The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Timothy — Section 39

Now, ju~t 88 the miserable man would have a miserable world around him ao the happy c:urn would have a happy w0rld around him. He would distribute h;ppiness moet lavishly. He would admit all to a share of it. He would have all to be happy as he is happy. " I would to God," said Paul to Agrippa, "that not only thou, but als<i all that hear me this day, were both almost and altogether such 88 I am, ~cept theM bonds." The happy man is m~onanimous; he wishes ill to no one; he invokes blessin" even upon his enemies. Out of his own heart of blessedness there seems to rise th~ desire t.o make others blessed. And so, although God can have no desire to make him- self more blessed, yet, 1,eing full of blessedness himself, he desires to make others blessed. Creation may be taken as an expression of that desire on the part of God. Creation is just God flowing out in ble,scJness. It is God saying, "Let me not keep my blessed- neu to myself; let others be blessed with me." What purpose in creation can we con- ceive into which that does not enter? It is true that we are created to give praise to God ; but that is more from our side. From God's side, it is perhaps better to say that he created us, not so much that he might receive our praise, as that we might receive his blessedness. God. we may suppose, would not have created for the mere purpose of creating, however pleasurable that is to him. Neither would he have created merely to have a sphere for the exercise of his power. What to him were empty worlds in which t.o store up his power, through which at will to roll the thunder of his power? Neither would be have created for the mere pleasure of working accord- ing to a plan, or of having the marvels of his wisdom set forth before him. What to him were the clothing matter with plants and trees, touching each minutest part with his plastic hand, and varying every form? The blessed God created, not to have pleasure himself, but to give pleasure. lt was that, we think, that moved him to create. And therefore he made li"ing creatures-creatures capable of receiving pleasure. And he cared for having nothing in the world which was not to bless them. From the tiniest insect that dances out its lifetime in a summer sun, through all the orders of living beings up to man himself, invested with lordship, he has only one design-to make existence pleasurable to hls creatures. True, there is evil in the world, reaching down from man to the other creatures which necessarily share with l,im his earthly lot. But there is reason for the evil; e.nd the evil, it is to be observed, is not in the creation. It ha.q been induced on an all-good creation. In no case does God as e. final end make a being to inflict pain on it. And even as it is, with the evil introduced into our world, who will say that God intends our destruction? It would have been e. very different world if there had been the shadowing forth of any such intention. It ii or things BB they are that Paul says, taking a broad retrospective view of God's dealings in providence, "He left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, e.nd fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." He would not continue to make provi,;ion for our support, did he mean our destruction. A.nd not only does he make provision for our support, but he gives us all things richly to enjoy. He gives 118 food, and the other necessaries of life in abundance, And not only so, but he gives us many things for the mere pleasure of them. He arranges objects in• nature with a reO'ard t.o beauty_ He richly colours them; he floods them with a kindlv light. He gives" us flowers; he gives us the song of birds. He gives us rainbows and sunsets, and clouds of many a form. And he curtains the earth, that he may show llS the glory of the starry heavens. And all these things he gives us chiefly as luxuries. We say, then, that even in nature God testified to his de8ire, to his intention to make us happy. Ev11n in nature, which has been spoken of as "red in tooth and claw with ravm," God gives us the promise of the coming gospel. Consider, in the ...econd place, how the gospel, iB a commwn:ication of the glory of the blessednes.~ of God. We remark (1) that this is true of the go8pcl, if we con,ider who ure made blessed by it. lt ill a gospel of blessedness to UB. It does not need to be proved that we are not in the state for which God intended UB, We do not bear the impress of the blessed God. Tl,e lark mounts up on wings of joy to the sky. Song seems t.o be of its very nature. Aud as 800n as it has got btrength of wing, it mounts up and pours out its song. W(' cuuld scarcely think of a lark in a summer day, hiding itself away from the light a.nd refusing t.o Hing. But it is not so natural for us t.o be happy. We are accustomed to UJ.i.llery_ We do not expect men to be highly joyous. WG do not expect men to l,o mu.isical to the height of tlieir nature, We expen a certain depression, a certe.in now llB, L 1-20,) THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 27