7 >to. iProm tl|? ICthrarg of Ifqupatlfpb hg l|tm to ll|? Htbrarg of Prtttrrton Sti^fllogtral S>?mtnary V. ^7 J^c THE ^ Biblical Illustrator OR Anecdotes, Similes, Emblems, Illustrations ; Expository, Scientific, Geographical, His- torical, and Homiletic, Gathered from a Wide Range of Home and Foreign Literature, on the Verses of The Bible Rev. JOSEPH S. EXELL, M.A. SECOND CORINTHIANS '-=^ ». S of ^rh^ ~ » ._ ft New York Chicago Toronto Fleming H. Revell Company Publishers of Evangelical Literature INTEODUCTION TO THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE COEINTHIANS. I. The Interval between the Two Epistles. St. Paul's departure from Ephesus was probably hastened by the tumult raised by the shrine-makers of Artemis (or Diana) against him (Acts xix. 21 ; xx. 1). It was some time before Pentecost, in the year 58, when he " departed for to go into Macedonia." He journeyed to Troas, the port of embarkation for Macedonia, where he stayed for a while awaiting the return of Titus from Corinth, and making use of the " door opened " to him at this place to preach Christ (chap. ii. 12, 13). Accordingly we find a Pauline Church in existence at Troas on the Apostle's return journey this way in the following spring (Acts XX. 6-12). But Titus did not arrive at the time expected ; and the Apostle, finding "no rest in his spirit" on this account, oppressed with anxiety about the Church of Corinth, bade farewell to his new friends at Troas, and pushed on to meet Titus in Macedonia. This was the darkest hour in the Apostle's history since the days he spent in blindness at Damascus (chap. vii. 5). Corinth appeared to be in fuU revolt against him. Galatia was falling away to " another gospel." He had narrowly escaped with his life from the enraged populace of Ephesus — "wild beasts" with whom he had long been fighting, and at whose mercy he had left his flock in that city (1 Cor. xv. 32). He was "pressed out of measure, above strength." Under this continued strain of excitement and anxiety, his strength succumbed ; he was seized with an attack of sickness, which threatened to terminate his life (chap. i. 8, 9 ; iv. 7-v. 4). Together with his life, the fate of his mission and of Gentile Chris- tianity trembled in the balance. Never had he felt himself so helpless, so beaten down and discomfited as on that melancholy journey from Ephesus to Macedonia, and while he lay upon his sick bed (perhaps at Philippi), knowing not whether Titus or the messenger of death would reach him first. Titus, however, now returned with news from Corinth which re-established his shattered health more quickly than all the medicine in the world. The relief which St. Paul now experienced was as intense as the previous distress and alarm into which he had been plunged by the misconduct of the Corinthians (chap. vii. 6-16). Evidently, the First Epistle had brought about a reaction in the Church ; there had been an outburst of loyalty towards the Apostle, and of indignation and repugnance against the chief offender, who, in addition to his gi-oss immorality, had treated St. Paul's authority with insolent defiance. (Prof. G. G. Findlay. B.A.) n. The Question or a Thibd Epistle, and op Paul's Relations with the CoEiNTHiANS. There are many who think it absurd to speak of the First Epistle as written " out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears," and who cannot imagine that Paul would speak of a great sin like that of the incestuous person in such language as he employs in chaps, ii. 5 ff. and vii. 12. Such language, they argue, suits far better the case of a personal injury, an insult or outrage of which Paul — either in person or in one of his deputies — had been victim at Corinth. INTRODUCTION TO THE Hence they argue for an intermediate visit of a very painful character, and for an intermediate letter, now lost, dealing with the painful incident. Paul, we are to suppose, visited Corinth on the business of 1 Cor. v. (among other things), and there suffered a great humiliation. He was defied by the guilty man and his friends, and had to leave the church without effecting anything. Then he wrote the extremely severe letter to which chap. ii. 4 refers — a letter which was carried by Titus, and which produced the change on which he congratulates himself in chap. ii. 5 ff. and vii. 8 ff. It is obvious that this whole combination is hypothetical, and hence though many have been attracted by it, it appears with an infinite variety of detail. It is obvious also that the grounds on which it rests are subjective ; it is a question on which men will differ to the end of time whether chap. ii. 4 is an apt description of the mood in which Paul wrote (at least, certain parts of) the First Epistle, or -whether chap. ii. 5 ff., vii. 8 ff. is becoming language in which to close proceedings like those opened in 1 Cor. v. But surely it is far easier to suppose that the pro- ceedings about the incestuous person took a complexion which made Paul's language natural. The visit, however, it may be said, at all events, is not hypothetical. It is distinctly alluded to in chaps, ii. 1, xii. 14, xiii. 1. Granted ; yet the close con- nection of our Epistles compels us to assume that this second visit belongs to an earlier date than the First. We know nothing of it save that it was not pleasant, and that Paul was very willing to save both himself and the Corinthians the repeti- tion of such an experience. It is nothing against this view that this visit is not referred to in Acts or 1 Cor. Hardly anything in chap. xi. 24 ff. is known to us from Acts, and probably we shcuild never have known of this journey unless in explaining the change of purpose which the first letter announced it had occurred to Paul to say, " I did not wish to come when it could only vex you ; I had enough of that before." As for the letter supposed to be referred to in chap. ii. 4, it has also been relieved of its hypothetical character by being identified with chaps, x. 1, xiii. 10. In the absence of the faintest external indication that 2 Cor. ever existed in any other than its present form, it is perhaps superfluous to treat this seriously. The letter must have had two main objects — (1) To accredit Titus, who is assumed to have carried it, as Paul's representative; (2) To insist on reparation for the assumed personal outrage of which Paul had been the victim on his recent visit. But chaps. X. 1, xiii. 10 have no reference whatever to either of these things, and are wholly taken up with what the Apostle means to do, when he comes to Corinth the third time ; they refer not to this (imaginary) insolent person, but to the misbelieving and the immoral in general. Let us now briefly review Paul's relations with the Corin- thians. His first visit to Corinth (Acts xviii.) extended over eighteen months. In all probability he had many communications with the Church, through deputies whom he commissioned, in the years during which he was absent ; the form of the question in chap. xii. 17 implies as much. But it is only after his coming to Ephesus, in the course of his third missionary journey, that personal intercourse •with Corinth can have been resumed. To this period the visit of chaps, ii. 1, xiii. 2 is to be referred. What the occasion or circumstances were we cannot tell ; all we know is that it was painful and perhaps disappointing. Paul had used grave and threatening language (chap. xiii. 2), but had been obliged to tolerate some things he had rather seen otherwise. This visit was probably made towards the close of his Ephesian ministry, and the letter referred to in 1 Cor. v. 9 would be most likely written on his return. In this letter he may very naturally have announced that purpose of visiting Corinth twice (chap. i. 16). This letter, plainly, did not serve its purpose, and not long afterwards Paul received at Ephesus deputies from Corinth {1 Cor. xvi. 17) who apparently brought with them vaitten instructions in which Paul's judgment was sought more minutely on a variety of ethical questions (1 Cor. vii. 1). Before these deputies arrived, or at all events before Paul wrote 1 Cor., Timothy had left Ephesus on a journey of some interest. Paul meant Corinth to be his destination (1 Cor. iv. 17), but he had to go via Macedonia, and the Apostle was not certain that he would get so far (1 Cor. xvi. 10), and he does not seem to have gone further than Macedonia (Acts xix. 22), and Paul now joins his name with his own (chap. i. 1) in Macedonia, and never hints that he owed to him any infor- jnation as to the state of the Church. All he knew was from Titus (chap. ii. 13, vii. 16). But how did Titus happen to be in Corinth representing Paul? By far the happiest suggestion is that which makes Titus and the brother of chap. xii. 18 the same as the brethren of 1 Cor. xvi. 12, whose return from Corinth Paul expected in the company of Timothy. Timothy, however, did not get so far. Paul's departure ifrom Ephesus was hastened by a great peril ; his anxiety to hear the effect produced SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. by his First Epistle was very great ; he pressed on past Troas, and finally encountered Titus in Macedonia, at which point this Epistle begins. (/. Denney, B.D.) HI. The Purpose of the Epistle. The First Epistle was entirely appreciated by those for whom it was mainly intended. The licentious party who, whether from misunderstanding or perverting the Apostle's teaching, had used his name as a watchword for their excesses were humbled. Some complaints were raised against the Apostle's change of purpose in not coming to them direct from Ephesus (chap. i.l5-ii. 1) ; some cause still remained for fear lest the intercourse with the heathen should be too unrestrained (chap. vi. 14-vii. 1) ; but on the whole the submission of the mass of the Corinthian Church was complete. They received Titus with open arms (chap. vii. 13-16) ; and in the matter of the incestuous marriage, the correction of which had been the chief practical subject of the First Epistle, they had been struck with the deepest penitence (chap. vii. 7-11) ; an assembly had been convened, and a punishment inflicted on the offender (chap. ii. 6) ; and although their sorrow for themselves, and this severity towards the guilty person, had passed away before Titus's departure (chap. vii. 8), and the sin itself had been forgiven (chap. ii. 10), yet there was nothing to indicate any disinclination to follow the spirit of the Apostle's teaching. Thus far all had gone beyond the Apostle's expectations ; in the one point in which his command might seem to have been only partially followed out, in the temporary character of the penalty inflicted on the incestuous person, his mind was relieved even more than if they had literally observed his orders. They had judged, he almost seemed to think, more wisely in this respect than himself (chaps, vii. 12, ii. 9, 10), and generally he felt that confidence between them was now restored (chaps, vi. 11, vii. 16), and that he was now more inseparably united with them in that union in their common Lord, which none but Christians knew (chaps, i. 5-6, iii. 2-3). Mingled, however, with this good news were other tidings, not wholly unexpected by the Apostle, for he had already anticipated something of the kind in 1 Cor. ix. 1-6, but still demanding new and distinct consideration. The Jewish party at Corinth, which claimed especially the name of Peter, and apparently that of Christ also, had at the time of the First Epistle been so insignificant in itself or as compared with the opposite party, as to call for only a few passing notices from the Apostle. It had, however, even then reached a sufficient height to question his apostolical authority (1 Cor. ix. 1-6) ; and in the interval, apparently from the arrival of a new teacher or teachers, with letters of commendation (chaps, iii. 1, x. 12) from some superior authority, probably from Jerusalem, the opponents of the Apostle had grown into a large and powerful party (chaps, i. 12, 17, iii. 1, x. 1, xii. 21), constituting even the majority of the teachers (chap. ii. 17); openly assailing the Apostle's character, claiming ahnost despotic dominion over their followers (chaps, i. 24, ii. 17, xi. 13, 20), insisting on their purely Jewish origin (chap. xi. 22), and on their peculiar connection with Christ (chaps, v. 16, x. 7, xi. 13-23, xiii. 3), on their apostolic privileges (chap. xi. 5, 13), and on their commendatory letters (chaps, iii. 1, V. 12, X. 12, 18). These two subjects, the general acquiescence of the Corinthians in the Apostle's injunctions and the claims of the Judaising party, must have been the chief topics of 'Titus's communication. The first and prominent feeling awakened in St. Paul's mind was one of overwhelming thankfulness for the relief from the anxiety which he had up to that moment felt for the effects of his Epistle ; next indignation at the insinuations of his adversaries. To give vent to the double tide of emotion thus arising within him, was the main purpose therefore of this Epistle. A third subject of less importance, but which gave him a direct opportunity for writing, was the necessity of hastening the collection for the Christian poor in Judsea. He had already spoken of it in the close of his First Epistle ; but his sense of the need of success had been further impressed upon him by the generosity of the Mace- donian churches, of which his recent stay among them had made him an actual witness. (Dean Stanley.) TV. The Connection between the Two Epistles. This connection is not a hypo- thesis of greater or less probability, it is a large and solid fact. Thus chaps, i. 8-10, ii. 12, 13, attach themselves immediately to the situation described in 1 Cor. xvi. 8, 9. Similarly in chap. i. 12 there seems to be a distinct echo of 1 Cor. ii. 4-14^ More important is the unquestionable reference in chap. i. 13-17, 23, to 1 Cor. xvi. 5. And not to point to general resemblances in feeling or temper, the correspon- dence is at least suggestive between ayi>b^ kv T(p wpayftan (chap. vii. 11 ; cf. the use of Trpayfia in 1 Thess. iv. 6), and roiavrr] voppda in 1 Cor. v. 1; between tu INTRODUCTION TO THE ■TrpoffWTry XpiiTTOv (chap. ii. 10), and iv Tiji bvofiari rov K. jj/xuiv'I.X. (1 Cor. v. 4) ; between the mention of Satan in chap. ii. 11, and 1 Cor. v. 5 ; between irtvQiiv in chap. xii. 21, and 1 Cor. v. 2 ; between toiovtoq and tiq in chap. ii. 6 f., chap. ii. 5, and the same words in 1 Cor. v. 5, and 1 Cor. v. 1. If all these are examined and compared, I think it becomes extremely difficult to believe that in chap. ii. 5 £f. and vii. 8 ff. the Apostle is dealing with anything else than the case of the sinner treated in 1 Cor. v. If this view is accepted it is natural and justifiable to explain the Second Epistle as far as possible out of the First. Thus the letter to which St. Paul refers in chaps, ii. 4, vii. 8, 12, wiU be our First Epistle ; the persons referred to in chap. vii. 12 will be the son and the father in 1 Cor. v. 1. (<7. Denney, B.D.) V. The Style of the Epistle. As in the occasion so also in style,.this contrast between the First and Second Epistle is very great. The First is the most, the Second the least systematic of any of the Apostle's writings. The three subjects of the Epistle are, in point of arrangement, kept distinct. But so vehement were the feelings under which he wrote, that the thankful expression of the first part is darkened by the indignation of the third ; and the directions about the business of the collection are coloured by the reflections both of his joy and his grief. And in all the three portions, though in themselves strictly personal, the Apostle is borne away into the higher regions in which he habitually lived ; so that this Epistle becomes the most striking instance of what is the case, more or less, with all his writings ; a new philosophy of life poured forth, not through systematic treatises, but through occasional bursts of human feeling. The very stages of his journey are impressed upon it ; the troubles at Ephesus, the repose of Troas, the anxieties and consolations of Macedonia, Hhe prospect of moving to Corinth. " Universa Epistola," says Bengel, " itinerarium refert, sed prseceptis pertextum praestan- tissimis." (Dean Stanley.) Erasmus compares this Epistle to a river which sometimes flows in a gentle stream, sometimes rushes down as a torrent bearing all before it ; sometimes spreading out like a placid lake ; sometimes losing itself, as it were, in the sand, and breaking out in its fulness in some unexpected place. The full play allowed to the peculiarities of mind and feeling of the sacred writers is in no way inconsistent with their inspiration. The grace of God in conversion accommodates itself to all peculiarities of disposition and temperament. And the same is true with regard to the influence of the Spirit in inspiration. (C. Hodge, D.D.) VI. Its Belatioks with and Dieferences fbom the otheb Epistles. If hope is the key-note of the Epistles to the Thessalonians, joy of that to the Philippians, faith of that to the Bomans, and heavenly things of that to the Ephesians, afflic- tion is the one predominant word in this Epistle (chaps, i. 4-8, ii. 4, iv. 8, viii. 13). The Epistles to the Thessalonians contain the Apostle's views on the Second Advent ; the Epistle to the Galatians is his trumpet-note of indignant defiance to retro- grading Judaisers ; that to the Bomans is the systematic and scientific statement of the scheme of salvation ; that to the Philippians is his outpouring of tender and gladdened affection to his most beloved converts ; the first letter to the Corinthians shows us how he applied the principles of Christianity to daily life in dealing with the flagrant aberrations of a most unsatisfactory church ; the second letter opens a window into the very emotions of his heart, and is the agitated self-defence of a wounded and loving spirit to ungrateful and erring, yet not wholly lost or wholly incorrigible souls. (Dean Farrar.) The Second Epistle differs very greatly from the First. The First is objective and practical; the Second intensely subjective and personal. The First is calm and measured in tone — sometimes severe, but always collected and deliberate ; the Second is broken, vehement, im- passioned— now melting into the softest affection, now rising into a storm of indignant reproach and sarcasm. The First Epistle reflects the nature of the Corinthian Church — its abundance of talent and activity, its truly Greek factious- ness and love of display, its defects of conscience and moral sense, its close relations with heathen society ; the Second reveals the nature of the Apostle Paul himself — his sensitive honour and contempt for all chicanery, the tenderness and ardour of his affections for the Gentile Churches — those of a mother or lover rather than those which commonly belong to the teacher and the pastor, the frailty of his delicate yet active and enduring frame, the unparalleled hardships he endured, the violent enmities amidst which he moved, his continual sense of eternal things, the supernatural visitations and mystical raptures that he not unfrequently experienced, SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. the awful miraculous powers he was capable of exerting, his absolute sincerity and self-abnegation, his absorbing devotion to the doctrine and message of the Cross — all these qualities of the great Apostle and characteristics of his work stand out in the pages of this letter, in their variety and combination, with amazing vividness and power. Never has any man painted himself more naturally and more effec- tively than St. Paul in the letter before us. To see him at his greatest as a thinker and theologian, we turn to the Epistle to the Eomans ; to know him as a saint, we read the Philippian Epistle. But if we would measure him as a man amongst men, and as a minister of Christ ; if we would sound the depths of his heart, and realise the force and fire of his nature, the ascendency of his genius and the charm of his manner and disposition, we must thoroughly understand the second letter to the Corinthians. This is Paul's Apologia pro vita sua. Its main interest is not doctrinal, as in Galatians and Romans — although there are weighty passages of doctrine in it ; nor practical, as in 1 Corinthians and the Pastorals — although chaps, viii. and ix., in the middle of the letter, are practical enough ; it is intensely personal, full of explanation, defence, protestation, appeal, reproach, invective, threatening — with a vein of subduing pathos blended with the most subtle irony running through the whole. St. Paul's heart just now is very tender. He has been down in the gulfs of sorrow, and lying beneath the shadow of death. The restored affection of the Corinthian Church found him in the state when such a cordial was most needed, and it moved his whole nature in response ; while the insolence and intrigues of the Judaists, now laid open to him in their full baseness, roused in him a scorn that knew no bounds and a triumphant confidence in the " weapons of " his ApostoUc "warfare," and in his power to "overthrow" their "strongholds" (chap. X. 1-6). (Prof. G. G. Findlay.) VII. Plan of the Epistle. A. Salutation and intboduction (chap. i. 1-11). B. The tidings brought by Titus. 1. Confidence of St. Paul in the intentions of the Corinthian Church (chap. i. 12-ii. 11). 2. The arrival of Titus (chap. ii. 12). 3. Digression on the Apostolical mission. (1) The plainness and clearness of the ■" >)• (2) - ■ " ■ " .. ApostoUc service (chap. iv. 7-v. 10). (3) St. Paul's motive for his service (chap. v. apostolical service (chap. ii. 16-iv. 6j. (2) The difficulties and supports of the 11-vi. 10). 4. The arrival of Titus (continued from chap. ii. 16) (chap. vi. 11-13, vii. 2-16). 5. Digression on intercourse with heathens (chap. vi. 14-vii. 1). C. The collection eor the churches in Jud^a. 1. The example of the Mace- donian churches (chap. viii. 1-15). 2. The mission of Titus (chap. viii. 16-24). 3. The spirit in which the collection is to be made (chap. ix. 1-15). D. The ASSERTION OF HIS APOSTOLICAL AUTHORITY. 1. Asscrtiou of his authority (chap. X. 1-6). 2. Digression on his boast of his claims. (1) The reality of his boast (chap. X. 7-18). (2) His boasting excused by his affection for the Corinthians (chap. xi. 1-15). (3) His boasting excused not by his power, but by his weakness (chap. xi. 16-xii. 10). E. Concluding explanations, warnings, and salutations (chap. xii. 11-xiii. 14). {Dean Stanley.) Vni. The Effect produced by it. This is not recorded. Acts xx. 2, 3, which tells us that St. Paul's long promised visit was at length paid, only says that " he came into Greece and there abode three months." When we 'consider the strong reaction in his favour as described by Titus in chap, vii., we cannot but think that the extraordinary " weight and power " of this Epistle, written expressly to take the favourable tide at its height, produced a deep impression, and this is confirmed by the mere duration of his sojourn at Corinth. It is more strongly corroborated by the fact that during his visit he wrote the Epistle to the Romans, in which many momentous topics received a calm, profound, sustained treatment, showing that he had recovered that rest of spirit and flesh of which he had recently been so sorely destitute. The collection also came to a happy issue, for he had said (1 Cor. xvi. 4), that if the amount subscribed " should be worthy of his going also," the Corin- thian bearers of it should accompany him to Jerusalem, and we find (Rom. xvi. 26) that it was found worthy of his going. So far, the letter bore its proper fruits, but his original Jewish persecutors (Acts xviii. 6, 12, 13) were not likely to be mollified by chap. iii. 6-18. His Judaising adversaries also would naturally remain im- placable after his polemic against them (chap. x. 1-xii. 18). We can imagine the malignant rage with which they would witness a three months' demolition of their Satanic strongholds (chap. x. 4). But so long as he was in the bosom of the Church he was safe, and it was only on his departure that an unsuccessful attempt was INTRODUCTION TO THE made to take his life (Acts xx. 3). If we look beyond the record of Scripture towards the end of the first century, we are again presented with a dark picture of the Corinthian community. (See the Epistle of Clement of Eome, chaps, ui. zxz.) Certainly a fresh race of men had sprung up, but it would seem that even an apostle must not expect the fruits of his labours to outhve the generation amidst which he has toiled. Perhaps no influence could have been lasting in so mixed and volatile a population. It was, however, a glorious achievement, if the much people which God had in that city (Acts xviii. 10) entered, under the Apostle'3 guidance, into their blessed rest. And the Epistle has become a possession of aU men for all times ; has done and wiU continue to do its Divine work, accompUshing that which God pleases, and prospering in that whereto he sent it (Isa. Iv. 11), through the long march of all the ages. {J. Waite, DJD.) IX. Its Genuineness. Of this there has never been a moment's doubt even among critics who allow themselves the widest range in their attacks on the canon of New Testament writings. External evidence is in itself adequate. The Epistle is quoted by IrenaBus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. Testimony of this kind is, however, hardly needed. The Epistle speaks for itself. In its intense personality, its peculiarities of style, its manifold coincidences with the Acts and the other Epistles (especially 1 Cor., Kom., and Gal.), its vehement emotions, it may fairly be said to present phenomena beyond the attainment of any later writer, wishing to claim for what he wrote the authority of a great name. Pseudonymous authorship is, in this case, simply out of the question. (Dean Plumptre.) X. The Subsequent History of the Corinthian Church. Of this we know little. Within a few months Paul paid his promised visit, and was hospitably received by one of the chief members of the Church (Eom. xvi. 23). Titus and the unnamed brethren of chap. viii. 18, 22, probably Luke and Tyehicus, had done their work effectually, and he could tell the Romans to whom he wrote of the col- lection for the saints which had been made in Achaia as weU as in Macedonia (Rom. XV. 26). They apparently had so far gained the confidence of the Corin- thians, that they did not think it necessary to choose any delegates of their own to watch over the funds (Acts xx. 4). The malignant enmity of the Jews, however, had not abated (Acts xx. 8), and he had to change his plans. After this we lose sight of the Church altogether, except for the glimpse given in 2 Tim. iv. 20, where we learn that after his first imprisonment, and on his return to his former labours, Erastus, who seems to have travelled with him, stopped at the city in which he held a municipal position of authority (Rom. xvi. 23). (Ibid.) The silence pf history respecting the subsequent state of this Church seems, as far as it goes, of favourable augury. And the testimony of Clement (the " fellow-labourer " of St. Paul, Phil. iv. 3) later on (a.d. 95 circ.) confirms this interpretation of it. He speaks (evidently from his own personal experience) of the impression produced upon every stranger who visited Corinth by their exemplary conduct ; and specifies particularly their possession of the virtues most opposite to their former faults. Thus he says that they were distinguished for the ripeness and soundness of their knowledge in contrast to the unsound and false pretence of knowledge for which they were rebuked by St. Paul. Again, he praises the pure and blameless lives of their women, which must therefore have been greatly changed since chap. xii. 21 was written. But especially he commends them for their entire freedom from faction and party spirit which had formerly been so conspicuous among their faults. Perhaps the picture which he draws of this golden age of Corinth may be too favour- ably coloured, as a contrast to the state of things which he deplored when he wrote. Yet he may beUeve it substantially true, and may therefore hope that some of the worst evils were permanently corrected ; more particularly the impurity and licentiousness which had hitherto been the most flagrant of their vices. Their tendency to party spirit, however (so characteristic of the Greek temper), was not cured ; on the contrary it blazed forth again with greater fury than ever, some years after the death of St. Paul. Their dissensions were the occasion of the letter of Clement, who wrote in the hope of appeasing a violent and "long continued schism " which had arisen (like their earlier divisions), from their being " puffed up in the cause of one against another" (1 Cor. iv. 6). He rebukes them for their " envy, strife, and party spirit " ; accuses them of being " devoted to the cause of their party leaders rather than to the cause of God " ; and declares that their divisions were "rending asunder the body of Christ," and "casting a stumbling- SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. xi block in the way of many." This is the last account which we have of this Church in the apostolic age ; so that the curtain falls on a scene of unchristian strife, too much like that on which it rose. Yet though this besetting sin was still unsubdued, the character of the Church, as a whole, was much improved since the days when some of them denied the resurrection and others maintained their right to practise unchastity. (Conybeare and Hoioson.) Later on, about a.d. 135, the Church of Corinth was visited by Hegesippus, who found it ifaithful to the truth under its bishop Primus. Dionysius, who succeeded Primus, brought out all that was good in the Church, and bears testimony to its liberality in reUeving the poverty of other churches, to the traditional liberality which it had in its turn experienced at the hand of the Eoman churches. The teaching of chaps, viii. ix. had, it would seem, done its work effectually. He records the fact that the Epistle of Clement was read from time to time on the Lord's Day. A female disciple, named Chrysophora, apparently of the same type as Dorcas and PriscUla, was conspicuous both for her good works and her spiritual discernment. With this glimpse into the latest trace- able influence of St. Paul's teaching, our survey of the history of the Chuioh of Corinth may well close. (Dean Plumptre.) THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTKATOR. II. CORINTHIANS. CHAPTER L YsBB. 1, 2. Patil, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of Ctod. — Paul to the Corinthians : — Note — I. The blending of lowliness and authobitt ik Paul's BBSiGNATioN OF HIMSELF. 1. He does not always bring his apostolical authority to mind at the beginning of his letters. In the loving letter to the Philippians lie has no need to urge his authority. In Philemon friendship is uppermost. 2. " By the will of God " is at once an assertion of Divine authority, a declaration of independence, and a lowly disclaimer of individual merit. The weight he expected to be attached to his words was to be due entirely to their Divine origin. Never mind the cracked pipe through which the Divine breath makes music, but listen to the music. II. The ideal of Christian character h^be SET FORTH. " Saiuts " — a word that has been woefully misapplied. The Church has given it as a special honour to a few, and decorated with it mainly the possessors of a false ideal of sanctity. The world uses it with a sarcastic intona- tion, as if it implied loud professions and small performances. 1. Saints are not people living in cloisters, but men and women immersed in the vulgar work of everyday Ufe. The root idea of the word is not moral purity, but separation to God. Consecration to Him is the root from which the white flower of purity springs. We cannot purify ourselves, but we can yield ourselves to God, and the purity will come. 2. To thus devote ourselves is our solemn obligation, and unless we do we are not Christians. The true consecration is the surrender of the will, and its one motive is drawn from the love and devotion of Christ to us. All con- secration rests on the faith of Christ's sacrifice. 3. And if, drawn by the great love of Christ, we give ourselves away to God in Him, then He gives Himself to us. HI. The APOSTOLIC wish which sets forth the high ideal to be desired by churches AND individuals. 1. " Giacc and peace " blend the Western and Eastern forms of salutation, and surpass both. All that the Greek meant by his " Grace," and all that the Hebrew meant by his " Peace " — the ideally happy condition which differ- ing nations have placed in different blessings, and which all loving words have vainly wished for dear ones — is secured and conveyed to every poor soul who trusts in Christ. 2. Grace means — (1) Love in exercise to those who are below the lover or who deserve something else. (2) The gifts which such love bestows. (3) The effects of those gifts in the beauties of character and conduct developed in the receivers. So here are invoked the love and gentleness of the Father ; and next the outcome of that love, which never visits the soul empty handed, in all varied spiritual gifts ; and, as a last result, every beauty of heart, mind, and temper which can adorn the character and refine a man into the likeness of God. 3. Peace comes after grace. For tranquillity of soul we must go to God, and He gives it by giving US His love and its gifts. There must be first peace with God that there may be peace from God. Then, when we have been won from our alienation and enmity py the power of the Cross, and have learned to know that God is our Lover, Friend, and Father, we shall possess the peace of those whose hearts have found their home ; the peace of spirits no longer at war within — conscience and choice tearing ihem asunder in their strife ; the peace of obedience, which banishes the disturbance 1 2 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap. !► of self-will ; the peace of security shaken by no fears ; the peace of a sure future across the brightness of which no shadows of sorrow nor mists of uncertainty can fall ; the peace of a heart in amity with all mankind. So, living in peace, we shall lay ourselves down and die in peace, and enter "that country afar beyond the stars" where "grows the flower of peace." (A. Maclaren, D.D.) The will of God : — I. The supreme law. " By the will of God." 1. God has a wiU. He is, therefore, an intelligent, free personality. His will explains the origin, sustenance, and order of the universe ; His will is the force of all forces, and law of all laws. 2. God has a will in relation to individual men. He has a purpose in relation to every man's existence, mission, and conduct. His will in relation to moral beings is the standard of all conduct and the rule of all destiny. Love is its mainspring. II. The apostolic spibit. 1. The apostolic spirit involves subjection to Christ. " An apostle of Jesus Christ." Christ is the moral Master, he the loyal servant. 2. The apostolic spirit is that of special love for the good. He calls Timothy his "brother," and towards "the Church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia," he glows with loving sympathy. Love for souls, deep, tender, overflowing, is the essential qualification for the ministry. III. The chiep GOOD. 1. Here is the highest good. " Grace and peace." 2. Here is the highest good from the highest source. "From our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.'* (Homilist.) Unto the Clmrch of God whicli is at Corinth. — The Church which is at Coriiith : — Corinth is notable for its learning, wealth, and lasciviousness. I. That even amongst the most pbofane and unlikeliest people God may sometimes gather a Church to Hiimself. The reason why God may build His house of such crooked timber, and make His temple of such rough stones, may be to show the freeness of His grace and the efiicacy of it. II. That a Church mat be a tbue Chtjech although it be defiled with many corruptions. As a godly man may be truly godly and yet subject to many failings, so a Church yet not perfect. This truth is worthy of note, because many, out of a tenderness and misguided zeal, may separate from a Church because of this ; but a particular Christian is not to excommunicate a Church till God hath given a bill of divorce to it. 1. The sound- ness and purity of Churches admits of degrees. As one star doth excel another in glory, yet both are stars, so one Church may greatly transcend another in orthodoxy and purity, and yet both be Churches. 2. When we speak of a Church being God's true Church, though greatly corrupted, we must take heed of two extremes — (l) That of those who would have no reformation, though there be never so many disorders, but say, " It is prudence to let all things be." The apostle doth far other- wise to this Church ; though he calls it the Church of God, yet his Epistle is full of sharp reproof. He is very zealous that they become a new lump— that they be made, as it were, a new Church. God takes notice, and is very angry with all these disorders and great neglect. (2) That of those who, because of the corruptions that are in a Church, are so far transported with misguided zeal as to take no notice of the truth of a Church. Some are apt so to attend to a true Church that they never matter the corruptions of it. Others, again, so eye the corruptions that they never regard the truth of it; but it is good to avoid both these extremes. 3. Though that Church be a true Church where we live, yet, if many corruptions do abound therein, we must take heed that we do not pollute ourselves thereby, or become partakers of any sin indulged amongst them. (Anthony Burgess.) With all the saints. — Sainthood : — To the constitution of a true saint there is — I. A separation. Not locally, but in regard of intimate friendship. U. A dedication of ourselves TO the service of God. III. An inward qualification. IV. A new conversation. The Christian carries himself even like to Him that "hath called him out of dark- ness into marvellous light." (R. Sibbes, D.D.) Vers. 3, 4. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. — Why we should bless God : — »What good can we do to God in blessing of Him? He is blessed, though we bless Him not. Our blessing of Him — I. Is required as a duty, to make us more capable of His graces (Matt. xiii. 12). To him that useth that he hath to the glory of God shall be given more. The stream gives nothing to the fountain; the beam nothing to the sun, for it issues from it. Our very blessing of God is a blessing of His. It is from His grace that we can praise His grace; and we run still into a new debt when we have hearts enlarged to bless Him. U. To OTHERS it is GOOD, for they are stirred up by it. God's goodness and mercy is enlarged in regard of the manifestation of it to others. HI. Yea, IBUS qood ooim OHAP. 1.] II. CORINTHIANS. TO OUR soTTLS. Besides the increase of grace, we shall find an mcrease of joy and comfort. 1. If we can work upon our hearts a disposition to see God's love, and to bless Him, we can never be uncomfortable, for then crosses are light. For, when we search for matter of praising God in any aliiiction, and when we see there is €ome mercy yet reserved that we are not consumed, God, when He hath thanks from us, gives us still more matter of thankfulness, and the more we thank Him the more we have matter of praise. And, that we may the better perform this holy duty, let as take notice of all God's blessings. Blessing of God springs immediately from an enlarged heart, but enlargement of heart is stirred up from apprehension. 2. Taking notice of them, let us forget not all His benefits (Psa. ciii. 2). Let us register them, keep diaries of His mercies. He renews His mercies every day, and we ought to xenew our blessing of Him every day. We should labour to do here as we shall do when we are in heaven. (R. Sibbes, D.D.) The thankful heart discriminates mercies : — If one should give me a dish of sand, and tell me there were particles of iron in it, I might look for them with my eyes, and search for them with my clumsy fingers, and be unable to detect them ; but let me take a magnet, and sweep through it, and how would it draw to itself the most invisible particles by the mere power of attrac- tion I The unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no mercies ; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day, and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings ; only the iron in God's sand is gold. (0. W. Holmes.) The abundance of Divine consolation : — I. Of blessing God undeb the ajhable characters which are here ascribed to Him. The apostle blesseth God under the three following designations : — 1. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, considered in this character and relation, ought, in a special manner, to be blessed. 2. The next title under which God is here blessed is, the Father of mercies. Mercy is the compassion and relief which is administered to those who are in misery. God is not said to be the Father of mercy, but of mercies, of all the mercies we need or can enjoy. Did we lose sight of all our mercies, we might find them again in God, who is the Father from whom they all proceed. Mercies of all kinds flow from Him — deliverance from evil, the enjoyment of God, pardon, sanctification, preservation. There is mercy in everything that befalls us : in health, in strength, in safety, in affliction, in recovery — nay, in every bereave- ment that we meet with. 3. The third designation under which God is blessed is, the God of all comfort. There is comfort in all the privileges peculiar to Christians, such as justification, adoption, and sanctification, and the blessings connected with them. There is comfort in the promises of the new covenant, in which the people •of God are assured of EQs gracious presence, the assistance of His Spirit, and the enjoyment of His glory. But this is not all that is necessary that God may be the God of all comfort. We may have agreeable possessions, we may have the Word •of God, which unfolds the grounds of comfort, and yet not be comforted, if the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, do not apply to our souls the consolations of His Word, and powerfully set them home upon our hearts. He can create comfort to us out of nothing, or out of what is most unlikely to yield it. He can bring meat out of the •eater, sweet out of the bitter, joy out of sorrow, life out of death, and, what is more. He can make our greatest crosses our greatest comforts. II. Let us consider the *abtictjlab ground mentioned in the text on account of which the apostle BLESSED Him : " God comforteth us in all our tribulation." He doth not keep us irom tribulation, but He comforteth us in it, which shows more of Divine power and goodness than wholly to preserve from it. This is the peculiar work of God alone. Who but He can restore the soul and speak peace to the conscience? What relief can outward enjoyments or human reasonings afford in the time of soul distress ? The comforts He conveys are always suited to the condition of those on whom they are bestowed. In lesser afflictions fewer or smaller consolations suffice. Great comforts are given under great sufferings. Worldly men look to their outward enjoyments for comfort, whilst they overlook the mercy of God, from •whence they all proceed. HI. The important end for which Divine consolations ASE IMPARTED TO THE SAINTS — namely, " that they may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith they themselves are comforted •of God." The consolations of God are neither small nor few, and can never be diminished, however great the number of those who share in them. God is pleased to comfort those who are in trouble by means of Sis people who themselves have been distressed. Various important purposes are served by this wise appointment. Hereby trial is made of our subjection to the Divine authority. Many are much (distressed with heavy hearts whose pride makes them scorn the way of obtaining 4 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap. i. comfort which God hath prescribed. In this way the hearts of the godly are knit together in love, and their mutual esteem is increased. Those who are comforted of God by means of their brethren are brought under strong obUgations to endearing friendship and affectionate gratitude. Improve, then, all your experiences, for the benefit of your fellow-Christians. In this way, also, those who ought to comfort the distressed are well prepared for performing the work assigned them. Experience is an excellent instructor. Experience likewise gives great confidence to the speaker, and enables him to speak with more certainty and boldness than he could do without this advantage. Is God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort? Why, then, are some of you dejected, after all the comfortable things that you read in your Bibles and hear in sermons? Why, you go to the streams and neglect the fountain. Would you have comfort from God in all your tribulations ? Consider attentively what are the particular maladies with which you are distressed. Thini of your sins, which are the worst of all evils. Let none misapply this subject. Though strong consolation is provided for those who flee for refuge to Jesus Christ, there is no true comfort to those who go on in their sins. When we would comfort others, or enjoy comfort ourselves, let us begin with diligent examination, in order to discover their and our own spiritual state — if it be really such as will allow us to take comfort or to administer it to others. (W. McCulloch.) The God of Chris- tianity : — I. The Father of the world's Redeemer. II. The source of man's MERCIES. The merciful Father. God in nature does not appear as the God of mercy and comfort for the lost. m. The Cosn-oRTER of afflicted saints. (D. Thomas, D.D.) God the Father of mercies : — When a man begets children, they are in his own likeness. God groups all the mercies of the universe into a great family of children, of which He is the head. Mercies tell us what God is. They are His children. He is the Father of them in all their forms, combinations, multiplications, derivations, offices. Mercies in their length and breadth, in their multitudes infinite, uncountable — these are God's offspring, and they represent their Father. Judgments are effects of God's power. Pains and penalties go forth from His hand. Mercies are God Himself. They are the issues of His heart. If He rears up a scheme of discipline and education which requires and justifies the application of pains and penalties for special purposes, the God that stands behind all special systems and all special administrations in His own interior nature pro- nounces himself " the Father of mercies." Mercies are not whr.t He does so much as what He is. (H. W. Beecher.) The God of comfort : — I. This world is not ah ORB BROKE LOOSE AND SNARLED WITH IMMEDICABLE EVILS. 1. If We WOuld knOW what this world is coming to, we must not look too low. Have you never noticed, in summer days, when the sun stands at the very meridian height, how white and clear the light is — how all things are transparently clear ? But let the sun droop till it shoots level beams along the surface of the earth, and those beams are caught and choked up wfth a thousand vapours, and the Ught grows thick and murky. And so, when men's eyes glance along the surface of the world, looking at moral questions, they look through the vapours which the world itself has generated, and cannot see clearly. Therefore it is that many men think this world is bound to wickedness, and that all philanthropic attempts are mere efforts of weakness and inexperience. And no man who does not take his inspirations from the nature of God can have right views of human life. No man can be a charitable man who does not believe that his feUow-men are depraved. And then, no man can be charitable with men who does not believe that it is the essential nature of God to cure, and not to condemn. God is Himself a vast medicine. And as long as God lives, and is what He is — "the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort" — so long this world is not going to rack and ruin. Let men despond as much as they please, the earth is not for ever to groan. 2. Work on, then ! Not a tear that you drop to wash away any person's trouble, not a blow that you strike in imitation of the strokes of the Almighty arm, shall be forgotten. The world shall be redeemed, for our God's name is Mercy and Comfort. H. There are no troubles which befall our suffering hearts for which there is not in God a remedy, if only wb WISH to receive it. Now, there is victory for each true Christian heart over its troubles. 1. Not by disowning them. Every man's prayer to God is, "Lord, remove this thorn in the flesh." " My grace shall be sufficient for you." Then bear. 2. But how ? — resignedly ? Yes, if you cannot do any better. That is better than murmuring. But resignation is a negative thing. It is the consent of the soul to receive without rebellion. It is giving up a contest. 3. But is the disciple CHAP. I.] XT. CORINTHIANS. better than the Master ? Would you, if you could, reach forth your hand and take back one single sorrow that made Christ to you what He is ? Is it not the power of Jesus to all eternity that He was the Sufferer, and that He bore suffering in such a way that He vanquished it ? Now you are His followers ; and will you follow Christ by slinking away from suffering ? Do not seek it ; but, if it comes, remember that no sorrow comes but with His knowledge. And what is trouble but that very influence that brings you nearer to the heart of God than prayers or hymns ? But Borrows, to be of use, must be borne, as Christ's were, victoriously, carrying with them intimations and sacred prophecies to the heart of Hope that by them we shall be strengthened and ennobled. 4. How is it, brother ? I do not ask you whether you like the cup which you are now drinking, but look back twenty years — at the time which seemed to you like midnight. Now it is aU over, and it has wrought out its effect on you ; and I ask you, Would you have removed the experience of that burden which you thought would crush you, but which you fought in such a way that you came out a strong man ? What has made you so versatile, patient, broad, rich ? God put pickaxes into you, though you did not like it. He dug wells of salvation in you. And you are what you are by the grace of God's providence. You were gold in the rock, and God played miner, and blasted you out of the rock ; and then He played stamper, and crushed you ; and then He played smelter, and melted you ; and now you are gold free from the rock by the grace of God's severity to you. And as you look back upon those experiences, and see what they have done for you, and what you are now, you say, " I would not exchange what I learned from these things for all the world." What is the reason you have never learned to apply the same philosophy to the trouble of to-day ? III. No person is ORDAXNED UNTIL HIS SORROWS PTTT INTO HIS HANDS THE POWER OF COMFORTINO OTHERS. Sorrow is apt to be very selfish and self-indulgent, but see how sorrow worked in the apostle. When the daughter is married, and goes from home, how often her heart returns I As time goes on, the daughter suffers from sickness, children are multiplied, and the mother comes and tarries in the family. The children are sick, there is trouble in the household ; but the daughter says, " Mother is here." And she says, " My dear child, I have gone through it all," and while yet she is telling her story, strangely, as if exhaled, all these drops of trouble that have sprinkled on the child's heart have gone, and she is comforted. Why ? Because the consolations by which the mother's heart was comforted have gone over and rested on the chUd's mind. Now, the apostle says, " When Christ comforts your grief He makes you mother to somebody else." I know some people who, when fiiey have griefs, become mendicants, and go around with a hat in their hand, begging a penny of comfort from this one and that one. What does the apostle say? That when Grod comforts your griefs He ordains you to be a minister of comfort to others who are in trouble. (Ibid.) The comfort of God : — We are all engaged in the great conflict between right and wrong. To the Christian, often, and not unnaturally, either from the weariness of the struggle or the depressing sense of failure, there comes an overwhelming weight of sorrow. How is the soul to be supported ? By " the comfort of God." It is that blessed truth which haunts the heart of St. Paul throughout the whole of this Epistle. Examine this question of comfort. I. Christ is the one Mediator. It is through Him the comfort OOMES. How? 1. From His loyalty to truth. There are those who attempt to Boothe the conscience by making light of sin. Such cannot comfort. Sin is, in its essence, uneasy disturbance. " The wicked are like a troubled sea, they cannot rest." Man is too near God to find comfort in a lie. Our Master knew it. And how unflinchrngly, minutely true His life was 1 How awful are His warnings of the consequences of persistent sin ! And, therefore, how sweet His consolations ! How severe His rebukes to the self-righteous, and therefore restless ! Yet Mary Magdalene, with all her loads of guilt, lay down before Him and kissed His sacred feet, and felt the kindness of His comfort. As the Master, so the servant; as Christ, so His Church. Why do men so often hate her ? Because she makes no compromises. She refuses to " daub with untempered mortar." Sin, she says, is always disastrous. Moral laws, she says, are constant. " As a man sows, so shall he reap." As real as sin, so real must be penitence. No short cuts ; this is the one path to pardon. Truth is the path to comfort. Sin does matter. Turn from it — to the light of His countenance, to the sweetness of the comfort of God. 2. By infusing hope. Hope rests upon a promise and a fact. The fact is, that entire drama of tenderness and power which is summed up in the Passion of Christ. Dark and sad enough is the journey of life, but this is like the after-glow along the 6 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap. i. battlements of evening clouds, which promises, when night is passed, a brilliant morning ; like the first note of the bird in winter that warbles of a coming spring, this lifts the immortal spirit above the pressure of the things of time, and enables the soul to appropriate to itself the good gifts of God. "Loved me, gave Himself for me " — there is supernatural hope. This invigorates the failing nature ; it is " the comfort of God." 3. From the genuine living sympathy of Christ. The reality of that sympathy depends, of course, upon the perfection of His human nature, the power of it upon the truth of His Godhead. In several experiences our blessed Master has gained the necessary acquaintance with our needs. (1) None like Himself has known the exceeding horror of sin. Sooner or later every child of Adam knows that. But in the agony at Gethsemane, and in the dereliction on the Cross, pure human nature felt the whole force and fierceness of the assaults of evil. (2) He knows the reality and pain of temptation. " He suffered being tempted." (3) None more acutely than He felt the transitoriness of human happi- ness and human life. By all the quiet hours at Nazareth, at Bethany, &c., He knew the contrasting sadness of scattered friends and darkened days, and the keenness of the Cross. (4) He underwent the darkness and horror of the grave. Struggling soul, assaulted by fierce temptation; sin-laden soul, bowed down and fainting under a sense of failure ; sorrowing soul, bewildered with a paralysis of trouble ; dying soul, shrinking from the separation and the gloom of the grave, look up ; He feels for thine anguish : look up ; in that sympathy is comfort. H. How DOES THIS COMFOET, WHICH SPRINGS FEOM HiS MIGHTT MEDIATION, COME HOME TO US? 1. From the sweetness of the grace of penitence. Sin — your sin — ^was rebeUion. His love has penetrated thy soul ; the tears of penitence have come. Sin was all self, penitence is all God. But at first, how sharp the sense of shame ! Then He came — " God in the face of Jesus Christ." What was the cry ? '* Wash me throughly from my iniquity," &c. It was pain, this penitence — searching, piercing ; but what is this inner sense of joy ? The presence of Jesus, the comfort of God. 2. Prom the consecration of sorrow. Sorrow is the fact of facts. Strange mystery ; Christ has consecrated sorrow. He has made it the path to victory. " The Valley of Achor" becomes a "door of hope." 3. By the blessedness of prayer. To per- severe in prayer is surely and at last to know the comfort of God. \Canon Knox- Little.) Sacred comforts : — I. Teebulation is a discipline common to xll. None can evade it ; the richest man can neither buy himself off nor provide a substitute. 1. The discipline of tribulation is inevitable because we are imperfect. 2. Note some of the tribulations of earthly existence. (1) Disappointment in life. (2) Poverty. (3) Death. 11. In the discipline of teibulation God shall comtoet ALL His people with sustaining grace. The medicine may be bitter, but it will give strength. {W. Birch.) Comforted and comforting : — I. The comfoetable occTXPATioN. Blessing God. If a man under affliction blesses the Lord — 1. It argues that his heart is not vanquished — (1) So as to gratify Satan by murmuring, (2) So as to kUl his own soul with despair. 2. It prophesies that God will send to him speedy deliverances to call forth new praises. It is natural to lend more to a man when the interest on what he has is duly paid. Never did man bless God bat sooner or later God blessed him. 3. It profits the believer above measure. (1) It takes the mind off from present trouble. (2) It lifts the heart to heavenly thoughts and considerations. (3) It gives a taste of heaven, for heaven largely consists in adoring and blessing God. (4) It destroys distress by bringing God upon the scene. 4. It is the Lord's due in whatsoever state we may be. II. The comfoetable TITLES. 1. A name of affinity, " The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2. A name of gratitude, " The Father of mercies." 3. A name of hope, " The God of all comfort." 4. A name of discrimination, "Who comforteth us." The Lord has a special care for those who trust in Him. in. The comfortable fact. " The God of all comfort comforteth us in all our tribulation." 1. Personally. 2. Habitually. He has always been near to comfort us in all past time, never once leaving us alone. 3. Effectually. He has always been able to comfort us in all tribulation. No trial has baffled His skill. 4. Everlastingly. He will comfort us to the end, for He is " the God of all comfort," and He cannot change. Should we not be always happy since God always comforts us? IV. The comfoetable DESIGN. " That we may be able to comfort." 1. To make us comforters of others. The Lord aims at this : the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, trains us up to be com- forters. There is great need for this holy service in this sin-smitten world. 2. To make us comforters on a large scale. " To comfort them which are in any trouble." We are to be conversant with all kinds of grief, and ready to sympathise with all CHAP. I.] II. CORINTHIANS. sufferers. 3. To make us experts in consolation — " able to comfort " ; because of our own experience of Divine comfort. 4. To make us willing and sympathetic, so that we may, through personal experience, instinctively care for the state of others. Conclusion : 1. Let us now unite in special thanksgiving to the God of all comfort. 2. Let us drink in comfort from the Word of the Lord, and be ourselves happy in Christ Jesus. 3. Let us be on the watch to minister consolation to all tried ones. (C. H. Spurgeon.) Comforted to comfort : — 1. Look up. There is thy Father. But ere thou canst be like Him thou wilt need the file of the lapidary, the heat of the crucible, the bruising of the flail. 2. Look down. At the moment of thy con- version all the powers of darkness pledged themselves to obstruct thy way. 3. Look around. Thou art stUl in the world that crucified thy Lord. 4. Look within. In the constant strife between thy will and God's will, what can there be but affliction? When in affliction, mind three things. I. Look out for comfort. It will come — 1. Certainly. Wherever the nettle grows there grows the dock-leaf. 2. Propor- tionately. God holds a pair of scales. This on the right, called AS, is for thine afflictions ; this on the left, called SO, is for thy comforts. And the beam is always level. 8. Divinely. Shall we look to man ? No, for Job found the best men of his time to be miserable comforters. Shall we look to angels ? No ; this needs a, gentler touch than theirs. God comforteth those that are cast down. 4. Mediately. Our consolation aboundeth through Christ. 5. Directly through the Holy Ghost, that other Comforter, whom the Saviour gives. 6. Variously ; sometimes by the coming of a beloved Titus, a bouquet, a letter, a promise, sometimes by God simply coming near. H. Store tip comfort. 1. The world is full of comfortless hearts. Our God would comfort them through thee. But thou must be trained. 2. Dost thou wonder why thou dost suffer some special f onn of sorrow ? Wait till ten years are passed. In that time thou wilt find some afflicted as thou art. When thou, tellest them how thou hast suffered, and how thou hast been comforted, thou wilt learn why thou hast been afflicted, in. Pass on the comfort you receive. {F. B. Meyer, B.A.) The purpose and use of comfort : — The desire for comfort may be a noble or a most ignoble wish. The nobleness of actions depends more upon the reasons why we do them than on the acts themselves. Paul gave to the comfort which God had given him its deepest and most unselfish reason, and so the fact of God's comforting him became the exaltation and the strengthening of his life. It does not matter what the special trouble was ; the point is this — that Paul thanked God because the comfort which had come to him gave him the power to comfort other people. Now try to recall the joy and peace and thankfulness that have ever filled your heart when you became thoroughly sure that God had relieved or blessed you. But ask yourself, at the same time, "Did any such thought as Paul's come up first and foremost to my mind ? " I. The power of Paul or op ant man to realise this high idea — 1. Shows a clear understanding that it is really God who sends the help. If the recovery of your health or the saving of your fortune seems to you a piece of luck, then you may be meanly and miserably selfish about it. It is a light which you have struck out for yourself, and may bum in your own lantern. But if the hght came down from God it is too big for you to keep to yourself. 2. Evinces genuine unselfishness and a true humility. Put these together into a nature, and you clear away those obstructions which, in so many men, stop God's mercies short, and absorb, as personal privileges, what they were meant to radiate as blessings to mankind. Who is the man whom we rejoice to see possessing wealth ? It is the man who says, " God sent this," and, "I am not worthy of this ; where are my brethren ? " Who is the man who, receiving comfort from God, radiates it? It is the reverent, unselfish, humble man. The sunlight falls upon a clod, but lies as black as ever; but the sun touches a diamond, and the diamond almost chills itself as it sends out in radiance on every side the light that has fallen on it. So God helps one man bear his pain, and nobody but that one man is a whit the richer. God comes to another sufferer, and all around are comforted by the radiated comfort of that happy soul. 3. Will always be easier and more real to us in proportion as we dwell habitually upon the profounder and more spiritual of His mercies. If I am in the habit of thanking God mainly for food and clothes and house, it will not be easy for me to take them as if the final purpose of them was that I might be warm and well fed. But if what I thank Him for most is not that He gives me His gifts, but that He gives me Himself, then I cannot resist the ten- dency of that mercy to outgrow my life. A stream may leave its deposits in the pool it flows through, but the stream itself hurries on to other pools ; and so God's gifts a soul may selfishly appropriate, but God Himself, the more truly a soul 8 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap. i. possesses Him, the more truly it will long and try to share Hun. Thus I have tried to picture the man who in the profoundest way accepts and values God's mercies. You see how clear his superiority is. The Pharisee says, " I thank Thee that I am not as other men are," and evidently it is his difference from other men that he values most, and he means to keep himself different from other men as long as possible. The Christian says, " I thank Thee that Thou hast made me this, because it is a sign and may be made a means of bringing other men to the same help and joy." U. Note a few of the special helps which God gives to MEN, and see how what I have been saying applies to each of them. 1. Take the comfort which God sends a man when he is in religious doubt. And that does not by any means always mean the filling of every darkness with perfect light. No doubt God does answer our questions for us sometimes if we will " walk in His ways." But he has had little experience of God who has not often felt how some- times, with a deep doubt in the soul unsolved, the Father will fold about His doubting child a sense of Himself so self-witnessing that the child is content to carry his unanswered question, because of the unanswerable assurance of his Pather which he has received. You are comforting your child just in that way every day. But, tell me, is it the gain of that one doubter only ? Is no other questioner helped? Few men are aided by arguments compared with those to whom religion becomes a clear reality from the sight of some fellow-man who carries the life of God wherever he goes. 2. Take the way God proves to us that the soul is more than the body. In the breakage or decay of physical power He brings out spiritual richness and strength. This was something that St. Paul knew well (chap. iv. 16). A man who has been in the full whirl of prosperous business fails, and then for the first time he learns the joy of conscious integrity preserved through all temptations, and of daily trust in God for daily bread. A man who never knew an ache comes to a break in health, and then the soul within him stands strong in the midst of weakness, calm in the very centre of the tunnoil and panic of the aching body. The temper of the fickle people changes, and the favourite of yesterday becomes the victim of to-day ; but in his martyrdom for the first time he sees the full value of the truth he dies for, and thanks the flames that have lighted up its preciousness. Now, in all these cases, must it not be an element in the comfort which fills the sick room, or gathers about the martyr's stake, that by this revelation of the spiritual through the broken physical life other men may learn its value ? 3. Take the comfort which God gives a man who has found out his sin and repented of it — forgiveness. We take too low a ground in pleading with the man living in sin. We tell him of his danger. We go higher than that : we tell him of the happiness of the life with God. But suppose we took a higher strain, and said, "Every time any man humbly takes God's forgiveness, that man becomes a new witness to men of how strong and good the Saviour is. And look, how they need Him ! Not for yourself now, but for them, for Him, take His forgiveness and give up yourself inwardly and outwardly to Him." So used one grows to find men respond to the noblest motives who are deaf to a motive which is less noble. Be a new man in Christ for these men's sake. {Bishop Phillips Brooks.) Man requiring, enjoying, and ministering Divine comforts : — The passage presents to us man in three aspects — I. As requieing Divine comfort. This is implied in the words, " God of all comfort." There are troubles arising — 1. From secular sources — broken plans, profitless efforts, worldly cares and anxieties. 2. From social sources — the disruption of social ties, the venom of social slander, the disappointments of social ingratitude and unfaithfulness. 3. From moral sources — sense of guilt, con- flict of passions with conscience, terrible forebodings of the future. II. As enjoying Divine comfort. The apostle speaks of himself and the Church at Corinth as being " comforted of God." God comforts His trusting people — 1. By inspiring hope. What delightful promises does He make — promises suitable to every tribulation ! (1) To those in secular tribulation He says, "Be careful for nothing," &c. (2) To those in social tribulation He says, "Cursed is the man that maketh flesh his arm," "Cursed is the man that trusteth not in the Lord." (3) To those in moral tribula- tion He says, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 2. By uniting their thoughts. Conflicting thoughts are the great troublers of the soul. God harmonises those thoughts by centring them on Himself. 3. By engrossing their love. Distracted affections are sources of distress. God centres the heart upon Himself, and man is kept in perfect peace. III. As ministering Divine COMFORT. " That we may be able to comfort," &c. And Paul felt thankful for the comforts received, not merely for his own sake, but the sake of others. His Ian- CHAP. I.] II. CORINTHIANS. 9 guage implies — 1. That he gratefully administered comfort to others as the gift of God. 2. That he loyally administered comfort to others " according to the will of God." "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith the Lord." Conclusion: How suitable is the God of the gospel to the troubled condition of humanity. (-D. Thomas, D.D.) The ministry of consolation : — ^L Chkistians have many a seceet, making PAIN ENDURABLE AND TAKING THE STINQ FBOM TROUBLE. 1. SorrOW is fellowship with Christ, is a great self-revealer — of sin, of restoring mercy, of cleansing grace, •of the tenderness of God. 2. But the text shows a new gain — a special grace. "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted"; but "blessed," also, " are they that be comforted, for they shall comfort others." (1) When God com- forts a man, the man's speech is full of feeling, and listening to him is like listening to the voice of God. (2) One who has felt a wound knows where and how to touch one. In our inexperience we are too blunt or too shy, and hurt the sensibilities we would soothe : we lay bare when we should shroud, and cover up a wound we should try to purge. (3) " Comforted of God." Who comforteth like Him? " He knoweth our frame," &c. It is worth while to stand in need of God's comforts and to experience them, if we may but acquire an aptitude like this. 3. There is no honour comparable with the gratitude and love bestowed on a consoler, and no satisfaction greater than the sense that we have carried comfort to a mourner. This was Christ's honour, joy, mission. U. Paul's trouble was one in connection WITH HIS MINISTRY, YET HE SPEAKS OF BEING PREPARED FOR ANY CASE NEEDING CON- SOLATION. The power to console lies not in our ability to use a particular formula that shall suit a particular want ; it lies in our acquaintance with God and His ways and the quickness of our sympathies with men. No one whose heart is tender and whose faith is strong may be deterred from trying to console a sufferer because he has not experienced a like calamity. The experience which is so valuable in all contact with souls is a tone of spirit rather than a knowledge of details ; and it is this which is God's choice gift to those He comforts. (A. Mackennal, D.D.) The design of PauVs ajpictions : — Notice — I. The particular affliction to which the APOSTLE refers. The whole paragraph speaks of his trials, but at ver. 8 we read of one in particular extremely severe. In many parts of Asia Minor Paul suffered persecution, but if to one place more than another the text refers, it is to Lystra (Acts xiv. 8-20). n. The comfort he enjoyed in this or in any other affliction TO WHICH HE MAY REFER. Paul was comfoited — 1. By various occurrences under Providence. At Lystra, the scene of his terrific sufferings, sat a cripple who " had faith to be healed." And did not the apostle rejoice to see that thus, wherever he •went, there were those whom sovereign grace designed to bless ? When a prisoner at Rome, " the things which happened to him fell out to the furtherance of the gospel." In Macedonia God, who comforteth those that are cast down, comforted him by the coming of Titus. 2. By communion with his Lord. 3. By his hope of heaven. HI. The happy influence of Paul's trials in promoting the religion OF HIS fellow-Christians (vers. 4, 6). In two ways the suffering and steadfastness of the apostle would benefit the Corinthians. 1. By his example they would be animated to encounter similar difficulties. 2. By his writings, full of Christian experience, they would derive all that instruction and appeal which an actual endurance of sorrow and support would be sure to imprint by his pen. IV. The GRATEFUL, ADORING SPIRIT WHICH THE GOODNESS OF GOD OCCASIONED IN HTM (vCr. 3). (Isaac Taylor.) Comfort does not mean mere pacification, lulling, the creation of a species of moral and spiritual atrophy : the comfort of God is the encouragement of God, the stimulus of the Most High applied to the human mind and the human heart. When God vivifies us He comforts us ; instead of putting His fingers upon our eyeUds and drawing them down over tired eyes and saying, " Now sleep a long sleep," He sometimes gives us such an access of life that we cannot lie one moment longer ; we spring forth as men who have a battle to fight and a victory to bring home. That access of life is the comfort of God, as well as that added sleep, that extra hour of slumber which is a tender benediction. Why was the apostle com- forted, vivified, or encouraged ? That he should be able to comfort them which are in trouble. Why does God give us money ? To make use of it for the good of others. Why does God make a man very strong ? That He may save a man who is very weak, by carrying his burden for him an hour or two now and then, so as to give the man some sense of hohday. Why does the Lord make one man very penetrating in mind, very complete in judgment, very serene and profound in counsel? Not that he may say, "Behold me!" but that he may sit in the gate and dispense the bounty of his soul to those who need all manner of aid, all ministries of love. {J. Parker, D.D.) 10 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap, x. Ver. 4. Who comfortetli us . . . that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble. — Divine comfort in tribulation : — 1. There is no tribulation either for the kind or degree of it, but God can and doth comfort His people therein, and God's comforts do far exceed all philosophical remedies, as much as the sun doth a glow-worm. 2. It is very useful to know what are these apples of comfort (Cant. 2-5), because many of God's children — (1) Are in a great manner ignorant of what foundations and sure grounds they have of comfort. They are like Elisha's servant, who, though there was a great host of angels to help him, yet did not see them. So that the Spirit of God not only illuminates us in the matter of duty, but also in matter of comfort. (2) Though they know many arguments of comfort, yet their memory faileth them, that in the very hour of their temptations they forget what comfortable supports they might make use of. So that it is good to preach of these principles of consolation, that thereby we may be remembrancers to you. 3. Come we then to lead you up into the mount of transfiguration, let us see, even in this life, what are the good things God hath prepared for those that love Him. And take this for a foundation, that God coroforts through and by the Scriptures. I. All telbulation is pbecisely deter- mined BY God as a Fatheb out of much love. 1. In regard of the beginning, the degree, and the continuance of it. Here is matter of comfort enough; here is more oil than we have vessels to receive (Matt. v. ; Heb. xii. 9, 10). Now as winter and cold is necessary in its season as well as summer, and the night hath its use as well as the day, a time of tribulation is as necessary as a time of rest and quietness. 2. In regard to the time of deliverance from it. The tribulation shall not stay an hour longer than while it may do good to thee ; He will not take one drop of blood more from thee than is necessary to prevent thy disease, or abate it (Bev. 2 10). Even as the artificer knoweth how long the gold must be in the fire to take away the dross, and will not suffer it to abide any longer. 11. Another Scripture-cordial is fkom Christ, with all the fulness that is in Him. Christ received by faith is able to make us gather grapes of thorns and figs of thistles. He that hath this sun cannot be in the dark night. What makes Paul (Kom. viii.) to triumph in all manner of tribulations ? Is not the foundation of all this Christ dead and Christ risen again ? And if He hath given us Christ, how shall He not with Him give us all things ? Thus the spiritual influence of Christ into the soul taketh away the bitterness of all troubles. III. Another Scripture discovery for comfort is to pkess and command the life of faith upon God's promise. So that, whatsoever the principles of the world and sense do suggest, yet faith rectifieth all. That finds honey to come out of a dead lion, that can suck honey from a bitter herb. God's thoughts and ours are wholly different ; only faith enableth us to know the mind of God ; and where flesh is ready to say, God is casting off and utterly forsaking, there faith seeth Him drawing near. The disciples in a tempest thought they had seen a spirit, and were affrighted, but it was Christ. The promise of God and faith applying it, do bear up the soul, and make it rejoice in troubles (Heb. vi. 18). IV. Eternal globy is to be possessed after the troubles (2 Cor. iv. 16, 17). (A. Burgess.) Coviforting others : — Circumstances of life not unfrequently become aids to the revelations of God to the soul. Most of us know h(SW troubles have helped us in the translation of the Bible. I. Cub afflic- tions and COMFORTINGS ABE THE SOURCE OF OUR FITNESS FOB INFLUENCING OTHERS. 1. These together bring a peculiar kind of power. (1) How often the very tone of stricken ones has had its power upon us. They were not morbid ; not talking always about their past griefs ; but our spirits felt as we listened to them the hallowing influence of the passage through suffering. Compare their conversation with that of those whom God has but seldom and lightly smitten. Take those efforts which are made for the conversion of others ; hear also the men of sanctified afflictions. They who have been brought to Christ without any great struggles seldom gain the power to aid the early seekings of others. (2) Take any endeavour to express sympathy with those who may now be suffering. The unstricken can find beautiful words, but the stricken can express unutterable things in silence. 2. Then it will but be reasonable to expect that if God has valuable influence for us to exert. He will need to bring us through troubles. The same truth shines out, even more clearly, from the life and Cross of Christ. " He is able to succour because in all points tempted." Should you not, then, bless God for sorrows that win you Christly powers to bless others? II. Oub afflictions and comfoetings GAIN for us all THE powEB OF A NOBLE EXAMPLE. There is an unconscious as well as a conscious influence, forming an atmosphere, living in which men OTAP. I.] II. CORINTHIANS. 11 insensibly grow better. Sometimes God's more suffering children become despondent because they can do so little actual work for Christ ; but God has done some of His very best things by the example of suffering patience. 1. Estimate the moral influence of sanctified afflictions on men who are living with no sense of spiritual and eternal things. What touches these men ? Do sermons ? Alas ! but faiintly. Does Christian life around them ? Alas ! its witness is too feeble. Does their own part of human trouble ? Only a little, for they accept it as their part of the common lot. But in the presence of a sanctified Christian sufferer many a worldly, thoughtless man has said in his heart, "I. would gladly change places with him, if I could but know his heart peace." 2. Then estimate the influence exerted by such on doubting and imperfect Christians. For all of us the Christian life is difficult ; it is easy for us all to fall into careless, unworthy living, and into doubt and despair. Now those who have passed under God's afflictions and comfortings have a higher life ; they excite us all to try and reach up to it. 3. Then think of the power exerted by these sanctified sufferers on children. Eeligion is in this way set before the young as no mere theory, but the very noblest power to sanctify their life. (R. Tuck, B.A.) Affliction a school of comfort: — 1. If there is one point of character more than another which belonged to St. Paul it was his power of sympathy. He went through trials of every kind, and this was their issue. He knew how to persuade, for he knew where lay the perplexity ; he knew how to console, for he knew the sorrow. His spirit was as some delicate instrument which, as the weather changed about him, accurately marked all its variations, and guided him what to do. " To the Jews he became as a Jew," &c. (chap. xi. 23-30). The same law was fulfilled not only in the case of Christ's servants, but even He Himself condescended to learn to strengthen man, by the experiencing of man's infirmities (Heb. ii. 17, 18, iv. 14, 15). 2. Now, in speaking of the benefits of suffering, we should never forget that by itself it has no power to make us more heavenly. It makes many men morose and selfish. The only sympathy it creates in many is the wish that others should suffer with them, not they with others. The devils are not incited by their own torments to any endeavour but that of making others devils also. It is only when grace is in the heart that anything outward or inward turns to a man's salvation. 3. And while affliction does not necessarily make us kind, and may even make us cruel, the want of affliction does not mend matters. There is a buoyancy and freshness of mind in those who have never suffered, which, beautiful as it is, is perhaps scarcely suitable and safe in sinful man. Pain and sorrow are the almost necessary medicines of the impetuosity of nature. Without these, men, like spoilt children, act as if they considered everything must give way to their own wishes and conveniences. 4. Such is worldly happiness and worldly trial ; but God, while He chose the latter as the portion of His saints, sanctified it. He rescues them from the selfishness of worldly comfort without surrendering them to the selfishness of worldly pain. He brings them into pain, that they may be like Christ, and may be led to think of Him, not of themselves. When they mourn, they are more intimately in His presence than at any other time. Pain, anxiety, bereavement, distress, are to them His forerunners. He who has been long under the rod of God becomes God's possession (Lam. iii. 1, 2, 12). And they who see him gather around like Job's acquaintance, speaking no word to him, yet more reverently than if they did ; looking at him with fear yet with confidence, as one who is under God's teaching and training for the work of consolation towards his brethren. Him they will seek when trouble comes on themselves ; turning from all such as delighted them in their prosperity. 5. Surely this is a great blessing to be thus consecrated by affliction as a minister of God's mercies to the afflicted. Thus, instead of being the selfish creatures which we were by nature, grace, acting through suffering, tends to make us ready teachers and witnesses of Truth to all men. Time was when, even at the most necessary times, we found it difficult to speak of heaven to another ; but now our affection is eloquent, and " out of the abundance of the heart our mouth speaketh." 6. Such was the high temper of mind instanced in our Lord and His apostles, and thereby impressed upon the Church. And for this we may thank God that the Church has never forgotten that we must all, " through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." She has never forgotten that she was set apart for a comforter of the afflicted, and that to comfort well we must first be afflicted ourselves. Those who are set on their own ease most certainly are bad comforters of others ; thus the rich man, who fared sumptuously every day, let Lazarus lie at his gate, and left him to be 12 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap. i. '' comforted " after this life by angels. As to comfort the poor and afflicted is the way to heaven, so to have affliction ourselves is the way to comfort them. {J. H. Neioman, D.D.) Affliction : — I. As a school of comfort. Affliction and comfort — a remarkable connection of two apparent opposites, and yet how indissoluble ! For heavenly, as distinguished from mere earthly gladness, is inseparable from suffering. It was so in the life of Christ ; it was immediately after the temptation that angels came and ministered to Him ; it was in His agony that the angel strengthened Him. And as in His life so in ours, these two are never separated, for the first earnest questions of personal and deep religion are ever born out of personal suffering. As if God had said, " In the sunshine thou canst not see Me ; but when the sun is withdrawn the stars of heaven shall appear." II. A school of assurance. 1. There is nothing so hard to force upon the soul as the conviction that life is a real, earnest, awful thing. Only see the butterfly life of pleasure men and women are living day by day, flitting from one enjoyment to another ; living, working, spending, and exhausting themselves for nothing else but the seen and temporal and unreal. 2. Nothing is harder than to believe in God. When you are well, when hours are pleasant and friends abundant, it is an easy thing to speculate about God ; but when sorrow comes, speculation will not do. It is like casting the lead from mere curiosity, when you have a sound strong ship in deep water. But when she is grinding on the rocks, then we sound for God. For God becomes a living God, a home, when once we feel that we are helpless and homeless in this world without Him. III. A school of sympathy. 1. Some Christians are rough, hard, and rude : you cannot go to them for sympathy. They have not suffered. Tenderness is got by suffering. Would you be a Barnabas and give something beyond commonplace consolation to a wounded spirit? then "you must suffer being tempted." 2. Now here we have a very peculiar source of consolation in suffering. The thought that the apostle's suffering benefited others soothed him in his afflictions, and this is a consolation which is essentially Christian. Consider how the old Stoicism groped in the dark to solve the mystery of grief, telling you it must be, and that it benefits and perfects you. Yes, that is true enough. But Christianity says much more ; it says. Your suffering blesses others ; it gives them firmness. Here is the law of the Cross : " No man dieth to himself " ; for his pain and loss is for others, and brings with it to others joy and gain. (F. W. Robertson, M.A.) Ver 5. For as the sufferings of Christ aboiind in us, so our consolation aboundeth by Christ. — The sufferings and the consolation: — Our cross is not the same as Christ's, yet we have a cross. Our suft'erings are not the same as Christ's, yet we have sufferings. The cross is like Christ's, and the sufferings are like His, but yet not the same in kind or object. Yea there is a wide difference ; for our trials have nothing to do with expiation. The meaning and use of trials. I. Ix shows God to be in earnest with us. He does not let us alone. He takes great pains with our spiritual education and training. He is no careless Father. II. It assures us of His love. " As many as I love I rebuke and chasten." III. It draws prayer to us. IV. It knits us in sympathy to the WHOLE body. v. It teaches us sympathy with brethren. VI. It brings us into A mood more receptive of blessing. It softens our hearts. VII. It makes us PRIZE THE Word. The Bible assumes a new aspect to us. All else darkens ; but it brightens. VIII. It shuts out the world. It all at once draws a curtain round us, and the world becomes invisible. IX. It bids us Look up. Set your affec- tion on things above. X. It turns our hope to the Lord's great coming. [A. Bonar.) Consolations of the sufferings of Christ : — The quality and extent of suffering depends not so much on the exciting causes of it as upon the nature of the faculty which suffers. It is the power of suffering that is inherent in any faculty that measures suffering, and not the magnitude of the aggression which is made outwardly. For there are many who will stand up and have their name battered, as if they were but a target, almost without suffering, while there are others to whom the slightest disparagement is like a poisoned arrow, and rankles with exquisite suffering. A stroke of a pound weight upon a bell two inches in diameter will give forth a certain amount of sound. Let the bell be of one hundred pounds weight, and the same stroke of one pound will more than quadruple the amount of aerial vibi'ation. Let the bell be increased to a thousand pounds, and the same stroke will make the reverberations vaster, and cause them to roil yet further. Let it be a five or ten thousand pound weight bell, and that CHAP. I.] II. CORINTHIANS. 13 same stroke that made a tinkling on the small bell makes a roar on this large one. The very same quality that being struck in a small being produces a certain amount of susceptibility, being struck in a being that is infinite, produces an infinitely greater experience, for feeling increases in the ratio of being. The sama suffering in a great nature is a thousandfold greater than it is in a small nature, because there is the vibration, as it were, of a mind so much greater given to tha suffering. The chord in our souls is short and stubborn. The chord in the Divino soul is infinite ; and its vibrations are immeasurably beyond any experience of our own. Sorrow in us is of the same kind as sorrow in Christ, and yet, as compared with the sorrow of Christ, human sorrow is but a mere puiJ. (H. IV. Beecher.) Consolation proportionate to spiritual sufferings : — I. The sufferings TO BE EXPECTED. 1. Bcforc wc buckle on the Christian armour we ought to knovr what that service is which is expected of us. A recruiting sergeant often slips a, shilling into the hand of some ignorant youth, and tells him that Her Majesty's service is a fine thing, that he has nothing to do but walk about in his fiaming colours, and go straight on to glory. But the Christian sergeant never deceives like that. Christ Himself said, " Count the cost." He wished to have no disciple who was not prepared " to bear hardness as a good soldier." 2. But wliy must the Christian expect trouble? (1) Look upward. Thinkest thou it will be an easj' thing for thy heart to become as pure as God is ? Ask those bright spirits clad in white whence their victory came. Some of them will tell you they swam through seas of blood. (2) Turn thine eyes downward. Satan will always be at thee, for thine enemy, " like a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour." (3) Look ai'ound thee. Thou art in an enemy's country. (4) Look within thee. There is a little world in here, which is quite enough to give us trouble. Sin is there and self and unbelief. II. The distinction to be noticed. Our sufferings are said to be the sufferings of Christ. Now, suffering itself is not an evidence of Christianity. There are many people who have troubles who are not children of God. A man is dishonest, and is put in jail for it ; a man is a coward, and men hiss at him for it ; a man is insincere, and therefore persons avoid him. Yet he says he is persecuted. Not at all ; it serves him right. Take heed that your sufferings are the sufferings of Christ. It is only then that we may take comfort. What is meant by this? As Christ, the head, had a certain amount of suffering to endure, so the body must also have a certain weight laid upon it. Ours are the suffermgs of Christ if we suffer for Christ's sake. If you are called to endure hardness for the sake of the truth, then those are the sufferings of Christ. And this ennobles us and makes us happy. It must have been some honour to the old soldier who stood by the Iron Duke in his battles to be able to say, " We fight under the good old Duke, who has won so many battles, and when he wins, part of the honour will be ours." I remember £k story of a great commander who led his troops into a defile, and when there a large body of the enemy entirely surrounded him. He knew a battle wa:i inevitable on the morning, he therefore went round to hear in what condition his soldiers' minds were. He came to one tent, and as he listened he heard a man say, " Our general is very brave, but he is very unwise this time ; he has led us into a place where we are sure to be beaten ; there are so many of the enemy and only so many of us." Then the commander drew aside a part of the tent and said, " How many do you count me for? " Now, Christian, how many do you count Christ for? He is all in all. III. A proportion to be experienced. As the sufferings of Christ abound in us so the consolations of Christ abound. God always keeps a pair of scales — in this side He puts His people's trials, and in that He puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition, and vice versa. Because — 1. Trials make more room for consolation. There is nothing makes a. man have a big heart like a great trial. 2. Trouble exercises our graces, and the very exercise of our graces tends to make us more comfortable and happy. Whero showers fall most, there the grass is greenest. 3. Then we have the closest dealings with God. When the barn is full, man can live without God. But onca take your gourds away, you want your God. Some people call troubles weights. Verily they are so. A ship that has large sails and a fair wind needs ballast. A gentleman once asked a friend concerning a beautiful horse of his feeding about in the pasture with a clog on its foot, "Why do you clog such a noble animal?" " Sir," said he, " I would a great deal sooner clog him than lose him ; he is given to leap hedges." That is why God clogs His people. IV. A person to be honoured. 14 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap. i. Christians can rejoice in deep distress, but to whom shall the glory be given ? Oh, to Jesus, for the text says it is all by Him. The Christian can rejoice, since Christ will never forsake him. {C. H. Spurgeon.) Suffering and consolation : — 1. It would be difficult to exaggerate how much suffering, patiently and heroically borne, contributed to the propagation of the Christian religion. All the apostles were martyrs, except St. John, and he was a martyr in will. 2. This Epistle is one which is marked by intense feeling. We see the different emotions of joy and sorrow, thankfulness and indignation, disappointment and confidence, distress and hope, breaking forth every here and there in this Second Letter to the Corinthians. The apostle is speaking in the text of troubles, afflictions, and persecutions which he himself had endured, to which he refers in verse 8. But he does not repine. 1. " The suffeeings of Christ abound in us." 1. First, notice what a very different view of suffering we find in the New Testament from that which was taken of old. The Jewish estimate was very narrow. We see from the Gospels that the Jew regarded suffering as retributive, but not as remedial or perfective. There are many reasons for interpreting the purposes of pain and affliction in a wider way. The sufferings of Job, " a perfect and an upright man," and the sufferings of the animal world, might have opened the eyes to the inadequacy of their theory. 2. The apostle says, " The sufferings of Christ abound in us." Is not Christ in glory ? How can St. Paul speak still of His sufferings ? The words have received three interpretations. One, the sufferings of Christ means our sufferings for Him. Another, by the sufferings of Christ is meant sufferings similar to those which He bore ; and so the martyrs might all claim a special likeness to Him in their violent deaths. But the third interpretation seems more to the point. The sufferings of Christ mean His sufferings in us. Christ said, when Saul was persecuting His members, " Why persecutest thou Me ? " So close is the union between the Head and the members, that Christ, as an old commentator asserts, was in a manner stoned in Stephen, beheaded in Paul, crucified in Peter, and burnt in St. Lawrence. 11. Now, " our consolation." 1. Our sufferings differ from Christ's, in that we have consolation which is apportioned to our trial. Christ suffered without solace. His Passion was endured amid what sphitual writers describe as " dryness of spirit." This, it need not be said, intensifies affliction (John xii. 27 ; Matt, xxvii. 46). 2. But with the Christian, if the sufferings " abound," the consolation " abounds " also. This accounts in part for the different spirit in which the martyrs faced death from that which the King of Martyrs displayed. 3. Christ purchased the consolation which is bestowed upon His members. The text runs, " Our consolation aboundeth by Christ," or, Kevised Version, "through (Sid) Christ." Through His death and passion, through His all-prevailing intercession, through the gift of the Spirit, and the grace of the sacraments — trial and persecution have been endured even with thankfulness and joy (James i. 2 ; Phil. iii. 10). III. Lessons. 1. To take a right view of suffering. 2. To realise the consolation as the gift of Christ, and as measured out in proportion to our day of trial. 3. Especially to seek this " consolation " from the Comforter, God the Holy Ghost — like the Churches of old, who walked " in the comfort of the Holy Ghost" (Acts ix. 31). (Canon Hutchings, M.A.) How Christ comforteth those who suffer for Him : — I. As oub sufferings are fob Christ, so bt the same Christ abe our comforts. Consider in what respects comforts may be said to abound by Christ. 1. Efficiently. He being the same with God, is therefore a God of all consolation, and as a Mediator He is sensible of our need, and therefore the more ready to comfort. Christ that wanted comfort Himself, and therefore had an angel sent to comfort Him, is thereby the more compassionate and willing to comfort us. Thus you may read Christ and God put together in this very act (2 Thess. ii. 16, 17). Christ, therefore, not only absolutely as God, but relatively as Mediator, is qualified with all fitness and fulness to communicate consolation ; He is the fountain and head, as of grace, so of comfort. 2. Meritoriously. He hath merited at the hands of God our comfort. As by Christ the Spirit of God is given to the Church as a guide into all truth, and as the Sanctifier, so He is also the Comforter, who giveth every drop of consolation that any believer doth enjoy. 3. Objectively — i.e., in Him, and from Him we take our comfort. As Christ is called "our righteousness," because in and through His righteousness we are accepted of in Him, so Christ is our comfort, because in Him we find matter of all joy (Phil. iii. 3). II. How many ways Christ makes His COMFORTS TO ABOUND TO THOSE THAT SUFFER FOR HiM, 1. By pcrsuadiug them of the goodness of the cause, why they suffer. 2. By forewarning of their sufferings. CHAP. I.] II. CORINTHIANS. 15 All who will live godly must suffer tribulation. Christ hath done us no wrong, He hath told us what we must look for, it is no more than we expected. The fiery- trial is not a strange thing. Surely this maketh way for much comfort, that we looked for afflictions beforehand ; we prepared an ark against the deluge should come. 3. By informing us of His sovereignty and conquest over the world. If our enemies were equal or superior to Christ, then we might justly be left without comfort ; but what Christ spake to His disciples belongs to all (John xiv. 18, xvi. 33). 4. By virtue of His prayer put up in that very behalf (John xvii. 13). 5. By instructing us of the good use and heavenly advantage all these tribulations shall turn unto. (1) Our spiritual and eternal good. This will winnow away our chaff, purge our dross, be a school wherein we shall learn more spiritual and Divine knowledge than ever before. Sufferings have taught more than vast libraries, or the best books can teach. (2) Our eternal glory. (A. Burgeas.) The sacred joy : — These words fathom a depth of human experience which can only be touched by those who seek in the life of Christ the key to the mystery of pain. There is a suffering which is common to man, and there is in respect of such suffering consolation in God. But there is a suffering which belongs to life under its highest conditions and which the mere man of the world never tastes, but for which there is a Divine joy which is equally beyond his range. I. The nature of the SUFFERING WHICH IS TO BE REG.VRDED AS A SHARING OF THE SUFFERING OF THE LORD. Among the elements which enter into it are — 1. The spectacle of the misery of mankind. On earth Christ wept as He beheld it, and the Christian is also bound to feel the pressure of its burden. 2. The deadly nature of evil. We cannot cheat ourselves into the belief that it does not much matter, that God is good and will make it all right at last. Sin is to be looked at in the light of Calvary. That teaches how terrible it is to the eye of God, how deadly in the heart of man. 3. The resistance of the will of the flesh to the best efforts and influences; its determination to reject the things that heal and save. It was this that made Christ the Man of Sorrows (Luke xiii. 34). To see a man perish within reach of rescue is one of the most piteous of spectacles. Imagine, then, what the world must be to Christ as He says, " Ye will not come unto Me that ye might have life." This burden the disciple of Christ has ever pressing upon him as he fulfils his ministry in a scornful world. 4. The future eternal destiny. The thought pressed as a constant burden on the heart of Christ. It was this that drove Paul into barbarous lands, if he might save a soul from death. The fellowship of the Redeemer's tears is no unknown experience to the disciple. II. How our CONSOLATION ABOUNDETH IN Christ. If wc are Called to share the suffering, we are called also to share the consolation. There was a joy set before Christ for which He endured the Cross, &c. — the joy of a sure redemption of humanity. These are some of the elements of the joy. 1. The God of all power and might has taken up the burden and wills the redemption of the world. God has come forth in Christ to undertake in person the recovery of our race. In working and suffering for man we have the assurance that God is with us. We see Mammon or Moloch on the throne, but it cannot be for ever. With all the vantage strength of His Godhead, Christ is working at the problem of man's salvation. When we feel saddened by the burden of human misery let us rest on the thought, " God is in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." 2. There is a joy in the fulfilment of a self-sacrificing ministry which is more like heavenly rapture than any other experience which is within our reach. Unselfish work, inspired by the love of Ohrist, is the soul's gymnastic culture. To sow the seed of the kingdom is the present joy of a lifetime. No man who has known it would part with it to be a crowned king. The certainty of the issue (Isa. Iv. 10-13). (J. Baldwin Brown, B.A.) Ver. 6-11. And whether we be afflicted ... or whether we be comforted, It is for your consolation and salvation. — Personal suj'cri)igs : — I. Are often EXPERIENCED IN THE BEST OF ENTERPRISES (chap. xi. 23, 29). II. ArE EVER NECESSARY FOR THE RENDERING OF THE HIGHEST SERVICE TO MANKIND ^Ver 6). in. Their detailment purely for the good of others is justifiable (ver. 8). IV. Their experience often proves a blessing to the sufferer. They «eem to have done two things for Paul — 1. To have transferred his trust in himself to God (ver. 9). 2. To have awakened the prayers of others on his behalf (ver. 11). (D. Thomas, D.D.) The peculiar afflictions of God's people : — I. God suffers His children to fall into great extremities. 1. To try what 16 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap, r. mettle they are made of. Light aiiflictions will not try them thoroughly, great ones will. What we are in great afflictions, we are indeed. 2. To try the sincerity of our estate, to make us known to the world and known to ourselves. A man knows not what a deal of looseness he hath in his heart, and what a deal of falseness, till we come to extremity. 3. To set an edge upon our desires and our prayers (Psa. cxxx. 1). 4. To exercise our faith and patience. 5. To perfect the work of mortification. 6. To prepare us for greater blessings. Humility doth empty the soul, and crosses do breed humility. The emptiness of the soul fits it for receipt. Why doth the husbandman rend his ground with the plough ? Is it because h& hath an ill mind to the ground ? No. He means to sow good seed there, and he will not plough a whit longer than may serve to prepare the ground (Isa. xxviii. 24). So likewise the goldsmith, the best metal that he hath, he tempers it, he labours to consume the dross of it, and the longer it is in the fire the more pure it comes forth. 7. That we might set a price upon the comforts when they come. 8. Learn, then — (1) Not to pass a harsh, rigid censure upon ourselves or others for any great affliction or abasement in this world. (2) Not to build overmuch confidence on earthly things. H. As God's children are brought to this estate, so they are SENSIBLE of IT. They are flesh and not steel (Job vi. 12). They are men and not stones. They are Christians and not Stoics. III. We may triumph over death BY FAITH and GRACE. That wc may not fear death overmuch, let us look upon it in the glass of the gospel as it is now in Christ, and meditate on the two terms, from whence and whither. What a blessed change it is if we be in Christ ! (R. Sibbes, D.D.) But we liad the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead. — Death a sentence : — Death is — I. A sentence. 1. Universal. 2. Just. 3. Irrevocable. II. As a sentence in man. " We have the sentence of death in ourselves." 1. The sentence of death is in man's body. It is born with him, and it continues to work within until the organisation falls back to its original dust. " The moment we begin to live we all begin to die." 2. The sentence of death is in man's mind. There it dwells as a dark thought spreading a gloom over the whole of his life. It haunts the memory, it terrifies the conscience. It is in us, we cannot get rid of it. No science can expel it from the body, no reason can argue it from the soul. III. As a sentence in man for useful ends. What are the spiritual uses it is designed to answer? 1. Nontrust in self. "Not trust in ourselves." There is a self- reliance that is a duty. But there is a self-confidence that is sinful and ruinous. Now the sentence of death tends to check this. It makes man feel his frailty. Thank God for death, it keeps down the arrogant spirit of humanity. 2. Devout trust in God. " But in God that raiseth the dead." Man's well-being is essentially dependent upon trust in God. {Homilist.) Sentence of death, the death of self- trust : — 1. We are justified in speaking about our own experience when it will be for the benefit of others. Especially is this the case with leaders in the Church such as Paul. As to our own experience of trial and delivering mercy, it is sent for our good, and we should endeavour to profit to the utmost by it ; but it was never intended that it should end with our private benefit. We are bound to comfort others by the comfort wherewith the Lord hath comforted us. 2. The particular experience of which Paul speaks was a certain trial, or probably series of trials, which he endured in Asia. You know how he was stoned at Lystra, and how he was followed by his malicious countrymen from town to town. You recollect the uproar at Ephesus, and the constant danger to which Paul was exposed fron> perils of all kinds ; but he appears to have been suffering at the same time grievous sick- ness of body, and the whole together caused very deep depression of mind. His tribulations abounded. Note — 1. The disease — the tendency to trust in ourselves is — 1. One to which all men are liable, for even Paul was in danger of it. Where a sharp preventive is used it is clear that a strong liability exists. I should have thought that Paul was the last man to be in this danger. Self-confidence he is always disclaiming. He looks upon his own righteousness as dross, and " By the grace of God," saith he, " I am what I am." It is plain, then, that no clearness of knowledge, no purity of intent, and no depth of experience can altogether kill the propensity to relf-reliance. 2. Evil in all men, since it was evil in an apostle. Paul speaks of it as a fault which God in mercy prevented. At first sight it seems that there was somewhat in him whereof he might glory. What folly would be ours, then, if we became self-sufficient ! If a lion's strength be insufficient, what can the dogs do ? If the oak trembles, how can the brambles boast ? 3. Highly injurious, since God Himself interposed to prevent His servant from falling into it by sending a CHAP. I.] II. CORINTHIANS. 17 great trouble. Depend upon it, He is doing the same for us, since we have even greater need. Anything is better than vain-glory and self-esteem. 4. Very hard to cure ; for to prevent it in Paul it was necessary for the Great Physician to go the length of making him feel the sentence of death in himself. II. The teeatment. " We had the sentence of death in ourselves," which means that — 1. He seemed to hear the verdict of death passed upon him by the conditions which surrounded him. So continually hounded by his malicious countrymen, &c., he felt certain that one day or other they would compass his destruction. The original conveys the idea, not only of a verdict from without, but of an answer of assent from within, a sort of presentiment that he was soon to die. And yet it was not so : he survived all the designs of the foe. We often feel a thousand deaths in fearing one. Into a low state of spirit was Paul brought, and this prevented his trusting in himself. The man who feels that he is about to die is no longer able to trust in himself. What earthly thing can help us when we are about to die ? Paul felt as every dying Christian must, that he must commit his spirit unto Christ and watch for His appearing. 2. The sentence of death which he heard outside wrought within his soul a sense of entire helplessness. He was striving to fight for the kingdom of Christ, but he saw that he must be baffled if he had nothing to rely upon but himself. Paul's mind was so struck with death within himself that he could not stem the torrent, and would have drifted to despair had he not given himself up into the hands of grace Divine. III. The cure. It was sharp medicine, but it worked well with Paul. 1. He argued. If I die, what matters it ? God can raise me from the dead. " I know that my Redeemer liveth." 2. He inferred, also, that if God could raise him from the dead He could preserve him from a violent death. Immortal is every believer till his work is done. 3. He argued yet further that if God can raise the dead He could take his fainting powers, over which the sentence of death has passed, and He could use them for His own purposes. (C. H. Spurgeon.) Who delivered us from so great a death. — God's deliverances : — 1. God hath a time, as for all things, so for our deliverance. 2. God's time is the best time. He is the best discerner of opportunities. 3. This shall be when He hath wrought His work upon our souls, specially when He hath made us trust in Him. As here, when Paul had learned to trust in God, then He delivered him. {R. Sibbes, D.D.) A great deliverance : — First, we have here the terms of the deliverance, or the thing delivered from — " so great a death." For the evil itself — " death," and for the aggravation of it — " a great death." Chrysostom, together with some others, gives it in the plural number, so great deaths. And, indeed, there are more deaths than one which God does undertake to deliver His servants from, and from which He delivered St. Paul and his companions. First, from spiritual death, the death of sin ; that is a very great death, not only as exposing to wrath and future condemnation, but like- wise as disabling to the actions of grace and holiness, depriving us of that life of God which should be in us (Eph. iv. 18). And this death of sin is to be numbered among great deaths, and the deliverance from it reckoned among great deliverances. Secondly, eternal death, the death of wrath and condemnation, that is another great death also, and such as follows likewise upon the former without re- covery from it. The third, and that which is here particularly aimed at, is temporal death, which is the least death of all. The greater aggravations we may take in these following particulars. First, from the nature and kind of it, a violent death, not a natural. This is a great death, and so consequently a great mercy to be delivered from it, to be kept from accidents. As for wicked men, it is threatened as a judgment upon them that a tempest shall steal them away (Job xxvii. 20). The second is, from the quality and manner of it, a painful death, not a gentle and easy. Death is unpleasing in itself ; but when to this we shall add pain and torture, this makes it to be so much the more. This was that which the many of godly martyrs endured (Heb. xi. 35). Thirdly, take in another from the coming and proceeding of it — a sudden death and not an expected. Fourthly, from the time and season of it, when it is an hastened death, not a mature one (Eccles. vii. 17 ; Psa. Iv. 23). It is said of bloody and deceitful men that they shall not live out half their days ; for men not to live out half their days is reckoned in the catalogue of great deaths. Fifthly, the greatness of death has an aggravation of it from its latitude and extent. That is a great death which devours multitudes at once. And then what kind of "us" were they? Take in, secondly, the quality of persons, such as were especially useful — an apostle and the ministers of Christ ; for these to be delivered from death, it was to be delivered from a great death. The 2 18 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap. t. death of none is to be slighted, though never so mean ; but the death of men who are eminent for their gifts and graces is much to be set by. Sixthly, a great death in regard of the proximity and nearness of the evil itself. It was, as it were, at the very next door. A great death, that is, indeed, a great danger, so some read the words. Lastly, a great death also in regard of the apprehensions of those which were in danger of it. That which is great in our thoughts, to us it is great. And so was this here to the Apostle Paul and his company, as we may see in the verse before the text, " We had the sentence of death in ourselves," that is, we gave our- selves for dead men. So great a death ! Here is now the nature of thankfulness, to extend the mercies of God, and to make them as great as may be. The second particular is the preservation or dehverance itself, " And doth deliver," &g. And here again take notice of two things more. First, for the thing itself ; this is that which we may here observe how ready God is to deliver His people from death, and from great death (Psa. Ivii. 13, cxvi. 8, cxviii. 18). And so in like manner other of the saints. There are many gracious promises to this purpose, as Job v. 20, " He shall redeem thy soul from death." First, out of pity and compassion towards them. Look how much sweetness there is in life, so much mercy in preservation from death. Secondly, He has work for them to do, and some service which He requires from them. When we put ourselves out of service we put ourselves out of protection. When we lay ourselves aside as to our work, we do in a manner hasten our end, and ring our own passing bell. Thirdly, God does further delight to frustrate the attempts of enemies, and those that conspire the death of His servants, and for this cause will deliver them from it. We may in the second place look upon it in the reflection, as coming from the apostle, God had dehvered him, and he did not now let it pass without notice. This is a duty, to take notice of those deliverances which God at any time has vouchsafed unto us. Thank- fulness is the least which we can return upon God for deliverance. That God has delivered us, and from a great death. First, for the person delivering, it was God. Secondly, for the persons delivered, we may add also " us," it is we which are delivered. The deliverance of others has cause for joy. But when ourselves are interested in any deliverance, this should more work upon us. Thirdly, for the terms also of deliverance, " so great a death," so great as it is hard to declare how great it was. The second now follows, and that is the signification of a dehverance present, in these words, "And doth deliver. He that hath delivered, does deliver." It is very fitly put in the present tense, and also indefinitely, because God is never out of this work of deliverance of us. This may be made good according to a twofold explication. First, God does still deliver so far forth as He does confirm and make good His former deliverance. God, when He delivers His people, but He still pursues them with His deliverance further. As there is preventing and antecedent grace, so there is following and subsequent grace. And as there is the grace of conversion, so there is likewise the grace of confirmation. Thus, for example, when God delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians at the Eed Sea. What, did He only deliver them in that juncture of time ? No, but even all the time after they did reap the fruit of that deliverance till they came to Canaan. Secondly, God does deliver, even after that He has delivered already. In renewing upon us the like mercies again, and in vouchsafing the same deliverances for kind as He has formerly done. So likewise for spiritual deliverances, God does deUver after deliverances. The efficacy of Christ's death is extended beyond the time of His sufferings to all following generations. The third and last is the prognostication of a deliverance to come, "In whom we trust also, that He will yet dehver us." We see this excellent gradation how the apostle proceeds from one thing to another, from time past to time present, and from time present to time to come. What we may observe from hence. That deliverances which are past are a very good ground for expecting of deliverances to come ; or if ye will thus, God that has delivered hitherto He will likewise deliver again. This is the sweetest heavenly reasoning of the saints and servants of God, even to argue thus with themselves and to draw deductions of expectation from former experience. What God will do from what He has done, and that also upon weighty considerations. First, His ability and power. In men this is many times defective, so that we cannot so happily conclude of the one from the other, of future goodness from former, because their power and opportunity may be gone. And then further, here is an argument likewise from the greater to the less, He that has done the one He ean do the other too ; He that has delivered from so great a death He can much CHAP. I.] IL CORINTHIANS. 19 more deliver from a smaller danger. Secondly, there is in God a perpetuity of affection too. " It is of the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not" (Lam. iii. 22). Thirdly, there is in God exactness and a desire to perfect His own work ; now this He should not be able to do, if together with deliverances which are past He should not join deliverances to come. The improvement of it may be in a double way of application. First, for our own private and particular, we should learn from this present doctrine to treasure up unto ourselves ground of expectation of more from God in a way of deliverance and preservation, by considering what He has done for us heretofore in like exigencies. Thus the mariner or traveller by sea may reason, God has delivered me in such a storm and in such a tempest, I am now in the same lawful way and He will deliver me again. So likewise in the second place we may also carry it (as more pertinent to the occasion) to the Church and State in general, and reason so for that. He has delivered and does deliver, and we trust that He will yet deliver us. God does not do things all at once, but by time and degrees. He makes one thing a prepara- tion to another, and a ground and argument for the expectation of it, and so as we may in a manner see His footsteps in it. (Thomas Hvrton, D.D.) The tenses : — The text — I. Suggests three tbains of thought. 1. Memory tells of deliverance in the past. From — (1) Violent death. (2) Our death in sin : " So great a death," indeed. (3) Fierce despair when under conviction. (4) Total overthrow when tempted by Satan. (5) Faintness under daily tribulation. (6) Destruction by slander and the like. The Lord has graciously delivered us hitherto. Let us express our gratitude. 2. Observation calls attention to present deliverance. By the good hand of the Lord we are at this time preserved from — (1) Unseen dangers to life. (2) The subtle assaults of Satan. (3) The rampant errors of the times. (4) Libred sin and natural corruption. (5) The sentence of death within, and the greater danger of self -trust (ver. 9). Our present standing is wholly due to the grace of God, and, trusting in that grace, we may indulge a happy confidence. 3. Expectation looks out of the window upon the future. (1) Faith rests alone in God, " in whom we trust," and through Him she looks for future deliverance, (a) From all future common trials, (b) From coming losses and afflictions, and from sick- nesses, which may be coming upon us. (c) From the infirmities and wants of age. (d) From the peculiar glooms of death. (2) This expectation makes us march on with cheerfulness. 11. Supplies three lines of argument. That the Lord will preserve us to the end is most sure. We can say of Him, " Li whom we trust that He will yet deUver us." 1. From the Lord's beginning to deliver we argue that He will yet deliver, for — (1) There was no reason in us for His beginning to love us. If His love arises out of His own nature it will continue. (2) He has obtained no fresh knowledge. He foreknew all our misbehaviours : hence there is no reason for casting us off. (3) The reason which moved Him at first is operating now, and none better can be required. 2. From the Lord's continuing to deliver we argue that He will yet deliver ; for — (1) His deUverances have been so many. (2) They have displayed such wisdom and power. (3) They have come to us when we have been so unworthy. (4) They have continued in such an unbroken line. That we feel sure He will never leave nor forsake us. 3. From the Lord Himself — "In whom we trust " : we argue that He will yet deliver ; for — (1) He is as loving and strong now as aforetime. (2) He will be the same in the future. (3) His purpose never changes, and it is to His glory to complete what He has begun. III. Is open to three rNrE:..ENCES. 1. That we shall always be so in danger as to need to be delivered ; wherefore we are not high-minded, but fear. 2. Our constant need of God's own interposition. He alone has met our case in the past, and He only can meet it in the future ; wherefore we would ever abide near our Lord. 3. That our whole life should be filled with the praise of God, who, for past, present, and future, is our Deliverer. (C H. Spurgeon.) Ver. 11. Ye also helping together by prayer for us. — Helping together : — You have four girls ; Mary does the work of the rest^such help is not good. All help is dangerous for any of us when there is absence of mutuality. I am not allowed to think of myself as in one of those boat excursions, where some sit idle at the stern while some one else rows. There is nothing healthy or wholesome unless we work together. I. We must not hinder. What a dreadful thing it is to read concerning the Pharisees, that they not only did not enter in themselves, but hindered those that were entering in. That may be done by Hi-temper and by indifference. II. Nerve yourself to triumph over hindrances. The river comes leaping on. Well, 20 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap. i. you say you cannot get over that rock, it is so high ! " Oh ! yes," the river says, " I am going round that side." Your life and mine ought to mean conquest. III. It is PLEASANT TO HELP. But wheu you are " helping together " then the critics come. Look at Nehemiah's work. These are the things that test your strength ! Go on with the work, helping together ! IV. Note the variety of work. There is a great deal to be said for the numerous ways in which we may help. V. This "HELPING together" WILL BE REWARDED IN WAYS WE LITTLE THINK OF. VI. ThE influence of work UPON THE WORKER. We are all disciplined by it. {W. M. Stntham.) Christians' prayers the minister's help : — I. The objects at which Christian ministers aim. 1. The destruction of the empire of Satan. 2. To restore order and happiness to the world. 3. To bring glory .to Christ. 4. To prepare souls for heaven. II. The influence which your prayers will have on their attainment. They will— 1. Awaken the attention of beholders. 2. Honour the Holy Spirit, who is the great agent in the success of the gospel. 3. Prepare the Church for its safe enjoyment of prosperity. 4. Fall in with the will of God, as made known to us in His Word. HI. The motives which should engage you to the performance of this duty. 1. It will tend to your own good. 2. There will be the use of other means to secure the good of the Church. He who prays as he ought will endeavour to live as he prays. 3. The great Lord of the Church hath set the example of prayer. 4. The Divine approba- tion it will surely receive. {Essex Congregational Remembrancer.) The poicer of prayer and the pleasure of praise : — Although our apostle thus acknowledged God's hand alone in his deliverance, yet he did not undervalue the second causes. Having first praised the God of all comfort, he now remembers with gratitude the earnest prayers of the many loving intercessors. Let us — I. Acknowledge the power of united prayer. 1. God has been pleased to command us to pray, for prayer — (1) Glorifies God, by putting man in the humblest posture of worship. (2) Teaches us our unworthiness, which is no small blessing to such proud beings as we are. While it is an application to Divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness. (3) Apart from the answer which it brings, a great benefit to the Christian. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life we acquire energy by the hallowed labour of prayer. 2. As many mercies are conveyed from heaven in the ship of prayer, so there are many choice and special favours which can only be brought to us by the fleets of united prayer. Many are the good things which God will give to His Elijahs and Daniels, but if two of you agree, &c., there is no limit to God's bountiful answers. Peter might never have been brought out of prison if it had not been that prayer was made without ceasing by all the Church for him. Pentecost might never have come if all the disciples had not been " with one accord in one place." Thus our gracious Lord sets forth His own esteem for the communion of saints. We cannot all preach, rule, or give gold and silver, but we can all contribute our prayers. 3. This united prayer should specially be made for the ministers of God. (1) Their position is most perilous. Satan knows if he can once smite one of these there will be a general confusion, for if the champion be dead then the people fly. On returning from Rotterdam, when we were crossing the bar at the mouth of the Maas, where by reason of a neap tide and a bad wind the navigation was exceedingly dangerous, orders were issued — " All hands on deck ! " So the life of a minister is so perilous, that I may well cry — " All hands on deck " ; every man to prayer. (2) A solemn weight of responsibility rests on them. The captain as we crossed that bar threw the lead himself into the sea ; and when one asked why, he said, " At this point I dare not trust any man to heave the lead, for we have hardly six inches between our ship and the bottom." (3) Their preservation is one of the most important objects to the Church. You may lose a sailor from the ship, and that 13 very bad, but if the captain should be smitten, what is the vessel to do ? (4) How much more is asked of them than of you. 4. I find that in the original the word for " helping together " implies very earnest work. Some people's prayers have no work in them. Melancthon derived great comfort from the information that certain poor weavers, woman and children, had met i .dther to pray for the Reformation. It was not Luther only, but the thousands of poor persons who offered supplications, that made the Reformation what it was. H. Excite you to praise. 1. Praise should always follow answered prayer ; the mist of earth's gratitude should rise as the sun of heaven's love warms the ground. Tongue-tied Christians are a sad dishonour to the Church. 2. United praise has a very special commenda- tion, it is like music in concert. It is a volume of harmony. The praise of CHAP. I.] II. CORINTHIANS. 21 one Christian is accepted before God like a grain of incense; but the praise of many is like a censer full of frankincense smoking up before the Lord. 3. As united prayer should be offered specially for ministers, so should united praise. We ought to praise God for good ministers — (1) That they live, for when they die much of their work dies with them. (2) For preserved character, for when a minister falls, what a disgrace it is ! (3) If the minister be kept well supplied with goodly matter, and if he be kept soimd. (C. H. Spurgeon.) Ver. 12. For our rejoicing is this, tlie testimony of our conscience. — The joy of a clear conscience : — I. When Chiustians have the testimony of conscience in THEiE FAVOUR. When it testifies — 1. That they have done what is right. 2. That they have done right from right motives. 11. That this testimony of conscience IN THEIE favour AFFORDS THEM GOOD GROUND TO REJOICE. Bccause it assurcs them I. That they have internally, as well as externally, obeyed God. 2. That they have the approbation of God. 3. That they will sooner or later meet the approbation of all the world. 4. That they stand entitled to all the blessings of eternal life. III. Improvement. If Christians have the testimony of their conscience in their favour, then— 1. They may always know their gracious state. 2. They may always know their duty. 3. They live the happiest life of any men in the world. 4. They never need to be afraid to do their duty. 5. It as faithfully testifies against all their short- comings and moral imperfections. 6. We may discover the great source of self deception in sinners. (N. Emmons, D.D.) The testimony of conscience : — I. Conscience is, perhaps, the greatest power in the world. It is an inward know- ledge, which speaks either for or against the person in whom it resides. It witnesses not only to outward things, but also to inner ones ; not only to our words and actions, but to our motives, thoughts, and feelings. Hence its immense power either to comfort or to distress. II. Every one will be judged according to his conscience. III. How IS THE CONSCIENCE TO BE TRAINED ? 1. Pray that it may be a right one in everything, and expect it in answer to your prayers. 2. Square it ■with the Bible. 3. Honour it ; never trifle with it in the smallest thing. 4. Disobey ■whatever is against it, however pleasant, advantageous and popular. 5. Do not be afraid to take its comfort ■when it tells you that you are right. IV. Here then are THE TWO QUESTIONS FOR OURSELVES, the two lines which conscience should take. 1. In worldly things, in all m}' dealings with my fellow-creatures, in my ways of spending my time, my expenses, amusements, family, servants, employers, — In Him was yea : — How much is included in the word Yes ! Upon that word, waiting for it, what anxious hearts have hung ! The soul cries for certainty and satisfaction, and — I. Christ solves the problem or nature. We are perplexed by " the burden of the mystery " around us, and yearn for its solution. This yearning has borne witness and fruit in all ages. We see this especially in Hindooism — the religion of the natural man— God without character, consciousness, will. And Hindooism is making its converts among us. The myth system of Strauss, the pantheistic absolute of Hegel, the Pantheistic substance of Schelling, the idealisation of Fichte, aU these systems have their disciples among us. Nature answers no questions, resolves no doubts ; she meets the inquisitive intelligence of man ; and when these two marry, they make a religion. But it is a> religion without motives, and without safeguards. Now upon this state of mind Christ descends, and in Him is the Divine assurance. He says, " He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father." In this personality God lifts the curtain from His eternity. "He" was and " is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of His person." As light paints likenesses, so that I may have the express image of a person I have never seen, so Christ is the portrait of God. I know God is a person and a power, a conscience and a will, when I am able to believe in Jesus. There has come no answer from nature, or to nature ; but He has come, and the true light shineth. 11. Christ reconciles the contradictions of Scripture. How is it that in God is "no variableness nor shadow of turning," and yet He hears and answers prayer? How is it " the pure in heart see God, whom no man can see " ? How is it that a " man is justified by faith," and yet " by grace " ? How is it that God is omnipotent, and yet man is spoken to as free ? Well, no doubt contradictions exist, but they are explained in Him. Contradictions may exist in God even as opposite parts exist in a circle, but it is the circle which explains. See men at work on opposite walls of a building, while it grows, opposite to each other they work ; but the unity of the conception and the labour is beheld in the roof. I look on the doctrine of God's grace, and man's responsibility, they seem to be in conflict with each other ; so the infinity and the eternal omnipotence of God, and the freedom and the power, and the volition of man ; but these things become clearer to me as I see Jesus. Hence He is called the " corner-stone " ; the corner-stone meets what otherwise would never meet, reconciles what could not be reconciled. HI. Jesus gives the Yes to your most intense questions, as other masters and consolers cannot give it. That which is higher than I am, and which is satisfied, should CHAP. I.] II. CORINTHIANS. 29 satisfy me. Christ's knowledge, experience, love, and sympathy, surely are greater than mine; He was satisfied, and this should satisfy me. This may be a low ground to occupy, but I can from this climb far higher. I am in sorrow ; if I could feel that sorrow had any purpose or plan, I could bear it. I go to Him, and I say, "Lord, is there any plan in my pain ? " and " in Him is yea." " The cup which My Father hath given, shall I not drink it ? " But, ah ! is there any life beyond this ? Wast Thou satisfied ? " Father, I will that they whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am." "Because I live, ye shall live also." And salvation! may I hope, may I trust Thee ? " Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out." Conclusion : We read of the disciples, on one of the mornings after the resurrection, they saw Jesus standing on the shore, and knew not that it was Jesus ; but at last they knew ; so, after wading through seas, and fires, and fogs, may it be given to us to see Him. (-E. Paxton Hood.) The Divine yea : — The human heart cries out to God, and can be at rest alone when its mysterious questions meet the answering Yea ! Eeligion is not imagination, it is revelation. All is still incertitude outside the Christ. I. There ake false conceptions concerninq the character of God. 1. For ages the world had worshipped gods and goddesses, whose ritual had made even vice a part of worship. The Pagan deities at the best were coarse and hard and cruel. Christ came and gave the true conception, " God is love." 2. If His lips are sealed concerning much that curiosity might like to know, His word is clear and convincing concerning all that we need to know. II. There were MISTAKEN EFFORTS AFTER A DiviNE LIFE. Men had been for ages trying their own philosophies of goodness ! Multitudes had counted not health or home, life or beauty, dear to them, that they might escape the taint of evil, and rise through self-conquest up to God. But the ascetic economy of life did not work well. Eepression only drives life into uncongenial and unhallowed channels. Is this earthly hfe from God ? Are human interests Divine ? Are love and marriage from God? Does He smile on innocent joys? How perfectly all this is answered in the Redeemer's life. " I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world," &c. in. There were longings after the fulfilment op Divine promise. Would God indeed visit men and bless them ? was the problem alike of philosopher and saint. But all the promises that travailed in creation and history had their birth-hour in the advent of Christ ; for all the promises of God in Him are Yea, and in Him Amen. I want to know if God indeed is love? — if man is indeed made for immortality ? Left to the profoundest students of philosophy, I am in a school of Yea and Nay. Now the materialist claims me as dust ; now the poet permits me to make imagery out of an hereafter. It is only when I come into fellowship with Him who brought life and immortality to Ught that I can say, " In Him is Yea ! " Concerning the Divine beneficence, God is love ; and concerning immortality. " For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (W. M. Statham.) The everlasting yea : — This was Paul's answer to a charge of vacillation. Jesus Christ whom he preached was not cliangeful ; how then could His apostle, so identified with His truth and with Himself, be changeful ? It might seem to some a strange vindication, but not to those who felt in their inmost soul the Yea of Christ, and how completely Paul was absorbed in that. The very unexpectedness of the application gives it force. If there is such a connection between Jesus Christ, and adherence to a purpose as to a journey, how closely connected must the whole of a Christian's life be to Christ. Consider — I. The fact of Christ's oneness. This is a truth not of mere specula- tive interest. It has an immediate practical bearing upon our faith and confidence. The conviction, or the feeling of it alone, gives rest to our souls. And yet it is precisely here that Christ seems to some encompassed with difficulty. There are great contrasts in Christ. 1. He has a side of gloom and terror, like an Alpine precipice, or some gigantic black cloud hiding sun and sky, and portending terrible storm ; and a side gentle and soft and sweet, like a garden that faces the sunny south full of beauty and richest fruits are floating with all delicate and balmy odours. Hear Him as He rolls out woe after woe like peals of thunder, and then follow Him as He showers blessings where He goes. And yet, was it not because He was so loving that He was so stern? Perfect love is opposed to all that is opposed to love. He was not Yea and Nay because He showed different sides to different things. Had He done otherwise there would have been a surrendering of truth and right, and therefore of love. (1) Are not nature and life full of unities which appear to be contraries ? Light and darkness, cold and heat balance each other and conduce to one result. There is a negative and a positive pole in electricity, and it is by combination of two opposite tendencies that the planets are 30 THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. [chap. i. kept in their steady course round the sun. (3) Look into the human heart and you will find the same principle in operation. Love and hatred are opposites, and yet they do not destroy unity if the soul loves what ought to be loved and hates what ought to be hated. Hope and fear are opposites, but are both necessarJ^ Does not imagination need its opposite of common-sense to prevent it running riot, and nothing more needs the widening influence of imagination than strong common- sense. The character of Christ embraces the like contrasts, but the oneness shines forth all the more brightly from these apparent contradictions. 2. The like is to be said of another contrast that stands out in the life of Christ — that between His humility and His self-assertion. Both are prominent, and both are equally appropriate to the God-man. His humility was human, His self-assertion was Divine, and was part of the revelation which He had to give. His is a unity not formal or studied, but natural, resulting simply from what He was. It is a unity to be felt, as all unities must be, in contemplating the whole, and in realising the aim and meaning of the whole. H. The wealth and fulness of the Yea that IS IN Christ. Thomas Carlyle speaks finely of the everlasting Yea which the soul of man needs for rest. Can we find anywhere a word so full of substance and welcome as Yes ? Christ is the everlasting Yea — the one solid, complete and availing Yes to the soul of man. The everlasting Yea cannot be an abstract truth. No truth, however sublime, can give the heart rest. The everlasting Yea must be an infinite person, and yet one that can come close and near us ; must be perfect, and yet His perfection genial and tender ; must bring God to us, and bring our souls to rest in God, and there is none but Christ does this. 1. Christ is God's Yes to us. Men have doubted whether the world meant Yes or No. There are times ■when nature seems to say Yes— and other times when man can hear nothing but a fierce No. To a whole class of powerful writers there is no real blessing anywhere. Others find a struggle between the Yea and Nay, as if the goodness at work in the universe were not able to carry out its purposes on account of the opposing element. But Christ is God's unmistakable Yes. He showed by His miracles that all the powers of nature were wielded by love, and His life and death were the translating of the Divine Yes into intelligible speech, God is love. 2. Christ is God's Yes to us by being Yes to God for us. His obedience and death was the putting of a Yea in the room of our Nay. Sin is the saying No to God. It is denial of God's wisdom and love. It is distrust of God, negation of His claims and the setting up of our will in the place of His. Hell is the development of this No. In the nature which dishonoured God by saying No, Christ uttered a sublime, uniform, intense Yes, by action, and suffering, and speech. 3. The yea of positive truth is in Him. He affirms : you find little denial in His words. The beatitudes are the most solid of all utterances. The like depth and breadth of affimiation is in the utterances. " God is a Spirit," &c. " If ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children," &c. What substance and wealth there is in His promises and invitations. And then think of the solid grandeur He gave to the word love. 4. Jesus Christ is Yes to all the deepest longings and highest aspirations of the heart. There is not any momentous question to which Jesus has not answered Yes. And this affirmation of Christ is uttered with clearness and certainty. On all central subjects His language is luminous, reiterated and emphatic. Conclusion : Have we taken Christ's Yea to God as our own ? Do we accept it and rejoice in it, and present it to God ? The proof and the outcome of this will be the utterance of Yea to God. {J. Leckie, D.D.) Christ's tone of decision : — Why this tone of decision and clearness? Why this pomp of definiteness? Because the Lord Christ is not a speculator but a Saviour. When the lifeboat goes out it does not go out to reason with the drowning men but to lay hold of them. When the sea is sunny, when the air is a blessing, then boats may approach one another, and talk to one another more or less merrily and kindly, and as it were on equal terms ; but when the wind is alive, when the sea and sky seem to have no dividing line, and death has opened its jaws to swallow up, as if in a bottomless pit, all its prey, then the lifeboat says, " We have not come out here to reason and to conjecture and to bandy opinions with you, but to seize you and save you." That is what Christ has come for. (J. Parker, D.D.) Ver 20. For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. — All the promises : — I. The dignity of the promises. They are " the promises of God." 1. They were each one made by Him according to the purpose of His own will. 2. They are links between His decrees and His acts; CHAP. I.] n. CORINTHIANS. 31 being the voice of the decree, and the herald of the act. 3. They display the qualities of Him who uttered them. They are true, immutable, powerful, eternal, &c. 4. They remain in union with God. After the lapse of ages they are still His promises as much as when He first uttered them. 5. They are guaranteed by the character of God who spoke them. 6. They will glorify Him as He works out their fulfilment. H. The range of the promises. "All the promises." It will be instructive to note the breadth of the promises by observing that— 1. They are found both in the Old and New Testaments ; from Genesis to Kevelation, running through centuries of time. 2. They are of both sorts — conditional and un- conditional : promises to certain works, and promises of an absolute order. 3. They are of all kinds of things — bodily and spiritual, personal and general, eternal and temporal. 4. They continue blessings to varied characters, such as — (1) The Penitent (Lev. xxvi. 40-42; Isa. Iv. 7, Ivii. 15 ; Jer. iii. 12, 13). (2) The Believing (John iii. 16, 18, vi. 47 ; Acts xvi. 31 ; 1 Pet. ii. 6). (3) The Serving (Ps. xxxvii. 3, ix. 40 ; Prov. iii. 9, 10 ; Acts x. 35). (4) The Praying (Isa. xlv. 11. ; Lam. iii. 25 ; Matt. vi. 6 ;Psa. cxlv. 18). (5) The Obeying (Exod. xix. 5 ; Psa. cxix. 1-3 ; Isa. i. 19). (6) The Suffering (Matt. v. 10-12; Horn. viii. 17; 1 Pet. iv. 12-14). 5. They bring us the richest boons : pardon, justification, sanctification, instruc- tion, preservation, &c. What a marvellous wealth lies in "all the promises"! III. The stability of the promises. "All the promises in Him are yea, and in Him Amen." A Greek word " Yea," and a Hebrew word " Amen," are used to mark certainty, both to Gentile and Jew. 1. They are established beyond all doubt as being assuredly the mind and purpose of the eternal God. 2. They are confirmed beyond all alteration. The Lord hath said " Amen," and so must it be for ever. 3. Their stability is in Christ Jesus beyond all hazard ; for He is — (1) The witness of the promise of God. (2) The surety of the covenant. (3) The sum and substance of all the promises. (4) The fulfilment of the promises, by His actual incarnation. His atoning death. His living plea. His ascension power, &c. (5) The security and guarantee of the promises, since all power is in His hand to fulfil them. IV. The result of the promises. " The glory of God by us." By us. His ministers, and His beheving people, the God of the promises is made glorious. We glorify — 1. His condescending love in making the promise. 2. His power as we see Him keeping the promise. 3. Him by our faith, which honours His veracity, by expecting the boons which He has promised. 4. Him in our experience which proves the promise true. Conclusion : 1. Let us confidently rest in His sure word. 2. Let us plead the special promise applicable to the hour now passing. (C. H. Spurgeon.) The promises : — 1. A promise is the antithesis of a threat. The Bible abounds in both. 2. When God more apparently guided the courses of man personally, promises were made to individual men. To patriarchs, prophets, and apostles ; and by such they were upborne through trial. But when this became impossible the promises were made applicable to whole nations and generations. 3. Thus the Word of God is filled with assurances of blessings as no other book is. Promises cover the whole period of human life. They meet us at our birth ; they cluster about our childhood ; they overhang our youth ; they go in companies into manhood with us ; they divide themselves into bands and stand at the door of every possible experience. Therefore there are promises of God to the ignorant, poor, oppressed, discouraged, &c. ; to every affection, to every sphere of duty, to all perils and temptations. There are promises for joy, sorrow, victory, defeat, adversity, prosperity,