Vel"I!. 16-18.-The apostle'8 trial, before N,:ro, with its memorable incidents. I. Il1s DESERTION BY MAN. "At my first defence no one took my part, but all forsook me; may it not be laid to their account." 1. The apostle had to make his defence before the emperor. There is no record of the nature of the charge. It was probably a cLarge of sedition or disobedience to the pagan authorities, which, on account of the close complication of civil and religious duties in the state, could not be explained to the satisfaction of a ruler jealous of civil obedience. 2. The saints at Rome deserted th£ apostle through /tnr. They failed te support him either by their presence, their sympathy, or their witness in ais favour. Their weakness and timidity must have been a sore trial to the apostle. Yet he could remember that his Divine Master h~d been similarly deserted in his last hours. 3. 1'he apostle's prayer for these timorous saints. " May it not be laid to their account." This implies: (1) That they had been guilty of a grave trespass in forsaking the apostle. (2) That a single sin, irnpardone.tl., would be destructiv11 to the saints. (3) That the apostle had a deep interest in their welfare. (a) He would be concerned for the gr<•a1 weaknPss of their faith, with !t• accompanying depresision and diecomfurt; (b) fur the effects of their weakness on tru, high repute of the gospel; (c) and he would seek thdr restoration in the very spiri\ uf hi.a Divine Master. 11. IF II.AN FORSOOK llill, HE W.A.8 NOT FORSAKEN BY Gon. "But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me; that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear." luike hi.a Divine Master, he might say," Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me." 1. The Divine support aocorded to him. The secret but gracious presence of the Lord delivered him from all unworthy fears of man. He would foe!, "lf Gud be for us, who can be against us?" He WWJ Htrer,gthened inwardly unto all long-suffering with joyfulness; so that he could 11,ake ··,is defe::ice with ll-11 cl<·arncsB 11ud courage, with all preseuce of mind, and with all 08, IV, 1-22.] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 6\J
rreedom or thought anrl expression. 2. 'I'he end of thia Divine aupport 111a1 that the goBpel might be still more fully known at Rome and elsewhere by all Gentiles. III. '1'111!: EJl'Jl'E0T OJI' ms DEFENCE. "And I WIIS delivered 011t of the n,outh of the lion." He had, for a time, escaped condemnation. Nero WIIS tbe cruel lion out of whose power the Lord had delivered him. IV. 'l'IIE APOSTLE'S ANTICIPATION OJI' A BTILL HIGHER DEJ,IVERANCE. "And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto hie heavenly kingdom." 1. This is no declaration that the apostle shall escape, death, for he hat:l already spolcen of himself as" alrearly beinq offered." (Ver. 6.) 2. lt is a rledaration that he sl,alt be carried beyond the sphere of evil in every fr/I'm, and tmnslate,J, sec11,rely into the heavenly kingdom. All the evil influences at work around him would noL affect him. There is not a note of fear in his last days. v. ASCRIPTION OF GLORY TO HIS DIVINE DELIVERER. "To whom be the glory for ever and ~ver." 1. The glory is here ascribed to the Son of God, an expreSB evidence of his Divinity. 2. There is no time more appropriate/or such an ascriptwn of glory as after deliverance from death and evil.-'f. C.
Vera. 19-22.-Balutaeions and personal notices. I. SALUTATIONS. "Salute Prisca ~nd Aquila, and the house of Onesiph"rus." 1. The apostle remembers his ab.,ent friends in his solitude, but especially those wl,o gave him such hearty co-operation at Cori11th or Ephesus. 2. He likewise transmits to Timothy the Ohristian salutationa of Eubulue, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia, Roman saints, of eminence and grace in the Church, yet who failed to stand by him on his memorable trial. II. NOTICES. "Erastus abode at Corinth." Probably the chamberlain of that city (Rom. xvi. 22), who once showed much kindness to the apostle, and afterwards accom- panied Timothy on a journey into Macedonia (Acts xix. 22). "Trophimue I left at Miletus sick." This was a Gentile Christian of Ephesus, whose presence with the apostle at Jerusalem caused such an uproar (Acts xxi. 29). Miletus was a ~ea.port of Carla, thirty miles from Ephesus. Trophimus would have been with the apostle at Rome, probably, but for his sickness. The apostle left him at Miletus, probably, shortly before his present imprisonment. III. FINAL WORDS FOB '1':mOTHY. "Do thy diligence to come before winter." We see here the tender anxiety of the l'postle to see his young friend before death. If he did not come at once, the severities of the winter might pr~vent his journey altogether. "The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with yolL" We have here a double benediction--0ne addressed singly to Timothy, the other to Ti,nuthy and the Ephesian Church. 'l'he presence of Christ would be his comfort and st.ay in every difficulty, and strengthen him for every duty.-T. C. Ver. 2.-The apostolic injunction. "Preach the Word." Timothy had not to oreau a gospel, but to preach one; and the "Word" is broad and vast enough for any prea,cher. The cross has for its circumference all truth, and is to bt1 carried into all spheres of life. I. PREACH IT WITH INSTANCY. It is not a mere philosophy to interest students as an esoteric study; nor is it a m,·re elaborate theological thesis to be proven true. It has to do with "the present salvation" and the future well-being of man. lnstancy; for: I. The sea.son may be only now. To-morrow preacher or hearer, or both, may be gone. 2. The truth can never be out of season. We need it always--in all places, in all our duties, temptations, and trial■. II. PREACH IT WITH AUTHORITY. That is, with the authority of truth, not your own ex-cathedra authority. "MePkly;" but not as though your congregations were patrons to be pleased, or Sanh,·drims to try your opinions. Modestly; but with authority; not, as I said, your own «uthority, but the authority of truth, which has its own witness within. So you will r<'prove men fearlessly, never hiding them from themselves by cunni11g words of flattery. .And yuu will "rebuke "-for evil soon spreads if it be not exposed a11d condemned at once-just as Nathan boldly faced David, and 1Bid, "Thou art the ruan." III. PREACH IT WITH EXHORTATION. Tbe teacher is not to be merely a scornful "'tirist of immorality-a sort of Juvenal. J\or is he to be a lightning-conductor of Vi vine wrath; he is to seek to save men. He has not done his work when he Will 70 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. [cR. IV, 1-22,