Insecurity of the return of such another opportunity. Others wo may have, but this precise one will never come again. There is only one round of seasons in each life. Spring-time never comes but once, with its encouraging assnrance "They that seek me ee.rly shall find me." Bummer-time and autumn-time come but' once, and by-and- by we may have to wail, e.nd to say, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we nre not saved." 2. The burdening of life with the sense of unfulfilled duty. That may indeed be made an impulse to higher activity, but usually it presses as a hopeless hindrance. 3, The injury done to our moral nature by resisted spiritual influences. There is a disease whose special feature is the ossification of the heart, the turnin"' of its flexible walls into hardness and bone. It is the disease which they suffer fro;;- in its spiritual form-who neglect the golden opportunities offered them in the time present. Illustrate by the man on the Royal <Jharter, who was on the stern half when the vessel broke in two, and had but a moment in which to leap for dear life. Yet how men resist the claims of God to their immediate attention! Some wilfully put off the matter, deliberately finding excuses for delay. Surely no other proof of hum::tn depravity is needed than this. Men will bang their immortality on the thread of life, and even dally with the offered mercy of their God. But some honest hearts may be in real difficulty as to the claims of Christ upon them now. They think they are too young, or that they have not been anxious long enough; or they are waiting for a deeper sense of sin, or, it may be, for more faith. But all these are subtle ways in which we show our desire to manage our own salvation. If we were really willing that Christ should save us, we would be quite willing that he should save us now.-R. T. Vers. 3-10.-The holy power of character. The subject occupying the attention of the apostle is the "ministry of reconciliation;" the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God unto the forgiveness of sins and restoration of man to the Divine favour. '!'his ministry has been entrusted to him. He had, indeed, no "letters of commenda- tion" to rely on, as had some other teachers, but he could appeal to the character of his ministry, to the sufferings he had endured in fulfilling it, and to the Divine bene- dictions which had rested upon it. He does, 1n a sense, commend himself; but how? He looks back on his life of labours and sufferings, and challenges comparison. Can others, with their letters of commendation, point to anything like this? Dean Stanley divides the means by which the apostle commended himself into four classes: (1) from "patience" ( or endurance) to "fastings," referring to the bodily sufferings of the apostle; (2) from "pureness" to "love unfeigned," referring to the virtues, that is, the manifestations of the Divine presence in St. Paul; (3) from "by the word of truth n to "by evil report and good report," referring to the means whereby he was enabled to prove himself to be a true minister of God; and (4) the remainder, relating to the acceptation in which the apostles were held, and its contrast with the reality. St, Paul's personal appeal presents for our consideration the importance of securing for the gospel a favourable hearing through the consistency and gracious beauty ot· the character of those who proclaim it. Its spiritual efficiency directly depends on the character of its ambassadors. The three following subjects need careful treatment:- I. THE PREACHER OF THE GOSPEL MUST SHOW ITS POWER ON HIS OWN CHARACTER AND LIFE. Illustrate by a man offering an infallible remedy for a skin-disease, from which everybody could see he wa~ still suffering. 'l'he gospel is life for dead souls, and he who preaches it must be himself" alive unto God." The gospel is healing for sin-sick souls, and he who proclaims it must be able to tell his own experiences of the Balm of Gilead. The gospel provides a regeneration of character, and what it can do for men we expect to see in the men who commend it to us. As a fact, the men who show the power of the gospel in themselves are the men who alone can wield the power of the gospel on others. The preacher must be an ensample of them that believe. II. As EXAMPLES OF THE CHRISTIAN SPIRIT, MINISTERS MAY EXPECT UNUSUAL TESTINGB. These come in several ways: (1) in the bodily strain which a Christian ministry involves; (2) in the more anxious and careful self-c~lture which ~h.e ministry demands; (3) in the fatigues and perils which come in carryrn~ out the mm1stry; and (4) in the difficulties found in dealing pleasantly with all kmds of men. To these should be added those direct dealings of God with his servants, by means of which be prepares them for service, sharpens and furbishes their swords for his war. Even" fiery 166 THE SECOND EPISTLE 'l'O THE CORINTHIA'.NS. [en. vr. 1-18,
trial" is not strange for those who have to stand in the chief places of lnfluenco. 'rhey must ha,e e. large experience, if, in measure like their Lord, they e.re to be fully "touched with the feeling of men's infirmities." III. 'l'HEIR EXPERIENCES WILL GIVE THE TRUE POWER TO THEIR PUBLIO PLEADINGS, TI!ustrate in the case of the Apostle Paul, who could not have written such lettei;s if he had not passed through such trials. Experience is the secret of power. It gives the t-One of tenllerness and sympathy to a minister's work. It gives confidence in speaking of the comforting an<l sustaining power of Divine gr~e. It is the true power on our fellow-men to be enabled to ~peak to them of "that which we have heard which we have seen with onr eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of life." But if all this be, in high degrees, true of the recocrnized ministry, it is true of all who seek to influence others for God and goodness. The ~orld which. we long and strive to save very properly asks of us this most searching question "What has this gospel done/or you 1 ''-R. T. • • '