xviii. 9), and the contemptuous bearing of him who eats flesh with

which an idol's name has been associated, and laughs at the shuddering scruples of the brother who thinks it a dreadful thing to do, and sets him at nought (Rom. xiv. 3-10). The prophesyings at Corinth were such as might easily be contemned (1 Cor. xiv. 23).

Ver. 21. +Prove all things.+--Make trial of all. A sentence fatal to the suppression of inquiry and to credulous faith. It forbids me to accept what is given out as prophecy even, unless it has a self-evidencing power. +Hold fast that which is good.+--The good here is that which is ethically beautiful. In ver. 15 another word points the contrast to the evil return of injury.

Ver. 22. +Abstain from all appearance of evil.+--Perhaps the best idea of the word rendered "abstain" would be gained by "hold off," in antithesis to the "hold fast" of ver. 21.

Ver. 23. +Sanctify you wholly.+ "Rather--unto completeness. The apostle prays that they may be sanctified to the fullest extent" (_Ibid._). +Your whole spirit . . . be preserved blameless.+--R.V. "be preserved entire, without blame." "From the degree of holiness desired we pass to its range, from its intension (as the logicians would say) to its extension" (_Ibid._).

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-11.

_The Attitude of the Church towards the Second Coming of Christ._

A book written by one who knew of the _first_ advent of the Redeemer closes, anticipating, desiring, beseeching the _second,_--"Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. xxii. 20). The revelation concerning that second coming is distinct and emphatic; but the exact period, when the event will happen, is wrapped in uncertainty. As when we ascend a winding river some well-known landmark appears to alter its position, seeming now distant, now near--so, at different points on the circuitous stream of life, the familiar subject of the second Advent reveals itself as a near or remote event. "It is plain," says Archer Butler, "that that period which is distant in one scheme of things may be near in another, where events are on a vaster scale and move in a mightier orbit. That which is a whole life to the ephemera is but a day to the man; that which is in the brief succession of authentic human history is counted as remote, is but a single page in the volume of heavenly records. The coming of Christ may be distant as measured on the scale of human life, but it may be 'near,' and 'at hand,' and 'at the door,' when the interval of the two advents is compared, not merely with the four thousand years which were but its preparation, but with the line of infinite ages which it is itself preparing." The uncertainty of the time of the second Advent and its stupendous issues define the attitude of the Church.

+I. It is an attitude of expectancy.+--1. _The time of the second coming is uncertain._ "But of the time and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you" (ver. 1). A gentle hint that all questions on that subject were unnecessary, as there was nothing more to be revealed. The untameable curiosity and reckless daring of man tempt him to pry into secrets with which he has nothing to do and to dogmatise on subjects of which he knows the least. Many have been fanatical enough to fix the day of the Lord's coming. For a time, there has been a local excitement; the day has come and gone; the world has moved on as before, and the prophetic enthusiasts have exposed themselves to scorn and ridicule. "Of that day and hour knoweth no man" (Mark xiii. 32). This uncertainty is a perpetual stimulant to the people of God to exercise the ennobling virtues of hope, of watchfulness, of fidelity, of humility, of earnest inquiry, and of reverential awe.

2. _The second coming will be sudden._--"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child" (vers. 2, 3). The thief not only gives no notice of his approach but takes every possible care to conceal his designs. The discovery of the mischief he has wrought takes place when it is too late. The prudent will take every precaution to avoid surprise and to baffle the subtlety and sharpness of the marauder. That which is sinful and unlawful in itself affords a resemblance to express an important truth and to admonish to duty. There is nothing more certain than that the Lord _will_ come; nothing more uncertain _when_ He will come; and both the one and the other should keep His people in an attitude of prayerful expectation and moral preparedness. Faith breeds fear; the more earnestly we believe, the more we tremble at the Divine threatenings. Unbelief lulls the soul into false security. What a dreadful awakening will that be, when the thunder of God's wrath shall suddenly burst from the hitherto tranquil heavens!

3. _The second coming will be terrible to the wicked._--"And they shall not escape" (ver. 3). Wicked men are never more secure than when destruction is nearest, never nearer destruction than when they are most secure. The swearer may be seized while the oath is burning on his tongue, the drunkard engulfed in judgment while the cup is trembling between his lips. The other day a certain suspension bridge was crowded with pleasure seekers; the slender erection, yielding under the unwonted strain, broke in two, and in a moment precipitated numbers into the river rolling below and into a watery grave. Not less fragile is the confidence on which the unbelieving rest; and more terrible still will be the catastrophe that will suddenly overtake them. The destruction of the wicked--of all their joy, of all they most prized in this life--will be sudden, painful, inevitable. Now there is peace, for mercy reigns; but when the great day comes there will be nothing but indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil (Rom. ii. 8, 9).

+II. It is an attitude of vigilance.+--1. _This vigilance is enforced on the ground of a moral transformation._ "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness" (vers. 4, 5). Believers in Christ are delivered from the power of darkness, of spiritual ignorance, of godless profanity, of dark and dangerous security, and translated into the kingdom of light, of truth, of purity, and felicity. They are children of the day when the light shines the brightest, when privileges are more abundant, when opportunities multiply, and responsibility is correspondingly increased. The light of past ages was but the dawn of the effulgent day which now shines upon the world from the Gospel sun. Every inquiring and believing soul passes from the dawn to the daylight of experimental truth.

2. _This vigilance must be constant._--"Therefore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night" (vers. 6, 7). Let us not, like the drunkards steeped in sottish slumber, be immersed in the deep sleep of sin and unconcern, neglecting duty, and never thinking of a judgment; but let us watch, and in order to do so effectually, be sober. We are day-people, not night-people; therefore, our work ought to be day-work, not night-work; our conduct such as will bear the eye of day and has no need to hide itself under the veil of night. A strict sobriety is essential to a sleepless vigilance.

+III. It is an attitude of militant courage.+--"But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet the hope of salvation" (ver. 8). The Christian has to fight the enemy, as well as watch against him. He is a soldier, and a soldier on sentry. The Christian life is not one of soft, luxurious ease; it is a hard, fierce conflict. The graces of faith, love, and hope constitute the most complete armour of the soul. The breastplate and helmet protect the two most vital parts--the head and the heart. With head and heart right, the whole man is right. Let us keep the head from error and the heart from sinful lust, and we are safe. The best guards against error in religion and viciousness in life are--faith, hope, and charity; these are the virtues that inspire the most enterprising bravery. Drunkards and sluggards never make good soldiers.

+IV. It is an attitude of confidence as to the future blessedness of the Church.+--1. _This blessedness is Divinely provided._ "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us" (vers. 9, 10). The whole scheme of salvation was Divinely conceived and Divinely carried out in all its essential details. And, without discussing other methods by which the salvation of the race could be effected, it is sufficient for us to know that the infallible wisdom of God provided that the death of His Son was the most effectual method. Our sins had exposed us to the wrath of God, who had declared death to be the penalty of sin. This death Christ underwent on our behalf, in our stead, and so saved us from it. In every extremity, at every new challenge of the enemy, on each successive field of effort and peril, this is the password and battle-cry of God's people--_Christ died for us._

2. _This blessedness consists in a constant fellowship with Christ._--"That whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him" (ver. 10). The happiest moments on earth are those spent in the company of the good, reciprocating the noblest ideas and emotions. Christ, by dying for us, has begotten us into a life of ineffable and endless felicity; and "the hope of salvation" enables us to look forward to the period when, released from the sorrows and uncertainties of this changeful life, we shall enjoy the bliss of uninterrupted communion with Jesus.

"The soul to be where Jesus is Must be for ever blest."

3. _The confidence of inheriting this blessedness encourages mutual edification._--"Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do" (ver. 11). "All Christians indiscriminately are to use these doctrines for mutual exhortation and mutual edification. And so the spirit of the verse will be this: Comfort one another as to this matter, and then, free from the distracting and paralysing influence of vain misgivings, go on edifying one another in all the relations, and by all the means and appliances of your Church fellowship; even as also ye do. Ye do it now, in the midst of your own secret, personal sorrows and depressing fears. But you will be able to do it more effectively, with the clearer views I have now given you of what awaits us all--those sleeping in Jesus, and us who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord" (_Lillie_).

+Lessons.+--1. _The great event of the future will be the second coming of Christ._ 2. _That event should be looked for in a spirit of sobriety and vigilance._ 3. _That event will bring unspeakable felicity to the good and dismay and misery to the wicked._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Ver. 2. _The Day of the Lord_--

+I. A day which will be in some unique and pre-eminent sense His day.+

+II. It is the day of judgment.+

+III. The coming of His day is suggestive of fear.+--"As a thief in the night."

+IV. It will come suddenly.+

+V. Cannot be prevented by any efforts of our own.+

+VI. We may prepare for the day of judgment by judging ourselves in self-examination.+--_H. P. Liddon._

Ver. 6. _The Pilgrims on the Enchanted Ground._

+I. Hopeful keeps awake by goodly counsel and discourse.+

+II. Ignorance comes up again.+--1. _Ignorance explains the ground of his hope._ 2. _Christian explains what good thoughts are._ 3. _Ignorance speaks reproachfully about things he knows not._ 4. _He again falls behind._

+III. Christian and Hopeful renew their conversation.+--1. _Reflections over the conduct of Ignorance._ 2. _Why ignorant people stifle conviction._ 3. _Reasons why some backslide._

+IV. Some lessons from this stage.+--1. _In times of danger it is wise to recall former experiences._ 2. _Human philosophy may seem very wise, but the Bible is an unfailing touchstone.--Homiletic Monthly._

_Moral Sleep._

+I. The season devoted to sleep is one of darkness.+--He is in darkness as to God, himself, and the Gospel.

+II. Sleep is often sought for and obtained by the use of opiates.+--These are: 1. _The falsehoods of Satan._ 2. _The pleasures of sense._ 3. _The fellowship of the world._

+III. During sleep the mind is usually occupied with dreams.+--The life of the ungodly is one continued dream.

+IV. He who is asleep is in a great measure insensible to pain.+--1. _The sting of sin is in man's nature._ 2. _Through this sleep he feels it not.--Stewart._

Vers. 9, 10. _Salvation is of God._

+I. The choice of God.+--1. _It was early._ 2. _It was free._ 3. _Efficacious._ 4. _Appropriating._

+II. The work of Christ.+--He died as our Substitute. 1. _This fact explains His death._ 2. _Vindicates the justice of God in His death._ 3. _Displays the love of Christ._

+III. The privilege and duty of Christians.+--1. _Life in Christ._ 2. _Life with Christ._ 3. _In Him and with Him here and hereafter.--G. Brooks._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 12, 13.

_The Treatment due to the Ministerial Office._

An excessive modesty prevents many ministers from calling attention to the sacred office they hold, and to the respect in which it should ever be regarded by those over whom they have the oversight. Such a modesty is inexcusable. To say nothing of the contempt with which the world looks upon the ministerial office, there are thousands within the Church who are utterly ignorant of its duties and awful responsibilities, and who have but vague, distorted notions of their duty towards the men who first led them to Christ, and who have been instructing them in the truths for years. Let not the minister hesitate, even at the risk of being thought egotistical, to speak on this subject, and enforce the New Testament teaching. The apostle was not withheld by any false sense of modesty from pointing out, with all emphasis and authority, the obligations of the Church towards those who minister in the Word and doctrine. Observe:--

+I. The distinctive duties belonging to the ministerial office.+--1. _To labour._ "Them which labour among you" (ver. 12), even unto weariness, as the verb signifies. The work of the faithful minister is no sinecure; it taxes all the powers of the brain and muscle. It is a work demanding prolonged and earnest study, intense feeling, and ceaseless toil.

2. _To rule._--"And are over you in the Lord" (ver. 12). The minister is not simply a sort of popular delegate or hired agent, bound to receive the instructions, execute the wishes, and flatter the humours of his constituents. He is, indeed, the servant, in the proper sense of that word, but not the slave and tool of the Church. The right to speak and act in the name of Christ carries with it an aspect of pre-eminence and authority, and the same is implied in the very names that designate the ministerial office--as pastors, or shepherds, teachers, bishops, or overseers. On the other hand, the impressiveness of sacerdotal assumption is checked and limited by the words, "In the Lord." The minister is to rule only in the Lord, recognising the joint union of himself and his Church with the Lord, and the principles and polity by which the Church of Christ is to be governed.

3. _To admonish._--"And admonish you" (ver. 12). These words also qualify the nature of the rulership. It must not be a despotic lording it over God's heritage, issuing commands with absolute and arbitrary authority, and enforcing those commands, if not instantly obeyed, with terrifying anathemas. No; he is to rule by the force of moral suasion--by instruction, admonition, advice, warning. The verb means to put in mind. To gain obedience to the right, precept must be repeatedly enforced in all the varied forms of reproof, rebuke and exhortation.

+II. The treatment due to the ministerial office.+--1. _An intelligent acknowledgment of its character._ Think of its Divine appointment, its solemn responsibilities, its important work, its exhausting anxieties, its special perils. Whatever the ministers seem to you, they are the eyes of the Church and the mouth of God. Acknowledge them; sympathise with and help them; give credit to their message; they watch and pray; they study and take pains for your sake.

2. _A superlative, loving regard._--"Esteem them very highly in love" (ver. 13). The adverb is particularly forcible, signifying super-exceedingly, more than exceedingly. There is a hint here to thousands in the Church at the present day, which it is hoped they will have the grace to act upon. The profound reverence and esteem to be shown to the ministerial office is to be regulated, not by fear, but by love. The hard-working, devoted, and faithful minister is worthy of all honour and affection.

3. _The true ground of this considerate treatment._--"For their work's sake" (ver. 13). Love them for your own sake; you have life and comfort by them. Honour them for their office' sake; they are your fathers; they have begotten you in Christ; they are the stewards of God's house, and the dispensers of His mysteries. Honour and love them for God's sake; He has sent them and put His Word in their mouth. To love a minister is not much, except his work be that which draws out affection. He who can say, "I love a minister because he teacheth me to know God, because he informs me of duty, and reproves my declensions and backslidings"--he is the man who has satisfaction in his love.

+III. An important exhortation.+--"And be at peace among yourselves" (ver. 13). Not simply be at peace with your pastor, but among yourselves. You are all the children of God. God is a God of peace. Discord, contention, and unquietness are fit only for the children of the devil. Live in godly unity as becometh the children of peace. This is a duty frequently enjoined (Heb. xii. 14; Jas. iii.; Ps. cxli.). Let there be peace especially between the minister and his flock--no rivalry between ministers, no disputings and contentions among the people. There can be no prosperity where peace is absent.

+Lessons.+--1. _The minister is accountable to God for his fidelity._ 2. _The people can never profit under the minister they have not learned to respect._ 3. _Peace is an essential condition of success in Christian work._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Vers. 12, 13. _A Public Ministry_--

+I. Is ordained by God.+--"Over you in the Lord."

+II. Has clearly defined duties.+--1. _To labour._ 2. _To govern._ 3. _To admonish._

+III. Should be highly esteemed.+--"Esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake."

Ver. 13. "And be at peace among yourselves." _Church Concord_--

+I. Possible only where there is mutual peace.+

+II. It is the duty of every member of the Church to promote harmony.+

+III. Peace with God is the condition of peace with each other.+

+IV. Discord in a Church mars the usefulness of the best ministry.+

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 14, 15.

_A Group of Christian Precepts._

The supernatural character of Christianity is not less apparent in the purity and loftiness of the morality it inculcates, than in the superiority of the truths it reveals. It is intensely practical in its teaching and aim. It is not like a glow of light that irradiates the external character for a time; it is an inward radiance that cannot help making itself visible in the outer life. It is not a sentiment; it is a principle. The moral precepts of Christianity can be appreciated and obeyed only by the soul that has become thoroughly possessed by the Christian spirit. Each precept in these verses may be fittingly used as the homiletical heading of a distinct paragraph.

+I. Warn them that are unruly.+--The unruly are those who, like disorderly soldiers, break their ranks, and become idle, dissolute, and worthless in their lives. This disorderliness was a besetting sin of the primitive Churches, not excepting the Thessalonian. Many of them, entertaining false ideas about the nearness of Christ's second coming, became indifferent to the ordinary work of life, and sank into listlessness and apathy, and even worse. Says the proverb, "An idle brain is the devil's workshop," and when a man is not diligently employed in some healthy and vigorous occupation, he is apt, notwithstanding his Christian profession, to become an instrument of evil and a disturber of the Church, the peace of which he is pledged to maintain. It is difficult to pin some people down to a bit of fair and honest work. They are full of schemes and suggestions for other people to carry out; they lay down the line of conduct with the utmost precision, but never themselves illustrate the easiness or difficulty of on keeping the line; they make laws and regulations which they never dream of observing themselves and are for ever finding fault that other people do not observe them. These are the restless gipsies of the Church, the pests of every Christian community into which they intrude, the mischief-makers and busybodies in other people's matters. Warn such. Admonish gently at first, putting them in mind of their duty. It is the fault of many to limit admonitions to gross and grievous sins; but in these cases, warning often comes too late. If admonition in the earlier stage is not effectual, then proceed to sharper and more faithful reproof. If that is unavailing, hesitate not to take more summary measures--separate yourselves from their society.

+II. Comfort the feeble-minded.+--More correctly--encourage the faint-hearted. The reference is not to the intellectually weak, but to such as faint in the day of adversity, or are ready to fall away before the prospect of persecution and suffering (ch. ii. 14), or who are disheartened and desponding in consequence of the loss of friends (ch. iv. 13). It may also include those who are perplexed with constant doubt and apprehension as to their spiritual condition, and who through fear are all their lifetime subject to bondage. There are some people so weighed down with a sense of modesty as to incapacitate them from using the abilities they certainly possess, though underneath all this modesty there may be the pride of thinking themselves better able to judge of themselves and their abilities than anybody else. Others, again, are so oppressed with the inveteracy of sin, that they despair of gaining the victory over it, and give up all endeavours. These need encouraging with the promises of God, and with the lessons and examples furnished by experience. Heart-courage is what the faint-hearted require.

+III. Support the weak.+--A man may be weak in judgment or weak in practice. There may be lack of information as to certain great truths necessary to be believed and stoutly maintained, or lack of capacity in clearly understanding and grasping those truths. Such was the condition of many in the apostle's day, who, not apprehending the complete abrogation of the Mosaic law, and thinking they were still conscientiously bound to observe ordinances, were weak in faith. Some linger for years in the misty borderland between doubt and certainty, with all its enfeebling and poisonous malaria--ever learning, but never coming to a knowledge of the truth. Defective faith implies defective practice. Support such with the moral influence of our sympathy, our prayers, our counsel, our example. While not countenancing their sins, we may bear or prop them up by judiciously commending in them that which is good, by not too severely condemning them in the practice of things indifferent (1 Cor. ix. 20), and by striving to rectify their errors with all gentleness and fidelity.

+IV. Be patient toward all men.+--Not only toward the weak, the faint-hearted, and the disorderly, but towards all men--the most wayward and perverse, the bitterest enemies and persecutors. Consider the patience of God towards ourselves, while for years we refused His calls and despised His admonitions; and let us strive to imitate His longsuffering and kindness. Lack of present success is no warrant to any to cease from obvious duties and leave things to drift in hopeless entanglement and ruin. The triumphs of genius in art, science, and literature are triumphs of patience.

+V. See that none renders evil for evil unto any man.+--Retaliation betrays a weak, ignoble, and cruel disposition. Pagan morality went so far as to forbid only the unprovoked injuring of others, and it is not without noble examples of the exercise of a spirit of forgiveness,

"Exalted Socrates, divinely brave, Injured he fell, and dying, he forgave; Too noble for revenge, which still we find The weakest frailty of a feeble mind."

The Jews prostituted to purposes of private revenge the laws which were intended to administer equitable retributions between man and man. It is Christianity alone that teaches man to bear personal injuries without retaliation. "Hath any wronged thee?" says Quarles; "be bravely avenged--slight it, and the work is begun; forgive it, and it is finished. He is below himself that is not above an injury." Public wrongs the public law will avenge; and the final recompense for all wrong, private and public, must be left to the infallible Judge of all (Rom. xii. 19, 20).

+VI. But ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and to all men.+--The noblest retaliation is that of good for evil. In the worst character there is some element of goodness, that may call out the desire to do good towards it. Our beneficence should be as large as an enemy's malice (Matt. v. 44, 45). That which is good is not always that which is pleasing to the objects of our benevolence, nor is it always pleasing to ourselves. Goodness should be sought for its own sake, and sought with increasing earnestness and perseverance, as the hunter seeks his prey. It is the great aim and business of life. Goodness is essentially diffusive; it delights in multiplying itself in others. It is undeterred by provocation; it conquers the most virulent opposition.

+Lessons.+--1. _The preceptive morality of Christianity is a signal evidence of its transcendent glory._ 2. _Practice is more potent than precept._ 3. _The Christian spirit is the root of genuine goodness._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 16-18.

_The Secret of a Happy Life._

Happiness is not found in anything external. It is a certain state of the soul when it is filled with the peace of God and lit up with the sunshine of heaven. It is a mockery to talk about cultivating happiness. It is not a potato to be planted in mould and tilled with manure. "Happiness is a glory shining far down upon us out of heaven. It is a Divine dew which the soul, on certain of its summer mornings, feels dropping upon it from the amaranth bloom and golden fruitage off paradise." An aged Divine once gave this advice to a newly married pair: "Don't try to be happy. Happiness is a shy nymph, and if you chase her, you will never catch her; but just go quietly on and do your duty, and she will come to you." In these verses we have revealed to us the secret of a happy life.

+I. The secret of a happy life is found in constant and faithful discharge of Christian duties.+--1. _It is our duty continually to rejoice._ "Rejoice evermore" (ver. 16). To rejoice is not only a privilege, but a duty; the believer is as much obliged to rejoice as he is to believe. It seems a mockery to direct people to rejoice in the midst of a world of sin, sorrow, and death, and in a Church which is sorely tried; and yet such was the condition of things when these words were penned, and when similar counsel was given to the Philippians (Phil. iv. 4). Religion is never recommended by sour looks, sepulchral tones, and suppressing every external manifestation of gladness. No wonder the Christian is able to rejoice continually, when we remember the inexhaustible sources of joy he possesses in his relations to Christ, to God, and to the Holy Ghost, in the promises of the Divine Word, and in a long, beneficent, and holy life. By becoming religious, a man does not lose his joys, but exchanges them--transitory, fading, earthly joys--for joy unspeakable, glorious, and that fadeth not away.

2 _It is our duty to pray always._--"Pray without ceasing" (ver. 17). As we are every moment in need, so should we every moment seek help in prayer. The Lord requires not only frequency in prayer, but also unwearied importunity. We must guard against the error of the Euchites, who flourished in the fourth century, and who regarded all other exercises of religion than inward prayer as unnecessary and vain. Live in the spirit of prayer. Let the whole work of life be as prayer offered to God. He who prays the most lives the best. Prayer surrounds the soul with a golden atmosphere, through which is sifted the sunbeams of heavenly joy.

3. _It is our duty to be ever grateful._--"In everything give thanks" (ver. 18). Prayer should ever be accompanied with thanksgiving. What we may pray for, for that we must give thanks; and whatever is unfit matter for prayer is unfit for thanksgiving. The Christian can meet with nothing in the way of duty that is not a cause for thankfulness, whatever suffering may be entailed. When we think of the ceaseless stream of God's mercies, we shall have ample reasons for unintermitted thanksgiving.

+II. The secret of a happy life is in harmony with the Divine will.+--"For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (ver. 18). It is the will of God that His people should be rejoicing, praying, and grateful; and this will is revealed by Christ, as declared in His Gospel, as received in His Church, and as observed by those in communion with Him. What a revelation is this, not of an arbitrary demand of the impossible state of the affections towards God, but a beautiful and consolatory discovery of the largeness of His love and of the blessed ends for which He has redeemed us in Christ. The will of God supplies constant material for gratitude and praise.

+Lessons.+--_Learn the three indubitable marks of a genuine Christian:_ 1. _To rejoice in the mercy of God._ 2. _To be fervent in prayer._ 3. _To give thanks to God in all things._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Ver. 16. _Rejoice Evermore._

+I. In the exercise of faith.+--1. _In the truths of God._ 2. _In the promises of God._

+II. In the practice of Christian hope.+

+III. In performing the duty of charity.+--_Barrow._

Ver. 17. _On Self-recollectedness and Ejaculatory Prayer._

+I. Mental prayer consists in gathering up the mind from its wanderings and placing it consciously in the presence of God.+

+II. In breathing out the mind towards God.+

+III. Materials for ejaculatory prayer.+--1. _Found in daily portions of Scripture._ 2. _Stated prayer cannot be dispensed with even where ejaculatory prayer is practised._ 3. _Ejaculatory prayer helpful in striving after a life of sanctity.--E. M. Goulburn._

Ver. 18. _The Perpetual Thanksgiving of a Christian Life._

+I. Its difficulty.+--1. _From our fancied knowledge of life._ 2. _From our unbelieving distrust of God._

+II. Its motive.+--God's will is so revealed in Christ, that, believing in it, we can give thanks in all things. 1. _Life the perpetual providences of a Father._ 2. _That perpetual providence is a discipline of human character._ 3. _The discipline of life is explained by eternity alone._

+III. Its attainment.+--It is the gradual result of a life of earnest fellowship with God.--_E. L. Hull._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 19-22.

_Varied Aspects of Spiritual Influence._

In the natural world the greater law of distribution is manifested in the infinite variety that appears in the midst of an unchanging and inflexible uniformity. And in the Church of God what varied gifts, graces, and attainments are found in its members. No two are precisely alike. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; and the multiplicity and variety of endowments are intended to be exercised for one grand and definite purpose (Eph. iv. 12, 13). By grouping together the precepts contained in these verses, we have suggested to us the varied aspects of spiritual influence. Observe:--

+I. The fervency of spiritual influence.+--1. _The influence of the Spirit is represented under the emblem of fire._ "Quench not the Spirit" (ver. 19). Fire purifies the gold of its dross, enlightens by its splendour the eyes of the beholder, and raises the temperature of the Christian life. The person inspired is borne along, as it were, with spiritual ardour (Acts xviii. 25; Rom. xii. 11). Timothy is directed to rekindle or keep up the fire (2 Tim. i. 6). Christian baptism is baptism "with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (Matt. iv. 11). The descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost was in tongues of fire (Acts ii. 3). The Spirit, as fire, bestows both the light of knowledge and the fervour of love.

2. _The influence of the Spirit may be quenched by denying the personality and Godhead of the Spirit,_ by depreciating the necessity of and restraining the fervour of His presence in Christian work; by ignoring special reference to Him in prayer; by stifling the voice of conscience; by neglect of religious ordinances; by conformity to the world; by unsanctified use of past afflictions. The gifts of the Spirit, with all His holy operations, must be fervently and diligently cherished within us.

+II. The instructiveness of spiritual influence.+--"Despise not prophesyings" (ver. 20). The word "prophesying" in the New Testament signifies not only the prediction of future events, but the instructions of men inspired by the Holy Ghost, teaching Christian doctrines, revealing or explaining mysteries, exhorting to duties, consoling the sorrowing and afflicted. It is what we understand by preaching. It is not so much the prediction of events that are future, as it is the proclamation of duty that is instant. However exalted the believer may be in spiritual experience, however rich in faith and charity, it is still his duty to attend to preaching. "Despise not prophesying." Like many a negative in the Bible, it means a very decided positive in the opposite direction. Despise it not by exalting reason over revelation. Despise it not by identifying true religion with the weakness, oddities, and eccentric notions of good but ignorant men. Despise it not by denying its beneficent teachings, spurning its wise counsels, and neglecting its faithful warnings. Where there is no prophecy the people perish. He that despiseth it shall be despised of the Lord; he shall be cast into darkness, because he would not delight in the light (Acts xiii. 41; Prov. i. 24-31).

+III. The possible abuse of spiritual influence.+--"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (ver. 21). Error is never so dangerous as when it is the alloy of truth. Pure error is seen through at once and rejected; but error mixed with truth makes use of the truth as a pioneer for it, and gets introduction where otherwise it would have none. Poison is all the more dangerous when mixed up with food--error is never so likely to do mischief as when it comes to us under the pretensions and patronage of that which is true. Hence the importance of testing every pretender to spiritual illumination--as the goldsmith tests the gold and discovers the amount of alloy in it. "Beloved," says St. John, "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John iv. 1). There are certain fundamental truths that are beyond all necessity of testing, and which transcend the powers of human reason to fully comprehend. The direction is addressed to the Church, to those who possess the Spirit by whose help the test is applied. The utterances of the Spirit may be tested in their relation to the glory of Jesus, and by the influence of the truths uttered upon the moral and spiritual life of the teacher and his followers. Having proved the truth, hold fast that which is good, as with both hands and against all who would forcibly wrest it from you. When you have tried and found out the truth, be constant and settled in it. A wavering-minded man is unstable in all his ways:--

"Seize upon truth wherever 'tis found, Among her friends, among her foes, On Christian or on heathen ground, The flower's divine where'er it grows-- Refuse the prickles and assume the rose."

+IV. The sensitiveness of spiritual influence.+--"Abstain from all appearance of evil" (ver. 22). Nothing will sooner quench the fire of the Spirit in the believer than sin. Therefore is he exhorted to abstain, to hold aloof from every species of evil not only from that which is really and in itself evil, but also from that which has the shape or semblance of evil. Not what we are, but what we appear, determines the world's judgment of us. Our usefulness in the world is very much dependent on appearances. Our abhorrence of evil, both in doctrine and practice, must be so decided as to avoid the very show of it in either. He makes conscience of no sin that makes no conscience of all; and he is in danger of the greatest who allows himself in the least. "By shunning evil things," says Bernard, "we provide for conscience; by avoiding ill, shows we safeguard our fame." The believer has need of a sound judgment, a sensitive conscience, and an ever-wakeful vigilance. To sanction evil in any form is to dim the lustre and stifle the operation of spiritual influence. "Know nought but truth, feel nought but love, will nought but bliss, do nought but righteousness. All things are known in heaven ere aimed at on earth."

+Lessons.+--1. _The mightiest influence in the universe is spiritual._ 2. _Increase of spiritual influence is dependent on uprightness of life._ 3. _The best spiritual gifts should be eagerly sought._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Ver. 19. _Quench not the Spirit._

+I. The mode of the Spirit's operation is likened unto that of fire.+--1. _Fire of unrest._ When the Spirit convinces of sin. 2. _Fire of purification._ When the Spirit burns up evil within. 3. _Fire of consecration._ When the Spirit dwells within as a mighty impelling force.

+II. It is in our power to quench the Holy Fire.+

+III. The ways in which men quench the Spirit.+--1. _By continuing in known sin._ 2. _By indulging in a light, frivolous spirit._ 3. _By refusing to believe in anything they cannot see or touch._ 4. _By allowing worldly affairs to absorb the affections._ 5. _By neglecting religions duties._ 6. _By not exercising the gifts already bestowed.--Local Preacher's Treasury._

Ver. 20. _Despise not Prophesyings_--

+I. Because they are the sayings of God.+

+II. They are the grand appointed means of our salvation.+

+III. Because we greatly need them.+

+IV. We grieve the Spirit of God thereby.+

+V. It is the sure way of contracting a habit of despising Divine things in general.+

+VI. It lays stumbling-blocks in the way of others.+

+VII. Those who despise destroy themselves.+--_E. Hare._

_Abuse of Public Worship._

+I. The offence.+--1. _Habitual neglect of public worship._ 2. _Attendance on public worship in an improper state of mind._ 3. _Failure to improve public worship for the purposes for which it is intended._

+II. Its sin and danger.+--1. _It involves contempt of the authority of God._ 2. _It involves contempt of an institution with which God has specially identified Himself._ 3. _It involved contempt of one of the appointed means of grace._ 4. _It involves contempt of our own soul.--G. Brooks._

Ver. 21. _Rationalism._

+I. Prove all things.+--1. _Our own sentiments._ 2. _The sentiments of others._

+II. Hold fast that which is good.+--1. _Against the assaults of proud reason._ 2. _Against the assaults of mad passions._ 3. _Against the assaults of a menacing world.--Ibid._

>_Prove all things._

+I. The course of conduct commanded.+--"Prove." 1. _By an appeal to the Word of God as supreme._ 2. _Sincerely._ 3. _Thoroughly._ 4 _Prayerfully._

+II. The extent to which the course of conduct is to be carried.+--"All things." 1. _Things taken for granted to be right._ 2. _Things wrong._ 3. _Things doubtful._

+III. Some hindrances to the adoption of this course.+--1. _Dislike to the trouble it may cause_ 2. _Fear of the demands which the result may make._

+IV. Blessings likely to result from this course.+--1. _Activity of mind in matters of religion._ 2. _A specific acquaintance with the Word of God._ 3. _Legitimate independence of thought._ 4. _Increasing strength of Christian character._ 5. _Increase of Christian sagacity._ 6. _The adorning of the Christian doctrine in the eyes of men.--J. Holmes._

_Hold Fast that which is Good._

+I. Be well assured of the value and goodness of the possession.+

+II. Cherish a deep sense of responsibility because you have been led to prove and to be convinced of the good.+

+III. Be assured that powerful influences will be exerted that you may lose your hold.+

+IV. Do not allow your convictions of its goodness to be unsettled.+

+V. Do not take hold of anything which you cannot hold at the same time that you firmly grasp this.+

+VI. Do not let a little of it go.+

+VII. Hold it more firmly.+

+VIII. Regard how others have been affected by the way they have held.+

+IX. Depend entirely on the grace of God to enable you to do this.+--_Ibid._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 23, 24.

_A Prayer for Sanctification._

Sanctification is the supreme end of the Christian life, and everything should be made to contribute to the grand result. It is the crown and ornament of all other graces, the perfecting of every moral virtue. The fact that man is capable of so lofty a degree of personal holiness indicates that it is the supreme end for which he ought to live. He misses the glory that is within his reach if he does not attain to it. Sanctification in its radical meaning is simply separation--a separation from what is evil to what is good. It then implies to make holy that which is unholy. It begins in a moral transformation, the regeneration of the heart, and advances to perfection. Observe:--

+I. That sanctification is a complete work.+--"Sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless" (ver. 23).

1. _It affects the intellectual nature of man._--"Your spirit." It is this that distinguishes truth from falsehood and apprehends the mysteries of religion. If the intellect is sanctified, there is less danger of falling into error and heresy. Enlightened by the Holy Ghost, it enables man to prove all things and to test and judge every aspect of truth.

2. _It affects the spiritual nature of man._--"Your soul"--the seat of the affections and will, the passions and appetites. The having the heart in a right or wrong condition makes the difference between the moral and the immoral character. When the heart is sanctified the passions and appetites are kept within due bounds, and the believer is preserved pure from the sinful lusts of the flesh. The same distinction between spirit and soul is made in Heb. iv. 12; and in Tit. i. 15 a distinction is made between the intellectual and moral in the terms _mind_ and _conscience._

3. _It affects the physical nature of man._--"Your body." The body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. iv. 19) and must be kept pure and blameless--must be kept in temperance, soberness, and chastity; to pollute it with fleshly lusts is to pollute and destroy it (1 Cor. iii. 17). The body, immortalised and glorified, will be the companion of the glorified soul throughout eternity; and the Thessalonians had already been assured that the body was to rise from the grave (ch. iv. 16). The whole complex nature of man is to be purified. Mere outward decency of conduct is not enough; the inner man, the intellectual, moral, and spiritual faculties must be kept in a state of purity and holiness. He hath sanctity in no part who is not sanctified in every part.

4. _It is a necessary fitness to meet Christ at His coming._--"Be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (ver. 23). It is the power of God only that can keep man holy, though the utmost circumspection and vigilance are to be exercised on his part. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt.