The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Thessalonians — Section 72

Ve. 16.-.d prayer for peace. "Now the Lord of peaoe himself give you peace alwaya in every way." L Tm: AUTHOR OF THIS BLESSING. "The Lord -of peace himself"--Jesus Obrist. 1. He i.s owr abiding Peace. (Eph. ii. 14.) 2. He gives it as his legacy to the Ohwrch. (John xiv. 27.) 3. He guides i,,to the way of peace. (Luke i. 79.) 4. He is the Prince of peace. (Isa. iL 6.) 5. Peace is preached by him. (Eph. ii. 17; Acts x. 36.) II. THE PEACE IN QUESTION INCLUDES: 1. Reconciliation with God. 2. Peo.ce with Ofle .another. 3. Peace in all the relationB of life. 4. Peace in the midst of speculative distu.1·bances. 5. Peace in the miist of persecutions. 6. Peace in the prospect of death. III. IT WAS A PBAYl!:B FOB A 00NTINUOUS PEACE. "Always." It was to be as unint.errupted as a river (Isa. xlviii. 18), with no breaks made in it by the world, the flesh, or the devil. None but the Lord of peace could sustain such a peace in power. IV. IT 18 PEA.OE TO BE ACQUIRED IN EVERY WAY-BY PRAYING, BY PREACHING, BY 00:avEBSATION, V. THE PENDiliT TO TBIS HAPPY PBAYEB. "The Lord be with you all." Acom- prehensive benediction upon the disorderly as well as the orderly brethren of Thessa- lonica. "Be with you all"-" by his presence to comfort and refresh; by his power to keep and preserve; by hill gmce to assist; and b1 his Spirit to counsel, advise. and direct."-T. C. Vere. 17, 18.-The elosing salutation with its antographic significance. "The sal u- tation of me Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every Epistle: BO l write." He takes the pen out of the hand of his amanuensis and writes the closing worca himself. L IT wAS lllPOBTANT TO AUTIIENTI0ATE THE EPISTLE. There were lettera falsely attributed to him (1 These. ii. 2). It iii essential for Christians to now the distinction between the human and the Divine. The Thessalonians would be able to identify his large, bold handwriting (Gal. vi 11). IL THE SALUTATION WAS NOT A KEBE SYMBOL o• J'BIENDSHIP, BUT A PRAYER FOB BIS DLOVED CONVERTS. "The grace of our Lord Jes1111 Christ be with you all." 1. His ~ 1-gan wit.A prayer; they end wilA prayer-" fencing round that which be OH, or. 1-18.] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANB. n said with mighty walls on either side." 2. All the good M desires for hla wnwrt, u included in the grace of the God-Man. The prayer implies the Divinity of Christ. His name alone appears in his parting supplication. 3. it is a pa,,,.ting req'UIJSt for all the "brethren without exception, including even those who received his rebukes,-T. O. Vere. 1, 2.-Prayer for missions. I. THE IMPORTAN0B OJ' IT. Prayer ia a mighty power; we must use it, We must not stand by indifferent and uninterested, and leave the progress of the gospel to missionaries abroad, to God's ministers at home. We must all take our part in the work. Success in that work depends in lar11:e measure on lhe prayers of the faithful. All who pray earnestly for the work of missions are really helpers, as really, though not in the same degree, as the most hard working missionaries, Faithful prayer is as necessary as faithful preaching. The united prayers of the Church, the mighty volume of HUpplication that ascends in behalf of missions, is the strength of those who labour in loneliness and self-denial among heathen and savages. Each one of us, however humble, may contribute his share to the great result. All who do so are co-workers in the blessed work of saving souls. It is a high privilege; the Lord has committed the progress of Christianity to the prayers of his people. We may well ask ourselves if we have been as energetic as we ought in that great spiritual work. II. THE DUTY OF PRAYER, 1. For the spread of the _gospel. St. Paul urges it con- stantly upon his converts, He had been praying for the Thessalonia.ns; now he asks for their prayers in return. It is a commandment, He bids us pray that the Word of the Lord may run, that it may meet with no check in its onward course, but spread ever further and wider, from city to city, from country to country, till "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." This is the only limit. The Church must not be stationary; it must be always in movement. The water of life is living water, ever welling up fresh and clear; it is a running stream. Stagnation means corruption. The gospel must keep moving onward, winning fresh hearts, exerting an ever-growing influence over those who have long felt its power. To stand still is to go back, to win no new victories is to lose its ancient triumphs. It is our bounden duty to help on this progress by our earnest prayers. We are met by an inert mass of apathy; we must strive to kindle it into life by our fervent aupplicationL "Ask, and ye shall have." 'ihe apathy of which, it may be, we complain so bitterly, may be due in large measure to our own spiritual sloth, to the sluggishness of our prayers. Where the Word of the Lord runs, it will be glorified; it is living and powerful; it will manifest its energy in the blessed lives, the holy deaths, of converted men; it will show forth the glory of the Lord in that glory of holiness which, springing from his indwelling presence, will transform the souls in whom that presence abides. 2. For the missionaries themselves. They are exposed to many dangers; it was so with St. Paul. He was now at Corinth, a city where there was a great work to do, for the Lord had much people there, But he met with much opposition, at first from fanatical Jews, afterwards from "false brethren" and "false apostles." He bids the Thessa- lonian& pray that he might be delivered from these men, not for his own sak.e--he counted not his life dear unto himself-but that he might finish his course with joy, and be blessed in saving many souls, So we should pray now for faithful missionaries, that they may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. LEBBONB. 1. Pray constantly for the success of the gospel in all the world. Christ bids you; his apostles bid you. 2. Do not think yourself too weak and sinful to do so; such humility is false humility ; it clefrauds God's ministers of the assistance which you are bound to give them. 3. Believe in the power of prayer; it is an important element in a living faith.-B. C. C. Vera. 3-5.-St. Paul', confidence. I. HE TRUSTS IN THB LoBD. 1. 7"'8 Lordi, faithful,, All men have not the faith; the faith is not the possession of all. These unreasonable and wicked men seem to be beyond its saving influences. But the Lord is faithful, He is the 'l'ruth ; his promises are sure. Amid the tumult of Clpposition, the rude fanaticism of the Jews, the sneers of the philosophic Greeka, St. Paul still tru8te.\ in the Lord. "The Lord is faithful." It is a great word; we may well pray that it may be engraven in our hearts, as the centre of our hopes, the strength of our sou. 2. He will strengthen the Thessalonian,. It is what St. Paul prayed for in .._e lu\  'I THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE TIIESSALONIANS. [ce. UL 1-18,