Vera. 16, 17.-.A benediction. I. THE BOUBCEB OJ' THE BENEDICTION. A true benediction is more than an expression of good wishes. It is a prayer by one who has especial weight in intercession, although it is expressed to the person for whom it is offered. The benediction of so great and good a man as St. Paul is of great value, because the "effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.n But the blessings desired by the apostle are not given by him any more than the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to their children were given by the patriarchs. The sources of the blessings of a benediction are not human nor earthly at all. Here they are declared. 1. The personal influence of Jesus O'hrist. This is strikingly expressed by the reference to "our Lord Jesus Christ himself." His brotherhood and his love lead him to bless us. His Divinity, his goodness, and his sacrifice give him authority in heaven. In his own right he blesses. And he does not delegate the blessing. He confers it himself. 2. The fatherhood of God. Because God is "our Father n we may expect blessings from him. Fears and doubts arise from partial views of God, and views which leave out of account his great fatherly nature. He does not bless as a Master paying wages, but as a Father dealing affectionately with his children. II. THE ASSURANCES OF THE BKNEDICTION. Grounds for believing that God will give the blessing are given for the encouragement of faith. 1. Love in the past. H11 has revealed his character by his providence, and he has proved in this way that he loves his children. But a parent's love is distinguished from all other kinds of love by its permanence. If God ever did love, he still lovea. 2. Eternal comfort. This we have now in the peace of forgiveness and the rest of faith. The peace is such that the world can neither give nor take away. The rest is beneath the shadow of a great rock that outlasts even the seemingly everlasting hills. 3. Hope for the future. God has uttered promises and encouraged hopes. We cannot believe that he will mock the expectations which he has raised. III. 'THE OBJECTS OF 1'RE BENEDICTION. 1. Heart-comfort. We have eternal com- fort; nevertheless we need more comfort. No soul is yet perfectly st rest. Sorrow distresses the most trustful. (1) Observe the breadth of the Divine comfort. We may have it in some departments of life and yet miss it in others. The Greek word paraklesis has a wider, fuller meaning than our word "comfort." It stands for all help, and help in every direction is what our souls need. (2) Note the home of the Divine comfort. It is to he in our hearts. Comfort anywhere else is vain. Com- fortable houses, clothes, etc., leave the deepest trouble untouched. The bee.rt may be on a rack when the body is on a downy couch. God's comfort reaches the bee.rt. 2. Stability in work and word. We must not stop at comfort. We are consoled in distress that we may be free and strong and glari for sen·ice. (1) The service must come from the heart. "The heart" is to be stablished for service. (2) It must be various and complete-" every good work." (3) It must extend to speech-" and word." The Scriptures lay great stress on a right use of speech. (4) It must be steadfast. '!'his is the end of the benediction. Eternal comfort must be balanced by steadfast faithfulness.-W. F. A.
Il TBEBSALONIANB, • 60 'l'llE SEUOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS, [cs. 11. 1-17.
EXCURSUS ON THE MAN OF SIN.1
l'an is one of the most remarkable prophecies in the New TeRt<lment. It occur1 In &be writings of St. Paul, whose practical mind constituted him rat her the preacher uf the_ present than the prophet of the future. There is an obscurity in the language which, &B alreacly observed, could not ha,·e been so great to those to whom the apostle wrote, for he bad previously instructed his readers in the nnture of the occurrence (eh. ii. 6, 6); but our ignorance of these instructions renders the passage to us enigmatical and difficult to understand; and perhaps, also, this obscurity is increased by reason of our distance from the time when the apostle wrote. There are in this prediction several points requiring consideration: the apostasy or falling away which was secretly working e"en in the apostle's days; a withholding or restraining influence which prevented its open manifestation and full development; the advent of the man of sin, bis characteristics and final doom. We shall, first, give a history of the various <>pinions concerning this subject in past ages, and then consider those views which are most prevalent in our days. The following is a literal translation of the passage, in accordance with the exposi- tion given in the foregoing pa'.!es : " But we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus l'brist, and our assembling together unto him, that you be not soon shaken from your sober mind, nor be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by epistle as from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is imminent. 2 Let no man deceive you by any means, because that day shall not come, except there come the apostasy first, and thP man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exaltetb himself agai11s1 all that is called God, or is an object of worship; so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember you not that when I was with you, I told you these things? And now you know what restraineth, that he might he revealed in his time, !<'or the mystery of lawlessness is already working, yet only until be that rtStraineth is removed;• and then shall the lawless one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and annihilate by tb.e appearance of bis coming; even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and in a.II deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sends to them t.he working of error, that they might believe the lie; that they might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." According to these worrls, this much is evident-that the apostle expected a falling away from the purity of Christianity. Nor is this the only passage where St. Paul alludes to such a declension from primitive faith and holiness; there are allusions to it in his other Epistles, but especially in the Pastoral Epistles, where he describes the apostaay of the lr.tter days: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter 1 Thill excurllUJ! is chiefly an expansion and revision of a dissertation on "The Man of