am well plea~ed.;, Christ declares H to be ~is abidin_g s~te, "I do always the things that plen~e him. He was the perfect, obedient Son, 111 111s trust, and love, and devotion 11nd ,,bctlience, and freeness of communion with the Father, giving us the very modei nIHl illustration of the state of rightness, of grace and favour, into which he brings us, St.. Paul's burden of benediction is" grace," and he sometimes means by it tho state of favour and acceptance with God into which we are brought by faith. Now, this stnte of grace is so thoroughly that in which Christ himself stands, and it is so manifestly the state into which we c;in only be brought by him, that it may properly be called the "grace of the Lord Jesus," or the" state of grace of the Lord Jesus." Sometimes this state is viewed on the side of the Spirit that brings us into it, and then it is called the state of faith; at other times it is viewed on the side of the privilege that belongs to it, and then it is called the state of gm.u.. Reading St. Paul's benediction in the light of these explana~ions, it may run thus: "May you enjoy and enter yet more fully into that state of grace and favour with God which Christ has, by his sonship, and which you have, in measure also by yours: that state of grace, I mee.u, which consists in these things-an ever-deepening sense of the love·of God, and feeling of the impulse of that love ; and an abiding consciousness of the communion of the Holy Ghost, whe1·eby ye are sealed." II. THE CHRISTIAN STATE OF GRACE on FELLOWSHIP WITH GoD. Surely no fa.et could be presented that is more calculated to fill our hearts with the" joy unspeakable" than this. No principle of Christian steadfastness can be of more practical value than this. If any one thing more than another is the burden of the Epistles, it is the rio-ht of the believer in Christ. In multiplied ways the apostle seems to say-Realize y~ur sonship; enter into your privilege; use your right of access; live e.s restored and accepted ones; seek to know the spirit of your new state; lift yourselves up to meet the responsibilities resting on your privilege. Ye receive" now the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." "Now are ye the sons of God." Yet surely this is not the thought which, e.s Christians, we most readily cherish. Too often we encourage uncertainty as to our spiritual status; we hope that a.11 will be well at last; we walk under clouds of doubt, and very feebly welcome even the salvation which God grants. 'l'he higher Christian life takes in simple trust, not only Christ, but all the status, rights, and privileges that come to us in Christ. It loses its fears, buries its questioning, and rejoices in ha,ing "passed from death unto lifa." If any longing for e. more earnest religious life has been started in any of our hearts; if for our own cold lifeless souls we have been led to pray," 0 Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years I "-then let us be assured that the beginning of better things is this-Enter into, possess, and enjoy your full rights in Christ; not your own rights, but Christ's, which are made yours on believing. Believe that you have been brought into, aud do now stand in, a state of grace and favour with God, accepted by him in the Beloved. For assurances of present salvation and privilege, see Rom. viii. 1, 14--17; Eph. ii,.}-2, 13, 18-22; 1 Pet. ii. 5, 9, 10; 1 John iii. 1, 2, elc. But how is such a sense of our standing in Christ to be won? Faith-trust-is the answer. Trust is the attitude of our souls which God demands. Trust in his Son Jesus Christ, who "of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and complete redemption." Simple, entire, perfect trust. '.!.'akin"' Christ as he is offered--as our "all in all," not for deliverance only, but also for sta;ding and sanctification. United with Christ, his rights become ours. We a.re sons with God. We stand in the state of favour with God in which Jesus, tho perfoct Sou, who is our life, stands.-R. T, HOMILETICAL INDEX 'l'O
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF
ST. PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS.
CHAPTER L TIIEME P.lGB rrmMB PA.GB Christ's Sufferings renewed in his The Will of God ... 7 Disciples 82 The God of Christianity 7 The Sanctifying Influence of N eamess Personal Sufferings 8 to Death 82 Conscience and the Inner Life of l\lan 9 The Gracious Infiueuce of Prayerful- Possessions of a Genuine Christian 9 ness and Sympathy on Suffering A Threefold Theme 10 Souls ... 33 Salutation 11 The Conscience-Testimony 84 Thanksgiving in the Midst of Tribu- The Sealing and Earnest of the Spirit 85 lation; Uses of Sorrow; Comfort- ing Others; Personal References ... 11 Paul's Defence of himself; Character CHAPTER II. of his Preaching 14 "An Apostle by the Will of God" 15 The Uniting Force of Christian Love 41 Comfort, Divine and Human 16 The Preaching of the Gospel 42 Intercessory Prayer 17 The Way in which the Gospel should The Promises of God 17 be preached 42 The Spirit in the Heart 18 Further Explanations and Directions Helpers of Joy 18 touching Matters just discussed ... 48 "Saints" 19 Coming to Troas; Disquietude; De- True Comfort 20 fence of his Apostleship ... 45 In the Depths e.nd out of tbem 21 Sympathy in Grief e.nd Joy 46 The Testimony of our Conscience 22 The Devices of Satan ... 46, 52 Unche.ngeableness 23 An Open Door 47 Four Privileges of the Believer 23 The Solemnity of the Ministry 47 Christian Suffering 24 The Triumph 48 "The Sentence of Death in ourselves" 26 "Who is Sufficient?" 49 Christ is" Yee." ,,, 27 The Pains of Rebukiug 49 The Certo.inty of Divine Promises 28 Restoring the Backslider 50 The Apostolic Ministry 29 The Constant Triumph of the Faithful " By the Will" 30 Minister Comforted, and therefore Comforters ... SI The Sorrow of Faithful Love ii INDEX.