at his appearing. .As members of the body of <Jhmt 1.ce 1u.ffl!IT', As the natural body of Christ suffered in the_ ~ays of his flesh, so_ now the mystical body, the Church, suffers in these days of the Spmt. It must have its agony and bloody sweat before the end comes; blows of contempt, scourging, buffeting; and must have its "bones sore vexed," as were those of his body on the cross; sore vexed, but not broken: "A bone of him ,ball not be broken." .As witnesses for the Name of Christ we su.ffer. While walking and witnessing in the acceptance and power of his resurrection, we must be identified with him as the despised and rejected One. We are in collision with the spirit of the world, and the more firmly we lift our testimony against it the more the sufferings of Christ abound in us. In primitive times men suffered as Christians, for no other offence than the confession uf the Saviour's Name, The council of the Jews arrested the apostles Peter and John, and put the deacon Stephen to death, on this charge. The cultivated PliDy, when Proconsul of Bithynia, about forty years after the death of St. Paul, is shown, by bis correspondence with the Emperor 'l'rajan,:to have regarded the very fact of 1.Jeing a Christian as a crime worthy of instant punishment. Christian faith was ill his eyes nothing but" an absurd and excessive superstition," and the noble constancy of the Christians under threats and torture "a contumacious and inflexible obstinacy." So the witnesses for our Lord suffered in Bithynia under the illustrious Trajau, as well !IS in Italy under the infamous Nero, and throughout the empire under the cruel Domitian and Diocletian. But it sustained them to know that they were fulfilling the sufferings of Christ. His grace was sufficient for them. On them rested the Spirit of glory and of God. Such discipline continues, though without actual peril of life. Faithful Christians suffer many things, at rcany points, and from many quarters. And when they suffer for the Church it is a continuation of our Lord's unselfish suffering. So St. Paul endured all things for the Lord's sake and the sake of the elect. He used the expression, "I fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ" (Col. i. 24), in reference to his inward anxiety and "agony" for those at Colosse and Laodicea, who had not seen his face in the flesh. His anxiety for their confirmation in the mystery of God was a sort of supplement to the deep struggle of the Saviour in behalf of multitudes, Paul included, who had not seen and could not see his face in the flesh. The apostle had no thought of adding to the sufferings of Christ in respect of their expiatory virtue, but rejoiced that he was permitted to follow his Master in this same path of affliction and solicitude for the Church. All sowers of " the iDcorruptible seed" have to sow with tears, And hearers of the Word ue most profited when they receive it "in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." Three viows may be taken of those afflictions which are distinctively Christian. 1. They are for the Lord, incurred and endured for his Name. So were the afflictions of Christ for the Name and glory of the Father. The world hated both him and his Father. 2. They are for the good of the Christian sufferer-tribulations that work patience, chastise- ments for his profit. So were the afflictions of Christ for his own good. "Though he were a Son, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered." 3. For the sa\rn of his brethren, or for the good of the Church, which is edified through the self-denial autl godly patience of individual believers in successive generations. So were the afflictions of Christ for the Church which he redeemed, and in which he now succours them that are tempted. The present time, then, is one of co=union with our Lord in suffering. Let four advices be given to those who suffer with a good conscience-for well doing and not for evil doing, I. HAVE A OARE ONE FOR ANOTHER, Trouble may make men sullen and self- engrossed. Correct this tendency by remembering that you are not isolated persons, but parts of the body of Christ, and so members of ono another. If you suJier, bear yourselves so that others may be confirmed by your faith and patience. If they suJier, suffer with them, help to bear their burdens, condole in their sorrow, minister to their necessity. "Weep with thorn that weep.'' II. LEARN PATIENCE FROM "THE MAN OF SORROWS," It ought to cure peevishness and wilfulness to read the story. of our Lord's passion, and consider the meekness of him "who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself." Seo how St. Peter sets before suffering saints the example of their Master (1 Pet. ii. 20-23). III. LOOK FOR S'l'RENGTII TO TilE SYMPATHIZING SAVIOUR. In the present conucction between Christ and Christians the Scripture marks a distinction. 'l'he saints suffer 26 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO ·rH~ CORINTHIANS. [cH. r. 1-24.
with Christ; Christ sympa:thizes with· tbe saints. The word for the. former is uuµ:rrao'- x••v; the word for the latter is troµ,rae,;,,, The Head is raised above sufferinct put sympathizcs,;with the dist~essed and bruised member~, and loves to supply cons~iation. and relief. Our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." He makes us· stronct even in the hour when our hearts are jaded and our spirits faint. The crook in th°r: lot the thorn in the flesh, the buffeting in the world, the disappointment in the Church ~he knows it all, and he can bear us through it all. ' IV. REJOICE_~ THE HOP~ OF ms COMING. There is a deep wisdom of God in the long-drawn aflhct10n of Christ and the Church. Glory comes out of the dark womb of trouble. How long the travail must be God only knows. Jesus ·Christ sµffered till he was _perfected, and then God exalted him. The Church must suffer and struggle till she 1s perfected and God exa.lts her too. And the glory that awaits her is that of her Bel_ov~. As the Ch~rch enters_ into his ~uffering~, so is sbe to en!er .into his glory. This 1s the day for faithful service and saintly patience. The commg day is that of honour and reward, "that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with e:s:cee<ling joy."-F.