life; implying, how ready he was to seal the gospel with his blood, and to confirm the Thessalonians in the faith of Christ. 3. As a moving, impelling, and impulsive cause, of the nurse's indulgent care and indefatigable pains, is pure love, motherly affections, and no hope of gain; so was likewise the case of St. Paul here towards these Thessalonians: We were willing to impart unto you our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. Learn hence, That there is no stronger love nor more endeared affection between any relations upon earth, than between those ministers of Christ, and their beloved people, whom they have been instrumental to convert to God.

9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: For labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. 10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe :

Notwithstanding our apostle was free, wholly free, from all shadow and appearance of covetousness in the whole course of his ministry, yet it may seem as if some persons (probably the false apostles) did, though with the highest injustice, charge him with it; accordingly, to clear himself from that imputation, here he tells the Thessalonians, he laboured night and day in the business of his calling; making tents to maintain himself, that so he might not be chargeable or burdensome to any of them, or any ways retard or hinder the success of the gospel amongst them: Labouring night and day, that we might not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God freely. Yet observe, This was only a case of necessity; for at other times, and in other places, we find our apostle asserting his own right, and God's appointment, that every one that preacheth the gospel should live of the gospel, 1 Cor. ix. 14. Next our apostle calls upon them to remember his labour and travail, that is, his pains and diligence in preaching the gospel; the words signify labour unto weariness, and labour after weariness, his painfulness both in his preaching and in his secular calling; and froin his calling upon the Thessalonians

to remember this, he learns us this lesson of instruction, namely, that it is the standing duty of a people to keep in their constant remembrance the great labour and pains which the faithful ministers of Christ do take amongst them, that so they may be duly thankful both to God and them; and put a just value upon that spiritual good, which at any time they have experienced and received from them: Remember, brethren, our labour and travail. Observe again, Having asserted his laboriousness in preaching to them, he next puts them in remembrance of his exemplariness in conversation amongst them, how holily, justly, and unblamably, we behaved ourselves amongst you, that is, performing his duty with great integrity and uprightness towards God and man, so that none justly could blame him for neglect amongst them; and for the truth of this, he appeals to God as a judge, and to themselves as witnesses, Ye are witnesses, and God also. Learn hence, That it is a great happiness, and unspeakable consolation, both to ministers and people, when the duties of religion, relating to both tables, are performed with such exactness, that they can and dare appeal to one another, as to their holy and unblamable conversation, and to God himself, as to the purity of their aim and sincerity of intention.

11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, 12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Observe, That still our apostle appeals to their own consciences for his good behaviour amongst them: Ye know. Happy minister, that has a throne in the consciences of his people, unto which he can and dare at all times appeal, for the clearing of his innocency and integrity in and before the face of the whole world! Observe next, that having compared himself to a nurse before, he resembles himself to a father now: We exhorted you, as a father doth his children. As it is the office of a father to direct and instruct, to counsel and exhort his children; so the apostle did exhort, comfort, and charge the Thessalonians, that they be strictly conscientious in the faithful discharge of their whole duty, both to God and man, and patient under all, and all manner of trials

and afflictions whatsoever, which they did or might meet with in the way of well-doing. Where note, That a mixture of meekness and gentleness, accompanied with authority and gravity, is an excellent composition in the ministers of the gospel: St. Paul having shown, that for gentleness he was a nursing-mother, declareth here, that for authority and gravity he was an instructing father. Observe lastly, The great duty which he did direct them in, and exhort them to, to walk worthy of God, who had called them unto his kingdom and glory. Note here, 1. The duty exhorted to, namely, to walk worthy of God: How so? Not with a worthiness of merit, but with a worthiness of meetness; to walk as becomes them who profess the name of God, who bear the image of God, answerable to the high and holy privileges received from God. Note, 2. The reason or argument enforcing the duty, He hath called you to his kingdom and glory, that is, to grace; and by grace here to glory hereafter such as are called to the one, are called to both grace is a certain pledge and earnest of glory, a low degree of glory, and glory the highest degree of grace. Such as walk worthy of God now, shall live with him, ere long, to eternal ages.

13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. 14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even they have of the Jews;

as

Our apostle's great design in this chapter, being to set forth the wonderful success which the preaching of the gospel had among the Thessalonians, and also to assign the causes of that success, he having in the former verses given the reason of this success on his own part, namely, his sincerity in preaching it, and his pious conversation in all things suitable to it, now he comes to show the reason on their part, with all thankfulness to Almighty God for the same first they heard it; secondly, they received it; thirdly, they examined it,

:

and found it no fable, but the word of God, and, as such, entertained it with a divine faith; fourthly, the word thus received did work with a mighty power and efficacy in them that believed, that is, was accompanied with miracles, and miraculous operation of the Holy Spirit, then to confirm them in the faith of what they did believe; and the word has also now an efficacious energy and divine efficacy accompanying it in the hearts of believers, working upon the will, not in a way of compulsion, but in a way congruous to the nature and liberty of the will, by a divine influx, Tollendo resistentiam, non voluntatis li bertatem, (as the great St. Austin speaks). Observe next, St. Paul farther proves the efficacious success which the word had amongst the Thessalonians, from their constancy and patience under the sharpest sufferings for the word's sake; Ye have suffered like things of your own countrymen; as if he had said, "You of the christian church in Thessalonica have shown yourselves like to the christian churches in Judea, in patient suffering of persecution from your friends and kinsfolks, from your countrymen and fellow-citizens, as they did from the unbelieving Jews. Note thence, That where the word is efficaciously received, it makes the embracer of it endure the hardest trials and sufferings rather than renounce it. Note, 2. That there neither is, nor can be, any better evidence that the word of God is effectually received, than when it enables christians to bear afflictions, and undergo persecutions, with christian courage and holy resolution: Ye have suffered like things. But of whom? Of your own countrymen at Thessalonica, churches in Judea did of the Jews. Learn thence, That such is the fury of persecuting spirit, that when men are judicially given up of God unto it, they will break all bonds, both natural, civil, and religious, and turn barbarous and savage, like wolves and tigers, towards those of their own flesh, who dare not deny the truth, which they persecute and oppose. Here the churches in Judea and Thessalonica were persecuted alike by their own countrymen,-Ye have suffered like things of your own country. men, even as they have of the Jews.

as the

15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men ; 16 Forbidding us to speak

to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway; for the wrath is upon them to the

uttermost.

Our apostle's design being to encourage the Thessalonians to patience and constancy under the persecutions for christianity, he acquaints them, that they did not walk alone in this thorny path, but that Jesus Christ, the prophets, and apostles, went before them, and every step they took in it was up to the knees in blood: They kill ed the Lord Jesus, &c. Where observe, The bitter and bloody persecution which the Jews were guilty of, They killed the Lord Jesus, and before him their own prophets; called their own, because of their own nation, and sent with a peculiar message to them; and now they persecuted, banished, and drove away St. Paul, and the rest of the apostles; they pleased not God, that is, they highly displeased him, dreadfully provoked him, they were haters of God, hateful to him; now hated of him, and, lastly, rejected by him; contrary to all men, that is, to the common interest of all men, by endeavouring to obstruct the preaching of the gospel, which bringeth salvation to all men; forbidding us to speak to the gentiles, that is, to preach the gospel to the gentiles, and consequently obstructing, what in them lay, the salvation almost of all the world: filling up the measure of their sins, till at last.the wrath of God came upon them to the utmost, in their judicial obduration, and the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; after which the Jews have been no more a people, but scattered abroad through the face of the earth. From the whole learn, 1. That it is a singular support to suffering saints to consider, that Christ and his apostles suffered before them; and by his sufferings has sanctified a state of affliction and persecution to them. Learn, 2. That a spirit of persecution seems oft-times to run in a blood, and passes from parent to child, through many generations. Persecution became, as it were, hereditary, and, in a sort, transient from one generation to another among the Jews; they killed Christ, stoned the prophets, and persecuted the apostles. Note, 3. How St. Paul ranks and reckons them that are enemies to the preaching of the gospel, with the obstinate shedders of Christ's blood; they are enrolled amongst the capital enemies of mankind: They killed the Lord of life; forbidding us to

preach to the gentiles; such as are enemies to preaching are enemies to the souls Obj. But what need so much of men. preaching amongst us, who are converted from heathenism to christianity? Ans. It is one thing to be converted from heathenism to christianity, and another thing to be converted from sin to God. Obj. But we have the Bible for that end, and can make no use of that. Ans. Observe it, and you will find, that such as are no friends to the pulpit, are usually none of the best friends to the Bible: follow them to their families, how doth the Bible lie by as a neglected book amongst them; and it must be a large charity, that can judge it is conscientiously used in a closet, when it is carelessly neglected in the family.

17 But we, brethren, being taken

from you for short time in pre

શૈ

sence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. 18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

Observe here, That St. Paul having all along, in the chapter before us, compared himself to a tender father, and a nursingmother, for his affectionate love unto, and his solicitous concern for, these christian converts; he doth in the words before us, declare, that this constrained absence from them, occasioned him no less grief than that of a tender father, when bereft of his beloved children; or that of an indulgent mother, when the child she loves as her own soul is taken violently from her. We, brethren, being taken from you; the words intimate such a separation as death makes between a father and a child, which rends the parent's heart in sunder, and is like cutting off a limb or member from his body, exquisitely painful; intimating, that the enforced absence of a pastor from his beloved people, though but for a short season, is very afflictive. Ah! how heartrending then is a total and final separation from each other, occasioned either by natural or civil death! Observe, 2. St. Paul tells them, that though persecutors had deprived them of his bodily presence, yet not of his heart, for though not in body, yet in mind he was present with them: minister and people, like true lovers, are present with each other in soul, when separated in body. It is a singular comfort

to christians under persecution, that their enemies can neither deprive them of the presence of God, nor the prayers of their faithful ministers; their prayers may meet, when their persons are distant, and they may be present in spirit, in heart, and affection, when at the ends of the earth. Observe, 3. How he expresses his desire and endeavour, his fervent purpose and fixed resolution, to come unto them, to see their face, to refresh them, and be refreshed by them: I endeavoured abundantly to see your face, but Satan hindered; that is, his instruments, persecutors, lay in wait for him, on the one hand, and caused some dissensions in other churches, which detained him from coming to them, on the other hand: Satan hindered. Learn hence, That such as obstruct the preaching and propagating of the gospel, and persecute the promoters of it, are Satan's instruments and ministers. 2. That such as do Satan's work, it is fit they should bear his name. 3. Thus, Rev. ii. 13. The devil shall cast some of you into prison, that is, his servants: it is fit that master and servant should have both one name.

19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? 20 For ye are our glory and joy.

Here, in the close of the chapter, St. Paul acquaints the Thessalonians with the true reason why he had such an endearing affection for them, and such a fervent desire to be present with them: they were his hope, his joy, his crown of rejoicing; that is, they were then the cause of his hope, not the ground and foundation of his hope: that Christ alone was; but their conversion by his ministry was, in concurrence with other things, a good ground of hope concerning his own salvation; ye are now my hope, my joy, and crown of rejoicing. Where note, A very remarkable gradation in the words; he calls them his hope, his joy, and his crown of rejoicing. His hope, that is, the matter of his hope, that they should be saved; his joy, that is, the occasion of his joy, in their conversion by his ministry; and his crown of rejoicing in Christ's presence at his coming, that is, the fruit and success of his ministry amongst them would add to his crown, and redound to his glory, in the day of Christ. Learn hence, 1. That there are degrees of glory

in heaven, probably according to the measures and degrees of service we have done for God on earth; there is, no doubt, an equality of glory there, as to the essentials, but not with respect to the accidentals; besides the joy and satisfaction which the ministers of Christ are partakers of, in heaven, in common with other glorified saints, they have an additional joy and glory from the success of their pious and painful labours, which God has crowned with the conversion and edification of many souls. Lord! who could not study, spend, and be spent, in the service of such a master? Is it not worth all our labour and sufferings, to appear in the presence of Christ, accompanied with all those souls whom we have instrumentally either brought home or built up in the most holy faith, either converted, comforted, or confirmed in the way to heaven? To hear one spiritual child say, "Lord, this is the instrument by whom I believed;" another, " This is the minister by whom I was established;" a third, "This is he that quickened me by his example, and provoked me to love, and to good works. O blessed be God that I ever saw his face, and heard his voice!" But, Lord! what will it be to hear thy blessed voice saying to us, "Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of me your Lord! I have kept an exact account of all your fervent prayers for your people, of all your instructive and persuasive sermons, of all your sighs and groans poured forth before me on behalf of those whom you would have persuaded to be happy, but could not. Every tear from your eye, and drop of sweat from your face, shall now meet with eternal recompense; you shall now find me, according to my promise, not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love." O what a master do the ministers of Christ serve! Who would not sacrifice all that is dear for him, who has the assurance of such an exceeding and eternal weight of glory from him? Learn, 2. That the saints of God in heaven will know one another there : why else doth St. Paul here comfort himself, that these Thessalonians, whom he converted to Christ, would be his crown of rejoicing in the day of Christ? Surely this must needs suppose and imply his distinct knowledge of them in that day; if he did not know them, how could he rejoice in them? Doubtless we may allow, in that state, all that knowledge which is accumulative and perfective, whatever may heighten

our felicity and increase our satisfaction, as this must needs be allowed to do. Lord, make us faithful to the death, faithful to thee, faithful to our own souls, faithful to our own people; and then, as they are now our hope and joy, so will they be our crown of rejoicing in the presence of the Lord Jesus at his coming. Amen.

CHAP. III.

The design of our apostle in this, is the same with that of the foregoing chapter; namely, to give the Thessalonians the highest assurance possible of his affectionate regard unto them, of his solicitous care and concern for them, and of his utmost endeavours to confirm and settle them in the faith of Christ, what afflictions and persecutions soever it might expose them to; and accordingly he thus bespeaks them :

WHEREFORE, when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; 2 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:

At the latter end of the foregoing chapter, St. Paul acquainted the Thessalonians with his desires and intentions to come once and again unto them, but was always providentially hindered. Now here he gives them to understand, that such was the feryour of his affection towards them, that although he could not come, yet he could not forbear to send to them, though he left himself alone, preferring their necessity before his own conveniency: When we could no longer forbear; that is, “When I could no longer satisfy myself without knowing your state and condition, I chose, though with much inconveniency to my self, rather to be left at Athens alone, in the midst of my afflictions and tribulations, than that you should be longer destitute of one to supply my absence, in order to your confirmation and comfort." See here a special instance of ministerial love and affection in St. Paul, preferring the church's good before his own comfort, and postponing his own conveniency to their necessity; though Timothy's company was very desirable, very necessary and useful for him, yet he denies himself, to serve them: We thought it good to be left at Athens alone. Observe, 2. The person sent by him, Timothy, with his deserved character and commendation, a brother,

that is, a christian, a believer, a brother in Christ; a minister of God, that is, a preacher of the gospel; his fellow-labourer, or one that joined heart and hand with him in the preaching of the gospel from place to place. See here a special instance of St. Paul's apostolical care for the churches of Christ; when he could not visit them in person, he sends to them, not any one he could come at, but the fittest he could get, one who was most likely, through God's assistance and blessing, to carry on the work he was sent about: I sent you Tr motheus my brother. Observe, 3. The great end for which he was sent unto them: it was to confirm them, and to comfort them to confirm them in the faith of Christ, and to comfort them under all their

The

sufferings for the sake of Christ. strongest faith needs confirmation and estain trying times especially, to guard his blishment; and it is the minister's duty, people's faith, upon the stability whereof their strength and safety doth depend.

3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed there

unto.

As if the apostle had said, "One great end why I have sent Timothy among you, is this, lest either upon the account of your own afflictions, or my sufferings, you should be moved from your stedfastness, either drawn away by fraud and flattery, or driven away by force and terror: That no man be moved by these afflictions. Observe also, The argument to confirm them in the faith, amidst all their sufferings and afflictions; and that is drawn from the pleasure and purpose, the ordination and appointment, of God, concerning their afflictions: Ye yourselves know, that we are thereunto appointed. Learn hence, 1. That the best of saints are subject to be moved by their afflictions. 2. That it is the high commendation of a christian, not to stir or be moved from his stedfastness by the heaviest shock of affliction that may fall upon him: That no man may be moved by these afflictions. Some render the word appointed, set as a mark to be shot at; some saints, with holy Job, are set on purpose as a mark for the arrow of affliction to be levelled at, yet then are they to keep their ground, and stand immovable : we honour God abundantly, when we are immovable in our active obe