that such an admonition should be addressed to believers. It is no more strange than admonitions against fornication. "Flee fornication" (1 Cor. vi. 18). It is a warning against dishonesty, which often assumes insidious disguises that conceal the true character of the injury done to our neighbours. l. THEFT IS ONE OF THOSE BINS WHICH OUGHT NOT EVEN TO BE NAMED AMONG CHBISTIANB. It springs out of the deep selfishness of the heart. It is a breach of the great commandment of love-that love "which worketh no ill to his neighbour"- and proves that the world has a great hold upon the heart that can plan the deed of dishonesty. II. THE REMEDY PRESORIBED TO PREVENT THEFT IS HONEST WORK. "Let him labour, working with his hands." 1. God is our Employer. He bas appointed our work and he requires it at our hands (Acts xx. 34; 1 Thess. iv. 11). It ought to be part of our worship. The gospel does not forbid our making an honest gain, nor does it counte- nance any indifference to our mere earthly advantage. It gives no encouragement to asceticism. 2. Idleness is incomistent with Christian Ufe and leads to many dangers. "Idleness. occasions poverty, brings men to want, increases their necessities; and then they betake themselves to indirect and unlawful means to supply them." There were persons at Thessalonica who were" working not at all, but were busybodies" (2 Thess. iii. 11). Christianity gives no encouragement to monkish idleness. It was designed for a busy world. 3. It must be honest work. "Working with his hands the thing which is good." We may not steal, either to enrich others or ourselves. We may not seek our own advantage by oppression or injury to others, or by the gain of callings dishonouring to our Christian profession. "The matter of our alms must be goods righteously gotten; otherwise it is robbery, not righteousness." 4. It is work for the benefit of others as well as ourselves. "That he may have to give to him that needeth." vVe are not to amass wealth for our own enjoyment, but that we may supply the necessities of others. There are some who cannot work. Their wants we are bound to supply, for no man liveth to himself. "The righteous man giveth and spareth not" (Prov. xxi. 26). "Who would not rather be a labourer than a loiterer, seeing the sluggard is so miserable a wretch, but the just man so_happy and able to do good works? "-T. C. Ver. 29.-Two kinds of speech. The apostle gives us a lesson on the use of the tongue. I. NEGATIVELY: WE ABE TO UTTER NO CORRUPT SPEECH. 1. It argues a corrupt heart; for "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, false witness, blas- phemies" (Matt. xv. 19). It is thus the tongue "defileth the whole body, and settet'. 011 fire the course of nature" (Jas. iii. 6). It is "out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaketh '' (Matt. xii. 34). 2. Corrupt speech is a/earful perversion of the noble f acuity of speech with which God has endowed us. It is a melancholy fact that "out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing" (Jas. iii. 10). 3. Corrupt speech has the power of destruction. It takes root outside of us, perhaps in some young heart, which it "sets on fire of hell." How true it is that "death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. xviii. 21) ! 4. Corrupt speech is irrevocable. No words of ours may be able to undo the mischief caused by it. 5. Corrupt speech is reserved/or the fire of.fudgment. (Matt. xii.) II. PosITIVELY: WE ARE TO USE EDU-'YIKG SPEECH, "That which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." 1. Edifying speech. It must be speech that will tend to build up the hearers in faith, holiness, and wisdom. It must be salutary speech, calculated to improve both heart and mind, tending to make men wiser and better. 2. It must, as the original words signify, be speech guided according to the needs of men. We must consider the different dispositions, views, o.nd wants of those we converse with, so as to speak with effect. W o should not "cast our pearls before swine" (Matt. vii. 6), nor "speak in the ears of a fool who will despise the wisdom of our words" (Prov. xxiii. 9), but rather use a. happy dexterity in accommodating religious discourse to different persons and occasions. A word in season may bo blessed to the conversion of a soul. Milton says, "A word has changed o. character, and a character has chanued a kingdom." 3. The design and effect of such discourse is " that it may minister grace unto tho hearers." It discovers the grace that is in our own hearts, arnl is tho mcaus of workin:~ it in the !10arts of others. 'l'hereforc "our speech ought to bo 172 THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. [oH, IV, 1-32.
always with grace, S611.SOned with sa.l~ that we may know how to answer every man» (Col. iv. 6).-T. C.