pa1ty. They said evil things of him, but this wa. his strength-he knew that he was an apostle by the will of God~-R. T. _ Ver. 4.-0omforted, and therefore comforters. It may seem strange that the Bible, and Christian ministers following its example, should deal so frequently and so largely with troubles and afflictions. You sometimes half suspect that Christian people must have a larger share of earthly sorrow than falls to the lot of others. \Ve may admit a sense in which this is true. The higher susceptibilities of the Christian man, his clearer vision of unseen thing~, and his separateness from the world, do seem to involve some special kinds of suffering from which the heedless and the godless are free. - The influences on personal character and on individual life, wrought by God through the sorrows he sends, are often presented. In the passage now before us the apostle puts another . side of their influence. Our afflictions and our comfortings become a ble.ssing to others. "That we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble." Our sorrows have by no means exhausted their stores of blessing when they have dis- pelled our doubts, deliv.e~ed us from our dangers, and cultured our characters; they have stores of blessing left in them still, with which, through ns, to enrich and comfort others. This may be set before us in two of its aspects. I. OUR AFFLICTIONS AND COMFORTINGS ARE, :l'HE SOURCES WHENCE COMES OUR FITNESS FOil INFLUENCING OTHEBS. It may be a question beyond present solution, what exact share ha.ve the sorrows of our past lives bad in the forma.tion anrl nourishment of our 1>resent abilities for Christia11. work and influence? And yet surely no man can reach midclle life or old age, and feel the respect in which be is held, bis power to comfort and help others, and tbe value tha.t is set upon his judgment and counsel, without recognizing how much of that fitness for influence has come out of his experience of sorrow. Precisely what qualities are nourished by particular forms of trouble we may not be able to decide, but the whole result we can estimate, and there is not one true Christian who would hesitate to say, "Blessed be God for the afflictions of my life; yes, even for those which bruised and almost broke my heart, because, as sanctified by God, they have fitted me to sympathize with and to comfort others." Experience brings power. But tho Christian's experiences are not of griefs only ; they are of griefs together with Divine comfortings, and these together bring a. peculiar kind of power. 'l'his may be illustrated from any of the spheres of Christian influence. 1. Take the power of a Christian's ordinary conversa.tion. We can discover in the very tones of the voice the holy subduedness that tells of some great woe that has put into the words and the voice that humbleness and gentleness. How often this tone of the stricken ones has hod its power upon us I 2. Take the i;pecial efforts which arc made, by conversation, for the conversion and instrnction of others. 3. 'l'ake any endeavour to express sympathy with those who may now be suffering under God's mighty hand. How different are the consolations offered by stricken and by unstricken ones I The unstricken can find beautiful words, and be truly sincere as they utter them. But the stricken ones can express unutterable thiugs in ~ilence and look. Send the long-widowed woman to che~r the newly widowod. Send tha mother who has children in heaven to comfort the mother who sits so still, with broken heart, bending over the baby's coffin. The plant of healing. sympathies grows and blossoms and fruitens out of our vory woundii and tears and deaths.. Then it will but be reasonable to expect that, if God has high places of work for us, and valuable inflnenco for us to exert, he will need to bring us through great and sore troubles. St. Paul recognizes this necessity in our text. How his life was filled with anxiotios and sorrows wo seldom worthily estimate. Great soul I He did not care to be always tnlking about himself; only once or twice does he lift the veil and show his secret history; but thcro -in much affliction awaiting him everywhere, and the comfortings of God aboundiu).; in all-is the explanation of his mighty ar.d gracious influence. He was "comforted of God that he might be able to 09mfort them which are in any trouble." 'l'he same truth shiues out even more clearly from the life and cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is able to su_ccour because iu all points temptod. Lifted up, " ho draws all meu unto him.'' Gaining his influence. by his own sqtforiµgs borne in patience and faith. Winning power to save au<l help the world by dying an agonii::ing d..atb, an<l knowiug, in the uttermost nee-ls of" dying hour, tho gracious comlortings of God. 32 THI<.: SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. [oH. 1. 1-24.
II. OUR AFFLICTIONS AND OOMFORTINGS GAIN FOB US ALL THE POWER OF A NOBLE EXAMPLE. In the previous part of the subject our consciou.s efforts to help and bless others have been chiefly considered; but the good man's influence is by no means to be limited to them. There is an unconscious influence, less easily calculate:l, but more mighty, reaching more widely, blessing as does the bracing air of the hills, or the fresh blowing of sea-breezes, or the face of a long-lost friend. And this kind of power to bless belongs peculiarly to those who have come out of God's tribulations and com- fortings. I. Estimate the moral influence of those in whom afflictions have been sanctified upon men who are living with no sense of spiritual and eternal thina-s. 2. Estimate their influence on doubting and imperfect Christians. 3. Estimate the influence of such persons on children. You may have thought that your afflictions have set you a.side from your work. Nay, they have just lifted you up to the trust of some of God's highest and best work. Tribulation worke~h patience, experience, and hope. It matures the finer elements of character. But 1t does more-it fits us for work, for higher influence on others, enabling us to set before men all the power of a noble example. Our afflictions and comfortings are really our clothing with the soldier's dress, our putting on the soldier's armour, our grasping the soldier's weapons, our drilling for the soldier's service, that we may be good soldiers of the cross. Ea.eh one of us may become a Barnabas, a son of consolation. Comforted of God, let us learn to comfort others.-R. T.