Yer. 5.-The very su:fferi71gs of Chiistian sinners rnay be overruled unto .~anctifying. On the precise meanings and references of the terms and lhrures used in this verse, the exegetical portion of the Commentary should be consulted. Some suppose that a temporal judgment, sickness, or loss, followed on the excommunication of this offender (as in the ca~es of .Anan,ias, Elymas, etc.), and that such suffering became disciplinary, and resulted m the man s full moral reco\'ery. " .As a man sowcth, thus shall he also rnap;" aud we need only explain the term "deliver unto Saran" as meaning, leave the man to the consequences naturally and necessarily following on his sin; the very first of these consequences being his separation from Christian fellowship and Christian privileges. "It should be carefully noticed that it is not the body, but the flesh, that is the carnal appetite, that is to be destroyed by the chastisement." F. W. Robertso~ says, "Here the peculiarly merciful character of Christianity comes forth; the Church was never to giYc over the hope of recovering the fallen. Punishment, then, here is remedial. If St. Paul punished, it was that the 'spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.' .And hence (putting capital punishment out of the present question) to shut the door of repentance upon any sin, to make outcasts for ever, and thus to produce despair, is contrary to the idea of the Church of Christ, and alien from his spirit.'' Unfold and illustrate both from Scripture and modern life- I. How CERTAINLY ALL SIN, UNCHECKED, BEARS ITS FRUITAGE OF SUFFERING. There may be even prolonged delay, and consequent presumption in keepinu on in sin. But the suffering comes at last; it is certain as ihe returning harvest. 'l';ke two cases. 1. The familiar one of the dmukard. Want cometh, on him and his, as an armed man. 2. 'l'he dishonest. .A man placed in a position of trust embezzles secretly for years; at last, just as bis children are on the threshold of manhood and womanhood, ruin and shame come on them; flight, desolation, misery, and the exile's poverty for him. Man cannot take " fire into his bosom and not be burned ; nor can he touch pitch and fail to be defiled." The laws of heredity being now better understood, we can feel more deeply how a man's sins can carry a burden of suffering, even to the innocent unborn generations. II. How, FOB THE ERRING CHRISTIAN, SUCH NECESSARY SUFFERING OB SUCH DIRECT Drvn.""E JUDGMENT MAY BE REMEDIAL. Illustration may be taken from David's experience, as indicated in his words, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now will I keep thy Word.'' Explain the process by which, under God, suffering influences the views and feelings of the erring Christian; but point out carefully bow suffering affects differently the good and the bad man. It tends rather to harden the bad, because it seems to him mere loss and disability. It softens and humbles the Christian, because by him it is known as the heavenly Father's chastening hand. Show how the sancti- fying discipline of suffering is shown in the very story of our human race. 'l'be "day of the Lord Jesus" may be conceived as the time when a man's life-story is complete; then it can come into consideration and judgment. '!'hen it may be seen that, through all the sufferings that followed upon the soilings, " the spirit has been saved." Press that "delivering over to Satan" does not put the erring one out of Christ's loving thought and care, and therefore it should never put him out of our Christian interest and prayer and sympathy. We must ever keep his welcome back awaiting bim.-R. T.
Ver. 6.-The lesson of the leaven. It is very confidently affirmed that leaven is always used in a bad sense in Scripture, and is the illustration of the working of evil principle. Some forcing of Scripture is, however, necessary if a bad sense 1;1ust be always found; and while we must admit that leavenin:i; is, in measure, a corruptmg process, we should also recognize that the permeating influence of leaven may be used to illustrate the advance and extensiou of good principle. Undoubtedly it is the tendency of evil to propagate itself rapidly, and infect all around it, on which the apostle here dwells-a tendency which may be also illustrated by the insidious spreading of contagious ~nd infectious disease. It may be helpful to give some account of the character and action <)f "leaven.'' Hugh Macmillan says, "It consists of myriads of the cells of the common green mould in an undeveloped state. If a fragment of the dough with the leaven in it be put aside in a shady place, the cells of the fungus in the leaven will vegetate, and ,cover the doucrh with a slight downy substance, which is just the plant in its complet'.l form. The s~·elling of the dough, and the commotion which goes on in the leavened oH. v.1-13.] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 189