~e.hl\vo invalunble contributions to theological truth, expositions of rare profun,lity anr\ 111e1ght, oontraets between tho Law nnd the gospel never surpassed in this favomite dop11rtment of his intellectual work, references to the body that throw a new Jiah t on its relations to mind, and directions as to practical benevolence which cover the°whole range, in this particular, of Christian obligation, Yet these are enhanced in value hy tho fad that the spirit of an intense living personality is ever present. We lose nothincr of the logic and philosophy, nothing of the force in the historical allusions, nothino- C!{ the chBrm of metaphor and similitude. At the same time there runs through every thin" the subtle influence of an individual soul, so that the strength which throbs in doctrinal arguments is from a heart all alive with sensibility. "Men," says Foster(' First Essay on a Man's writing Memoirs of Himself')," carry their minds as for the most part they carry their watches, content to be ignorant of the constitution and action within, and attentive only to the little exterior circle of things to which the passions, like indexes, are pointing." Not so St. Paul. Temperament, disease, special circumstances in his position, made him in an unusual degree a self-observing man. In this Epistle we have the richest fruits of his self-knowledge. Most of all, we see the meaning of that discipline ef affliction by means of which the life of Christ in the soul is perfected. And we see, too, how our private history is far more than a personal concern, and widens out in connections no one could have foreseen. "A thorn in the flesh " becomes a. part of St. Paul's public character ; incidents that historians and philosophers and poets would have passed by as of little meaning, take on a. most impressive significance, and endear an Epistle, great on other grounds and great as a work of a.rt, to the struggling and sorrowing heart of every Christian.-L. Ver. 4.-Wealcness and power. It must have been very painful to the sensitive and benevolent mind of the apostle to have written thus to any congregation of Christians, especially to a congregation so intimately connected with him as was this at Corinth. The whole society was to blame for suffering the Judaizers and the questioners of St. Paul's authority; when they should have taken the part of their spiritual benefactor, and have indignantly resented the slights and misrepresentations which they tolerated. In the prospect of visiting Corinth, the apostle requires that the people shnll put themselves to the test and shall give a proof of their reformation; otherwise, he will be compelled -to give them a proof of his supernatural power and thus to silence calumny and opposition. I. THE WEAKNESS OF CHRIST IS SHARED EVEN BY ms smCEBEST AND MOST FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS. 1. In the Lord Jesus were, both in his person and in bis ministerial career, many circumstances of humiliation. His helpless childhood; his subjection to hunger, thirst, and weariness; his liability to pain; his endw-ance of death, are instances of the former. His submission to calumny and insult, to betrayal and desertion, to hatred and rejection, are proofs of the latter. 2. Now, our Lord himself forewarned his disciples that they should share their Master's lot. Paul certainly took up the crosg. The thorn or stake in the flesh, the feeble body, the scow-gings and imprisonments which he was called upon to endure, were not regarded by him as accidents and misfortunes, but rather as proofs of true discipleship, as participations in the sufferings of the Lord. And this is the light in which all followers of the Lord Jesus are justified in regarding the endw-ances and calamities which befall them in treading in his steps and in executing his commission. It is the moral glory of Christianity that it dignifies the sufferings of those who partake their Leader's spirit in self-denying endeavours for tho salvation of their fellow-men. Such servants of the Divine Master may well" glory in infirmity." Their wounds are the honourable scars telling of the severity of the conflicl in which they have been engaged. II. 'l'nE POWER OF GOD wmCH WAS UPON CHRIST SHALL BE DISPLAYED IN THOSE WHO, SHARING THE MASTER'S SERVICE, SHARE ALSO HIS WEAKNESS. Paul was content that men should perceive the weakness manifest in the crucifixion of the Redeemer ; \,ut he preached to them a risen, reigning, and glorified King. 'l'he resurrection and .iscension of Christ were both proofs of the acceptance of the Son by the Father, and they were an inspiriting omen of the approaching victory of the cause for which Jesus deigned to die. From the throne of might and dominion, po.;sessed of all authority, tb11 victorious Lord governs his Church on earth, and secures its safety and well-l,eiu,:. II. CORINTHIA NB, y 322 'l'IIE SECOND EPISTLE TO 'l'HE COHINTHIANS. [oa. xm. 1-1-1.
St. Panl felt himself entrusted with abundant means of maintaining his 8piritunl authority as the "amba.ssador of Christ." He might possess marks of the dying of the Lord Jesus; but he wielded a mig;bt which no foe could resist. Let all faithful servants of Jesus and true soldiers of the cross be encouraged by the reflection that their Commander is omnipotent, and that he must reign until every foe is beneath his feet.-T.