The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Thessalonians — Section 85

2. It will be a descent with awe-inspiring auompani'111fflt1. (1) "With e. Rignal ehout" by th" Lord himsclr, which will be taken up and prolonged by (2) "the voice of the archangel j" for he ie to come, "bringing with him all the holy angele" (Matt. :uv. 31); 11.nd (3) "the t_rump of <J:od," for " the trumpet ehall eound " (1 Cor. XT. 52), 11.nd "he ehall Rend hie 11.ngele with 11. great sound of a trumpet" (Matt. :uiv. 31). It ie God'e trumpot because employed in his heavenly service. It will be the eound of 11. literal trumpet, like that which was heard upon Sinai (Exod. :xix. 16, 19). Tbeee various sounds are to herald the descent of the Lord, and to gather the elect together from the four winds or heaven. II. THE RESURRECTION OIi' THE DE.AD BAINTB, "And the dead in Christ ehe.11 riee first." 'l'here ie no allusion to the resurrection of the wicked. The apostle ia con- cerned at present with the destinies and glories of a single claes. So far from the sainted dead being overlooked, the priority of resurrection i~ to belong to them. III. THE CHANGE OIi' THE LIVING SAINTS. This wonrlerful transformation is here rather implied than asserted. "For we shall not all die, but we shall be changed" (1 Cor. xv. 51). IV. THE SIMULTANEOUS ASSUMPTION 011' BOTH CLABBES 011' SAINTS. "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air." 1. As one united band, the saints, in apiritualized bodies, wi"ll be caught up in clouds-those" clouds which are his chariot "-just as he.himself ascended" in a cloud," anrl "a cloud received him out of their sight" (.Acts i. 9). The new bodies of believers wi 11 be e.ble to pass with ease through the air. 2. The saints wi"ll then "meet the Lord in the air"-not in heaven as he leaves it, nor in earth as he approaches it, but between heaven and earth. The apostle does not say whether they will at once descend to earth and return with him to heaven. He is silent upon the question of the judgment or the entry into final glory. V. THE PERPETUAL BEBIDENOE OF THE SilNTB WITB THE LORD. "And so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1. It will be a meeting without a parting. The inter- course begun will have an endless duration. Believers shall "go no more out." 2. It implies an intir,w,tefellowship with the Lord. 3. It will be the fulfilment of our LorrJ's prayer: "That they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory" (John xvii. 24). VI. THE CONSOLATORY INll'LUENOE 011' ALL TBEBB TBUTHB. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Chase away your sorrow; the dead are not lost or forgotten; they shall share in the glories of the advent. There was surely deep and lasting consolation in such truths.-'!'. C. Vere. 1, 2.-Exhortation. ST. PAUL'e All'FECTIONATE l.MPOBTUNITY. 1. He beseeches. He has finished the personal part of his letter; he bas told them of his love, his constant remembrance of them, his prayers for them, his thanksgiving; he has reminded them of the close spiritual ties which bound them to him. Now he beseeches them to persevere. He knows the exceeding difficulty of maintaining a Christian life in this sinful world; he knows the momentous issues that depend on perseverance; he loves his converts with an intense love; therefore he beseeches (comp. 2 Cor. v. 20). He uses all means of persuasion in turns. Now he commands, now he beseeches. Some- times entreaty is more prevailing than commandment, gentleness than authority. No qualities are more important in the work of the ministry than a genuine love for souls, a real and evident anxiety for the spiritual welfare of our people. St. Paul beseeches ; it is an example to all Christian ministers. 2. He exhorts them in tM Lord JeBU&. Christian people need all manner of encouragement, comfort, exhortatiou. That exhortation prevails which is in the Lord Jesus. Hie presence, his grace, himself, ill the sphere of the Christian's spiritual activity. He who lives habitually in " that (ellowship which is with the Father, aud with bis Son Jesus Christ," is best ahle to leao. oth•s to God and heaven. For he who bath the Son bath life. The Lord Jesus is the Life; and he who bath that life himself, bath from the life that abideth in him the warmth, the fervour, the holy enthusiasm, without which religious exhortation has no power, oo reality. "In the Lord Jesus." Mark how frequently those words," in Christ," .. in the Lord," are on the lipa of St. Paul. It ill a constant f~rm~ wi~h him. But it la a formula full of life, full of holy meaning. " Not I, Chnst lbeth m m..• 4  84 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. [oe. 1v. 1-18.