revealed the L11w of God Rgllinst evil. He is to remember the.t the Christ he preaches is the Son of m110 who is come, "not to condemn the world, but the.t the world through him might be s11ved." 1. Long-suffering is to ln, the spirit of hia method, Remembering th11t hum11nity is fr11il e.nd fa.lien, the preacher must be sympathetic, &s himself needing mercy. 2. Doctrim ill to be his remedy. The great revelation of a Divine Saviour and the promised Spirit, the Comforter.-W. M.. S.
Ver. 6.-Life's e1Jtming how. "For I &m now ready to be offered, and the time of my depart~re is ~t ha~d." St. Pa1;1l f~lt sure that the enemies of the gospel would he successful ID their designs npon his hfe. Sooner or later he knew that the lions or the flames, the executioner's axe or the cruel crOSII, would complete his earthly course. But as he had made e.n "offering" of his life to Christ, so he was ready in death to be offered up for the Master's sake. . I. THE APOSTOLIC READINESS, Although a prisoner, he had been permitted to be a preacher in the neighbouring camp of C1BSar's palace during his first imprisonment at Rome. But not so now. Amid the Prllltorian Guard alone could he testify now; and as the soldier to whom he was chained by the wrist would often be changed, he had the opportunity of speaking to each one in turn the good word of the kingdom of God. His imprisonments had been preceded by missionary journeys, in which he had planted Churches of Christ everywhere-{Jhurches which had become centres of evangelization and edification. He was "ready;" for his character had been moulded by "great tribulation;" so that his soul was puri6ed hy the grace of God working there the self- conquests of his nature. The righteous indignation of a strong nature-which we know full well once in bis apostolate would have been aroused at his adversaries-had been softened into a calm submission to the Divine will, and he was conscious that God would take care of his own Church in the perilous times which bad come, Moreover, Timothy was there to take up the greatworke.nd to preach the Word. Paul was ready for the " rest; " and the " rest" was ready for him. II. THE APOSTLE'S TIME. "The time of my departure." All our times are in God's band: "the time to be boro and the time to die." This was with Paul no fatalistic creed; he did not for11:et that there was a divinely wise will ordering all. 1. Death was a departure. It was not the habit of St. Paul to dwell on death in itself, but rather on its glorious iRsues to the Christian. The faith was strong in him. The. motto-Mora janua vitcE-" Death is the !(II.le of life," was the spirit of bis creed. 2. But death waa r,ot the depart11re of the Christ. He was here. By his Spirit be was still working in the hearts of all who believed. 'l'be Christ in him was the Christ in Timothy too; and St. Paul well knew that the triumphant chariot of the Redeemer stops at no man's grave.-W. M. S. Ver. 7.-The oott'le finished. "I have fought a good 6ght." Nothing 10 nature is more beautiful than the all-glorious sunset ; even the storm-clouds make it a more magnificent scene. So it was with St. PauL Amid the threatening clouds of perse- cution the Saviour's glory shone all around and about him, and lighted up the dark firmament of the martyr-experiences. L TBI!: PAST FIGHT. He was a man of we.r in the best sense, and had fought a good fight. He had conflicts in hi'TTIMl,f-" fightings without, and fears within." He had opposition from the Jews of the ancient Church, and from the Judaistic Christians, who were trying to pervert the gospel! Rome, that dreaded sedition, looked upon him as a stirrer-up of strife, and though St. Paul was not an enemy of Clll11ar, this gave Cmsar's enemies an opportunity for casting opprobrium on him. He hacl, too, as we all have, ir,visib'le enemies, so that be did not war only "against flesh and blood." The past ~bt was A lifelong one with him, for he had at first to withstand even bis Christian coadjutors in his determination to proclaim aod to preserve the universality and spirituality of the gospel kingdom; be boldly and triumphantly withstood even Peter to tl11, face, and so gave to the Church of all ages the Magna Charta of its Divine freedom. IL THI': FINISHED couasE. He could look back upon the racecourse now, and he varies his imagery. Now he iotroduces the idea of the Grecian games. We can sec tht eager athlete girding his loins for the race-a race which taxed all his ene"§ies. In ueai a.od co1c. amid&: ene::::iiea and friends, St. Paul " preased toward the mark. There Od. IV. 1-22.) THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 71