2, Doos it uphold the honour, and the supreme 11dministraUve rights in souls, of the Lor Jesus Christ? 3. And does it practically tend towards the things that are pure, an trne, o.nd holy, o.nd good? Everything godly is helpful to godliness. In conclusion, o.rgue this point-Can we still safely receive truth upon the authority of men? and if so, nro there any limitations under which such reception is properly placed? And are we still open and exposed to the persuasions of self-interested or selr-deluded teachers? Wo have to find out for these times in which we live what is the secret of "holdina 0 fast the faith once delivered to tho eaints."-R. T. Vere. 10, 21-30.-Apostolic boaRtings. This is a most reproachful passage, and the intensity of St. Paul's feeling can only be accounted for by some knowledge of the bitter o.nd shameful treatmont he was receiving from the antagonistic Jewish party at Corinth. Archdeacon Farrar, in a very vivid and forcible manner, presents the kind of things that were being freely said at Corinth about the apostle. "He had shown feebleness in bis change of _plan-; his personal appearance, feeble and infirm, did not match the authoritative tone of his letters; his speech had nothing in it to command admiration ; he threatened supernatural punishments, but he did not dare to put his threats to the proof. What right had he to claim the authority of an apostle, when he had never seen the Christ in the flesh? Was it certain that he was a Hebrew, a Jew of the pure blood of Palestine, or even,tbat he was of the seed of Abraham? Who was this Paul, who came without credentials, and expected to be received on the strength of his everlasting self-assertions.? Was there not a touch of madness in his visions and revelations? :could he claim more than the tolerance which men were ready to exteud to the insane?" "lJonceive all these barbed arrows of sarcasm falling on the ears, and through them piercing the very soul, of a man of singularly sensitive nature, passionately craving for affection, and propor.tionately feeling the bitterness of loving with no adequate rcfurn; and we may form some estimate of the whirl and storm of emotion in which l3t. Paul began to dictate the Epistle." As a rule, boastings are only evil both for him. ·who.boasts and for those who hear the boasting; but no rule is without exception, and there are times when a man is absolutely driven to boasting-it is the one thing that he.can do, and that he ought to do. It becomes the plain duty of the hour. A man may never boast until he is thus driven to it, and then his boastings will have their foun- dation in his humility. The apostle's boastings had direct reference to the accusations made against him. I. THERE WERE BOASTINGS OF HIS JEWISH BIRTH AND RIGHTS. These had been o.ssailed. He was a foreign~born Jew, and the Palestine Jews rather looked down upon all stich. 'It was easy to raise prejudice against the apostle on this ground. He therefore pleads the facts of his pure birth, his Pharisaic relationships, his Jerusalem training, and his manifest Jewish sympathies. He was proud of the fact that no Jew could plead superior Jewish birthrights to his. So far he did but boast of facts of his life that were beyond his own control. II. THERE WEI\E BOASTINGS OF SUFFERINGS BORNE IN MINISTERING FOR CHRIST. Seo vers. 21-3,0, the most amazing catalogue of woes ever written. One wonders how so frail a body could have.endured them all. But even this record we feel is holy boasting, for one can but feel that, under all the intensity of the utterance, there is a great sadness of heart in being thus compelled to speak of such things. He never would have said one word about them had it not been thatattacksupon his apostleship mee.nt dishonour to Christ, and mischievous hindrance to Christ's work. St. Paul never would have boasted if he had not thus been compelled to boast for Christ's sake. And this is the one law for us. Never put self in the front unless so putting self will e:lorify our Master. We may even boast if it ii; clear that our boasting will serve bim.-R. 'l'. Ver. 14.-Satanic subtleties. "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." This expression suggests that the Judaic part.y at Corinth laid claim to some angel manifestations or revel11tious, and set these off against St. Paul's claim of apostolic inspiration and authority. He really asserts here that they are deluded. It is not Divine revelations which they have received. 'l.'hese things in which they boast are Satanic subt.\eties and transformations, by which they are deceived and ensnared. D, CORINTHIANS, V 290 THE SF,OOND EPISTLE 'l'O THE OORINTHIANS. [oH, xn. 1-21.
There may, however, be a reference to what W811 BO evidently In Bt. Paul's mlnd-tlie i;erpent's deception of Eve (ver. 8). 'l'he mode in ,vhioh reference is 1nado to the incident in the garden of Eden suggests to us that St. Paul thought the serpent put on some form of beauty, or that he, in a very BUbtle way, explained hie superior wisdom and intelligence by the fact that he fed on the frnit of that forbidden tree. I. THE SATANIC POWER OF DISGIJISE, Illustrate the very ,various ways in whioh evil is made attl'8Ctive. Apply t.o the temptations of vice and self-indulgence, to mental error, t.o religious wanderings and backslidings. He said a great thing, who, knowln.,. much of the evils of Christian and Church life, exclaimed," We are not ignorant of hi~ [Sat1m's] devices." • II. Suca POWER n.LusTRATED IN RELIGIOUS LEADERS. Such 811 Joe Smith, the Mormon leader. All who seek to delude men for self-seeking ends are really Satanip; they are doing Satan's work. According to the standpoint of the preacher, it may be shown that the methods by which men are deluded still are (1) mental, (2) ritual, (3) moral. Therefore we have the very earnest advice," Prove [test and ~ry] all things; hold fast that which is good."-R. T.