on promised strength. Then there is love, or proper regard for the common or individual good. There iR, lastly, peace, or the keeping up of cordial intercourse and co-operation with brethren. 'l'lte society by which he has to do his duty is regarded as composed of "them that call on the Lord ont of a pure heart." All the more that some called on the Lord without the pure heart must he he faithful to tl,e terms of communion with all who, in good faith, were servants of the Lord. IX. TREATMENT OF OPPOSERB. 1. Avoidance of controversy with them. "But fooliah and ignorant questionings refuse, knowing that they gender strifes." The apostle doa not say all questionings; for some might arise from honest difficulties, and tb8118 deserved to be met. But he says such questionings as were foolish, i.e. betraye.l no honest struggle after the truth, and such as were ignorant, ie. betrayed ignorance of the position questioned. Such questionings as, arising from egoism, did not deserve Lo be met, and the proper course was to have nothing to do with them. For they could not gender conviction, but petty strifes, in which the contest i, not for the truth, but for personal or party victory. 2. The arts of gentleness with them. "And the Lord's servants must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing, in meek- ness correcting them that oppose themselves," The Lord's servant, such as Timothy was in a special sense, was not to strive. For how in that way could he be the servant of him who did not strive, nor cry, nor let his voice be heard in the streets? What became the Lord's servant was to practise the arts of gentleness towards all. Bis part was, not to fight but te teach, not to be fiery under opposition, but to be patient. In accordance with his being a teacher and not a mere disputant, he was to communicate knowledge of the truth, by way of correcting false impressions to those who opposed themselves; and, in doing so, he might expect provocation, hut in the character of the Lord's servant he was to exhibit meekness. 3. Object aimed at. "If peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, and they may recover them- selves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by the Lord's servant unto • the will of God.n The interpretation which is introduced into the Revised Translation in the concluding words is not likely to find acceptance. There is a strong characteriza- tion of the opposers. They are in the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him at the will of that person whose will, it is hinted, is decided enough for evil The grammatical objection holds no more in Greek than in E~glish; the thought i.:! the badness of their case, for whom notwithstanding he asks elforts to be made. In con- nection with these efforts it was not impossible for God to grant them repentance, that change of moral disposition which was necessary to the right appreciation of the truth, and thue to recover them as from a state of spiritual intoxication, and to bring them out of the devil's snare. The Lord's servant is not soon to give up, but is to hope on, even with those who seem to be the devil's willing tool&.-R. F.
EXPOSITION. lb8pa,.-o,); men in geueral, the bulk of lllllD CHAPTER III. in the Church; for he is speaking, not of the Ver. 1.-But know this for this know also, world at larg~, but of professing Christians. A.V.; grievous for perilous, A.V. Grievous Lovers of self (,P!}l.«11'1"01); only here in the times (,cciapol x<L\,.-o/). "Grievous" is not a New Testament, and not found in the very good rendering. "Perilous," though LXX. ; but used by Aristotle in a striking in some oontexts it is a right rendering, is passRge (quoted by Alford), where he dis- a little too restricted here. " Difficult,'' tinguishes tl ,ose who are 4>i}l.a.l/'1"01 in a good "trying,"" uneasy," or t·.he like, is nearer the sense, and those who are justly blamed for sense. Thev are timeH when a Christian being ,P(}l.a.vTo,, i.e. ad.fish o.nd greedy. hardly knows which way to tum or what to The Chri,tian character is exactly the oppo- do. He has to live under 11 constant seuse site (see 1 Cor. x. 24; xiii. 5). Lovers ot of hindr11nce and difficulty of one aort or money (,PtA.rip-yvpo,); elsewhere in the New another. Testament only in Luke xvi. 14, though not Ver. 2.-Self for their own selve•, A.V.; uncommon in ola.ssioal Greek; ,p,}l.a.p-yvpla. id l11ver1 of money for covetous, A. V.; boagtful found in 1 Tim. vL 10. Boastfnl (a.\ci(ovu); for bo{l,Jl/cr,, A.V.; haughty for proud, A.V.; ns Rom. i. 30, and in olassical Greek. It ,a,l•ra for bla1phemer8, A. V. Men ( ol tJ,.. ,kriv,1tin11 nf tl.ie worJ ill .L\lJ, wander- 40 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. [011, Ill, 1-17.