m. Wonns OF PBA YER. "Now I pray to God," etc. For 'Whl\t does he pray? Not for his own reputation or himself. As ir he had said, "I am not anxious about roy own standing amongiit you." He prays for two things. 1. Tlla,t they should. be kept from the wrong. " Now I pray to God that ye do no evil." "Do no evil," nothing inconsistent with the character and te!lching of Christ. "Cease to do evil learn t,o do well." 2. Thri,t they should possess the right. "Not that we should appc~r approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates." "We pray not that we may gain a reputation as successful workers in your eyes or those or others, but that you may do that which is nobly good (may advance from a negative to a positive form of holiness), even though the result of that may be that we no longer J;>llt our apostolic supernatural powers int,o play, and so seem to fail in the trial to which you challenge us." IV. WoRDS OF COMFORT. "We can do nothing agninst the truth." There are two comfortin~ ideas here. 1. That truth is v.nin;'urable. "We can do nothing against the truth." Let the" truth" here stand for Jesus, who is the" Truth," the great moral Reality incarnated, all that is real in doctrine and duty embodied in him; who can injure such? Man can do much against theories of truth, conventional manifestations of truth, ecdesia.stical_ representations of truth, verbal revelations of truth. The more he docs against these, perhaps, the better; but he can do nothing against ICthe truth,n its essence. :Man may quench all the gas-lamps in the world, but he cannot dim one star. The great ethical a.nd doctrinal truths embodied in the lire and teaching of Christ are imperishable, they live in all religions. Men can destroy the forms of nature, level the mountains, dry up the rivers, bum the forests, but can do nothing against the imperishable elements of nature, and these elements will live, build up new mountains, open fresh rivers, and create new forests. You can do nothing against the truth. 2. That goodness is v.npwnishable. " For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.n It is unpunishable: (1) Because it is goodness. The best of men are too "weak" in authority to punish those who are" strong" in goodness. And in truth there is no authority in the univer~e, even God himself, to punish goodness. The stronger a man is in goodness, the weak~t the power to chastise him. Hence Paul wishes to find theni "strong.,. in goodness when he comes amongst them. He wishes this because goodness is their " perfection," or restoration. The way to paralyze all penal forces is to promote the growth of goodness. (2) Because it is restorative. "Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord bath given me to edification, and not to destruction." Its destiny is "edification," not "destruction;" hnilding up, not pulling down. Moral goodness •is .the restorative power in the universe. • V. WoRDs OF BENEDICTION. "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, he of good comfort, be of one mind, live in pea.ce; and the God of love and peac~ shall he with you." His benedictory words imp:ly: 1. Be happy. "Farewell," which means rejoice. To he happy they must be "perfect," " of good comfort," etc. 2. Be blest of God.. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, he with you u.U." • •
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTiiORS. Vers. 1-!.-.Anr,ouncement of his purpose; Christ's power i'T!, him and. in hi, apostkship. About to visit the Corinthians" the third time," he informs them ve:Y distinctly what they had to expect. In the words of the Old Testament Law, he says, "In the mouth of two or three >vitnesses shall every word be established." The strengtl;i. of his resolution to punish iwp.enitent offenders is declared-" I will not spare." A crisis was at hand, aod he waa fully prepared to meet the issue. He refers to the main i.ource of all the trouble, viz. . the disparagement of his office as Christ's apostle. Everyth.in~ had been done by the Judaizers to put contempt on him and his_ officia) po6ition. The fork;lra.nce he had shown, the patience under repeated and aggravated provocation, hih d1,.,<l;; of self-denial, Chritit'B teMtimony to the greatne~s of th& work dou1; arnoog thet.u, had all beeo rui11Wnstrulld and turned to his injury. E,•en his on,xm. l-11.) 'fHE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIAN~. 3l7