1 Thess. i. 9, 10. They themselves shew of us what manner of entering in ive had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God ; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
ST. PAUL delighted in bestowing commendation wherever it was due. When writing to the Church at Rome, he told them that " their faith was spoken of throughout the whole worlda ; and here he tells his Thessalonian converts, that their faith was so celebrated, that he heard of it wherever he went ; insomuch that in every place he was anticipated in his commendations of them, the extraordinary effects of his ministry among them being in all the Churches a general topic of conversation. The particular effects which had been produced he here specifies : and, in considering them, we shall be led to shew,
I. What is the great end and object of our ministra- tions—
Ministers are ambassadors from God to man : they are sent with tidings of mercy to a rebellious world : but they are sent also to effect a moral change in the hearts and lives of all who receive their message. They are sent to bring men,
1. To serve and obey their. God —
[Even Christians, till converted by the Spirit of God,, are universally addicted to idolatry. They do not indeed, like the
a Rom. i. 8.
heathen world, bow down to stocks and stones ; but they " love and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for evermore." " The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," possess the supreme place in their
affections, and are sought after in preference to God
To tui'n men from these vanities, and to bring them to their God, is the end for which every minister is sent, and at which he should continually aim. And this, we trust, is the object which, in all our addresses, we have in view. Yes, we would bring you to serve the living God, who alone is worthy of your regard; for he alone has life in himself; and he alone can confer life on his devoted servants. But it is not a mere formal service to which we would bring you, but a total sur- render of all your faculties and powers to him. This is your " reasonable service." There is none but God that has any claim upon you. What has the world done for you ? or what can it ever do ? To whom, or to what, are ye debtors, that ye should consult their wishes, or obey their will? But God has created you, yea, and has redeemed you by the blood of his only dear Son. Ye are therefore in no sense, and in no degree, your own: your bodies, and your spirits, are altogether his; and with them ye must glorify your God alone b.]
2. To wait for the second coming of their Lord from heaven —
[He who once came down from heaven to suffer for us, and by his own obedience unto death hath " delivered us from the wrath to come," has been raised up from the dead, and is now exalted to the right hand of God, that he may carry on and perfect the work he has begun. And he will once more come down from heaven to gather together his elect, and to raise them to the fruition of that glory which he has pur- chased for them. To wait in joyful expectation of that period is the privilege of all his people : and to bring you to such a state of mind is to be the incessant labour of his ministers. We are not to be satisfied with seeing you born to God ; but, as loving parents, we are to nourish you in our bosom ; that under our fostering care ye may " grow to the full measure of the stature of Christ." This waiting posture, this constant readiness for the coming of your Lord, is one of the highest gifts to which any man can attain0. We speak not now of persons waiting, like criminals, for the arrival of their Judge ; (that is a state from which it is the Christian's privilege to be delivered ;) but of their waiting as servants for the coming of their Lord. The diligence of servants is prompted, not by fear, but love: and they feel assured of the approbation of