□ atural kindnell8 of persons of an affectionate disposition, II lte breadth. It le not led by fancy :rnd confined to the arbitrary selection of a merely human love. 1. It hey/ins with Christ. Though St. Paul does not here express this truth, he implies it, For he is writing to a Christian Church, not to a mixed crowd of men of the world. He assumes devotion to Christ, and seeks for the fruits of it. Now, it is part of the glory of Christianity that it reveals man in his most attractive character when it shows Christ to ue. Thus the enthusiasm of humanity is possible, because, first seeing man in Christ, we afterwards learn to see Christ in every man. 2. It ercpands into love/or all 01,ristians. The special characteristic of the brotherly love, so much enforced in the New Testament, is that it flows out to Christians as such, irrespective of personal attractiveness or the reverse. Of course we must have our natural affinities and special friendships. Christ had as much. But we must not confine Christian love to such cases. Indeed, the specially Christian character of love is not seen until this love is best.owed upon those who would not have received it had they not been united to us through Christ. 8. It must ezteftd to all men. Christian love is not confined to the Christian community. The disciple of Christ is the true philanthropist. It is not simply that in the spirit of Christian universalism we are to endeavour to draw all men within the fold of Christ; we are also to love them while they remain outside it. We are to love them as men. From this we may infer that religious exclusivene88 is a sin, that Christian people should take interest in all things human-in the science, art, business, politics, and social and domestic affairs of the world. The progre88 of our Christian life may be measured by the cheerful sympathy, breadth, and generosity of ,ur humanity. III. Tm: INCREASE OF LOVE IS A FRUIT OF DIVINE GBA<m. St. Paul prays that the Lord may make the Thessalonians increase and abound in love. 1. Love ill only possibu where the hard heart of selfishnesa has been softened. It is the work of God'N Spirit within us to make this change. God also casts out the impurities which deaden genuine love and the a.versions which limit it. 2. Love springs up in us by contact with the Di'Uim love. That love must be revealed and "shed abroad in our hearts" in order that our love may be stimulated. 3. Neverthelas human inftuen.cu hd,p the deviloymtJnt of CJhristian love. The apostle referred to his own example: "Even as we do towards you." Christian love is contagious. The study of the lives of men of large-hearted charity is helpful in the overthrowing of our narrow prejudices and the u.rousing of a broad, strong 11pirit of loving-kindness.-W. F. A. Var. 13.-.Di'Uine culture. God is carrying on a proce1111 of oulture with hie people, training, educating, and forming them according to hie own ideal of humanity. To ignore this process while admitting the merciful kindness of God in other respects is to t&ke a low view both of providence and of Christianity. To recognize it is to do much towards lightening the burdens and the mystery of all this unintelligible life. For pain, temptation, and disappointment can be better borne when we know the.t the end of God's dealings with us is not onr enjoyment of present ease, but our education in character. L THE SUBJEOT OF Dxvnl'I!: OULTURL "Your hearts." The education that secures good habits is a shallow training if it leaves the source and spring of conduct untouched. It may drill; it cannot discipline. Neither is the mere infusion of knowledge, nor even this with the addition of the cultivation of taste and the development of mental energy, the great requisite in God's culture. He aims at renewing and purifying the heart. He is not satisfied with decorous conduct as a mask for a corrupt heart. But, having secured purity of heart, he knows that right conduct will follow. Moreover, if the ext.emal act may appear to men quest.ionable, God, reading the heart, accounts his people blameless when the motive is good. II. THE CHARACTER MOULDED UNDER DI"VINE OULTUBB. "Unblamable in holiness." 1. It is holinu,,. God does not satisfy himself with the forgivenees of the past; we should not be satisfied with that. He aims at the real and positive holiness of his people. Holiness is more than dutifulnees, more than virtue. It includes these human types of goodness, but it goes beyond them. It goes down to thought, affection, and conduct, seeking clean hands and & pure heart. It rises to the character of God him- .elf. Holineu ill godlike goodness, u virtue iB human goodness. 2. '!'his holi1141111 ii an. 1v. 1-18.) THE FIRST EPIS'fLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 'II
to be tmblamable. It le to be perfect. It 111 to stand the teet of a searching 8Crutiny. Yet it i1 not a barren negative purity. For we may be blamed for sins of omission as much ae for sins of transgression. It is the unprofitable servant who is cut into the outer darkness. To be unblamable we must faithfully discharge our trust. III. TBE BTANDABD AIMED AT IN DIVINE CULTURE. The holiness is to be unblam- able before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. l. God is satisfied with no less holiness than such as is pure in his own sight. Our standard is low because our conscience is corrupt. The height of God's aim ie only tc he meaeured by the loftiness of his own character. Nevertheless, be it remembered. God will expect no more of us than is humanly possible. The gardener aims at pro- ducing a perfect flower up to his own ideal, but still only up to his own ideal of what a flower should be; he does not seek in it the properties of animal or man. 2. The test is to be applied at the coming of Ohrist with his saints. They come to judge the world. IV. TBE STABILITY SECURED BY DIVINE CULTURE. "Stablish your heart&." High culture often produces a result which is brief in proportion to_ its excellence. The forced hot-house flower soon fades. Knowledge acquired limply to meet an examina- tion is quickly forgotten. This is not education. God aims at more than the momentary elevation of rare seasons of grace. He will have a firm and lasting character- epiritnal life which is also an eternal life. V. Tm: MEANS EMPLOYED FOB DIVINE CULTURE. Ver. 12 describes this. It ia an increasing and abounding love. Holiness springs from love. They greatly err who seek it in the lonely and chill altitudes of an inhuman saiotlineBB. By mutual Christian love, and by a broad, practical love of mankind, we a.re trained in the purity which may be at last quite blameless, even in the eight of God.-W. F. A.
EXPOSITION.