YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY OF THE
DIVINITY SCHOOL

The Devotional
and Practical
Commentary Edited by
W, Robertson Nicoll
M.A., IX. D.

XKHorfts bg tbe same autbor
THE PULPIT BIBLE
Original Notes and Comments
4/0, Persian Levant, £1 2s. net
Complete in Ten Parts, Paper Boards, a». eaeh
THE PEOPLE'S BIBLE
Discourses on Holy Scripture
Forming a Pastoral Commentary
Twenty-five volumes. Demy Svo, 6s. eaeh
A PREACHER'S LIFE
An Autobiography and an Album
With Portraits and Illustrations. Crown Svo, cloth, 65.
TYNE CHYLDE My Life and Ministry
Partly in the Daylight of Fact, Partly in the
Limelight of Fancy
Crown Svo, cloth, 7s. 6d.
THE CITY TEMPLE PULPIT
Seven Volumes of Sermons
Svo, cloth, 3s. 6d. net each
London : HODDER AND STOUGHTON
27 Paternoster Row

THE EPISTLES TO THE
COLOSSIANS, PHILEMON
AND THESSALONIANS

JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.

LONDON
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
27 PATERNOSTER ROW
1904
Yaie Divimty Ubrar?
New Haven, Conn.

Printed by Hazell, Watson <£= Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury,

CONTENTS

THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS

PAGE
INTRODUCTION  3

CHAPTER I  25

CHAPTER II  50

CHAPTER III  71

CHAPTER IV  94

vi CONTENTS

THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON

PAQK
THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON  107

THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE
THESSALONIANS
INTRODUCTION . •  123
CHAPTER I  149
CHAPTER II  159
CHAPTER III ... 172
CHAPTER IV  180
CHAPTER V  193

CONTENTS vii
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE
THESSALONIANS
paoi;
INTRODUCTION  233
CHAPTER I  249
CHAPTER II  269
CHAPTER III  289

THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS

INTRODUCTION
rpiO my own heart Paul is always at his
-*- best. Other men move on varying
levels and are the subjects or the victims
of whim and mood, but to my love and my
soul's hunger Paul is always the faithful
steward and generous almoner of the divine
grace. The Pastoral Epistles are catholic,
and the Catholic Epistles are pastoral ; the
great sermons are letters to the heart, and
the great Epistles are clothed with all the
best attributes of Gospel preaching. The
unity of Paul's mind and heart may be
regarded as one of the proofs of his apostle
ship. In this Epistle, as in others, Paul
beneficently spreads himself over the whole
necessity of the inner life of man — he is
mystic, transcendental, doctrinal, pastoral,
domestic, social, and through all and above

4 COLOSSIANS
all he is intensely devout. At once he
stands up in his full apostolic stature, in
holy consciousness of his divine call, and
in full assurance that he is in trust of the
unsearchable riches of Christ ; and in that
hour of expansion and transfiguration there
be few who dare approach him except in
an attitude of admiring and grateful obei
sance. Then almost suddenly, and with in
finite simplicity and elder-brotherhood, he
sits down on the common house-chair and
talks to the husband and the wife, the parent
and the child, the master and the servant;
he becomes a household friend — he does not
enter the family as a usurper or a revolu
tionist, but as a friend, a brother, a coun
sellor, a very fountain of sympathy. Paul
suffuses the whole family life with the
highest Christian sentiment, and it is as if
the house-life were subtly penetrated by an
unguent from the Holy One. " It is like
the precious ointment upon the head, that
ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's
beard : that went down to the skirts of his
garments." There is no mistaking the
fragrance, the perfume, the new sensation

INTRODUCTION 5
of pleasure. Life is instantly lifted to a
new level, invested with a new power,
cheered by a new hope. Here and there
the inspired Apostle comes down upon a
kind of Christian Sinai, and delivers as by
right ten commandments, and ten more, in
the name of the Triune God. Thunder
and lightning, rending storm and quaking
rocks, there are none ; vet the command-
ments are of full number, and God's
own red seal is upon the throbbing and
clamant decalogue. The Apostle makes no
apology, asks for no concession, suggests
no compromise; the Christian Sinai is as
peremptory and final in its law-giving as
was the Sinai of Moses. Read the new
Sinaitic code as written by the later Moses
and compare it with the first Decalogue :
" Lie not one to another, seeing that
ye have put off the old man with his
deeds." " Put on therefore, as the elect of
God . . . bowels of mercies, kind
ness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering."

6 COLOSSIANS
" Forbearing one another and for
giving one another."
"Put on charity."
"Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly."
"Wives, submit yourselves."
" Husbands, love your wives."
" Servants, obey your masters."
" Masters, give unto your servants
that which is just and equal."
" Walk in wisdom toward them that
are without."
Where, then, is the plea that the new
Sinai is a barren rock and life a licence
wanton and uncontrolled ? Moses stood on
a mountain to receive the law, Jesus sat on
a mountain to pronounce the Beatitudes, and
from a kind of Serbal Paul delivers his ex
panded decalogue, and in doing so he is a
figure at once solitary and majestic. Jesus
is always beautiful to me in quite a tender
and winning way when He talks about
flowers, and sheep, and birds, and seven
fold is He in winsomeness when He takes
little children in his arms and blesses them.

INTRODUCTION 7
So Paul, the vehement reasoner and the
Eelix-smiting accuser, is approachable and
most lovesome when he puts the hand of
the husband into the hand of the wife and
weds them in a deepening love before the
altar of Christ, and when he brings master
and servant face to face and bids them care
honestly and worthily for one another. A
sweet thing it is to have the Gospel, whose
beginning is in eternity, thus brought imme
diately and condescendingly into the house
and constituted a factor in the daily life.
How deeply anxious the Apostle is that
we should all be better men ! He does not
seek our admiration ; he claims our obedience
to Christ. He does not come to decorate the
house, but in the grace of God to recreate
the householder. The cogency of his reason
ing adds to the passion of his appeal. With
less logic Paul would have less love. This
is no paradox, but a simple commonplace ; it
is really because he reasons conclusively that
Paul loves so ardently. As a well-equipped
reasoner, Paul sees the case through and
through in all its complication, yet in all

8 COLOSSIANS
its unity, and for that reason his heart loves
wherever his mind perceives. What a
privilege to hold communion with a mind
like Paul's ! He invites us to the very
fellowship of his soul. In our degree we,
by companionship, become as he is, and we
are permitted to reflect in shadowed glory
somewhat of his unique and burning lustre.
In his own degree Paul was as unique and
solitary as Jesus — often as unapproachable,
often as condescending. Remember these
great Epistles were written as if for the
private reading of the church, or were
meant to do a circular service amongst other
churches ; they were not meant to be articles
of merchandise and to be sold in the public
market-place. They were in very deed letters
of solicitous love. They are not what we now
call pieces of literature ; they are heart-blood,
vital messages, gospels that had not only been
received, but had been strenuously loved and
tested and finally approved by one of the
greatest minds known to human history. The
Epistles are authoritative too. If now and
again Paul ventured an opinion of his own
he definitely marked it as such, and in a way

INTRODUCTION 9
distrusted it — otherwise he spoke in the im
perative mood, as if speaking in the name of
Jesus. The imperativeness of Pauline teach
ing admits of no doubt, and that imperativeness
was the more vigorous as it was the more
remarkable, because it was applied to the
greatest of all subjects and the most exacting
of all claims.

Let us quietly read Paul's Epistle to the
Colossians, first as a summary and then
lovingly verse by verse, and see whether
these comments are not fully sustained.
Paul (whose only title now is an
Apostle of Jesus Christ, who used to
be a Pharisee of the Pharisees, proud
with the pride of ancestry and con
ceited by the recollection of self-
righteousness, but now an Apostle of
the Lamb of God) desires for you
grace and peace from God our Eather
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Timo-
theus and I give thanks to the God
and Eather of our Lord Jesus Christ,

10 COLOSSIANS
praying always for you with a most
tender heart ever since we heard the
blessed news of your strong faith in
Christ Jesus, a faith which has been
amply proved by the love which ye
have to all the saints, on account of
the hope which is laid up for you in
heaven, whereof ye have heard before
at the very moment of your first
conversion in the word of the truth
of the Gospel. You have received a
blessing which is intended not for
you only, but for all the ages of
mankind, and, indeed, already is the
new morning brightening on the hills
of time, and all nations shall see it
and rejoice in its infinite gladness.
The fruit of this blessed Gospel is
like the fruit of an orchard which
spreads itself over the whole earth.
We greet you as fruitful Christians.
We have testimony on your behalf
which we would rather magnify than
ignore, for Epaphras has told us of
your love in the Spirit. We never
cease to pray for you, and to desire

INTRODUCTION 11
that ye may be filled with the know
ledge of God's will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding. This
Gospel is no mere sentiment ; it is
always to be associated with know
ledge and wisdom and understanding.
You are remarkable for your courtesy
and for your desire to please all with
whom you come in contact, and thus
you prove in one distinct sense that
you are fruitful in good works, and
daily increasing in the knowledge of
God. Continue to walk worthily of
the Lord. Walk worthy of the
vocation with which you are called.
You are called to walk worthily of
the Lord Jesus Christ, seeing that
you have in Him a glorious and
perfect example. We not only pray
for you, but we give thanks unto the
Eather, which hath made us together
with you meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light.
We are as truly " made " in our
highest character as the sun was
" made " by the omnipotence of God.

12 COLOSSIANS
He who made the sun also makes
the brighter light of Christian char
acter. You have no longer any re
lation to darkness, you are translated
from darkness into the kingdom of
God's dear Son — just as a race of men
may be translated or transferred from
one colony to another, or from one
kingdom to another. You are not
only liberated from darkness, you are
admitted into light. All this comes
through the redemption wrought by
the blood of Christ, even the forgive
ness of sins; for Christ is the image
of the invisible God, the firstborn of
every creature. He was begotten be
fore all creation, begotten before all
worlds. Jesus Christ is the supreme
Personality, the Creator of all things :
the heavens a»e His and the earth,
the visible and the invisible, whether
they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers ; all things
were created by the Lord who re
deemed you. They were not only
created by Him, but for Him. He

INTRODUCTION 13
is a glorious Lord. He is the Head
of the Church, the firstborn from
the dead; in all things He has the
pre-eminence ; in Him all fulness
dwells. It is in His gracious and
glorious name that we write this
letter of love, this epistle of instruc
tion, exhortation, direction, and com
fort. You must always think of
Christ as the origin and source of
redeeming love. With Christ redemp
tion was not an idea only, a mere
effort of the mind even in its su-
premest moments — it was a shedding
of blood, the very blood of His heart,
for only by such shedding could He
work out the mystery of redemption.
There is no peace but through the
blood of the Cross. We do not forget
that, like ourselves, you were some
times alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works — all mankind
were in the same condemnation ; but
now we are reconciled^ by the priest
hood of our Lord Jesus Christ, one
object of that priesthood being to

14 COLOSSIANS
present all believers unblamable and
unreprovable in the divine sight.
You are not to boast of this as if it
were your own doing. You must never
relax discipline. You must continue
in the faith grounded and settled,
and be not moved away from the
hope of the Gospel; if you would be
saved, you must endure unto the end.
Christ has left to us a legacy of
suffering. In a sense we have to fill
up that which is behind of the afflic
tions of Christ. The Christian faith
is no luxury. We lie on no bed of
roses ; for my own part I have to
suffer, and to suffer until my very
agony becomes my supreme joy. I
thank God that I have seen the
mystery of redemption, and felt its
gracious and uplifting power. I
have indeed now become a minister,
being made one according to the
dispensation of God. At first I did
not see clearly the whole divine
purpose ; but now I can look back
ward into the mystery of eternity,

INTRODUCTION 15
and forward into the mystery of
evolution, and in the exercise of this
enabling power I can preach Christ,
warning every man and teaching
every man in all wisdom. Our object
as Christian ministers is to present
every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
I have had great conflict for you
and about you, and also for them at
Laodicea, and for many who have
not seen my face in the flesh. There
is an invisible as well as a visible
Church ; there is a Church that can
be seen in the flesh, but physical
sight does not constitute the Church.
Many beyond the range of our ob
servation should be bound up in our
solicitude and in our tenderest prayer.
We have prayed much for those
whom we have not seen. We want
them to see the mystery of light,
and to rejoice in the new morning.
Increase of knowledge is one of the
guarantees of our spiritual security.
Let no man beguile you with enticing

16 COLOSSIANS
words. There are many smooth
tongues that would by fair speeches
deceive the very elect. You see how
deeply interested I am in your well-
being, for though I am absent in the
flesh, yet am I with lyou in the spirit,
joying and beholding your order, and
the stedfastness of your faith in
Christ. Do not give way to reverie
and self-indulgent contemplation, but
walk in Christ. If I may change
the figure, you must be rooted and
built up in Him, and stablished in
the faith. All this comes little by
little : children born yesterday do
not grow into men to-morrow. Again
and again I say there are many
false philosophies and vain deceits
seeking to ensnare and disable you.
Live in Christ. In Him alone dwell
eth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily. You are only complete in
the degree in which you abide in
Him. Trust nothing to circumcision,
or to any form of ritual. Be circum
cised in your hearts, and put off the

INTRODUCTION 17
body of the sins of the flesh ; go
down with Christ into the river of
His suffering, and into the grave of
His humiliation, and in due time
you shall share His honour, and sit
with Him on His throne. Many
think that they are good because
they have been circumcised with
hands. You must get rid of this
mischievous fallacy. Christianity is
not a ceremony — it is a faith, a re
demption, a sanctification. Christ has
put all ordinances in their right
places, and their handwriting which
was against us He has taken out of
the way, and has nailed it to His
cross. There are others who will plague you
about meat and drink, and holydays
and new moons. Pay no attention to
them. Remember that your complete
ness is in Christ. Whatever was good
in ordinances and rituals and cere
monies was but a shadow of something
better. The body is of Christ. There
2

18 COLOSSIANS
are many curious theories going abroad
to-day. There is a theory of voluntary
humility ; there is also a peculiar
theory of angel worship ; there is an
intrusion into things which cannot
yet be seen. All this ends in being
vainly puffed up by a fleshly mind,
and it is always marked by the
cruellest schism of all, which is the
cutting off of the soul from the Christ,
the Head, the Son of God. Of course,
your faith is but young — you have
hardly escaped some of the rudiments
of the worldi; yet in Christ you are
free — free from ordinances, free from
the commandments and doctrines of
men, free from all the beggarly ele
ments of the world. Live in the sun
shine. Know that ye are the children
of the morning and that the spirit of
darkness has no claim upon you.
Prove that you are risen with Christ
by seeking those things which are
above ; set your affection on things
above, withdrawing it wholly from

INTRODUCTION 19
things on the earth. Realise the fact
that your life is hid with Christ in
God. Expect Christ to appear, and
know that when He appears you shall
also appear with Him in glory. As
to all that is rough and degrading in
human life, cut it off as with a two-
edged sword, and have no relation to
it. Do not try to blow away the dark
ness with your own breath, but bring
to bear upon it the sunlight of a holy
faith and a continual obedience. You
have been clothed with the garments
of the evil one — anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy communications out
of your mouth. Put off all these
things as you would put off detest
able garments, and walk in the white
raiment of holiness. Discard the old
man with his deeds, and remember that
you have put on the new man which
is renewed in knowledge after the
image of Him that created him. Get
out of all narrow prejudices, all
limited circles, all local and perishing
patriotisms, and enter into that new

20 COLOSSIANS
fellowship, that spiritual and indis
soluble brotherhood, where there is
neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian,
bond nor free ; but Christ is all in all.
If I have told you to put off the old
man with his deeds, I must further tell
you to put on bowels of mercies, kind
ness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering. These are the King's
robes ; these are the wedding garments
that will entitle you to a high place
at the feast of love. Eorgive one
another. Let your forgiveness be
greater than your quarrelsomeness.
As Christ forgave you so you ought
to forgive other people. Whatever
else you put on as clothing for the
soul, be sure to put on charity, which
is the bond of perfectness. You will
know that you are properly clothed
as to the soul by your relation to the
peace of God. When that holy dove
broods within your soul know that the
kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand.
Have no vain theories, inventions,

INTRODUCTION 21
conceits, or fantastic conjectures about
holy things, but let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your
hearts to the Lord. Make Jesus
Christ the beginning and the end of
all your words and all your deeds. In
these matters we speak to men, women,
and children ; to wives, that they may
be gentle and responsive to all love ;
to husbands, that they may magnify tbe
privileges and the joys of wedded life;
to children, that they may obey their
parents in all things ; to fathers, that
they provoke not their children to anger,
to servants, that they may so work as
to prove that labour has a dignity of
its own, and that its reward is not of
privilege, but of right. My brethren,
whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as
to the Lord, and not unto men, then
you will not be dependent upon public
opinion, but upon divine grace, for the
issue and the benediction of your lives.

22 COLOSSIANS
When the word of Christ dwells in
you richly and prevails above all other
words, masters will be just to their
servants, and servants will be just to
their masters. The true socialism is
an aspect of prayer and of thanks
giving — indeed, it is the second com
mandment which is impossible apart
from the first. Pray for us. Pray
that we may have larger opportunities
for doing good ; pray that we may pass
from bondage to liberty. Take care
how you behave yourselves to them
which are without ; they are watching
you, so I pray that your speech be
always with grace, seasoned with salt,
that ye may know how ye ought to
answer every man. Tychicus is coming
to you — he is a beloved brother, and
a faithful minister and fellow-servant
in the Lord. I am sending him to
you with messages of love, and with
inquiries of hopeful solicitude. Many
here kiss their hands to you and send
tokens of brotherhood; for example,
Aristarchus, and Marcus, and Justus.

INTRODUCTION 23
One of your own slaves is here, I mean
Epaphras, and he saluteth you. You
have no idea how this man loves you,
and prays fervently for you, that ye
may stand perfect and complete in all
the will of God. You can hardly
imagine how fervent is his zeal towards
you. Luke, the beloved physician,
and Demas, both greet you. Give my
love to the brethren which are in
Laodicea, and to Nymphas, and the
church which is in his house. Read
this epistle wherever you have an
opportunity. Speak kind words to
Archippus about his ministry ; may he
always remember that his ministry was
not the gift of man, but a direct trust
from the Lord Jesus. I wave my
hand toward you in token of loving
brotherhood. When you think of me,
think of my bonds. Sometimes the
chain is very heavy, but the burden
can be prayed away. Earewell,
brother beloved, — Grace be with you.
Amen.

PRAYER BEFORE PERUSAL
Spieit of the living God, be pleased to open my eyes
that I may see this vision of truth and grace, in all
its tender beauty. Thou hast most mercifully sent
great hearts to teach us what they know of the
mystery and the power of Thy love. For all their
comforting words we bless Thee, for they are in very
truth words full of light and peace. Carry my soul
far from all the noises of the world and give me
to hear the music of Thine own voice, sounding in
the human tones of such a man as was the Apostle
Paul. For his conversion I bless Thee, as for the
creation of a new world. May the fire of his spirit
kindle my heart, and may the wholeness of his
consecration lift me above all the distractions and
temptations of time. Beyond all the apostolic
eloquence may I hear the still small voice of the
Cross, and through all the strenuous argument may
I feel the almighty constraint of atoning and re
deeming love. Amen.

24

CHAPTER I
SOMETIMES the value of a letter depends
almost wholly upon the known person
ality of the writer. Even the greatest
subjects seldom lose either in dignity or in
utility by the fact that they are not anony
mous. The most of the Epistles in the
New Testament are what we should call
" signed documents." Even the Epistle to
the Hebrews may be Pauline without its
having been written directly by the hand of
the illustrious Apostle. There may be said
to be a Mosaic literature which Moses did not
personally write. So also there is a Pauline
literature, even though spoken and written
by other men; we know that style by its
strength, its spirituality, its grasp of doctrine,
its intense and even passionate enthusiasm.
The style of Paul is not only that of an
expositor — not infrequently it is the style
25

26 THE EPISTLE TO
of a legislator. Paul is something more
than a preacher. He gave " commandment "
unto the churches in Galatia. He did not
hesitate to set himself up as a type or
pattern of the Christian life, and call upon
others to be "imitators" of him, as he
himself was a follower of Christ. Yet Paul
was full of humility. He never called
himself the Apostle, as if he were the only
apostle ; in this case, as in others, he is
simply Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Yet we cannot escape the difference between
him and any other apostle. His noble
egotism, so infinitely different from vanity,
shines through all the sublime subjects, and
gives them a kind of incarnation. As Jesus
Christ was the incarnation of God, so, in a
broad sense, Paul was the incarnation of the
spirit of Jesus Christ.
Verses 1,2: " Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by
the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, to the
saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at
Colosse : Grace be unto you, and peace, from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Paul did not mix up the Church and the
nation. He separated the saints and faithful

THE COLOSSIANS 27
brethren in Christ from all the other inhabi
tants of Colosse. It is of importance to
notice that the letter was not addressed
to the inhabitants of Colosse, but to the
Christian souls specially gathered into fellow
ship in that city. The Church of Christ is
not to be confused with the commonalty of
citizenship. This is a vital principle in
the creed of many Christians. We are not
Christians because we belong to the nation ;
we are a special influence in the nation, as
those who live in Jesus Christ and obey
His rule. Taking the words as they stand,
who can think that Paul regarded the Lord
Jesus Christ simply as a man ? If the junc
ture of names, as we here find it, occurred
only once in the apostolic Epistles, there
might be some controversy as to its proper
meaning — it might even be challenged as a
spurious reading — but the conjunction is
frequent, so frequent, indeed, as to be iden
tical in the value of the names which are
thus associated. We could not imagine
the Apostle saying, " Grace be unto you,
and peace, from God our Eather, and
from a fellow-creature who was murdered

28 THE EPISTLE TO
by the Romans a few years ago." Such a
union of names would amount to blasphemy.
The very position which is assigned to Christ
in all such salutations is proof enough that
the Apostles regarded Jesus Christ as worthy
of equal honour with the Eather. The salu
tation forms a channel through which the
heart of the Apostle is about to flow in tender
and comforting expression.

Verses 3-3 : " We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for
you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus,
and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for
the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof
ye heard before in the word of the truth of the
Gospel."

Who does not thank God for an abounding
harvest ? Who can refrain from thanking
God in the presence of a luxuriant land
scape ? Who can keep back a spiritual song
when he stands amid the splendour of high
summer ? It was in some such way that
the Apostle thanked God for the develop
ment of the Christian life in the Christians
of Colosse. Who can refrain from expressing
the desire that a great harvest may be safely

THE COLOSSIANS 29
gathered in ? Who would not pray that the
tempest or the chilling wind may be kept
back until the wheat-fields, the olive-yards,
and the orchards should be completely reaped ?
In some such way the Apostle desired that
the Colossian Christians should be kept from
all destructive influences, that their faith and
their love might be perfected in some still
higher expression. Not only does the Apostle
thank God for what has already been seen
in Colosse — he would regard the dawn as
only the precursor of the full day. We are
reminded that Christian reputation makes
itself known in very effective ways. The
fame of this church was not confined to its
own city. The Apostle had heard that there
were people at Colosse whose faith and , love
were not only conspicuous, but pre-eminent.
Piety creates its own fame. In writing to
the Philippians the Apostle shows that un
faithfulness creates its own infamy ; in that
epistle he speaks of some who were " the ene
mies' of the cross of Christ." Why does the
Apostle speak so much of heaven, heavenly
places, and heavenly citizenship in these
epistles of the captivity ? Is he nearing

30 THE EPISTLE TO
the better land ? Has he caught some odour
in the wind which must have come from the
unseen gardens ?
Verse 6 : " Which is come unto you, as it is in
all the world ; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth
also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew
the grace of God in truth."
The Apostle will have the Gospel recog
nised as universal. He associated it with
" all the world." Other religions were local.
Paganism had its village and its temple,
cut off, probably, from other villages and
other temples ; but Christianity was a temple
whose only roof was the sky. The Apostle
seems to regard himself as a special registrar,
whose office it was to mark the progress of
the Christian cause over the face of the whole
earth. The Apostle connects the Colossian
church with the universal brotherhood of
Christians. He tells the Colossians that
they are only part of a whole, and that if
they could see things as he sees them they
would rejoice that the Christian orchards,
loaded and blossoming with precious fruit,
were only bounded by the horizon. We are

THE COLOSSIANS 31
thus comforted by the general outlook. A
man may be imprisoned as well as sheltered
by the valley. He should often climb the
mountain and see how fruitful fields are
rejoicing, as it were, under the full light
of the divine blessing. England should be
comforted by progress in India. America
should rejoice because of the good news
from far-off Africa.
Verse 7 : "As ye also learned of lEpaphras our
dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister
of Christ."
It is wonderful to notice how the Apostle
seems to have special lines of communica
tion with all the cities in which the Gospel
has been preached. Paul was the greatest
Christian traveller of his day. He seemed
to keep an intelligence bureau, for he knew
everything that was going on in all the
churches which God had enabled him to
plant. In one way or another Paul keeps
himself fully apprised of the Christian
situation. Epaphras may be the short form
of Epaphroditus, not necessarily the Epaph-
roditus mentioned in the Epistle to the

32 THE EPISTLE TO
Philippians. It is beautiful to think of
Epaphras as being a native of Colosse, and
as being what we should now call " a native
evangelist." By-and-by he acquired what we
may call " a larger spiritual jurisdiction,"
doing Christian work not only in Colosse, but
in the neighbouring cities of Laodicea and
Hierapolis. Epaphras was a teacher through
whose ministrations the Colossians had come
to know, even with perfectness, the grace
of God. Paul never undervalues the younger
ministry. Probably there never was a more
appreciative spirit in the Christian Church
than the Apostle Paul's. Wherever he can
bring in another name as a fellow-labourer,
he does so with the warmest cordiality. In
this case Epaphras is " our dear fellow-
servant," and he is represented also as " a
faithful minister of Christ."
Verses 8, 9 : " Who also declared unto us your
love in the Spirit. For this cause we also, since the
day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to
desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of
His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding."
The Apostle rejoices in spiritual intelli
gence. He did not say, We rejoice that

THE COLOSSIANS 33
your numbers are tenfold more than they
were when we last heard of you. He says
nothing about increase of funds, or property,
or endowment, or worldly patronage. He
rejoices that he had learned from Epaph
ras that the Colossians were growing in
love in the Spirit. This should be a lesson
to all pastors and churches. No church is
either poor or weak which is strong in love.
No church is either poor or weak which is
associated with the personality and ministry
of the Holy Ghost. The day will surely
come when we shall not ask questions in
statistics, but shall listen with eagerness
and gratitude to every report by which we
are assured that the churches of Christ are
growing in grace. The Apostle does not
pray that the Colossian church might have
larger funds, more perfect apparatus, or
more elaborate organisation ; he desires that
they " might be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding." This is but another varia
tion of the Lord's command : " Seek first
the kingdom of God ; and all these things
shall be added unto you." Where the life
3

34 THE EPISTLE TO
is right it will suggest and develop its own
proper organisation and environment. The
first consideration should be the spiritual
condition of the heart, a supreme and im
portunate desire to know God's will more
perfectly, and to get into that higher region
which is infinitely above the dry intellect,
and is called here " spiritual understand
ing." We are to grow in spiritual genius,
in spiritual sensitiveness, and in spiritual
consecration.
Verses 10-12 : " That ye might walk worthy of
the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every
good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God ;
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious
power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy-
fulness ; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath
made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of
the saints in light."
What a great prayer is this ! How like
the great prayer offered for the Ephesians !
How unlike the petty prayers which the
Church is often tempted to offer ! The
Apostle would have Christians " walk worthy
of the Lord." This is the practical aspect
of the prayer. Christianity is not reverie —
it is action, it is discipline. Paul would

THE COLOSSIANS 35
have Christians "walk worthy of the Lord
unto all pleasing," inspired by a general dis
position to make a highway for the Gospel
by the amiability, the benignity, the well
doing which must always be associated with
the spirit of love. The Apostle was not
commending " man pleasing," for this he
always repudiated and denounced. He would
have men walk so as to please God. If we
please God, we shall, in the highest sense,
make rough places plain and crooked places
straight, and men will welcome us as those
who do not create difficulties, but who make
all things beautiful, because righteous. The
Apostle would have Christians "strengthened
with all might." The very strength of the
divine glory should show itself in their lives.
He would have the Christian life a thankful
song, because a clear and grateful apprecia
tion " of the inheritance of the saints in
light." Every vision of heaven he would
turn into a new service for man. Every
difficulty upon the earth he would melt away
by a clearer vision of the saints who walk in
light. Thus the world should act and react,
and out of the continual action there should

36 THE EPISTLE TO
come help and comfort and joy according
to our daily need.
Verse 13 : " Who hath delivered us from the power
of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom
of His dear Son."
Paul always had a reason, even for his
exclamations. He would have nothing
merely emotional or sentimental. Even his
gardens had rocks underneath. This verse
affords an admirable illustration ; for whilst
he is in the very midst of an exhortation,
pointing towards rapture and entranced
delight, he reminds the Colossians of the
great redemption by which they had been
brought into circumstances calling for psalms
and hallelujahs. He reminds the Colossians
that once, like the rest of the world, they had
been under the power of darkness — that they
were only translated into the kingdom of
Jesus Christ by the miracle of the Cross. It
was a favourite practice of . the Apostle's to
remind Christians of the mire and the clay,
the sin and the confusion, out of which they
had been brought. He reminded the Ephe
sians that once they were dead in trespasses

THE COLOSSIANS 37
and sins, and now he reminds the Colossians
that they had been under the power of dark
ness. Look into the hole out of which you
were digged would seem to be a note in the
Apostle's argument and exhortation. This
practice was peculiarly opportune in con
nection with the preceding call to dwell upon
the great glory that was to be revealed in
the higher experience and the remoter life
of spiritual development. We are never to
forget that we are the subjects of redemption ;
and we are never to forget that our redemp
tion is a work of divine grace. "Translated"
is, in this text, equivalent to "transplanted,"
as if we had been brought out of one race
into another — out of a lower stratum into a
higher. A very tender expression is " His
dear Son," or, more literally, "the Son
of His love." God is love. Jesus is the
Son of God ; therefore He is the Son of
God's love.
Verse 14 : " In whom we have redemption through
His blood, even the forgiveness of sins."
This never could be said of any merely
human creature. Surely there is infinitely

38 THE EPISTLE TO
more than the mere humanity of Jesus Christ
indicated by these thrilling words. The
Apostle was never afraid of the word " blood."
He did not take the narrow and revolting
view of blood — he recognised all its ideal
and sacramental and sacrificial aspects and
issues. We ourselves have first vulgarised
the word, and then with false sentiment we
have revolted from it. The blood is the life.
Jesus Christ laid down His life for us — not
part of His life, nor part of His duration.
His work is not a parenthesis in time or in
the evolution of history. He gave His blood
for us, and He gave it from before the foun
dation of the world. The great blessing
received through the Atonement by blood is
the " forgiveness of sins." This is a Gospel
word, a grand evangelical doctrine — the very
characteristic note of the Christian revelation.
Only they who are forgiven through the blood
of Christ can enter into the mystery repre
sented by the Cross. This doctrine is not a
thesis to be elaborated and discussed ; it is
a vital experience through which the soul
must pass if ever it is to realise and enjoy
" the peace which passeth all understanding."

THE COLOSSIANS 39
The people amongst whom Jesus Christ lived
had no hesitation in upholding the doctrine
that "only God could forgive sins." This was
one of the accusations they brought against
the Christ, that He usurped the place of God
in declaring to a man that his sins were all
forgiven. We believe, therefore, that Jesus
Christ was more than man — more than a
sublime revelation of God. We have no
difficulty in declaring that in Christ dwelt
the fulness of the Godhead bodily. There
are undoubtedly great mysteries and difficul
ties connected with this conception of the
personality and priesthood of Jesus Christ.
The mysteries and difficulties have never
been denied. But if we were to turn
away from them, we should only turn
towards mysteries and difficulties greater
still. My own feeling is that there is more
presumption in denial than in belief. I
am continually comforted by the doctrine
that "it is better to choose the mystery of
light than to choose the mystery of dark
ness." The Apostle Paul has a great doctrine
regarding the personality of Christ. These
are his words :

40 THE EPISTLE TO
Verses 15-20 : " Who is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature : for by Him
were all things created, that are in heaven, and that
are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all
things were created by Him, and for Him : and He is
before all things, and by Him all things consist. And
He is the head of the body, the Church : who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead ; that in all
things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased
the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell ; and,
having made peace through the blood of His cross, by
Him to reconcile all things unto Himself ; by Him,
1 say, whether they be things in earth, or things in
heaven."
These words may be profitably read again
and again, so profound is their conception of
the dominion of God. Language cannot more
clearly indicate the more than human quality
of Jesus Christ. Can any man be said to be
" the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of every creature " ? These words alone ex
clude the idea of the mere humanity of Jesus
Christ. But these are not the only words
used by the Apostle. Of what man ever
known to us could it be said : " By Him were
all things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible . . .
all things were created by Him, and for Him :
and He is before all things, and by Him all

THE COLOSSIANS 41
things consist " ? These proofs of the deity
of Christ have been accounted sufficient by
generations of saintly theologians. It is
absolutely certain that these terms would be
out of place if used as a description of any
mortal being. We are here in the midst of
a sublime and overpowering vision of personal
glory. Compare these words with the terms
in which Jesus Christ's earthly life is described
in many texts. The Son of man had "not
where to lay His head," yet " by Him were all
things created, that are in heaven, and that
are in earth, visible and invisible." He sat
on the well, weary with His journey, yet He
created thrones and dominions and princi
palities and powers. The two conditions of
being should always be realised, because
those who believe most profoundly in the
deity of Christ also believe most profoundly
in His humanity. The history of Christ is
full of contrasts. He is "a root out of a
dry ground," yet He is " the rose of Sharon,
and the lily of the valleys." "There is no
beauty that we should desire Him," yet He
is the "fairest among ten thousand," and
"altogether lovely." He was " despised and

42 THE EPISTLE TO
rejected of men," yet He is " the desire of
all nations."
In the eighteenth verse Jesus Christ is
represented as the Head of the Church. The
word " He " is emphatic — He, even He, or
He Himself. The " He " is as emphatic in
relation to the Church as in relation to the
image of God. What is the meaning of the
word " church " in this connection ? Is not
the meaning profoundly spiritual ? There is an
ecclesiastical definition of "church" by which
is meant an assembly, a convention, a formal
gathering, a ceremonial relationship, or a
congregation of men who have a common
creed. All these varieties of meaning have
their importance, but they do not touch
the essential meaning of the term as here
used. The Church of Christ is redeemed
by the blood of Christ; it has, therefore,
entered into the mystery of the priesthood
of Christ, and all its members are united
by a great act of sacrifice. The Church is
more than an assembly; it is a fellowship
of spirit, a kinship of heart, an expression
of brotherhood. Men can only be brought

THE COLOSSIANS 43
into Christ's Church by one way, and that
is by way of the Cross. Nothing can be
farther from the apostolic idea than that
the Church is a semi-political association, a
branch of the State, a government within
a government, a creature of human environ
ment. He whose soul is right is in the
true Church. Churchmanship is not a
matter of formal creed, but of conscious
living union with the fountain of life, even
the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all fulness
dwells. There may be endless distinctions
and differences of creed, but there is only
one true and indestructible faith. Jesus is
the firstborn of every creature ; Jesus is
the firstborn from the dead ; Jesus is the
firstfruits of the resurrection; Jesus is the
first and the last; Jesus has in all things
the pre-eminence. To apply such language
to any mere man is surely the profanest
blasphemy. The same would apply to the marvellous
words in verse 20. Jesus Christ "made
peace through the blood of His Cross." Of
what man could this be said ? His blood was

44 THE EPISTLE TO
shed that He might "reconcile all things
unto Himself." Of what mere man could
this be said ? Nor were the things referred
to small, local, and manageable by human
hands. They were " things in earth, or
things in heaven." The mere asking of the
question is its own best answer. It is
impossible for Jesus Christ to be merely a
man, and yet to exercise all the prerogatives
of God, and to receive all the adoration
due only to the Most High. Paul is our
best Christian teacher, and certainly there
can be no doubt that it never entered into
Paul's mind that his Master was only a
man. We are bound to construe words
historically and grammatically, and so con
strued Paul stands forth as a rapturous
and devoted believer in the deity of Jesus
Christ.
Verses 21, 22 : " And you, that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of
His flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable and unreproveable in His sight."
Here was a concrete instance of the re
conciliation which Jesus Christ effected by

THE COLOSSIANS 45
the blood of His Cross. The Apostle is
not content with a general recognition of the
reconciling power of the Cross — he points
directly and personally to the Colossians
themselves, "You . . . hath He reconciled."
The power of Christian doctrine is in
Christian experience. Reconciled men are
illustrations of the doctrine of reconciliation.
Go into the sanctuary of your own minds
if you would understand somewhat of the
peace-bringing power of the Cross of Christ.
The doctrines of the Saviour are to be
incarnated, as He Himself was. As He
was the fulness of the Godhead bodily, so
His followers are to be filled, according to
their capacity, with all the fulness of His
grace. The Apostle recognises two distinct
periods in the history of the human spirit :
(1) "You that were sometime alienated and
enemies in your mind by wicked works " ;
(2) "Reconciled in the body of His flesh
through death, to present you holy and un-
blameable and unreproveable in His sight."
What nobler challenge could be addressed
to any competitive religion than that it
should produce as its proofs loftiness and

46 THE EPISTLE TO
beauty of character ? The three words
chosen by Paul are "holy," " unblameable,"
and "unreproveable." These are the ideals;
these are the standards. These words are
not to be interpreted by the dictionary — the
standard of their interpretation is set forth
by the Apostle himself in the striking words,
" in His sight." We are not to be clothed
in rags of our own manufacture. We are
not to be judged by outward, mechanical,
or formal appearances ; we are, in reality,
what we are in the sight of Christ. He
will know our virtues and our vices ; He
will test the sincerity of our motives, and
He will judge with all pity and mercy the
circumstances under which we laboured.
As Christ was a great Saviour, so He is a
great Judge. We are safe in His hands.
The Apostle continues, with his usual
caution, to insist upon a vital condition —
"If ye continue in the faith grounded and
settled, and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel, which ye have heard,
and which was preached to every creature
which is under heaven ; whereof I Paul
am made a minister." Any breach of the

THE COLOSSIANS 47
conditions would jeopardise all the promises,
and would render all the natural issues im
possible. We must "continue in the faith."
" Continue " is another word for " grow."
It is not simply stopping in one place as a
stone might remain upon a given spot ; it
is continuing as a tree continues, always
in the same place, yet always becoming
stronger and more fruitful. If the figure
be changed to that of a foundation, as is
suggested by the word " grounded," the
sense of the first figure is in no degree
impaired, because the foundation is living,
and they are living stones that are built
upon it. We are to find our continuity in
our life ; as Christ's life always continues,
so our life must be continued in Him. If
we sever ourselves from Him, our reconcilia
tion ceases to be a fact, and our former
experience is degraded into a dead letter.
The Apostle winds up this part of his letter
(to the end of Chapter I.) by distinct personal
allusions asserting his personal ministry, yet
tracing that ministry not to his own will,
but to the dispensation of God, and enriching

48 THE EPISTLE TO
that ministry with all the grace and glory
of a divine bestowal. The Apostle never
refers to his ministry as in any danger of
being impoverished. He speaks of " the
riches of the glory of this mystery." The
Apostle finds his treasure in heaven. He is
not drawing from a cistern; he is relying
upon the fountains of eternity. He is in no
fear of his ministry running out, because it
is not his ministry in the sense that it is self-
originated on his part. He will speak God's
word down to his latest breath, and the last
word he speaks will be as energetic, as
tuneful, and as tender as the word he spoke
in the fulness of his strength. The Apostle
uses energetic words in describing the range
of his ministry — " I labour," " I strive," God
" worketh in me mightily." The ministry
of the Apostle had a divine object in view;
he wished to present every man perfect in
Christ Jesus, and this perfectness is only to
be attained through warning, and teaching,
and striving. Preaching was not a mere con
templation ; it was a sacrifice — as it were,
a great offering of blood, the outpouring of
the red wine of his heart upon the altar.

THE COLOSSIANS 49
Ministers are not gentlemen at leisure. They
do not do twenty other things and preach.
They are concerned in the cure of souls, and
will only do other things as they bear upon
that sacred and immortal issue. The Apostle
Paul took no pleasures, no recreations. He
had no off-days ; he knew nothing about our
modern holiday. He preached, he warned,
he taught, he strove. What wonder that in
the final mists which fell upon his closing
eyes he saw a gleaming of the crown of life !

CHAPTER II
Verse 1 : " For I would that ye knew what great
conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and
for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh."
r I THE first verse may be regarded as little
-*- more than local, except in the degree
in which it indicates the passionate nature
of the Apostle. In the last verse of the first
chapter he is labouring and striving according
to an influence which is working mightily in
him. This influence he speaks of in general
terms in the first instance, and then he
localises it in the great conflicts which he
experienced on behalf of the saints at Colosse,
Laodicea, and Hierapolis. Paul was not only
the Apostle ; he was, so to say, the soldier
of the churches, always fighting and suffering
on behalf of those whom he would make
perfect in Christ Jesus. He even includes
" as many as have not seen my face in the
60

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 51
flesh " — all Christian souls, all strugglers
after light and liberty. As characteristic of
Paul it is noticeable that his work takes the
form of strife and conflict. He does not
turn his theology into a dream. His doctrine
is no mere poem. It is a force, an inspira
tion, a sacred and unquenchable passion.
Verses 2, 3 : " That their hearts might be com
forted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches
of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknow
ledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and
of Christ ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge."
Here is the Apostle's character depicted
in the words of his desire or prayer. Here is
the expression of supreme spiritual anxiety.
This is no desire for social position such as
the Church itself has often striven after.
There is no wish here for increase in land,
and gold, and power. This is not the utter
ance of selfish lustfulness. The heart is
filled with a solemn and overpowering desire
for the best welfare of those who have given
themselves to Christ. The Apostle prayed
that their hearts might be comforted — that
is, strengthened, encouraged, stimulated; he

52 THE EPISTLE TO
also prayed that they might be knit together
in love, and that they might revel in the
infinite riches of the mystery of grace. He
desired that the saints might be men of
wealth, but the wealth must be immaterial,
spiritual, divine. The Apostle will have
nothing that is merely sentimental ; he
prayed for a " full assurance of under
standing." He would have renewed souls
enjoy access to " all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge." These treasures are hid in
God and in Christ, and only the " initiated "
can enter into the treasure-house and bring
away honest and useful spoil.
Verses 4, 5 : '' And this I say, lest any man should
beguile you with enticing words. For though I be
absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit,
joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness
of your faith in Christ."
The " conflict " in which Paul was engaged
was the more strenuous that he was well
aware that other workers were seeking to
render his own service of none effect. He
declares that the reason why he was so
anxious for the spiritual culture of the saints
was that they were exposed to the seductions

THE COLOSSIANS 53
of false philosophy and skilfully applied flat
tery. He uses the word "beguile," which
indicates a process of reasoning men into
wrong notions respecting the divine life.
He also speaks of " enticing words " — per
suasions, allurements, false science, and all
that was meant by what was then known
as the Gnostic speculation. All young
Christians are exposed to such flattering
assaults ; hence the need of age and experi
ence and authority in the Christian Church.
It is possible to be absent in the flesh and
yet to be present in the spirit. The Colos
sians are advised that in the best sense of
the term the Apostle is present amongst
them. There is a sympathetic presence,
there is a spiritual personality. When we
go wrong in doctrine or in thought we offend
a thousand spiritual influences whose pre
sence we do not recognise. He who is a
wilful heretic, or a disobedient disciple,
offends with the heaviest insult all the pre
ceded generations of faith and obedience.
With infinite tact the Apostle assures the
churches that he is seeing the very best
side of their character. He does not come

54 THE EPISTLE TO
to them with blame or rebuke ; he beholds
their order and the steadfastness of their
faith in Christ. The Apostle never fails in
courtesy. He may open the way for self-
rebuke on the part of those who are made
conscious that they are praised beyond their
deserts ; but herein the Apostle is only
making room for the operation of conscience.
Paul could strike with a very heavy hand
when necessity required, but no man could
make more generous use of encouragements
when souls needed to be cheered through
some night of gloom.

Verses 6-8 : " As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him : rooted
and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye
have been taught, abounding therein with thanks
giving. Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of
men, after the rudiments of the world , and not after
Christ."

Temptations are of various kinds — a fact
which we do not sufficiently recognise. It
is supposed that men are only grossly
tempted — tempted to crime, to outrage, to
open acts of disobedience. These are the

THE COLOSSIANS 55
coarsest temptations of the devil. The
Apostle now deals with intellectual and
spiritual temptations — temptations to doubt,
to invent, to philosophise, to offer incense
to intellectual vanity. What is the Apostle's
protection under such assaults cunningly
addressed to the soul ? Observe how pro
foundly practical and far-reaching is his
counsel ! He would have the Colossians
rooted and built up in Christ; he would
have them firmly established and grounded
in the faith. He desires that they may
abound in faith with thanksgiving. Paul
would have no man double-minded in his
religious thought and inquiry. He does not
seek for uniformity in merely intellectual
opinion ; he desires that souls may be rooted
and built up in Christ. Philosophies change,
Christ abides. Leaves come and go, but
the root remains. This is the very pith of
Christianity, for the soul to be right in its
relations to Christ. Hold on to the truth
of which you have been assured, and do not
meddle with every process of evolution.
Faith may often come through doubt, but
it is no business of the soul to create doubts,

56 THE EPISTLE TO
to multiply and encourage them, in order
that it may secure some ultimate blessing.
The Apostle acknowledges that the tempta
tions to which the intellect is exposed are
subtle and flattering, but he would have
them treated radically and finally by an
ever-deepening communion with the Spirit
of Christ.
Erom this point to the end of the fifteenth
verse the Apostle continues his exhortation,
leading the minds of those to whom he wrote
into the deepest mysteries of the faith. He
addresses them as those who have been
brought out of bondage into great liberty —
a liberty which itself was an enlarged
bondage in the degree in which it made
the soul of the believer more and more a
willing and grateful slave of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Apostle would seem to say,
" Never forget your obligations to the re
deeming and forgiving Christ ; never forget
that Christ blotted out what before stood
against us ; never forget that Jesus Christ
took up our past life, with all its sins and
miseries, and nailed it to His cross; never

THE COLOSSIANS 57
forget that Jesus Christ spoiled the princi
palities and powers that once oppressed us,
that he shook the enemy as by an almighty
hand, and that he openly triumphed over
all the enemies of the soul." It was under
such convictions and persuasions that the
Colossians were to continue their course of
faith and progress. There is no better policy
now. Blessed be God, we have not to invent
a Gospel, but to believe one ; to no painted
Christ or sculptured Cross has the soul to
go, but straight away to the living, personal,
loving Redeemer.
Verse 9 : " For in Him dwelleth all the fulness
of the Godhead bodily."
This is the most explicit declaration of the
deity of Jesus Christ in the whole Scripture.
Every word may be said to have an emphasis
peculiar to itself. Jesus Christ is not only
the subject of special divine inspiration — -He
is the incarnate God. In Him are the infinite
resources of divine wealth ; in Him the
Godhead has taken up its earthly and visible
habitation. God said that He would dwell
with His people, and here it is expressly

58 THE EPISTLE TO
declared that the fulness of the Godhead
dwells with Christ, or more intensely still
dwells in Him as part of His very nature,
part of His essential and indestructible sub
stance. The Apostle has already used an
expression practically equivalent : " God was
pleased that in Him all fulness should dwell."
This is the only instance in which the entire
fulness of God is embodied. The great
message to the heart is that we find all we
need in the Son of God. His are the
unsearchable riches. Of his fulness have
we received grace upon grace like billow
upon billow, or summer upon summer of
satisfaction, and glory, and bounty. If we
are straitened, we are not straitened in Christ,
but in ourselves. Let us then in faith eat
the body of Christ and drink His blood, and
assure ourselves that in Him we have inex
haustible grace. Do not attempt to add
anything to Christ. Never seek to construct
a supplement to the provisions of the Cross.
Christ is full of grace and truth. The
glory that shone in Him was as the light
of the Only-begotten of the Eather. God
did not ask for any more room than He

THE COLOSSIANS 59
had provided for Himself in the person of
Jesus Christ.
Verse 10 : " And ye are complete in Him, which
is the head of all principality and power."
This necessarily follows, from the very
nature of Christ, if so be we have received
Christ into our hearts. The literal meaning
is that we ourselves have been filled up in
the fulness of Christ. All the divine in
fluence which we realise and enjoy we receive
directly in Christ and through Christ. Never
forget the medium of divine communication ;
and always remember in thanking God, or
in coming before God in the confidence and
expectancy of prayer, that we must approach
the throne through the Cross. " Of His
fulness have we all received and grace for
grace." We are "made the righteousness of
God in Him." Eor He is "made unto us
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption." We are not to complete
ourselves ; from foundation to roof we are
to be the special building of God. How
vividly is the position of Jesus Christ de
scribed in the second part of this tenth verse !

60 THE EPISTLE TO
— "the head of all principality and power."
We do not receive our supplies from secondary
sources, but from the central and eternal
fountain. Our Lord is not described in terms
of humiliation. Hear the noble words upon
which this assurance is founded : " God hath
also highly exalted Him and given Him a
name which is above every name." Peter
speaks thus of his Lord and ours : " Who
is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand
of God ; angels and authorities and powers
being made subject unto Him." And this
is our Lord ! This is the Eountain that
cannot fail ! This is the guarantee of our
ultimate maturity and perfectness !
Verse 11 : "In whom also ye are circumcised with
the circumcision made without hands, in putting off
the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision
of Christ."
This is an apparently abrupt and irrelevant
reference, but it is made natural and explic
able when it is remembered that the Apostle
is writing to people who were tempted to
return to some of the old Jewish observances.
Paul believed in circumcision, but it was

THE COLOSSIANS 61
circumcision made without hands — a spiritual
cutting and sacrifice without which we cannot
enter into the separated and anointed family
of God. The old term is used with a new
meaning. Now, "he is a Jew which is one
inwardly." Christianity has done away with
mere formalism, or ritualism, because it has
established itself in the heart as the supreme
moral force. " Circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter ;
whose praise is not of men, but of God."
From the beginning this had been the purpose
of circumcision, if men had but known it, for
even in Deuteronomy we read : " The Lord
thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the
heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God."
And again we read, both in Jeremiah and in
Deuteronomy, such words as " Circumcise
yourselves to the Lord, and take away the
foreskins of your heart." Thus, spiritual
religion is the originally intended issue of
divinely appointed formalities. Now the knife
is done away with ; now bodily brand and scar
must be known no more — "for we are the
circumcision which worship God in the spirit,
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no

62 THE EPISTLE TO
confidence in the flesh." A most expressive
figure is that of "putting off the body of
the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ." There is a good deal of "putting
off " to be done in the development of the
Christian life. The expression "put off" is
quite common with the Apostle Paul : " Put
off concerning the former conversation the
old man, which is corrupt according to the
deceitful lusts " (Eph. iv. 22). "Ye also put
off all these ; anger, wrath, malice, blas
phemy, filthy communication out of your
mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that
ye have put off the old man with his deeds "
(Col. iii. 8, 9).
Verses 12-15 : " Buried with Him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with Him through the
faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him
from the dead. ' And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He
quickened together with Him, having forgiven you
all trespasses ; blotting out the handwriting of ordi
nances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross ;
and having spoiled principalities and powers, He
made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them
in it."
Baptism is here regarded typically and as

THE COLOSSIANS 63
pointing to something richer than itself. We
are to be buried with Christ after our crucifixion
with Him. Baptism by water is more spiritual
than the cutting of the body with knives, and
baptism of the Holy Ghost is more spiritual
than baptism by water. All the economies
and dispensations have pointed towards
spiritual completion. Baptism cannot end in
water ; circumcision cannot end in surgery ;
cleansing cannot be effected by soap and
water and nitre. From the beginning God's
purpose was spiritual, and unless we have
come into a spiritual appropriation of the
Cross, it is to us so much wood, and so much
iron, without spiritual significance and force.
Our resurrection with Christ is " the opera
tion of God." The power that raised Jesus
Christ from the dead must also raise us not
only from our death in trespasses and sins,
but also from death as fellow-sufferers with
Christ. In a special sense Christ and His
believers, or followers, may be said to be
buried in the same tomb, and out of that
tomb all are raised by the power of God —
Christ the firstfruits and afterwards those
who have been partakers of His sufferings.

64 THE EPISTLE TO
The Apostle always refers to sin as a
destroyed power, to death as a vanquished
foe, to our former corruption as an offence
that has been taken away by the power of
Christ. We are not to dwell upon our sins as
if they were unforgiven. If God has forgiven
us for Christ's sake, it is no business of ours
to be raking up the unholy past. The hand
writing of ordinances that was against us has
been blotted out. " Having abolished in his
flesh the enmity, even the law of command
ments contained in ordinances, for to make in
Himself of twain one new man, so making
peace " (Eph. ii. 15). We ought to realise
in the most vivid and emphatic manner that
we are forgiven souls, and from the day of
our forgiveness we should date the certainty
of our sonship and blessedness. It is a reflec
tion upon God to be continually recalling the
evil past. God Himself does not upbraid us
with our sins, wherein we have broken-
heartedly confessed them and brought them
to the Cross that there they might be slain.
Let not our hearts be troubled : we believe in
God — let us have still more living and trium
phant faith in Christ. Through death

THE COLOSSIANS 65
Christ has destroyed " him that had the power
of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. ii. 14).
Verses 16-18 : " Let no man therefore judge you in
meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of
the new moon, or of the sabbath days : which are a
shadow of things to come ; but the body is of Christ.
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary
humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into
those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed
up by his fleshly mind."
A great amount of trouble is made possible
by pedantic obedience to things which are in
themselves at once transient and unprofitable.
The Colossian Christians were troubled by
teachers who had a most imperfect knowledge
of the purpose of the great Redemption. They
were slaves of the letter. They could not
see that religion might be intensely spiritual,
having risen far above all ceremony, and
ritual, and elementary appointments of every
kind. The Apostle bids the Colossians take
heart in remembrance of the fact that they
were living members of the living body of
Christ. " Why dost thou judge thy brother ?
or why dost thou set at nought thy brother ?
for we shall all stand before the judgment
seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live,
5

66 THE EPISTLE TO
saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
and every tongue shall confess to God. So
then every one of us shall give account of
himself to God. Let us not, therefore, judge
one another any more : but judge this rather,
that no man put a stumblingblock or an
occasion to fall in his brother's way " (Rom. xiv.
10-13). The Gospel has this great message
which it would deliver to the inmost heart of
its humblest believer : " The kingdom of God
is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Much of
our religious trouble would be dried up if we
attended to the main things and regulated our
lives by the central and essential principles of
the kingdom of Christ. The Apostle Paul
gave great liberty to men, according to the
degree of their faith and according to their
spiritual capacity : " One believeth that he
may eat all things : another, who is weak,
eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise
him that eateth not ; and let not him which
eateth not judge him that eateth : for God hath
received him " (Rom. xiv. 2, 3). There have
always been clever people in the Church
whose object has been to spoil the simplicity

THE COLOSSIANS 67
of faith. They have had fancies of their own
respecting holydays, and new moons, and
Sabbath days. They have had in their souls
the very genius or demon of deception. They
would not allow the simplicity of Christ
to stand in its own majesty. The Apostle
cautions Cbristian worshippers against all
such foolishly inventive persons : " This I
say, lest any man should beguile you with
enticing words" (Col. ii. 4). The ritualism
of faith has been its paralysis, if not its
absolute destruction. Whatever these local
references may mean, we have corresponding
temptations in our own time by which souls
are greatly troubled. One man has a
garment, another a vessel, another a symbol,
another a ritual, another a prejudice — and so
on almost endlessly, not knowing that the age
of shadows has passed and the day of the
abiding reality has dawned. In the next verse
the Apostle goes to the root of the matter.
Verse 19: "And not holding the 'Head, from
which all the body by joints and bands having
nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth
with the increase of God."
This is the great defect of the teaching

68 THE EPISTLE TO
upon which he has been commenting. All
the inventions were clever enough, but they
were rendered improper and nugatory by the
fact that the inventors themselves did not
hold the living Head. If we are wrong in
the matter of the Headship of Christ, no
marvel that we should try to make up the
error or the deficiency by inventions and
fantasies of our own. The Church can never
be right until it is right in relation to the
Headship of Christ. Who is Lord of the
Church ? Who redeemed it ? Who has a
right to control it ? These are the penetrating
and all- determining questions. A beautiful
figure is that which makes the Church part
of the very body of Christ. " Grow up into
Him in all things, which is the head,
even Christ : from whom the whole body
fitly joined together and compacted by that
which every joint supplieth, according to
the effectual working in the measure of
every part, maketh increase of the body
unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. iv.
15, 16).
As the branch is to the vine, so are we
to Christ. The limb that is severed from

THE COLOSSIANS 69
the body must decay and putrefy. This is
the basis of all that follows.
Verses 20-23. "Wherefore if ye be dead with
Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as
though living in the world, are ye subject to ordi
nances, (touch not ; taste not ; handle not ; which all
are to perish with the using ;) after the commandments
and doctrines of men 1 Which things have indeed a
shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and
neglecting of the body ; not in any honour to the
satisfying of the flesh."
The local references are of small con
sequence to the men of to-day. Probably
we shall never fully know the meaning of
the worshipping of angels, and the perverted
grace known as " voluntary humility." Still
we ourselves may have tendencies towards
literalism and narrowness of interpretation
which ought to be checked. We are tempted
by the spectacular. It is in our very nature
to wish to be doing something to show how
energetic we are in Christian activity. It is
so difficult for the soul to be truly humble
and to live upon the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ. We turn the Gospel into a conundrum
that we may enjoy the intellectual luxury
of endeavouring to answer our own questions.

70 EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS
We are in danger of appointing men to invent
commandments and doctrines for us. The
heart loves a painted cross, or a crucifix
fashioned in ivory, or a dramatic repetition
of all that is meant by " Calvary." My soul,
enter thou not into the folly of these men
who are building card houses of their own
when they might dwell in the sanctuary not
made with hands ! As to inventions, physical
representations, carnal parodies — touch not,
taste not, handle not. All such things perish
with the using. The great redemption has
been completed : enter thou into the house
where thou canst find the blood which alone
cleanseth from all sin. As for the fancies
and the dreams of men, touch them not,
or use them without coming under their
bondage. Answer not the enemy in words of
thine own invention ; set thou not up between
thyself and the foe some mechanical inven
tions of designing men, but fight the devil
with the Cross, and assuredly he shall be
trodden under foot.

CHAPTER III
Verses 1-4 : " If ye then be risen .-with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ
sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection
on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye
are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then
shall ye also appear with Him in glory."
TT^OUR times is the name of Christ repeated.
-*- The Apostle now becomes intensely
spiritual, expressing his deep solicitude for
the culture and strengthening of the Christian
heart. It must not be overlooked that there
is a sequence in the exhortation of the first
verse. The two great commandments of the
law are love of God and love of neighbour ;
so in this experience the resurrection with
Christ precedes and necessitates the growth
of the life in heavenly directions. The man
who has not known the power of the resur
rection of Christ cannot possibly seek those
things which are above. The eagle cannot
71

72 THE EPISTLE TO
fly until its wings be grown; no more can
the soul seek the heavens until it has known
what it is to share the resurrection of Christ.
There is a self-disappointing aspiration. It
gets no higher than the roof of the house.
It cannot fly away into the sanctuary and
the bosom of God. The reason of such dis
appointment is that the aspiration is only
a phase of rationalism, a slavish obedience
to certain literal formalities ; it is not inspired
by the enthusiasm of faith. A merely
mechanical power knows nothing of the force
of gravitation. No more does the piety of
mere reason know the mystery of fellowship
with God, and communion with the Holy
Ghost. It is worse than useless to tell men to set
their affection on things above, not on things
on the earth, when they have not been away
with Christ in the solitude of the tomb, and
when they have not come up from that
solitude clothed with the power of Christ's
resurrection. Exhortation without inspiration
cannot do more than disturb and vex the soul.
Do not go to the seed as it lies in the seeds-

THE COLOSSIANS 73
man's box and exhort it to bring forth leaf
and flower and fruit. Until it is planted in
the earth, and brought into nutritive relation
to the appointed ministries of nature, it must
remain without development and increase.
It is precisely so with the soul of man. Man
must be buried with Christ, man must share
the very tomb of Christ in its highest sym
bolism, and man must be consciously one
with Christ in the very suffering of the Cross,
or he can never set his affection on things
above. The text is a kind of challenge. In effect
the Apostle says, " Prove your resurrection
by your unworldliness, your aspiration after
God, your discontent with all things earthly,
and your passionate desire to realise a
heavenly citizenship. Where Christ is we
must be. When Christ is dead we are dead ;
when Christ rises we rise ; " when Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also
appear with him in glory." Christ is the living
force. Christ determines everything. We
originate nothing, we determine nothing ; we
are dead and our life is hid with Christ in

74 THE EPISTLE TO
God. Our life is away yonder in the high
heavens, finding its centre, its sustenance, its
immortality in the eternal life of Christ.

Verses 5-7 : " Mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth ; fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetous
ness, which is idolatry. For which things' sake the
wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience :
in the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived
in them."

Then it is not all contemplation, and
sentiment, and poetry ! This life in Christ
means discipline. We have died with
Christ that we might obtain the power of
Christ, and we are to use that power in
destroying the works of the flesh and the
influence of the devil. By the power of
Christ's resurrection we have been brought
to the use of strenuous, penetrating, con
tinual discipline. Discipline has to do for
the body what resurrection with Christ
has done for the soul. We are raised again
with Christ that we may begin, continue,
and complete a great fight or sacrifice.
We are to practise a large spiritual surgery.
It is in vain that we profess to have risen

THE COLOSSIANS 75
with Christ if the body is to have its own
way. Because we have risen with Christ is
sin to be permitted to abound ? God forbid.
We are called upon to make ourselves
examples and living illustrations of what
is meant by an inward and spiritual grace.
If a man say that he has risen with Christ,
and is still allowing the lower nature to
have its own way, that man is lying to the
Holy Ghost. Our spiritual experience does
not end our bodily discipline ; on the con
trary, it but begins that exacting and sin-
subduing process. The Christian method is
not to proceed from the body to the soul,
but from the soul to the body. Reason
might have said, " Conquer your lower
nature, and then proceed to bring your
spiritual nature into subjection." That is
the common way of man. He thinks it is
logical and cumulative. Christ pronounces
it to be illogical and impossible. Christ
would make the tree gobd that He might
make the fruit good. Christ does not work
from the fruit to the root ; he works from
the root to the fruit. Thus the Christian
lives a kind of double experience. At the

76 THE EPISTLE TO
very moment that he rejoices in his resur
rection with Christ, he is, in the power of
that resurrection, maiming and slaying all
that is evil in his body.
A very fine distinction is drawn in the
seventh verse — the distinction between
"walk " and "living." The Apostle reminds
the Colossians that they walked in the things
in which they lived. Now he would destroy
the " living " that he might also put an
end to the " walking." It is possible, as
experience may be called upon to testify,
to walk in certain habits, or to yield to
certain propensities, without willingly and
consentingly " living " in them. Man does
not get rid of his evil nature at once.
Many a man may be tempted, and may
even be overcome in spite of the remon
strance and rebuke of conscience. Man is
no stronger than his weakest point; so it
always happens that the weakness of the
body hinders or confuses, or postpones, the
progress of the soul. A man may do evil
without the consent of his own will. The
Apostle Paul has illustrated this conflicting

THE COLOSSIANS 77
and tormenting experience in the seventh
chapter of his Epistle to the Romans.

Verses 8-10 : " But now ye also put off all
these ; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy com
munication out of your mouth. Lie not one to
another, seeing that ye have put off the old man
with his deeds ; and have put on the new man,
which is renewed in knowledge after the image of
Him that created him."

Now comes the great change. All these
evil things, like so many garments, are torn
off the soul and thrown away in anger and
disgust. Never forget that we have all
come out of a state of heathenism. We
have received the devil's baptism. We have
been dragged after Satan, captives of his
will. Here, then, is the true point or
standard of judgment. In estimating our
progress we must never forget the point
we started from. In estimating the volume
and quality of our life we must call to mind
the fact that we were once dead in trespasses
and sins. In an absolute sense a man may
be steeped in wickedness even while pro
fessing to have received the Christian faith;
but in a relative sense his very poor and

78 THE EPISTLE TO
halting morality may mark a great step in
advance. Character must be judged as a
kind of self-comparison. What was I to
begin with ? What was my condition ten
years ago ? If evil is still clinging to me,
is it clinging with my will or against it ?
Do I welcome the devil or resist him?
The great comfort is in the tenth verse,
in which the Christian character is repre
sented not in a state of negation, but in a
positive relation to Jesus Christ. There is
not only a putting off — there is a putting on.
" Ye have put off the old man with his
deeds ; and have put on the new man " —
literally the young man, the youthful man,
the man who is full of energy, aspiration,
and sacred passion. Christianity identifies
itself with youth, and renewal, and with
vernal promises of a glorious summer beauty
and fruitfulness. Having referred to the
great liberty which the soul acquires in
Christ Jesus — having abolished Greek and
Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, Bar
barian, Scythian, bond and free, and having
declared the infinitely sublime doctrine that

THE COLOSSIANS 79
Christ is all, and in all — the Apostle proceeds
thus in his practical exhortation.
Verses 12, 13 : " Put on therefore, as the elect of
God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness,
humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering ; for
bearing one another, and forgiving one another, if
any man hath a quarrel against any : even as Christ
forgave you, so also do ye."
Thus is the reality of the Christian life
to be proved, and thus are men to be
approached with really effective appeals on
the matter of discipline and growth. How
tender the Apostle is ! He describes the
Christians to whom he writes as " the elect
of God, holy and beloved." This defines
somewhat of the range and function of
divine election. One would suppose that if
people were "elect of God" they would be
above pastoral exhortation ; certainly one
would suppose that if men were " holy and
beloved " they needed no further grace and
no further virtue. We are forbidden to gild
refined gold, or to paint the lily — the poet
will not allow such works of supererogation ;
yet here the Apostle Paul, the wisest of the
poets and the strongest of the logicians,

80 THE EPISTLE TO
describes men as " elect, holy and beloved,"
and then urges them towards mercies, kind
ness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-
suffering, and towards forbearance and
charity. We are thrown back upon the
doctrine that sometimes the Christian is
to be taken in the ideality rather than in
the prose and commonplace of his experience.
We might reverse the appeal, and say, put
on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, long-suffering, and thus
become " the elect of God, holy and beloved."
The Apostle pursues a directly opposite
course; he appeals to the ideal man that
he may assist the real man. He gives men
a new motive, a new impulse, by calling up
their best self-hood, their spiritual person
ality as God Himself views it. Sometimes
God gives strength, and sometimes He calls
upon men to put on their strength. The
action is double and co-operative ; so some
times God tells man how beloved he is in
heaven in order that he may become better
upon the earth. Eternity must help time,
and time must dignify itself by remembering
the eternity out of which it came.

THE COLOSSIANS 81
Here is the sublimest appeal that can be
addressed to human intelligence and affection,
" Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."
We are inspired and strengthened in the
degree in which we go to Christ not only
for doctrine, but for example. Life without
forgiveness would be a constantly increasing
cloud and fear. Forgiveness renews life,
calls back vanished youthfulness, throws
open the radiant gates of new opportunities.
Men may know that they are growing in
grace in the degree in which they are pre
pared to exercise the grace and duty of
forgiveness. "If ye forgive men their tres
passes your heavenly Father will forgive
you." Not how I would forgive, but how
Christ would forgive must be the rule and
standard of conduct. The frailty of human
nature is recognised in the thirteenth verse.
Mutual forbearance is everywhere required.
Occasions of offence will arise in the develop
ment of the manifold life which men are
called upon to live : these occasions do not
violate the fundamental charter of election
upon which our spiritual manhood is held.
Occasions of offence are so many opportunities 6

82 THE EPISTLE TO
of grace. Let no man wantonly regard his
election as a licence to sin. The Apostle is
very explicit upon this point in his letter
to the Ephesians : " He hath chosen us in
Him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love " (Eph. i. 4). Election does
not entitle us to exercise severity towards
those who offend us. In the degree in which
we are conscious of pride we may suspect
the validity of our election. " Be ye kind
one to another, tender-hearted " — not only
kind in an ordinary way, but kind even to
tender-heartedness. The inspired writers do
not shrink from the use of these compound
words, and indeed their use is most en
couraging and profitable. For example,
God's kindness is "loving-kindness," and God's
mercy is " tender-mercy," and true piety is
" tender-heartedness." Love requires these
hyperbolic forms of expression in order to
indicate its range and intensity.
Verse 14 : " And above all these things put on
charity, which is the bond of perfectness."
The expression " above all " is more liter
ally " over all " — above all as an upper

THE COLOSSIANS 83
garment covers an under garment. Love is
to unite the whole character ; it is the golden
cincture which grasps all the jewels of our
best life. There were teachers who held
that wisdom was supreme ; they maintained
that knowledge was the greatest glory of
the human mind. The Scriptures tell us that
knowledge shall vanish away, but that love
shall abide in imperishable survival all the
wreck. Do not glory in your knowledge,
in your genius, or in your wealth, or in
any circumstances external and perishable;
but rejoice in love, in sympathy with the
heart of Christ, in oneness with the character
of God. Love is the bond of perfectness, love
thinketh no evil. " Beloved, let us love one
another: for love is of God; and every one
that loveth is born of God, and knoweth
God." If we think we can enter into fellow
ship with God through knowledge, as a
triumph of intellectual genius and power,
we deceive ourselves. " He that loveth not,
knoweth not God, for God is love."
Verse 15 : " And let the peace of God rule in your
hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body ;
and be ye thankful."

84 THE EPISTLE TO
The peace of God in this passage means
the peace of Christ. We are to be at peace
in Christ and with Christ, being reconciled
in Him as we have been reconciled by Him.
This peace shall be the referee by whose word
every battle shall be decided. The peace of
Christ is to arbitrate in all the collisions and
conflicts of life. We are not to do anything
that would flutter the holy heart. If we
encourage any temper or pursue any course
that would disturb the peace of Christ, we
may know by that sign that our temper is
wrong and that our ambition draws us in
wrong directions.
Verse 16 : "Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom ; teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
The word of Christ corresponds with the
peace of Christ. We often hear of the word
of the Lord and of the word of God, but in
this case we hear of the word of Christ as
if it were of equal scope and authority. " If
ye abide in Me, and My word abide in you,
ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done
unto you." The word of Christ is to dwell

THE COLOSSIANS 85
in us in all wisdom; there is a place for
intelligence in the development of the soul :
we are to love the Lord our God not only
with all our heart, but with all our mind.
We find the word of Christ in the Holy
Scriptures, not only in the four Gospels, but
in Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms.
We teach what we know; we sing what we
hope. Christianity is a religion of music.
We are to speak to ourselves in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody in our heart to the Lord
(Eph. v. 19). Emotion must find expression.
Religious emotion is likely to find expression
in psalm and song, and every form and
manner of musical utterance. It is all but
impossible to be at once faithful and dumb.
It is impossible to enjoy the peace of Christ
without raising a hymn or anthem in celebra
tion of His presence. But emotion is not to
perish like an exhalation — it has a disciplinary
aspect, as we see in the words immediately
following.
Verse 17 : " And whatsoever ye do in word or
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God and the Father by Him."

86 THE EPISTLE TO
Once more the Gospel is brought into
educational contact with the daily life.
Word and deed are alike to be sanctified.
When we stand up or sit down we are to
do so in the name of the Lord Jesus. When
we garner our harvest we are to sing a loud
doxology. When the child is born or the
aged pilgrim is called home we are to sing
a song of thankfulness. The religion of Jesus
Christ is not a partial standard, or counsellor,
or helper. Note the "whatsoever." Note
" word or deed." All life is to be religious.
Every breath is to be a prayer. Every look
to the high hills is to express a desire to be
more and more in fellowship with Him whose
sanctuary is founded upon them.
Verses 18-22 : " Wives, submit yourselves unto
your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Hus
bands, love your wives, and be not bitter against
them. Children, obey your parents in all things :
for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers,
provoke not your children to anger, lest they be dis
couraged. Servants, obey in all things your masters
according to the flesh ; not with eyeservice, as men-
pleasers ; but in singleness of heart, fearing God."
It would be a mistake to suppose that all
these exhortations and counsels are so much

THE COLOSSIANS 87
small talk on the part 6f the Apostle. He
is not appearing in a grandfatherly capacity.
When the passage is properly read it will be
discovered that he is just as dignified here as
in any other part of his Epistle. This would
be a poor ending to so high a mood and so
divine a contemplation. Going back upon
the spring and reason of these exhortations,
we shall find that they are suggested and
controlled by the love of Christ. That is
the underlying ground of all the Apostle's
argument and persuasion, here and elsewhere,
throughout his addresses and letters.
The wife is not to submit herself to her
husband simply as a matter of legal com
pulsion or even of natural sequence; her
submission is to be "as it is fit in the Lord."
If the wife loves the Saviour, loves Him who
" became obedient unto death, even the death
of the cross," she will have no delight in the
assertion and domination of her own will.
Obedience to Christ makes all lawful sub
mission, and all natural dependence, easy and
even delightful.
Husbands cannot love their wives as a mere

88 THE EPISTLE TO
matter of law, as who should say, "I dislike
to do this — it goes quite against the grain
for me to do it ; but for law's sake, and for
decency's sake, I must at least appear to
do it and so escape from social criticism
and rebuke " — here, again, it is the love of
Christ that constrains, ennobles, and sanctifies.
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church, and gave Himself for
it ; that He might sanctify and cleanse it
with the washing of water by the word. That
He might present it to Himself a glorious
church. . . . Let every one of you in par
ticular so love his wife even as himself "
(Eph. v. 25-27, 33).
Children are to be brought up to accept
the discipline of obedience. To obey well is
ultimately to rule well. Here, again, a great
religious reason is urged upon the minds of
children. There is a natural obedience,
there is a conventional obedience, there is
a concession of obedience — but all these
forms of obedience must give place to the
contention of the Apostle : " for this is well
pleasing unto the Lord." The Lord is the

THE COLOSSIANS 89
Father of tis all. If we do not obey reli
giously, we cannot, with any enduring effect,
obey socially. On another occasion the same
Apostle gave the same reason in other words,
" Children, obey your parents in the Lord :
for this is right" (Eph. vi. 1). In the
earlier dispensations children were urged
to obedience on the ground " That thy days
may be long upon the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee." In the Christian
dispensation the reason rises to an infinitely
higher level, intensely expressed in the words
" for this is right."
As there is a duty for children, so there
is a duty for parents. Parents are not to
exasperate and anger their children. Parental
relationship gives no right to vex and harass,
and arbitrarily humble the children of the
house. A special reason is brought to bear
upon parents, a reason as tender in its senti
ment as it is philosophical in its concep
tion — "lest they be discouraged." Children
are easily disheartened. Some flowers can
only live in the sunshine. Parents should
remember that children have weaknesses of

90 THE EPISTLE TO
their own, and parents should specially
remember that some of the weaknesses of
the child may be due to the parents them
selves. Some plants soon wither under the
blight of the east wind. The man who has
given his child a weak constitution should be
very pitiful and gentle in his treatment of
that constitution and all that flows from it.
Parental tyranny is one of the worst fruits
of the devil. Children remember the cruelties
by which their early days were darkened, and
it may be that such memory will haunt them
and discourage them throughout all the days
of their lives.
The relation of master and servant can
never be finally determined and controlled
except on the principles which Jesus Christ
embodied and expounded. Society can never
be regenerated by programme, or by external
policy of any kind ; it can only be regenerated
by the grace of God. Service must not be
looked upon as degradation. The difficulty
and the curse of to-day in this matter is that
work is considered a degradation. To the
end of the world we must have high and low,

THE COLOSSIANS 91
master and servant, leader and follower — for
this is the law of history and of Providence.
" To one man is given five talents, to another
two, to another one." In this reference to
master and slave is there any delicate
recognition of the former character and the
former disobedience of Onesimus, who is sup
posed to have carried this letter to Colosse ?
Delicately the Apostle represents the once
runaway Onesimus as a converted man, and
he beseeches Philemon to receive Onesimus
" not now as a servant, but above a servant,
a brother beloved, specially to me, but how
much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and
in the Lord?" (Philem. 16). Onesimus,
though a Christian, was also a servant or slave.
Servitude accepted as an unavoidable degra
dation is one thing, but service accepted in
the spirit of Christ and for the sake of Christ
is ennobled and sanctified.
Verses 23-25 : " And whatsoever ye do, do it
heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men ; knowing
that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the
inheritance : for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he
that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which
he hath done : and there is no respect of persons."
Still the Apostle grounds his argument on

92 THE EPISTLE TO
purely Christian considerations. All service
is to be rendered as unto the Lord ; " ye serve
the Lord Christ." " Whether we live, we
live unto the Lord." Even the slave who
obeys in the spirit of Christ shall not be
denied the enjoyment of an appropriate har
vest. " Knowing that whatsoever good thing
any man doeth, the same shall he receive
of the Lord, whether he be bond or free "
(Eph. vi. 8). We are to stand towards Christ
in the relation of slaves and also in the
relation of God's free men.
" If any man serve Me, let him follow Me ;
and where I am, there shall also my servant
be : if any man serve Me, him will My
Father honour" (John xii. 26). Do not
concern yourselves beyond what is meet, and
beyond what is necessary to the security of
society, about wrongdoers and breakers of
the law. Whoever does wrong shall reap a
natural harvest without respect of persons :
God " judgeth according to every man's work "
(1 Peter i. 17). Temporary laws, social
arrangements, fixed penalties, have all been
rendered necessary by civilisation. Beyond

THE COLOSSIANS 93
the statute book of man is the judgment book
of God. God's law includes all other law
that is just and righteous, and goes beyond
all other law in that it can penetrate to the
inmost nature and work out spiritual penal
ties. " Whatsoever a man soweth that shall
he also reap." " We must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ ; that every one
may receive the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be
good or bad" (2 Cor. v. 10).

CHAPTER IV
Verse 1 : " Masters, give unto your servants that
which is just and equal ; knowing that ye also have
a Master in heaven."
TT is no new sentiment with the Apostle
Paul that masters should treat their
servants in a spirit of equity. Here, as
before, a profoundly religious reason is given
— " knowing that ye also have a Master in
heaven." It is quite true that masters and
slaves have been known from the earliest
Bible ages, but it is not always sufficiently
remembered that the law of equity is as
old as the custom of servitude. " Thou
shalt not rule over him with rigour; but
shalt fear thy God " (Lev. xxv. 43). " Thou
shalt remember that thou wast a bondman
in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy
God redeemed thee " (Deut. xv. 15). The
same consideration of equity inspired the
question which is so clearly written in the
94

EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 95
Book of Job, "Did not He that made me
in the womb make him ? and did not one
fashion us in the womb?" (Job xxxi. 15).
Surely the Apostle has something special in
his mind in this exhortation. Is he about
to plead for some special grace? Is it his
ardent desire to melt some obstinate heart ?
Has he any one special in his mind ? Is
he thinking of Philemon and Onesimus ?
Verses 2-4 : " Continue in prayer, and watch in
the same with thanksgiving ; withal praying also for
us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance,
to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also
in bonds : that I may make it manifest, as I ought
to speak."
Again the Apostle becomes intensely reli
gious. Men who continue in prayer and in
thanksgiving are not likely to be severe to
their fellow -creatures. When the spirit loses
the disposition of prayer it is not unlikely
to be hard, resentful, and exacting. The
Apostle never approved intermittent prayer.
" Pray without ceasing." " Praying always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance
and supplication for all saints " (Eph. vi. 18).

96 THE EPISTLE TO
He who is an intercessor is likely to be
clement and gracious towards his fellow-
men. "Men ought always to pray and not
to faint." This is the true culture of the
soul. Prayer is not incessant asking, but
incessant communion with God. " Even
ing, and morning, and at noon, will I pray "
(Ps. Iv. 17). This is only the Psalmist's
way of saying that the whole day is con
secrated to the enjoyment and privilege of
divine fellowship.
We are not to live only in the general
atmosphere of prayer; we are to come into
particulars, and to plead for special per
sonalities and urgent necessities. Even the
greatest of the Apostles desired that he
might live in the prayerful sympathy of the
humblest Christians. He regarded God as
the keeper of his lips and the sentinel of
his mouth, and he prayed his brethren to
supplicate God on his behalf for the gift
of utterance, that he might speak not some
poor conception of his own, but the very
" mystery of Christ." Paul desired to preach
the doctrine for which he suffered. Because

THE COLOSSIANS 97
he was in prison for the doctrine, he would
earnestly desire to make that publicly known
on every hand. " Now I beseech you,
brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and
for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together
with me in your prayers to God for me" (Rom.
xv. 30). The Apostle believed in common
prayer. He believed that the many might
effectively pray for the one. Here he comes
before the Colossian church in an attitude
of dependence and humility. On no account
will he have it that he is the author of his
own doctrine. " Let a man so account of
us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards
of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. iv. 1).
The gift of interpreting mysteries is one of
the special gifts of God. " It is given unto
you to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven" (Matt. xiii. 11). Paul would
be taught, so to say, in the very art of speech,
that he might deliver his message in the
most persuasive and commanding manner.
His ordination as a speaker of the divine
mysteries he wished to make manifest to all
men. "My speech and my preaching was
not with enticing words of man's wisdom, 7

98 THE EPISTLE TO
but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power" (1 Cor. ii. 4). We should receive
more from our ministers if we cherished them
more warmly in our thoughts when we are
having the fullest access to the throne of
grace. We should not pray that our ministers
should be brilliant, or learned, or popular;
but we should earnestly supplicate the Head
of the Church that He would endow them
with the gift of insight and of speech, that
they might at once perceive and , declare the
mysteries of His own kingdom.

Verses 5, 6 : " Walk in wisdom toward them that
are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech
be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may
know how ye ought to answer every man."

It is Paul who here inculcates the grace
and the responsibility of prudence ! — the
same Paul who was charged with madness,
and with being beside himself, and with
unregulated zeal. Now he warns the Colos
sians that there are people outside the Church
as well as inside, and that a good deal
depends upon the behaviour of those who
are inside as to the estimate which will be

THE COLOSSIANS 99
put upon them by outside and possibly
hostile observers. " The wisdom that is from
above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and
good fruits, without partiality, and without
hypocrisy" (James iii. 17). Make the best
of the time — redeem it, buy up the oppor
tunity — use all your resources in making
known and extending the kingdom of God.
Keep up a holy conversation amongst your
selves. The conversation which you thus
sustain will have an effect beyond your own
circle ; for by often speaking one to another
in the name of the Lord, and secretly study
ing the innermost mysteries of divine grace,
you will come to know how you ought to
answer every man. " The mouth of the
righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue
talketh of judgment " (Ps. xxxvii. 30). "The
words of a wise man's mouth are gracious "
(Eccles. x. 12). What need we have of heart
culture ! How rich we should be in spiritual
perception and sympathy! "Out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of
the heart bringeth forth good things: and

100 THE EPISTLE TO
an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth
forth evil things " (Matt. xii. 34, 35).
The rest of the Epistle is full of personal
reference and appreciation. " All my state
shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a
beloved brother, and a faithful minister and
fellow-servant in the Lord." This was the
character of Tychicus, and yet he was without
fame of a popular kind ; his reputation was
in heaven rather than one of the noises of the
world. What higher character can a man
sustain than that he should be a faithful
minister and a fellow-servant in the Lord, and
a beloved brother ? We cannot all be great,
but by the grace of God we can all be
good. We may not be brilliant, but we can
all be faithful. We cannot all lead as masters
and captains, but we can all be fellow-servants
and brethren in love. Tychicus had also a
great capacity for comforting the hearts of
men. He loved the Apostle Paul, studied all
his ways, was familiar with his chief purposes :
therefore he could enlighten the Colossians
upon all matters relating to the great Apostle,
and thus he could bring courage into the
hearts of those who longed to know how the

THE COLOSSIANS 101
greatest of the Apostles was conducting the
battle of the Gospel. Paul was great upon
comfort, understanding by the word "comfort,"
strengthening, encouraging, stimulating :
" Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and
God, even our Father, which hath loved us,
and hath given us everlasting consolation and
good hope through grace, comfort your
hearts, and stablish you in every good word
and work " (2 Thess. ii. 16, 17).
Onesimus is described as a faithful and
beloved brother, and as a Colossian by birth
or by adoption. Onesimus is " a faithful and
beloved brother " — not a word is said about
his being a runaway slave. Paul does not
go back upon the past, but appreciates and
magnifies the present. Did Onesimus write
part of this Epistle at the dictation of Paul ?
Did he write the part about servants and the
part about masters ? When he took the
Epistle and handed it to the Colossian church,
had he not in his possession a private note
intended for the personal perusal of one called
Philemon ? Writing to the Colossians, Paul
describes Onesimus as " a faithful and beloved

102 THE EPISTLE TO
brother " ; but writing to Philemon, he de
scribes him as "my son Onesimus." There
is a meaning in all this tender sentiment,
a meaning which Paul will earnestly apply
when he addresses himself to Philemon.
Then Aristarchus, and Marcus, and Justus,
and Epaphras, and Luke, and Demas are
all referred to as being deeply interested in
the welfare of the Colossian church. Were
these men brilliant preachers ? We have no
evidence that they were so. They are spoken
of in their moral rather than in their intel
lectual capacity. They are fellow-prisoners,
or fellow-workers, or fervent labourers, or
beloved because of personal qualities. The
Church is not wholly composed of leaders,
captains, and generals ; it is composed also
of the great multitude, the common humanity,
and Paul is never slow gratefully to recognise
what quiet and obscure workers have done as
they toiled for the kingdom of God. Epaphras
was not an eloquent man, but he was fervent
in prayer, his one desire being that his fellow-
creatures should stand perfect and complete
in all the will of God. Are we anxious to

THE COLOSSIANS 103
secure this better fame ? Do we blow
trumpets at the street corners that we may
proclaim our piety, or do we live our doctrine
in all manner of active and comforting
beneficence P
The name of Demas occurs here without
brand or stain. Alas ! there came a time
when he was to be otherwise referred to. In
his Second Epistle to Timothy, chap. iv.
verses 10 and 11, we read : " Demas hath
forsaken me, having loved this present world.
Only Luke is with me." It is not enough
to be good at one time of life. " He that
endureth to the end shall be saved." "Ye did
run well, who hath hindered you ? " Paul
was accustomed to the discipline of desertion :
" All they which are in Asia be turned away
from me " (2 Tim. i. 15); " It has happened
unto them according to the true proverb, The
dog is turned to his own vomit again ; and the
sow that was washed to her wallowing in the
mire" (2 Peter ii. 22).
Verses 15-18 : " Salute the brethren which are in
Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in
his house. And when this epistle is read among you,

104 THE EPISTLE TO
cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodi-
ceans ; and that ye likewise read the epistle from
Laodicea. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the
ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that
thou fulfil it. The salutation by the hand of me
Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you.
Amen."

Paul forgets nobody. Names that have no
significance to us were written on the tablet
of his heart. He never could sufficiently
recognise the service which his brethren
rendered to him. To the Philippians he said,
" I have you in my heart." Here he ad
dresses a special exhortation to one called
Archippus, who is described in the Epistle to
Philemon as " Archippus, our fellow-soldier."
Of this man we know next to nothing, yet he
fought side by side with the foremost warrior
in the Church. Possibly Archippus, like
many of ourselves, needed a frequent word of
exhortation and encouragement. Paul was
emphatically the man to speak such a word :
" Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to
all the flock, oyer the which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to feed the church
of God, which He hath purchased with His
own blood" (Acts xx. 28).

THE COLOSSIANS 105
Then the final word — the salutation by
the hand of Paul, a hand often imprisoned,
but a hand always free where service was
to be rendered to truth and love. Even at
this moment Paul was a prisoner, yet from
within the prison he breathed out benediction
upon those who loved the Lord Jesus Christ.
He did not say, "Wealth be to you, pros
perity, worldly honour," but, " Grace be with
you. All the fruits of the Spirit be with you !
All the blessings of heaven make you
glad and strong ! " Great hearts breathe
great prayers.

CONCLUDING PRAYER
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it
is in heaven. Bring in Thy kingdom, Father of
lights, and bring it in with power, so that we may feel
its passion, and respond to its music, and obey its laws.
We have heard of Thy kingdom ; Thy Son has put it
into parables for us. We have listened to the gracious
words that have proceeded out of His mouth, and we
say, " Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven." Thine is a kingdom of light and
love, of security, and tenderness, and rest. Oh that
Thy kingdom would come ! Even so, Lord Jesus,

106 EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS
come quickly — not in our way, but in Thine own way ;
whether visibly or providentially, or by increase of
grace and enthusiasm in the hearts of men, we shall
know Thy coming. There is no coming like Thine.
0 Jesus, come quickly, for the earth awaits Thee and
longs to know thy power! Make Thyself visible
to us in our hearts ; may our hearts see Thee, and
may we know the power of Christ, all-redeeming,
all-atoning in the forgiveness, the conscious pardon of
our sins. We bless Thee that Thou art a King and
Thou hast a kingdom, and dost rule in righteousness,
and Thy throne is founded upon justice and order and
love. May we expect to know Thy law and endeavour
humbly and resolutely to obey it. We bless Thee for
the gathering time when man touches man, when we
are conscious that we are in our Father's house. Let
the light above the brightness of the sun make this
evening service a time of peculiar glory. If we have
any singular sorrow for which there is no speech that
may be uttered in public, the Lord send comfort, a
rent in the cloud which may mean the door of heaven.

THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON
A LONG with this Epistle to the Colossians
-^-A- there was a private or personal letter
carried by the same letter-carrier, into the
contents of which we may be permitted to
look. Perhaps the style of the Apostle will
change as he abandons for the moment what
may be called the episcopal or official atti
tude, and begins to tell his thoughts in a
more simple and friendly manner. Onesimus
is the letter-carrier — no doubt a surprising
messenger to the astounded Philemon. He
knew the face well. He associated with
that face memories of disobedience, theft,
cowardice, and many other disagreeable remi
niscences. It is by the hand of this man
that Paul sends his great Epistle to the
Colossian church ! And yet not by this
man at all, for " if any man be in Christ
Jesus he is a new creature," and Onesimus
107

108 THE EPISTLE TO
was now in Christ Jesus, and was no longer
the thief and the runaway of other days.
How will Paul introduce such a man to such
a master ? Philemon was probably the pastor,
or bishop, of the church at Colosse. Though
a pastor, he was a slaveholder, a circumstance
which we must not judge by modern standards.
Christianity took the world as it found it, and
began as it could and where it could to intro
duce the sublime mystery of the New Man
hood. Christianity is a Regeneration as well
as a Redemption. The redemption comes first,
and the regeneration follows as a completing
ministry. Let us read the private letter to
Philemon in our own English way. Then
the Epistle will run somewhat after this
fashion : My dearly beloved Philemon, though
absent, yet present ; though denied to
the eyes of my body, yet ever vividly
present to the vision of my soul, — I
have a word to say to thee, and to
the church that is in thy house, my
faithful fellow-labourer. At the point
of labour we meet as equals. We have

PHILEMON 109
both laboured, and by labour we have
come into fellowship and into the better
understanding of one another, both as
men and as workers in the Master's
service. A sense of original brother
hood has been created in us because
we have been moved by the same in
spirations and upheld by the same
hopes. I mean this letter to be speci
ally perused by our beloved Apphia,
thy sweet and loving wife, for I want
to interest her sympathies in the deli
cate cause which I am about to plead. I
am near and dear to thee, but Apphia
is nearer and dearer still, and I am
sure that her great womanly heart
will instantly catch my meaning and
cordially respond to my appeal. I
want thy son Archippus also to be
interested in this matter. He is a
fellow-soldier and a minister of Christ,
and I have exhorted him in my general
Epistle to take heed to his ministry,
and to do all in his power to carry
out the will of the Holy Ghost therein.
By-and-by I should like the church

110 THE EPISTLE TO
which is in thy house to know the
purport of this letter, and to support
thee in carrying out my benevolent
design. Grace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. If
you realise this grace and this peace,
there will be created in your souls an
atmosphere favourable to the considera
tion of my appeal. Let me say at the
very beginning that thy name is con
tinually on my lips in expressions of
thankfulness, " always in my prayers."
I am constantly hearing of thy love
and faith. I want them both to be
come larger day by day. I want thy
faith and thy love to create a great
communion (communication) between
thyself and all the world. Philemon,
and Apphia, and Archippus are names
which stand to me for the refreshment
of the church, shown in great hospi
tality alike for the body and for the
soul. Your names are a perpetual
joy to me. Now I want to ask a
favour — indeed, it is in my heart to
press a claim. I could speak with

PHILEMON 111
the boldness of a commandment, but
I would rather speak for love's sake
in a tone of gracious pleading. Re
member that I am a prisoner of Jesus
Christ. Remember also that I am
now such a one as Paul the aged. I
am only between fifty and sixty years
of age, which cannot be called old in
years — but remember my strife, my
conflict, my continual sorrow, and
heaviness of heart ; remember how I
have suffered many things for the Lord
Jesus Christ, and would on no account
have suffered one stroke the fewer;
remember there is upon me all the
care of the churches — neither night
nor day have I undisturbed tranquillity.
It is, as it were, clothed with all these
characteristics that I now come before
thee, almost on bended knees, and ask
a favour at thy hands. In a word,
I want thee to take back the runaway
slave Onesimus ! Once he was unpro-
able, though his name means " profit-
fitable." He belies his name. But he
is no longer unprofitable, because I

112 THE EPISTLE TO
have begotten him in my bonds. He
is now a sound-hearted Christian man.
In Christ he is my equal and thine.
I love him as a man might love a
favourite son — at one point, indeed,
I thought of accepting him in thine
own stead. I know thy kind-hearted
ness towards me, and that thou wouldst
like Onesimus to represent thee in
service ; but on reflection I think it
right that Onesimus should appear in
bodily form, put himself within thy
reach, subject to all the penalties of
the law, or receive from thy hand the
sign and token of pardon which I
am sure thou wilt not withhold. If
Onesimus could be sent back to me, he
will be received with the greatest joy,
especially as I should feel that I had
not then held him of necessity, but, as
it were, willingly, a direct and precious
benefit conferred by thine own hand.
If I look at these matters in their true
light, and assign them their largest
interpretation, I begin to see that
Onesimus departed from thee for a

PHILEMON 113
season that thou shouldst receive him
for ever. Our dear Lord spake a
parable of the prodigal son. Onesimus
was a prodigal slave ; now he returns
to thee not as a servant, but more than
a servant — a brother beloved, specially
to me, but how much more unto thee,
both in the flesh and in the Lord ?
The whole matter then comes to this :
if I am thy partner, receive Onesimus
as if he were myself. From what he
has told me I have no doubt that he
has been a thief as well as a run
away. I am quite willing to make
myself responsible for anything which
he may have taken from thee. " If
he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee
ought, put that on mine account." I
write this bond with mine own hand.
I am not going to make a debtor and
creditor account of it, saying though
I owe thee Onesimus, or hold myself
responsible for him, I will not put on
the other side of the account the fact
that thou dost owe unto me even thine
own self. There shall be no debtor
8

114 THE EPISTLE TO
and creditor account in a matter so
holy and so tender. Brother, let me
have joy in thee : give my spirit rest.
I have absolute confidence in thy
obedience — nay, more, I am sure that
thou wilt also do more than I say.
Love does not give in any grudging
fashion ; its gifts are heaped up,
pressed down, running over. I want
an answer, as it were, by return: I
would hire the lightning to bring back
thy reply. I believe a great answer
of love will escape thy heart before
thou hast time to put it into adequate
words. I lay my request before thee,
and before thy beloved wife and son ;
I can add no more. The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Suppose we knew nothing about the Apostle
Paul but what we can infer from his Epistle
to the Colossians, and his private letter to
Philemon, what estimate would we form of
him ? How would he rank amongst men as
to character, strength, capacity, episcopal

PHILEMON 115
statesmanship ? Observe our area of know
ledge and inference is for the moment strictly
limited to these Epistles. For the time being
we have to exclude all other knowledge of
the character and service of the Apostle Paul.
Are we interested in the man as he is revealed
in these Epistles ? Does he assume the pro
portions and the impressiveness of a truly
historical study ? Is he marked by any high
degree of quality P Is he superficial or pro
found ? Is he hypocritical or sincere ? He
must at some point, and in some way, show
his real nature. We are entitled to regard
him critically because he makes so large a
claim upon our attention.
1. Personally I should have no hesitation
in pronouncing Paul, as he is self -portrayed
in these Epistles, as an intensely religious
man. From beginning to end the tone is
sublimely religious. There is no hint of
commerce being an element of his religion,
or of religion being an aspect of commerce.
The religion seems to be simple and definite,
without complication, and without suggestion
of any ulterior thought or motive. The

116 THE EPISTLE TO
Apostle Paul comes forth from the very
presence of God. There is a shining upon
his face which must have been caught in
a high light. He has heard the ineffable
psalm of eternity, and he desires to express
some note or sob of the far-away music.
From no mean hut or gaudy palace of man's
building does this weird Apostle come to tell
of the littleness of the one or gilded empti
ness of the other. He does not appeal to
our vision as the white cloud of some tran
sient summer day. The ages are round about
him as a garment, the spaces widen them
selves into infinity when he attempts to
picture their magnitude, and the planet-
lights burn into the whitest day that ever
transfigured the sky into an emblem of
purity. Judged by these Epistles, Paul is
a truly great soul. Religion is to him no
pastime, no pious recreation, no experiment
in intellectual gymnastics. He is not a solver
of problems; he is a student of revelations.
To Paul religion is awful, lonely, ghostly,
"unspeakable, and full of glory." It is
along this high level of thought and experi
ence that he comes to us with his grand

PHILEMON 117
appeals. He creates a great hush of ex
pectancy : there can be no common words
uttered by a man who has been long closeted
with Christ. Great conceptions awaken great
interest. This man tells us of mountains that
abase all other hills, and make them pimples
too small to be counted or measured. This
man tells of oceans compared with which
all other seas shrink into drops of rain.
How great, how solemn, how overpowering
are his words ! Take a cluster of them :
" The inheritance of the saints in light " ;
" Redemption " ; " Forgiveness " ; " The Son
who is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of every creature " ; " The Son by
whom were all things created, whether they
be thrones, or dominions, or principalities,
or powers " ; " The Son in whom it pleased
the Father that all fulness should dwell."
He speaks of the mystery that hath been
hidden from ages and from generations, and
he speaks of a blood, precious in the sight
of God, that makes forgiveness ancl holiness
possible to mankind. Before such themes
other topics fall into silence and slink away
in conscious self-contempt. Truly the writer

118 THE EPISTLE TO
of these Epistles has been high up in the
heavens and has heard words that have stirred
his soul.
2. In the next place, Paul is evidently
a master in the art of pleading. These
Epistles prove him to be an expert in reason
ing, in exposition, in appeal. Paul is a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed.
His sense of proportion amounts to genius.
How delicately he approaches Philemon !
What self-restraint, yet what vehemence !
At this moment we may make some use of
what we have heard of Paul in other writings,
and may compare words spoken in other
connections with the words which specially
characterise this Epistle. On one occasion he
said, " Being crafty, we caught them with
guile." Is there not a sacred cunning in
the way which he approaches the all- con
fiding Philemon ? Is he not, with the deft
ness of an expert, making his points one
by one solid and secure as he moves along
the line of his calculated approach ? On
another occasion Paul said, " Weary not in
well doing." In other words, " Weary not in

PHILEMON 119
courtesy, in social gentleness, in mutual
consideration and esteem." In approaching
Philemon, does not Paul obey his own in
junction ? "Welldoing," as the word is
employed by Paul, meant courtesy, good
manners, studied and sincere amiability. On
another occasion Paul said, "We that are
strong ought to bear the infirmities of the
weak." Is not this exactly what Paul does
as the friend of Onesimus ? Paul does not
send Onesimus to plead his own cause, or to
throw himself penitently and apologetically
on the forbearance of his old master. It is
Paul that writes the letter; Onesimus only
delivers it. On another occasion Paul said,
" If any man be overtaken in a fault, ye
which are spiritual restore such an one in
the spirit of meekness." Is not this precisely
what Paul is doing in the case of his spiritual
child ? Is not the Pauline doctrine the greatest
restorative that can be applied to a shattered
soul ?
3. It is perfectly clear, from the method
and tone of these Epistles, that if Paul's case
fails it cannot be from want of sympathetic

120 THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON
and powerful advocacy. In no mere post
script does Paul refer to Onesimus. There
is no casual reference that might easily be
overlooked by the receiver of the Epistle.
The letter has but one topic, one object, one
tone of pleading. It was also characteristic
of Paul that when he preached the Gospel
he preached it with the same vehemence and
holy zeal. If the sermon failed, the blame
of the failure could not be attributed to the
illustrious Apostle. He reasoned of right
eousness, temperance, and judgment to come,
until corrupt men whitened and trembled,
and begged for release from his piercing and
tormenting eloquence. For Paul to live was
Christ. Without a Gospel to preach he would
have been without a reason to live. This
is the man as he unconsciously delineates
his own personality. He is a great character ;
in very deed he is a pillar of the Church.
We can have no doubt that he saw a literal
vision when he beheld the shining of the
crown that was laid up awaiting his entrance
into the higher service.

THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE
THESSALONIANS

INTRODUCTION
f I THE Apostle Paul now begins his episto-
-*- lary ministry. A brief account of his
service at Thessalonica may be useful as
indicating some of the principal associations
which the great Apostle had with that con
spicuous city. In Acts xvii. 2-10 we read
as follows :
" And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them,
and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of
the scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ
must needs have suffered, and risen again from the
dead ; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you,
is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted
with Paul and Silas ; and of the devout Greeks a
great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy,
took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort,
and gathered a company, and set all the city on
an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and
sought to bring them out to the people. And when
they found them not, they drew Jason and certain
brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These
that have turned the world upside down are come
hither also ; whom Jason hath received : and these
123

124 I. THESSALONIANS
all do contrary to the decrees of Csesar, saying that
there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled
the people and the rulers of the city, when they
heard these things. And when they had taken security
of Jason, and of the other, they let them go. And
the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas
by night unto Berea : who coming thither went into
the synagogue of the Jews."

The degree of hostility shown to Paul by
the Thessalonian Jews seems to determine
the fervour of his love to the Thessalonian
Christians. From beginning to end the
Epistle overflows with all the noblest Christ
ian emotions. The Apostle is as one who
would comfort hearts that are in great dis
tress. If the Epistle may be compared to
a vessel, there can be no hesitation in
describing the vessel as overflowing with
the very wine of human love. From a
literary point of view there is next to no
attempt at merely verbal or rhetorical
composition. The Apostle Paul is never
rhetorical in the sense of mere fluency, or
in the sense of elaborate tropes and resonant
periods ; but he is often driven into en
trancing rhetoric by the intensity and noble
ness of his spiritual argument. About this

INTRODUCTION 125
Epistle there is nothing that is mechanical or
formal. In a sense the Epistle is desultory ;
that is to say, the writer leaps suddenly and
almost startlingly from one topic to another,
hardly pausing to complete one argument
before he has set up another. The fine mix
ture of personal recollection and doctrinal
statement can hardly escape the most casual
attention. This is Paul's first Epistle to the
churches, almost the first attempt at any
kind of Christian authorship of a purely
theological or doctrinal kind. The first love-
letter to the churches ! The first outpouring
of the greatest heart known in Christian ex
perience ! Truly we may follow the example
of Moses, and turn aside to see this great
sight. Here is a bush blazing with fire, but
unconsumed. Out of this bush there may
come voices that will enable us to recall
solemnly and thrillingly some of the tones
that proceeded from the bush at the foot
of Horeb. First of all let us familiarise
ourselves with the main points of the Epistle
by setting it forth in a kind of pictorial para
phrase ; and afterwards, as in the case of
Colossians, let us take the Epistle verse by

126 I. THESSALONIANS
verse, and see what it yields of Christian
instruction and spiritual unction.

Paul, and Silvanus (Silas), and
Timotheus, evangelists of Christ, liv
ing, and moving, and having our being
in God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, would send unto you the
best desires of our grateful hearts.
May grace be unto you, and peace
from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ ! May the very air you
breathe be balmy with blessing ! You
can have no idea how fervently we
thank God concerning you all, making
mention of you whenever the hour
of prayer recurs, remembering from
moment to moment your wonderful
work of faith, and toil of love, and
patience of hope. In very deed you
are brethren beloved by God ; you are
the elect of the Father. We know your
election by the sure sign that when
you heard the word of God you
received it not verbally only, but

INTRODUCTION 127
spiritually and with deep conviction.
Ye know what manner of men we
became amongst you for your sakes.
We studied your character and cir
cumstances carefully, and we accom
modated ourselves to the degree of
your intelligence, and the fervour of
your zeal. We cannot but remember
that you became imitators of us and
of the Lord, carefully following our
footsteps as we zealously endeavoured
to follow the footsteps of our glorious
Master. The whole occasion was most
memorable to us because you did not
receive the Gospel on a summer day,
amidst balmy breezes enriched with
the fragrance of aromatic flowers, but
you received the word amidst much
distress. Your circumstances repre
sented an intense trial, but this trial
you overcame by the inward presence
of the Holy Spirit. By the realisation
of that Spirit you counterbalanced all
the afflictions and trials with which
your new life was besieged. You not
only became receivers of the Gospel —

128 I. THESSALONIANS
you became a medium through which
the Gospel was sounded out, not only
in Macedonia and Achaia, but prac
tically everywhere. A wonderful voice
has proceeded from you and gone forth
throughout Macedonia and Achaia, so
that you have to a large extent super
seded the work of missionaries and
evangelists. Everywhere we hear of
the consequences of our evangelistic
visit. We hear that you have thrown
away a senseless idolatry, a futile and
enervating superstition, and that you
are cleaving with steadfastness to the
living and real God, whose Son you
are expecting out of the heavens — the
Son whom God raised out of the dead,
even Jesus, who with a mighty arm
delivers and rescues from the wrath
that cometh.
I need not recall to your minds
how that our entrance in unto you
was not in vain. In no way did it
prove to be vain. You knew what
sufferings we had undergone, and

INTRODUCTION 129
how shamefully entreated we were
at Philippi, and you can testify that
our sufferings had in no way quelled
our courage or staggered our faith.
It sometimes seems to us that our
sufferings gave new nerve to our
courage, and enabled us to speak with
a firmer , boldness all that we knew
of the mystery of the Gospel. We
were not men who spake unto you
after the manner of deceit, or unclean
ness, or guile. There was no trick or
conjuring in our conduct of the evan
gelistic ministry. We regarded our
selves as put in trust with the Gospel :
we were the stewards of God ; fraudu-
lence did not enter into our scheme
or purpose ; as the stewards of the
ministry of God we had but one object
in view, and we thank God that we
were enabled to challenge all men to
convict us of any unworthy thought
or intention. Perhaps, in the estima
tion of the world, we cared too little
for what is known as personal fame
or popularity. We never used the
9

130 I. THESSALONIANS
language of flattery. We can truly
say that to please men was a thought
that never entered into our minds.
We rebuked many, and consequently
we set many in an attitude of
hostility ; but all this was inevitable,
as such was the burden of the Lord
upon us, and such His thrilling call
to sacrifice and to service. So careful
were we that our purpose should
not be impaired in its integrity that
we would not be burdensome to you
as the apostles of Christ. We might
have pressed some reasonable and
honourable claims upon you ; but lest
the Gospel should be misunderstood
or hindered, we refrained even from
the appearance of being burden
some. Ours was the spirit of a gentle
motherhood; and because we were
affectionately desirous of you all, we
were well pleased not only to tell
all we knew of the Gospel of God —
we were prepared to forfeit our own
lives if by any means we might save
some. You know we were not idle

INTRODUCTION 131
amongst you. You remember our
toil and labour — how we turned night
into day, and how we worked with
our own hands in order to earn our
own bread. All these considerations
you must keep before your minds,
not only as so many happy memories,
but as so many strong points in a
high argument. Some day we may
have need to call for witness as to
the purity and unselfishness of our
service, and in that day it will be
our joy to call you Thessalonian
brethren as our witnesses, how holily
and justly and unblamably we were
amongst you. You will be able to
say that we were amongst you as a
father, encouraging you, and comfort
ing you, and appealing to you, our
desire being that ye might walk
worthy of God, who hath called you
unto His kingdom and glory.
How gratefully and fervently we
thank God without ceasing, that you
received the word of God from our

132 I. THESSALONIANS
lips, not as the word of men, but even
as it is truly the word of God, which
effectually worketh also in you that
believe. There was nothing foolishly
individual or ostentatiously independ
ent about you. In our Thessalonian
work we were unconscious of any
desire on your part to lead where it
was your duty only to follow. You
became imitators of the congregations
of God which are in Judaea. You
suffered the same things by your
countrymen that the Christians re
ceived at the hands of the Jews, who
killed both the Lord Jesus and the
prophets, and drove us out. One in
suffering, you became with them one
in service, in conduct, and in hope.
All bad men we must leave in the
hands of God, for the divine wrath
will come upon them unto comple
tion. Avenge not yourselves. Rejoice
always, and commit yourselves to
unceasing prayer, and God will see
to the honour of His own name. We
have felt our separation from you,

INTRODUCTION 133
but we rejoice that we were only
orphaned from you for an hour or
two, and we were orphaned in face
only, not in heart. We feel as if
bereaved of our children, and you
probably feel as if bereaved of your
parents. Let not your heart be
troubled, the separation is in face
only ; not for a moment is there any
orphanhood of heart. Our separation
made us long for you with great
desire. We would have come to you
once and again, but Satan hindered
us. Difficulties were thrown in our
way which we could not trace to the
divine providence, and for which we
could only account by the most
malignant agency. Brethren, you do
not know how much you are to us.
You are our wreath of triumph ; our
hope and joy ; the sheaves which will
yield us bread in the hour of hunger
and distress.
I had a severe trial at Athens.
You know that I have but little

134 I. THESSALONIANS
company in working out my perilous
and fateful apostleship. I was so
anxious about you, anxious to know
your spiritual condition, that I sent
Timotheus, our brother, and minister
of God, that he might communicate
with you, and establish and encourage
you concerning your faith. I could
not but wonder how you would bear
your sorrow. Even whilst we were with
you we told you that we should have
to suffer tribulations, and that the
tempter would deal sorely with us.
Now that Timotheus is back again
we are encouraged and thankful, and
our very affliction and distress have
been sanctified by means of your
faith. Now we live, if you stand fast
in the Lord. You have fought the
good fight, and won the promised
victory. We joy for your sakes
before our God. We feel as if we
wanted to give you something out of
the treasure with which God has
enriched our own hearts. God bring
us together again soon that in a

INTRODUCTION 135
common fellowship we may find a
common joy. May the Lord make
you increase and abound in your love
towards each other and towards all,
even as we also abound in love
towards you. God establish your
hearts in holiness. God enable you
by a new and ever-brightening vision
to see how the Lord Jesus and His
holy ones are always coming from
heaven. There is one remaining thing to
which I must call your attention.
You know our desires and prayers for
you. Now, in the Lord Jesus, I exhort
you to walk and to please God in the
one thing which I am about to name.
We wish you to stand fast in Gospel
purity, and in this to abound more and
more. You know what command
ments or announcements we trans
mitted unto you by the Lord Jesus.
As the word of command is passed
from soldier to soldier, and from
teacher to teacher, so we continue the

136 I. THESSALONIANS
holy announcement that the will of
God is your sanctification. That is
the great end and purpose of Gospel
doctrine and practice. Without holi
ness no man shall see the Lord. But
holiness is not a state that can be
reached by leaps and bounds ; it is
the last point in an often slow
evolution. If you would acquire true
holiness, you will have to begin
by cutting off favourite sins and
giving a distinct " No " to subtle
and insistent temptations. Some of
you can hardly begin in the soul ;
you can only make a beginning in
the body. In this case holiness begins
by abstinence — abstinence from bodily
evil, from every form of bodily debase
ment, from the very vulgarity of sin.
Having taken up this negative position,
you have not made a very large ad
vance in the direction of holiness —
but most assuredly you have made an
advance in the right direction, and
what you have to do is to persevere
until that which is almost a cruel

INTRODUCTION 137
sacrifice becomes a spiritual delight.
You must be got out of the merely
animal state. It is an infinite discredit
to a man that he should herd with the
cattle or find satisfaction with the
beasts of the jungle. In Jesus Christ
men are called to a higher manhood,
to a nobler temperance, to an exem
plary moderation. A man may begin
as an almost beast, then he may
proceed to a Gentile licentiousness;
but only in Christ Jesus can he by
faith and grace pass into the state
of consecration. Know, brethren be
loved, that God has called you unto
holiness. To make His call effective
He has given unto you His Holy
Spirit. The function of the Holy
Spirit is to make holy men. In the
degree in which you aspire after holi
ness you may rest assured that the
Holy Spirit is operating mightily
within your soul. This is the one
remaining thing which I wish to say,
and of which I make a special and
even an essential point.

138 I. THESSALONIANS
Whatever exhortation you may need
in the matter of bodily consecration,
happily, I need not say a word to
you regarding brotherly love. There
you are an example to all the churches.
Ye yourselves are taught of God to the
end that ye should love one another.
It is delightful to us to observe how
the spirit of brotherliness prevails in
your souls. In the matter of brotherly
love you are the benefactors and
teachers of us all ; your example tells
upon all the brethren in the whole of
Macedonia. Do let us encourage you
to abound more and more, to renounce
all foolish ambition, to find enjoyment
in quietness, and satisfaction in honest
personal labour. Not only have you
to show brotherly love to all who are
fellow-believers, but you have to walk
becomingly and honestly towards those
who are without. Every outward want
must be supplied by your own honest
labour; then you will be able so to
live as not to bring upon yourselves
the suspicion that you only do social

INTRODUCTION 139
good that you may secure social
reward. Now a word upon another subject.
I would not that ye be ignorant con
cerning them that are laid to sleep,
that ye be not grieved even like pagans
who have no hope. You can look upon
your lost friends in one of two ways —
you can regard them as utterly blotted
out, as having no more place or force
in all the creation of God, or you can
regard them as promoted to a higher
scene, introduced into a nobler fellow
ship, engaged in a loftier and wider
service. With regard to those of us
who are Christians this matter has
been settled for us. We believe that
Jesus died and rose again, and for that
reason we have the glad assurance that
all those who sleep in Jesus, who are
laid to sleep on His breast, shall
God bring with Him. That is the
Christian conception of the future life.
If it were but an ideal, it would take
its place at the very head of all other

140 I. THESSALONIANS
conceptions of death and its issues.
We stand or fall in Jesus Christ. If
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead,
then the future of Christian believers
is an assured immortality. When you
think of the branch, think of the root.
No man can rise of himself, but every
man can rise in Christ Jesus. About
all this we have a grand poetic con
ception. We believe that the Lord
Himself, in the voice of archangel and
in trumpet of God, even amidst the
trumpetings of the Eternal One, shall
descend from heaven, and the dead in
Christ shall rise, and as for those of us
who may be living at the time, we
shall be caught away amidst the clouds
unto the meeting of the Lord in the
air. We do not know how all this is
to come to pass. In the meantime our
souls are fixed upon a great faith, upon
a faith so grand, indeed, that it can
afford calmly to leave all details as
to method and time in the hands of
God. Encourage one another with
these words. Do not disquiet your-

INTRODUCTION 141
selves by going in quest of verbal
criticism and statement, but fill your
souls with the idea that when Christ
appears ye also shall appear with Him
in glory, and fix your minds upon the
ennobling thought that your life stands
or falls with the life of Christ. How
glad you should be in thinking of
these things ! How lifted above all
petty anxiety, and how independent of
the perplexing criticisms of men whose
piety is constantly limited by the
narrow and spiritless letter ! Never let
your courage go down. Lift up your
souls to the hills, whence cometh your
help, and know that the Christian rests
upon the promise, even upon the oath,
of Him who died for the sins of the
world. The Redeemer who shed His
precious blood is not likely to make
light of the word or oath of His own
soul. When I speak of these great events
you will naturally wish me to go into
precise details as to time and seasons,

142 I. THESSALONIANS
but really there is no reason for me
to write anything upon such points.
You yourselves know that the day
of the Lord so cometh as a thief in
the night. It is much better to have
a general faith than to vex the mind
with particular details. You know
that you will die, but you have no
idea as to the particular day of your
death. So let it be in the matter of
the coming of the Lord. The fact is
perfectly sure, but what the hour will
be is a secret of the Lord. When
men shall say, " Peace and safety,"
then a sudden destruction sets upon
them. Put no faith in ignorant human
forecasts. It is enough for you to
know that there is a day of the Lord,
and that it will surely come. You
need not walk in darkness : you are
the children of light, and the children
of the day ; we are not of the night
nor of darkness. Let us not sleep,
as do others, but let us live in wake
fulness and sobriety. They who sleep,
sleep by night, and those who become

INTRODUCTION 143
drunken are drunken in the night;
but with the night we have nothing
to do. We are children of the day,
citizens of the great metropolis of light.
On our breast is the thick plate of
faith and love, and our head-covering,
our helmet, is nothing less than a hope
of salvation. God has not appointed
us to wrath, but to acquire salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died
for us that whether we must be awake,
or whether we must sleep, we might
live together with Him. Fix your
minds and hearts on the all-saving
truth that Christ's death was followed
and completed by His resurrection for
the express purpose to secure for us
a vital union with Himself. Not
our bodies, but our souls are in vital
and indissoluble union with Christ.
" The world seeth Me no more ; but
ye see Me : because I live ye shall
live also." Edify yourselves, build
up one another, belong to one another
as parts of the same great structure.
Regard yourselves as a living temple —

144 I. THESSALONIANS
the very house or sanctuary of God.
" Know ye not that ye are the temple
of God." If you would really comfort
yourselves, you must edify one another.
Every man can help to build up some
other man's character.
Brethren, recognise and appreciate
those who minister to you in spiritual
things. You cannot understand how
truly dear you are to the pastoral
heart. Do not withdraw your en
couragement from those who are over
you in the Lord simply because they
may sometimes admonish and even
rebuke you. A rebuke may be the
beginning of a benediction. Esteem
your ministers and spiritual leaders
exceeding highly in love because of
their work. Always be at peace
among yourselves. You as a church
have a great disciplinary work to do,
inasmuch as you have to warn them
that are unruly, and comfort the
feeble-minded ; you have to support
the weak, and to be patient and

INTRODUCTION 145
longsuffering with all men. Remem
ber the Master, and forbear yourselves
when tempted to render evil for evil
to any man. Remember when Christ
was reviled He reviled not again.
Always set before you a high example,
and follow that which is good with
a steady, patient desire and service.
Do not regard these exhortations as
intended to depress and discourage
you. We rather call upon you to
rejoice always, and to pray un
ceasingly. In everything give thanks,
for this is God's will in His Son Jesus
Christ. Never quench the Holy Spirit ;
never even grieve the Spirit. Do not
despise the highest gifts which Christ
has conferred upon His Church. We
exhort you not to despise prophesy-
ings. The Church will always have its
prophets, and its high moods, and its
thrilling enthusiasms — and it is never
for men of cold nature or uninspired
temper to criticise the prophets whom
God hath clothed with singing robes,
and whom God hath commissioned to
10

146 I. THESSALONIANS
declare the highest mysteries of His
kingdom. Give reason its due place
in your Christian education — prove,
test, try everything, and hold fast
that which is good. From every evil
appearance abstain : then the very God
of peace will sanctify you wholly ; and
I pray God your whole spirit and soul
and body be preserved blamelessly
unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The divine faithfulness is
your security ; the gift and calling
of God are without repentance. God
will redeem His oath. Brethren, pray
for us. Salute the brethren all of them
in a holy kiss. Let this epistle be
read unto all the holy brethren. If
you have any divine treasure, call
others to share it. Farewell. The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you. Amen.

PRAYER BEFORE PERUSAL
0 Thou, who hast redeemed Thy Church with the
precious blood of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, we bless
Thee for the mighty men who have led Thy hosts in
the day of battle and grievous distress. We thank
Thee for all the epistles of love which such men wrote
to churches who were bowed down with great sorrow,
and whose own help had utterly gone out of their
sinking hearts. We thank Thee for the noble apostles
and leaders who kept the torch of truth burning when
the wind of opposition had grown into a furious storm.
Our hearts are filled with joy when we think of the
men who endured fiery trials, and came out of the
furnace singing a new song, and lifting to the sun
banners of victory. Thou hast led Thy Church through
many a wilderness, and brought her, according to Thy
purpose of grace, to the green and luxuriant Canaan
of Thy eternal love. Thou hast never suffered Thy
Church to be tempted above that she was able to bear,
but with every temptation Thou hast found a way of
escape. We thank Thee for heroic hearts. We bless
Thee for lives that have never given room to the
enemy, no, not for a single hour. May we follow
those who, by faith and patience, have followed the
147

148 PRAYER BEFORE PERUSAL
Lamb through all the way of the wilderness, and up
all the high hills of frowning difficulty! We bless
Thee for the expectations which have kept our hope
alive ; we specially thank Thee for the expectation of
our Lord's coming, whether personally in all radiant
visibleness, or whether providentially in all the
changing relations and aspects of life, whether in the
hidden sanctuary of the soul or in the outward temple
of daily providence. Lord Jesus, come quickly ! Our
sins are many, but Thy grace outweighs them all !
Come quickly, for our hearts are aching and are
yearning to cling to Thee as their only hope and
strength. The Lord be with us in reading this letter
of love from the greatest of the apostles ; open our
eyes that we may see wondrous things in this expres
sion of the heart, and may the benediction which the
Apostle prayed to rest upon the Thessalonians rest
abundantly upon ourselves in the valley of darkness
and in the furnace of greatest trial ! Amen.

CHAPTER I
rriHIS is emphatically an Epistle from the
-*- heart, and is in a sense more social in
its authority than individual. Three men
are taking part in the action of this Epistle.
Paul does not represent himself as officially
superior to Silvanus and Timotheus. The
title " Apostle " is omitted, and the three
men proceed in a threefold unity to touch
upon some of the great mysteries and com
mandments of the Christian Gospel. Paul
is the undoubted author of the Epistle, but
he speaks so definitely in the plural number
that Silvanus and Timotheus may be regarded
as fellow-authors of this letter of wisdom and
love. The circumstance is by no means
insignificant. Jesus Christ Himself is never
associated with any other speaker or writer.
He communicated with men as from the
sanctuary of eternity ; and when He elected
149

150 THE FIRST EPISTLE
to be represented by a ministry of men, the
election was personal, sovereign, and absolute.
The Apostles represent, not displace or super
sede, Christ. Whether Paul writes in his
own name or associates himself with the
names of fellow-labourers, they altogether go
back to Christ as their origin, and establish
themselves upon His authority as supreme
and indivisible.
Verse 1 : " Grace be unto you, and peace, from
God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."
This is the atmosphere in which the whole
Epistle is conceived and put together. The
apostolic letters were never mere literary
fragments ; they were written as if at the
throne of God and issued with all the
solemnity and sanctity of conscious eternity.
The apostolic letters are fine specimens of
sanctified criticism. They were never bare
letters or mere intellectual efforts, or simply
social ceremonies ; they are first of all and
last of all deeply and intensely religious.
The Apostles had nothing to say of them
selves ; they were interpreters of a mystery,
or the channels of a blessing.

TO THE THESSALONIANS 151
Verse 2 : "We give thanks to God always for
you all, making mention of you in our prayers."
Out of such an introduction what can come
but peace and blessing and multiplied tokens
of brotherhood ? Good counsel can only be
given effectively in a good spirit. Any
failure or weakness at the religious point
means stumbling and ineffectiveness at
points supposed to be practical and operative.
When we truly pray for our correspondents
we can write to them with edification.
Whenever the Thessalonian church, for
which Paul must have had peculiar affection,
occurred to the minds of the writers, it
impelled them to fervent prayer that all
the joy of heaven might be ministered to
them as they were able to receive the
ineffable gladness.
Verse 3 : " B,emembering without ceasing your
work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of
hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God
and our Father."
In the Thessalonian church speculation
was superseded by work. What a happy
connection of terms is this of work and faith,
labour and love, patience and hope ! This

152 THE FIRST EPISTLE
is an instance of the finest spiritual disci
pline. It is also a striking illustration of
the working of the law of cause and effect.
For example, where there is faith there must
be work, and where there is right work there
must be the right faith. Where there is love
there must be labour, and where there is
consecrated labour there must be love after
the quality of Christ's own affection. Where
there is patience it must be because there is
hope, and where there is hope there will be no
difficulty in supplying the necessary patience.
The work, the faith, the labour, the love,
the hope, are all connected with the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and are regarded
as being practised and exemplified in the
sight of God our Father. Here are no
frivolous personal compliments. Here there
is no indication that the Thessalonians were
straining themselves in an almost impossible
attempt to be impossibly good. The apostolic
salutation may well be described as an
apostolic argument. All the wonders of the
spiritual life of the church of Thessalonica
are ascribed to the almightiness and the all-
graciousness of the Spirit of God. Men may

TO THE THESSALONIANS 153
paint apples, but only God can grow them.
Men may make great efforts at goodness and
strain themselves to the point of exhaustion,
or even destruction ; but they can do all
things through Christ who strengtheneth
them. He is the enabling Christ — the Christ
who gives power and whose power makes
every Christian effort a thrilling delight.
Verses 4, 5 : " Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God. For our gospel came not unto you
in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance ; as ye know what
manner of men we were among you for your sake."
Here again we have marked distinctions
in the application of terms, notably in the
case of " word " as distinguished from
"power," and of "men" as distinguished
from the " Holy Ghost." Up to this point
we have had mention only of God our Father,
and the Lord Jesus Christ, but now we have
definite reference to the personality and
power of the Holy Ghost. There is a dis
tressing possibility that men may know the
Gospel only in the word or letter. Men
may admire the Psalms without singing
them, or men may sing the words of the

154 THE FIRST EPISTLE
Psalms without knowing the power and the
comfort of their spirit. There is also a
distressing possibility that in hearing the
Gospel men may listen rather to the elo
quence than to the doctrine. Truly such
hearing means loss to the soul and the
possible loss of the soul itself. The heart
knows when it is being penetrated and
searched by the power of the Gospel. The
Gospel affects motive, temper, disposition, and
moulds character, and constrains character
to interpret and explain itself in ungrudging
and helpful service on behalf of others. The
Gospel does not come to the heart as an
argument that is barely sufficient, or as an
answer that narrowly meets the necessities
of the soul — it comes in power and in much
assurance, like proof upon proof, evidence
upon evidence, mountain piled upon moun
tain, as if the altitude might touch the very
vicinage of heaven. Christians are not nar
rowly saved — saved with an effort, saved with
distress to the Saviour, as if one ounce added
to the burden would crush His strength;
they are saved abundantly, with an im
measurable overflow of strength ; they are

TO THE THESSALONIANS 155
saved with all the fulness of the love of
God. By omitting the article and leaving
"Holy Ghost " to stand alone we come upon
a declaration of the enthusiasm and the
passion which are properly connected with
the whole idea and purpose of the Gospel;
then the passage might read, " the Gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also
in power and in enthusiasm, and in holy
passion, and in sevenfold assurance of your
acceptance with God." You saw what we
were when we were amongst you. You
caught the holy contagion. We burned in
a common fever of love.
Verses 6, 7 : " And ye became followers of us,
and of the Lord, having received the word in much
affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost : so that ye
were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and
Achaia."
The word " followers " must not be under
stood as equal to " disciples," as if the
writers of the Epistle were supreme teachers
and the Thessalonian believers were only
pupils. The Thessalonians were regarded as
"imitators," as following the Apostles and
teachers as the Apostles and teachers followed

156 THE FIRST EPISTLE
Christ. The faith of the Thessalonians was
tested by " much affliction." This is the
true test of the sincerity and reality of faith.
Have we been tried in the furnace ? Have
we tested our faith under circumstances of
loss and pain and helplessness ? Where
the Gospel is only an intellectual possession,
some thief may break through and steal ;
when we have known the power of Christ
in the furnace, or in the wilderness, or in
the valley of the shadow of death, our life
is hid with Christ in God, and no thief can
deprive us of such unspeakable wealth. The
holy church of Thessalonica became a model
church. There is a unit of the individual ;
there is a unit of the church; there is a
unit of the nation. Instead of " ensamples "
read "ensample," and then you are face to
face with the idea that the church in its
corporate capacity represented an almost per
sonal spiritual beauty and strength.
Verses 8-10: "For from you sounded out the
word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place your faith to God-ward is
spread abroad ; so that we need not to speak anything.
For they themselves shew of us what manner of
entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to

TO THE THESSALONIANS 157
God from idols to serve the living and true God ;
and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He
raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered
us from the wrath to come."

Here is a marked illustration of the ever-
widening influence of true spirituality of
soul. The influence of the Thessalonians
could not be confined to Roman Greece ; it
went out to the regions beyond, sounding
over and over again, until those who were
far off heard and answered the solemn music.
It was not necessary to say anything about
work at Thessalonica ; the work spoke for
itself. This must always be the case. The
work must announce or report its own energy
and beneficence, otherwise anything that can
be said about it will be mere fleshly demon
stration or unmusical noise. The Church
of Christ must be so penetrated by the Spirit
of Christ that those who are outside can
have no difficulty in believing in the funda
mental doctrine of the Incarnation of God.
The Apostle insists that conversion is not
a mere change of opinion, or a simple
variety of attitude ; it is a complete turning
to God, to serve the living and true God,

158 I. THESSALONIANS
and to hold in utterest contempt the paltry
idols that once fascinated our imagination
or seduced us into irrational obedience after
the manner of superstition, and not after the
manner of the highest reason. We best wait
for the Son of God from heaven by serving
the living and true God upon earth. Our
time of waiting is shortened by our diligence
and energy in service. If we sit down under
the pretence that we are waiting for the
descending Christ, this one day shall be as
a thousand years; but if we work mightily
and lovingly in a very fury of holy passion,
then our waiting will be no longer a burden,
or an oppressive sense of time — a thousand
years will be as one day.

CHAPTER II
Verses 1,2:" For yourselves, brethren, know our
entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain : but even
after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully
entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in
our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with
much contention."
~V7"OU remember our coming amongst you,
-*- and you will confirm my word when
I remind you that our anxiety did not prove
in vain. The visit did not end in itself; it
was followed by very striking and memorable
consequences. This is the way in which we
must always measure our conduct throughout
the whole development of the Christian life.
This is also the true way of giving religious
reports, or representing religious statistics.
We are not content with the numeral facts ;
we must carry our whole inspired imagination
into the necessary train of sequences. How
large, then, may become what is in itself
159

160 THE FIRST EPISTLE
an insignificant circumstance ! If we look
at the acorn as a quantity which a child
may handle, we shall be doing injustice to
the possibilities of that pregnant seed. We
must look forward to the oak and all its
living acorns, and beyond that we must
look to the forests which are thus represented
in possibility. If we so regard Christian
work, we shall understand how true it is
that "there shall be a handful of corn on
the top of the mountains ; the fruit thereof
shall shake like Lebanon."
Our visit to you would have been utterly
futile, an event without record or memory,
if we had allowed ourselves to be overborne
or disheartened by the persecutions we had
endured at Philippi, where we were outraged
and treated with all manner of contumely
and insult. We came to you fresh from
the furnace of suffering, and with undaunted
courage we took up the work for which we
had suffered so severely. The scars which
were upon our wounded flesh were so many
insignia of honour. We kissed our wounds
as a rewarded soldier might kiss his medals,

TO THE THESSALONIANS 161
and we took heart to dare the enemy with
steadfast courage in the open field. You
remember that we were almost audacious ;
our mouth was open, and out of it streamed
speech, free and candid. We did not muffle
our voices because our backs had been
flagellated. Our gospel was the Gospel qf
God, or the Gospel in God. You see how
constantly we go back to the sanctuary for
the renewal of our courage and the restora
tion of our strength. We do not forget the
contention with which we were confronted;
the struggle, the conflict, the fight, we must
remember for ever. We struggled against
difficulties, and. we overcame them all ; we
endured distress, and passed through the
darkened aisles of trouble and forsakenness
into the crystal sanctuary of light and peace
and triumphant music.
Verses 3, 4 : " For our exhortation was not of
deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile : but as we
were allowed of God to be put in trust with the
gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but
God, which trieth our hearts."
This is the explanation of our frankness
or audacity. If we had been speaking out
11

162 THE FIRST EPISTLE
of a doubtful mind, we should have spoken in
a hesitant tone. It is faith that determines
a man's service. If we had been conscious
of any misgivings about our doctrine or any
suspicions as to our motives, then, indeed,
our fortitude would have forsaken us ; our
tone might have been blatant, but it would
have lacked the military tone, the piercing
warrior psean which is a sure sign of inward
and spiritual strength. We did not suffer
from a deceitful or wandering mind, which
always accompanies religious delusion and
speculative uncertainty. When the preacher
is uncertain in his own soul it is impossible
that his trumpet can give a certain sound.
In the whole Christian ministry holiness is
power. We received our ministry from God,
by whom we were put in trust with the
Gospel. God made us trustees of the holy
oracles. Paul was entrusted with a steward
ship. He says, "A dispensation of the gospel
is committed unto me " (1 Cor. ix. 17). And
again he says, "According to the glorious
Gospel of the blessed God, which was com
mitted to my trust " (1 Tim. i. 11). He who
has been face to face with God will not fear

TO THE THESSALONIANS 163
the face of man. We do not like to be men-
pleasers or eye-servants. " If I yet pleased
men, I should not be the servant of Christ "
(Gal. i. 10). We made no pretence amongst
you that we were seeking mere popularity;
from the beginning to the end of our ministry
we honestly sought the smile of God.
Verses 5-9 : " For neither at any time used we
flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of
covetousness ; God is witness : nor of men sought
we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when
we might have been burdensome as the apostles of
Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a
nurse cherisheth her children : so being affectionately
desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted
unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our
own souls, because ye were dear unto us. For ye
remember, brethren, our labour and travail : for
labouring night and day, because we would not be
chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you
the gospel of God."
We know that in addressing multitudes of
men there is a strong temptation to speak
flattering words. Instead of eliciting cheers
we evoked every possible sign of contempt
and revulsion. If we had been speaking in
our own name, we might have been seduced
into flattery. We might have thrown over
our shoulders a cloak of covetousness and

164 THE FIRST EPISTLE
self-seeking ; but we were the stewards of
God, and it is expected of stewards that a
man be found trustworthy. We did not
even flatter you, our friends and superiors.
We sought no glory from you ; we never
insisted on our rights ; we were jealous of
ourselves lest we might become burdensome
to you, thus making a kind of merchandise
of your Christian faith. A fearless ministry
will often be tempestuous, but in the end
it will bring in its train the infinite peace
of God. Remember that we were gentle
amongst you; no nurse could be tenderer.
We regarded you as our children, and we
were affectionately desirous of you. Our
hearts longed for you — they went out to
you in great solicitude and yearning ; so we
kept nothing back from you. If you could
have been benefited by our flesh and blood,
we were prepared to lay down our lives for
Christ's sake, because ye were dear unto us.
We found a great reward in our working.
Our preaching was mixed up with labour
night and day, for we were most anxious that
in nothing should the gospel of the love of
God be hindered. We asked for no wages,

TO THE THESSALONIANS 165
we coveted no applause; our travail and
our sorrow constituted our reward.
Verses 10-12 : " Ye are witnesses, and God also,
how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved
ourselves among you that believe : as ye know how
we exhorted and comforted and charged every one
of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would
walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His
kingdom and glory."
We do not forget what God enabled us
to do in your midst. We are not boasting
of our unselfishness ; we are magnifying the
grace of God, who enabled us to interpret the
Gospel through the medium of our secular
independence. We walked holily, justly, and
without blame before God and towards man.
You must in part interpret our doctrine by
our character. If we had preached one thing
and lived another, we should stand openly
convicted and should deserve the wrath of
God. Do not misunderstand us. Again and
again I would say that this is no boasting
on our part; it is a tribute to the unfailing
grace of God. Nor are we boasting of our
strength as if everything came easily to us.
Ours was not a grace, but a virtue ; that is to
say, it was not natural piety, or indifference to

166 THE FIRST EPISTLE
secular and social circumstances. Our souls
were put under a great stress, so that the
result was not as fruit that blooms in the sun,
but as a trophy that is taken in war. If
we remember our courage, we remember also
our tenderness, the fatherly love which flows
out to the children. God is great in might ;
if possible, He is still greater in mercy. You
must not only think of us as great warriors,
but as gentle fathers, mothers, and nurses.
The warrior fights on the battlefield, but the
father ministers at home. We bore the strain
of our solicitude and our anxious love because
we thought we saw in you such growth in
grace as warranted us in believing that you
were daily walking with God and entering
into ever- deepening fellowship with the spirit
of His kingdom. The kingdom of God is
a present possession. The glory of God is a
present vision. The kingdom and the glory
are both present and future. " Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and
hath translated us into the kingdom of His
dear Son" (Col. i. 13). In another passage
the Apostle Paul refers to the kingdom of
God as the future and expected inheritance :

TO THE THESSALONIANS 167
" The Lord will preserve me unto His heavenly
kingdom " (2 Tim. iv. 18). After the same
manner Peter delivers himself : " An entrance
shall be ministered unto you abundantly into
the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter i. 11). We
must not part with the word " glory " when
we think of the present possession and the
future realisation of the divine kingdom.
Glory is, as it were, the very light of light —
an effulgence that issues from some unseen
and infinite fountain of radiance. It is a
word which Jesus Christ Himself used : " Said
I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe,
thou shouldest see the glory of God ?" (John
xi. 40). There is a noontide in Christian
experience— a time of summer cloudlessness,
the very zenith of spiritual pomp. When we
realise the glory of that zenith in our earthly
experience we may so multiply it as to
gladden our souls with some impression of
what the glory must be which is yet to be
revealed. "The sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us " (Rom.
viii. 18). Paul comforts the Corinthian

168 THE FIRST EPISTLE
Christians, and through them the whole
Church of God, by speaking of " A far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory," which
is to. drive out of our minds our momentary
endurance of light afflictions.
Verse 13 : " For this cause also thank we God
without ceasing, because, when ye received the word
of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as
the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of
God, which effectually worketh also in you that
believe."
We gladly remember how eagerly you
accepted the word of God which you heard
of us. You did not only listen to it; you
received it, you accepted it, you eagerly
appropriated it, and made it as the food and
nutriment of your souls. This was evident,
because the word of God effectually worked
in you who believed. It was not a merely
intellectual luxury — it was a moral discipline,
and it came oiit most expressively and help
fully in the very conduct and manner of your
life. Your doctrine was not a dead dogma ;
it was an operative force. " Faith which
worketh by love " (Gal. v. 6) ; " The power of
God that worketh in us" (Eph. iii. 20).

TO THE THESSALONIANS 169
Verses 14-16 : "For ye, brethren, became followers
of the churches of God which in Judaea are in
Christ Jesus : for ye also have suffered like things
of your own countrymen, even as they have of the
Jews : who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their
own prophets, and have persecuted us ; and they
please not God, and are contrary to all men : for
bidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might
be saved, to fill up their sins alway : for the wrath
is come upon them to the uttermost."
Remember that you belong to a glorious
succession. The churches of God are not
separated from one another like unrelated
diamonds. The living churches of the living
God are part of a great redemptive scheme
and mediation. They are partakers of a
common suffering. You yourselves have
suffered many things of your own country
men. Remember that the Jews killed the
Lord Jesus Christ, and their own prophets
drove us out, and they are hostile to all
men. They are filling up the vessel of their
own sin, and it will become to them as the
cup of the divine wrath. Do not imagine
that bad men carry all things their own
way, and that they live at a table of luxury
and delight, turning the very blood of the
Christian household into wine which their

170 THE FIRST EPISTLE
drunken souls can drink. True, indeed, they
have their revels, their nightly carousals,
bacchanalian orgies; but they little know
that they are filling up a great cup of
judgment which they will have to drink to
the dregs. We do not see the whole scheme
of providence yet. A veil may be drawn
over the judgment which means wrath, as
well as over the judgment which means
heaven. By-and-by we shall see how bad
men have been fattening for the slaughter,
and what terrible vengeance God will take
upon those who have despised His name.
Some men reject the Gospel by hindering
it ; some men hinder the Gospel by rejecting
it. God will judge. His glittering sword
has lost nothing of the keenness of its edge.
Verses 17-20 : " But we, brethren, being taken from
you for a short time in presence, not in heart, en
deavoured the more abundantly to see your face with
great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto
you, even I Paul, once and again ; but Satan hindered
us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of re
joicing 1 Are not even ye in the presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ at His coming ? For ye are our
glory and joy."
But we must not dwell altogether upon

TO THE THESSALONIANS 171
the fearful side of divine providence. He
would be a foolish teacher who ignored the
dark cloud in which the divine thunderbolt
slumbers ; but he would be un wiser still
who does not turn his eyes to the Shechinah
which glows upon the Christian host with
a brightness above the brightness of the sun.
We are orphaned from you for a moment —
for an hour at the most ; but our hearts have
never been sundered, for they are one in
Christ. Satan has his little momentary
triumphs. He hindered us once and again
from coming to you, but his hindrance cannot
endure for ever. We shall not be kept back
from our hope and joy and crown of rejoicing.
" Dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and
crown" (Phil. iv. 1). We are coming to
you, and you are coming to us, and Jesus
is coming to us both, and we are going to
Jesus — and out of all this coming and going
there shall arise a holy fellowship, a glorious
and indestructible brotherhood.

CHAPTER III
Verses 1-3 : " Wherefore when we could no longer
forbear,1 we thought it good to be left at Athens
alone ; and sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister
of God, and our fellow-labourer in the gospel of
Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you con
cerning your faith : that no man should be moved
by these afflictions : for yourselves know that we are
appointed thereunto."
SO anxious was the Apostle to have precise
tidings respecting his friends at Thes
salonica that he preferred loneliness in a
foreign city to the gnawing anxiety which
tormented his heart respecting his unseen
friends. There were people enough at Athens,
but no companions of the soul; plenty of
noise, but no music ; swarms of people, but
no kindred hearts. To part with Timotheus
under such circumstances was indeed to incur
a great loss, whether Timotheus himself was
directly sent, or whether the meaning is that
Paul sent him a message entreating him, if
172

I. THESSALONIANS 173
not commanding him, to go back from Berea
to Thessalonica before he followed Paul into
Greece. It comes to the same thing in regard
to the Apostle's personal anxiety as to the
spiritual welfare of his friends. Sometimes
one heart is all the world to us. So it must
oftentimes have been with the Apostle in
his lonely travels. When he said, " Only
Luke is with me," only those who have
passed through the mystery of heart-solitude
can understand the depth of his emotion. At
one period the Apostle was utterly forsaken of
men, yet with a cry of triumph he exclaimed,
" Notwithstanding, the Lord stood by me ! "
We know from the Acts of the Apostles
that Paul was not long idle at Athens.
The Thessalonians needed confirmation — the
Athenians needed instruction and spiritual
enlightenment. Timotheus could comfort the
church ; Paul could rouse and evangelise the
world. In effect, Paul said to the Thessa
lonians, "Though you knew that afflictions
must come, yet even the strongest of us must
have encouragement and support in the hour
of trial." It is always so in human discipline ;
though we know that afflictions, and offences,

174 THE FIRST EPISTLE
and sharpest trials must come, God never
allows the affliction to fall without supplying
the balm and the comfort needed by human
suffering.
Verses 4, 5 : " For verily, when we were with you,
we told you before that we should suffer tribulation ;
even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this
cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know
your faith, lest by some means the tempter have
tempted you, and our labour be in vain."
You had warning enough about the coming
affliction, but the soul cannot live upon
warning. Warning may represent the nega
tive aspect of experience, whilst comfort and
confirmation may well represent its positive
aspect. It is not enough that we know there
is an enemy of souls ; it is also required that
the soul should be continually energised and
fortified by the ministry of the Holy Ghost.
We need men like Paul to care for us. " Ye
then that are strong ought to bear the
infirmities of the weak." God has so ordained
His providence that man can comfort man
and thus help to repel the seductions and
temptations of the evil one. The enemy is
always busy with hearts that are undergoing

TO THE THESSALONIANS 175
the process of sanctification. We must
remember in the hour of assault that no
temptation has happened unto us but such as
is common to man.
Verses 6-8 : " But now when Timotheus came
from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of
your faith and charity, and that ye have good re
membrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us,
as we also to see you : therefore, brethren, we
were comforted over you in all our affliction and
distress by your faith : for now we live, if ye stand
fast in the Lord."
The Apostle responded to good news. A
father is glad when his son brings home from
school a good certificate : a record of good
behaviour is to the parental soul as a gospel
from God. The assurance that the afflicted
one has passed some difficult point in the
illness and is now looking forward to restora
tion is joy unspeakable. Pastors can receive
no greater encouragement than to hear that
those whom God has permitted them to con
vert are standing fast in the faith, and
abounding in all the usefulness of growing
service. Let a pastor know that his work
is bearing fruit and he will by that intelli
gence be comforted in all his affliction and

176 THE FIRST EPISTLE
distress. The Apostle grew young again
when he discovered that his Thessalonian
disciples were standing fast in the Lord.
What artist is not gratified by the satisfactory
completion of his picture ? What architect
is not comforted when the last stone is
brought on with shoutings of " Grace, grace,
unto it " ? What father is not rejoiced when
his son becomes a man in years and in social
status ? It is even so with apostles, ministers,
and teachers ; when the seed they have sown
springs up and gives promise of good fruit,
their souls are filled with thankfulness and
their lips thrill with praise.
Verses 9, 10 : " For what thanks can we render
to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we
joy for your sakes before our God ; night and day
praying exceedingly that we might see your face,
and might perfect that which is lacking in your
faith?"
How can we repay God for the good news
which we have received concerning you ?
This good news has put a new song into our
mouth, so much so that our daily service is
a daily psalm. Wherever we go people hear
us loudly singing, and when they ask the

TO THE THESSALONIANS 177
reason of our delight, our transport and our
joy, we cannot but declare unto them the
miracles of grace which have been wrought
in the church of Thessalonica. In this work
of thanksgiving night and day have become
as one, and now we have no broken time,
for the psalm of gratitude flows through all
the hours and makes the night as the day,
and the day sevenfold in brightness.
Verses 11-13 : " Now God Himself and our Father,
and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.
And the Lord make you to increase and abound in
love one toward another, and toward all men, even
as we do toward you : to the end He may stablish
your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even
our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
with all His saints."
You have only begun the Christian course.
Sometimes we think that the Christian course
can never be more than a beginning — so much
has to be done in the culture and perfecting
of the soul in the light and truth and
comfort of God. Our prayer is that the Lord
may make you increase and abound in love
towards each other and towards all, even as
we also abound in love towards you. Never
stand still in the divine life. Never attempt
12

178 THE FIRST EPISTLE
to put a period to the process of spiritual
enlightenment and edification. Prove that
you abound in love towards God by abound
ing in love one towards another. Out of all
this love there will come a great establishing
of the heart in holiness before God. Love
is discipline. Love makes itself known by
inspired courage and unceasing beneficence.
Christianity must be translated into character
if ever it is to impress the world and con
strain men to cry out that surely where
the conduct is so noble the motive must
be of kindred quality. Brethren, the Lord
Jesus Christ is coming, always coming, almost
visibly coming ; we are to live in high expec
tation that He may in some way or other
come to His Church as sunshine comes to
flowers wet with the dews of night. See that
you do not interpret the coming of the Lord
too narrowly. Wherever there is increase
of love, wherever there is a deepening regard
for truth, wherever there is a broader and ten
derer charity, wherever there is a growing
up into the very love of God — where, I say,
these things are manifest, so manifest as to be
indisputable, be sure that the Lord is at hand,

TO THE THESSALONIANS 179
and that His kingdom is being set up as the
sovereignty that will subdue all rival ideas
of health and progress and rest. Where
Christianity comes, Christ comes. Where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there the Lord Himself
is. Instead, therefore, of looking for any
sign that is visible or transient, let us look
for those better signs discernible only by
the soul and which abide with the soul as
lights that cannot be extinguished.

CHAPTER IV
Verse 1 : " Furthermore then we beseech you,
brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as
ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to
please God, so ye would abound more and more."
A S we are struck by the maturity of the
-*-*- Apostle's own character and service,
so we cannot but be impressed by the imma
ture condition of the spiritual life of the
Thessalonian Christians. The letter might
have been written to little children in the
Lord. How much exhortation they needed !
How important it was that they should set
before themselves the high object of pleasing
God ! How essential that they should not
drop even into a moment's idleness, because
of the energy and cruelty of the tempter
who was continually watching their souls!
We must never forget in reading the Epistles
that they were addressed to persons who
represented the most elementary form of
180

I. THESSALONIANS 181
Christian life. The early churches of Christ
were in many respects hardly distinguished
from the nations of the world. Hence the
need of patience on the part of the Apostles,
and hence the need of continual reminders
even of the simplest discipline and duty. We
are entitled to go to the Apostles themselves
for a very high illustration of Christian faith
and conduct, but we are not entitled to make
the early churches models of Christian holi
ness and consecration. We must always
distinguish between the writer and the re
ceiver of an apostolic epistle.
Verses 2-8 : " For ye know what commandments
we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the
will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should
abstain from fornication : that every one of you
should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification
and honour ; not in the lust of concupiscence, even
as the Gentiles which know not God : that no man
go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter :
because that the Lord is the avenger of all such,
as we also have forewarned you and testified. For
God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto
holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not
man, but God, who hath also given unto us His
holy Spirit."
The Apostle falls back upon the simple
commandments which had been given to the

182 THE FIRST EPISTLE
Thessalonians by the Lord Jesus Christ, and
calls upon his friends at Thessalonica to
remember that God's will desired nothing
short of the consecration or sanctification of
Christian believers. This holy work began,
as it were, in its more practical aspects, from
the outside, though in Christian life nothing
can succeed externally that does not express
the working of an inward and spiritual
motive. The church at Thessalonica was in
the most infantile stages of personal dis
cipline. The members of the church had
to be told just like little children to watch
their conduct and to control their manners.
Every member of the body was to be dis
ciplined with the discipline of Christ. The
hand, the eye, and every other member of
the body was to be held in servitude, and
to be pressed into the service of the soul.
The blood was never to be so feverish as to
discourage or thwart the upward desires of
the spirit. " Know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is
in you?" (1 Cor. vi. 19). "The body is
for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
And God hath both raised up the Lord,

TO THE THESSALONIANS 183
and will also raise up us by His own
power" (1 Cor. vi. 13, 14). "He that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also
quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit
that dwelleth in you" (Rom. viii. 11).
"Know ye not that your bodies are the
members of Christ?" (1 Cor. vi. 15). It
will thus be seen that the exhortation of
the Apostle was not directed solely to the
Thessalonian church ; it was addressed to all
the other churches over whose culture he
pastorally presided. Whilst all this discipline
was brought to bear upon the body, the
Apostle fervently insisted that the asceticism
which pretends to despise the body has no
sanction in the revelation of God as given
in Holy Scripture. " Which things have
indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and
humility, and neglecting of the body ; not in
any honour to the satisfying of the flesh "
(Col. ii. 23). Thus a clear line of demarca
tion is drawn between the inordinate affection,
or passion, and the worship which is due to
so noble an instance of creative power as
the body of man, in which the soul holds
its high court. Up to a certain point pagan

184 THE FIRST EPISTLE
and Christian are alike in physical constitu
tion, and at that point the Christian separates
from the pagan by so cultivating the spiritual
as to hold the physical in abject servitude.
All the callings of God are towards the
higher life. We may test the divinity of
our call by knowing whether it is a move
ment in the direction of holiness or in the
direction of uncleanness. God never calls
us downward to animalism, but ever upwards
in a willing obedience to the sovereignty
of the Holy Ghost. The Christian need have
no difficulty whatever in ascertaining whether
he is on the right road or the wrong. Any
road that leads to mere indulgence, to base
satisfactions, is by so much self-condemned ;
any call towards self-sacrifice, spiritual am
bition, unselfish service, holier life, is at once
self -certified. Verses 9-12 : " But as touching brotherly love ye
need not that I write unto you : for ye yourselves are
taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do
it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia :
but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and
more ; and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your
own business, and to work with your own hands, as
we commanded you ; that ye may walk honestly
toward them that are without, and that ye may have
lack of nothing.''

TO THE THESSALONIANS 185
You have been driven by circumstances to
find comfort in one another. Because of
outward temptations and trials you have
been led to seek brotherhood within your
selves, and happily this brotherhood has
resulted in a continual increase of Christian
love. You have entered into the larger
family. You now find your kinsfolk not
amongst your blood relations, but amongst
those who love the law of God, and draw
their sustenance from the very fountain of
the Cross. The lowest kinship is that which
is of the flesh. A man may cease to be the
brother of his own mother's son — nay, more,
the time may come when by his growth of
soul he becomes a stranger to the very
mother who gave him birth. This should
not be necessarily so. Happy is the condi
tion which represents a true union both of
body and soul; but if there is to be any
separation from old associations, any severing
of the dearest family ties, let the severing
take place in obedience to the divine law of
growth and consecration. " Whosoever doeth
the will of My Father which is in heaven,
the same is My mother and sister and

186 THE FIRST EPISTLE
brother." There is a love which is void by
generality. Such love is not indicated by
the Apostle in this instance. He refers ex
clusively to the love of man to man because
of the common love of a common Saviour.
A very simple duty is enjoined upon the
Thessalonian Christians — namely, " That ye
study to be quiet and to do your own busi
ness, and to work with your own hands."
Quietness was set before the Thessalonians
as a high ambition. Once they had been
ambitious to make a figure amongst the
churches. There is a ministry of quietness.
It would seem as if the Apostle urged upon
the Thessalonians to agitate for calmness.
Peace was not to be a negative of force,
but the last result and expression of a
divinely inspired ambition. The whole church
was to do its own business with quietness.
As we have seen, the church is a unit as
well as individuals. The Apostle would have
his correspondents work with their own
hands. Probably the most of them belonged
to what we call the working classes ; but
now in another sense he would have them

TO THE THESSALONIANS 187
work for peace, to organise for rest, to be
ambitious to attain a high state of tran
quillity. The Apostle had not overlooked
the good results which would flow from
honest working and walking towards " them
that are without." Such working would be
the best answer to heathen suspicion, and
such working would be the best guarantee
for the true wealth of the church itself. It
is not enough to satisfy outward criticism ;
we are to remember that when we do good
we are best ensuring our own security and
best furthering, in an unselfish way, our own
interests. Thus, again and again, Paul de
livers, as from a Christian Sinai, Christian
dogmas and commandments. " Let him that
stole steal no more : but rather let him
labour, working with his hands the thing
which is good, that he may have to give to
him that needeth " (Eph. iv. 28). Thus not
only did good working mean increase of pro
perty, but it meant the distribution of that
property in generous and thoughtful benefi
cence. The Apostles themselves did exactly
what they commanded others to attempt.
" I have shewed you all things, how that so

188 THE FIRST EPISTLE
labouring ye ought to support the weak, and
to remember the words of the Lord Jesus,
how He said, It is more blessed to give than
to receive" (Acts xx. 35). Notwithstanding
the mental independence and social dignity
of the Apostle Paul and his fellow-apostles,
they were always anxious that no just cause
should be given for heathen criticism and
accusation. "Walk in wisdom toward them
that are without " (Col. iv. 5). " Providing
for honest things, not only in the sight of
the Lord, but also in the sight of men"
(2 Cor. viii. 21). "Having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles : that, whereas
they speak against you as evildoers, they
may by your good works, which they shall
behold, glorify God in the day of visitation "
(1 Peter ii. 12).
Verses 13-18: "But I would not have you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep
that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring
with Him. For this we say unto you by the word
of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto
the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which
are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ

TO THE THESSALONIANS 189
shall rise first : then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be
with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with
these words."
Thus suddenly does Paul change his point
of view. It is an almost violent leap from
the command quietly to do their own business
to the grand declaration of the resurrection
of believers in the name and power of Jesus
Christ. The destiny of the Christian dead
must always be a subject of enthralling
interest to souls that have been bereaved.
A beautiful image to represent death by sleep !
In this instance, as in all other instances,
the Apostle falls back upon a grand funda
mental revelation — the revelation, this time,
being nothing less than the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ Himself. If we
would know the destiny of Christian sleepers,
we have only to consider the course through
which the Lord Jesus passed. He died and
rose again. If Jesus Christ "died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus
will God bring with Him." We stand or fall
in Jesus : " Now is Christ risen from the
dead, and become the firstfruits of them that

190 THE FIRST EPISTLE
slept " (1 Cor. xv. 20) ; " Knowing that He
which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up
us also by Jesus, and shall present us with
you" (2 Cor. iv. 14).
The coming of the Lord from heaven with
all this demonstration described in verse 16
is no novel thought either with Christ or
with the Apostles. Jesus Christ Himself
spoke definitely upon this very point : " They
shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds
of heaven with power and great glory. And
He shall send His angels with a great sound
of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
His elect from the four winds, from one end of
heaven to the other " (Matt. xxiv. 30, 31) ;
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump : for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incor
ruptible, and we shall be changed " (1 Cor. xv.
52). Thus a grand common doctrine of the
coming of Christ was proclaimed by Christ
and His Apostles. The church was not to
perplex itself by asking curious questions as
to mere method and detail. The church was
to stand strong in a great principle, and to

TO THE THESSALONIANS 191
leave God to work out His own methods.
The trumpet of God is a great figure in
Biblical history. In Zech. ix. 14 we read
of the trumpet of God. In various other
passages definite reference is made to the
same instrument : " The Lord God shall blow
the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of
the south " (Zech. ix. 14) ; " The great day of
the Lord is near .... A day of the trumpet
and alarm " (Zeph. i. 14, 16) ; " Thou hast
heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war " (Jer. iv. 19). As far back
as the delivery of the law on Sinai we hear
of a trumpet : " There were thunders and
lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount,
and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud"
(Exod. xix. 16). And, coming to the Book of
Revelation, chaps, viii. to xi., we are made
familiar with the vision of the seven
trumpets. We must be careful lest we too
severely literalise the symbolism and imagery
of the Bible. As we cannot do without the
human personality in figuring to the imagina
tion the personality of God, so we cannot do
without crowns, and harps, and thrones, and
crystal rivers, and waving palms, in picturing

192 I. THESSALONIANS
the heavenly city. We must not drive the
imagery too far ; it has served its purpose
when it has indicated to us the idea of
rapture and triumph, security and blessed
ness. Wherefore, on the strength of these
revelations of the coming Lord and the
resurrection of Christian sleepers, be of good
cheer and face the enemy with a front that
cannot be abashed.

CHAPTER V
Verses 1-3 : " But of the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
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 ; and they shall not escape."
r I THE meaning is not that the Apostle could
-*- have given precise dates and hours if
he had wished to do so. As to the details
of the Lord's coming, Paul knew no more
than others. What he did know was that
a day of the Lord was coming, and coming
as a thief in the night, and coming all the
more surely and nearly as men deceived
themselves by . the assurance that it would
not come. The Thessalonian Christians knew
accurately that the day of the Lord was
coming. So we know that the day of death is
coming, so we know that the harvest is coming.
The broad general fact is undisputed,
193 13

194 THE FIRST EPISTLE
but all the detail is concealed. To know
perfectly is to know both exactly and cer
tainly. The same word is translated
" diligently " (Matt. ii. 8). It is also used
in Luke i. 3, wherein Luke claims to having
accurately traced all the things which he is
about to narrate. The perfectness of the
knowledge relates to the fact that the Lord
has appointed a day upon which He will
come, not to any detailed particulars as to
the moment when the trumpet shall announce
His advent. We are not to think of these
arrangements as something out of the general
course of providence. We have already
traced the same principle in the coming of
harvest and death. What does the coming
of the day of the Lord mean ? The first
thought that occurs is the most narrow and
literal — namely, that there will be a visible
manifestation of our Lord's personality. This
conception is almost painfully elementary;
further, it is bare and common and utterly
prosaic. We have to outlive that conception
before we can come into the inmost sanctuary
of the divine epiphany. We no longer look
for an incarnation. When our Lord came

TO THE THESSALONIANS 195
back from the tomb He did not come with
the flesh in which he tabernacled before the
crucifixion. The resurrection was a kind of
second advent. His own disciples did not
know Christ when He returned and com
muned with them; Mary did not know the
Lord when she saw Him in the garden. Yet
surely the Lord had come, and Mary knew
it when He recalled the familiar tone. So
the Lord may be coming day by day, in
deeper conviction, in tenderer sympathy, in
richer solace, and in broader visions of the
sky of spiritual truth. We must not suppose
that the Lord has not come simply because
we have not seen Him. The sun does not
bring the landscape ; the sun reveals it. So
the Lord is revealed to the spirit of man,
and the spirit of man has no doubt of the
reality of the revelation ; no more doubt
than the spirit has of its own existence.
This is the only coming of the Lord which
the whole scope of Scripture would seem
to reveal. The Lord comes in judgment.
The Lord comes in the whole action of
daily providence. Day by day the righteous
go into life eternal, and day by day the

196 THE FIRST EPISTLE
wicked are driven off into everlasting punish
ment — into shame and contempt and forget-
fulness. There is a tendency to consider
that monotony is an aspect of permanence.
Hence unwise or wicked men constantly
ask, "Where is the promise of His coming,
for since the fathers fell asleep all things
continue as they were ? " To the mind of
man a century is a long time — a thousand
years is an eternity ! To the mind of God
there are no such figures, relations, or pro
portions. God does not count by our unit,
large or small, but by His own purpose,
which stretches from everlasting to ever
lasting. Expect Christ with every sunrise;
see Him in every evening star.
Verses 4, 5 : " But ye, brethren, are not in dark
ness, 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."
Christians are children of light, which is
more than a figure of speech. Christians
have a wide and clear outlook upon divine
purposes. They are so full of light that it
is difficult for error to make any impression

TO THE THESSALONIANS 197
upon them. If Christians will only be
faithful to whatever light they have, their
faithfulness is a guarantee that their light
shall increase more and more unto perfect
day. There are men who love darkness
rather than light. They are not in a con
dition to receive a divine revelation. They
are not in darkness as a mere fact; they
are in darkness by their own special election
and determination. They love darkness.
When a man loves a prejudice it is almost
impossible to liberate him from its bondage.
He has not an open mind. His heart
lives within impenetrable barriers. It is
not so with the children of the day. They
have the open mind, the sensitive apprecia
tion, the truth-loving soul. Light gives
courage ; night fills the soul with fear. The
Apostle says that Christians are not the pro
perty of Night. He speaks figuratively ; he
represents Night as a proprietor or gaoler,
and he boldly says that we are not in the
custody of Night, but are the freemen of
the broad daylight. Darkness has its wicked
charms, but they are dispelled and destroyed
by the first look of morning glory.

198 THE FIRST EPISTLE
Verses 6-8: "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. 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."

Then let Christians know that the time
of sleep should be limited, and that slumber
should be jealously watched lest it become
the foe of the soul. Sudden destruction
comes upon the sleepers, and inevitable ruin
follows indifference to the culture of the
soul. It becomes Christians, therefore, to be
sober, in order that they may watch. We
have to rouse ourselves not only from sleep,
but from intoxication. As a matter of
literal sequence, " sober " should come before
" watch," for we can only watch in the
degree in which we are sober. " Be thou
sober " is the literal rendering of " watch
thou" (2 Tim. iv. 5). "Be ye therefore
(literally) of sound mind, and watch" (1 Peter
iv. 7). "Take heed to yourselves, lest at
any time your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of
this life, and so that day come upon you

TO THE THESSALONIANS 199
unawares. Watch ye therefore, and pray
always, that ye may be accounted worthy to
escape all these things that shall come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of man "
(Luke xxi. 34, 36). Mark the sharp dis
tinction which the Apostle always draws
between children of the night and children
of the day. They cannot be confused one
with the other. The Apostle speaks nothing
about twilight, or about the grading of one
degree of light or darkness into another — he
recognises only night and day, and we must
belong to, or represent, one or other of these
portions of time. Let drunken people hide
their drunkenness within the gloom of night.
Drunkenness is a process, and drunkenness
is also a realised state. The Apostle regards
drunkenness in both aspects. " Become not
drunk with wine " is the literal form of
what is said in Eph. v. 18. Have nothing
to do with the beginning of drunkenness.
The way down to the state of drunkenness is
an inclined plane — the first step necessitates
the last.
The Apostle now represents the Christian
attitude under a strong figure. Sober men

200 THE FIRST EPISTLE
are to put on the breastplate of faith and
love ; and their heads are to be protected
by the hope of salvation as by a helmet.
When the Apostle says " putting on," he
must be understood as having said "having
put on " — the act is represented as complete
and final, an act of which there is to be no
undoing. We are to put on Jesus. This
corruptible is to put on incorruption. We
have to put on Christ. We have to put on
the new man. We have to " Put on . . .
bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of
mind, meekness, longsuffering " (Col. iii. 12).
The figure of military investiture is very
striking : " Let us put on the armour of
light " (Rom. xiii. 12) ; " Put on the whole
armour of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil . . . 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.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt
about with truth, and having on the breast
plate of righteousness " (Eph. vi. 11, 13, 14).
A still more wonderful figure is given in
Isaiah lix. 17, where God Himself is repre-

TO THE THESSALONIANS 201
sented as having put on righteousness as a
breastplate, and salvation as an helmet upon
His head. However various the uses which
Paul makes of the same figure, he makes no
change in the great instruction that we are
to be protected by a panoply of God's own
making. Whether faith and hope be the
breastplate, or whether righteousness is to be
the chain-mail protecting the chest and back,
the grand spiritual meaning is the same.
To raise a controversy as to the literal
application of these figures is to be frivolous
and to lose the intended instruction.
Verses 9-11 : "For God hath not appointed us to
wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus
Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or
sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore
comfort yourselves together, and edify one another,
even as also ye do."
" The Son of man is not come to destroy
men's lives, but to save them." Even so
God has not appointed men to destruction
nor to wrath. The wrath of God has never
been concealed — from the very beginning
it has been declared as one of the great
ministers of providence. "In the day thou

202 THE FIRST EPISTLE
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." We
are familiar with the word " wrath " in the
New Testament. " Who hath warned you
to flee from the wrath to come ? " " The
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men"
(Rom. i. 18). "Because of these things
cometh the wrath of God upon the children
of disobedience" (Eph. v. 6). "Hide us
from the wrath of the Lamb : for the great
day of His wrath is come; and who shall
be able to stand ? " (Rev. vi. 16, 17). From
such passages it will be clearly seen that
the "wrath of God" has never been kept
in the background, or reserved as a painful
surprise. The Apostle is not content by declaring
that Christians are not appointed to wrath —
he proceeds to represent a positive aspect of
the case, namely, that Christians are appointed
to obtain salvation — that is, to acquire it and
possess it, as a right conferred by grace.
" Salvation " is one of the largest words in all
Christian experience. It is not only salvation
from sin, but salvation from ignorance, error,
intellectual and spiritual bondage, and all the

TO THE THESSALONIANS 203
narrowness which would limit and misrepre
sent the grace of God. Jesus Christ purchased
or acquired the Church of God with His own
blood. The servants of the Lord are to pur
chase or acquire to themselves a good degree.
The negative aspect of the experience is
graphically put in 2 Chron. xiii. 14. The
Ethiopians were overthrown, so that they
could not recover themselves, because there
was in them no saving, or preservation.
The people of God are " a peculiar people " —
that is to say, they are an acquired people,
a possession established and secured by the
power of grace. That the Lord meant salva
tion in the fullest and grandest sense of the
term is made clear by the fact that it was
acquired and made possible " by our Lord
Jesus Christ, who died for us." Those who
are saved by the death of Christ will be
glorified by the life of Christ. Our vital
union with Christ is not affected either by
life or by death. Being in Christ, our life
is immortality, and our so-called death is
but a step through the darkness into the
light. Beautiful beyond all conception is the
simple phrase, " We should live together with

204 THE FIRST EPISTLE
Him." " Because I live, ye shall live also "
(John xiv. 19). " Your life is hid with Christ
in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall
appear, then shall ye also appear with Him
in glory " (Col. iii. 3, 4). What is the natural
application of these grand assurances ? The
great practical issue is that those who accept
the assurances as valid are to comfort them
selves together, and to build one another up
in their most holy faith. The literal meaning
of edification is to build up little by little,
stone by stone, but to have from the very
beginning an idea of the plan of the temple
life. " Know ye not that ye are the temple
of God ? " (1 Cor. iii. 16). " Know ye not
that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost ? " (1 Cor. vi. 19). The word " edify "
is used graphically in Acts ix. 31. Then
had the churches rest, or peace, and were
edified, or gradually built up stone by stone.
In 1 Pet. ii. 4, 5 the metaphor is most vividly
carried out — "To whom coming as unto a
living stone ... ye also, as living stones,
are built up a spiritual house." The meta
phor is common in the apostolic writings; thus
Eph. ii. 20-22—" Built upon the foundation

TO THE THESSALONIANS 205
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief corner stone ; in
whom all the building fitly framed together
groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
in whom ye also are builded together for
an habitation of God through the Spirit."
The Apostle as a tactful minister of Christ
fully recognised that the Thessalonian Christ
ians had already begun this practical and
holy work of edification — " even as also
ye do." Men who are struggling with any
great effort should have all their service
gratefully and strongly recognised.
Verses 12, 13: "And we beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labour among you, and are over
you in the Lord, and admonish you ; and to esteem
them very highly in love for their work's sake. And
be at peace among yourselves."
The Apostle was the friend of Christian
ministers. He never sought any special
glory for himself ; he always sought a
common appreciation for the whole ministry.
He would have hearers clearly understand
that they were debtors to those who lavish
spiritual benefactions amongst them. "There
fore acknowledge ye them that are such "

206 THE FIRST EPISTLE
(1 Cor. xvi. 18). "As also ye have ac
knowledged us in part, that we are your
rejoicing " (2 Cor. i. 14). " Receive him
therefore in the Lord with all gladness ;
and hold such in reputation" (Phil. ii. 29).
Appreciation is not flattery. Appreciation
on the part of the hearer is turned into
inspiration on the part of the teacher.
The husbandman would be severely dis
couraged if he did not see first the blade,
then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
In Phil. ii. 16 the Apostle desires to have
the satisfaction of knowing " that I have not
run in vain, neither laboured in vain." The
Apostle describes ministers as " over you in
the Lord." This does not mean arbitrary
rulership, or merely official superiority ; it
suggests a pastoral, but deeply responsible
relation. Pastors are not to lord it over God's
heritage, but are to run in a common race,
to fight in a common battle, and to create
a spirit of family unity and household inter
dependence. Ministers are recognised by the
Apostle as admonishing the Church — that is,
warning, reminding, and advising the Church.
The ministry is to work for our admonition

TO THE THESSALONIANS 207
(1 Cor. x. 11, Eph. vi. 4). That ministers
have to do their work tenderly and sym
pathetically, rather than mechanically and
officially, is made clear by the exhortation
" Esteem them very highly in love for their
work's sake." Admonition is not mere
censure ; it may be entreaty and may express
the solicitude of an anxious heart. Ministers
are to be esteemed " very highly " — that is
to say, beyond, or more than is usual. The
love is to be an exceeding love. The par
ticular word which the Apostle uses occurs
only in this place. An adverbial use of the
word is, however, found in such verses as,
"Night and day praying exceedingly " (1 Thess.
iii. 10) ; and again, " Exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think " (Eph. iii. 20).
Note that ministers are to be loved very
highly, not on their own personal account,
but "for their work's sake." Happily it is
possible for the man to be so filled with the
spirit of his work that on his own account
he may acquire the truest love of his people.
Every man is to prove his election of God
by his work. Happy is the man who can
illustrate his doctrine by his service. " Let

208 THE FIRST EPISTLE
your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven." Every man
is to prove his own work (Gal. vi. 4). A
woful day will it be for the Church when
ministers are esteemed only on account of
their official position and robes. A curious
exhortation occurs in this connection — " Be
at peace among yourselves." " Be at peace "
is one word in the original. The term is of
frequent occurrence in both the Old Testa
ment and the New : " The land had rest " ;
" The realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet : for
his God gave him rest round about" (2 Chron.
xx. 30) ; " The beasts of the field shall be
at peace with thee. And thou shalt know
that thy tabernacle shall be in peace "
(Job v. 23, 24) ; " Have peace one with
another " (Mark ix. 50) ; " Live peaceably
with all men" (Rom. xii. 18). The Thessa
lonian Christians were not to set ministers
in rivalry one against another; all the
ministers were to be esteemed very highly
in love for their work's sake, and the spirit
of sectarianism or partiality was to be
shunned as a spiritual evil. Men who have

TO THE THESSALONIANS 209
learned the secret of obedience have already
entered into the reward of peace.
Verses 14-16 : " Now we exhort you, brethren,
warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble
minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
See that none render evil for evil unto any man ; but
ever follow that which is good, both among your
selves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore."
The Apostle seems to leave the whole
congregation for a moment, and to address
himself specially to those who exercise the
office of the ministry. There is nothing
here to exclude the idea of mutual exhorta
tion and warning, but the probability is
that the injunction was addressed specifically
to the elders, ministerial or otherwise, of the
Thessalonian church. A wonderful variety
of method is represented in the whole idea
of the Christian ministry — exhort, warn,
comfort, support, be patient. So, then, a
call to the ministry is a call to watchfulness,
to discernment, to the fair and honest treat
ment of case after case as it may arise. It
is recognised that even members of the church
may be unruly or disorderly. " That walketh
disorderly " (2 Thess. iii. 6). " We behaved
14

210 THE FIRST EPISTLE
not ourselves disorderly among you " (2 Thess.
iii. 7). To comfort is to encourage, to rouse,
to animate, to call up the whole man to
his fullest strength. Many in the church
may be feeble-minded. Curiously, this word
is not used elsewhere in the New Testament,
but it is of repeated occurrence in the
Septuagint version of the Old Testament.
" Say to them that are of a fearful heart,
Be strong, fear not" (Isa. xxxv. 4). To
revive the spirit of the humble, giving
patience to the feeble-minded. To support a
soul is to make it strong where it is weak,
or to protect it where it is threatened. " Will
hold to the one " (Luke xvi. 13). " Holding
fast the faithful word " (Titus i. 9). " For
sake not wisdom, and she shall preserve
thee " — or hold to thee, or give thee strength
as a buttress (Prov. iv. 6). " He that putteth
his trust in Me shall possess the land " (Isa.
lvii. 13). The weak are to be supported.
The weak must be made to realise their
own weakness. Weakness is intolerable when
it supposes itself to be strength. " His
bodily presence is weak " (2 Cor. x. 10).
" How that so labouring ye ought to support

TO THE THESSALONIANS 211
the weak " (Acts xx. 35). Sometimes a man
is weak in faith, almost diseased in soul.
He that is weak in faith is to be received
(Rom. xiv. 1). Do not depress the weak by
an unnecessary display of rude power, but
rather accommodate yourself to those who
are infirm, and to those who are in bondage.
" To the weak became I as weak, that I
might gain the weak " (1 Cor. ix. 22).
" Who is weak, and I am not weak ? "
(2 Cor. xi. 29). Patience means long-suffering,
long forbearance, hopeful waiting. The Lord
Himself is represented as " merciful and
gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth " (Exod. xxxiv. 6).
"Charity suffereth long" (1 Cor. xiii. 4).
" With longsuffering, forbearing one another
in love " (Eph. iv. 2). Be very careful not
to retaliate or to render evil for evil unto
any man. Watch human nature at every
point. We are all called to watchfulness.
The favourite word is " Take heed " (Mark
viii. 15, Luke xii. 15). Do not throw back
insults. Remember your Master, and recom
pense to no man evil for evil (Rom. xii. 17).
We are not under the dominion of an evil

212 THE FIRST EPISTLE
spirit; we are guided and sustained by the
spirit of forbearance, and love, and patience.
We are to pursue that which is good. The
idea is that a figure or personality is running
away from us, and we are called upon to
endeavour by swiftness of speed to overtake
that which is escaping, and having overtaken
it, we are to hold it in loving custody.
" Let us therefore follow after the things
which make for peace " (Rom. xiv. 19).
" Follow after charity " (1 Cor. xiv. 1) — that
is, pursue it, run after it, whether it is going
up hill or down dale ; never give up the
sacred chase. " Follow after righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness "
(1 Tim. vi. 11).
Verse 17 : " Pray without ceasing."
This doctrine is laid down in the Gospel
of Luke (xviii. 1), " Men ought always to
pray, and not to faint." This is not the
only instance in which Paul inculcates the
same doctrine. " Praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints " (Eph. vi. 18).

TO THE THESSALONIANS 213
We are not to look upon the words " without
ceasing " as indicating a formal attitude, or
a merely literal habit. We are to encourage
the spirit of prayer. It should never be
difficult for us to come boldly to the throne
of grace. The act of prayer is one thing;
the disposition or desire to pray is another.
We are not every moment, literally without
intermission, thinking of the friend who is
dearest to our soul, yet in less than the
twinkling of an eye we can realise the
presence of that soul, and cover it with
every token of reverence and love. The
Apostle frequently used the words "without
ceasing." He has used them already in this
Epistle (i. 3). " Remembering without ceasing
your work of faith, and labour of love, and
patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ,
in the sight of God and our Father." "For
this cause also thank we God without ceasing "
(ii. 13). The same word is used by the
same Apostle in the Epistle to the Romans
(i. 9), " God is my witness, whom I serve with
my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that
without ceasing I make mention of you
always in my prayers." Words always bring

214 THE FIRST EPISTLE
with them their natural limitations. There
are implied adjectives or terms of limitation
connected with every principal word we use.
All promises are conditional. All pledges,
vows, and purposes regarding the future are
based upon certain implications, whether
expressed or suppressed. The Apostles lived
in prayer. Not only did they live in their
own, but they fervently solicited the prayers
of others that a kind of spiritual atmosphere
might surround their whole life and thought.
The apostolic spirit was bathed in the stream
of prayer. Words are not always necessary
to prayer — prayer may be breathed in silence,
or expressed in sighs, or pictured in upward
or expectant looks. It is a spiritual loss to
the soul always to be tormenting itself about
literal obedience. In this case, as in all
others, the letter killeth, the spirit maketh
alive.
Verse 18 : " In every thing give thanks : for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
There is ample precedent for the practice
of thanksgiving. " He took bread, and gave
thanks to God in presence of them all : and
when he had broken it, he began to eat "

TO THE THESSALONIANS 215
(Acts xxvii. 35). " Whom when Paul saw,
he thanked God, and took courage " (Acts
xxviii. 15). " That for the gift bestowed
upon us by the means of many persons
thanks may be given by many on our
behalf" (2 Cor. i. 11). "Giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the
Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ "
(Eph. v. 20). The Apostle says that the
giving of thanks is one expression of the
will of God — that is to say, thanksgiving is
one of the ways in which we express the
will of God. Sometimes the article "the"
does not so clearly explain the meaning of
the Apostle as the article "a." For example,
in this text we might read, " This is the
will of God " — one of the wills, one of the
methods of expressing the whole will, a drop
in the great stream of the divine volition
and sovereign action. We read in Col. iv. 12,
" That ye may stand perfect and complete
in all the will of God" — that is to say, in
every will of God, in each will of God, in
every particular thought of God concerning
the redemption and sanctification of the soul.
The whole of the divine will is "in Christ

216 THE FIRST EPISTLE
Jesus." Whatever God does He does in the
name of Jesus Christ, or for the sake of
Jesus Christ, or that He may bring the soul
into closer relation to Jesus Christ. God
will not have what we are pleased to call,
in our learned ignorance, " Theism." God
works mediatorially — that is to say, through
His Son, who is our High Priest, and who
ever liveth to make intercession for us.
" There is one God and one Mediator between
God and man, the Man Christ Jesus."
Verse 19 : " Quench not the Spirit."
The Spirit is represented as a burning or
blazing fire, and Christians are commanded
not to throw quenching water upon the holy
conflagration. When the foolish virgins com
plained that their lamps were going out, the
more literal reading would be, " our lamps
are being quenched." We know what it is
to quench natural enthusiasm, to suppress or
rebuke our most eager desires, to limit the
action of our most ardent affections. We are
not to limit the Holy One of Israel, nor are
we to rebuke the expression of peculiar gifts
and movements in the soul of the believer.

TO THE THESSALONIANS 217
We are not to throw cold water upon the
burning bush simply because other bushes are
not burning. God has always made special
use of peculiar individualism, sometimes
known as genius, sometimes known as eccen
tricity, sometimes known even as madness.
The Holy Ghost will work within a man
according to his individuality of tempera
ment or capacity. The Apostle Paul did not
rebuke the use of " tongues " in the church
at Corinth. It is true that he used the
language of caution in reference to such
"tongues," but he was quite prepared to
believe that in this eccentric way the Holy
Spirit might be speaking to the church under
special conditions. Christianity showed how
open it was to the interpretation of large and
vigorous minds, as in the case of the Apostle
Paul. The Apostle not only said, " Quench
not the Spirit " — in Eph. iv. 30 he warns
his readers not to grieve the Holy Spirit of
God. The author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews declares it wilful sin to offer " despite
unto the Spirit of grace " (Heb. x. 29). The
Apostle does not confine himself to negative
instruction on this matter of the action of the

218 THE FIRST EPISTLE
Holy Ghost ; he only uses the negative in
order that he may make the positive more
definite and binding. Quench not, grieve
not, despise not — these are not enough. In
his Second Epistle to Timothy, i. 6, the Apostle
gives the positive instruction, " I put thee in
remembrance that thou stir up the gift of
God, which is in thee." In 1 Cor. xii. 7 the
Apostle says, " The manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal." It is not enough to have the Spirit
as an individual and secret possession ; that
Spirit must make a way for itself out of the
heart and the understanding and the will into
the speech and conduct and whole discipline
of life. The Apostle Paul never grieved or
quenched the Spirit. He felt that the Spirit
was essential to the authority and efficiency
of his apostleship. " My speech and my
preaching was not with enticing words of
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power : that your faith should
not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God " (1 Cor. ii. 4, 5). Believers
themselves were to be expressions of a grand
spiritual ministry : "Ye are manifestly de-

TO THE THESSALONIANS 219
clared to be the epistle of Christ ministered
by us, written not with ink, but with the
Spirit of the living God " (2 Cor. iii. 3).
Verse 20 : " Despise not prophesyings."
If we cultivate the ministry of the Holy
Ghost in our own souls, we shall be prepared
to recognise that ministry in the souls of
others. There is a divine distribution of
gifts which all who believe in Jesus Christ
must gratefully recognise : " For to one is
given by the Spirit the word of wisdom;
to another the word of knowledge by the
same Spirit ; to another faith by the same
Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by
the same Spirit ; to another the working of
miracles ; to another prophecy ; to another
discerning of spirits ; to another divers kinds
of tongues ; to another the interpretation of
tongues : but all these worketh that one and
the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man
severally as He will " (1 Cor. xii. 8-11). The
Apostle Paul declares that in " other ages "
the mystery of the Gospel, or the mystery
of Christ, was not made known unto the
sons of men as it is now revealed unto the

220 THE FIRST EPISTLE
holy prophets and apostles by the Spirit.
Christians live under the dispensation of the
Holy Ghost, and should make themselves
known by the light and warmth of pentecostal
fire. We do not worship a visible Saviour ;
we worship a Saviour made visible to the soul
by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit unites
and consolidates the Church — " For by one
Spirit are we all baptized into one body,
whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether
we be bond or free ; and have been all made to
drink into one Spirit " (1 Cor. xii. 13). Under
the reign of the Holy Ghost "the flesh
profiteth nothing" (John vi. 63). We have
passed the school of the flesh and are now
under the tuition, enlightenment, and sove
reignty of the Spirit. Nothing is so easy
as to despise other men — hence the point of
the apostolic exhortation. Never discourage
the prophets of the Church, nor undervalue
inspired preaching, nor degrade spiritual
enthusiasm into regulated commonplace.
Verse 21 : " Prove all things ; hold fast that which
is good."
Test all things ; never receive anything

TO THE THESSALONIANS 221
on mere credit. Always remember that many
false Christs have gone out into the world.
" Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God." Having proved
your conclusions, hold them, and hold them
fast. You are not to believe in enthusiasm
simply because of its passion, but you are
to believe in its passion because its purpose
is beneficent, elevating, and sanctifying.
Always distinguish between enthusiasm and
mere emotion. The foam upon the wave is
not the wave itself. The figure of holding
fast is not unknown in the apostolic writings :
"Having heard the word, keep it" (Luke viii.
15). Hold it fast, take hold of it with both
hands, beware of any loose handling of divine
things. In 1 Cor. xv. 2 the Apostle says,
" By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in
memory " — literally, if you cling to, hold
fast, determinately claim and insist upon —
"what I preached unto you." The writer
to the Hebrews says (x. 23), " Let us hold
fast the profession of our faith without
wavering." Hold fast that which is good,
that which is lovely, honourable, and of good
report. We are to cling to that which is

222 THE FIRST EPISTLE
honest. We are to hold fast our well-doing
and well-wishing, and never be weary in this
constancy of attachment to things divine.
Verse 22 : " Abstain from all appearance of evil."
Evil is represented in some cases as a
bodily presence, or fashion, or outline of
personality. We are not only to abstain
from evil deeds, but from every deed that has
the appearance of evil. This is a critical
distinction, and must be well known to the
heart which is thoroughly trained in Christian
study and conduct. In this matter we are
to consider public criticism, and even public
ignorance and prejudice. The Apostle Paul
would not eat or drink certain things if by
doing so he would grieve or offend one of the
weakest of the believers.
Verses 23, 24 : " And the very God of peace
sanctify you wholly ; and I pray God your whole
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless
unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful
is He that calleth you, who also will do it."
For the use of the expression the " God of
peace" see the following passages : " The God

TO THE THESSALONIANS 223
of peace be with you all" (Rom. xv. 33);
" The God of peace shall bruise Satan under
your feet shortly" (Rom. xvi. 20); "The
God of love and peace shall be with you "
(2 Cor. xiii. 11) ; " The God of peace shall
be with you" (Phil. iv. 9).
The God of peace is to sanctify those in
whom He dwells, wholly, entirely, carrying
out the process to fullest accomplishment
and coronation. The whole man — spirit,
soul, body — is to be penetrated by the divine
energy and subdued by the divine Spirit. In
this passage only is the threefold division of
a Christian man fully or literally expressed.
But that threefold division is implied in many
passages. When the Apostle refers to the
spirit and the soul, the body is, of course,
.recognised, because man is obviously more
than spirit and soul. " My soul doth mag
nify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Saviour." It is the body that
speaks, and therefore the trinity of parts
is fully recognised and represented. We
often break up ourselves, so to say, into
conscience, reason, imagination, memory,

224 THE FIRST EPISTLE
will, and the like. We speak of our heart
and soul. We describe ourselves as flesh
and spirit. " That which is born of the
flesh is flesh; and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit" (John iii. 6). "Ye
are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so
be that the Spirit of God dwell in you"
(Rom. viii. 9). The word "spirit" is not
unknown to the Old Testament. " There
is a spirit in man : and the inspiration of
the Almighty giveth them understanding "
(Job xxxii. 8). In the fifty-first Psalm
and the tenth verse the Psalmist prays,
"Renew a right spirit within me." Even
the pessimist worldling — often supposed to
make no recognition of what we know as
the immortal life — declares in Ecclesiastes
xii. 7, " The spirit shall return unto God
who gave it." In the New Testament a
broad distinction is always drawn between
the natural man and the spiritual man. The
spiritual man is under the dominion of the
spirit ; he does not sow to the flesh ; his
heart is in continual quest of God. The
Apostle presents a most comprehensive prayer
on behalf of the Thessalonians. In effect

TO THE THESSALONIANS 225
he says, "God keep you in every part,
aspect, jot, tittle, of your compound nature ;
may the full sunshine of His blessing fall
upon your total manhood, so that every
faculty, power, wish, purpose, affection,
may be completely satisfied; and may your
very body be as highly spiritualised as
possible— nay, may it be turned into a very
temple and instrument of the Holy Ghost!"
The Apostle uses the word "preserved,"
which is the very word used by Jesus Christ
in His great intercessory prayer, though not
rendered such in English : " Holy Father,
keep through Thine own name those whom
Thou hast given Me " (keep or preserve) . . .
" I kept them in Thy name " (in Thy name
I preserved them) ..." I pray not that Thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but
that Thou shouldest keep them from the
evil " (preserve them from the evil) (John
xvii. 11, 12, 15). Jude says that Christians
are " preserved in Jesus Christ." The same
word is used in the letter to the angel of
the church in Philadelphia : " Because thou
hast kept the word of my patience, I also
will keep thee" (preserve thee) "from the
15

226 THE FIRST EPISTLE
hour of temptation." Constantly the Apostle
sets before the Thessalonian Christians "the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." We
are to set before our minds and our aspira
tions the same grand ideal of completion.
The sphere of human education and trial
has to be rounded off. No barren spot has
to be left in all the nature. We must
work as if we expected the Lord daily, and
prepare our hearts as a house is prepared
for the reception of a great guest. Under
neath all this exhortation lies the comforting
promise, "Faithful is He that calleth you,
who also will do it." The Christian soul
does not go on a warfare at its own expense.
If the believer is to " work out his own
salvation with fear and trembling," he is to
remember for his encouragement that it is
God that " worketh in him." The divine
promise is at stake ; the divine oath is on
its trial. Reverently we may say that we
are called upon so to live that if there be
any final failure it shall not be on our
part. We are summoned to put the divine
faithfulness to the test. What a bouquet
of choice flowers might be made of the

TO THE THESSALONIANS 227
Scriptures which insist upon the faithfulness
of God in the keeping of His promises and
the preservation of His people ! " God is
faithful, by whom ye were called unto the
fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord "
(1 Cor. i. 9). "God is faithful, who will
not suffer you to be tempted above that ye
are able" (1 Cor. x. 13). "The Lord is
faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep
you from evil " (2 Thess. iii. 3). " She judged
Him faithful who had promised " (Heb. xi. 11).
We ourselves cannot faithlessly live on the
faithfulness of God. Only faithfulness can
appreciate faithfulness. " Be thou faithful
unto death, and I will give thee a crown
of life " ; " We are saved by faith " ; " Thou
standest by faith" (Rom. xi. 20). If God
"will do it," we also must "do it." God's
words are God's deeds. With God promise
is performance.
Verses 25-27 : " Brethren, pray for us. Greet all
the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the
Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy
brethren."
Here again the Apostles joined the common
life and the common experience of the

228 THE FIRST EPISTLE
church. They do not set themselves up as
above the necessity of sympathetic prayer.
The Apostles would live in the prayers of
the people. " Ye also helping together by
prayer for us" (2 Cor. i. 11). "I know
that this shall turn to my salvation through
your prayer " (Phil. i. 19). "I beseech
you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's
sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye
strive together with me in your prayers to
God for me" (Rom. xv. 30). "I trust
that through your prayers I shall be given
unto you" (Philem. 22). There can be no
doubt that the Apostles believed not only
in the soul praying for itself, but in the
soul being prayed for by the earnest love
of other souls. Nor can there be any doubt
that the Apostles vitally allied themselves
with the common life and service and joy
of the church. " Now He which stablisheth
us with you in Christ . . . who hath also sealed
us . . . Not for that we have dominion over
your faith, but are helpers of your joy "
(2 Cor. i. 21, 22, 24).
" Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss."

TO THE THESSALONIANS 229
So it is commanded in Romans xvi. 16 ;
in 1 Cor. xvi. 20 ; in 2 Cor. xiii. 12 ; in
1 Peter v. 14. To purity the loving kiss
is a seal. Heart may kiss heart in pledge
of brotherhood and spiritual affinity of every
degree. The Apostles insist upon having the Epistle
read to the congregation. " I charge you,"
literally, " I adjure you." The Apostles made
no secret communications to the heads, or
representatives, of the congregation. The
Gospel is for all. The Scriptures are to be
read in the hearing of all the people, for
all the provisions and promises of God are
meant for the common enjoyment of the
household of faith.
Then comes the great benediction : " The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
all." Either at the beginning or at the end
of his letters Paul availed himself of prac
tically the same form of benediction. Some
times the formula was contracted ; sometimes
it was expanded, as if in an intenser glow
of love, thus : " The grace of the Lord Jesus

230 I. THESSALONIANS
Christ, and the love of God, and the com
munion of the Holy Ghost be with you all "
(2 Cor. xiii. 14). Sometimes it is simply,
" Grace be with you " ; at other times it is
the invocation of the whole Trinity, that
the church receiving the Gospel may be
enriched and blessed, daily comforted and
continually inspired.

THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE
THESSALONIANS

INTRODUCTION
"T7"OUR hearts are no doubt longing
-*- to hear from us and to receive
some word of comfort in the midst
of all your terrible sufferings. Never
forget that you are a church of God,
because the Son of God dwells in your
midst and fills you with all the pre
cious tenderness of His love. Grace
to you, the whole favour of God, and
peace, the infinite tranquillity of your
Father and your Saviour, be unto you
day by day, a treasure in the heavens
which can neither be corrupted nor
stolen. Our whole heart goes out in over
flowing thanks to God when we think
of you — and we think of you always,
for if we ceased to think of you we
233

234 II. THESSALONIANS
should lose one of our chief joys. We
thank God for you as for a spiritual
miracle, for we are assured that your
faith grows out of all bounds, like a
vine rising to the height of the wall
and falling down in great wreaths of
beauty and fruitfulness. We can com
pare you to nothing else — your faith
groweth like a luxuriant plant, and
your love to one another abounds as
if well should be added to well until
the gathered waters flow like a river
between banks of luxuriant herbage.
You are an amazement unto us, the
continual subject of our conversation ;
we speak of you to all the churches
of God. Your patience and your
faith are great beyond all expecta
tion, and this is the more wonder
ful that you are constantly undergoing
severe persecutions and most distress
ing afflictions. You must wonder at
the discipline through which God
brings you ; you magnify the love of
God by your very patience, for nothing
but the love of God could enable you

INTRODUCTION 235
to endure such distresses and to hold
on in your course of faith. If ever
men had reason to give up the Gospel,
and yield themselves to social seduc
tions in order to escape the terrible
persecutions of ungodly men, you
might fairly give way before the
pressure, and take what you may be
able to secure of worldly ease. It
is our heart's delight to think that
you have a clear discernment of the
wonderful purpose of God in all the
laceration to which He has permitted
you to be subjected ; you see that He
is preparing you to be counted worthy
of His own kingdom, and you wisely
leave the recompense to your tor
mentors in His almighty hands. We
know what it is which gives you com
fort in the burning furnace. You
have felt, as it were, the whole
agony of affliction. What comforted
you during that all but unbearable
agony ? It was that you expected
the revelation of the Lord Jesus from
heaven; your faith was so great that

236 II. THESSALONIANS
you almost saw the outline of His
figure in the flaming heaven. The
simple explanation of all your heroic
endurance is that you are expecting
to see Jesus Christ, who shall be the
wonder of His people and their
almighty and eternal Deliverer. This
expectation sustains the faith and the
hope of all Christian believers. You
are not arbitrarily fixing God to this
or that mode of rendering Himself
visible ; you are simply resting in full
assurance that God will realise His
good-will in your experience, and you
are prepared that the divine will
should be realised according to the
divine purpose. What you really
want — and it is the supreme joy of
our heart to say so — is that the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ may be
glorified in you, your desire being
also that you shall be glorified in
Him according to the infinite measure
of the divine grace. We congratulate
you on this spiritual experience, and
we thank God that He has so far

INTRODUCTION 237
completed the miracle of His grace
in the transformation and renewal of
your soul's loveliest image.
You need some teaching in behalf of
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ;
that coming shall be a presence, a
living face, a glowing personality.
What you have to do is to leave the
whole method in the divine hands.
Simply say " Thy kingdom come," and
leave all the details of the process to
the wisdom of God. You are naturally
so sensitive about this expectation as
to make it possible that you may be
troubled by an epistle from ourselves
about the working out of this lofty
expectation. Be very careful lest in
your spiritual sensitiveness you grieve
the Spirit or even quench the Spirit.
False teachers are surrounding you,
hoping to make some profit out of the
evolution of your faith and experience ;
we beseech you not to let any man
beguile you, but to retire into the
inmost sanctuary of the divine presence

238 II. THESSALONIANS
and say to your Father in heaven,
"Thy will be done."
As to the way in which the Lord
will come, we may remind you that
the Lord Himself always treated His
own coming as a secret which He
Himself could not reveal. That coming
was known only to the Eternal Father.
Of one thing we are strongly confident,
that Jesus Christ will not come in
the truest or most obvious sense except
there come first a great falling away
from the Cross of Christ. The spirit
of lawlessness will seem to prevail over
the spirit of order : the man of sin,
the son of perdition, will try to expel
God from His own throne and make
himself the supreme object of adora
tion and obedience. There will be a
terrible apostasy. I dwelt upon this
subject when I was amongst you,
and the more I think of it the more
important it seems to be as an indi
cation of time and circumstances.
You may even expect the throwing

INTRODUCTION 239
down of everything that is orderly,
and you may fully expect also the
incoming of a great flood of lawless
ness. Satan is to be rampant for a
time — for a time, indeed, he will be
clothed with power and signs and
lying wonders, and it will appear as
if God Himself had been driven out
of His own Church. Do not allow
yourselves to be overwhelmed by such
circumstances, for it is God Himself
that is controlling the whole action
and making His purposes of providence
more and more manifest. I do not
hesitate to say that it is God Himself
who is sending a strong delusion upon
certain people that they should believe
a lie. If you study the prophets of
the Old Testament, you will find that
now and again God has confused the
nations, and in a certain sense has
permitted them to accept a lie as if
it were a revelation of Himself. We
fully admit that the circumstances
are full of confusion, and that they
could be so used as to create and

240 II. THESSALONIANS
deepen the impression that there is
nothing either true or secure under
heaven. This is the trial of faith;
everything depends upon how faith
deports itself under such conditions.
Stand fast in the Lord and in the
power of His might, knowing that
Satan is chained and that his time
is fixed, that the end of his kingdom
hastens with every pulse of your
heart. Do not suppose that we are over
borne by fear on your account. We
give thanks to God alway for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
we are more and more sure that from
the beginning God purposed your
salvation and sanctification, and that
He has been working all the time for
the establishment of your belief of the
truth. We have a peculiarly strong
conviction about you. We believe
that you are specially chosen of God
for the illustration of some of the
deepest spiritual truths ; so we say

INTRODUCTION 241
again — stand fast, lay a strong hand
upon all the doctrines which you have
already received, when we were with
you in the body, and when we wrote
to you our epistle.
God be with you. Remember that
Jesus Christ loved you and gave Him
self for you. Let this be the eternal
comfort of your souls, expressing it
self in a good hope through grace, and
stablishing you in every good word
and work. Do not give way to verbal
speculation or entangle yourselves in
wordy disputes, but keep on steadily
and hopefully, working in every pos
sible service, for work is the best
corrective of speculation and the best
discipline of mere fancy.
As we thus desire heavenly blessings
for you, so we would call you to a
ministry of prayer on our own behalf.
We are in no doubt or uncertainty as
to our faith and purpose, but we are
weak — we are subject to the great
16

242 II. THESSALONIANS
common temptation. In addition to
this, we are exposed to some of the
hottest darts of the devil ; therefore,
brethren, think of us in prayer and
especially supplicate Almighty God
that His word may run and be glori
fied even as it is within your own
boundaries as a church elect of God.
One of our immediate difficulties
arises from the conduct of unreason
able and base-minded men. They
have no pity, no sense of justice, no
respect for human feeling. Even
when they do not persecute us, they
beseech us with unreasonable and
impossible requests. We need to be
prayed for. Have us frequently in
the thought of your heart, and when
you have special access to the Father
through the Son think of us and pray
God to send a blessing upon our
ministry. You hardly know what
real faith and trust we have in you,
and about you. We are sure that
you will eagerly examine every word
which we write to you and will do

INTRODUCTION 243
your very utmost to fulfil our com
mand. We speak in the name of
the Lord. If we spoke in our own
name, we should speak hesitantly,
but because we speak in the name
Eternal hesitation gives place to con
fidence and emphasis.
You will find more and more your
need of obeying most scrupulously the
whole discipline of Christ. If any
man amongst you walks in a dis
orderly fashion, having invented some
scheme of his own, or given himself
up to some fanciful theory, or loosened
himself from the severest bonds of law
and order, avoid that man. It is easy
always to do mischief; it is always
difficult to be virtuous and obedient :
therefore, avoid all influences that
would tend to relax discipline, or
to reduce the spirit of order to a
minor position. Be followers of us.
We behaved not ourselves disorderly
amongst you; you know that we
worked as honest men, and did not

244 II. THESSALONIANS
accept any merely sentimental charity.
We worked very hard when we were
with you — and, indeed, we have worked
very hard throughout our whole apos
tolic course ; we were scrupulously
anxious not to be a burden to any man
amongst us. We have always been
particular on this matter of discip
line and self-help. We have never
encouraged idleness; we have never
invited the idle man to partake of
our loaf or cup. It is not all good
news that we have heard about you ;
we have even heard that some people
whom you know only too well have
given up working altogether, and are
spending their time as busybodies.
This kind of dissipation must be ended.
We command and exhort by the Lord
Jesus Christ that with quietness men
should work and eat their own bread.
Daily toil is good for the soul ; idle
ness always tends to moral laxity.
Observe, brethren beloved, that we are
doing something more than offering
merely kindly advice — we are laying

INTRODUCTION 245
down the commandment of God ; and
in the Spirit of Jesus Christ we com
mand that you have no company with
any man that is idle, dissipated, or lax
in discipline. We do not wish you to
drive this man away into outer dark
ness ; we wish you to admonish him,
and to address particularly and lovingly
anything in him that may betoken
brotherliness or desire to do right.
Reckless judgments are worthless.
Do not create enemies and then expel
them. Hope the very best of every
man that is in your society, and try
to recover him even if you have to
resort to austere means in breaking
down his perversity. The Lord of
peace bless you at all times and in
all ways. May every day be Sabbath
day in your soul's history ! May you
be able to retire from the crowd, and
the noise, and the distraction of daily
life, and find a corner in the sanctuary
where you can commune with the
spirit of peace and with the spirit of
love !

246 II. THESSALONIANS
Here is my signature. Look upon
this writing as a token. My autograph
is my heart. I salute every one of you
with a holy kiss. Brethren, farewell.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you all.

PRAYER BEFORE PERUSAL
Almighty God, though Thou dwellest in heaven, yet
art Thou near unto every one who calls upon Thee with
the desire of love, and unto every one in whose eyes
are the tears of penitence. Thou dost, indeed, inhabit
eternity and the praises thereof ; yet dost Thou come
unto the broken heart and the contrite spirit, making
heaven there, in answer to the cry of human pain,
under a sense of the terribleness of sin. Thou art
the God that hears and answers prayer. Our fathers
have said so ; we ourselves have known it by blessed
experience. So do we continue our supplications unto
Thy throne, even until Thou dost open the windows
of heaven and pour out a blessing, until every channel
and vessel of life be filled to overflowing. We confess
our sins ; we seek Thy pardon. We have done the
things we ought not to have done ; but Jesus Christ
Thy Son was delivered for our offences, and raised
again for our justification. We trust in the living
Saviour, who is the living God. We rest our sins on
Jesus ; we bring our guilt to His great cross ; we lay
our hand upon the sacrifice which He presented ; we
behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins
of the world. As we look upon Him with the eyes of
247

248 PRAYER BEFORE PERUSAL
our faith and our love, Thou dost say unto each of us,
" Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee."
Help us to worship sincerely and profitably in this
hour. May we see Thee in Thy truth ; feel Thee, not
only in Thy works, but in the warmth and comfort of
our own hearts, as men who, having known the bitter
ness of sin, are now permitted to know the saving grace
of the living God ! Make us sober ; excite great ex
pectations in our heart, and satisfy those expectations
with a great rain of blessing. Hear our prayer.
Have mercy upon us. Renew our strength and our
hope. Enable us to worship, in service, in suffering,
to glorify God, in whom alone we live and move and
have our being. Amen.

CHAPTER I
Verse 1 : " Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto
the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ."
WE do not know now the value of a
letter, because every morning brings
its post, and we are in constant communica
tion with our dearest friends. Consider what
it was in apostolic times to receive a letter !
Consider how precious it must have been to
such a struggling band of tried disciples as
constituted the church at Thessalonica.
Mark how wonderfully, through the in
dividual church, the Apostle addresses all
subsequent ages of the Christian dispensation.
It is the peculiarity of apostolic epistles that
they are not confined, as to their meaning
and general purposes, even to the persons to
whom they were nominally addressed. To
day the young evangelist reads the Epistles
249

250 THE SECOND EPISTLE
to Timothy and to Titus as if they had been
written expressly to himself. The full local
and personal allusions in these apostolic
letters in no degree detract from their
catholicity of spirit and their universality
of application. To-day the elder minister
who would deliver a charge to a newly-
appointed brother would come to the Epistles
to Timothy and Titus for the ground and
basis of his best counsels and exhortations.
This is the peculiarity of the whole Bible.
With all its personality, and local limitation,
and references to forgotten names and recon
structed places, there runs through the Bible
a living stream of doctrine and illustration
which will refresh the latest ages of the
Church. This is one of the main argu
ments on behalf of the divine inspiration
of the record which we regard as holy and
final.
Verse 2 : " Grace unto you, and peace, from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Lilies from the garden of God ! The
Apostles always created an atmosphere within
which their letters were to be read. The

TO THE THESSALONIANS 251
Apostles gathered the Thessalonians into one
loving body of redeemed men, and baptized
them, so to say, with grace and peace from
the unseen fountain of the infinite love. The
benediction is the atmosphere in which the
letter is to be read. I must apply this more
and more to my own reading of the whole
Scriptures. I must not come into this
sanctuary with reckless feet, or with a mind
stuffed with its own worthless vanities of
criticism and speculation. I must enter the
temple of Holy Scripture in the spirit which
inspired it and sealed it to me and to every
man as a special inheritance of the soul.
What is the first verse in the Bible but
another way of saying, " Grace unto you, and
peace, from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ " ? The whole Trinity is in the
opening chapters of Genesis. Where the
Trinity is, the benediction is. The benedic
tion, therefore, is the spirit in which we must
receive God's letters addressed to the need,
the pain, and the sorrow of the heart. An
impetuous piety might cut off all the saluta
tions, benedictions, and greetings, under the
impression that it was going into the very

252 THE SECOND EPISTLE
centre of the matter revealed. This would
be an infinite mistake. These apparently
superfluous portions are essential to the
colour, the atmosphere, and the emphasis of
the whole revelation. Have I received this
grace and peace into my own heart ? Am I
in constant and vital communication with the
Eternal God ? Am I living upon my own
favour, am I trying to create my own peace,
or do I go daily to the heavenly fountain,
and moment by moment connect myself with
the springs of heaven ?

Verse 3 : " We are bound to thank God always for
you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith
groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of
you all toward each other aboundeth."

What a reputation to have ! The reputa
tion would be worth having if it were con
ferred by one of their own number, but being
conferred by such men as Paul and Silvanus
and Timotheus, how precious was the spiritual
fame ! We ourselves are bound to thank
God for all good men, all wise teachers, all
holy examples. How poor would the world
be if we were to take out of its records the

TO THE THESSALONIANS 253
influence of the very humblest workers who
have accepted the service of Christ ! The
Apostles, in effect, kept a record of the growth
of Christianity in their day : how true it is
that God Himself keeps a book of remem
brance in which all our lives are traced with
the pen of justice held by the hand of for
bearing mercy ! The Thessalonians had so
lived as to create a fame extending far
beyond their own local boundaries. We
create the best fame when we pay no atten
tion to it ; ever-toiling, ever-hoping love
will bring the soul all the fame that is due
to it. The Thessalonians were not to be kept
within bounds, that is the literal meaning
of the words " groweth exceedingly." They
were as branches that grew beyond the walls
of their own enclosure ; they were as an
overflowing stream refreshing the lands be
yond. Nor was it a growth or a blessing
of this kind only, the great public influence
was to be accounted for in no small measure
by the internal charity of the Thessalonian
brethren. They were good at home, there
fore, they had fame abroad. "The charity
of every one of you all toward each other

254 THE SECOND EPISTLE
aboundeth " — where this is the home record,
the foreign reputation will take its scope
and quality from it. How pitiable it is
for any man to have a great public reputa
tion and to have but a mean or unworthy
record at home ! " Other vineyards have I
kept, mine own vineyard have I not kept."
This was not so with the Thessalonians, for
each emulated the love and the service of the
other. Here I might pierce my heart with
many a severe question. Have I been wanting
in love to my brethren ? Have I filled my
own house with the spirit of love ? Do
servants and children think the house sweeter
and better because I am in it ? If a man
fail in love, surely he fails altogether, though
he speak with many tongues, and can cast
his prophetic spirit over the centuries to
come.
Verse 4 : "So that we ourselves glory in you in
the churches of God for your patience and faith in
all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure."
In this way we may do good even to the
greatest men : we encourage them in their
work ; we confirm them in their faith ; we

TO THE THESSALONIANS 255
stir them up to more heroic endurance. The
churches were the best commendation of the
Apostles. They had no written certificates
to carry them from city to city or from
land to land; but they could point to their
converts, and say, in the name of Jesus
Christ, " Behold the value and extent of
our holy work." Wonderful is the power
of example and influence in encouraging
other men, and thus multiplying their
ministry. The writer to the Hebrews be
came quite exultant when he recalled the
names of Gedeon, and Barak, Samson, and
Jephthae, David also, and Samuel ! Thus we
live in one another and for one another.
As we recall the past in an appreciative
and grateful spirit, we best prepare for an
unknown future.
The Thessalonians did not live a contem
plative and luxurious life, one man excelling
another in poetic phraseology, or in colour and
tuneful dreams. Far from it. The record
is one of " tribulations that ye endure." It
was precisely so in the olden time. The
great souls of yesterday "through faith

256 THE SECOND EPISTLE
subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of
lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped
the edge of the sword, out of weakness were
made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned
to flight the armies of the aliens." This
is but an expansion of verse 4. If we could
read "patience," "faith," "persecutions"
aright, we should see in the depths of these
historical terms the whole tragedy of suffer
ing in the name of God and for the sake
of Christ. We say, " Happy is the nation
that has no annals," but we cannot say so
of the Christian Church. Poor is the church
whose history is not written in trouble
and defeat, in fear and in sorrow of divers
kinds. Our experience is our strength.
Poor is the soul that has had no trial of
patience and faith, and that has never tasted
the bitterness of persecutions and tribula
tions. This is one of the very glories of
Christ Himself, that He was made perfect
through suffering. " Consider Him who
endured such contradiction of sinners against
Himself, lest ye be weary and faint in your
minds."

TO THE THESSALONIANS 257
Verse 5 : " Which is a manifest token of the
righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted
worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also
suffer."

If we read " persecution " aright, we shall
see that it is only preparing itself for the
righteous judgment of God. The Apostles
would never allow their converts to be scared
by their adversaries. In writing to the
Philippians, Paul says, " In nothing terrified
by your adversaries " — that is, affrighted,
scared, alarmed ; be perfectly calm in the
presence of the fiercest opposition. The
great object which the soul must have con
stantly in view is that it " may be counted
worthy of the kingdom of God, for which
ye also suffer." Jesus Christ said the same
thing when He pronounced the Beatitude
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake : for theirs is the king
dom of heaven." The Apostle Peter waxed
eloquent when he thought of subdued oppo
sition and sanctified affliction : " Beloved,
think it not strange concerning the fiery
trial which is to try you, as though some
strange thing happened unto you : but rejoice,
17 *

258 THE SECOND EPISTLE
inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's
sufferings ; that, when His glory shall be
revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding
joy " (1 Peter iv. 12, 13). This is not the only
occasion on which the Apostle Paul cheers
heroic sufferers : " It is a faithful saying :
For if we be dead with Him, we shall
also live with Him : if we suffer, we shall
also reign with Him" (2 Tim. ii. 11, 12).
James would have sufferers for Christ's sake
count it all joy when they fall into divers
trials, because he knows that one virtue
prepares the way for another, and that the
end of all trial is the soul's completeness in
Christ. The Apostles laid it down as a
fundamental truth in Christian experience
that " we must through much tribulation
enter into the kingdom of God." This is
true of every kingdom that is worth entering.
We must in some sense pay the price for
all our culture, strength, influence. It is
a mistake to limit the word " price " to
money, or to construe " pay " as a commercial
transaction. "All that will live godly in
Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution." If we
continue with Christ in His temptations, He

TO THE THESSALONIANS 259
will appoint unto us a kingdom; in other
words, if we suffer, we shall also reign with
Him.
Verse 6 : " Seeing it is a righteous thing with
God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble
you."
Christians are in the charge of Christ. He
knows every trouble that they bear. He
knows when they are utterly overcome by
fatigue, when they can no longer run as strong
men, but " pursue," though with faintness.
He who smites the Christian smites Christ,
and God will see that the smiter himself is
smitten, not for the mere sake of avenging
insult, but for the man's own sake, that he may
see how much it means to fight against the
living Lord. Let us rest in the confidence that
vengeance is God's, and He will repay. " For
thus saith the Lord of hosts ; After the glory
hath He sent me unto the nations which
spoiled you : for he that toucheth you toucheth
the apple of His eye " (Zech. ii. 8).
Verse 7 : " And to you who are troubled rest
with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with His mighty angels."
The Apostles do not separate themselves

260 THE SECOND EPISTLE
from the common Christian life of the
churches, hence the expression "with us."
"Rest" is a term which admits of many appli
cations — peace of mind, deliverance from
anxiety, the sleep of death, the sabbath of
untroubled confidence. The Apostles had no
doubt as to the living personality of the Lord
Jesus. To them the Saviour was not only an
inspiring memory, or a hallowing influence —
He was a distinct Being, a Personality about
whose identity there could be no possible
mistake. The Lord Jesus is revealed from
heaven in many ways. This is characteristic
of the divine revelation from age to age. God
came in fire, in wind, in sudden and uplifting
inspirations, in a still small voice, anony
mously in His wrestling with Jacob, almost
literally in His talking to Moses and the
prophets. These are favourite symbols of the
divine revelation. " The Son of Man shall
come in the glory of His Father with His
angels ; and then He shall reward every man
according to his works " (Matt. xvi. 27) ;
" The Son of man shall send forth His angels,
and they shall gather out of His kingdom
all things that offend, and them which do

TO THE THESSALONIANS 261
iniquity ; and shall cast them into a furnace
of fire " (Matt. xiii. 41, 42).
Verse 8 : "In flaming fire taking vengeance on
them that know not God, and that obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The Bible has never disguised the fact that
when the Lord Jesus comes it will be a fearful
day for the sinner. We are to understand
these terms as inflicting the severest spiritual
punishment upon the soul. Regard fire as
a symbol, and out of it will come all the
appalling suggestions associated with the
judicial term. For a time the Lord Jesus
accepts His rejection with serenity and even
with sorrowful acquiescence. Passages of this
kind should be contrasted with passages of
the opposite nature, such as, " I am meek and
lowly in heart " ; "When He was reviled, He
reviled not again; when He suffered, He
threatened not " ; " He gave His back to the
smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked
off the hair." Side by side with such tender
descriptions of the Saviour's forbearance and
meekness set passages which seem to be
aflame with holy indignation : " Behold, the

262 THE SECOND EPISTLE
Lord will come with fire, and with His
chariots like a whirlwind, to render His
anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames
of fire " ; "A certain fearful looking for of
judgment and of fiery indignation, which
shall devour the adversaries"; "For our
God is a consuming fire " ; " The heavens
and the earth, which are now, by the same
word are kept in store, reserved unto fire
against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men " ; " The wicked shall be turned
into hell, and all the nations that forget God " ;
" Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of
man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and
also of the Gentile." From these passages we
learn how great must have been the suffering
of God and of His Son in the face of our
rebellion, ingratitude, and rejection of His
offered love. We require such passages to
give us some idea of God's conception of the
Cross. It was from no superficial punishment
that God sought to preserve us. He knew
the result, the natural and inevitable result,
of hard-heartedness and unbelief ; and only
at the last, so to say, when he was forced to
bring the argument of consequences to bear

TO THE THESSALONIANS 263
upon us, did He speak of all this fire, and
darkness, and torment. A right reading of
God's mercy will give us also a right reading
of our own sin. What must sin be when it
cost the Eternal God so much to remove it
from the world which it disgraced and dis-
ennobled !
Verse 9 : " Who shall be punished with ever
lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
and from the glory of His power."
This is the punishment of deprivation !
To be shut out of God's presence, to be
turned away from the light, to have no
share in the bounty of noonday — these are
deprivations so complete as to amount to a
positive penalty. Surely intimations of this
kind should have a deterrent effect upon
sinful souls. " These shall go away into
everlasting punishment." " He shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the
presence of the Lamb : and the smoke of
their torment ascendeth up for ever and
ever." What, then, must sin be! It is no
problem in ethics, it is no temporary lapse
or defect of harmony; it is a cruel wound

264 THE SECOND EPISTLE
inflicted upon the heart of infinite love.
What, then, must be their joy who are de
livered from all this sorrow and are called
into the kingdom of light and peace ! "In
Thy presence is fulness of joy ; at Thy right
hand there are pleasures for evermore."
Trifle with these words as we may, there
they remain, representing the saddest tragedy
in the universe. It may suit us in some
moods to ignore the appalling side of things,
but they are wise who look at that side
steadily, thoughtfully, and prayerfully. What
ever the destiny of the wicked may be, the
Bible never associates it with anything
that is not terror-inspiring and unspeakably
appalling. " They shall go into the holes
of the rocks, and into the caves of the
earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the
glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to
shake terribly the earth." "Behold, He
cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall
see Him, and they also which pierced Him :
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of Him. Even so, Amen " (Rev. i. 7).
It is one of two things when Christ comes
to us — He brings salvation or , destruction.

TO THE THESSALONIANS 265
The Gospel is a savour of life unto life, or
of death unto death. " A Sceptre shall rise
out of Israel, and shall smite the corners
of Moab, and destroy all the children of
Sheth." My soul, come not thou into the
secret of these experiences ! I must not
fritter away my time in speculating upon
the destiny of the wicked; I must devote
myself heart and soul to the obedience of
the Gospel. The mysteries of destiny are
not to be solved by intellectual speculation.
We are to serve the Son, and kiss His lips
lest He be angry with us, and we perish
from the way when His wrath is kindled
but a little.
Verse 10 : " When He shall come to be glorified in
His saints, and to be admired' in all them that believe
(because our testimony among you was believed) in
that day."
To the Egyptians the presence of God was
one thing, to Israel quite another. So it
shall be in the coming of our Lord. To His
enemies how great a terror ! to us who expect
Him with all the ardour of love what an
unspeakable joy ! Christ shall not be left

266 THE SECOND EPISTLE
destitute in the winding up of the economies
and dispensations of time. " Lo, a great
multitude, which no man could number, of
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues, stood before the throne, and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and
palms in their hands ; and cried with a loud
voice, saying, Salvation to our God which
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
And all the angels stood round about the
throne, and about the elders and the four
beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces,
and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing,
and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving,
and honour, and power, and might, be unto
our God for ever and ever." The Church is
the glory of Christ. Did not the Apostle
mean the same thing when he said, " What is
our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are
not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus
Christ at His coming ? For ye are our glory
and joy " ? Shall I be a gem in the crown of my
Saviour ? Shall I be recognised by Him when
He brings His final criticism to bear upon the
history of men ? Shall I by His own love be
made worthy of a place at His feet ? These

TO THE THESSALONIANS 267
are the questions which should purify motive
and elevate conduct to its highest level.
Verses 11, 12 : " Wherefore also we pray always for
you, that our God would count you worthy of this
calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness,
and the work of faith with power : that the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and
ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the
Lord Jesus Christ."
What is to be the outcome of persecution
and tribulation such as we have read of in
verse 4 ? Jesus saw beyond all the suffering.
He endured the cross, despising the shame ;
and from afar He saw the gathered Church,
with the blood mark upon it, the sign of
redemption and the seal of acceptance. Only
let us give ourselves up to God that He may
fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness,
and the work of faith with power. Our own
little works are not to be the measure of the
final glory with which Christ shall crown our
lives. " Not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace."
We are to think of God as having predeter
mined all things, and as never for a moment
sharing His throne or sceptre with any rival
power. We are to think of Him as " having

268 II. THESSALONIANS
predestinated us unto the adoption of childrer
by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the
good pleasure of His will" (Eph. i. 5). This
issue is worth fighting for and waiting for
We are apt to be impatient by the slowness
of time and the disappointment of narrow
calculations. We are to live in the grace of
God. We are to nestle in the heart of the
infinite mercy. Then, come the day of reve
lation when it may, it will bring with it a
morning which no night shall displace — an
infinite calm which no storm can trouble.

CHAPTER II
Verse 1 : " Now we beseech you, brethren, by the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto Him."
rjlHUS the Apostle turns the upper-
-*- most thought of the Thessalonians to
advantage, making many practical possi
bilities turn upon it. There can be no doubt
that the Thessalonians were in some way
expecting the coming of the Lord — the
Apostle does not avail himself of any am
biguous metaphor in setting forth that great
event in Christian history. This is no
uncommon idea in the New Testament.
" Exhorting one another : and so much the
more, as ye see the day approaching "
(Heb. x. 25). Indeed, in the first Epistle
addressed to the Thessalonian church the
matter is referred to in equally definite
terms. " For the Lord Himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice
269

270 THE SECOND EPISTLE
of the archangel, and with the trump of
God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first :
then we which are alive and remain shall
be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and
so shall we ever be with the Lord "
(1 Thess. iv. 16, 17). There is a sense in
which we may daily expect the coming of
the Lord; so comforted am I by this re
flection that I do not concern myself with
specific dates— the date may interfere with
the spiritual significance of the event. It is
enough for my heart to know that the Lord,
in His own way, and at His own time,
will come to claim His own people. Whilst
we are calculating dates we may be sacrificing
opportunities of doing good. Speculation
has its bounds ; but service has its immediate
responsibilities. I will sit on the steps of
the sanctuary until the Lord Himself is
pleased to open the door and shed upon me
the light of His countenance.
Verse 2 : " That ye be not soon shaken in mind,
or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand."
What a penetrating estimate of the whole

TO THE THESSALONIANS 271
possibility! The very comforts of the
Christian may be turned into troubles by
mischievous men. They will suggest, or
invent, or misapply, or in any way pervert
both the word and the work of God so as
to unsettle the faith of the Christian. On
all subjects so delicate there may be advisers
whom God has not called into His counsels,
or put in charge of His revelations. " Beloved,
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). The Lord Himself foresaw
that certain perverse minds would take
advantage of His promise to come again and
unsettle the faith and hope of many. " Take
heed that no man deceive you. For many
shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ ;
and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear
of wars and rumours of wars : see that ye be
not troubled : for all these things must come
to pass, but the end is not yet " (Matt. xxiv.
4-6). The coming of Christ, even in the
first instance, was not made matter of date,
but was hidden in the heart of man as a
great expectation and a daily stimulus to

272 THE SECOND EPISTLE
faith and hope. So it is with the second
coming. Certain great events have to take
place before the Lord shall reappear. " This
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in
all the world for a witness unto all nations ;
and then shall the end come " (Matt. xxiv. 14).
This expectation has maintained the courage
of the Church from century to century.
" We, according to His promise, look for new
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness" (2 Pet. iii. 13). We are not
to allow ourselves to be disturbed and
troubled upon the matter of our Lord's
reappearance ; the soul is to rest in the Lord
and wait patiently for Him. The best way
to prepare for the Second Advent of Christ
is by doing the duty which lies to our hand,
assured that when the Lord comes that
servant will be blessed who is found waiting,
doing his Lord's will, and lovingly cherishing
the Lord's promise. This is my faith. Here
my soul rests amid all the clouds, vexations,
and trials of this present time. Centuries
are much to me, but they are less than a
moment to the living God; to Him a
thousand years are as one day, and one day

TO THE THESSALONIANS 273
is as a thousand years. A false estimate will
disable us for the true interpretation of God's
purposes and God's promises.
Verse 3 : " Let no man deceive you by any means :
for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition."
The Apostle always kept his eyes on the
possibility that deceivers would arise to vex
the church. The Apostles did not necessarily
expect the Lord even in their own time,
though many of their words on a superficial
glance would countenance the idea that He
might come at any moment. An assurance
such as we find in this verse plainly indicates
that many things were to happen before the
second coming of the Son of man. Notably
there was to be a great apostasy; there was
also to be a great revelation of the image
and influence of evil. " Now the Spirit
speaketh expressly, that in the latter times
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed
to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils ;
speaking lies in hypocrisy ; having their
conscience seared with a hot iron ; forbidding
to marry, and commanding to abstain from
18

274 THE SECOND EPISTLE
meats, which God hath created to be received
with thanksgiving of them which believe
and know the truth" (1 Tim. iv. 1-3).
What an unspeakable comfort it is to know
that even apostasies are calculated in the
divine scheme and evolution of things !
Nothing happens that has not been foreseen
and, as it were, arranged for. The devil is
to be seen in all his naked hideousness, the
spirit of evil is to do its worst. Greater
things have yet to be seen in the realm of
evil. When the enemy has come to the end
of his chain he is to be bruised and destroyed.
" Satan himself is transformed into an angel
of light." We read of some evil influences
which are described as " the spirits of devils
working miracles." "There shall arise false
Christs and false prophets, and shall shew
signs and wonders to seduce, if it were
possible, even the elect." The intensest
darkness proverbially precedes the dawn.
Verse 4 : " Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped ;
so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God
shewing himself that he is God."
Speculation about the " man of sin," or

TO THE THESSALONIANS 275
" the son of perdition, who opposeth and ex
alteth himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshipped," is to a large extent
unprofitable. Let us keep to the facts with
which we are only too painfully familiar —
that is to say, to the destructive influences
which are continually at work in our own
hearts. Whilst we are going in search of
speculative answers to mysterious questions
the enemy may be working havoc in our
own souls. This is the spiritual position
which I desire to maintain. If there are
peculiarly gifted or specially inspired persons
who can see into the secret ways of God,
let them speak with a due sense of responsi
bility; but as for those of us to whom no
such gift has been entrusted, let us keep
our hearts with all diligence, and serve in
love where we cannot speak in the spirit of
prophecy. There must be no self -exaltation ;
there must be no endeavour to oust the living
God from His own throne, or from His own
temple. We must live in humbleness and
gravity of mind; then the day can bring us
no surprise that will unsettle our faith, and
no cloud that can blot out our hope.

276 THE SECOND EPISTLE
Verses 5-7 : " Remember ye not, that, when I
was yet with you, I told you these things? And
now ye know what withholdeth that he might be
revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity
doth already work : only he who now letteth will
let, until he be taken out of the way."
These are words of supreme mystery which
we cannot literally interpret. Yet we can
appreciate their spiritual idealism. The
language is strange to us, and yet it seems
clearly to express the pain created by some
burden and torment of personal experience.
There are voices in the air we cannot in
terpret. Many an effect cannot be traced
to its hidden cause. There is undoubtedly
a mystery of iniquity working in the motives,
the policies, the ambitions, and even in the
prayers of men. The devil will die hard.
We have certain great rules by which to
determine our own conduct. "Every spirit
that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh is not of God : and this is that
spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard
that it should come ; and even now already
is it in the world " (1 John iv. 3). In the
Second Epistle of Peter the strongest language
is used respecting the apostasy : " there shall

TO THE THESSALONIANS 277
be false teachers among you, who privily
shall bring in damnable heresies, even deny
ing the Lord that bought them, and bring
upon themselves swift destruction. And
many shall follow their pernicious ways "
(2 Pet. ii. I, 2). Many of these passages
must be regarded ideally, rather than literally
and narrowly. The soul will be able to read
the meaning which is hidden within the shell
of the letter. We know what it is to be
spiritually seduced ; let us beware lest we
make a mystery of our own backsliding,
wondering what it is and shirking responsi
bility for its occurrence when we know
perfectly well that the reason is hidden in
the iniquity of our own hearts.
Verses 8-10 : " And then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of His coming : even him, whose coming
is after the working of Satan, with all power and
signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness
of unrighteousness in them that perish ; because they
received not the love of the truth, that they might
be saved."
As well attempt to describe in words all the
mysteries of light and shade which are hidden

278 THE SECOND EPISTLE
in the incalculable movements and changes
of the clouds. A strong metaphor is that
which represents the personality of "that
Wicked." The deepest mysteries of God can
only be hinted at by strong metaphors and
graphic analogies. The " Wicked " has been
seen through many ages by the spiritual
intuition of the sons of God. " The beast was
slain, and his body destroyed and given to
the burning flame." But never has the
" Wicked " been represented as greater than
God. The existence of the " Wicked " has
not been denied, but the Spirit and power of
God have been set in glorious contrast to all
that is called evil and destructive. History
is the thrilling record of the perpetual contest
between light and darkness, truth and false
hood, heaven and hell. God ultimately
prevails. "The word of God is quick and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing 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" (Heb. iv. 12).
Who can stand before Him whose name is
"Faithful and True," whose eyes are as

TO THE THESSALONIANS 279
a flame of fire, on whose head are many
crowns, and whose written name no man but
Himself can read ? The Bible is full of
assurance that God, and not the devil, shall
ultimately prevail. The great spirit of
Victory is clothed with a vesture dipped in
blood, and is followed by the armies of
heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
" Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that
with it He should smite the nations." Let
there be no mistake about this whole matter :
the evil will come, the " Wicked " will be
revealed, the mystery of iniquity will work,
and the son of perdition shall be recognised.
Our trust is in the Lord who came from
Sinai, and rose up from Seir : the Lord who
shone from Mount Paran, who came with ten
thousands of saints, and out of whose right
hand there went a fiery law. In what
sanctuaries of rock has the Lord hidden His
people ? He has housed them in the granite
and set around them flaming swords. "He
shall smite the earth with the rod of His
mouth, and with the breath of His lips
shall He slay the wicked." They who fight
against God shall be trodden under foot

280 THE SECOND EPISTLE
and their dust shall be thrown upon the
stormy wind.
Note in verse 10 the striking expression
" deceivableness of unrighteousness." Note
the charge that is brought against the evil-
minded : " They received not the love of the
truth." Observe what gracious opportunities
had been created for them, and the Lord had
brought them His Gospel, so to say, with His
own lips : " This is the condemnation, that
light is come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil " (John iii. 19).
Verses 11, 12: "And for this cause God shall
send them strong delusion, that they should believe
a lie : that they all might be damned who believed
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
This is one of the most solemn mysteries
of life. Observe that God states the cause
of His action. He had to deal with the very
spirit of evil. The utmost cunning and false
hood of the spirit of wickedness had to be
encountered and destroyed. God has been
so provoked in His people that in the very

TO THE THESSALONIANS 281
act of answering their prayers He has de
stroyed their souls. "My people would not
hearken to My voice ; and Israel would none
of Me." What was the result of such re
bellion ? God gave them up unto their own
hearts' lust, and they walked in their own
counsels. This has always been the course
which even the divine mercy has pursued.
God's Spirit did not always strive with men ;
He retired, as it were, baffled and disappointed.
Nevertheless God's judgment prevailed where
His Spirit was quenched. " As they did not
like to retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a reprobate mind " (Rom.
i. 28). There is no punishment so incon
ceivably appalling as that man should be
brought under the dominion of strong de
lusions. This is lunacy of the most appalling
sort. Let us pray God to keep us out of
such intolerable darkness ! To believe that
wrong is right, to believe that blasphemy is
prayer, to regard the rising of the sun as
the reign of darkness — what can be more
terrible, what can be more like the horrors
of perdition ! Oh that my mind may be kept
simple, childlike, ever trustful in God ! I

282 THE SECOND EPISTLE
have heard that God may grant a man the
desire of his heart and then send leanness
upon his soul. Oh that God would take the
evil out of my prayers, the selfishness out of
my aspirations, the falsehood out of my vows !
Verse 13: "But we are bound to give thanks
alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to
salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth."
Amid all the clouds there is one speck of
blue ! However many may be the enemies
gathered in anger and hate around the cross
of Christ, there are some steadfast hearts
who love the Christ and will not forsake
the standard. This is the miracle of God.
This is no mere fancy-work on the part of
the Thessalonian believers ; it is the per
fecting of a divine purpose. The Apostle
in his first letter gives the true key to the
meaning of his congratulation and confidence :
" Knowing, brethren beloved, your election
of God." The Apostle would never have it
that things come and go within some small
circle of their own, nor would he for a moment
tolerate the doctrine that the Church is left

TO THE THESSALONIANS 283
at the mercy of whims, inventions, and clever
conjectures of men. This is the true explana
tion : " He hath chosen us in Him before
the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in
love " (Eph. i. 4). Christians are not mere
accidents ; faith is no straw blown about by
shifting winds. " Whom He did predestinate,
them He also called ; and whom He called,
them He also justified ; and whom He justified,
them He also glorified" (Rom. viii. 30).
How this explanation covers the whole ground
and fills the whole firmament with morning
light ! The Apostle does not praise the Thes
salonians — he praises God. He thanks God
for the Thessalonians as he might thank God
for an abundant harvest. The sinner is saved
by grace — in grace he must stand. No other
lamp can light him through the wilderness ;
no other power can bear him through the
swellings of Jordan.
Verse 14 : " Whereunto He called you by our
gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ."
The consummation of freedom and blessed
ness is traced to the Gospel. First the law,

284 THE SECOND EPISTLE
then the love, then the glory ! We have to
make our calling and election sure. " Let
every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity." Discipleship must
always carry its own broad and decisive
proofs. "Walk worthy of God, who hath
called you unto His kingdom and glory." Do
not so much tell people that you are called
unto eternal glory by Christ Jesus as live
in such a manner that they themselves will
be constrained to acknowledge that within
you and behind you is the whole strength
of God. Observe what it is to what the
Thessalonians were called. That is given in
verse 13 : " chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth." Holiness is the best defence of
Christianity. Words are poor compared with
the evidence of a pure, true, simple, tender
love.
Verse 15 : " Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and
hold the traditions which ye have been taught,
whether by word, or our epistle."
This is the point to which it all comes :
" Stand fast." This is a favourite term with

TO THE THESSALONIANS 285
the Apostle. It is full of military fire and
precision. The Apostle uses the word in the
First Epistle and in the Second Epistle, so
that there might be no mistake about the
austerity and the soldierly command. The
Apostle used the same term in writing to
the Corinthians : " Watch ye, stand fast in
the faith, quit you like men, be strong." The
same term is used in the letter to the
Philippians : " My brethren, dearly beloved
and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand
fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." There
must be no wavering. On all moral questions
and in all moral conduct men must know
where to find the Christian. He abides by
the law of Christ and works out that law
in the Spirit of Christ, so that there can be no
mistake as to the tone of his mind and the
meaning of his actions.
Verses 16, 17 : " Now our Lord Jesus Christ Him
self, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us,
and hath given us everlasting consolation and good
hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish
you in every good word and work."
The Apostle would comfort the Thessalo
nians with an infinite fulness of consolation.

286 THE SECOND EPISTLE
The Lord works in His people the virtue of
steadfastness. We stand fast as a reward of
our prayers and a daily sealing of our
adoption into the family of God. The Apostle
takes the Thessalonians to a broad, deep,
overflowing river, and tells them that the
mighty stream is but a poor symbol of the
greater river which takes its rise in the heart
of God. The stars are not so sure in their
places as are the souls that stand fast in
the faith and comfort of the Gospel. " Unto
Him that loved us and washed us from our
sins in His own blood " be the glory of our
steadfastness. Once more the Apostle con
ducts the Thessalonians to the true sanctuary
and to its inmost altar red with love-speaking
blood, and above it the guarding seraphim.
"Hope maketh not ashamed ; because the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Ghost which is given unto us." When
the Apostle Paul speaks of comfort He speaks
in the very tone of his Master and Lord :
" Let not your hearts be troubled, ye believe
in God, believe also in me." We must be
stablished in every good word and work ; we
may reverse the terms, and say, " in every

TO THE THESSALONIANS 287
good work and word." The Apostle desires
no human comfort for faithful but perse
cuted souls; he commits such souls to
" the Father of mercies, and the God of all
comfort." The Apostle has no doubt of the
great issue ; the sons of God shall be
brought in triumph and in completeness to
the sanctuary which is above. God will lose
none from His holy keeping. " He also shall
confirm you unto the end, that ye may be
blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ." Sooner shall the enemy tear up the
mountains and scatter the very stars of night
than he shall unsettle the souls stablished in
grace and fortified by the living Word. " If
God be for us, who can be against us ? " " If,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to
God by the death of His Son, much more,
being reconciled, we shall be saved by His
life." The persecutors are many, the tempta
tions are manifold, the fiery darts come down
upon us in showers — and yet greater is He
that is with us than any who can be against
us. Though for Christ's sake we are killed
all the day long, and are counted as sheep for
the slaughter, yet in all these things are

288 II. THESSALONIANS
we more than conquerors through Him that
loved us. Let us sing our song of faith and
hope so loudly that even the enemy may hear
it and may be discouraged because of our
daily access of confidence in God.

CHAPTER III
Verse 1 : " Finally, brethren, pray for us, that
the word of the Lord may have free course, and be
glorified, even as it is with you."
OO the less may serve the greater. Only
^ the most deeply experienced can set a
proper value upon the efficacy of prayer.
Science is daily teaching us that the voice
produces wonderful effects upon the air and
upon natural substances, so much so that the
sound of the voice can change the colour and
the form of things. We have never brought
our conception of prayer within the possibility
of such definite influence. Apply the teach
ing of science to the doctrine of prayer. Who
knows what miracles are being wrought upon
natural substances, upon the hearts of others,
upon the heart of God, by incessant and
fervent prayer? The Apostle Paul loved to
be prayed for, and in thus beseeching the
289 19

290 THE SECOND EPISTLE
churches to remember him in intercession, he
almost invested the humblest member of the
household of Christ with a new function and
a special ministry. The Apostle did not
deign to disregard the prayers of the poorest
for his own personal protection and comfort,
but he specially desired the supplication of
the saints on behalf of the Gospel itself, that
it might spread over all the world. He
would have all people be, as it were, re
productions of the Thessalonians, who had
provided an open door for the evangelical
message, and had in their own persons so
glowingly illustrated the power of the Gospel
that others might reproduce the Thessalonian
example, and rest sure that in going in the
direction of the Thessalonians they were
pursuing the right way. What a tribute
was this to the excellence of the Thessalonian
Christians ! How the Apostle Paul delighted
in the practice of prayer and in enjoining it
upon the churches ! " Praying always with
all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints " (Eph. vi. 18).
" Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing

TO THE THESSALONIANS 291
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God "
(Phil. iv. 6). To the Thessalonians he said,
" Pray without ceasing " (1 Thess. v. 17).
Jesus Christ Himself had enjoined upon His
disciples the duty of prayer. " Men ought
always to pray, and not to faint " (Luke
xviii. 1). "Watch and pray, that ye enter
not into temptation " (Matt. xxvi. 41).
" Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,
that He will send forth labourers into His
harvest" (Matt. ix. 38). The Apostle had
confidence that by the prayers of the saints
his ministry would be brought to the highest
issues. " Now I beseech you, brethren, for
the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love
of the Spirit, that ye strive together with
me in your prayers to God for me " (Rom.
xv. 30). In writing to the Colossians he
desired a special interest in their prayers for
the same purpose : " Praying also for us, that
God would open unto us a door of utterance,
to speak the mystery of Christ" (Col. iv. 3).
If a great man like the Apostle Paul could
not dispense with the prayers of Christians,
ought not I to encourage the offering of such

292 THE SECOND EPISTLE
prayers on my own account ? When men pray
for their ministers they cannot undervalue
their labours. They should regard such
labours as an answer to their own prayers.
Having sown the seed of prayer, they should
expect the harvest of profitable service.
Verse 2 : " And that we may be delivered from
unreasonable and wicked men : for all men have not
faith."
The term " unreasonable " does not refer
so much to its intellectual aspects as to some
species of moral deformity. We might read,
that we may be delivered from "monstrous
men " — men whose excited and exaggerated
notion of things disturbs the steady flow of
honest service. You may injure the reputa
tion of a minister in a foolish attempt to
exaggerate it. By irrationally exciting ex
pectation men do but encourage disappoint
ment. We are to expect from our ministers
the best their abilities can render, but we
have not any right to exact from them
monstrous, exaggerated, and fantastic service.
The Apostle reminds the Thessalonians that
all men have not faith. Even some who

TO THE THESSALONIANS 293
profess to be Christians may be only intellec-
tualists, or theorists, or inventors of fables.
Where there is true faith there will be
gravity and soberness of expectation. " By
grace are ye saved through faith ; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God"
(Eph. ii. 8).
Verse 3: "But the Lord is faithful, who shall
stablish you, and keep you from evil."
That is the sanctuary in which the soul
must live. We must not look to the pro
visions of man, but to the statutes and
promises of God. We live within the fortress
of a divine covenant. Look at the strength
of the walls which surround the soul ! We
do not make our own security ; our builder
and maker is God. "God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that
ye are able ; but will with the temptation
also make a way to escape, that ye may be
able to bear it " (1 Cor. x. 13). Do not look
at your own resources, do not dwell upon
your own infirmities : look unto the hills
whence cometh your help ; your help cometh
from the Lord of hosts, and you know how

294 THE SECOND EPISTLE
great is His strength, for He made heaven
and earth. " The Lord knoweth how to
deliver the godly out of temptations, and to
reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment
to be punished " (2 Pet. ii. 9). The soul of the
believer is as a city guarded by impregnable
rocks. He may have dark days, and days of
storm, and times of mental depression, never
theless the foundation of God standeth sure,
having this seal, "the Lord knoweth them that
are His." Under such circumstances persecu
tion itself brings with it a kind of joy, for it
reveals the infinite resources, the unsearch
able riches, available to the Christian. Not
until we have exhausted God need we give
ourselves up to the darkness of despair.
Verses 4, 5 : " And we have confidence in the
Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the
things which we command you. And the Lord direct
your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient
waiting for Christ."
Encouragement upon encouragement ! God
Himself gives rich consolation by the way, as
if to make heaven itself less and less of a
surprise to the chastened and sanctified soul.
" The fruit of the Spirit is love." " Praying

TO THE THESSALONIANS 295
in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the
love of God." How we must persevere !
" Do and will do " are wonderful words of
encouragement. Always remember that the
King is coming nearer and nearer : " The
Lord will suddenly come to His temple " —
suddenly, that is, to our ignorance, but not
suddenly in His own slowly developing
purpose. " Be patient, therefore, brethren,
unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the
husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of
the earth, and hath long patience for it, until
he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye
also patient ; stablish your hearts : for the
coming of the Lord draweth nigh " (James v.
7, 8). The Christian has all history to fall
back upon in illustration of the divine Spirit
and the divine method in personal and uni
versal providence : " Take, my brethren, the
prophets, who have spoken in the name of
the Lord, for an example of suffering afflic
tion, and of patience" (James v. 10). The
people of God have never hesitated to confess
that affliction has been good for them and that
loss has been turned into gain. The Psalmist
said, " Blessed is the man whom Thou

296 THE SECOND EPISTLE
chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of
Thy law " (Ps. xciv. 12). Jesus Christ said,
" Ye shall be hated of all men for My name's
sake : but he that endureth to the end shall
be saved" (Matt. x. 22). The Apostle Paul
himself said, " To them who by patient
continuance in well doing seek for glory
and honour and immortality, eternal life "
(Rom. ii. 7). There are some men in whom
we have such confidence that if they were to
give way or in any degree succumb to the
evil one, we should feel that the very founda
tions of society were shaken. It was some
such confidence that the Apostle Paul had
in the Thessalonian Christians : " We have
confidence." What a tribute, what an expec
tation, what a responsibility ! Yet all this
confidence is "in the Lord." This is not
merely a personal confidence ; it is a
recognition of the divine grace in believing
hearts. May God make us as trustees of His
Word, stewards of His mysteries, written
epistle of His election and His love ! There
is a silent preaching, an eloquent experi
ence, a daily, simple, incorruptible faith
fulness.

TO THE THESSALONIANS 297
Verse 6 : " Now we command you, brethren, in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw
yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly,
and not after the tradition which he received of us."
Even the best of men may be tainted by
the near approach of those who are evil-
minded : " Evil communications corrupt good
manners." Let us cut ourselves off from
all persons who are light-minded, or whose
hearts incline them to vanity rather than to
prayer : " I have written unto you not to
keep company, if any man that is called a
brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an
idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner ; with such an one, no, not to eat.
Them that are without God judgeth. There
fore put away from among yourselves that
wicked person " (1 Cor. v. 11, 13). If a limb
is mortified, it must be cut off. If thy right
hand offend thee, cut it off ; or thy right eye,
pluck it out. " I beseech you, brethren,
mark them which cause divisions and offences
contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned;
and avoid them" (Rom. xvi. 17).
Verses 7-10 : " For yourselves know how ye ought
to follow us : for we behaved not ourselves disorderly

298 THE SECOND EPISTLE
among you; neither did we eat any man's bread
for nought ; but wrought with labour and travail
night and day, that we might not be chargeable to
any of you : not because we have not power, but
to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow
us. For even when we were with you, this we
commanded you, that if any would not work, neither
should he eat."

There can be no doubt as to the austerity
of apostolic discipline. One of the virtues
which is less prominent in the Church than
in ancient days is the virtue of discipline.
The Apostles were able to point to themselves
as illustrations of their own doctrine. Already
the Apostle had said to the Thessalonians,
" Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily
and justly and unblameably we behaved our
selves among you that believe " (1 Thess. ii.
10). The Apostles did not make a livelihood
out of the Gospel; they were hard-working
men. Hard work is one of the securities
of society, and certainly it is one of the
defences of the Church. " Ye yourselves
know, that these hands have ministered
unto my necessities, and to them that were
with me" (Acts xx. 34). The Apostles
taught the doctrine that the labourer was

TO THE THESSALONIANS 299
worthy of his hire, and yet there were cir
cumstances under which they preferred to
labour with their own hands. " Nevertheless
we have not used this power ; but suffer all
things, lest we should hinder the gospel of
Christ." The Saviour Himself laid down
the doctrine, "The workman is worthy of
his meat." Yet there were times when the
Apostles endeavoured to avert misconstruction
by trusting to their own hands rather than
to alms to which they were rightly entitled.
" When I was present with you, and wanted,
I was chargeable to no man . . . But what I do,
that I will do, that I may cut off occasion
from them which desire occasion " (2 Cor. xi.
9, 12). The Apostle had a clear doctrine of
socialism, and that doctrine should be more
broadly and energetically declared to-day :
" We commanded you, that if any would not
work, neither should he eat." The Apostle
believed in a man earning his own daily
bread. He neither believed in stealing nor
in indiscriminate almsgiving. " Let him that
stole steal no more : but rather let him labour,
working with his hands the thing which is
good, that he may have to give to him that

300 THE SECOND EPISTLE
needeth " (Eph. iv. 28). We should not live
on the alms of others ; we should so work
that we may be able to give alms to persons
who know the bitterness of poverty.
Verses 11, 12 : " For we hear that there are some
which walk among you disorderly, working not at
all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we
command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that
with quietness they work, and eat their own bread."
The Apostle was no inattentive observer
of the moral faithfulness of the churches.
He had heard of the busybodies — that is, of
persons who were hostile to society and who
wished to have all things without working
for any of them. A man who is not willing
to work for what he eats is in spirit an
anarchist, an enemy of social law and order,
and as such should be expelled from the
confidence of the society he would destroy.
Christianity has its quiet service. We are
not all called to public life, to bear the light
of high noon. " Study to be quiet, and to do
your own business, and to work with your
own hands." Verses 13-15: "But ye, brethren, be not weary
in well doing. And if any man obey not our word

TO THE THESSALONIANS 301
by this epistle, note that man, and have no company
with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him
not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."
Be not weary in civility, in courtesy, in
well-pleasing. The Apostle had given the
same instructions in his Epistle to the
Galatians, " Let us not be weary in well
doing : for in due season we shall reap, if we
faint not " (Gal. vi. 9). There is a well-doing
that is severe in its faithfulness, and there is
another well-doing which, without abating any
thing of its austerity, is gracious, courteous,
considerate of the rights and liberties of
others. The Apostles did not write letters
merely as friendly correspondents ; they wrote
in an official capacity, expressing the inspira
tion with which God by His Holy Spirit had
filled their hearts. " This epistle " is not
a mere friendly note — it comes with all the
authority of apostolic office and experience.
There is a time when evil desires must be cut
off. There is an hour in which we must bid
farewell to those who have sought to seduce
us from obedience to the Gospel. Yet in all
this process of excision there is to be nothing
of hatred or bitterness. The true thought

302 THE SECOND EPISTLE
was expressed even in the Levitical law,
" Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine
heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy
neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him "
(Lev. xix. 17). How wondrously judgment
was mingled with mercy in these apostolic
expositions and applications of Christian
discipline ! " Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such
an one in the spirit of meekness ; considering
thyself, lest thou also be tempted " (Gal.
vi. 1).
Verses 16-18 : " Now the Lord of peace Himself
give you peace always by all means. The Lord be
with you all. The salutation of Paul with mine own
hand, which is the token in every epistle : so I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Amen.
Back again to God ! Another word for
God ! Another commendation to the Lord !
More and more blessing from on high ! " Live
in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall
be with you" (2 Cor. xiii. 11). Recall the
great benediction, " The Lord bless thee, and
keep thee : the Lord make His face shine
upon thee, and be gracious unto thee : the Lord

TO THE THESSALONIANS 303
lift up His countenance upon thee, and give
thee peace " (Num. vi. 24-26). Live in that
crystal sanctuary — get into the centre of that
ineffable peace, and the enemy shall have
no power to imperil the soul. More peace
to you, and more ! May the Lord make the
walls of your security sevenfold in thickness !
May He so found you upon the rock of His
own grace that the gates of hell may not
prevail against you! Another salutation —
with this rugged hand of mine — another
sweet prayer for your comfort and joy !
Silver and gold have I none, but the Lord
has made me strong in prayer, and has
gathered me very closely within the folds
of His own heart, and from that, the best
of all environments, I say again and finally,
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you all.

Printed by Baatll, .Watton <t- Tiney, Id., London and Aylesbury.

WORKS BY JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
THE CHEAP EDITION OF
THE PEOPLE'S BIBLE
By the Rev. JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
COMPLETE IN TWENTY-FIVE VOLUMES
Now offered in Sets of FIVE VOLUMES, for 17*. 6d. a Set net
All Volumes Sold Separately. Cloth, price 6s. each
THE BRITISH WEEKLY says :— " The work is a monument of intellectual
fertility and spiritual force to which it would be difficult to find a parallel.
The unabated vigour, the inexhaustible fertility, the freshness of interest that
appear in volume after volume are remarkable."
SET I.
Volume I., GENESIS. Volume II., EXODUS. VolumeHI.,
LEVITICUS to NUMBERS 26. Volume IV., NUMBERS 26
to DEUTERONOMY. Volume V., JOSHUA to JUDGES 5.
SET II.
Volume VI., JUDGES 6 to I. SAMUEL 18. Volume VII.,
I. Samuel 18 to I. KINGS 13. Volume VIII., I. KINGS 15
to I. CHRONICLES 9. Volume IX., I. CHRONICLES 10
to II. CHRONICLES 20. Volume X., II. CHRONICLES
21 to ESTHER. SET III.
Volume XI., JOB. Volume XII., THE PSALTER.
Volume XIII., THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. Volume XIV.,
ECCLESIASTES to ISAIAH 26. Volume XV., ISAIAH 27
to JEREMIAH 19. SET IV.
Volume XVI., JEREMIAH 20 to DANIEL. Volume XVII.,
HOSEA to MALACHI. Volume XVIII., ST. MATTHEW
1-11. Volume XIX., ST. MATTHEW 12-28. Volume XX.,
ST. MARK and ST. LUKE. SET V.
Volume XXL, ST. JOHN. Volume XXII., ACTS 1-16.
Volume XXIII., ACTS 17-28. Volume XXIV., ROMANS
to GALATIANS. Volume XXV., EPHESIANS to
REVELATION. The Volumes of the different Sets will not
be assorted otherwise than as indicated above
For full particulars of "The People's Bible" see next pages
HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, Paternoster Row, London

WORKS BY JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
THE PEOPLE'S BIBLE
Vol I.— GENESIS
II.— EXODUS
III.— LEVITICUS to NUMBERS XXVI.
fJ IV— NUMBERS XXVI. to DEUTERONOMY
V.— JOSHUA to JUDGES V.
Crown 8vo, cloth, 6/-, or the Five Volumes for 17/6 net
" It is unquestionably written in a very attractive and telling style. It is
pervaded by a vein of fine ethical sentiment, and filled with a spirit of deep
religious earnestness." — Scotsman.
"In the second volume of * The People's Bible ' Dr. Parker expounds and
enforces Divine truth with the same vigorous grasp of thought and mastery of
language as are found in the volume of Genesis." — Leeds Mercury.
" In this volume are to be found many illustrations not only of his mastery,
but of his other gifts of clear exposition, illuminating illustration, and practical
appeal." — Manchester Examiner.
Vol. VI— JUDGES VI. to I. SAMUEL XVIII.
VII— I. SAMUEL XVIII. to I. KINGS XIII.
„ VIII.— I. KINGS XV to I. CHRONICLES IX.
IX.— I. CHRONICLES X. to II. CHRONICLES XX.
X.—II. CHRONICLES XX. to ESTHER
Crown 8vo, cloth, 6/-, or the Five "Volumes for 17/6 net
"The ' Handfuls of Purpose 'are fuller than ever, and have in them the seed
of countless sermons. They are very different from the dead and unprolific
bones generally offered as outlines." — British Weekly.
" 'The People's Bible ' continues to show that Dr. Parker has still the old
industry and enthusiasm, as well as the strong common sense, which he
displayed in the former volumes." — Dundee Advertiser.
Vol. XL— THE BOOK OF JOB
„ XII —THE PSALTER
„ XIII.— THE BOOK OF PROVERBS
„ XIV.— ECCLESIASTES to ISAIAH XXVI.
XV.— ISAIAH XXVII. to JEREMIAH XIX.
Crown 8vo, cloth, 6/-, or the Five Volumes for 17/6 net
"In it there are the same copiousness and variety, the same poetry, and
wisdom, and wit, the same brightness and sparkle, the same breadth, and
humanity, and tenderness, and knowledge of human nature as in its pre
decessors." — Scotsman.
"In the successive volumes of 'The People's Bible ' we see Dr. Parker at
his best. Noble thought, sparkling expression, subtle humour, delicate
sarcasm, homely simplicity, tender sympathy, glorious aspiration, poems in
prose, elevate and strengthen, counsel and warn, encourage and comfort the
reader's soul." — Christian. *
The Volumes of the different Sets will not be assorted otherwise than as Indicated above
HODDER AND STOUGHTON, a7, Paternoster Row, London

WORKS BY JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
THE PEOPLE'S BIBLE
(Continued)
Vol. XVI.— JEREMIAH XX. to DANIEL
„ XVII.— HOSEA to MALACHI
„ XVIII.— ST. MATTHEW I. to XI
„ XIX.— ST. MATTHEW XII. to XXVIII.
„ XX.— ST. MARK and ST. LUKE
Crown 8vo, 6/-, or the Five Volumes for 17/6 net
"This volume of 'The People's Bible' will rank with any of the previous
ones, valuable as they are, Indeed, some may place it before them all. The
same careful exposition, clear and cogent reasoning, epigrammatic utterance,
and quaint illustration which mark former volumes so fully are found in un
usual variety, as the Doctor deals here with each of the three prophets— the
weeping Jeremiah, the mystic Ezekiel, and the apocalyptic Daniel."— Aberdeen
Free Press.
" Having gone through with more or less thoroughness the whole series of
volumes of which this is the last, we are prepared to say that ' The People's
Bible ' is in every way worthy of the great preacher whose name it bears, and
who is justly regarded as one of the most brilliant pulpit geniuses of the
day."— Joyful News.
" Will probably be better liked by its readers than any of the preceding
seventeen volumes of this great work. It contains forty-seven chapters, which
are very striking." — Leeds Mercury.
Vol. XXL— ST. JOHN
„ XXIL—ACTS OF THE APOSTLES I. to XVI
„ XXIII.— A CTS OF THE APOSTLES XVL to XXVIII.
n XXIV— ROMANS to GALATIANS
„ XXV.— EPHESIANS TO REVELATION
Crown 8vo, cloth, 6/-, or the Five Volumes for 17/6 net
"The pages are aglow with the fire of a mind which has entered into the
spirit of the sacred narrative, and has acquired the skill, which only long
practice could impart^ of seizing the best points for homiletic treatment, and
of giving them an incisiveness, freshness, and force which fix them irresistibly
in the memory and conscience of the reader." — Glasgow Herald.
'* No one who has not at any rate looked through this volume can form any
idea of the wealth and power of thought and feeling to be found in its 460
pages. Again and again one meets with bright flashes of thought from a
mind that seems intimately acquainted with human life and human nature, and
reads these wonderful epistles as addres&ed to men and women of to-day." —
Leeds Mercury.
" Dr. Parker has special fitness for dealing with the Gospel of St. John. The
Doctors peculiar insight and sympathy with the subjective enable him to
enter into the heart of St. John's Gospel. The Doctor has selected some of the
most striking passages, and has treated them in his own suggestive and
original way. We predict that this will be one of the most popular volumes of
Dr. Parker s great Bible work." — Christian Commonwealth.
The Volumes of the different Sets will not be assorted otherwise than as indicated above
HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, Paternoster Row, London
3

WORKS BY JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
THE
CITY TEMPLE PULPIT

SERMONS BY THE
REV. JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
Price 3 s. 6d. net each, or £i is. for the Seven
Volumes
Vol. I., 8vo, Cloth, 3 j. 6d. net
Contents

The Divine Poet
The Known and the
Unknown
The Two Agnosticisms
The River of God
The Interpreter
Grief and Silence
Text Explained by
Affliction
Gold and Onyx not
Enough
More than Human
Orphaned for an Hour

The Final Baptism
The Psalm for the Day
The Same Jesus
Faith Self-enlarging
Forty Days
Two Environments
Memorable Days
The Cromwell of the
Old Testament
Simplicity in Prayer
The Ministry of Inter
pretation

The Compassion of
Christ
Great Giants and Small
Seedling Parables
Making Light of the
Gospel
ConsideringThe Negative Side
God-sent Men
Many Resting-places
Not Able to Finish
Speaking in the Wrong
Temper

Vol. II., 8vo, Cloth, y. 6d. net
Contents

The Refused Stone
Manifold Grace
One of the Least
Holden Eyes
Partial Truth
Re-conquests
Looking for the Wrong
Thing
Unreported Interviews
Dwell Among Your
Own
Victories, not Victors

LimitsMan's Freedom
The Morning Star
Seen . . . Not Seen
God Made Visible
Reality in Religious
Inquiry
Motive Detected
Daily Service
To the Ephesians
Spirit and Letter
A Watered Garden

Seer and Prophet
Ephesians' iv. 14-23
Ephesians v. 8-18
Soul Food
Ephesians v. 19-22
Till and Until— I.
Till and Until— II.
Personality. Reconciliation after
Conversion
Words for Preachers

HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, Paternoster Row, London
4

WORKS BY JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
THE CITY TEMPLE PULPIT— continued
Vol. III., 8vo, Cloth, 3 s. bd. net

Christ's Legacies
Things No Man Could
Say
The Whole Armour of
God
How Not to Pray
Prayers that Must Cease
By what Authority ?
The Providence of
Time
The Genesis of Delu
sions
Working Towards
Ideals

Contents
The Verifying Faculty
Bible Wells
Bible Mountains
Bible Valleys
Bible Seals
Threescore Years and
Ten
The Christian Idea of
Death
Eastertide
The Boasting Axe
Spiritual Discernment
Fewness of Days
The Point of Perplexity

Unspoken Inquiries
Devourers and Endea-
vourers
Spiritual Diversity
The Master Key
Mistaken Views of Re
ligion
Outside Friends of
Jesus
The Fading Leaf
Humbling Questions
A Pastoral Retrospect
Words for Preachers

Vol. IV, 8vo, Cloth, y. bd. net
Contents

Hope and Service
The Servant Lifted Up
" Injurious"
The Weakness of
Strength
Quality of Service
Personality and Power
Divine Leadership
The Light of Other
Days
Growing Great Ideas
The Reason of Hope

Valediction and Bene
diction j
OutsidersOutward Business
From the Foundation
By Revelation
Author and Finisher
Spiritual Character
The Unutterable
Christ's View of Faith
True Lawfulness
Judging by Negatives

Personal Experience
Plural, yet Singular
Name and Surname
God with the Ungodly
Mercy and Judgment
Memorable Sights in
Life— I.
"This Life Only"
Memorable Sights in
Life— II.
"The Ability which
God Giveth "

Vol. V., 8vo, Cloth, 3.?. bd. net
Contents

Worshipping Christ
Living Testimony
" Little Faith "
Reasons for Doubt
Christ and the Multitude
Modes of Death
The Poet of Horticul
ture — I.
The Poet of Horticul
ture— II.
Christ and Nature
Algebraic Religion

Seeing and Following
Qualification and Duty
Reasons for Praise
Christ's Appropriations
Their Inventions
The Ideal City
The One Helper
Stopping Places in Evi
dence
Rod and Staff
Christ, a Perplexity
The Desired Morning

The City Divinely
Visited
The "No Mores" of
Life
Wrong in the Heart
Looking and not Find
ing
God the Giver
Always with God
Listening Stones
The Building God
Fine Lines of Prophecy

HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 37, Paternoster Row, London
5

WORKS BY JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
THE CITY TEMPLE PULPIT— continued
Vol. VI., 8vo, Cloth, y. bd. net

What is this ?
The Man of God
Divine Appointments
Seeking for Jesus
Telling Jesus
Fixing our own Evi
dences
Vox Clamantis
Mixed Motives
Fully Awake
Anarchy

Contents
One Thing, Everything
Worthless Prayers
Nothing but Miracles
Sacramental Thoughts
Reasons of Failure
Through the Material
to the Spiritual
Religion made Easy
God in Human Life
How to Read the Bible
Seeking Jesus

Thy God thy Glory
Water from the Foun
tain
Man Succeeding Man
The Law of Equiva
lents
Setting Suns
A Bible Reading
Conflicting Forces
Seasonable Messages
Alternatives

Vol. VII., Svo, Cloth, y. bd. net

The Creator Explained
by the Creation
God and the Body
Satan in History
Seen All
Divinely Girded
Leviticus Old and New
Misused Precedents
The Appointed Time
The Argument of In
stances
The Reason of Things

Contents
Not Sufficient
Waiting for Christ
FulfilmentCreated !
Completing Passages
Solomon's Prayer
Our Lord Jesus
The Anxious Question
The Apparently Ridi
culous
Hands and Side
WithWhat Comparison

AppearancesIn the Sight of God
The Supreme Sayings
of Peter
Memorable Places. I. —
Caves
Memorable Places. II.
—Fields
Biblical Rocks
Woundprints Drawn to Scale
The Cross of Christ

The Complete Set of the City Temple Pulpit— Seven Volumes— Sermons— can now be
obtained for ONE GUINEA net

DR. PARKER'S LIFE AND MINISTRY
TYNE CHYLDE
MY LIFE AND MINISTRY
Partly in the Daylight of Fact, Partly in the Limelight
of Fancy
Crown 8vo, Cloth, price ys. 6d.
" In no other book are the versatility and vivacity of Dr. Parker's genius so
brilliantly displayed as in this. . . . Refreshing, enlivening, recreative, often
richly amusing, oftener still more richly instructive." — Wesleyan Methodist
Magazine. "These sketches possess not merelv pulpit eloquence, but, in the form of
parables set forth in new and varied lights, arguments that grapple seriously
with various difficulties of religious thought." — Manchester Examiner.
"Those who wish to know fully the many-sided, powerful, quaint, and
original minister of the City Temple, will make his acquaintance most readily
by perusing this remarkable book, which has at once all the intei est of a novel
and much of that deeper spiritual teaching needed to the fulness of the higher
life."— Aberdeen Free Press.
HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27 Paternoster Row, London
6

DR. PARKER'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A PREACHER'S LIFE
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND AN ALBUM
By the Rev.
JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
With Portraits and Illustrations
FOURTH EDITION. Crown 8vo, Cloth, 6j.
" It is a book of uncommon interest, and, in those portions which
relate to its author's later life, one of heart-moving pathos." — Christian
World. " Dr. Parker has produced a book that is interesting from its first
page to its last. . . . The volume has all those characteristics of
Dr. Parker to which we have become accustomed in his numberless
books. ... A most readable book, which we feel sure will be read
and much enjoyed." — Glasgow Herald.
" Dr. Parker's newly published recollections are certainly not dull.
The strong personality of the writer asserts itself on almost every
page. . . . He recounts the outstanding incidents of his long and
busy life with graphic power, and states his opinion of men and affairs
in language marked by epigrammatic terseness, bold paradox, and
suggestive antithesis." — Leeds Mercury.
" The book has the magic of the writer's personality." — Outlook.
" This fascinating autobiography." — Methodist Recorder.
" Is an exceedingly interesting book. ... It bears evidence all
through of the Doctor's graphic powers as a writer, of his keen insight,
lively sympathies, and wide knowledge, and will, we doubt not, be
welcomed by many. . . . Dr. Parker is a master in the art of putting
things, and in its own way the ' Autobiography ' will be found to be
one of the most readable of all his books." — Westminster Gazette.
" We have to thank Dr. Parker for a sparkling book, full of good
things put as only Dr. Parker can put them."— London Quarterly
Review. " The volume has the vigour and the freshness of which Dr. Parker
possesses the incommunicable secret." — Literary World.
" To many this volume will prove a book of deep interest."— Academy.
HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, Paternoster Row, London
7

DR. PARKER'S "LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT"
THE PULPIT BIBLE
By the Rev.
JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.
Handsomely Bound in Persian, £2 2s. net
Also Bound in Paper Boards, complete in Ten Parts, 2s. each
" Dr. Parker's fertilising brain finds suggestion in almost
every clause both of Old and New Testaments. It is
certain that thousands of sermons will grow out of this
seed, and that many a hard-pushed minister, who has not
sunk to borrowing or picking the brains of other men, will
bless Dr. Parker for thoughts that stir his own mind and
set it in motion towards preaching. . . . Dr. Parker's latest
gift to the public is certainly not his least valuable, and
he may reasonably cherish the satisfaction of knowing that
he has produced a volume which will not only keep his
memory green for ages to come, but will also be of
inestimable service to many." — Dr. Marcus Dods, in
British Weekly.
"There is a great amount of valuable matter in this
volume. We have put 'The Pulpit Bible' at the head
of our ' gift-book notices ' because it would not be easy
to find one of more dignified form and greater usefulness."
— Spectator." Will be a valuable addition to the means available for
the thorough furnishing of those who teach, which they will
do all the better for having come under the personal spell
of this born leader of men, and ' The Pulpit Bible ' will
grow in the appreciation of the regular user." — Christian.
HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, Paternoster Row, London
8