1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 - Homilies By R. Finlayson

I. HOW THE DAY OF THE LORD IS SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED IN ITS COMING . "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." By the same method which is followed in 1 Thessalonians 4:9 , the apostle seeks to impress on the Thessalonians a certain point relating to the times and. the seasons which make up the period of the Lord's dealing with men. This related more particularly to the day of the Lord, the day when the Lord is to descend to earth, which is to be thought of as the completing point of the times and the seasons. It is practically to each of us the day of our death. When with them he had taken care that they should accurately understand the sudden and unexpected nature of the advent. There were decisive words of the Lord on which to proceed. " But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only;" "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power." There was even the same image employed by our Lord which is employed here. " But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not have left his house to be broken through." As a thief, without notice given and under cover of the night, approaches the dwelling which its occupant thinks secure, so stealthily approaches the day of the Lord. To all alike the uncertainty exists, and will exist. All fixings of the time, such as are sometimes attempted, are wholly unwarranted. God does not mean that either the Church or the world should know the time, any more than he means that any of us should know the time of our death.

II. HOW TO THE CARNALLY SECURE THE DAY OF THE LORD IS TO COME AS A TERRIBLE SURPRISE . "When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape." The image is carried forward, and we are to think of those who confine their interest to the earthly sphere, and do not dream of their possession as ever to be disturbed. But, having sown carnal security, they are to reap destruction, and not only in their earthly but also in their higher interest. It is a strong word which is employed, and corresponds to "wrath," which is afterwards employed. This feeling of carnal security grows upon men. At first they chide themselves that they neglect Christ and their everlasting salvation. But, carried forward by the desire or' earthly gratification and in confidence in their own strength, they find excuses for the course which they are following. A state of moral darkness is produced in them. They become blinded to the character of God, and the opposition which is ever widening between their life and the will of God. The result is, that qualms of conscience leave them, and they say, "I have a feeling of peace within, and there is no trouble from without." But just when they crone to this height of carnal security, then sudden destruction comes upon them, from which there shall be no escape. Thus, it would seem, wilt it be at last. All men wilt not be ready for the descending Lord. " As were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man." So it would seem is it, anticipatively, now. Men go on in their sinful courses, until they are suddenly overtaken by death and destruction.

III. HOW TO SONS OF LIGHT AND SONS OF THE DAY THE DAY OF THE LORD SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE . "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief: fur ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." The Thessalonian brethren are excluded from the darkness which is implied in the state of carnal security; it was not, therefore, designed that that day should overtake them as a thief. The class to which they, as Christians, properly belonged, was that of sons of light and sons of the day. They are those to whom the Lord has been revealed, especially to whom it has been revealed that he will come, and who thus have light in them. They are those upon whom the Sun of righteousness has risen, making day aroused them. Welcoming the light, even in its reproving power, they come to be made of light and enveloped with light, so that they are sons of light (which is the Divine nature) and sons of the day (which is the Divine encompassment). When it is always light, the thief has not opportunity of approaching without being seen. So those who have abundance of light in them and around them should not be surprised by the day of the Lord. The class from which we as Christians are excluded is that of those who are of the night and of darkness. They are those who have moral night drawn around them. They are those into whose nature the light of God's mercy and truth has not penetrated. Loving the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil, they come to have darkness as their surrounding and their nature, so that they are of the night and of darkness. It was open to the apostle, from the use of similar expressions by our Lord ("sons of this world," "sons of the devil"), to have said sons of the night and sons of darkness. He seems to have chosen his language purposely to avoid the idea of freedom, to bring out the idea of servitude. They are not like the free sons of light and free sons of the day. They are rather those who are hemmed in by the night, who are enslaved to darkness. When there is darkness in and around a dwelling there may be said to be an invitation to the thief to approach. So those who have darkness in and around their being may be said to invite a surprise from the day of the Lord.

IV. HOW WE ARE BOUND , AS ENLIGHTENED CHRISTIANS , TO WATCH AND BE SOBER . "So then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night." There is put forward what we are not to do. Let us not sleep, as do the rest of mankind. Sleeping implies obliviousness and inactivity. The rest of mankind are in an oblivious, inactive state, especially with regard to the solemn issues of life. Let us who have light not be like them. What we are to do is to watch. We are to have the wakeful activity of the sentinel at his post. He knows not from what side or what hour the enemy may approach, so he has altogether and always to be vigilant. In like manner, let us take full account of the fact that death is coming. And, seeing we know not how or what hour it may come, let our vigilance all round never sleep. What we are to do is also to be sober. A subject should be in a fit state when ushered into the presence of his sovereign. It will be a solemn thing for us to be ushered into the presence of the Lord at death; and we should be in a fit state for the occasion. We should especially have our appetites in proper restraint. We should have the full command of our powers. We should be so employed from moment to moment that, when the last moment comes, we can fitly leave our employments and pass into the presence of our Judge. Not to be doing this, is to be conforming to unenlightened practices. "They that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night." The literal fact is stated as the basis for thought. Night is the congenial time for sleep. So those who are in the night of sin are in a drowsy, unalarmed state with regard to their spiritual concerns. They do not take into account that they have to meet death, and yet, however deep their sleep, they have to meet it and the realities to which they will be wakened up after death. Night is also the congenial time for drunkenness. How much of the drinking that is to be deplored goes on after darkness has set in! So those who are in the night of sin are in a state of spiritual intoxication. And that is the worst thing that can be said of the literal drunkard. His spiritual nature is in a bad state. In not restraining his appetites he is rebelling against God. In continuing in sin he is hardening his heart. And he is not fit for passing into the presence of his Judge. And so is it, too, with those who are drunken with the world's engagements and cares. They become incapacitated for spiritual exercise, and for the enjoyment of the Lord's presence. " But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare."

I. HOW WE ARE TO GIVE PROOF THAT WE ARE SOBER BY BEING ARMED WITH FAITH , LOVE , AND HOPE . "But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation." Having the light of day, and knowing what is coming, let us, as sober men, take all due precautions. For us to be forewarned should be to be forearmed. It is only defensive armor that is thought of here as brought into requisition. The idea seems to be, that we are to be armed against all that would unfit us for our Lord's coming.

1. The breastplate. This is a double piece of armor. It is faith and love combined. Faith apprehends the Lord's coming, in opposition to blind unbelief which says, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fall asleep, all things continue as they were." Faith defends by encircling us with the Divine strength, which is as though every part of our defenseless hearts were covered with armor. But faith only rightly defends when, at the same time, love gives Christ the possession of our hearts. It is the world that tempts us to forget the Lord's coming, to make no preparation for death. When our hearts are filled with love to the Savior, we are enabled to keep out the world. The breastplate of our defense being completed by love, brings it into agreement with what, in Ephesians 6:14 , and also in Isaiah 59:17 , is called "the breastplate of righteousness."

2. The helmet. This is a single piece of armor. In Ephesians 6:17 , and also in Isaiah 59:17 , it is simply called "the helmet of salvation." But what is meant is what is here called "the hope of salvation." We have a certain experience of salvation already in the working of faith and love. Hope reaches beyond this experience forward to the salvation which is to be completed at the Lord's coming. This hope is a defense to us, as the helmet used to be to the warrior. Wearing this provided armor, we can hold our head high and scathless above present troubles. Let us, then, as sober men, not unclasp our breastplate, not lay aside our helmet.

VI. HOW THE SALVATION HOPED FOR HAS BEEN MADE A DIVINE CERTAINTY TO US . "For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." For those who are sunk in spiritual slumber and intoxication there is an appointment unto wrath! The Divine displeasure must be manifested against the rebellious course which they have been following. But for us who are acting as sober men there is an appointment unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, i.e. at his coming. And what God has appointed will be carried out. A soldier endures in the hope of victory. But the victory is to him an uncertainty; it may not be realized, or he may not live to share in it. But the Christian soldier has a Divine appointment on which to proceed. If even now we take Christ as our Savior, and from this point wait for his coming, then God intends that we shall conquer. Let us seize the advantage of our position. While we have our faith and. love in vigorous exercise, let us know also the sustaining power of a lively hope.

VII. HOW THE OBTAINING OF SALVATION HAS BECOME ASSURED TO US . '"Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him."

1. Our life has its source in Christ ' s death. Christ died for our benefit, and, by implication, in our stead. He died in the way of making satisfaction for our sin. In him, as our Representative or Head, we obtain the benefits of his work. It is as though we had died, as though we had made satisfaction for sin. Thus in condescending love, in accordance with eternal principles, are we introduced into salvation.

2. The final end of Christ ' s death is that we should live together with him. Christ died with this view, that we should ultimately live along with him, and have fellowship with him; we entering into his thoughts and delighting in his love, while he enters into our thoughts and delights in our love.

3. This end is independent of our waking or sleeting at Christ ' s coming. Our waking or sleeping is accidental ; the essential thing is that we shall have fellowship with Christ, and fellowship, as it then shall be, in the body. Both classes, those who wake and those who sleep, have the same reason for assuring themselves that they shall live together with him, viz. in the fact that he has died to merit it for them, as he lives to secure it for them. Those who wake shall be changed without the union between soul and body being broken; and, changed, they shall live together with him. Those who sleep have the union between the soul and body broken, without any break in the union between the soul and Christ and in fellowship with him; and, raised from their graves, they shall live together with him. Thus the ultimate state of both classes is to be the same, the apostle returning here to the conclusion reached in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 , where it is said of the same two classes united that they shall be for ever with the Lord.

VIII. HOW IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES THEY ARE TO ACT TOWARD EACH OTHER . "Wherefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as also ye do." There is an unhappy change from "comfort" to "exhort" in the translation. It ought to be "comfort," as in the parallel verse at the close of the previous paragraph. They were to comfort one another with what was blessed in the Lord's coming. They were also to edify each other, in preparation for the Lord's coming—communicating knowledge to each other, praying for each other, pressing duty on each other, stimulating each other by example. This they were doing, and in that way were admirably answering the ends of their being in a Christian society. But let them go on, and not, while only a little away from the starting-point, suppose that they have reached finality. Let us, to, o, make the end of our being in a Christian society comfort and, especially, edification to all the members.—R.F.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 - Exhortations.

1. DUTY TOWARD THE PRESIDENTS . "But we beseech you, brethren, to know them that labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them exceeding highly in love fur their work's sake." The Greek bears that those who labor, preside, and admonish are all one class. From other places in the New Testament we must understand that the reference is to the class of the elders. "And when they had appointed for them elders in every Church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed." "For this cause," Paul says to Titus, "left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and. appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge." From 1 Timothy 5:17 it appears that there were elders who simply ruled, and others who both ruled and taught. The language employed in the description of the elders here does not require a restriction in the application to teaching elders. It can only be said that the greater extent of their duties warrants a special application to them. There is put forward the idea of their being workers. In any office the first thing to be looked to is the amount of real honest work that is done in it. Certainly it is not meant that any ecclesiastical office should be a sinecure. There was spiritual work to be done among the Thessalonians, and there were those who were appointed for the doing of it. These did their work even to weariness. Next to their being workers, they were presidents. In 1 Timothy 5:17 the elders are described as thus ruling or presiding, hi this presidency there is implied the possession of ecclesiastical power; but it is with limitations. Believers stand in an immediate personal relation to the Lord. But there is also the relation in which believers stand collectively to the Lord. In this relation Christ is not only President; but there are those who in each Christian society preside in the Lord, i.e. they preside in his Name, they represent his authority in the relation. To them belongs the power of the keys, or of admitting and excluding. To them it belongs to preside at the ordinance of the supper. To them it belongs to sit in judgment in matters connected with the efficient working of the society. As presidents, they are also monitors, not restrictively teachers. It belongs to them as characterized by piety and practical wisdom, and as foremost in every good work themselves, in a special manner, in virtue of their office, to press duty on those over whom they have been placed, to stir up the negligent, to administer rebuke to the erring. It is the duty of the members of a Christian society toward their laborious presidents and monitors to know them. It is usual to take this knowing as equivalent to knowing with appreciation, which is afterward defined as esteeming in love. It seems better not to bring forward the ideas of esteem and love, but to think only of that on which the esteem and love are founded, viz. such a marking of the presidents as leads to their being esteemed and loved. The esteem is to be founded on the work belonging to their office. They are engaged in the Lord's work, in seeking the spiritual good of those over whom they have been placed. And as that is the most important of all kinds of work, they are not only to be esteemed, but esteemed exceeding highly for their work's sake. While they are to be esteemed, they are also to be loved. Love is to be the element in which the esteem is to have its subsistence and nourishment. They are not to be judged harshly, but, in love, a kindly view is to be taken of them, and their defects overlooked.

II. DUTY OF REGARDING THE PEACE OF THE CHRISTIAN CIRCLE . "Be at peace among yourselves." Our Lord exhorts the twelve in almost the same terms: "Be at peace one with another." The exhortation means that we are to cultivate toward the members of the Christian circle such good feeling as will dispose us not only to refrain from strife, but also to be on good terms with them. And if we are to be peaceably disposed, as we are elsewhere exhorted, toward all men, much more are we to be peaceably disposed, as we are here exhorted, to those to whom we stand in nearer alliance and engagement, who are subjects with us of the same Prince of peace. The most fruitful cause of congregational or more widely ecclesiastical dispeace is fondness for power or honor. It was when the twelve had disputed one with another who was the greatest ( Mark 9:34 ), and had turned against one who used Christ's Name yet followed not them ( Mark 9:38 ), that they were exhorted to be at peace one with another ( Mark 9:50 ). John refers to a certain Diotrephes, in a Church to which he wrote, who loved to have the pre-eminence among them. There are those who are more concerned to advance themselves, or their family connection, or their party, than the common ends for which the society exists. A co-operating cause is prejudice. There are those who are more attached to opinions hastily formed, or traditionally received, or to which they are constitutionally inclined as more liberal or more conservative, than to the truth honestly inquired into. When, with this, there conspires worldly motive, leading to worldly policy, the result, on occasion or, it may be, on little occasion, is dispeace. One cure for dispeace is respect for the properly constituted authorities, or good feeling toward the presidents. This wilt often carry a society through a difficult trial. A more effective cure is abundance of Christian work. It was when the twelve were in the way (unemployed so far) that they disputed who was the greatest. When afterward they were in the midst of their work, the question would not be who was the greatest, but who could do the most work for Christ. For a Church to he actively engaged in real work for the Master is to be in the best position for its own peace. Pray, then, for the peace of Jerusalem, and for its orderliness and holy activity, as conducive to peace.

III. DUTY TOWARD THREE CLASSES WITHIN THE CHRISTIAN CIRCLE .

1. The disorderly. "And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly." This class is described by a word which is used of soldiers who do not keep their rank. There were those in the Thessalonian Church who were out of rank, in the way of being negligent of their business, under the influence of the coming of Christ. In Christian Churches still there are those who are out of rank, in the way of being careless in attendance on ordinances, in the way of being dissipated, in the way of being chargeable with dishonorable actions. If it is a grave fault to be disorderly in a military sense, it is no less grave a fault to be disorderly in a Christian sense. Must it not be offensive to him who is pre-eminently charged with the order of the Church, the Captain of our salvation? And his command, laid not merely on the presidents but on all, is that such should be admonished. They all need to be admonished to the performance of the duty with regard to which they are at fault; and some of them need to he admonished to take the first step in the Christian life.

2. The faint-hearted. "Encourage the faint-hearted." In our Churches there are those who are faint-hearted on account of the loss of friends, as the Thessalonians were faint-hearted on account of the supposed fate of Christian friends taken away before the coming. There are those who are depressed by the state of their temporal affairs, as the Thessalonians would have a depressing influence in the way in which maintenance and home and even life were affected by persecution. There are always those who are apt to be faint-hearted on account of their spiritual state. Have they a real interest in Christ? Are they making progress in the Christian life? Are they doing any good? Are they having an influence for good upon those over whom they are immediately placed? The command of Christ, laid on all, is that such are to be encouraged. Let them be encouraged by the thought of the kind Providence that is exercised over them. Let them be encouraged to the exercise of faith. "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God."

3. The weak. "Support the weak." There would be those among the Thessalonians who felt the weakening influence of the heathenism out of which they had come. Heathen habits could not be laid aside in a day. So there are those in our Churches who are anxious to do well, but are apt to stumble from the strength of evil habit. The command of Christ, laid on all, is that such are not to be left to stand or fall by themselves; but they are to be supported by sympathy and counsel and. example until they attain to greater moral strength—as infants, or those weakened by disease, need to be supported, until they can go about freely.

IV. THE ONE DUTY TOWARD ALL WITHIN THE CHRISTIAN CIRCLE . "Be long-suffering toward all." It seems better to confine the reference to the Christian circle, and to consider the reference as widened in the following verse. This is the condition of mind that will fit us for dealing with all. It was not unfitting that the duty should be laid upon a young Church like that of Thessalonica. Young Christians are of a sanguine disposition. In their own enthusiasm they look for others being enthusiastic. They need, in their experience of the difficulty of evil being cast out of their own hearts, of keeping up their own enthusiasm, to be taught the lesson of patience. Let them not be less earnest, but let them bear long, in the hope of seeing those who are lukewarm and faulty brought into a better state.

V. DUTY ESPECIALLY TOWARD THOSE WHO INJURE US . "See that none render unto any one evil for evil; but always follow after that which is good, one toward another, and toward all." The heathenish idea is to return evil for evil. Even Aristotle regarded it not less reasonable to return evil for evil, than to return good for good; "for otherwise," he says," if a man must not retaliate, his condition appears to be as bad as slavery" ('Ethics,' bk. 5. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-28 ). This heathenish disposition to take revenge on those who injure us needs to be conquered by us. Hence there is enjoined on us care: "Take heed that none render unto any one evil for evil." There is danger, if we are not careful, of our giving way to revengeful feelings. The Christian idea is that we are to resist not evil: "Whosoever smiteth thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." The meaning here is that, instead of returning evil for evil, we are to do kind offices to those who injure us. This is the best way of gaining our offending brethren. It is also the best way of gaining over them that arc outside. There is no more powerful argument in favor of Christianity than its conquest of revengefulness, its disposing us to return good for evil.

VI. DUTY OF REJOICING . "Rejoice always." The happy God designs us to be happy like himself, and not merely in heaven. We cannot, indeed, have a light heart when we think of the evil in us and around us. But while sorrowful, we can always rejoice in the thought of our Christian advantages. "He that hath the inexhaustible Spring of good for his portion, that hath his welfare entrusted in God's most faithful hand, that hath the infinite Beauty and Excellency for the perpetual object of his contemplation, that enjoyeth the serenity of a sound mind, of a pure heart, of a quiet conscience, of a sure hope, what can he want to refresh or comfort him? If we scan all the doctrines, all the institutions, all the precepts, all the promises of Christianity, will not each appear pregnant with matter of joy, will not each yield great reason and strong obligation to this duty of rejoicing evermore?" (Barrow).

VII. DUTY OF PRAYER . "Pray without ceasing." This cannot mean that prayer is to occupy our whole time. For prayer is only one duty, and we have to proportion our time between our various duties. But it means that we are to make prayer part of the great business of our life, and not a by-business. It means that we are to connect prayer with the principal occasions of our life. It means that in particular matters we are to pray on, until we succeed in the object of our requests. It means that we are to have stated times for prayer, especially the natural seasons of morning and evening. It means that in the intensity of our earnestness we are to overleap these stated times. "Devotion is the best food of our souls, which preserveth their life and health, which repaireth their strength and vigor: if we, therefore, long abstain from it, we shall starve or pine away; we shall be faint and feeble in all religious performances; we shall have none at all, or a very languid and meager piety" (Barrow).

VIII. DUTY OF THANKSGIVING . "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus to you-ward." To give thanks means that, sincerely, duly sensible of our benefits, we are to make cheerful acknowledgment of them to God. To give thanks in everything means that we are to thank God, not only in great things, but also in small things; not only in rare things, but also in common things. It means that we are to thank God, not only in present things, but for past mercies as well, and even for what is laid up for future enjoyment. It means that we are to thank God, not merely in things affecting ourselves, but also in things affecting others. It means that we are to thank God, not merely in prosperous things, but also in adverse things, recognizing the merciful moderating of them, the merciful design in them, the supporting grace under them, and the benefit resulting from them. It means that we are to thank God not merely in things affecting our bodies, but also in things affecting our souls. The duty of thanksgiving is here enforced by the consideration that thin is the will of God in Christ Jesus to us-ward. In Christ Jesus he is infinite kindness, always overflowing in blessing on us. How fitting, then, that we should, through Christ Jesus, "offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, the fruit of our lips!" This has the distinction of being the most delightful of all duties. "For praise and thanksgiving are the most delectable business of heaven; and God grant they may be our greatest delight, our frequent employment upon earth" (Barrow).

IX. DUTY TOWARD THE SPIRIT . "Quench not the Spirit." The Spirit is compared here, as in other places in Scripture, to fire. There is the beginning of spiritual life in every man. There is the depraved nature, but there is also the Spirit with his vital energy to be cherished or quenched. It is especially in connection with the gospel that the Spirit is given to men. In the gospel there is presented a Divine call to accept of Divine mercy, and there is, in connection with it, a Divine warning against refusing Divine mercy. "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal lice; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." The Spirit, in the Word read or preached, brings the gospel call to bear upon the conscience and heart. The feeling that we ought to accept of salvation and not throw away our existence, the desire to give Christ our confidence and not spurn his love, is the working of the Spirit. And, in providence after providence, does the Spirit more gently whisper to us, or more loudly rouse us up to the importance of the Divine call and warning. It is suggested by the context, that what those who have felt the power of the Spirit have to fear is the repression of enthusiasm. Let them give free outlet to the working of the Spirit, and not be deterred by the conventionalities even of religious society. If they feel prompted to pray, let them not restrain prayer. If they feel prompted to study God's Word, let them sit down and pore over it. If they feel prompted to throw themselves into Christian work, let them not hold back. It was by a strange perversity of will on the part of Saul that he was deserted by the Spirit. David feared that his outbreak of sin would drive away the Holy Spirit from him. What prevents men feeling the power of the Spirit is especially an irregular life. They turn away from good, and give the reins to their passions, and another spirit than God's takes possession of them. But there is not needed outward irregularity to quench the Spirit. The essential thing is the withdrawing of the mind from the range of the Divine revelation, the paying no heed to the Divine voice, the smothering good feeling even under the ordinary engagements of life, the neglecting to follow up good impressions by a decisive step for Christ. The result in the following out of trial is a state of mind in which there is an insensibility to the importance of the Divine call and warning. Conviction of sin or uneasiness about it ceases; interest in what is good dies out. The Spirit of God takes his departure, and an evil spirit takes full possession. There is this encouraging thought to those who have been resisting and grieving the Spirit, that while there is the slightest thought of good remaining in their hearts, it may be fanned into a flame. The Spirit, long slighted, at last cherished, will come, and with his vital energy fill their whole being.

X. DUTY WITH REGARD TO PROPHESYINGS . "Despise not prophesyings." These were special manifestations of the Spirit. As in the Corinthian Church, and also in the Galatian Churches, so in the Church of Thessalonica, there was the presence of miracles. There was the gift of healing; there was also the gift of tongues. As striking manifestations the use they served was especially in impressing and drawing the attention of them that were outside. Prophesyings were intelligent and, probably, impassioned utterances of Divine truth under the inflatus of the Spirit. As such the use they served was especially in promoting the edification of the Church. Let none, then, run the risk of quenching the Spirit by placing a low value on his less striking but far more important manifestations.

XI. DUTY OF PROVING ALL THINGS . "Prove all things." The language is taken from the art of the assayer. He has special skill in applying tests, with the view of discovering what is real and what is counterfeit in metals, what is good coin and what is bad coin. So the Christian assayer is to be specially skilled in testing the real nature of things. There is nothing in the language to restrict the reference to the prophesyings which have been mentioned. It is not said "all prophesyings," or "all these things." And if there is an antithesis, as some authorities have it, in the assertion of "but," yet is it preserved by regarding prophesyings as included, among all things.

The wideness of the reference is confirmed by the consideration that things as proved are divided into things to be chosen and things to be rejected. In prophesyings, as inspired, there was no element to be rejected. Proving them could only mean learning to put due value upon them, partly in comparison with other Divine gifts. Ordinary teachings have not till the true ring or composition. "O holy simplicity!" exclaimed Huss, when he saw an aged devout woman throwing a fagot on to his burning pile. But our safeguard is not a holy simplicity, believing all that we have been told by good men; it is rather, in dependence on the direction of God, the exercise of an independent judgment. That is the sheet-anchor of our Protestantism. We reject the claim of the Roman Catholic that we are to accept of things because they are taught by the Church, because they have been ordained by councils, because they have even the support of the apostolic Fathers. The thing to be deplored is that much of our Protestantism is traditional, an unreasoning acceptance of belief. With regard to opinions which pass current in society, we are not to accept of them because they are popular, because they are well-sounding, because they are associated with particular names or parties; but we are to have a Divine insight into them as true or false. With regard to what is presented for the regulation of our conduct, there is evil as well as good presented for our acceptance. And evil is not presented to us as evil; it takes specious forms—even Satan puts on the garb of an angel of light. We have need, therefore, to be on ore' guard; we have need to have our senses exercised to discern good and evil. Let us inquire, regarding an action or course of action, whether it is fitted to yield not simply a present but a solid and lasting satisfaction, without regrets in the future; whether it is according to right principle and conducive to strength of character, and fitted also to be beneficial to others. "If we discerned ourselves," says the apostle, "we should not be judged." Let us be just with ourselves, that we may escape the consequences of a false judgment. Let us impartially apply the tests now, as those to whom they arc to be impartially and convincingly applied at the day of judgment.

XII. DUTY IN VIEW OF THE RESULT OF PROVING ALL THINGS .

1. On the one hand to hold fast the good. "Hold fast that which is good." It is implied that we are not to be always proving. As a result of our proving, we find out that which is good. It is a duty we owe to that which is good to hold it fast, arid not to let it go. If we have found the Bible to be the Word of God, let us hold it fist. Let us take it as nutriment to our souls. Let it be the test by which we try things. "To the Law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." If we have satisfied ourselves as to the claims of Christ as our Divine teacher, let us hold him fist; let us take his teachings into our being, and let the confessing of Christ be that by which we try the spirits, not persons, but rather the spirit by which individuals, communities, institutes, systems, are animated. If we have satisfied ourselves that Christ has made full atonement for our sin, let us hold that truth fast as central, let us take all the comfort there is in it, and let it be the test of loyalty to Christ. If we have found out what a good life is as commended and exemplified by Christ, and as lint to the proof by ourselves, let us hold it fast as what has held us up in the past, as what has held up the good in all the generations, as what will hold us up until we obtain an immutable standing in heaven. And let us not, with a false toleration, think that any life can be good which wants the great theistic, and especially the great Christian, elements.

2. On the other hand to abstain from evil. "Abstain from every form of evil." The old translation is indefensible here. The words should not have formed a verse by themselves; they should have been added on to the former words. In view of the good and evil that are separated in the proving of things, we arc on the one hand to hold fast that which is good, and on the other hand to abstain from every form of evil. If anything is yet undetermined to our mind, our duty as already laid down is to find out its true nature. If, after examination, it is of a doubtful nature, or seems to be bordering on evil, our duty certainly is to abstain from it. But the duty laid down here is different from that. It is our duty with regard to what we have found out to be one of the many forms of evil. Having found it out to be evil in reality, let us not hesitate about our course, let us abstain from it, let us refuse to taste it even as we would not take poison, let us turn away from it as from that which is alien from our being and fitted only to work our destruction.—R.F.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 - Prayer.

I. PRAYER FOR THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE THESSALONIANS . "And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." From the object of the prayer God is here named the God of peace. The peace which takes away the discord of our nature and restores its harmony is his will and gift. But he is only the God of peace to us in our sanctification. The apostle had been exhorting to various forms of holiness. Feeling, however, how feeble his part was in their sanctification, he makes his appeal to the first Cause of Sanctification. "The God of peace himself sanctify you." In sanctification there is the idea of being set apart to the service of God. In the prayer the stress is laid on the wholeness of the sanctification. In the word translated "wholly" there is the idea of wholeness in the way of the end being reached. The materials of the temple-building and vessels were originally in a rough state. But, put into the hands of cunning workmen, they were brought up into apt and consistent and beautiful forms. And not without sprinkling of blood were they dedicated to God. So the stuff of which we are made is originally in an unpolished, defiled condition; but, in the hands of the great Artificer, through the efficacy of the blood of Christ, are we being brought up into a state in which, in our whole being, we shall be fit for being employed in the service of God. In the second part of the prayer there is brought in another aspect of the wholeness of sanctification. And the word which indicates it is brought forward in the original out of its natural position, so as to be separated from the similar word translated "wholly" only by "and." It conveys the idea of being whole in the way of being entire in its parts. "It means what represents the whole undivided possession, what is not weakened by division, and thus subsists in perfect integrity" (Delitzsch). The integrity refers to the three parts into which our nature is here regarded as divided—spirit and soul and body. In some places Scripture language turns upon the distinction between the material and immaterial nature of man. Here the immaterial nature is divided into spirit and soul. And this is in keeping with the dividing asunder of soul and spirit in Hebrews 4:12 , and also with the contrast between the present psychical body and the future spiritual body in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 . "Whilst the soul," says Olshausen, who has made a special study of this subject, "denotes the lower region of the inner man—comprises, therefore, the powers to which analogous ones are found in animal life also, as understanding, appetitive faculty, memory, fancy—the spirit includes those natural dispositions which constitute the true human, life; viz. reason, as the faculty of perceiving the Divine; conscience, as the faculty of distinguishing moral good and evil; free-will, as the faculty of moral choice, by which the ability to form a history is purchased." The spirit, we may say, is that by which we have the power of knowing and serving God, and of making character, and in which, in its whole range, we are separated from the brutes. The soul is the lower part of the inner man, in which, in its judgments, and longings, and recollections, and imaginings, the spirit is designed to bear rule. The body, or outer man, which is quickened by the soul, and has the power of exciting the soul, is another sphere in which, in its appetites and powers, the spirit is designed to bear rule through the soul. The spirit is wholly sanctified in the sense intended when, through the possession of the Spirit of God, reason and conscience faithfully represent the Divine voice, and the will is faithfully responsive; when, as a whole, it is the ruling center with reference to the rest of the nature. The soul is wholly sanctified when the understanding is used as a help to the keeping of Divine precepts; when the desires and affections are divinely regulated and purified and tempered; when there is a ready memory for the Word of God, and a readiness from past associations in calling up good thoughts; when the imagination is filled with Christ and the Christian ideal and the Christian prospect; when, as a whole, this part of our nature does not assert its independence of the spirit above, and can resist the charms of the senses below. The body is wholly sanctified when its various members are used as instruments of righteousness; when, as a whole, it does not aspire to rule in the soul; when it takes its law from pure judgments, and desires, and recollections, and imaginings. Such is the wholeness of sanctification in the integrity of the nature. And what, on the positive side, is represented as integrity of nature, on the negative side is represented as being without blame. Here there is a glance forward, as there frequently is in this Epistle, to the coming of Christ. It is then that the integrity of our nature is to be fully realized, and to be placed in inviolable keeping. Beyond that point, the integrity of our nature perfectly attained, no power in the universe can ever break.

II. THE PRAYER GROUNDED IN THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD . "Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it." There is a distinct covenanting on the part of God to bring about our sanctification. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and on their heart also will I write them: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." God, in calling, actually begins the covenant work of our sanctification, and an appeal can be made to him as the faithful God, by ourselves or others, to carry out what he has begun. Let us not be backward to remind him of his promise, or to look for it being followed by performance.

CONCLUSION .

1. Request for prayer. "Brethren , pray for us." This request for prayer conies from the three Christian workers. They were thrown upon those for whom they labored, in being themselves also compassed with infirmity. They felt that, if the Divine blessing was to rest upon their work in the highest measure, then the Thessalonian Church must join with the other Churches in giving them the assistance of their prayers.

2. The holy kiss. "Salute all the brethren with a holy kiss." This was the common Eastern form of salutation, associated with religion. Apparently the elders were thus to salute the members of the Thessalonian Church, one by one, in the name of Paul and Silas and Timothy. Propriety does not allow with us the use of this form of salutation between the various members of the Christian circle. But there is no reason why there should not be all the good feeling and fellowship with Christ of which the holy kiss is symbolic. At the same time, if love is to be sustained, it must be allowed all suitable forms of manifestation.

3. Direction as to the public reading of the Epistle. "I adjure you by the Lord that this Epistle be read unto all the brethren." The direction is given in the most solemn manner. Paul writes in his own name, and adjures by the Lord. The adjuration was apparently founded on the importance of the Epistle, not merely to the elders to whom it was handed, but to the whole community. Let it be brought directly to bear upon all, that they may each for themselves have their impression of its contents. Such an adjuration in the first of Paul's Epistles significantly points to the right of every Christian member to have direct access to the Word of God. "What Paul," says Bengel," commands with an adjuration, Rome prohibits with an anathema."

4. Benediction . "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." He ends his Epistle as he began, by imploring grace. It is to the ever-living Divine Head of the Church that we must look for the bestowal of the blessing, and not according to the merit of any for whom we implore it, but only according to the abundance of the merit that he has obtained for them.—R.F.