may be fit for her heavenly calling. Through what cleansing fires, through what baptisms, even of blood, she has still to pass ere the consummation is reached, He only knows who loved her and gave Himself for her. He will spare to His Church nothing, either of bounty or of trial, that her perfection needs.

+II. Christ's authority over the Church+ (vers. 23, 24).--The Church is no democracy, any more than she is an aristocracy or a sacerdotal absolutism: she is a Christocracy. The people are not rulers in the house of God; they are the ruled, laity and ministers alike. We acknowledge this in theory; but our language and spirit would oftentimes be other than they are, if we were penetrated with the sense of the continual presence and majesty of the Lord Jesus in our assemblies. The Church's protection from human tyranny, from schemes of ambition, from the intrusion of political methods and designs, lies in her sense of the splendour and reality of Christ's dominion and of her own eternal life in Him.

+III. The mystery of the Church's origin in Christ+ (vers. 30-32).--God chose us in Christ before the world's foundation. We are created in the Son of God's love antecedently to our redemption by Him. Christ recovers through the cross that which pertains inherently to Him, which belonged to Him by nature, and is as a part of Himself. The derivation of Eve from the body of Adam, as that is affirmed in the mysterious words of Genesis, is analogous to the derivation of the Church from Christ. The latter relationship existed in the ideal, and as conceived in the purpose of God, prior to the appearance of the human race. In St. Paul's theory, the origin of the woman in man, which forms the basis of marriage in Scripture, looked farther back to the origin of humanity in Christ Himself. In some mystical but real sense marriage is a reunion, the reincorporation of what had been sundered. Seeking his other self, the complement of his nature, the man breaks the ties of birth and founds a new home. So the inspired author of the passage in Genesis (Gen. ii. 21-24) explains the origin of marriage, and the instinct which draws the bridegroom to his bride. But our apostle sees within this declaration a deeper truth, kept secret from the foundation of the world. When he speaks of this great mystery, he means thereby not marriage itself, but the saying of Adam about it. This text was a standing problem to the Jewish interpreters. "But for my part," says the apostle, "I refer it to Christ and to the Church." St. Paul, who has so often before drawn the parallel between Adam and Christ, by the light of this analogy perceives a new and rich meaning in the old dark sentence. It helps him to see how believers in Christ, forming collectively His body, are not only grafted into Him, but were derived from Him and formed in the very mould of His nature. In our union through grace and faith with Christ crucified we realise again the original design of our being. Christ has purchased by His blood no new or foreign bride, but her who was His from eternity--the child who had wandered from the Father's house, the betrothed who had left her Lord and spouse.--Findlay.

Vers. 25-33. The Christian Law of Marriage--

+I. Demands self-sacrificing love.+

+II. Recognises the sacredness of the union between the contracting parties.+

+III. Is ennobled in being a type of the union between Christ and the Church.+

+IV. Involves mutual fidelity on the part of both husband and wife.+

Vers. 25-27. Christ's Love for the Church.

+I. Christ's love of His Church.+--It was--1. Ancient. 2. Self-moved. 3. Active. 4. Effective.

+II. Christ's sacrifice of Himself as an exhibition of His love.+--1. Himself. His life. What a life! 2. As a sacrifice. The essence of it is vicarious suffering. 3. To all the suffering which justice demanded.

+III. Christ's more immediate object in what He has done.+--1. Sanctification. As essential as pardon. 2. By the agency of the Holy Spirit. Signified by the washing of water. 3. Through the instrumentality of the Word.

+IV. Christ's ultimate aim.+--1. To present His Church to Himself. A nuptial figure. 2. Free from all imperfections. 3. Adorned with all excellencies. (1) Our obligations to Christ. (2) The real value of holiness. (3) The high destiny of believers.--G. Brooks.

The Future Glory of the Church.

+I. The future state of the Church.+--In describing the future condition of the Church, the apostle has evidently in his mind two previous states: her original state when lying dead in trespasses and sins, and her subsequent earthly state when separated from the mass of the ungodly and partially redeemed. We have the people of Christ before us in three distinct points of view:--

1. As wholly defiled.--Speaking of "sanctifying and cleansing" the Church intimates her complete defilement.

2. As in some measure cleansed.--Though sanctified and cleansed, we read of spots still left on the Church.

3. As altogether pure.--Faultless in God's presence and estimation.

+II. The causes to which this state is to be ascribed.+--1. The love of Christ. 2. Love revealed in sacrifice as another step towards final purity. 3. The work of the Holy Spirit (ver. 26). 4. The Word of God (ver. 26). A right understanding of its testimony and a heartfelt belief in its truth.

+III. The great end for which all these means of holiness are brought into operation.+--"That He might present it to Himself a glorious Church" (ver. 27). The likeness of God will be put on her, the image of God shine in her; that attribute of Divinity--holiness--which is the perfection of Divinity will be her crown.--C. Bradley.

The Divine Ideal of the Church.

+I. We have an array of stupendous facts concerning the Church.+--1. The Divine prevision. Before the eternal Son of God could give Himself for the Church, He must have had it in His mind. 2. The Redeemer's actual love for the Church. 3. The Redeemer's amazing self-sacrifice on behalf of the Church. 4. That the Redeemer has a very definite purpose concerning His Church.

+II. The distinguishing marks or signs of the members of the Church.+--They are personal and experimental. 1. The casting out of natural impurities. Improvement is not enough. Nothing but a thorough re-creation can effect what is required. 2. The instrument of this change is the truth. 3. This change, this introduction into the Church, is a thing complete in itself, becomes historical, and ought never to need repeating. 4. The way is open for the appearance of the other personal and experimental sign--sanctification (ver. 26). 5. Christ's idea of the Church given in these verses is not abstract, impracticable, and untrue to the possibilities of ordinary human nature.

+III. Here we catch a glimpse of the future and eternal glory of the Church.+--How stupendous an event it will be when, at the consummation of all things, the whole Church will be presented to the Lord Jesus! What can secure Church membership? Neither early training, nor baptism, nor the holding of an orthodox creed, nor associating with a religious and devout assembly, nor the filling of ecclesiastical office, nor even intelligent approach to the table of the Lord. Such things are means to an end. That end is true membership in the Church of Christ. And that membership is attained and secured by Divine renewal of the heart, and by that conformity to the mind of Christ which is expressive of the new life. The true unity of the Church of Christ is that spiritual oneness which has its expression in identity of Christian life.--W. Hudson.

Ver. 25. A Noble Self-sacrifice.--Caius Gracchus, who was the idol of the Roman people, having carried his regard for the lower orders so far as to draw upon himself the resentment of the nobility, an open rupture ensued; and the two extremities of Rome resembled two camps--Opimius the consul on one side, and Gracchus and his friend Fulvius on the other. A battle ensued in which the consul, meeting with more vigorous resistance than he expected, proclaimed an amnesty for all those who should lay down their arms, and at the same time promised to pay for the heads of Gracchus and Fulvius their weight in gold. This proclamation had the desired effect. The populace deserted their leaders. Fulvius was taken and beheaded, and Gracchus, at the advice of his two friends, Licinius Crassus and Pomponius, determined to flee the city, and reached the bridge Sublicius, where his enemies, who pursued him close, would have overtaken and seized him if his two friends had not opposed their fury; but they saw the danger he was in and determined to save his life at the expense of their own. They defended the bridge against all the consular troops till Gracchus was out of their reach; but at length, being overpowered by numbers, and covered with wounds, they both expired on the bridge they had so valiantly defended.--Biblical Treasury.

Ver. 30. Members of the Body of Christ.

+I. The doctrine.+--The apostle is speaking of believers only; of believers as believing; of all believers. His language implies:--

1. Union.--Real, intimate, indissoluble.

2. Dependence.--Of the members on the heart. Of the members on the head.

3. Sympathy.--Sincere, entire, uninterrupted. Value of human sympathy. Its rarity. Its necessary imperfection. The superiority of Christ's.

+II. The duty.+--1. Love. A special affection arising out of a special relation.

2. Reverence.--There should be no unholy familiarity.

3. Obedience.--Responsive to His will as a part of Himself.--G. Brooks.

Ver. 33. The Sanctity of Home Life.--The Christian home is the corner-stone of modern civilisation--the best fruit Christianity has yielded the earth. The Anglo-Saxon home is the crowning glory of the race. Contrast it with French home life, or the miserable home life in Utah! National self-preservation demands a vigorous uprooting of Mormon polygamy and Western divorce lawlessness. That which is punished as a crime in the best and purest Christian lands must be punished as a crime wherever it is found. Garfield kissing his mother and his wife at his Inauguration was a sweet revelation of holy family life.--Homiletic Monthly.

* * * * * * * *

+CHAPTER VI.+

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.

Ver. 1. +Children, obey.+--Until the days of discretion arrive this is the grace of childhood. If through obedience the child errs, the responsibility of that is with those who have commanded. It is only a "surrendered soul" that can sing:

"I would be treated as a child, And guided where I go."

Ver. 2. +Honour thy father and mother.+--As long as they are so.

Ver. 3. +That it may be well with thee.+--If ever "that it may be" could mean "and so it shall be," we should strenuously plead for that meaning here. For it would be a pitiable thing indeed to find a man showing filial piety as a profitable course.

Ver. 4. +Nurture and admonition.+--The former word is more general than the latter, including everything that goes to the instruction of the child. "Admonition" is reproof, either of word or punishment, or yet again, warning.

Ver. 5. +Servants, be obedient.+--R.V. margin, "bond-servants." There was One who had "become obedient even unto death," having "taken the form of a bond-servant" (Phil. ii. 7). +With fear and trembling.+--"With that zeal which is ever keenly apprehensive of not doing enough" (Meyer). The same phrase is used of the way in which our personal salvation is to be worked out (Phil. ii. 12).

Ver. 6. +Not with eyeservice.+--A word used only by St. Paul. The thing it describes is easily recognised to-day.

Ver. 7. +With good will doing service.+--If a philosopher-slave like Epictetus could rise superior to his condition, surely Christianity could do as much for the humblest believer.

Ver. 8. +Knowing that whatsoever good . . . bond or free.+

"This is the famous stone That turneth all to gold, For that which God doth touch and own Cannot for less be told"--George Herbert.

Ver. 9. +Do the same things unto them.+--The utmost application of the "golden rule." +Forbearing threatening+ "may either mean abating or giving up."

Ver. 10. +Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.+--In ch. i. 19 the phrase "power of His might" is reversed. See note there.

Ver. 11. +The whole armour.+--"The panoply." "A complete suit of armour." +The wiles of the devil.+--A craftily designed plan of attack.

Ver. 12. +For we wrestle.+--We need not suppose a transference of the metaphor. It may describe the hand-to-hand fight in which equally matched opponents refuse to back an inch. +Not against flesh and blood.+--With "vulnerable crests" (Macbeth). When ghostly combatants appear, unassailable, and with powers of injury against which we are helpless, we may well say:

"Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble."

Ver. 13. +In the evil day.+--Compare ch. v. 16. A day of great peril. +And having done all, to stand.+--"When the hurly-burly's done" to find oneself unvanquished.

Ver. 14. +Stand therefore.+--The words ring short and sharp as a bugle-call. +Loins girt about with truth.+--"To speak of a well-equipped warrior without a girdle is a contradictio in adjecto, for it was just the girdle which produced the free bearing and movement and the necessary attitude of the warrior" (Meyer). "+Truth+ is a subjective conception corresponding with the eternal realities" (Beet). +Breastplate of righteousness.+--"As the actual warrior has protected the breast when he laced the corslet over his chest, so with you righteousness . . . renders your breast (heart and will) inaccessible to the hostile influence of the demons" (Meyer).

"He is but naked though locked up in steel Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted."

Ver. 15. +Feet shod.+--Ensuring agility and a firm foothold. +Preparation of the gospel of peace.+--"Preparation" might perhaps give way to "preparedness." St. Paul does not mind a paradox. "What hast thou to do with peace?" said one soldier to another; but the herald was a soldier too.

Ver. 16. +Above all, taking the shield.+--Large enough to block the entrance to a doorway--being about four feet by two and a half. The lighter missiles were harmless against a roof of these shields over-lapped. They were of wood, thickly coated with leather. +Quench the fiery darts.+--"Arrows tipped with inflammable material, and shot off after having been kindled" (Meyer).

Ver. 17. +Take the helmet of salvation.+--For the large shield might leave the head exposed to the archer's aim. +The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.+--How effectual in fence and thrust it was in the hands of the Captain of our salvation, the "world-ruler" had experienced.

Ver. 18. +Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.+--Here we have the recognition of a directing Superior. The true soldier fights under the direction of his ἀρχηγός. The "sounds of strife" are dying away in this verse.

Ver. 20. +An ambassador in bonds.+--R.V. "in chains." Sustaining the honour of Christ under personal indignity. +That I may speak boldly.+--It needed not only the apostle's own, but his readers' prayers to enable him to speak freely within stroke of the "lion's paw" (2 Tim. iv. 17).

Ver. 21. +Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister.+--If all servants were "brethren" first, the troubles of our modern commercial life would be few.

Ver. 23. +Peace, love and faith.+--A worthy triad, and the greatest of these is love.

Ver. 24. +Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.+--Paul's favourite word "grace" comes in as "epilogue"--as it was "prologue" (ch. i. 2). Sincerity means incorruptly--to love in a spirit corruption cannot touch.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 1-4.

Duties of Children and Parents.

+I. The duty of children to parents is to obey.+--1. This obedience has the Divine sanction. "In the Lord" (ver. 1). Both the command and the obedience must be in harmony with the relation in which both parents and children stand towards God. The parent who has not himself learnt to respect and obey the law of God is ill prepared for the grave responsibilities of family government. Natural affection and the instincts of common sense will guide the parents in the ordinary affairs of home-life, and the sense of dependence and respect should induce instinctive obedience in the child. No parent has any right to enforce an obedience which is not in harmony with the supreme claims of God. The child who submits to the will of his parents is taught at the same time to obey the higher law of God. If he defies parental authority and persists in disobedience, he is sure to be treated in the same way if he ever has children of his own. To be able to govern we must first learn to obey.

2. This obedience is in harmony with natural order and the eternal principles of justice.--"For this is right" (ver. 1). Obedience is the law of the universe, and without it everything would rush into anarchy and chaos. Law is so all-pervasive as to cover every department and relationship of life, and its breach in any sphere carries with it its own punishment. Disobedience is not only a wrong to the person who commits it, but it is an injustice to somebody else. Obedience to parents in things lawful is no hardship. It is becoming and commendable because it is right. It is the perversity of our nature, when it becomes difficult to do right. Disobedience is a wilful divergence from the straight line of rectitude, and is the essence of all sin.

3. This obedience ensures the Divine blessing (vers. 2, 3).--It is our duty to obey irrespective of any advantage to be secured. The loyal heart looks, not to the reward, but to the duty. It is no merit to do what it is our duty to do. Yet such is the condescension and goodness of God that He attaches a special blessing to every act of unselfish obedience. Filial obedience should not be dilatory and reluctant, but prompt, cheerful, self-denying, and uniform. Obedience is the path of safety. A pointsman in Prussia was at the junction of two lines of railway, lever in hand, for a train that was signalled. The engine was within a few seconds of reaching the embankment when the man, turning his head, perceived his little boy playing between the rails on which the train was running. He stuck to his lever, but shouted to the child, "Lie down! lie down!" The train passed, and the father rushed forward to pick up what he feared would be the mangled body of his child; but what was his joy to find the boy had at once obeyed his order, had lain down, and the train passed over him without injuring him. His prompt obedience saved his life. Dutiful children secure the blessing of God. Filial obedience practised in the Christian home forms habits of promptitude, self-control, and self-respect which are important conditions of success and prosperity.

+II. The duty of parents to children is to exercise discipline.+--1. Not by enforcing commands that tend to irritate. "Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath" (ver. 4). Children are a sacred trust and solemn responsibility; not to be weakly fondled or foolishly spoilt, but to be wisely, kindly, and strictly disciplined into obedience and duty. The Chinese have a proverb, when a son is born into a family a bow and arrow are hung before the gate. In Eastern books sons are spoken of as arrows of their fathers. "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth" (Ps. cxxvii. 4). As the bowman straightens and polishes his arrow, giving it a sharp and solid point, and wings it with feathers, so parents must train and equip their children that they may go straight to the point of duty and hit the mark. The arrows that are not prepared and directed when in the hand may, when they are gone abroad into the world, and all parental training is too late, prove arrows in the heart that will rankle with unspeakable pain. The training of children is also a training of the parent. Many a hint is unconsciously given as to "training up a parent in the way he should go." While there should be firm discipline, there should not be exasperating and tantalising severity. Rousing a child's anger is not the best way of subduing it. A sullen submission gained, by provoking and then crushing an angry opposition, is rendered with a sense of injustice and wrong that will breed future mischief. Monod says: "Correction and instruction should proceed from the Lord, and be directed by the Spirit of the Lord in such a way that it is not so much the father who corrects his children and teaches them, as the Lord through him." The father who chastises in wrath provokes the child to wrath and rebellion.

2. But by judicious religious culture.--"But bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (ver. 4). Children are the gifts of God to be trained for God. They are susceptible of genuine religious experience, and are often nearer the truth than grown-up people. Christ recognised the spiritual faculty in children, and gave them a conspicuous place in His kingdom. When He wished to show the type of true greatness, He did not point to stars or mountains or earthly dignities, but "called a little child unto Him and, set him in the midst" (Matt. xviii. 2-4). Children are capable of useful religious service, and in many ways may be little missionaries for Christ. Dr. W. L. Breckenridge once said to his mother: "Mother, I think you ruled us with too rigid a rod in our boyhood. It would have been better had you used gentler methods." The old lady straightened up and said: "Well, William, when you have raised up three as good preachers as I have then you can talk." The smaller magnets have proportionately much the greater power, and children have a remarkable spiritual force with which the Christian parent has to deal.

+Lessons.+--1. Personal discipline should be in harmony with the law of God. 2. The rigour of parental discipline should be tempered with love. 3. Respect and obedience to parents will be Divinely rewarded.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 1-4. The Mutual Duties of Children and Parents.

+I. Children are to obey and honour their parents.+--1. Children owe to their parents an inward affection and regard. Their obedience should flow from love, gratitude, and esteem. The love parents bear to their children entitles them to reciprocal affection. 2. They are to honour their parents by external tokens of respect. 3. They are to obey the just commands of their parents. 4. They are to receive with decent and humble regard the instructions, counsels, and reproofs of their parents. 5. They should remunerate the favours received from their parents. 6. They are encouraged in their obedience by the Divine promise.

+II. The duties of parents to children.+--1. To instruct their children in the doctrines and duties of religion. 2. To endeavour by arguments, exhortations, and reproofs to form their lives according to those instructions. 3. To regulate the diversions of their children. 4. To maintain the worship of God in their houses. 5. To let their conversation be exemplary. 6. To train up their children with diligence in some honest business. 7. To commend their children to God and the word of His grace.--Lathrop.

Vers. 1, 2. Obedience.--The dutiful obedience of children is declared by God in the fifth commandment to be the foundation of all social happiness and of every social virtue.

+I. The behaviour of a child to its parents is no such trifle as too many perverse children and too many foolish parents are prone to fancy it.+--How often we hear mothers saying, "It is only the poor child's way; it is a little pettish and fractious at times, but it means no harm by it. To be sure it does not mind me quite so well as it ought to do; but children will be children." So the child goes on uncorrected, and grows up disobedient and undutiful--with habits and dispositions so evil that God has classed them with the very worst crimes, with false swearing, theft, adultery, and ever murder. If undutifulness in children had been a mere trifle, would God have put it into this black list?

+II. Observe the reasonableness and justice of the duty of children to obey their parents.+--The child is helpless and entirely dependent on its parents' care and kindness. So strong and lasting is a mother's love that, while other animals drive their young away as soon as they can feed themselves, the love of human parents descends and prolongs itself even to their offspring's offspring. Think of their fears, their wishes, their prayers for your souls' welfare. Your love to them should be dutiful love, showing itself in acts of gentleness, respect, and kindness, and in the strictest and readiest obedience. Children are bound to obey, not from constraint, nor from fear of blows, but readily, willingly, cheerfully. The obedience paid for fear of stripes is the obedience of a mule, not of a son. What can a child know save what its parents teach it? Its parents for a time stand in the place of God to it; as such, it must believe them and obey them. You may be the better for their experience, you may profit by their warnings, you may learn from their lessons.

+III. Observe the use and benefit of obedience in forming the character of the child.+--It is in the school of home, amid the little hardships, restraints, crosses, and disappointments which every child must needs meet with, that the great lesson of obedience is best learnt. There is a root of self-will born in every man, and out of this root grow two evil and misshapen stems--pride and disobedience. You may as well expect water to burn and fire to wet, you may as well expect a barren common that has never been ploughed and sown to produce a crop of wheat, as that a child, which has gone on year after year in pride, self-will, and disobedience to its parents, will readily or easily tear off its habits and its nature, to walk humbly and obediently before God. We must cultivate obedience in the child that it may outgrow, overtop, and stifle, or at least keep under, the evil stem of disobedience. We must cultivate humility in him, that it may keep under the evil of pride. We must train and accustom him to habits of steady self-denial, which our Lord has recommended to us as the best yokes for our headstrong and else unmanageable self-will. Thus the fifth commandment is a kind of practical school where the child, in obeying its parents, learns to obey all to whom it owes obedience.--A. W. Hare.

Ver. 4. A Father's Charge.

+I. The duties parents owe to their children.+--1. Children are weak and helpless and totally incapable of caring for themselves--hence arises the first duty which parents owe them, that of feeding and clothing them. 2. Are ignorant and without understanding--hence they should not only be fed but taught. 3. Are unruly, and therefore must be governed. 4. Are prone to evil, and therefore must be restrained.

+II. The obligations parents are under to practise these duties.+--1. They should do it for their own sakes. 2. For their children's sake. 3. For society's sake. 4. For God's sake.

+Learn.+--1. The practicability of a religious education. 2. How awful is the responsibility of parents--of fathers especially.--Sketches.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 5-9.

The Duties of Servants and Masters.

+I. The duty of the servant to the master is to obey.+--1. This obedience is to be rendered with conscientious solicitude. "With fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart; . . . not with eyeservice, as menpleasers" (vers. 5, 6). There must be a genuine care for our work. "Be obedient, with fear and trembling." The fear enjoined is no dread of human displeasure, of the master's whip or tongue. It is the same fear and trembling with which we are bidden to work out our own salvation (Phil. ii. 12). The inward work of the soul's salvation and the outward work of the busy hands labouring in the mine, or at the loom, or in the lowliest domestic duties--all alike are to be performed under a solemn responsibility to God and in the presence of Christ, the Lord of nature and of men. No man, whether he be a minister of state or a stable-groom, will dare to do heedless work who lives and acts in that august Presence. The sense of Christ's Lordship ensures honesty in work. "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers." It is the common fault and temptation of servants in all degrees to observe the master's eye, and to work busily or slackly as they are watched or not. Such workmen act as they do because they look to men and not to God. Their work is without conscience and self-respect. Let us all adopt St. Paul's maxim; it will be an immense economy. What armies of overlookers and inspectors we shall be able to dismiss when every servant works as well behind his master's back as to his face, when every manufacturer and shopkeeper puts himself in the purchaser's place and deals as he would have others deal with him (Findlay).

2. This obedience should be cheerful and hearty as rendered unto a higher than an earthly master.--"As unto Christ; . . . doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men" (vers. 5-7). Obedience should be not only careful and honest, but hearty. The heart is the source of our greatest power. Nothing can be translated into an act that has not first been conceived and set in motion by the heart. As the stroke of the piston sets in motion the most complicated machinery and produces certain results, so the throb of the heart brings all our activities into play and gives direction and character to our work. The worth of our work as a whole will be decided by the heartiness we throw into every single duty. Workmanship counts for much. I have read of a chain, weighing two ounces, costing £170, being 163,000 times more than the value of the original bit of iron from which it was made. The work of the artist made all the difference; he put into it his best self, his heart, his genius. So in the works of the divine Creator. The symmetry, the beauty, the perfect balance and shining magnificence of the world are the result of the patient work and hearty enthusiasm with which the great Architect has put together and finished the most minute parts of the planet.

3. Genuine obedience is always rewarded.--"Whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord" (ver. 8). Even in this world conscientious work is not without reward. "In all labour there is profit. The diligent hand maketh rich." A stationer settling a large account with a paper-manufacturer said: "I owe all my success in business to you; but let me ask you how a man of your caution came to give credit so readily to a beginner of my slender means?" "Because," said the paper-maker, "at whatever hour in the mourning I passed to my business, I always observed you at yours with your coat off." Work gives character, and is the pathway to success and wealth. But in the world to come, when servant and master stand before the bar of Christ, reward will be equitably meted out according to the work of each.

+II. The duty of the master is to act towards his servant on the same principles as obedience to himself is regulated.+--"And, ye masters, do the same things unto them" (ver. 9). The master is to put himself in the place of his servant, and act towards him as he would desire to be treated if their positions were reversed. It is a practical application of the great rule, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them"--a rule we are in danger of interpreting on one side only: our own side.

1. To avoid irritating severity.--"Forbearing threatening" (ver. 9). The slave in early times was treated as scarcely human, and was ruled by the fear of punishment. Christianity in the beginning did not interfere with domestic slavery; but it introduced principles which, wherever adopted, utterly abolished slavery. The Christian master cannot act on the policy of cruelty, but treats his servants with justice and kindness.

2. To remember that both are servants of a higher and impartial Master.--"Knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with Him" (ver. 9). A party of friends setting out together upon a journey soon find it to be the best for all sides that while they are upon the road one of the company should wait upon the rest, another ride forward to seek out lodging and entertainment, a third carry the portmanteau, a fourth take charge of the horses, a fifth bear the purse, conduct, and direct the route; not forgetting, however, that as they were equal and independent when they set out, so they are all to return to a level again at their journey's end. The same regard and respect, the same forbearance, lenity, and reserve in using their service, the same mildness in delivering commands, the same study to make their journey comfortable and pleasant which he whose lot it was to direct the rest would in common decency think himself bound to observe towards them, ought we to show to those who, in the casting of the parts of human society, happen to be placed within our power or to depend upon us (Paley). Master and man must give an account to Him who will judge every act according to its merit.

+Lessons.+--1. Masters and servants are amenable to Divine law. 2. Neither master nor servant gains any advantage by tactics that violate Divine law. 3. Where the Christian spirit predominates trade disputes will soon be satisfactorily settled.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 5-9. The Duties of Servants and Masters.

+I. The duties of servants.+--1. To be obedient to their masters. This must be understood with the same limitation as all other commands enjoining relative duties. We are to obey God rather than men. Servants no further obey their masters according to the will of God than they make His will the rule and measure of their obedience to their masters. 2. Servants owe their masters reverence as well as obedience. 3. There is an honour, as well as fear, due to their masters. 4. Cheerfulness in their obedience is recommended by the apostle. 5. Diligence of faithfulness is another duty which they owe to their masters. 6. They are to be patient and submissive, though they meet with usage more severe than they think reasonable, not breaking their own obligations, or deserting their master's service for trivial causes, but bearing his smaller indiscretions without complaint, and in cases of real injury seeking relief in a prudent manner and by lawful means. 7. In all their service they should act with an aim to please God and to obtain His approbation.

+II. The duties of masters to their servants.+--1. Their government is to be mild and prudent, not passionate and severe. 2. With respect to apprentices, the contract binds the master not only to give them comfortable support, but to instruct them in his business and profession. 3. With respect to labourers, justice obliges us to give them the stipulated wages when they have faithfully performed the promised service. 4. With respect to all servants, equity requires that we treat them with humanity and kindness, and contribute all proper assistance to render them useful, virtuous, and happy.--Lathrop.

Vers. 6-8. Christian Servitude.--1. To propose to ourselves the pleasing of men as our great design is inconsistent with the work of grace in the heart and with that subjection we owe to Christ. The meanest service is service done to Christ, and will be accepted by Him as such. 2. So ingrate is man, and so slow to reward those from whom he receives favour, that a man can never heartily do service to the most of men, except he look to God, whom to serve in the meanest employment is a reward in itself. 3. The Lord in dispensing rewards looks not to the external beauty, splendour, or greatness of the work, but to the honesty and sincerity of it.--Fergusson.

Ver. 9. Masters accountable to God.--1. There is no power among men so absolute--not that of kings and supreme rulers--but implies an obligation, through virtue of God's ordinance, on those invested with it to make conscience of duties towards their inferiors and subjects. 2. As it is usual for powers on earth sinfully to oversee and not to punish the cruel and unjust dealings of masters towards servants, so those sins most connived at by men are most severely taken notice of by God. 3. It is too ordinary for men in place and authority to carry themselves as if they had none above them to be accountable to, or to dream that the Lord will not take such strict account of them as of their underlings and servants.--Ibid.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 10-12.

The Christian Warfare--

+I. Can be fought only with Divine help.+--"Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might" (ver. 10). The apostle has dwelt like one enraptured on the sublime constitution and glorious destiny of the Church; now he deals with the formidable foes with which the Church will have to contend. He sees the evil forces gathering, and hears the clash of arms among the approaching enemies. He warns believers that unaided they will be powerless in the strife and must suffer defeat. They are secure and will be victorious only as they make the strength of God their own. The strength of the general, in other hosts, lies in his troops; he flies, as a great commander once said, upon their wings; if their feathers be clipped, their power broken, he is lost. But in the Christian army the strength of every saint lies in the Lord of hosts. God can overcome His enemies without their hands; but they cannot even defend themselves without His arm. Man is impotent without the strength of God. If the ship, launched, rigged, and with her sails spread, cannot stir till the wind fills them, much less can the timber in the carpenter's yard hew and frame itself into a ship. Power to contend with the spiritual foes must come from God.

+II. Involves a fierce conflict with the powers of evil.+--1. A conflict, not with men, but with unseen spiritual enemies. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities" (ver. 12). The apostle brings out in bold relief the terrible foes they are summoned to encounter. (1) As to their position. They are no subalterns, but foes of mighty rank, the nobility and chieftains of the spirit world. (2) Their office. Their domain is this darkness in which they exercise imperial sway. (3) Their essence. They are not encumbered with an animal frame, but are spirits. (4) Their character. They are evil--their appetite for evil only exceeds their capacity for producing it (Eadie). The Church is engaged in a double conflict--of the flesh and of the spirit. We are assailed with the temptations of the world of sense, and with seductions of error that attack us in the world of the mind; and in both spheres we have to contend with the subtle influences set in motion by the rulers of the darkness of this world. Our foes invade "the high places" of our faith and hope, and would rob us of our heaven.

2. A conflict with unseen spiritual enemies led by an astute and subtle commander.--"That ye may be able to withstand against the wiles of the devil" (ver. 11). The New Testament assumes the personality of Satan. This belief runs counter to modern thought, governed as it is by the tendency to depersonalise existence. The conception of evil spirits given us in the Bible is treated as an obsolete superstition; and the name of the evil one with multitudes serves only to point a profane and careless jest. To Jesus Christ, Satan was no figure of speech, but a thinking and active being, of whose presence and influence He saw tokens everywhere in this evil world. Satan's empire is ruled with a settled policy, and his warfare carried on with a system of strategy which takes advantage of every opening for attack. The manifold combinations of error, the various arts of seduction and temptation, and ten thousand forms of the deceit of unrighteousness constitute "the wiles of the devil." Satan is no longer the God of this world since Christianity rose to its ascendant. The manifestations of demonism are, at least in Christian lands, vastly less conspicuous than in the first age of the Church. But they are more bold than wise who deny their existence, and who profess to explain all occult phenomena and phrenetic moral aberrations by physical causes (Findlay).

+III. Is victorious only as the warrior is armed with the Divine panoply.+--"Put on the whole armour of God" (ver. 11). They who put on Christ are well clothed; they are armed from head to foot, and are proof against the darts of the devil. The Christless man is defenceless; his own understanding and gifts do not sufficiently arm him. The soldier comes into the field with no arms but what his general commands: it is not left to every one's fancy to bring what weapons he pleases; this would breed confusion. So the Christian soldier must put on the armour God provides, and be completely clothed with it. To leave one part unguarded will bring disaster. In one of the famous battles between the English and French, that which lost France the day was a shower of English arrows which so galled the horses that they became unmanageable, put the whole army into disorder, and trod down their own men. So if there be the least loophole in our armour the wily adversary will quickly discover it and shoot through his fiery darts which will effect confusion and defeat.

+Lessons.+--1. The Christian life is a conflict between good and evil. 2. God is always on the side of the good. 3. The Christian warrior must fight with weapons Divinely provided.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 10-12. A Call to Christian Fortitude.

+I. Here is an exhortation to Christian fortitude.+--"Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." It is not bodily but mental strength which is here intended. True fortitude or courage is a temper of mind by which we steadily follow the calls of duty, without being deterred by danger or diverted by difficulty. It is a virtue founded in a regard to God and supported by faith in Him. It is cool and deliberate, not rash and impetuous; it is kind and compassionate, not cruel and revengeful; it is steady and patient, not fickle and inconstant; it continues in well-doing, persuaded that its labour is not in vain.

+II. A warning against the enemies to be opposed.+--The apostle mentions two sorts of enemies.

1. The first he calls flesh and blood.--The motions of our animal nature. The phrase may further intend those sensible objects which are suited to gratify fleshly desires; or it may intend mankind, who are partakers of flesh and blood.

2. The other kind of enemies with whom we are to contend are evil spirits.--These spirits are enemies to mankind. Their number is great, and the terms used denote a subordination among them. They are not divided against themselves, but act in concert under the direction of one leading spirit, who is called the devil and Satan. They have great power over such as submit to their dominion. Their chief influence is over the ignorant and superstitious. They most successfully carry on their designs in the dark. When the Gospel began to shine, Satan began to fall. Among those who reject the Gospel he recovers his full dominion.--Lathrop.

Vers. 11, 12. The Christian Warfare.

+I. Consider the danger to which we are exposed.+--As in other cases so it is in this: our greatest danger lies in not feeling our danger, and so not being prepared to meet it.

1. View the enemy we have to contend with.--He is one who bears an inveterate hatred against us, and seeks nothing less than our destruction or eternal overthrow. . . . He hates us as God's creatures, but especially as those who have been rescued from his power and taken up arms against him; nothing now will satisfy him but our eternal ruin. . . . It is therefore a struggle of life for life; if we do not overcome him, he will overcome us. It is in vain to think of being neuter, or making peace with him.

2. He is mightier than we are; and unless we have help from above, we are no match for him. . . . We know but little of the power of wicked spirits, abstractly considered; but viewed as the god of this world, Satan has all its temptations in alliance with him.

3. He is an artful enemy. . . . We are told of the "wiles of the devil," hiding his designs, and falling upon us when we least expect it. We are in his net before we are aware, and when Providence seems to smile upon us (Deut. viii. 11-14). . . . He studies our propensities, and suits his temptations to them (Eph. iv. 14).

4. He is invisible. . . . If he were "flesh and blood," like ourselves, we might beware; but his influence is like the mighty pestilence, which walks in darkness. . . . When least suspected, danger is nigh.

5. He is near us, as it were, within our gates. The safety of a nation menaced by an enemy often depends on his being kept at a distance, by walls or seas, or fortresses of defence. But here it is supposed that the enemy has entered into our borders, and that we have no other resource left but to struggle as it were for life. . . .

6. What is still worse, he has a strong party within us.

7. On the issue of this warfare depend all our hopes.--If we "stand" not in this, our loss when defeated can never be retrieved.

+II. The armour provided for us.+--1. In general, this armour is the grace of the Gospel believed and trusted in. In common warfare it is usual for the commanders to persuade their enemies to think highly of their strength; but in this it is quite the reverse. We must go as Israel was always taught to do, as having no might of our own, but deriving all our strength from the Lord.

2. It is described as a whole or perfect armour.--Sufficient to defend us in every part. . . . "Truth" is the girdle to strengthen us; "righteousness" a breastplate; the "gospel" of peace as shoes, by which we shall be able to trample upon the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon; "faith" is a shield; "salvation," or the hope of eternal life, a helmet. . . . All this armour is to be drawn from the truths of the everlasting Gospel.

3. The use to be made of it is, that we may be able to "withstand," and to face the enemy. There is no armour for the back; he that fleeth is wholly defenceless, and must inevitably fall.

+III. The necessity of putting on this armour.+--Armour is of no avail, unless it is used. The application of the Gospel is that which proves our security.

+IV. The inducement to put on this armour.+--"That we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (ver. 11). Many neglecting this armour have been foiled in the day of battle.--Theological Sketch Book.

Ver. 11. The Wiles of the Devil.

+I. Some of those artifices by which the devil entices men to sin.+--1. He often presents to man the pleasing advantages of sin, while its judicial consequences are kept in the background. Sin is often presented to man under the form of virtue or religion. The names of sins are changed in order that their natures may seem changed. Sin is thus recommended to the more tender conscience. The vileness and criminality of sin are often extenuated to man by plausible excuses. They need an apology--youth, old age, strong temptation, a desire to please, to prevent loss of place, provision for a family, etc. The inconsistencies of the acknowledged people of God are often pleaded as an apology for sin. The falls of God's people have been recorded for good; but the record has been perverted to evil. A legitimate use of the record is to prevent despair on the part of God's people who have fallen. But, by Satan, the beacon has been converted into a decoy.

2. The sinner is often freed from his difficulties in sinning by false views of God's character and of the design of Christ's work.--God is regarded as a Being of mere mercy. Christ is thought of as saving from sin's consequences, rather than from sin itself. The individual is often persuaded to expose himself to temptation, under the impression that he will resist it.

+II. Some of the artifices by which he entices men from the performance of positive duty.+--1. Many are restrained from duties by a consideration of their hardness in themselves (Matt. x. 34-39). 2. Many are persuaded to let duty alone, on account of the sacrifices which a performance of it involves. 3. Argument against a full devotedness to the service of God may sometimes be drawn from the fewness and meanness of those who are engaged in it (John vii. 48). 4. An argument against the necessity of duty is drawn from the doctrines of grace (Rom. vi. 2, 3; Jas. ii. 17). 5. The worth and value of all performances are taken away by the trust in them for righteousness to which Satan prompts the heart.--Stewart.

Ver. 12. The Invisible Enemies of Man.

+I. Spiritual forces are much greater, much more efficient, much more formidable than any mere material forces.+--A strong will is a more formidable thing than the most highly developed muscle. An idea which appeals to the intelligence and heart of the multitude is likely to do more work and to wield a greater sway in the end than any number of batteries and parks of artillery. It is in the encounter, not of brute force with conscience and with thought, but in the encounter of ideas with ideas, in the encounter of wills with wills, that the destiny of the world is ultimately decided. St. Paul knew that the Church had to contend with the thought and the reason of paganism much more truly than with its proconsuls and its legions; and as he wrote to the Ephesians, he did not mean merely human principalities and powers, since he contrasts the beings of whom he is speaking with mere flesh and blood.

+II. Behind all that met the eye in daily life the apostle discovered another world that did not meet the eye.+--He discerned other forms hovering, guiding, marshalling, arranging, inspiring that which met the eye. "Do not let us deceive ourselves," he cries, "as if we had only to encounter so many social or political forces, so many human minds and wills, so many human errors, human prejudices, human traditions, human passions; our real enemies are not human, they lie in ambush behind the manifold activities of man; they are really supersensuous. Two great departments of moral life among men are watched over, each one of them beyond the sphere of human life, by beings of greater power, greater intelligence, greater intensity of purpose than man in the world of spirits. These spiritual beings, good and evil, act upon humanity as clearly, as certainly, and as constantly as man himself acts upon the lower creatures around. It is not any mere disposition, inseparable from the conditions of human thought, to personify, to externalise passion, which has peopled the imagination of Christendom with demons. It is within ourselves that we meet now, as the first Christians met, the onset of the principalities and powers. It is in resisting them, in driving from us in the name of Christ the spirits of untruthfulness, of sloth, of anger, and of impure desire, that we really contribute our little share to the issue of the great battle that rages still."

+III. To love truth and righteousness is to hate their contraries.+--Hatred of evil is distinct from any hatred of those who do evil, and who are objects of sincere sorrow, and have claims on Christian charity. The easy tolerance of moral evil is one of the most alarming features of our day. Only when the struggle with evil is a matter of personal experience do we hate it, and enter even remotely into the apostle's stern language about its agents and its champions.--H. P. Liddon.

The Enemies of Believers.

+I. The enemies referred to are here described as numerous.+--1. They are here spoken of in the plural number, as they are also in other passages: "The angels which kept not their first estate." "The devil and his angels." The names here employed are collective, and imply numbers. We read of a single person being possessed with many devils. 2. Hence the whole world has been filled with their worship and studded with their temples. 3. Hence the strength of the temptations with which each one is tried. 4. Hence the intensity of human wickedness. 5. Hence the need of watchfulness.

+II. The enemies here spoken of are represented as being in a kind of subordination the one to the other--there are "principalities."+--1. There may be remains among them of that diversity of rank which originally existed. 2. It may be a submission called for by difference of intellectual and innate power. 3. It may be made conducive to the more successful waging of the war in which they are engaged--giving unity of aim, of plan, of co-operation. They leave no point neglected; turn all their strength to account. All unity is not of God.

+III. The enemies here described are singly and as detached mighty for evil.+--They are "powers." 1. Power intellectual. 2. Power physical. 3. Power directed. 4. Collective power.

+IV. The apostle characterises these adversaries as the rulers of the darkness of this world.+--1. Here a limitation of Satan's dominion is expressed.--"Rulers of the darkness of this world"--of the hiding and blinding errors which abound--of those deceived and misled. 2. It is as the prince of darkness that he contends, using falsehood and the wicked as his instruments.

+V. The enemies are spiritual in their nature.+--1. They are intelligent and crafty. 2. Invisible. 3. Active and unwearied.

+VI. They are wicked spirits.+--1. They are in themselves wicked. 2. They would make others wicked. 3. They employ the most wicked means.

+Lessons.+--1. Watch. 2. Pray. 3. Resist. 4. Stand fast.--Stewart.

Evil Angels.

+I. The nature and properties of evil angels.+--1. Their original properties were the same as those of the holy angels. 2. We do not know either the occasion of their apostasy or what effect it immediately produced upon them. 3. From the time they shook off their allegiance to God, they shook off all goodness, and contracted those tempers which are most hateful to Him and most opposite to His nature. 4. In the prosecution of their infernal designs they are diligent in the highest degree. 5. They do not wander at large, but are all united under one common head.

Transcriber's Note: With respect to point 5 below, the Transcriber asserts that man is perfectly capable of doing evil without any help. Please see Jer. xvii. 9 and James i. 13-15.

+II. The employment of evil angels.+--1. They are, as far as God permits, the governors of the world. 2. Satan and all his angels are continually warring against us, and watching over every child of man. 3. By them the foolish hearts of those who know not God are darkened. 4. They hinder every good word and work. 5. There is no evil done, spoke, or thought without the assistance of the devil. 6. Such is the malice of the wicked one that he will torment whom he cannot destroy. In all these instances we say "the devil," as if there was only one, because these spirits, innumerable as they are, all act in concert, and because we know not whether one or more are concerned in this or that work of darkness.--Wesley.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 13-17.

The Christian Warrior equipped.

+I. He is clothed from head to foot with defensive armour.+--1. The girdle of truth. "Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth" (ver. 14). The military girdle was the belt or cincture with which the warrior braced himself round the waist, to tighten and keep every part of his armour in its true place, that there might not be anything loose and trailing about him to encumber his movements. Everything about him must be tense and firm, that he may be prepared to receive the attack of the enemy, however suddenly and powerfully made, and to act with decision and concentrated energy. So the Christian warrior must be strengthened and sustained with the girdle of truth. The truth of the Gospel must be known and conscientiously embraced, so that we may detect the numerous foes that error is constantly letting loose upon us, and be able to attack and conquer them. To cast away our girdle is to incapacitate ourselves for the combat, and to expose ourselves to wounds and defeat. Conscious integrity inspires the spiritual warrior with confidence and bravery. "Let this be my brazen wall, that no man can reproach me with a crime, and that I am conscious of my own integrity." On the truth we take our stand, and by the truth we stand. If we keep the truth, the truth will keep us, and we shall not be "tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine." "The luxury of agnosticism, the languors of doubt, the vague sympathies and hesitant eclecticism in which delicate and cultured minds are apt to indulge; the lofty critical attitude as of some intellectual god sitting above the strife of creeds, which others find congenial--these are conditions of mind unfit for the soldier of Christ Jesus. He must have sure knowledge, definite and decided purposes--a soul girdled with truth."

2. The breastplate of righteousness.--"And having on the breastplate of righteousness" (ver. 14). The military breastplate or cuirass was the chief piece of defensive armour. It consisted of two parts or wings; one covered the whole region of the thorax and protected the vital organs of the body, and the other covered the back as far down as the front part extended. As the breastplate guarded the vital functions contained within the region of the thorax, so righteousness--the life of God in the soul of man--defends everything on which the spiritual existence and triumph of the Christian warrior depend. Righteousness--conscious integrity of character--is an impenetrable mail from which the missiles of the enemy fall pointless. Rectitude of life is an invulnerable defence against the most furious attacks of calumny and oppression: it is an immovable rock that breaks up the dark billows of opposition into clouds of helpless spray.

3. The greaves, or feet-guards.--"Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace" (ver. 15). The military greaves or brazen boots covered the shin or front of the leg. A kind of solen was often used which covered the sole and laced about the instep, preventing the foot from being wounded by thorns or rugged ways, and giving firmness and security to the foothold. Thus shod, the warrior would take his stand with safety, or move with alertness over all sorts of ground. Being "shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace" indicates that the Christian soldier is ever ready to move with expedition and willingness in publishing the good tidings of peace. The Israelites were commanded to eat the passover with their feet shod to show that they were ready for their journey. Christ commanded His messengers to be shod with sandals, that they might be ready to go and proclaim the Gospel wherever they were sent. The Christian warrior is on his way through a strange and hostile country, and should be every moment not only prepared to proceed, but be every moment in actual progress, proclaiming peace on his way to the land of eternal peace. Progress in truth is made by being firmly established in its principles; every advancing step is taken with confidence and with the air of one who is assured of the ground on which he is treading. The Gospel of peace establishes peace between God and man, and proclaims goodwill and peace to the universe. "The objection that the apostle is addressing the faithful at large who are not all of them called to preach the Gospel is mistaken. Every believer should be prepared to witness for Christ so often as opportunity affords and needs a readiness thereto. The knowledge of Christ's peace qualifies him to convey its message. He brings it with him into the strife of the world. And it is the consciousness that he possesses himself such peace, and has it to communicate to others, which enables him to walk firmly and with sure step in the way of faith" (Von Hofman). We preserve the truth by spreading it; and the best defence against the enemies of the truth is to persuade them to accept the Gospel of peace. The Christian warrior is not a fighter, but a peacemaker.

4. The shield of faith.--"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (ver. 16). The shield signified is not the small round buckler or targe of the light-armed man, but the oblong, doorlike shield, measuring four feet by two and a half, and curved to the shape of the body, that the Greek hoplite and the Roman legionary carried. Joined together, these large shields formed a wall, behind which a body of troops could hide themselves from the rain of the enemy's missiles. These military shields were made of wood, covered on the outside with thick leather, which not only deadened the shock of the missile, but protected the frame of the shield from the fire-tipped darts used in the artillery of the ancients. So faith is the shield of the Christian soldier, defending him from the fierce attacks of the foe, from within and without. By "the fiery darts of the wicked" the apostle may allude to the darts called falarica, which were headed with lead, in or about which some combustible stuff was placed that took fire in the passage of the arrow through the air, and often burnt up the enemies' ships and engines, or stuck in the shields and set them on fire. The shield of faith cannot be pierced or destroyed by the fiercest fires of hatred or malice. The arrows of the wicked, flaming with cruelty, are caught on this shield, blunted, and extinguished.

5. The helmet of salvation.--"And take the helmet of salvation" (ver. 17). The helmet was the armour for the head, was of various forms, and embossed with a great variety of figures. On the top of the helmet was the crest or ridge, adorned with several emblematic figures, either for ornament or to strike terror. The apostle may refer to a helmet which had an emblematic representation of hope--that the person who wore it should be safe, should be prosperous in all his engagements, and escape unhurt from battle. So the hope of conquering every adversary, and surmounting every difficulty by the salvation of the Gospel, is a helmet that protects the head, and is of such impenetrable texture as the blow of the battle-axe cannot cleave. The hope of continual safety and protection, built on the promises of the Gospel, protects the understanding from being confused by the subtle attacks of Satan or the sophisms of unbelief. Salvation guards the whole man, the head and heart, and is both helmet and shield.

+II. He is armed with an all-potent offensive weapon.+--"And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (ver. 17). The military swords were in various sizes, and in the earliest times were made of brass. The swords of Homer's heroes were all of this metal. Great dexterity was acquired in the use of the sword, and an expert swordsman was an antagonist greatly dreaded. The Word of God is the offensive weapon wielded by the Christian combatant. It is called the sword of the Spirit, because it comes from the Holy Spirit, and receives its fulfilment in the soul through the operations of the Spirit, who alone can teach its potent use. Facility in quoting the Word in times of temptation and trial enables the spiritual warrior to cut in pieces the snares of the adversary. The shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit are the principal armour of the soul. The enemies of the cross of Christ fall humiliated and defeated under the powerful strokes of the Spirit's sword. There are times when the Christian soldier must not only stand on the defensive, but must lead the attack with unflinching bravery on the forces of evil. He is safe only by slaying the enemy.

+III. He is fully prepared to resist and conquer his terrible opponents.+--"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (ver. 13). Stand is the spiritual battle-cry. Being armed, defend your liberties, maintain your rights, discomfort your spiritual foes, hold your ground against them, never put off your armour, but be ever standing ready to repel any new attack. The defence is necessary, for the evil day is at hand, is already dawning. The early Church had its evil day of persecution and defection, and the Church of to-day is threatened by an evil day of subtlest error. The unwary and supine will go down before the forces of evil, and only the brave and steadfast will survive.

+Lessons.+--1. The Christian armour is invulnerable. 2. The Christian warrior must attack as well as defend. 3. The Christian warrior can conquer only as he uses the armour provided.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 13-17. The Christian's Armour.--St. Paul lay in prison at Rome, bound with a chain to the Roman trooper who watched him day and night. He employed his prison hours in writing. It was very natural that his language, like his thoughts, should be coloured here and there by the objects around him; and we find that whilst writing this circular epistle to the Ephesians his eye had actually been resting on the soldier to whom he was chained. In the outfit of the Roman legionary he saw the symbol of the supernatural dress which befits the Christian. The ornamented girdle or balteus, bound around the loins, to which the sword was commonly attached, seemed to the apostle to recall the inward practical acknowledgment of truth, which is the first necessity in the Christian character. The metal breastplate suggests the moral rectitude or righteousness which enables a man to confront the world. The strong military sandals spoke of the readiness to march in the cause of that Gospel whose sum and substance was not war, but spiritual even more than social peace. And then the large oblong, oval, wooden shield, clothed with hides, covering well-nigh the whole body of the bearer, reminded him of Christian faith, upon which the temptations of the evil one, like the ancient arrows, tipped as they often were with inflammable substances, would light harmlessly and lose their deadly point; and then the soldier's helmet, pointing upwards to the skies, was a natural figure of Christian hope directed towards a higher and better world; and then he sword at his side, by which he won safety and victory in the day of battle, and which you will observe is the one aggressive weapon mentioned in this whole catalogue--what was it but the emblem of that Word of God which wins such victories on the battle-fields of conscience, because it pierces, even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth? Thus girded, thus clad, thus shod, thus guarded, thus covered, thus armed, the Christian might well meet his foes. He was indeed more than a match for them, and might calmly await their onset.--H. P. Liddon.

The Whole Armour of God.

+I. Truth.+--"Having your loins girt about with truth." By truth is intended sincerity in our Christian profession, or a firm belief of and full consent to the Gospel of Christ. A rational conviction of its truth, joined with a sense of its importance is our best security against apostasy in the evil day.

+II. Righteousness.+--"And having on the breastplate of righteousness." A holy and inoffensive life will prevent many injuries. It will command the reverence of bad and the compassion of good men. It will obtain the protection of God's providence and the supports of His grace. It will preserve peace and serenity of conscience under the reproaches of a malignant world.

+III. Peace.+--"Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." This peaceable disposition is a preparation for the trials of an evil day, and an excellent defence against the asperities of our Christian path. This will go on before us to smooth the rough passages of life, or attend us to guard our feet against the sticks and traps which our enemies cast in our way. Possessed of this disposition we shall give no offence and provoke no injuries by an insolent, overbearing behaviour.

+IV. Faith.+--"Above all, taking the shield of faith." Faith is a grace of universal influence. It is the basis of all Christian graces. It is the ground-work of all religion in the heart. Faith is a more effectual defence against the temptations of Satan and the world than the shields of the mighty against the darts and spears of their enemies.

+V. Hope.+--"And take the helmet of salvation." The hope of salvation. God brings salvation. We appropriate it by hope. We must fight the good fight of faith in hope that the Captain of salvation will support us in the conflict and lead us to victory.

+VI. Knowledge.+--"The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." The Divine Word is called the sword of the Spirit because it is rendered effectual by the Spirit in slaying the fleshly lusts and repelling the outward temptations which war against the soul.

+Reflections.+--1. We see of what importance it is that we have the power of religion in our hearts. 2. It concerns us to live much in the exercise of faith. 3. Let us exercise our courage according to the various exigencies of the Christian life.--Lathrop.

The Duty of Believers in the Evil Day.

+I. The time to which the exhortation refers--the evil day.+--1. By the evil day we are clearly to understand the season of temptation. When "we wrestle."

2. The evil day may be understood of life itself.--"Few and evil have been the days of my pilgrimage." Man is tempted till his death.

3. The evil day may refer to seasons during which temptation is peculiarly strong.--With our first parents whilst they listened to Satan. With Christ in the wilderness--near death (John xiv. 30).

4. Of such seasons we have many examples in Scripture.--The lives of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Job, Lot, Samson, David, Asa, Hezekiah, Peter, Demas.

5. Such seasons each believer can mark in his history.--They are generally turning points. They are attended by every variety of outward circumstances, prosperity, adversity, society, solitude, health, sickness.

6. With the wicked such days are evil.--Days of suffering, of danger, of backsliding, of apostasy, of dishonour to Christ, and triumph to the world and to all the enemies of Christ.

7. This season of temptation is short.--A day. We should not grow weary.

8. Though it be short it is important.--The day of battle is generally most important in its results. So in spiritual warfare. The temptation in Eden, etc.

+II. The duty which falls to be performed in the evil day.+--1. To withstand. (1) This has reference to Satan as an assailant. (2) It binds us to resistance, i.e., to perform the duty from which Satan dissuades, to refuse the sin which he recommends, to hold fast that which we have, and to reject that which he offers in exchange (Rev. iii. 2).

2. To proceed from the defensive to the offensive.--"Having done all," or "conquered all." (1) The believer, as "the good soldier of Christ," is, like his Master, to be an assailant. (2) By attacking, Satan discovers himself; and the believer, having resisted, may gain an advantage. When his stronghold in the heart is found out, it may be pulled down. Is it pride? (2 Cor. x. 4, 5). (3) Satan can be contended against only by carrying on an offensive warfare--in the heart, in the world. The Romans could be conquered only in Italy.

3. That having resisted and conquered, we still stand.--(1) Though repulsed, Satan is not slain, his resources are not exhausted, "his wrath" continues. (2) We must therefore "stand" after victory. Our armour must be kept on. We must be vigilant. We must be in an attitude for the fight.

+III. The preparation necessary to the performance of the peculiar duties of the evil day.+--1. The evil day is a day of war, and hence its duties and the kind of preparation called for.

2. There are three things to be noticed in the account of the believer's preparation.--(1) He must be armed--Divine grace. An unarmed soldier a contradiction; he is useless for duty, exposed to death. (2) He must be completely armed. For defence and for offence. (3) His armour must be that "of God." Human virtues will not do. Human energies will not do.--Stewart.

Ver. 14. The Girdle of Truth.

+I. Honesty and truthfulness of character.+--Love of truth as being from God, hatred of lies as being from the devil--this is a primary condition of being strong in the Lord. Nothing can be more injurious to the character of the Christian religion than the suspicion that it shuns examination, that its claims are in antagonism with demonstrated truth. There is a kind of false liberalism concerning religious truth. It is easy for a man to fancy his loins are girt about with truth when the fact is they are girt about with indifference; and a person so armed may assume an attitude of impartiality with regard to religious questions because he cares nothing concerning the issue; and sometimes it seems to be assumed that a writer possesses a virtue, compensating for all vices, if he is apparently free from all bias either for or against revealed truth. The true path is taken by him who, strong in his own faith and love, fears no honest investigation, and shrinks from adopting in matters of religion any tone of thought or line of argument which he cannot justify upon the broadest grounds of calm judgment and sober reason.

+II. But the words of the apostle refer not only to truthfulness, but to truth itself, to that which we know to be true.+--It would be unworthy of an apostle if he should include under the title of truth, necessary for the protection of a Christian champion, all human knowledge which is rightly so called. Do not consider that the progress you make in human knowledge lies beside your path as Christians. As members of Christ, as His soldiers and servants, take a nobler view of your work than that. Christ has taken the elements of this world and sanctified them for Himself; there is nothing really secular but what is evil, and all that is not evil ought to be used on the side of truth.

+III. The apostle has in mind that definite form of revealed truth which in Scripture is described as emphatically the truth.+--The great doctrine of godliness, the incarnation of the eternal Son, and all those truths which flow from this one mysterious spring. While there is no antagonism between Scriptural and human knowledge, there is a wide difference between the sources from which they are derived the evidences by which they are established, and the conditions of their being rightly apprehended. Whereas other knowledge is the slow accumulation of the experience of ages, and the result of the guesses and labours of gifted men, and is consequently an ever-growing and changing body of truth, Christian truth admits of no change and no growth. It admits of application to new circumstances; it admits too of growth, between the limits of a mustard seed and a full-grown tree, in its subjective apprehension by each believing heart; but objectively it knows neither diminution nor expansion, it is ever one and indivisible, because it resolves itself ultimately into the one great mysterious fact, the manifestation of God in human flesh. No amount of argument would ever turn religious belief into religious life, if the articles of the creed did not attest their Divinity by filling up the void of the human heart and by their constraining influence on human conduct; and, on the other hand, no religion could maintain its ground and command the assent of thinking men, unless its historical claims and its objective truth would stand the test of the severest scrutiny. The truth of Christ rests upon both grounds; and because this is so we are bound to gird it about our loins as our only sure support in our conflict with the spiritual wickedness of this world, our support in the hour of death, our support in the day of judgment.--Harvey Goodwin.

Truth the Girdle of the Christian.

+I. The particular grace which is here mentioned--truth.+--1. By this exhortation we might understand that we must in all things act according to truth or what is truth. This implies the knowledge of truth, the yielding up of ourselves to truth, so as to embody it.

2. By the truth we may understand sincerity.--Being in appearance what we are in reality, seeming to follow what we do follow, expressing the real thoughts and feelings of the heart. This sincerity is displayed towards God, towards our fellow-men, and towards ourselves.

+II. The uses or purposes of truth in the Christian life: it is a girdle.+--By comparing truth to a girdle the apostle suggests the purposes which it serves: 1. The ancient girdle was meant to give firmness and strength. 2. To fit for activity, by binding up the loose, flowing garments. 3. To the girdle arms were attached.--Stewart.

Ver. 15. The Gospel of Peace.

+I. The nature of this peace.+--1. It is peace with God.--A mutual reconciliation following a mutual estrangement.

2. It is a peace with ourselves.--This includes both the silencing of the accusations of conscience and the restoration of the internal harmony of our nature.

3. It is peace with our fellow-men.--Between nations and classes, and families and individuals.

4. It is peace with our fellow-Christians.

+II. The relation of the Gospel to this peace.+--1. In the Gospel it is proclaimed. 2. In the Gospel its grounds are unfolded. 3. By the belief of the Gospel it is conveyed.--G. Brooks.

Ver. 17. The Bible the Sword of the Spirit.

+I. The Bible is a sword.+--1. Like a sword, it is of no use till it is unsheathed. The Bible must not lie idle in the library or in the intellect. Must be used.

2. Like a sword, when it is unsheathed it cuts deeply.--Makes deep gashes in the heart and conscience.

3. Like a sword, it is a weapon of defence as well as of offence.--"It is written."

+II. The Bible is the sword of the Spirit.+--1. Because He inspired it. Those whom we call the sacred writers were its penmen; He alone was its Author.

2. Because He interprets it.--Its Author is also its interpreter. Wherever it is carried He is, and in answer to the prayer of faith He expounds its true meaning as far as saving truth is concerned.

3. Because He wields it as the instrument of His victories.--Refer to some of the remarkable revivals, to individual conversions.

+III. Our duty with regard to the Bible as the sword of the Spirit.+--1. Take it and study it. Sword exercise.

2. Take it and bind it to your heart.--Delight in it.

3. Take it and employ it vigorously till your life's end.--"His sword was in His hand." "There is none like it."--Ibid.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 18-20.

The Programme of Prayer.

+I. Prayer should be constant and varied in its methods.+--"Praying always with all prayer and supplication" (ver. 18). The Christian warrior is armed from head to foot with the girdle, the breastplate, the greaves, the shield, the helmet, and the sword; no weapon of defence or offence is wanting; it would seem as if nothing was needed to complete the equipment. The one essential now is the spirit and courage to fight, to use the spiritual weapons with dexterity and effect; and the power to do this is secured by prayer. Prayer should be constant; the soul should be ever in a praying mood; and supplication, earnest entreaty, should be used in the special emergencies that occur in the battle of life. "Praying always with all prayer": all kinds and methods of prayer should be employed--prayer in public aided by the sympathy and inspiration of numbers, in private when alone with God, in the family, in the whirl of business, in the stress of battle, in the intervals of recreation, in the heart without a voice and with the voice from the heart. The earnest and needy soul will find its own way of keeping up a prayerful intercourse with God. "Some there are," said Wesley, "who use only mental prayer or ejaculations, and think they are in a state of grace and use a way of worship far superior to any other; but such only fancy themselves to be above what is really above them, it requiring far more grace to be enabled to pour out a fervent and continued prayer than to offer up mental aspirations."

"Warrior, that from battle won, Breathest now at set of sun; Woman, o'er the lowly slain, Weeping on his burial plain! Ye that triumph, ye that sigh, Kindred by one holy tie: Heaven's first star alike ye see-- Lift the heart and bend the knee."--Hemans.

+II. Prayer is prompted and sustained by the Divine Spirit.+--"Praying . . . in the Spirit" (ver. 18). The Spirit is the author and element of the believer's life in Christ. It is He who gives the grace and power to pray; He helps our infirmities, and intercedes for us and in us. Prayer is one of the highest exercises of the soul, and achieves its loftiest triumphs under the inspiration and help of the Spirit. He suggests topics for prayer, proper times and seasons, imparts urgency and perseverance in supplication, and He alone makes prayer effectual.

+III. Prayer should be accompanied with persevering vigilance.+--"Watching [keeping awake] thereunto with all perseverance and supplication" (ver. 18). We must not only watch and pray, but watch while we pray. Watch against wandering thoughts, against meaningless and insincere petitions, against the seductive suggestions of the tempter, and against the tendency to trust in our prayers or in our earnestness rather than in God, whose help we supplicate. "With all perseverance" means a sustained, unsleeping, and unresting vigilance. The word implies stretching out the neck and looking about in order to discern an enemy at a distance. Without watchfulness prayer and all the spiritual armour will be unavailing. The best-appointed army, over-confident in its strength, has suffered inglorious defeat by neglecting to watch. The wakeful and earnest suppliant must persist in prayer, undaunted by opposition and unwearied by delay.

+IV. Prayer should be offered on behalf of the Church in general.+--"For all saints" (ver. 18). Prayer that in its nature is generous and comprehensive is apt to become selfish and narrowed down into despicable limits. The man prays best for himself who prays most earnestly for others. "Prayer for ourselves must broaden out into a catholic intercession for all the servants of our Master, for all the children of the household of faith. By the bands of prayer we are knit together--a vast multitude of saints throughout the earth, unknown by face or name to our fellows, but one in the love of Christ and in our heavenly calling and all engaged in the same perilous conflict. All the saints were interested in the faith of the Asian believers; they were called with 'all the saints' to share in the comprehension of the immense designs of God's kingdom. The dangers and temptations of the Church are equally far-reaching; they have a common origin and character in all Christian communities. Let our prayers at least be catholic. At the throne of grace, let us forget our sectarian divisions. Having access in one Spirit to the Father, let us realise in His presence our communion with all His children" (Findlay).

"The saints in prayer appear as one, In word and deed and mind; While with the Father and the Son Sweet fellowship they find.

"Nor prayer on earth is made alone-- The Holy Spirit pleads; And Jesus on the eternal throne For sinners intercedes."--J. Montgomery.

+V. Prayer should be definite and special in its petitions.+--1. For the preacher of the Gospel in unfavourable circumstances. "And for me . . . an ambassador in bonds" (vers. 19, 20). An ambassador, being the representative of his king, his person was in all civilised countries held sacred, and it was regarded as the greatest indignity and breach of faith to imprison or injure him. Contrary to the rights of nations, this ambassador of the King of heaven was put in chains. Even Paul, with all his magnificent endowments, felt the need for the prayers of God's people and craved for them. The fortunes of the Gospel were bound up with his life, and he was now suffering for his courageous defence of the truth. It was of immense importance to the early Church that he should be true and faithful in this crisis, and he asks for the prayers of God's people that he may be sustained and the Gospel victorious. Here was a definite and special theme for prayer. Occasions of great peril evoke the spirit of earnest supplication. It is an aid to devotion to have some one specially pray for.

2. For courage and facility in unfolding the mystery of the Gospel he feels constrained to declare.--"That utterance may be given unto me, that I may . . . make known the mystery of the gospel, . . . that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak [as I must needs speak]" (vers. 19, 20). The apostolic prisoner was more concerned about his message than his own fate. He hailed the occasion of His defence before the civil authorities as an opportunity for unfolding and enforcing the Gospel, for preaching which he was now in chains. He feels the gravity of the crisis, and he is nervously anxious to do justice to his grand theme. Clear as was his insight and firm as was his grasp of the leading truths of the Gospel, he invokes the prayers of the Ephesian saints that God may give him liberty and power in their exposition, and that he may win converts to the truth from the midst of his enemies. The pulpit will become a greater power if the people of God pray fervently and unitedly for the ambassadors of Christ. Prayer is more potent in winning souls than the logic and eloquence of the preacher.

+Lessons.+--1. The topics for prayer are abundant and ever present. 2. Prayer nerves the soul with Divine power. 3. Earnest and believing prayer will prevail.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 18-20. Praying with all Prayer.

+I. The apostle supposes our obligation to prayer to be so plain that every rational mind will see it, and so important that every pious heart will feel it.+--Our obligation to prayer naturally results from our weakness and dependence and God's all-sufficiency and goodness. Desires directed to Him are prayers. To clothe our desires in language is not essential. God hears the desire of the humble. There is the same reason for daily prayer as for daily labour. Prayer is a means of enlivening our pious sentiments and exciting us to the practice of duty and thus preparing us for Divine favours.

+II. Prayer is of several kinds.+--Social and secret, public and domestic, stated and occasional; and consists of several parts--confession, supplication, intercession, and thanksgiving. The apostle points out no part or kind of prayer in distinction from all others, but exhorts in general to pray with all prayer.

+III. The manner in which our prayers should be offered.+--The spirit and temper of the heart in our prayers is the main thing necessary to qualify them for God's acceptance. The first thing necessary in prayer is faith. Our desires must be good and reasonable. Attention of mind, collection of thought, and warmth of affection are qualifications required in prayer. Our prayers must be accompanied with justice to men. Charity is an essential qualification in prayer. Our prayers must be joined with a sense of and sorrow for sin, and submission to the Divine will. We are to continue in prayer, and watch thereunto with all perseverance.

+IV. The apostle here teaches the duty of intercession for others.+--If God is good to others as well as to us, there is the same ground on which to offer our social intercessions as our personal petitions. We are commanded to pray for all men, and especially for all saints; this is to pray for the general virtue and happiness of the human race in this and all succeeding ages. Christians ought to pray for their minister. There was something special in Paul's case--he was an ambassador in bonds.

+V. The apostle points out the manner in which he aimed and all ministers ought to preach the Gospel.+--The apostle desired to make known the mystery of the Gospel, and to speak boldly. In a minster boldness is necessary; not that impudent boldness which assumes an unmerited superiority, but that pious fortitude that dares to utter the important things of religion without reserve and without fear of personal inconvenience. He must persevere in the faithful execution of his office, whatever discouragements may arise from the opposition of the world, the frowns of the great, the contempt of the proud, the want of concurrence, or the smallness of his success.--Lathrop.

Ver. 18. Praying in the Spirit.

+I. The time.+--"Always." 1. The frequent practice of prayer. 2. The constant cultivation of the spirit of prayer.

+II. The manner.+--"With all prayer and supplication." 1. The prayer of the closet. Secret. 2. The prayer of the family. Domestic. 3. The prayer of the social circle. United. 4. The prayer of the sanctuary. Public.

+III. The manner.+--"With all prayer and supplication." 1. There are thanksgivings to be rendered. 2. There are confessions to be made. 3. There are petitions to be offered. 4. There are intercessions to be presented.

+IV. Spirituality.+--"In the Spirit." 1. With our own heart. Not formal or mechanical. 2. In dependence on the aid of the Holy Ghost.

+V. The continuance.+--"With all perseverance." 1. In the general habit. Prayer never to be given up. 2. In special objects. No fainting in prayer.

+VI. The intercession.+--"And supplication for all saints." 1. For the whole Church. 2. For any part of the Church that is in danger of distress. 3. For our own section of the Church. 4. For our Christian friends.--G. Brooks.

The Duty of Prayer.--Prayer is the communion of the soul with God, and the casting of itself upon Him for help and guidance.

+I. God has implanted prayer as an instinct in the hearts of men.+--In times of danger the soul instinctively cries out for God or some unseen power to interpose and save.

+II. God desires that men should pray regularly and constantly.+--Blessings are promised in answer to prayer which the soul can obtain in no other way.

+III. God commands men to pray.+--To abound in prayer and to pray without weariness and fainting.

+IV. God teaches how to pray and what to pray for.+--The Spirit helps our infirmities.

+V. There is no religious life apart from prayer.+--The Bible saints were men of prayer. At the very beginning of human history men began to call upon God. And in the visions of heaven which St. John has recorded, when the Lamb had taken the book to open its seals, the twenty-four elders fell down before Him, "having every one of them harps and golden phials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints, and they sang a new song" (Rev. v. 8, 9). Prayer leads to praise.

+VI. How can we make the duty a privilege and the privilege a pleasure?+--If Christ was comforted and strengthened by prayer, can we as Christians live without it? Is not a prayerless Christian in danger of being no Christian at all?--Homiletic Monthly.

Vers. 19, 20. A Picture of Moral Bravery.

+I. An ambassador charged with a message of world-wide significance and importance.+--"To make known the mystery of the gospel" (ver. 19).

+II. An ambassador, contrary to the law of nations, imprisoned because of his message.+--"For which I am an ambassador in bonds" (ver. 20).

+III. An ambassador irresistibly constrained to declare the message for which he suffers.+--"That therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak" (ver. 20).

+IV. An ambassador imploring, not the sanction of civil authorities, but the prayers of God's people that he may be emboldened to discharge his high commission.+--"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly" (ver. 19).

Ver. 19. The Gospel a Mystery.

+I. Because it is known only by Divine revelation.+--Such a secret it is that the wit of man could never have found out. As none but God could lay the plot, so none but Himself could make it known.

+II. Because when revealed its truths exceed the grasp of human understanding.+--They are to the eye of our reason as the sun to the eye of our body, that dazzles and overpowers. They disdain to be discussed and tried by human reason that there are three subsistences in the Godhead and but one Divine essence. We believe, because they are revealed. God and man united in Christ's person is undeniably demonstrable from the Gospel, but the cordage of our understanding is too short to fathom this great deep. "Would'st thou see a reason," said Augustine, "for all that God says? Look into thine own understanding, and thou wilt find a reason why thou seest not a reason."

+III. The Gospel is a mystery in regard of the kind of knowledge the saints themselves have of it.+--1. Their knowledge is but in part, and imperfect. The most of what they know is the least of what they do not know. The Gospel is a rich piece of arras rolled up: this God has been unfolding ever since the first promise was made to Adam, opening it every age wider than the other.

2. It is mysterious and dark. Gospel truths are not known in their native beauty and glory, but in shadows. Our apprehension of things are mainly compared with those under the law, but childish compared with the knowledge of glorified saints.

Transcriber's Note: In this next paragraph, the word "faggot" is used in its original literal meaning, a bundle of sticks used to kindle a fire, or metaphorically, execution by burning at the stake.

+IV. The Gospel is a mystery in regard to the rare and strange effects it has upon the godly.+--It enables them to believe strange mysteries--to believe that which they understand not, and hope for that which they do not see. It enables them to do as strange things as they believe--to live by another's spirit, to act from another's strength, to live by another's will, and aim at another's glory. It makes them so meek and gentle that a child may lead them to anything good, yet so stout that fire and faggot shall not fright them into sin. They are taught that all things are theirs, yet they dare not take a penny, a pin, from the wicked by force and rapine. They can pray for life, and at the same time desire to die.--Gurnall.

Ver. 20. Boldness a Duty in a Minister.

+I. The nature of the boldness desired.+--1. To speak all he has in command from God to deliver. 2. To speak with liberty and freedom of spirit, without fear or bondage to any. Speaking openly and plainly.

+II. Boldness to be shown in preaching the Gospel.+--1. In asserting the truth of the Gospel. 2. In reproving sin and denouncing judgment against impenitent sinners.

+III. The kind of boldness a minister should cultivate.+--1. A convincing boldness. 2. A meek boldness. 3. A zealous boldness.

+IV. The means of procuring ministerial boldness.+--1. A holy fear of God. 2. Castle thyself within the power and promise of God for assistance and protection. 3. Keep a clear conscience. 4. Consider that which thou most fearest is best prevented by freedom and boldness in thy ministry. 5. Consider how bold Christ was in His ministry. What greater incentive to valour can the soldier have than to see his general stand with undaunted courage where the bullets fly thickest! Such valiant captains do not breed white-livered soldiers. It is impossible we should be dastardly, if instructed by Him and actuated by his Spirit.--Ibid.

Ver. 20. The Gospel Ambassador.

+I. The dignity of his office.+--Seen: 1. In the majesty of the Prince from whom he comes. 2. In the greatness of the Person whose place he supplies. 3. In the excellency of the message he brings.

+II. How the duty of his office should be discharged.+--1. Stain not the dignity of thy office by any base, unworthy practices. 2. Keep close to thy instructions. 3. Think it not enough that thou deliverest thy message from God, but show a zeal for thy Master whose cause thou negotiatest. 4. Let not any person or thing in the world bribe or scare thee from a faithful discharge of thy trust. 5. Be kind to and tenderly careful of thy fellow-subjects.--Ibid.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses 21, 22.

A Trusted Messenger--

+I. Commended for his acknowledged Christian character.+--"Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord" (ver. 21). These are high and honourable designations, and indicate the genuine esteem in which he was held by the apostle. He had become endeared to Paul by the many valuable services he had rendered to him, and by the marked fidelity of his ministerial work. He appears to have joined St. Paul's staff, and remained with him from the time he accompanied him to Jerusalem in the year 59. He was sent to Ephesus to relieve Timothy when Paul desired the presence of the latter at Rome. He was well known to the Asian Church, and every way qualified to discharge the mission with which he was entrusted. He was "the beloved brother" in his relation to the Church in general, and the "faithful minister in the Lord" in his special relation to the apostle. It is better to be loved than to be simply popular. Genuine piety forms character, and commands the confidence and respect of all lovers of the truth.

+II. Entrusted with personal details of special interest.+--"Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs" (ver. 22). There were probably some details about St. Paul's imprisonment that could be communicated better in person than by letter, and certain allusions in the letter that could be more fully explained in a personal interview. Every item about Paul was of intense interest to the Asian Churches. Many of the members had been brought to Christ through his instrumentality. They were alarmed as to his fate and as to the future of the Gospel. They were anxious to know if there was any prospect of his release and of his return to his missionary labours. Tychicus, enjoying the full confidence of the apostle and the affection of the people, was just the man to give them the information they so eagerly desired, and would be cordially welcomed everywhere. The trusted messenger of a great and good man is regarded for the time being with the reverence and respect cherished towards the man he represents and of those whose affairs he is empowered to speak.

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