gered; and fed Thee? or Thirsty; and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a Stranger; and took Thee in? or Naked; and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee Sick, or in Prison; and came unto Thee?' And The KING shall Answer and Say unto them, 'Verily, I Say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto One of the Least of These My Brethren, ye have done it unto Me!' Then shall He Say also unto them on the Left-Hand, 'Depart from Me, ye Cursed, into Everlasting Fire, Prepared for the Devil and his Angels! for I was an Hungered; and ye gave Me no meat! I was Thirsty; and ye gave Me no drink! I was a Stranger ; and ye took Me not in! Naked; and ye clothed Me not! Sick, and in Prison; and ye visited Me not!' Then shall they also answer Him, saying, 'LORD, when saw we Thee an Hungered, or Athirst, or a Stranger, or Naked, or Sick, or in Prison; and did not minister unto Thee?' Then shall He Answer them, Saying, ‘Verily I Say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to One of the Least of These, ye did it not to Me!' And These shall go away into Everlasting Punishment; but the Righteous into Life Eternal!-Matt. xxv. 31 to 46. And as the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes, GOD is not Unrighteous to Forget any work or labour of love shewed toward His Name, in Ministering to the Saints. And we have only to shew the like diligence to enjoy the full assurance of Hope unto the End; and that we be not slothful or unmindful of well-doing; but Followers of Them, who through faith and patience inherit The Promises-Heb. vi. 10 to 12.

CHAPTER II.

AVERSES 1 to 7.-Thou therefore, my Son, be strong in the Grace, That is in CHRIST JESUS! And the Things, that thou hast heard of me among many Witnesses, the Same commit thou to faithful Men, who shall be able to teach Others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good Soldier of JESUS CHRIST! No Man, that warreth, entangleth himself with the affairs of this Life; that he may please him, who hath chosen him to be a Soldier. And if a Man also strive for Masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The Husbandman, that laboureth, must be first Partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say! and The LORD Give thee Understanding in all things!

Grace is the Support of Angels, It is the only Spiritual Nurture of Man. Like the Air to the natural Life, so is Grace to the Spiritual Life. Without the former we die; without the Latter we perish everlastingly from the Presence of The LORD and the Glory of His Power. Even our Immortality is worse than profitless: it would be ever attended with misery, for we should ever experience the Famine of the Soul, and the gnawings of hunger without the means or hope of relief; and yet with no power or prospect of death, as an escape from suffering, presenting itself. The fortitude acquired and essential in the Christian career we owe to This Imparted Virtue from On HIGH; The Word of GOD having Prepared us for receiving It gratefully, and employing It faithfully; and justly Appreciating It as The First-Fruits of The SON of GOD's Incarnate Intercession on our behalf, and the Sure Test of His Love for us and of the Eventual Fulfilment of All the Promises of DIVINE Compassion and Consideration towards us. Well therefore did St. Paul exhort and injoin his Disciple to rest his confidence on Such A Dispensation, and to go forward in the Conflict, to which, with Such Encouragement, he was Called, and under Which he was sure in the end to be victorious. In proportion to the Infinite Importance of The Doctrine Inculcated, as The Gospel of Peace from GOD, and Good-Will towards Men, was Paul's feeling and anxious desire for Its unlimited Diffusion by every means, that Philanthropy could prompt, and holy zeal promote. The training and disciplining of the Chosen Few was a primary object with him, that through them the Beneficial Work might be extended, and, by Such a Foundation being carefully laid, the Superstructure

2ND TIMOTHY ii. 1 TO 7 CONTINUED.

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might be raised, and present the union of strength and beauty. The first effort in a Convert should be to break from the unlawful and unnecessary attractions and engagements in this Life, and to render the every day occupations and the general tenor of thought and of action contributary to the confirmation of That Faith, Which Points to the Life to Come; and in thus fixing the true religious Principles in our own hearts to assist, both by counsel and such exciting example, to plant and train them in the hearts of Others. CHRIST is The Great CAPTAIN of Salvation, and the Church, whilst on Earth as His Component Army, must be Militant; but as He has Opened the Way to the Triumph over Sin and Death and Hell, so by following Him are we certain of finally partaking in His Triumph, and joining in a participation of the Glories of Such His Conquest, and of ever resting under His Eternal Banner, The Cross Triumphant. Even in the pursuit of Sacred Truth prayer should unfailingly be used for a right understanding of It, and also for a wise and practical appropriation of It; for thence only can It be Profitable to us, either in this Life, or in That, Which is to Come. right Judgment is one of the most Salutary Influences of Imparted Grace, and the culture of the understanding in The Holy Scriptures is the Direction it would paramountly take; and the attainment of That Knowledge, Which is Able to Save both our own and Others' Souls alive, may be calculated on with holy confidence and joyfulness. If we know These Things, happy shall we be, and happy may Others also be rendered, if we do Them ourselves, and induce Others to do Them also. THE ALMIGHTY's Exhortation to Joshua, when Appointing him as the Successor of Moses in the governing the People of Israel, and in leading them against every hostile Force to the full possession of the Promised Land was, Be strong and of a good courage; for unto this People shalt thou divide for an Inheritance the Land, which I Sware unto their Fathers to Give them! Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the Law, Which Moses, My Servant, commanded thee: turn not from It to the right hand, or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest! This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate Therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to All, That is Written Therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous; and then thou shalt have good success! Have not I Commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage! be not afraid; neither be thou dismayed! for The LORD, thy GOD, is with thee whithersoever thou goest-Josh. i. 6 to 9. As to Joshua, so to every One, that faithfully fights the Battle of The LORD, does He Declare 'I will not Fail thee, nor Forsake thee!'-5. And Paul, the Servant of The LORD JESUS CHRIST, and the valiant Promulgator of His Gracious Promises of Salvation, exhorts us, as if, in The Gospel Spirit, we were his Brethren, to be strong in The LORD, and in the Power of His Might, and to put on the Whole Armour of GOD, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil, for (as he justly adds) we wrestle not against Flesh and Blood (only,) but against Principalities, against Powers, against the Rulers of the darkness of this World; against Spiritual wickedness in high Places-Eph. vi. 10 to 12.-The Apostolic Charge to Timothy to be careful in selecting fitting Persons to undertake the Gospel Ministry is here renewed, that Faith may perform its perfect work-See 1 Tim. i. 18; iv. 6, 11; v. 21. May every One called to the Ministry hold fast the faithful Word, as he hath been taught in The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, that he may be able by sound Doctrine not only to exhort and convince the GainSayers, but to aid and sustain Others, who are engaged in the same arduous duties in a World so fallen from original righteousness-Titus i. 9; being so watchful in all things pertaining to his high Office and holy Calling, that he may endure the afflictions, that often befal the Work of an Evangelist, and may make

such pregnant and productive proof of his Ministry-2 Tim. iv. 5; and being himself so obedient and under subjection in heart and in Spirit that, whilst preaching or discoursing to Others, he himself may not be a Castaway-1 Cor. ix. 25 to 27. May we in our respective Vocations deeply meditate on this scale of our duties; and give ourselves zealously and perseveringly to them; that the sincerity of our faith may be apparent from its vital profitableness to Others!1 Tim. iv. 15, 16. Let us bear in mind and fondly cherish the Assurance, that The LORD Giveth Wisdom! Out of His Mouth Come Knowledge and Understanding. He Layeth up Sound Wisdom for the Righteous: He is a Buckler to them, that walk uprightly: He Keepeth the paths of Judgment, and Preserveth the way of His Saints-Prov. ii. 6 to 8.

VERSES 8 to 14.-Remember, that JESUS CHRIST, of the Seed of David, was Raised from the Dead, according to my Gospel, Wherein I suffer trouble as an Evil-Doer, even unto bonds; but the Word of GOD is not Bound: therefore I endure all things for the Elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the Salvation, Which is in CHRIST JESUS, with Eternal Glory. It is a faithful Saying For, if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we suffer, we shall also Reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will Deny us; if we believe not, yet He Abideth Faithful, He cannot Deny Himself.' Of these Things put them in remem. brance, charging them before The LORD, that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the Hearers!

It was the Resurrection of our SAVIOUR, as Foretold by Himself, and Who was of the Promised Lineage of David in the Flesh, That was Confirmatory in All the Apostles' minds of His GODHEAD and His MESSIAHSHIP; for though All had, in prospect of His Death, forsaken Him and fled; yet All returned to Him on His Appearance after His Rising from the grave, and remained constant to His Faith and Service under the continued National denial of Him; and at every exposure to the malignant and unsparing persecution of the hostile Spirit Diabolically excited against That Name, by Which Alone Salvation and Eternal Happiness are attainable. Paul was indeed, amidst his forward and untiring zeal, the most prominent of All in the variety and degree of bodily suffering, in His Heavenly MASTER's Service; and no Mortal could ever glory more than he did in such Proofs of the Truth of That Faith he professed, which could by DIVINE Grace so Sustain and Strengthen him even unto the last. How infatuated is the folly of the irreligious mind, that, amidst the uncertainty of the continuance of the Life here, beyond even the present minute, can set at nought the Wonderful and Gracious Love of Its DIVINE CREATOR, Who, by Such A Sacrifice as That of The SON of GOD and the Strivings of The HOLY SPIRIT, has Opened a Way to Everlasting Happiness beyond all power of conception, in the Life to Come, Superadding a Peace to the heart, whilst continuing in this present Life, and Such a Peace, as this World with all its fascinations cannot give, nor by all its oppression take away. For as the Apostle says, The Word of The LORD is not Bound. Nothing can restrain Its Beneficial Efficacy, where It hath true and full possession of the heart: Paul not only had been continually exposed to bodily suffering, but foresaw, with a Prophetic eye, that bonds and imprisonment in future awaited him; but amidst them all he knew and felt, that his Soul was free, and he strove, in the exercise of the best order of Christian charity, to set the Souls of Others in like Freedom also, that they might share Its Blessedness and Its Hopefulness, and that his Gracious MASTER's KINGDOM might be thereby Enlarged, and the Pale of His Merciful Salvation be Extended. Strong seems the expression that, if suffering and dying for, and in the faith of CHRIST, That KING of Kings, we shall Reign with Him; it implies, that every Happiness, of which our Spiritualized and Immortal Nature can be susceptible in its Heavenly Change, will be experienced, and that without measure and without end, in

Communion with our HOLY MEDIATOR, The GOD-Man, CHRIST JESUS. But on the other hand, if we have rejected Him on Earth, how can we expect to be Accepted of Him in Heaven, Where Nothing unholy can enter? And as He will Judge both the Evil and the Good, how can the imagination paint the Awful and Bitter and Lasting Consequences of His Rejection, and the Outcast of the Soul from every Atmosphere of Bliss, and yet with no hope of escape from misery? Heaven and Hell-Immortal Life, either in Joy or Woe-Self-approval in an excusing conscience, or Self-condemnation in an accusing one, will be the eventful alternative. How essentially important therefore is it, that These Great and Influential and All-important Truths should be faithfully and perseveringly pressed upon the understandings and the hearts of All, by Those, who have been Gifted with the Faith, that is in CHRIST JESUS, and have the Grace to set forth the Same both by their life and conversation, as well as in their Vocation or Ministry!In his Epistle to the Romans the Apostle also distinctly insists both on The DIVINE and Human NATURE of JESUS, as The MESSIAH, avowing his own Peculiar Separation as a Servant and Apostle of JESUS CHRIST unto The Gospel of GOD, (Which He Promised afore by His Prophets in The Holy Scriptures,) concerning His SON JESUS CHRIST, our LORD, Which was Made of the Seed of David according to the Flesh; and Declared to be The SON of GOD with Power, according to The SPIRIT of HOLINESS, by the Resurrection from the Dead: by Whom we have received Grace for obedience to the Faith, among all Nations, for His Name-Rom. i. 1 to 5.In writing to the Ephesians, the Apostle describes himself as an Ambassador in bonds, but seeking the intercessory prayers of Others, that he, though so bound, might have Utterance Given unto him, that he might open his mouth boldly to make known the Mystery of The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST-Eph. vi. 19, 20.The Same Gracious Relief from Above and from DIVINE Communion, Which he A received, amidst all his trials and complexities, St. Paul encouraged Others confidently to look for and trust in, after his example, invoking on them Peace from GOD our FATHER and from The LORD JESUS CHRIST; the Apostle pouring forth his grateful Benedictions, under the inward assurance, that GOD, The FATHER of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, is The FATHER of Mercies and The GOD of All Comfort, Who Comforteth us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort them, which are in any trouble, by the Comfort Wherewith we ourselves are Comforted of GOD; for (adds here the Apostle) as the Sufferings of CHRIST Abound in us, so our Consolation also Aboundeth by CHRIST-2 Cor. i. 2 to 5. And again St. Paul says; Know ye not? that so Many of us, as were Baptized into JESUS CHRIST, were Baptized into His Death: therefore we are buried with Him by Baptism into Death; that like as CHRIST was Raised up from the Dead by the Glory of The FATHER, even so we also should walk in newness of Life; for if we have been Planted together in the Likeness of His Death, we shall be also in the Likeness of His Resurrection: knowing this, that our old Man (nature) is Crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed; that henceforth we should not serve sin: for he, that is dead, is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with CHRIST, we believe that we shall also live with Him; knowing, that CHRIST, being Raised from the Dead, Dieth no more: Death hath no more dominion over Him; for in That He Died, He Died unto sin once: but in That He Liveth, He Liveth unto GOD. May we therefore, after the Apostolic exhortation, reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin; but Alive unto GOD through JESUS CHRIST our LORD! and let not sin reign in our mortal body, that we should obey it in the lusts thereof; neither may we yield our members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but may we yield ourselves unto GOD, as Those that are Alive

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from the Dead, and our members as Instruments of Righteousness unto GOD!— Rom. vi. 3 to 13.- -Our SAVIOUR hath Left us This Awful and Admonitory Record of the Tenor of His Final Judgment upon Unbelievers-Whosoever shall deny Me before Men, him will I also Deny before My FATHER, Which is in Heaven Matt. x. 33. And however Many may not believe, yet, as Paul reasons, their unbelief will not make the Faith of GOD without Effect—Rom. iii. 3. For GOD is Truth, and GOD is Irresistible Power. Hath He Said? and shall He not Do it? or, hath He Spoken? and shall He not Make It good?-Num. xxiii. 19.- -The faithful Pastor fixes no limit, but that of life, to his steadfast endeavours to bring his Fellow-Mortals unto the knowledge of The LORD, to taste How Gracious He is, in the Means and the Offer of Salvation. St. Peter said, I think it meet, as long as I am in this Tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; adding, moreover I will endeavour, that ye may be able, after my decease, to have These Things always in remembrance: for we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the Power and Coming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST-2 Pet. i. 13, 15, 16.Repeated are Paul's exhortations to avoid (in religious discussions) foolish questions and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the (ceremonial) Law; for, adds he, they are unprofitable and vain-Titus iii. 9; 2 Tim. ii. 23.

VERSE 15.-Study to shew thyself approved unto GOD, a Workman, that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

May we give diligence to make our Calling and Election Sure, grounding ourselves in the Doctrine and adorning ourselves with the Discipline, that The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST and That Alone Inculcates-2 Pet. i. 10. Amongst the Many Illustrative and Impressive Parables Delivered by our SAVIOUR in reference and in resemblance to The KINGDOM of Heaven, is That of a net cast into the Sea, and gathering of every kind: which, when it was full, the Fishermen drew to Shore, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels; but cast the bad away. So (Said He) shall it be at the End of the World: the Angels shall come forth, and sever the Wicked from among the Just; and shall cast them into the Furnace of Fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth! JESUS Saith unto the Disciples, 'Have ye understood These Things?' They say unto Him, Yea, LORD.' Then Said He unto them, 'Therefore every Scribe, which is instructed unto The KINGDOM of HEAVEN, is like unto a Man, that is an Householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old-Matt. xiii. 47 to 52.

VERSES 16 to 19.-But shun profane and vain babblings! for they will increase unto more ungodliness and their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus: who concerning the Truth have erred, saying, That the Resurrection is Past already:' and overthrow the faith of Some. Nevertheless the Foundation of GOD Standeth Sure, having This Seal, 'THE LORD Knoweth Them, that are His!' And, Let every One, that nameth the Name of CHRIST, depart from iniquity!'

The spirit of conceited leaning to One's own understanding and a pertinacious adherence to One's own opinions, and an incessant and clamarous obtrusion of them upon Others, without patience or willingness to wait to hear and calmly to weigh the sentiments of experienced and dispassionate Persons, is but too likely to engender an indifference to the true character and qualities of Christianity. How opposed is it to the Simple but Sublime Converse of our SAVIOUR; and the dignified and edifying style of His Apostles! Subtle and inveterate is that disease here brought forward as the comparison; when once it takes root in the system, it is next to an impossibility thoroughly to eradicate it; and so is it with