, ers. 15-21. - Walk circumspectly, OT strictly. The apostle goes on to urge_ o. circumspect, wise, and earnest life, closely conformed in aH things to the will of God,. fashioned according to that idea of wisdom which is set forth in the proverb, Cl The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Nothing is of more value tho.n fixed principles for guiding our life. One settled conviction may be of inestimable value; e.g. the conviction that nothing can come to any good iu the end which is against the will of God. Whenever greatness is achieved in any sphere.of life it is through the force of well-kept rules. Every great author, artist, statesman, has owed his success to certain principles of action to which he has rigidly adhered. It has been remarked that the puritan age was an age of convictions; ours is an a;re of opinions. But what we need is convictions, and pre-eminently the conviction that the only trne, sale, and blessed rule of life is to follow implicitly the will of God. We fin~ here ru,les for a careful Christian life, (1) apart,'.(2) in Christian society. • I. APART. L Walk circumspectly, or strictly, not carelessly. 2. Waik wisely, taking pains to ascerto.in that you so walk as to gain the great end. 3. Redeem the time, or b.:ry back the opportunity (see Ex:pcstion). 4. Understand ; i.e. lay to heart and follow the will of Christ. 5. Avoid intoxic.'ltion and all wild excitemeni and unhallowed pleasure. 6. Be filled with the Spirit, and the holy, blessed emotions which he genders. II. l:s CHBlsTIAN SOCIETY. 1. Cultivate Christian song, and make melody in your heart to the Lord. 2. Let thanksgiving have a special place in your exercises.· 3. Submit yoursel.es one to another in the fear of the Lord. As Christians have not only duties, bot also joys, belonging to their individual life, so they have both duties and joys belonging to their social life. What is most characteristic of the social duties of Christians is mutual 6Ubmission; consideration of one another-of what is due by one to another, and still more of the loving ~ervice which one may be o.ble to render to the other. What is most characteristic of their social joys is the element of thank- fulness in which they flourish ; they should,ever live as those who in Christ ho.ve received mercies beyond all calculation; and they sh.ould,make abundant use of song to give expression to such feelings and to .deepen them in so doing. This joyous element goes a long way to give brightness to the social life of Christians ; they will not miss the more carnal delights on which worldly men •set so much store, but will feel that God puts joy in their hearts, more than iu the time that their corn and wine increased. Vers. 22-33.-Duties of wives and husbands. The Apostle Peter, in his First Epistle, after dwelling on the privileges of believers, strongly urges them to have their con- n,ru,ti,,!i hr,r,est or fair among the Gentiles, exemplifying, by the purity and beauty of tbeir life, tl..e excellence of the principles and privileges of the gospel; and then he Lra!ich(;~ c,ut i!itr, thn:e cases or relation.s that afford scope for thi~ mode of life-that c,f subjects to their ruli,r~, that of servants to their masters, and that of wives to their hllbbar,ds ar,d husbands to their wives. 'l'hough Peter aud Paul moved in different orbits, yet, frc,m the stre1ioth of the convictions held by them in common, and the guiilii.nc,; of the llc,ly Spirit in them both, they were led to enforce wonderfully similar CII, V, 1-33.] TIIE EPISTLE TO 'l'l:IE EPHESIANS. 215
applications of the great principles of the gospel. Paul, like Peter, brings forward three relations, the only difference being that, in place of the relation of subjects to their rulers, he has that of children to their parents, and the corresponding duty of parents to their children. We have the clearest proof of its bein"' the purpose of Christianity to purify and elevate the common relations of life. Mu~h of the visible fruit of true religion lies in its making better subjects, better spouses, better children, better servants. Pagans were struck with the excellence of Christian women. The mother.of Chrysostom won golden opinions by remaining a widow from her twenty-first year; "What women these Christians have!" was the exclamation of some. Christian women were wonderful missionaries in the early centuries by their devout, pure, and earnest lives; many was the pagan who, "without the Word, was won by the con- versation of the· wife." Such lives are doubly blessed-blessed in themselves, and blessed in their influence on the world. I. THE WIFE'S DUTY. Submission to the husband as to the Lord (ver. 22). Rea.sons for this. 1. The husband is. the head of the wife (ver. 23). 2. '!'here is a parallel between the husband and Christ (ver. 23). 3. Even in respect of Christ's saving power, the parallel holds to a. limited, though very limited, extent (ver. 23). 4. 'l'be parallel is close enough to require the subjection of the wife (ver. 24). II.: TnE HUSBAND'S DUTY. To love his wife. This is enforced: 1. By the consideration of what Christ felt and did for his Church. (1) He loved the Church (ver. 25). (2) He gave himself for her (ver. 25). And the object for which he did so. (a) His immediate object (ver. 26). (b) His ultimate object (ver. 27). 2. By the consideration of the closeness of the relation of the wife to Uie husband as his own flesh. This relation is considered (1) naturally (vers. 28, 29); (2) symbolically (ver. 30). The Church taken from Christ; given to Christ. 'l'be relation of the husband to his wife supersedes (in a. manner) the relations of nature. The relation of the Church to Christ does so too (ver. 31). But the subject is mysterious (ver. 32). Yet one practical obligation is very clear (ver. 33). The constitution of the Church, like that of natural society, involves mutual duties. Nothing can be complete unless each party performs his share. While it is the woman•~ part to be in subjection, it is the husband's part to love. The one balances the other. It is the duty of the wife to be subject even though the husband does not love, and tho duty of the husband to love even though the wife is not subject; but bow hard, difficult, almost impossible, such duties thus become! •If the husband withhold love, be iB wronging his wife, and altogether subverting tho relation between them. Let it ever be observed that, while God has joined husband and wife together, be bas joined the husband's love to the wife's subjection ; what, therefore, God bath joined together, ,et not man put a.sunder.