Chapter V: AUTOGRAPH CONCLUSION.--1. The Judaisers' motive (ch. vi. 12, 13) (43)

3. _His victims are abandoned to self-delusion and condemnation._--"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned"--might be _judged_ according to their individual character and works--"who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (vers. 11, 12). See here the fearful consequences of a hatred to and rejection of the truth! The soul takes delight in sinning--has "pleasure in unrighteousness." It is, then, not only abandoned to its iniquity, but its delusions are intensified so as to embrace the most palpable falsehoods as truth. It shall then be judged on its own merits, so that God shall be justified in His speaking and clear in His judging. Terrible indeed is the fate of the victims who fall under the spell of Antichrist.

+III. That the coming of Antichrist is for a time restrained.+--"And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. . . . Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way" (vers. 6, 7). There is an external power with an individual at its head which holds back the power of Antichrist until the proper season comes. What that power is is not revealed; but God can use any power for this purpose, until the Divinely appointed time shall come for the revelation and overthrow of Antichrist.

+IV. That Antichrist shall be summarily destroyed.+--"Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth"--as insects wither on the mere approach of fire--"and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming" (ver. 8)--with the _appearing_ of His coming, as it were the first gleaming dawn of His advent. For a time Antichrist shall reign in pomp and splendour and delude many to their ruin; but at the coming of the true Lord of the Church the great impostor shall be dethroned and utterly abolished. "It is enough," says Chrysostom, "that He be present, and all these things perish. He will stay the deception simply by appearing."

+V. That the followers of Christ need not be afraid of losing any benefits to be conferred by His second coming.+--"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, 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" (vers. 1, 2)--_on hand, has already come._ When Paul wrote the first epistle, the Thessalonians "were sorrowing by the graves of their departed friends, and the grief of nature was enhanced by the apprehension that their beloved ones might suffer loss at the coming of the Lord. But now, should they hear that He had come and had not called for them, a yet deeper, more agitating motion must seize them, lest they themselves had forfeited their share in the glory of the kingdom." These words would allay their fears. Christ has yet to come, and before that coming Antichrist is to arise and reign. Wait patiently, labour diligently, and be not harassed with too great an eagerness to know future events. All the blessings of Christ's second coming shall be shared by you and by all who are to be gathered together unto Him.

+Lessons.+--1. _There are trying times ahead._ 2. _The only safety for the soul is to hold fast the truth._ 3. _At the darkest moment of the Church's trial the glory of God will appear._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Vers. 1-6. _A Warning against Imposition._

+I. The danger.+--1. _Their faith was imperilled._ 2. _Daily duties were interfered with._

+II. Signs of the coming end.+--1. _By a great apostasy._ 2. _The appearance of Antichrist as the man of sin and son of perdition._ 3. _The proud pretensions of Antichrist._ (1) Opposing Christ. (2) Substituting error for truth. (3) Overweening self-exaltation.

+III. Hindrances to the spread of truth+ (ver. 6)--1. _The civil powers of that day._ 2. _The machinations of Satan at all times._ 3. _The unfaithfulness of God's people._

Vers. 1-3. _A False Alarm_--

+I. May arise from a misconception+ +of an important truth.+--"Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him" (ver. 1).

+II. Is aggravated by unwarrantable deceptions.+--"Let no man deceive you by any means" (ver. 3). "Neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is come" (ver. 2).

+III. Is the cause of much real suffering.+--"Shaken in mind--troubled" (ver. 2)--like a ship escaped from its moorings, tossed in a rolling sea.

+IV. Is allayed by the affectionate entreaty of competent teachers.+--"We beseech you, brethren" (ver. 1).

Ver. 5. _Memory_--

+I. Is freighted with treasures of precious truth.+--"I told you
these things."

+II. Associates the presence and character of the teacher with the
truth taught.+--"When I was yet with you."

+III. Is often vividly reminded of the value of its
possession.+--"Remember ye not."

Vers. 7-10. _The Mystery of Iniquity_--

+I. Is the deepest and most subtle form of error.+

+II. Is propagated with great cunning and persistency.+

+III. Is embodied in a powerful and wicked personality+ (vers. 7, 8).

+IV. Is Satanic in its origin and manifestation+ (vers. 9, 10).

Vers. 10-12. _The Destructive Subtlety of Sin._

+I. It has manifold methods of deception.+--"With all deceivableness of unrighteousness" (ver. 10).

+II. It incites the soul to a hatred of saving truth.+--"That received not the love of the truth that they might be saved" (ver. 10).

+III. It abandons its victims to judicial self-deception.+--"God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie" (ver. 11).

+IV. It leads to inevitable condemnation.+--"That they all might be damned" (ver. 12).

+V. It encourages sin for the love of sin.+--"Who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (ver. 12).

Vers. 11, 12. _Strong Delusions._

+I. Believing a lie as truth.+

+II. Sent as a judgment for not believing the truth.+

+III. Are brought on by those who have pleasure in sin.+

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 13, 14.

_Salvation a Divine Act._

When the air is thick with antichristian theories, sincere inquirers after truth are perplexed, the grasp of the hesitating is loosened, and the fidelity of the strongest severely tested. Only those who fully yield themselves up to the teaching and guidance of the Divine spirit are safe. A clever inventor has recently constructed a fireproof dress, which enables him to walk about unharmed in the midst of the fiercest fire. Experimental godliness is a fireproof dress, and the soul clothed with this is safely guarded from the fiery darts of the wicked and will pass unscathed through the fiercest fires of temptation. We never know what it is to be really saved till we personally experience the sanctifying power of the truth. These verses teach that salvation is a Divine act.

+I. Salvation is an act of the Divine will.+--1. _The Divine will is actuated by Divine love._ "Brethren _beloved_ of the Lord, God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation" (ver. 13). When we examine the sources of salvation, we find them not in ourselves, but in some power outside of ourselves. We are saved, not because we are good, or better than others, or more favourably circumstanced, but because God has chosen us. And if we ask still further how it is that God should lavish the grace of His salvation on sinful man, we are reduced, in the final analysis, to this answer: Such is the Divine will--a will swayed in all its mighty potentialities by infinite love.

"Love, strong as death; nay, stronger--
Love mightier than the grave;
Broad as the earth, and longer
Than ocean's widest wave.
This is the love that sought us,
This is the love that bought us,
This is the love that brought us,
To gladdest day from saddest night,
From deepest shame to glory bright,
From depths of death to life's fair height,
From darkness to the joy of light."--_Bonar._

2. _The Divine will provides the means of salvation._--"Whereunto He called you by our gospel" (ver. 14). The Gospel is God's method of salvation, and it is through this Gospel He "will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. iii. 4). If the Gospel were but a human expedient, it would fail; but, as it was originated and devised in the Divine mind, so it is backed and made forceful by the operation of the Divine will.

+II. Salvation as a Divine act is in harmony with individual freedom.+--1. _Salvation implies personal holiness._ "Through sanctification of the Spirit" (ver. 13). The Spirit sanctifies the individual soul, and the soul, in the exercise of its voluntary power, co-operated with the Spirit. The soul feels the need of being sanctified, is willing to be sanctified, earnestly desires to be sanctified, and gives free, unrestricted scope to the Spirit in His sanctifying work.

2. _Salvation implies personal faith._--"And belief of the truth" (ver. 13). This clause brings out distinctly that the sanctification of the Spirit is not wrought on a passive and unresponsive agent. Faith is the gift of God, but it is an act of man. It is a self-giving; the surrender of his own freedom to secure the larger freedom that salvation confers on the soul that trusts. Without God's gift there would be no faith, and without man's exercise of that gift there is no salvation. It is not faith that saves, but the Christ received by faith. Erskine puts it thus: "As it is not the laying on the plaster that heals the sore, but the plaster itself that is laid on, so it is not the faith, or receiving of Christ, but Christ received by faith that saves us. It is not our looking to the brazen serpent mystical, but the mystical brazen serpent looked unto by faith--Christ received by faith--that saves us."

+III. Salvation as a Divine act aims at securing for the soul the highest blessedness.+--"To the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (ver. 14). The saved soul aspires after glory, but it is glory of the loftiest type. It is not the changeful glory of worldly magnificence. It is not the glory of Paul, or of the greatest human genius. It is "the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." When the soul catches a glimpse of the splendour of this Divine blessedness, it can be satisfied with no lower aims. "Paint and canvas," said Guthrie, "cannot give the hues of a rainbow or of the beams of the sun. No more can words describe the Saviour's glory. Nay, what is the most glowing and ecstatic view that the highest faith of a soul, hovering on the borders of another world, ever obtained of Christ, compared with the reality? It is like the sun changed by a frosty fogbank into a dull, red copper ball--shorn of the splendour that no mortal eyes can look upon." As it is Christ's glory that we seek, so it is Christ's glory we shall share.

+IV. Salvation as a Divine act affords matter for unceasing gratitude.+--"But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you" (ver. 13). The mercy of God in our salvation is ever providing fruitful themes for gratitude on earth: the glory of Christ as revealed in heaven will be the song of everlasting thankfulness and praise. Every added trophy of saving power augments the gratitude and joy of the faithful.

+Lessons.+--1. _The rejection of the truth is the rejection of salvation._ 2. _Salvation brings the highest good to man and the greatest glory to God._ 3. _Salvation will be the exhaustless theme of the heavenly song._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Ver. 13. _The Holy Ghost the Sanctifier._

+I. Connect the Divine purpose and agency that the nature and effect of the latter may be more apparent.+--To collect a people out of the wreck of human life has been God's purpose from the first. To sanctify them is to separate them to God in fact and in effect. The Holy Ghost is given by Christ to sever the once dead in sins from the dead around them.

+II. The scope of this agency.+--God's work is perfect. It has its stages; but the Holy Ghost conducts it from first to last. Sanctification is progressive. The end of sanctification is salvation.

+III. The ordinary means through which the Holy Ghost operates.+--Through belief of the truth, the Gospel. The Spirit sanctifies through the truth.--_H. T. Lumsden._

Ver. 14. _The Glory of Sainthood_--

+I. Is the object of the Gospel to promote.+--"Whereunto He hath
called you by our gospel."

+II. Is a conscious personal possession.+--"To the obtaining of the
glory."

+III. Is a sharing of the glory of Christ.+--"Of the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ."

_What Saints should be._--In the cathedral of St. Mark, Venice, a marvellous building lustrous with an Oriental splendour beyond description, there are pillars said to have been brought from Solomon's temple; these are of alabaster, a substance firm and endurable as granite, and yet transparent, so that the light glows through them. Behold an emblem of what all true pillars of the Church should be--firm in their faith and transparent in their character; men of simple mould, ignorant of tortuous and deceptive ways, and yet men of strong will, not readily to be led aside or bent from their uprightness.--_Spurgeon._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 15.

_Christian Steadfastness._

In all ages the people of God have been assailed with the weapons of a subtle and plausible philosophy which has sought to supplant the simple truth of the Gospel with human opinions. The evil heart of man chafes under the righteous restrictions of the truth, and in its angry and delirious opposition has sought to rid itself of God and of all the laws that bind it to a life of obedience and holiness. And when it fancies it has succeeded in demolishing the truths it hated and against which it rebelled, it is aghast at the desolation it has wrought and recoils in alarm from the dark, horrible gulf to the brink of which it has forced itself. Stricken with bewilderment and despair, man strives to construct a religion for himself, and he seeks to substitute his own wild ravings for the truths of Divine revelation. It is the attempt of a bold, impious infidelity to put error in the place of truth, philosophy in the place of religion, human opinion in the place of God. The exhortation of this verse is always timely.

+I. Christian steadfastness is an important and ever-present duty.+--1. _It is_ _necessary to growth and maturity in personal piety._ Trees must grow or die. So it is with piety; it must grow or perish. No plant or tree can thrive that is being perpetually plucked up and transplanted; nor can the soul prosper unless it is steadfastly rooted in the soil of truth. Darwin describes a marine plant--the _Macrocystis pyrifera_--that rises two hundred feet from the depths of the Western Ocean and floats for many fathoms on the surface, uninjured among the waves and breakers, which no masses of rock, however hard, can long withstand. It maintains its strength by clinging tenaciously to the rocks far down below the surface of the sea. So personal piety grows and flourishes by maintaining a firm hold of the Rock of Ages.

2. _It is necessary in bearing witness for Christ._--The value of a lighthouse or a landmark to the mariner is, that he can rely on always finding it in the same place. And the value of a Christian testimony is that it is not erratic and changeful, but stable and reliable: it hesitates not to witness for Christ in any place. Fifty years ago at a dinner-party in the west end of London, the conversation was dishonouring to Christ. One guest was silent, and presently asked that the bell might be rung. On the appearance of the servant he ordered his carriage, and with polished courtesy apologised to his host for his enforced departure, saying, _for I am still a Christian._ This gentleman was the late Sir Robert Peel.

3. _It is a stimulating example to the weak and faltering._--There are timid, feeble followers of Christ who, until they become well grounded, lean on others; and if their exemplars vacillate and change, so do they. Few have the courage to break away from a pernicious example. When travelling on the Continent, Dr. Duff made the acquaintance of Cardinal Wiseman, and for some time travelled with him; but when at Antwerp he saw the cardinal prostrate himself before the Virgin, he courteously but firmly bade him "good-bye."

+II. Christian steadfastness is shown in an unflinching maintenance of apostolic doctrine.+--"Hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." These traditions were the doctrines preached by the apostles. For some years after the ascension of Christ, there was no written Gospel or epistle. The truth was taught orally by those who were living witnesses of the facts on which the doctrines--or traditions--were based.

1. _Apostolic doctrine must be clearly apprehended._--It must therefore be diligently studied, and the truth sifted from the mass of errors with which false teachers surround it. What is not intelligently comprehended cannot be firmly held.

2. _Apostolic doctrine must be earnestly embraced._--Not simply discussed, not simply admired and praised, but prayerfully and cordially accepted--taken in as spiritual food, and systematically fed upon to give strength and stamina to the soul.

3. _Apostolic doctrine must be firmly held and stoutly defended against all errors._--"Hold the traditions." Believe them when tempted to disbelieve; defend them when assailed by the enemy. A brave Athenian, who wrought deeds of valour in the battle of Marathon, seized with his right hand a stranded galley filled with Persians. When his right hand was cut off, he seized the boat with his left, and when that was smitten, he held on with his teeth till he died. The grasp of truth by a Christian believer should not be less tenacious than the dogged heroism of a heathen warrior.

+III. Christian steadfastness is emphatically enforced.+--"Therefore, brethren, stand fast." Though misunderstood and misrepresented, though savagely opposed by the enemies of the truth, stand fast. As the wings of the bird are strengthened by the resistance of the atmosphere in which it floats, so your graces will be strengthened by the opposition with which you resolutely contend. In order that your own personal piety may be matured, that your witnessing for Christ may be unmistakable, and that your example may be a stimulating encouragement to others, "stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught."

+Lessons.+--1. _The unstable are the prey of every passing temptation._ 2. _The Word of God is the unfailing source of moral strength._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 16, 17.

_Prayer an Expression of Ministerial Anxiety._

The apostle had warned the Thessalonians of the errors that were becoming rife among them. Indeed, the existence of these errors, and the grave injury they threatened to the faith of the new converts, prompted him to write these epistles--the first in a series of magnificent apostolic polemics. The apostle knew that if the simplicity of the Gospel was vitiated at the beginning of its world-wide mission, unspeakable disaster would ensue, as the checkered history of the Church in the early centuries unhappily proved. Hence his anxiety, not only to clearly state, but with all his resources of logic and persuasion, resolutely to defend the cardinal principles of the Gospel. He not only argues but prays. These verses teach that _prayer is the expression of ministerial anxiety._

+I. It recognises the need of spiritual consolation.+--"Now our Lord . . . comfort your hearts" (vers. 16, 17). You have sorrowed over the loss of friends and harassed yourselves as to their condition in another world. I have pointed out to you that your fears were groundless (1 Thess. iv. 13-18). Now, I commend you God as the Source and Giver of all consolation and pray that He may specially comfort you. "It is God's presence," says Burroughs, "that constitutes the saint's morning. As the stars may impart some light, and yet the brightness of all combined cannot form the light of day, but when the sun appears there is day forthwith, so God may make some comfort arise to a soul from secondary and inferior means; but it is He Himself alone who, by the shining of His face and the smiles of His countenance, causes morning." A comfort that is made up of our fancies is like a spider's web that is weaved out of its bowels and is gone and swept away with the turn of a besom.

+II. It recognises the perils that beset the path of obedience.+--"And establish you in every good word and work" (ver. 17)--or, according to the Revised Version, "every good _work and word._" Work is better than speech, deeds more eloquent than words, though both are necessary. The best safeguard against temptation is to be employed. "The busy man is tempted by one devil, the idle man by a thousand." The force of gunpowder is not known till some spark falls on it; so the most placid natures do not reveal the evil that is in them till they are assailed by some fierce and sudden temptation. Excellence in anything can only be reached by hard work; so stability in grace is attained only by being diligently engaged in God's service. Steadfastness is not dull quiescence: it is self-absorbing activity. If you would be strong, you must work.

+III. It recognises the Divine source of all spiritual help.+--1. _That this help is the outcome of Divine love._ "Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God even our Father, which hath loved us" (ver. 16). God helps because He loves. His love evokes the best and noblest in us, as the master-musician brings out melodies from an instrument that inferior players have failed to produce.

"Love is a passion
Which kindles honour into noblest acts."

"O let Thy love constrain us
To give our hearts to Thee;
Let nothing henceforth pain us
But that which paineth Thee.

"Our joy, our one endeavour,
Through suffering, conflict, shame,
To serve Thee, gracious Saviour,
And magnify Thy name."

2. _That this help meets every possible exigency of the Christian life._--"And hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace" (ver. 16). The consolation refers to everything in the present, the good hope to everything in the future. The consolation is constant, _everlasting,_ as flowing from inexhaustible sources, and is ever available in all the changes and needs of life; and the hope turns our fears into confidence and our sorrows into joy. When the frail barques of the Portuguese went sailing south, they found the sea so stormy at the southern point of Africa that they named it the Cape of Storms; but after it had been well rounded by bolder navigators, they named it the Cape of Good Hope. So, by the Divine help afforded us, many a rough cape of storms has been transformed into a cape of good hope. All spiritual help is given "through grace"--the free, unmerited favour of God--and is therefore a fitting subject of prayer.

+Lessons.+--1. _Every minister should be emphatically a man of prayer._ 2. _Prayer for others has a reflex benefit on the suppliant._ 3. _An anxious spirit finds relief and comfort in prayer._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Vers. 16, 17. _St. Paul's Prayer for the Thessalonians._

+I. The objects the apostle addressed.+--1. _God, even our Father._ 2. _Our Lord Jesus Christ._

+II. The gifts the apostle acknowledged.+--1. _The manifestation of Divine love._ 2. _The communication of saving grace._ 3. _The bestowment of Christian hope._

+III. The blessings the apostle requested.+--1. _Increasing felicity in the Lord._ 2. _Persevering stability in the truth.--Eta._

Ver. 16. _A Good Hope through Grace._

+I. The grace of hope.+--1. _Refers to the resurrection of the body._ 2. _To eternal life to be enjoyed by both soul and body._ 3. _Pre-requisites of this hope._--Conviction of sin. An experimental acquaintance with the Gospel.

+II. The excellency of this hope.+--"A good hope." 1. _In opposition to the hopes of worldly men._ 2. _It is a lively hope._ 3. _The object of it is an infinite and eternal good._ 4. _It has a good foundation._ 5. _It produces good effects._

+III. The source of this hope.+--"Through grace." 1. _Man is the subject of infinite demerit._ 2. _Christ alone possesses infinite merit._ 3. _The Scripture warns against all self-dependence.--Helps for the Pulpit._

* * * * * * * *

+CHAPTER III.+

_CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES._

Ver. 1. +Have free course and be glorified.+--Probably St. Paul took this image from the Old Testament. In Ps. cxlvii. 15 the word of the Lord is said to "run very swiftly."

Ver. 2. +Unreasonable and wicked men.+--The word for "unreasonable" only occurs twice besides in the New Testament: once, the malefactor on the cross says, "This man has done nothing amiss," or out of place; and again the barbarians "beheld nothing amiss" come to Paul when the viper had fashioned on his hand. The thief is a good commentator here. Men who by their vagaries hold even their friends in painful suspense, and especially such as are indifferent to morality, seem to be meant.

Ver. 3. +And keep you from evil.+--"Keep" here is a military word reminding of the psalmist's name for God--"Shield." The Revisers add "one" after "evil," as in the Lord's Prayer.

Ver. 5. +Direct your hearts.+--The same word for "direct" again occurs only in 1 Thess. iii. 11 and Luke i. 79. A similar phrase in the LXX. of 1 Chron. xxix. 18 (R.V. "prepare"). +Into the patient waiting for Christ.+--A.V. margin and R.V. text, "into the patience of Christ." "The Thessalonians were eagerly awaiting His return: let them wait for it in His patient spirit" (_Findlay_).

Ver. 6. +Walketh disorderly.+--Falling out of the ranks and desertion of the post of duty are grave faults, which if the _esprit de corps_ does not prevent it must be punished by treating the defaulter as one who has discredited his comrades in arms.

Ver. 7. +We behaved not ourselves disorderly among you.+--"We never lived an undisciplined life among you." Men will bear the sharp rebukes of a martinet, even when they observe that he is as much under discipline as he would have the youngest recruit, as the lives of men like Havelock and Gordon testify.

Ver. 10. +If any would not work, neither should he eat.+--"A stern, but necessary and merciful rule, the neglect of which makes charity demoralising" (_Ibid._). It is parasitism which is condemned.

Ver. 11. +Working not at all, but are busybodies.+--"Not working, but working round people," as we might represent St. Paul's play on the words. "Their only business is to be busybodies."

Ver. 13. +Be not weary in well-doing.+--Such bad behaviour under cover of the Christian name is abhorrent to St. Paul. "The loveliness of perfect deeds" must be worthily sustained. Well-doing here points to that which is admirable in conduct rather than that which is beneficent.

Ver. 14. +Have no company with him.+--The difference between this treatment of a delinquent and excommunication may be more in idea than fact. He would feel himself tabooed in either case. But this agrees better with the notion of Christians as being separated. _"Come out from among them."_ Cf. Tit. ii. 10. +That he may be ashamed.+--Not, of course, that he may become a laughing-stock, but that, feeling abashed, he may quickly put himself right with the community.

Ver. 15. +Yet count him not as an enemy.+--When Christ says the impenitent brother is to be regarded as a Gentile, He gives no sanction to the way in which the Jew too often regarded the Gentile. +Admonish him as a brother.+--Who, though in error, has not sacrificed his claim to gentle treatment and consideration.

Ver. 16. +Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always.+--The Church at Thessalonica had been passing through stormy waters. The apostle prays that God may give them to--

"Feel His halcyon rest within
Calming the storms of dread and sin."

Ver. 17. +The salutation . . . the token.+--As though he said, "This that I am about to write is my sign-manual."

Ver. 18. +The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.+--Whatever St. Paul's handwriting may have been, it could not well be more characteristic than this word "grace," as certainly he could not have chosen a more beautiful word to engrave on his seal.

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1, 2.

_Prayer for Ministers._

Prayer should not be all on one side. It is a mutual obligation and privilege. The Thessalonians are reminded how often they were the subject of anxious prayer, and they are now asked to remember their own ministers at the throne of grace. Mutual prayer intensifies mutual sympathy and affection and deepens the interest of both parties in promoting the success of the Gospel. Note:--

+I. That prayer for ministers is apostolically enjoined.+--"Brethren, pray for us" (ver. 1). True prayer is spontaneous. It does not wait to be formally authorised. A loving heart loves to pray. Nevertheless, there are laggards in this duty, and they may be prompted to the exercise by employing all the weight of apostolic authority and example. If apostles felt the need of prayer, how much more should we! Ministers are but men; but by the use of the word "brethren" the writer indicates that ministers and people have common privileges, common wants, and common dangers. The ministerial office has also its special responsibilities and perils, and nothing helps more vitally the efficient discharge of its duties than the constant prayers of an appreciative and devoted people.

+II. That prayer for ministers should have special reference to the success of the Gospel.+--1. _The Gospel is Divine._ "The word of the Lord" (ver. 1). The Gospel is a message to man, but it is more than a human message. It is the voice of God speaking to man through man. If it had been simply of human origin, it would have been forgotten and superseded by the changing theories ever teeming from the fertile brain of man. Every human institution is liable to be supplanted by another. There is nothing permanent in philosophy, government, or morals that is not based on eternal truth. The Gospel is abiding, because it rests on unchanging truth. It is the "word of the Lord."

2. _The spread of the Gospel is beset with difficulties._--"That the word of the Lord may have free course" (ver. 1). The pioneers of the Gospel in Thessalonica had to contend with the malignant hatred of the unbelieving Jews, with the seductive theories of the Grecian philosophy, and with the jealous opposition of the Roman power. All hindrances to the Gospel have a common root in the depravity of the human heart--hence the difficulties occasioned by the inconsistencies of half-hearted professors, the paralysing influence of scepticism, and the violence of external persecution. The chief difficulty is spiritual, and the weapon to contend against it must be spiritual--the weapon of _all-prayer._ Savonarola once said, "If there be no enemy, no fight; if no fight, no victory; if no victory, no crown." We are to pray that the Gospel "may have free course"--may run, not simply creep, or loiter haltingly on the way, but speed along as a swift-footed messenger. "Take courage from thy cause: thou fightest for thy God, and against His enemy. Is thy enemy too potent? fear not. Art thou besieged? faint not. Art thou routed? fly not. Call aid, and thou shalt be strengthened; petition, and thou shalt be relieved; pray, and thou shalt be recruited."

3. _The glory of the Gospel is to change men's hearts and ennoble men's lives._--"And be glorified, even as it is with you" (ver. 1). You Thessalonians, notwithstanding your imperfect views and defective conduct, are samples of what the Gospel can do in changing the heart and giving a lofty purpose to the life. Pray that its triumph may be more complete in you, and that its uplifting influence may be realised by others. "That which Plato was unable to effect," says Pascal, "even in the case of a few select and learned persons, a secret power, by the help only of a few words, is now wrought upon thousands of uneducated men."

+III. That prayer for ministers should be offered that their lives may be preserved from the violence of cruel and unbelieving enemies.+--"And that ye may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith" (ver. 2). _Not all have faith,_ even among those who profess to have it, and it is certainly true of all those who scout and reject the Gospel. The unbelieving are perverse and wicked, and it is from this class that the minister is met by the most unreasonable and malicious opposition. Perhaps the most dangerous foes with which a minister has to contend are those who make some profession of religion, but in heart and practice deny it. "Men will write for religion, fight for it, die for it--anything but live for it." The minister, girded with the prayers of his people, is screened from the plots and attacks of the wicked.

+Lessons.+--1. _The success of the Gospel is a signal demonstration of its Divine authorship._ 2. _Ministers of the Gospel have need of sympathy and help in their work._ 3. _The grandest spiritual results are brought about by prayer._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Ver. 1. _The Ministerial Request._

+I. The request presented.+--1. _That the power of religion may be eminently experienced in our own souls._ 2. _That we may be preserved from the official dangers to which we are exposed._ 3. _That we may be able ministers of the New Testament._ 4. _That prudence and fidelity may distinguish our labours._

+II. The grounds on which it rests.+--1. _It rests on the mutual connection which subsists between ministers and people._ 2. _On the law of love._ 3. _On its advantage to yourselves._ 4. _On the prevalency of fervent prayer._ 5. _On its connection with the salvation of souls.--Sketches._

Ver. 2. _Unbelief_--

+I. Abandons the guide of reason.+

+II. Leads to a vicious life and causes trouble to others.+

+III. We should pray to be delivered from its evil results.+

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 3, 4.

_The Faithfulness of God._

From the want of faith in man, referred to in the preceding verse, the writer, as if to show the contrast, naturally glides into the subject of the Divine faithfulness. Unbelief may abound, but God can be relied on; man may be fickle and unreasonable, but the fidelity of God is inviolate.

+I. The faithfulness of God is a fact established by abundant testimonies.+--"But the Lord _is_ faithful" (ver. 3). He is faithful to His own nature. He cannot deny Himself. He is faithful to His purpose, to His Word, to every promise, and every threatening too. The whole history of God's dealings with the Jewish people is a suggestive and impressive commentary on His inflexible faithfulness. The fact that the Church of God exists to-day, notwithstanding defection within and persecution without, is an unanswerable testimony to His fidelity. "You may be faint and weary, but my God cannot. I may fluctuate and alter as to my frames and feelings; but my Redeemer is unchangeably the same. I might utterly fail and come to nothing, if left to myself. But I cannot be so left to myself. He is rich to relieve and succour me in all my wants. He is faithful to perform and perfect all His promises" (_Ambrose Serle_).

+II. The faithfulness of God is practically manifested in establishing His people in all good and in keeping them safe from all evil.+--"Who shall stablish you and keep you from evil" (ver. 3). The people of God do not perpetuate themselves. He perpetuates. His faithful guardianship gives persistency to His people, so that in every age and in the darkest times there has been a bright succession of living witnesses of His unchanging character. He preserves them, not because of any inherent grace or self-deserving, but because He is faithful. "Janet," said a Scottish minister to a Christian woman of great faith, whom he was visiting, "suppose, after all, God were to let you drop into hell!" "Even as He will," was her reply; "but if He does, He will lose mair than I'll do." A single flaw in the Divine fidelity would shatter the faith of the universe.

+III. The faithfulness of God inspires confidence in the fidelity of the obedient.+--"And we have confidence in the Lord touching you that ye both do, and will do the things which we command you" (ver. 4). Because God is faithful, we know that you can be kept faithful, if you are willing and seeking to be so kept. Moreover, you will assuredly be kept faithful, while you observe in the future, as you have done in the past, "the things which we command you," and in commanding which we have the Divine authority. Consider these things, let them sink into your hearts; then act accordingly. Let obedience follow conviction, and we have no fear about the result. Von Moltke, the great German strategist and general, chose for his motto, _"Erst wagen, dann wagen,"_--_"First weigh, then venture"_; and it was to this he owed his great victories and successes. Slow, cautious, careful in planning, but bold, daring, even seemingly reckless in execution, the moment his resolve was made. Vows thus ripen into deeds, decision must go on to performance. The final perseverance of the saint depends on the Divine perseverance; his faithfulness on the Divine faithfulness. If we had no living Saviour to pilot our ship, no promise on which to rely, we might have cause to fear. The Divine faithfulness is unquestionable; our faithfulness is maintained only by obedience.

+Lessons.+--1. _The faithfulness of God is the guarantee of the believer's safety._ 2. _The faithfulness of God should encourage the exercise of implicit faith in Him._ 3. _The faithfulness of God demands undeviating obedience to His laws._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Ver. 3. _The Divine Faithfulness_--

+I. An incontrovertible fact.+

+II. A guarantee of personal establishment in the truth.+

+III. An invulnerable protection from evil and all its works.+

Ver. 4. _Christian Obedience_--

+I. Is a voluntary and constant activity.+

+II. Is based on well-understood and authoritative precepts.+

+III. Is the pathway of blessing.+

+IV. Inspires confidence in others.+

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 5.

_Divine Love and Patience._

Again, the apostle is on his knees. How beautifully the habitual devoutness of the apostle's spirit comes out in the side-lights thrown from passages in his writings like this verse! He lives and breathes in the electric atmosphere of prayer. All the time he is reasoning, expounding, warning, and persuading he is also praying. Prayer is a powerful aid to the preacher. It keeps his soul in sympathy with the realm of spiritual realities, gives him clearer insight into truth, and intensifies his experience of the Divine. We learn from this verse:--

+I. That Divine love and patience are conspicuous elements in man's redemption.+--"The love of God and the patient waiting for Christ"--_the patience of Christ_ (R.V.). The love of God devised and the patience of Christ carried out the great plan of human salvation. The Gospel is a grand revelation of the Divine love and patience in Christ Jesus; and the history of the Gospel in its world-wide progress is a many-sided illustration of these two conspicuous virtues in the Divine character and operations. After the last French war, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Paris was imprisoned. His cell had a window shaped like a cross, and with a pencil he wrote upon the arms of the cross that they denoted the height, length, breadth, and depth of God's love. That man knew something of the love of God. The patience of Christ in suffering for mankind was sustained and sublimated by the love of God, and was an object-lesson to the world, teaching, in a way that appealed to the most callous, the power and universality of that love.

+II. That Divine love and patience are the distinguished privilege of human experience.+--"Direct your hearts into the love of God and patience of Christ." The love we are to enjoy is no mere human passion, fickle and evanescent; the patience, no mere grim stoical endurance. We are admitted into the sacred adoption of the Divine mysteries; we share in their spiritual ecstasy and unruffled calm, the very love and patience of God! The Divine in us becomes more growingly evident to ourselves and to others. Love gives staying-power to and teaches us how to suffer without murmuring, to endure without retaliating. "Sire," said Beza in his reply to the king of Navarre, "it belongs to God's Church rather to suffer blows than to strike them; but let it be your pleasure to remember that the Church is an anvil which has worn out many a hammer." With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes satin.

+III. That Divine love and patience are more fully enjoyed by the soul that prays.+--"And the Lord direct your hearts." The prayerful apostle had realised the blessedness of a personal participation in the love and patience of God. But for the love of God he would never have ventured upon his evangelistic mission, and but for the patience of Christ he would not have continued in it. Now he prays that the hearts of the Thessalonians may enjoy the same grace or be set in the direct way of attaining it. It is of vital consequence that the current of the heart's outgoings should be set in the right direction. This brief petition shows what we ought to ask for ourselves. The best way to secure a larger degree of love and patience is to ardently pray for them.

"What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone
Around Thy steps below!
What patient love was seen in all
Thy life and death of woe!

"Oh! give us hearts to love like Thee--
Like Thee, O Lord, to grieve
Far more for others' sins, than all
The wrongs that we receive."

+Lessons.+--1. _The Christian life is a sublime participation in the nature of God._ 2. _Love and patience reveal the God-like character._ 3. _Prayer is at its best when engaged with the loftiest themes._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSE._

Ver. 5. _Waiting for the Second Advent._

+I. The love of God a preparation for the Redeemer's coming.+--1. _The love of God is the love of goodness._ 2. _The love of God is the love of man expanded and purified._ The love of man expanded into the love of Him, of whom all that we have seen of gentle and lovely, of true and tender, of honourable and bright in human character, are but the shadows and the broken, imperfect lights.

+II. Patient waiting another preparation for the Redeemer's coming.+--1. _The Christian attitude of soul is an attitude of expectation._--Every gift of noble origin is breathed upon by hope's perfect breath.

2. _It is patient waiting._--Every one who has ardently longed for any spiritual blessing knows the temptation to impatience in expecting it.--_F. W. Robertson._

_MAIN HOMILETICS ON THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 6, 7.

_Christian Consistency._

The apostle commended with a warm-hearted eulogy whatever was good in the Thessalonians, but he was not less faithful in administering rebuke when it was needed. A number of the converts, not sufficiently pondering the words of the writer, were carried away with the delusion that the second advent of Christ would take place immediately, and they abandoned all interest in the practical duties of life--an error that has been often repeated since, with similar results. Fearing the mischief would spread, and seeing that all pervious warnings were disregarded, the apostle in these verses treats the mistaken enthusiasts with unsparing condemnation. Disorder must be crushed, and consistency preserved.

+I. Christian consistency is in harmony with the highest teaching.+--"After the tradition which he [or they] received of us" (ver. 6). The rules of Christian consistency were clearly laid down in the traditions or doctrines taught by the apostles and were enforced with all the weight and sanction of Divine authority. To violate these rules is to "walk disorderly"--to break the ranks, to fall out of line. The value of the individual soldier is the degree in which he keeps in order and acts in perfect harmony and precision with the rest of the regiment. A breach of military rule creates disaster. Let the believer keep the Divine law, and the law will keep him.

"The heavens themselves, the planets and this centre,
Observe degree, priority, and place,
Insisture, course, proportion, season, form,
Office and custom, in all line of order."--_Shakespeare._

+II. Christian consistency is enforced by apostolic example.+--"For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you" (ver. 7). The apostles illustrated what they taught, by a rigid observance of the rules they imposed on others. Precept was enforced by practice. While the preachers laboured among the Thessalonians, the influence of their upright examples kept the Church in order. Much depends upon the conduct of a leader in Church or State. It is said of a certain military commander on taking charge of an army that had been somewhat lax in discipline: "The presence of a master-mind was quickly visible in the changed condition of the camp. Perfect order now reigned. He was a rigid disciplinarian, and yet as gentle and kind as a woman. He was the easiest man in our army to get along with pleasantly, so long as one did his duty, but as inexorable as fate in exacting its performance. He was as courteous to the humblest private who sought an interview for any purpose as to the highest officer under his command."

+III. Christian consistency is to be maintained by separation from the lawless.+--"Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly" (ver. 6). If all efforts to recover the recalcitrant fail, then the Church has the highest authority for separating completely from the society and fellowship of such. Continued communion with them would not only seem to condone their offence, but destroy discipline, and put an end to all moral consistency. Such a separation from the unruly would be more marked in the early Church, when there was only one Christian community, and when the brethren were noted for their affectionate attachment to each other.

+Lessons.+--_Christian consistency_--1. _Is defined by the highest law._ 2. _Avoids association with evil._ 3. _Is a reproof and pattern to the unbelieving._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Vers. 6, 7. _The Disorderly in Church Life_--

+I. Violate the rules that give compactness and strength to all
Church organisation.+

+II. Ignore the highest examples of moral consistency.+

+III. Should be faithfully warned and counselled.+

+IV. If incorrigible, should be excluded from the privileges of
Christian fellowship.+

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 8, 9.

_Self-denying Labour._

Pioneer work involves hard toil and much patience and self-denial. The character and surroundings of the people whose highest good is sought must be studied. The apostle took his measure of the Thessalonian converts, and, perhaps foreseeing the extravagances to which they would yield, he and his co-labourers determined to set them an example of unselfish industry, even to the extent of surrendering their just rights.

+I. Here we see self-denying labour carried on amidst weariness and suffering.+--"Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day" (ver. 8). Work is a pleasurable exercise to the strong and healthy, but it becomes a hardship when carried to excess. The devoted missionaries worked when they were weary--worked when they should have been resting. After a hard day's toil in teaching and visiting, they laboured far on into the night, so as to maintain themselves independent of help from their converts. Much as we hear of the dignity of labour, the toiler, whether by hand or brain, in the weariness and pain that overtake him, feels that some portion of the original curse still clings to his handiwork. The best work is often accomplished in the midst of acute suffering. The unique histories of England were written by J. R. Green while the shadow of death was consciously hovering over his desk; and the exquisite Christian lyrics of H. F. Lyte were penned while he felt that every moment his heart was throbbing "funeral marches to the grave."

+II. Here we see self-denying labour declining the maintenance that might be legitimately claimed.+--"That we might not be chargeable to any of you: not because we have not power" (vers. 8, 9)--right, authority. While the apostle forbears to urge their just right to ministerial support by the people, he gives them clearly to understand it is their right. Their self-denial in this instance was for a special purpose, and was only intended to be temporary, and not to establish a universal rule. In other places, St. Paul insists upon the duty of the Church to maintain its ministers (1 Cor. ix. 4-14; Gal. vi. 6). All honour to the self-denying zeal and suffering toil of the unaided Christian worker; but what shall we say of the parsimony and injustice of the people who allow such a state of things to continue?

+III. Here we see self-denying labour set forth as an example and reproof to those who are most benefited by it.+--"To make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us" (ver. 9). Here the purpose of their disinterested conduct is plainly stated--to set an example of industry to the idlers. St. Paul acted in a similar manner towards the Corinthians, but with a different design. In the latter case he wished to manifest a better spirit than that of the false teachers who were greedy of filthy lucre (2 Cor. xi. 8-13). The earnest evangelist is ever anxious to clear his work from the taint of self-seeking. Let the heart of man be changed and sanctified, and it will inspire and regulate the practical exercise of every Christian virtue. How little does the world appreciate its greatest benefactors! And yet no unselfish act is without its recompense. The actor is not unblessed. To exchange, as Christ did, the temple for Nazareth, the Father's house for the carpenter's shop, the joy of preaching for irksome toil, is a great advance in spiritual obedience and nobility of character.

+Lessons.+--1. _The essence of the Christian spirit is unselfishness._ 2. _The earnest Christian pioneer labours ungrudgingly for the good of others._ 3. _The self-denial of the preacher does not exonerate the people from the duty of his legitimate maintenance._

_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._

Ver. 8. _Industry the Secret of Success._--When Sir Isaac Newton was asked by what means he had been able to make that successful progress in the sciences which struck mankind with wonder, he modestly replied, that it was not so much owing to any superior strength of genius as to a habit of patient thinking, laborious attention, and close application.

Ver. 9. _Ministerial Maintenance._

+I. It is a claim based on scriptural and apostolic authority.+

+II. The temporary waiving of the right is a noble example of
self-denial and unselfish devotion.+

+III. No personal waiving of the right releases the Church from its
obligation.+

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 10-12.

_Christianity and Work._

Christianity is the Gospel of work. Its clarion-call thrills along the nerves of human life and summons the world to labour. It gives to work meaning, purpose, dignity, and exalts drudgery into a blessedness. While full of sympathy for the feeble and maimed, it has no pity for the indolent. Its Founder and first apostles were giants in labour, and their example animates the world to-day with a spirit of noblest activity. It is not the drone, but the worker, who blesses the world. "Be no longer a chaos," writes Carlyle, "but a world, or even a worldkin. Produce! produce! were it but the pitifullest, infinitesimal fraction of a product, produce it in God's name! 'Tis the utmost thou hast in thee; out with it, then. Up, up! whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."

+I. Christianity recognises the duty of every man to work for his own support.+--"For even when we were with you, this we commanded, that if any would not work, neither should he eat" (ver. 10). The necessity of food involves the necessity of work. As every one must eat, so every one must work. The wife of a certain chieftain, who had fallen upon idle habits, one day lifted the dish-cover at dinner and revealed a pair of spurs, a sign that he must ride and hunt for his next meal. It is said that in the Californian bee-pastures, on the sun-days of summer, one may readily infer the time of day from the comparative energy of bee-movements alone; drowsy and moderate in the cool of the morning, increasing in energy with the ascending sun, and at high noon thrilling and quivering in wild ecstasy, then gradually declining again to the stillness of night. Is not this a picture of our life? Work is necessary for sustenance, for health, for moral development; and rest is all the sweeter after genuine toil.