The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Thessalonians — Section 68

Vere. 11-13.-Bt. Paul'R prayer for h'9 wnf/M18. I. Go» HIMSELF IB TRll onY GIVER 01' ALL GOOD THINGR, 1. He Clm give the apostui a'fld his conutl'1't8 tM fl"l!Jllt joy of another muting. The Thesseloniens might be zealous in their religious duties; St. Paul might prey exceedingly, above measure; but it is God himself, not any creature, from whom ell goodness flows. The word ,..;.,&,("himself") is emphatic. He only can save; he only is the Giver of joy. He is our God, therefore he is able; he is our Father, therefore he is willing to help us. His is the kingdom end the power and the glory, end he loves ns with B Father's love. The apostle adds the Saviour's Name: "God our Father, eml our Lord Jesus Christ." He addresses Christ in the language of direct prayer. He uses, too, a verb in the singular number. There can be no satis- factory explanation of this, save that furnished by our Lord's own words, " I and my Father are one." From him only, the Triune God. cometh every blessing. He can bring St. Paul again to the Thessalonians. He will, if it is good for him and for them. 2. He can vncrease in them tM great grace of charity. Love is the chiefest of all graces; it expels all manner of sin little by little from the heart which it fills ; it consumea selfishness little by little with its heavenly fire. It must abound in the Christian's heart, for it is the best of all treasures; it must be fervent, intense, for luke- warmness is hateful to the Lord. It must be wide in its range; for that love which rests on BOme men because they are agreeable, and excludes others because they do not ple111111. is merely human ; not of God-mere natural affection ; not the precious grace of holy love. God loved the world; the measure of his love is the gift of his Son. His saints in their poor way must imitate him. He only can make them abound in love; for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. Love is tbe best gift of the good Spirit of God. We must covet earnestly tbat great grace, and seek it from him of whose only gift it cometh. II. GoD CAN FULFIL THE GOOD WORK WHICH HE BEGA11. 1. Holina.~ comes from ,\im, Without holiness no man shall see the Lord ; and it is God the Holy Ghost who sanctifieth the elect people of God. He can cleanse the thoughts of the heart by his Divine inspiration. He can make the soul that was unclean pure and blameless. We must listen to his voice speaking in our hearts. He checks us when we are tempted to sin; he calls us ever onwards to holiness, to self-consecration, to closer union with Christ. It is our part to recognize his awful presence, to shrink with godly fear from grieving the indwelling Spirit, to make silence in our hearts to !is ten to his voice, to pray with ever-deepening earnestness, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant beareth." 2. He can enable us to pers1J11ere. The psalmist says, "0 God, my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed." That fixedness, that eatablishment of the heart in holiness, cometh from God ; it is his gilt. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is st:i.yed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." We need to be rooted and grounded in love, to be strengthened with all might by his Spirit in the inner man. Then ,ve shall persevere unto the end; then we shall be found unblamable in holiness at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. St. Paul ever looked forward to that second coming: it filled the whole range of his hopes. So ought Christians now to live, "looking for e.IJd basting unto the coming of the day of God." LESSONS. 1. St. Paul prays that God wonld direct his way to Thessalonica. We may pray for the great blessing of intercourse with those whom we love; but it must be" in the Lord," in humble submission to bis will. 2. But above all things we should pray for their continued growth in grace and holiness, in preparation for the coming of the Lord.-B. C. C. Vers. 1-13.-The subject is still great de.sire to see the Thessalonian,. L PAUL ALONe: AT ATHENS. "Wherefore when we could no louger forbear, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone." There is continued the u~e of the plural; but it is to be regarded as correct~d by the use of the singular in the fifth verse. The correction relates to the mission of Timot.hy, which is to be understood as covering Paul's being left behind at Athens. For want of full materials it is difficult to under~tan,I the bearing of what is said in the Acts of the Apostles on what is said here. But the most probable account of matters seems to be the following. Silas and Timothy were left behind at Berma. They that conducted Paul from Bercea brought him 1\9 far u A.then■; and imme<liately retmned with a commandment unto SilBB and Ti~y I, TJIESSAL0NIANB. I'  811 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THl<:SSALONI.A.NS. [on. m. 1-13.