Vers. 28-31.-Paul at Mi7etus: the prospect whic'h pains. Pnul, pursuing his path of self-sacrificing devotion, going on to he knew not what dangers ahead, looking a. ,_-iolent death in the face, was calm, tranquil, even joyful. But the apostle, look in~ l0~ward to a distracted and injured Church, torn by false doctrine, la.id waste by sinful men, was grieved at heart, and he uses the language of solemn adjuration and entreaty. I. Hmi:AN Al'PREl!ENSION. V{e often go forward with painful apprehension that some ill is about tu befall us; therefore with hesitating step, with ·trembling heart. 1. It has been that men had an intimation from God that evil was in store for them. This was not uncorumon in Old Testament times, when the purpose of God was frequeutly re,caled. It was the case with Paul now; it was revealed to him that dark d,1ys were ahead in the experience of the Church at Ephesus. 2. It may be the action of individual insight. By the nse of a. keen and penetrating judgment, a. mau cau often perceive that events a.re leading l:p to a. disaster. 3. It may be a. simple ::nd sound conclusion from the common heritage of man. It is certain that dark shadows must be across the path we tread. and that we shall be entering them before long. lI. THE SPECUL il"XIETY OF THE CHRISTIAN PASTOR. Paul apprehended: 1. Attack from without: " Grievons wolves entering in . . . not sparing the flock" (ver. 20). 2. Mischief from within : "Of your own selves shall men arise," etc. (ver. 30). Thi8 is what the Church of Christ has now to fear: the attacks of infidelity, the invitation ro immorality, from without; and the subtier and more perilous dangers of spiritiial decline, of the dec~y of faith, of injurious doctrines, of the breath of worldliness, within. ill TITE A'lTITUDE OF THE BESPO!\SIDLE. (Vers. 2~1.) Paul solemnly char;_!.etl these elders, as those to whose care was committed the Church of God-that sacred bc,dy which t.be Lord had redeemed by his own blood-to do these three things. 1. To keep diligently their own hearts: "Take heed to yourselves" (see Prov. iv. 23). 2. To watch carefully the spirit and course of their people: "And. to all the flock." 3. To sustain the life of the members by providing spiritual nourishment: "l!'red the Church of God." If we would do what t!Je Divine Head of the Church demands of us, and if we would follow in the footsteps of the most devoted of his servants (see ver. 31), we must (1) cultivate a deep sense of our responsibility; (2) exercise unre- n,ittinn-O virrilance over ourselves and our charge; (3) supply that kind and measure of facred truth which is fitted to strengthen and to purify those whom we undertake Lo teach. -C. Ver. 35.-Paul at Miletu,: the greater blessedness. We may well be thankful that this one word of tbe Lord Jesus, unrecorded in the "fourfold biography," ha8 been 1,rescrved to us. It maybe said to be Divine indeed. It gives the heavenly aspect q[ L:,;!1:an life. It is the exact and perfect contravention of that which is low, worldly, tltt, xx. 1-38.] Tm: ACTS 0.1!' 'rlIE APOSTLES.
evtl. It breathos the air of the upper kingdom. It puts into ln.ngu.t 6e tt.c very spirir. of Jesus Christ. It is the life of the Saviour in a. sentence. To receive is quite on :i. 1ow love!. Any one nnd anything can do that; a.nd the further we go down in th~ Bcnle, tho more wo find rccif.ioncy common a.nd supreme. '.fhe sdfish man, the spoiled child, the ravenous nnima ,-these are remarkable for receiving. And although it may be said that thero are truths which only the educated and inspired mind can receive, that there are inducements which only noble souls can receive, yet the ac~ of receiving is one which is common to lower natures, and is one which ordinari!J requires only the humbler, if not indeed the baser, faculties. To give is on the hi:;her level; for- I. IT 1s ESSENTIALLY DrvmE. God lives to bless his universe. His Name is Love; in other words, that which is his Gistioguishing characteristic, underlying, inter• pcnctratinrr, crowning all others, is his disposition to bless, his Divine habit of giving. lie then i:ost truly expresses his own nature, reveals his esoential spirit, when he is giving lirrht, love, truth, joy, life, unto his children. When we give furtll 0f our,elvcJ to other~ we are living the life which is intrinsically Divine. II. IT 1s CHRIST-LIKE. Ho" v,ent about doing good." He liveJ to enlighten, to comfort, to bestow, to redeem. It was little indeed that he received; it was simply everything that he gave to mankind. III. IT 1s ANGELIC, " Are they not all ministering spirits?" IV. IT 1s HEROIO. By living to expen<l ourselves for others, we take our stand with the best and noblest of our race. As the world grows wiser it has a diminishing re:,;ard for those " great" men who signalized their career by splendid surrouudin:;s, or by brilliant exploits, or by displays of muscular or intellectual strength; it is learning tu reserve its admiration and its honourfor those who generously spent their faculties arHl their possessions on behalf of others. These are our heroes and our heruincs now ; and they will be so more and more. If we would take our place-tbou:;h it be a. humble one-with the best and worthiest of our kind, we must be giving rather than receiving. V. IT IS HUMAN, in the higher sense of the word. It may be human, as sin has unmade man, to be coveting, grasping, enjoying. But it is human, as Goel ft,·st mar/e man, and a~ Jesus Christ is renewing him, to think of others, to care for othn-s, to strive and suffer for others, to give freely and self-denyingly to those who are in need. VI. IT IS ELEVATING, '.l.'o be constantly receiving is to be in danger of bccorni,1::; selfish, of making our own poor self the central object of regard, of depending Oil cuu- tinually fresh supplies for satisfaction; in a word, of moral and spiritual degeneracy. But to be giving.....:.to be spending time, thought, sympathy, strength, money, oil behalf of others,-is to be sowing in the soil of our souls the see<ls of all that is sweetest and noblest; is to be building up in ourselves a character which our Divine Lord will delight to look upon. To receive is to be superficially and momentarily happy; to give is to be inwardly and abidingly blessed. It is far more blessed to give than to receive. VII. ITS RECOMI'ENBE IS IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE, (See Matt. =v. 31--{6.~.