The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Thessalonians — Section 70

lonia,u, Be dismisses all thoughts about himself, and returns to the thought ol comforting his oonverts. I. 'lira DOUBLE BLESSING IN STORE FOR TREM. " Who shall stablish you, and keep yon from evil" 1. An essential factor in their Chri.stian comfort was establishment (1) in the doctrines of the gospel, which were threatened by godless or fickle specu- lston;; (2) in the grscc of failh, which may be weakened by persecution or by miscon- ceptic-ns of truth; (3) in the profession of faith, which true believers will be able to bold fast to the end. 2. ...4n equally essential factor was their preservation from evil, either (1) in the form of sin, that it should not have dominion over them or reian unt~ desth ; (2) or in the form of Sstanic temptation; (3) or in the form of opposition from unressonable and wicked men. II. THE ARGUMENT TO ASSURE THEM OF THIS DOUBLE BLESSING. 11 The Lord ia faithful." He will be true to pis promises, and not suffer one of them to fail. The Lord Jesus is at once the Author and the Finisher of our faith. "We are complete in him; " we are "strong in the Lord, and in the power of his mfo:bt." " If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself" (2 Tim. ii. 13). "I can do aU things through Christ which strengthencth me" (Phil. iv. 13). III. THE CONFIDENCE OF THE APOSTLE BASED ON THIS ASSURANCE. "But we have confidence in the Lord touchiug yuu, that you are hoth doing and will do the things which we command you." 1. The ultimate ground qf his confidence touching them was in the grace a,id strength of the Lord, not in themselves, or their wisdom, or strength. 2. Tl,e matter of hi,s confidence-their present and future obedience to his commands. There must be a patient continuance in well-doing; a ready, universal, perpetual obedience to the commands he had already given them by the authority of Christ, and to those which he.was now about to give to them.-T. C. Ver. 5.-The apostle's further prayer for hia eonverts. They needed grace to enable them to discharge all these duties. I. THE LoRD JESUS IS THE TBUE DmEOTOB OF THI~ HEART. "The Lord direct your hearts into the love or God, and the patience of Christ." 1. The heart needs direction. It is the fountain of life and feeling an<l action. But it is often wayward in its impulses. 2. The hea,t that is self-led is misled. We cannot direct our own hearts, neither can apostles do it for us; the Lord only can do it. He directs us by his Spirit, not only into all truth, but into all right feeling aud all acceptable obedience. He only can change us into his own likeness. n. THE BIGHT DIRECTION OF THE CHRISTIAN HEABT. "Into the love of God, and the patience of Christ." 1. The love of God is the spring of all evangelical obedience, and the motive-force of all spiritual power. The Thessalonian& had love already, but the apostle prays for fuller measures of it, that they may be prepared for yet more exact and thorough and unquestioning obedience. 2. The patience of Ch;is~, which so characterized him, is to be copied iu the lives of his followers exposed to s1m1lar per- secutions. His sufferings a.re their sufferings; and they need his patience to enable them to endure them, as well as to sustain that "patient continuance in well-doing" in the midst of evil which will keep them free from restlessness and disorderly walking. -T.C. Ver. 6.-The apostk's rn.ethod of dealing with the idl,e busybodies of the The.~salonian Church. This is one of the leading objects of this Epi~tlc. L THE NATURE OF THE OFFENCE REBUKED BY THE APOSTLE. "Withdraw your- selvea from every brother that walketh disor<lcrly, and not after the tradition they received from us." 1. It waa a habit of vileness caused by the unsettling tendency of the beUef that the day of the Lord's coming was nw.r at hand to wind up all human affair,. They were, therefore," working not at all," allowing them.selves to be ignobly dependent either upon richer brethren or upon ecclesiaslical funds. 2. Lmked with thu idk habit wa, the dispo,itwn to be "busybodies "--concerning themselves with matterB that did uot belong to them. "Bia hops in other men's dioccl!es," as the figure of the apostle elsewhere describes the same elass (1 Pet. iv. 15); like the younger widows who "were wandering about from house to hou.se, and not only idle, but tattlers also and b1111YhodieB" (! 'l'im. v. 13). 1'his unworthy habit of life was a serious annoyance oa. m. 1-18.] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANB. '9