The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Thessalonians — Section 40

the Thessalonians knew it themselves. The apostle appeals to them in all t\1e confidence of <;hristi1m simplicity. Perfectly sincere and single-hearted himself, he knew that as a body they had appreciat,•d the purity of his motives. They could bear testimony (he knew that the)' would gladly do so) that his preaching from the beginning had not heen empty talk, but foll of energy and life and fire. It. is a blessed thing, this rnntual confidenre between a pastor and his flock. 2. His previous suffer- ings had not abated hi~ zeal. He had been Cl'Uelly treated at Philippi; he bore the marks of the lictors' r,,ds when he entered Thessalonic&. It did not damp his ardour. His Lord had endured tl,e cross, despising the shame, for the joy that was set before him. For the same joy, the great joy of saving souls, St. Paul was content to suffer, !lnd, if need be, to die. Troubles soon came upon him in Thessalonie&. He preached amid much conflict, but he was full of courage. 3. His courage was of God. We were bold in our God. It was he who gave them boldness, he who taught them what to speak; they felt that it was not they, but the Spirit of Goel who spoke iu them. They abode in him, in his encompassing, irradiating presence, within the sphere of his gracious influence; hence came their utterance, their boldness of speech. 4. For their gospel, (our gospel, he calls it in eh. i. 5) was the gospel, of God. They were th,, messengers, but he had ~ven the message. It was his glad tidings; it came from him, and it brought tidings of him, of his will, of his justice, of his love; it told men of e Creator, a Saviour, a Sanctifier. It was a high mission to preach that blessed gospel; the sensP of its unspeakable precious,,ess inspired their burning words. IL -V.'aAT THEIR PREACHING WAS NOT. The Jews had tried to poison the minds of the Thessalonians against the apustle; they imputet:. low, earthly motives to him. St. Paul repudiates their insinuations. 1. There waa no mixture of selfish motive. Their preaching was not of error or of deceit. They were not deceived themselves, they did not deceive others. They did not belong to the crowd of wandering impostor~ like t\imon Magus, or Elymas the sorcerer. They knew certainly the truth of their mission. St. Paul had seen the Lord; what he delivered to the Thessalonians he had first received of the Lord. He knew this from the sure evidence of experience. His own truthfulness was manifest; the mighty change that had come over his life, the great- ness of his sacrifices proved it. There was no uncleanness (as, perhaps, some of his enemies maliciously i;nggested), no impurity of any kind, attaching to his exhortation or his conduct. None who knew him could charge him with such things. But a life of self-sacrifice for the sake of souls was unexampled. He was the first missionary who had traversed Asia Minor, and now came to Europe for that lofty purpose. The mass of men, whether Jews or heathens, could not understand his noble character; it was high above them. They judged him by themselves. They were incapable of such self-denial fur the sake of others; they could not believe in it; they had no faith in love, in l'urity, in high religious motive. Such a life, too, if real, if genuine, was a rebuke to them. It angered them. They could not bear to think of its contrast with their own life ; it was like light and darkness. And so they believed, or forced them- selves to bdieve, that it was not genuine. A true life like St. Paul's seemed to them above human nature-impossible, inexplicable. And they s,>it! that it was not true; th~y attributed his actions to vulgar motives, to low selfish designs. 2. There was no covetvusness. His lile was not one of pretences, fair words serving to conceal the covetous- ness which (so said his enemies) was his real motive. But his treasure was in heaven. He had suflered the loss of all things for Christ. He had in him a hidden treasure, a pearl of ~reat price, for which he was content to count all else as loss. He coulJ not covet earthly gold who had the true riches. But he had to endure this among other slanders. It was said of him at Corinth (2 Cor. xii. 17; vii. 2). He was obliged to 1ake with him delegates of the Cl,urches to assist him in the administration of alms, that he might al'oi<l blame (2 Cor. viii. 20, 21). What a sad proof of the meanness ol human nature that such a motive should be attributed to such a man I 3. There was 1,0 dedre of glury. They did not ,;eek to please men, but God. They knew that God tried the hearts, aud, knowing that, they suuglit only to approve their inner and outer life to him. We labour, ,;aiJ St. Paul (2 Cor. v. 9), it is our ambition to be well plea.sin~ unto him. God had proved tliem; he had entrusted tl,em wiLh Lhe gospel. !t was a high privilege. St. Paul counted it so; he magnified hii; oflice. He sought fur DothiDg else. The great work of wi11ni111!: souls was, he weli knew, uf all works thf oe. n. 1-20.] THE FIRST EPISTLE 1'0 THE THESSALONIANS. lf1