The Pulpit Commentary — Colossians — Section 191

them ~eo (even in Jitlle ways) that we arc not forgetting them, but are giving them a place in our thoughts. As God's holy and beloved, we a.re to be the vehicles of thn Divine thoughtfulnes.q, 3. "Humility." As a Christian grace, humility is founded upon the fact of our having humbled ourselves before God as sinners. As a form of love, it is the disposition which forbids us to exalt ourselves over others. It is a. form of selfishness simply to wish to give others a sense of our importance and of their unimportance. Rather does love impel us to sink our own importance and to prefer them. 4. "Meekness." This is founded on the fact of God being the First Cause of the provocation received from others. As a form of love, it is the disposition which prompts us to endure rather than retaliate on those who have wronged us. 5. "Long- sujfering." This is founded on the fact of God having suffered loop: and much with u~. As a form of love, it is the disposition which forb:ds us to weary of the good of others. It is enduring in hope. 6. " Forbearing one another." Forbearance seems to be the practical exhibition of the last disposition. It is implied that we all need to have for- bearance exercised toward us, as well as to exercise forbearance ourselves. 7. "And for- giving each other, if any man have a complaint against any." It is here "each olher," with a look forward to the thought of our being all first forgiven by Christ. Just, cause of complaint has already been supposed. How are we, as just complainants against a brother, to act? We are not merely to endu~e and to endure for his good, but we are to advance to positive forgiveness. That is to say, in love we are to remove the complaint, so that it is as though it had never been. The highest example of for- giveness. "Even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye." The Lord had just complaint against us; who shall estimate what it was? But he carried out a work for us the purport of which was the removal of the complaint. That we have appropriated, and now we are in the position of those from whom complaint has been removed. Forgive- ness is usually associated with God, but in this Epistle, in which prominence is given to the Person of Christ, it is associated with him. The fact of Christ being called here "the Lord" points to the fact that, as his servants, we are bound by his example. lf the Lord has so acted, servants must not nurse their wrath. The seven graces bound together by love. "And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of per- fectaess." '!'here is the perfect number, and they are bound in the bond of perfectness. Love is thought of as the girdle which binds the garments which have been put on. i.Ne have seen its presence in all the seven. 'l'hey are simply love in seven different relations. 'l'here is thus no looseness a.boat them, but they constitute a perfect whole. II. THE CamSTIA..'I FORllI OF CONCORD. "And let the peace of Christ rule in yonr hearts, to the which also ye were called in one body." The peace which i~ the l)rinciple of concord is distinctively the peace of Christ. That is to say, it is the peace which Christ possessed and which he lclt as a legacy to his disciples. He possessed 1\ holy feeling of tranquillity in view of death and under the wrongs which were heaped upon him, in the enjoyment of his Father's Jove and in the conscious and complete c,urying out of his Father's purposes of love toward mrn. And this holy feeling of tranquility it is intended that wo too should have, in nil circumstances (in our case based on the atonement), in the enjoyment of our Father's love and in the conscious endeavour to carry out his pmposes of love. The peace of Christ is to rule in our hearts. In the margin it is "arbitrate." And some have thought the menninp: to be that, between contending feelings, the peace of Christ is to act as umpire. But the meaning seems simply to be that it is to rule so as to put down all disquictinp: feeling, nnd so that we have it toward God and toward all around us. 'l'he one body is hem thought of as a society in which all are called to a holy feeling of satisl'action. It is, therefore, n society in which concord (out of a Christian ground) reigns. "And be ye thankful." 'l'his is the recurrence of what has been noticed as a subordinate fcatnre in the Epistle. What we are to bo thankful for is the trnnquility which makes concord. III. 'l'HE CHnISTIAN FORMS OF RELIGIOUS EXERCISE. 1. The reception of the Word. "Let the Word of Christ dwell in yon richly in all wisdom." 'l'he Word also is <l.is- tinctively the Wor<l. of Christ. That is to say, it is the Word which Christ spake a1Hl which he caused to be proclaimed. It may be taken as including inspired additions. 'l.'here is a great richness in tho Word of Christ. It contnins all the thoughts that aro needed to give us peace, guidnnce, strengthening, heartening, umlcr earthly conditions. "\Vo arc to receive it to bo our l'C'rmanent possession. Wo arc to receive it, not scant, ly,  188 THE EPISTLE 'l'O TIIE COLOSSIANS. [en. m. 1-25.