1. Father of mercies; Abounding Consolations; Farnest of the Spirit 11. Reproach in Excess; Patience with Transgressors; Roman Triumphs; 111. Tables of the Heart; Letter and the Spirit; Vail on the Heart; Changed IV. God seen in Christ; Vessels bearing Lights; Celestial Cardening; Looking v. Our Earthly House; Migrating from Earth; Egyptian ideas of Future Punish- VI. Now, the Accepted Time; Armour of Righteousness; Yoked with Un- x. Paul's Physical Frailty; Paul's Speech Contemptible XI. Satan an Angel of Light; Paul's Sufferings; Escape from Persecutors XII. Sufficient Grace; Strength in Weakness; Longing for Nobler Life; Caught XIII. Honesty; Pleasure in Other's Good; Perfection in Character; Traces of the 7-9 19-21 21-23 24-26 1. "For Ages of Ages"; Persecutors become Preachers 11. Bad Influence of Others; Remembering the Poor: Refusing to Eat with Others; Not Justified by Works; Living unto God; Crucified with 111. Fascination of Error; Faith and Works; Law in the Old Economy; Media- IV. Adoption; Idolatry a Testimony; Benevolent Zeal v. Faith helped by Love; Separating the Unworthy; Serving one Another; Revellings; Peril of the Wicked; Perfect Christian Character; Goodness vi. Reaping and Sowing; Reaping Life Everlasting; Unwearying in Well 1. Paul's Connection with Ephesus; Wisdom and Prudence; Predestination; Opened Eyes to Spiritual Things... 11. Dead to God; Prince of the Power of the Air; Children of Wrath; God's Great Love; Salvation by Grace; Christians God's Workmanship; Middle Wall of Partition; Salvation by the Trinity III. Dispensation; Napoleon's Views of Christ; Christ's Great Family; Christ in the Heart; Fulness of God; God's Grace above our Thoughts IV. Perils of the Christian Course; Misguided Sincerity; Every Joint Needful; Past Feeling; Spirit of your Mind; Lying Punished; Reward of Truth; Mutual Dependence; Reconciliation before Sundown; Giving Place to the Devil; Thief Converted; Evil Speaking; Power of Kindness... v. Followers of God; Once in Ignorance of Sin; Fruit of the Spirit; Reproving Sin; Redeeming Time; Give up Bad Ways at Once; Excessive Drinking; Spiritual Influence; Love to Wives; Wifely Character VI. Filial Obedience; Duty to Parents; Eye Service; Faithful Service; Christian Armour; Christian Fidelity; Fiery Darts; Sword of the 1. Philippi, Officers of the Early Church; Servant of Jesus Christ; Having Others in Our Heart; Moral Feelings; Self-sacrifice amidst Infirmity; Full Meaning of Sincerity; Gospel Furthered by Persecutions; Roman Palaces; Death a Gain; Peace in Death; Good Reason for desiring to II. Paul's Appeal to Philippians; Paul's Joy; Humility; Self-sacrifice; Low- III. Scripture Dogs; Circumcision; Hellenists and Hellenizers; Christ All in All; No Realizing our Ideal; Progress in Personal Religion; Running for the Prize; Lust of Eating; Citizenship in Heaven; Resurrection of IV. Names in the Book of Life; Lord at Hand; Everything with Prayer; Careful for Nothing; Things Honest; Content in all Circumstances; How Christ Strengthens Us; Good of Doing Goed; God Supplying 1. Colosse; Prayer for Others; Strengthened in Suffering: Fitness for Heaven; Heaven an Inheritance; Delivered like the Diamond; Redemption not by Example; Christ the First-born; Creation by Christ; Only Christ; Alienated; Ready for the Master's Call; Value of Souls 11. God Manifest in Christ; Hand-writing of Ordinances; Comfort in what Christ has Done; Captives in War; Worshipping Images III. Where Soul's Affection should be; Sinful Desires; Christ is all; Longsuffering; Forbearing and Forgiving; Religion as Perfectness; Thankfulness; Indwelling Word; In the Name of the Lord Jesus; Obedience to Parents; Obedience to Employers; All Things should be done Heartily IV. Just Wages; Prayer for Ministers; Redeeming the Time; Seasoned with 1. Thessalonica; Influence of a Pious Example; Followers of Christ and 11. Power of Personal Influence; Ministerial Independence; Preciousness of God's IV. Honesty; Brotherly Love; Death a Sleep; Sorrow for the Dead v. Sudden Destruction; Perils of Darkness; Danger of Unwatchfulness; Honouring Christ in His Servants; "Pray without Ceasing"; "Quench 1. Retributive Providences; Everlasting Destruction... 11. Forgeries of Paul's Letters; Man of Sin; Lying Wonders III. Unreasonable Men; Kept from Evil; Christ's Second Advent; Idleness is not ... 124-164 135-137 138-145 145-148 149-151 152-153 154, 155 158-162 163 168-171 172-175 II. One Mediator; Lifting up Hands; Love of Dress; Giving up Adornments III. Husband of One Wife ; Apt to Teach"; Mystery of Godliness IV. Cruelties of False Religions; Forbidding to Marry; Refusing Food; Bodily and Spiritual Training; Profit of Godliness; Responsibility of Christian v. Filial Piety; Duty of Providing for One's Own; Washing the Saints' Feet; VI. Godliness with Contentment; Riches end with Life; Love of Money; Peril of Love of Money; Energy; God Everywhere; Cure for Covetousness 1. Paul's Last Letter; Motherly Influence; Stir up the Fire; Pagan Notions of 11. Endure Hardness; One Thing at a Time; Workers and Rewards; Suffering and Reigning; Christian Consistency; Power of Meekness; Snare of the III. Living in Pleasure; Form of Godliness; Jannes and Jambres; Power of the IV. Instant in Season; Wise Reproof; Watching; Paul's Martyrdom; Paul's Roman Imprisonments; Paul's Fidelity; Crown by-and-by; Paul's Friends; Worldly Allurements; Paul's Cloak; Parchments; Nero the Lion; 199--204 205-212 213-215 11. Keepers at Home; Sobermindedness; Honour due to Masters; Good Fidelity; Waiting for Christ's appearing; Giving Life for Others; Peculiar People 241-246 III. Speaking Evil of Others; Man cannot Save Himself The Epistle; Story with name Philemon; Love and Good Works; Expository.-Consider what that nature must be which is here styled the Father of mercies. When a man begets children, they are in his own likeness. God groups all the mercies of the universe into a great family of children, of which He is the Head. Mercies tell us what God is. They are His children. He is the Father of them, in all their forms, combina. tions, multiplications, derivations, offices. Mercies in their length and breadth in their multitudes--infinite, uncountable-these are God's offspring, and they represent their Father. Judgments are effects of God's power. Pains and penalties go forth from His hand. Mercies are God Himself. They are the issues of His heart. If He rears up a scheme of discipline and education which requires and justifies the application of pains and penalties for special purposes, the God that stands behind all special systems and all special administrations in His own interior nature pronounces Himself the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Of mercies it is said that they are children. They are part of God's nature. They are not what He does so much as what He is.-H. W. BEECHER. 903.-ABOUNDING CONSOLATIONS. 2 Cor. i. 5.-" For as the sufferings of Christ abound in 1 us, so our consolation' also aboundeth by 3 Christ." [R.V.] Unto. Comfort. By. Illustrative. When Mr. James Bainham, who suffered under Henry VIII. of England, was in the midst of the flames, which had half consumed his arms and legs, he said aloud-"O ye Papists, ye look for miracles, and here now you may see a miracle; for in this fire I feel no more pain than if I were in a bed of down, but it is to me a bed of roses." 2 66 2 Cor. i. 22. “Who hath: also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." [R.V.]1 Omits hath, 2 Gave us.] Illustrative. The Greek word for "earnest" (arrhabon), which occurs here for the first time, and is used only by St. Paul in the New Testament (ch. v. 5; Eph. i. 14), has a somewhat interesting history. Originally a Hebrew word, from a verb meaning "to mix," "to change," "to pledge," and so used, as a cognate noun, with the last of the three senses, it appears simply transliterated in the LXX. of Genesis xxxviii. 17, 18. It would seem to have been in common use among the Canaanites or Phoenician traders, and was carried by them to Greece, to Carthage, to Alexandria, and to Rome. It was used by the Greek orator Iscus, and by Plautus and Terence among the earlier Latin writers. The full form came to be considered somehow as pedantic or vulgar, and was superseded in Roman law by the shortened "arrah," the payment of a small sum given on the completion of a bargain as a pledge that the payer would fulfil the contract; and it has passed into Italian as "arra," into modern French as "les arrhes"; into popular Scotch even, as "arles." As applied by St. Paul, it had the force of a condensed parable, such as the people of commercial cities like Corinth and Ephesus would readily understand. They were not to think that their past experience had any character of finality. It was rather but the pledge of yet greater gifts to come: even of that knowledge of God which is eternal life (John xvii. 3). The same thought is expressed, under a more Hebrew image, in the "first fruits of the Spirit” in Romans viii. 23.— Commentary for English Readers. II CORINTHIANS II. 905.-REPROACH IN EXCESS. 2 Cor. ii. 6, 7. Illustrative.-The Corinthian transgressor had suffered enough-the apostle ruled-when occasion arose for a second epistle to the church at Corinth. To suffer for his transgression was meet and right, but he was not to be crushed. Rebuke had been a stern duty, but no longer such rebukes as to break the heart. Reproach had been necessary; but it was no longer expedient to utter reproaches that would crush the spirit of the man altogether. The bruised reed was not to be broken outright. Sufficient to such a man was the punishment already inflicted of many; so that now, and in the opposite direction, "ye ought rather," urges ROMAN TRIUMPHS. 3 St. Paul, "to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up in overmuch sorrow." Plutarch somewhere observes that as even honey makes a wounded or ulcerated member smart so it often happens that a reproof, although charged to the full with both truth and sense, hurts and irritates the distressed, if it is not mild and gentle in the application. "Gently with the rowels on a foundered steed." We should never, teaches the Vicar of Wakefield, strike one unnecessary blow at a victim over whom Providence holds the scourge of His resentment.-F. JACOX. 906.-PATIENCE WITH TRANSGRESSORS. confirm your love toward 2 Cor. ii. 8.-"Wherefore I beseech you that ye would Him." [R.V.]' Omits" that ye would," and substitutes " to." Illustrative.-Some friends were conversing about a person who, in spite of many remonstrances, and many opportunities of knowing the path of duty, seemed perfectly steeled against every proper impression, and determined to go on in his evil courses. One of the company, who, before he knew the Gospel, had gone to great excess in wickedness himself, remarked that he saw no necessity for his friends troubling themselves any further with such a character; adding, "If he has an oppɔrtunity of knowing the truth, and will not attend to it, let him take the consequences." A lady sitting by, who knew this person's history, gently reminded him,-" Ah! Mr.--, what might have been your state to-day, if others had argued thus in regard to you?" He had himself been indebted to the affectionate and persevering assiduities of a Christian friend as the means, under the blessing of God, of leading his attention to the revelation of Divine mercy. 907.-ROMAN TRIUMPHS. 2 Cor. ii. 14.-"Thanks be unto God, which always causeth1 us to triumph in Christ." [R.V.]-"I leadeth us in triumph." Illustrative. -The imagery that follows is clearly that of the solemn triumphal procession of a Roman emperor or general. St. Paul, who had not as yet been at Rome, where only such triumphs were celebrated, had, therefore, never seen them, and was writing accordingly from what he had heard from others. Either from the Roman Jews, whom he had met at Corinth, many of them slaves or freedmen in the Imperial household, or the Roman soldiers and others with whom he came in contact at Philippi, possibly from St. Luke, or Clement, he had heard how the |