to the p~nis_e of _the Io_ng-su/Tering of ~~ist. ~hoev_er th~~s he is far enough away from behevm~, m resistance to the D1vme lea.dings, m hostility offered to Christ, Pa.ul would he.ve him to be encouraged by his example to believe on Christ, the certain end of this believing being eternal life, or possession, up to our capacity, of the bl8"sednes, of the Divine life. VI. Doxo1,00T. "Now unto the King eternal, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." The apostle concludet1 his pe111vnal digression with a doxology which is unique in its character, and, we may be sure, appropriate. God is styled, as he is nowhere else in the Scriptures, literally" King of the ages," i.e. Sovereign Controller of the vast periods under which centuries a.nd millenniums a.re included. Outside of them himself in his absolute eternity, he sways all that takes place in t1em. He ca.n be long-suffering a.s he is in Christ; he does not need to be in haste, having the a.gee in which to work out his purposes. He is also style<l "incorruptible," as he is also in Rom. i. 23; and "invisible," as he is in Col. i. 15 and Heb. ii. 27. '!'here is great difficulty in all religions in rising a.hove gross notions of God. A3 a pure Spirit there is denied of him the corruptibility and visibility which pertain to our corporea.l nature. There is not, therefore, permitted a corporeal representation, or any image of him, as tending to degrade our conceptio11 of him. He is further styled "the only God," as in eh. vi. 15 he is styled "the only Potentate." This seems to be chiefly directed a.go.inst the Essene religion, which invested their intermediate agents with Divine powers of creation. To God, as thus exalted, is ascribed. with a fulness o1 expression, honour and glory (as in Rev. v. 13) to the ages of ages over which the Divine existence extends.-R. F. Vere. 18---20.-Recurrence to Timothy. 1. The charge. "This charge I commit unto thee, my child Timothy, a.ccording to the prophecies which went before on thee, that by them thou ma.yest war the good warfare; holding faith and a good conscience." The reference seems be.ck to ver. 3, which, though distant, is the only charge which has been defined, viz. the charge laid on Tiwoth11, that he should charge certain men not to teach a different doctrine, neither to give heed to fables and endless genealogies. This involved his coming into cont:i.ct with these men, and so there is naturally intro- duced the idea of warfare. lie was to em brace his opportunity in Ephesus of warring the good warfare. "Knighthood" is Luther's word, the suggestion being the whole service in war that is required of a good Chri~tian knight, such as he would wish the youthful Timothy to be. It is the good warfare; for it is not mere romance, but a warfare age.inst all forms of sin-a warfare in the Na.me of the Saviour and with his gospel, and a. warfare which has the promise of success. To call forth the knightly qualities in Timothy, Paul calls up the prophecies which went before on him. These were founded on the good hopes which he awakened in good men, when first he began to show his qualities; he must not disappoint these good hopes. As prophecies, or uttered under the inspiration of the Spirit prior to or at his introduction into office, they were to be taken 118 a. Divine indication that he W118 being put to his proper work. They would also, we may believe, point to the hard work which, 118 a good knight, he would not feo.r to face. Thus using the prophecies, they would be a Divine assistance to him; they would be as armour in which he wll8 clad. Especially, however, with a view to what is to follow, would the apostle impress on him the importance of holding faith and a good conscience. Prophecies, expressions of good opinion, are only useful in so far 118 they help us to la.y hold by faith upon the grea.t Source of strength. in whom alone we can show all knightly activity and endurance. They are a.lso useful, only if we do not allow them to seduce us to part with a good conscience, our bett"r self-that inward monitor that from moment to moment points to us our duty, and in whose approval we can fed tha.twe have the approval of God. 2. Warning. "Which some having thrust from them ma.de shipwreck concerning the faith: of whom is Hymenreus and Alexander; whom I delivered unto Satan, that they might be taught not to bl118pheme." For Timothy's warning, Pa.ul points to the heretics. Instead of holding faith and a good coilllCiencc, these thrust a.way from them the latter, as men, with a certain violence, put away something that is disagreeable. Their truest friend they thrust aside, as they would ~ troublesome creditor. The result was, that they ma.de shipwreck of their faith. Throw- ing awa7 all that was needed to direct them, all that 1181'Ved as chart, compua, rudder, 32 THE FfRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY, [on. n. 1-16,
tLey m~e shipwrecl~ of themselve~ concerning faith in Christ, thus commg short of <'t.ernal hfe. How <l1sastr,1us, cspcc1al\y for those who seemed to make a fair start in t.he voyage of life! The teachiu~ of the apostle is suggestive regarding the causes of heresy._ "As unbelief n~rly alwars leads to grosser or ~ore r~fiued immorality, so not rarely 1t begms lrom an immoral ground, at least when faith existed before (Rom. i. 21). This is a deep mental truth; for it is far too common to represent faith or infidelity as a matter of abstract opinion." Earnestness in life leads to correct opinion (John vii. 17), wherea.s moral indifference makes it for our interest to doubt. Heresies have a secret moral genesis which will one day be made plain. Two notable heretics are mentioned herc--Hymenreus and Alexander. ln 2 Tim. ii. 17 Hymenams is associated with Philetus in this, that their teaching did eat like a cancer. He and Alexander (not the coppersmith of 2 Tim. iv. 14) are here referred to as having been d,-livered unto Satan. 'l'his seems strong language to us who have nothing to impress us in the shape of such n.postolic discipline in our time. It is properly regarded as "a form of Christian excom- munication, declaring the person to be reduced to the state of a heathen, accompanied with the authoritati"e infliction of bodily disease or death." In this case the inlliction of punishment was with a view to reformation. There was nothing to hinder their being received back into the Christian Church. Their probation was not at an end; there w&S reason for further dealing, and what was suitable to their case was the hard dealing here referred to. Better that men should be excommunicated-with which power the Church is still invested-better that men should have disease sent upon them, than that they should remain in a state of religious indifference or be spreaders of error.-R. F.