Vere. 12, 13.-Efaculation rf thankfulness/or thi., high tr,,.,f,. Though he appears to turn aside for a moment from the false teachers, he is still carrying out bis design to inspire Timothy with a pn,per view of the true nat,ue an<i impl)rtance of the gospel. I. 'l'BE SUBJECT-MATTER OF BIB THANKSGIVING. "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, that enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to the ministry." 1. The Lord gave him 8trength for his work. "He enabled me." He gave him all hi, intelle~tual abilities, all bis capacity for winning men to the trutl,, all bis firmness, endurance, and patience in preaching the gospel. 2. The Lord yave him his appoinl- ment to the ministry. (1) The apostle did not thrust himself into it, nor take this honour to himself, neither was he called unto it by men. (2) It was the Lord himself who made a minister of him; for the apostle speaks of" the ministry which I received uf the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts xx. 24). The ministry here signifies the more humble service, rather than the apostleship; for he refers rnther to the work to be done than to the prerogatives of his office. (3) The Lord counted him faithful for the work; not that the faithfulness was a foreseen quality which became the ground of his call to office, but that he counted him faithful because be ma.de him so, for he speaks of himself as" one who bath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful" (1 Cor. vii. 25). Faithfulness must be the pre-eminent quality of the steward of God (1 Cor. iv. 2). II. HIS THANKSGIVING 18 GREATLY ENHANCED BY THE THOUGHT OF BIB DEEP UN- WORTHINESS. "Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and a doer of outrage." These are words of bitter self-accusation. 1. He had been a blasphemer. He spoke evil himself of the Name of Jesus, and compelled others to follow bis example (Acts x.xvi. 11). This was the highest sin that could be committed against God. 2. He had been a persecutor. "I per~ecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men ancl women" (Acts xxii. 4). He "breathed out threatenings and slaugLter against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts ix. 1). He not only spoke evil uf Christ, but persecuted Christ in his members. 3. He had been a doer of outrage. Not content merely with reproachful words, he broke out into deeds of violence. His conduct was contumelious and injurious in the last degree.-T. C. Ver. 13.-The Lord's mercy contrasted with his own want of it. Great as his llin had been, he became a subject of Divine mercy. I. 'l'HE LORD'S MERCY TO Blll. "I obtained mercy." 1. The mercy included the pardon of his great wickedness. It was mercy unsought for 11S well as unmerited. 2. It was mercy with the grace of apostleship added to it. II. THE GROUND AND REASON OF TWB 1'4EROY. .. Because I did it ignorantly in unbe- lief." 1. The true ground of mercy is nothing whatever in man, bat the compas11ion of God himself (Titus iii. 5). 2. The apostle does not signify that he had any claim to God's mercy, for he calls himself in the next verse "the very chief of sinners." 3. He does not mean to lessen the enormity of his guilt, but sets it forth, in all its attending circumstances, 118 not being such as excluded him from the pale of mercy, because he had not sinned against his own convictions. (1) He did it ignorantly; but ignorance was no excuse where there were the means of knowledge; and unbelief, out of which the ignorance springs, could not be accepted as an excuse, since he had heard the statement of Stephen. Besides, all sins spring from ignorance, and are aggravated by unbelief. (2) But he did not sin wilfully against light and conscience, and so commit the siu against the Holy Ghost. (3) He who has compassion on the ignorant had compassion upon him, when he found him an ignornnt and blinded zealot. Thus were confirmed the words of Christ, that every sin against the Son of man will be forgiven, so long 11S there is no blasphemy against the Spirit (Matt. xii. 31). The apostle had not deliberately set nt nou<'ht the counsel of God, but stood on exactly the same ground with those sinners converted at Pentecost, who had acted "in ignorance" (Acts iii. 17). The sin was greo.t in both cases, but it was not unpardonable. (4) There is nothing in the apostle's statement to justify the opinion that those who have never heard of Uhrist will be for- given on aocoUDt of their ignorance. Our Lord'■ wonle warrant the expectation tha 1 14 'I HE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. [os. 1, 1-20.
there will be a mitig,.tion, hut nol R remission, of punishment in such Cll888. "He that knew not, Rnd did r,ommit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes" (Luke xii. 48). The language in both passages justifies charitable judgmente even re.~pecting persecutor,;.-T. C.
Ver. 14.-The superabou11,ling grace <if the Lord t" the apostll!. He now e:a:plaine how fully he received of God's mercy in spite of his unbelief. I. THE MERCY OF THE LORD OVERFLOWED IN GRACE ON Goo's SIDE. .. But the grace of our Lord superabounded." His salvation was of free grace. He had done uotbing to deserve it, but rather everything to forfeit his claim upon it. It was grace first that made him a Christian, and then made him an apostle. 11. THE MERCY OF THE LORD OVERFLOWED IN FAITH AND 1.OVE ON MAN'S SIDE. "With faith and love that are in Cl:ri~t Jesus." 1. Tlie3e two graces are the fruits oj g~~ ~en grace _abound~, they will nec~sarily ~bound. 2. Faith stands in opposi- tion to h1s old unbelief. It IS that grace winch receives every blessincr from Christ and gives him all the glory, bringing peace, joy, and comfort into the he:rt, and endi~cr0 in eternal life. 3. Love stands in opposition to hisformer rage and cruelty. He now has ~ove_ to God and man. 4. Hia faith and love find their true spring in Jes'U,S Christ, as ID him all fulness dwells.-T. C.