dience; and we glorify him eminently, when we are immovable in our passive obedience; when we stand to it in the midst of sufferings, and are no more moved either by cowardice or impatience than a post that is shot at. This is the glory of a christian, and his great duty; and it is the glory of God, and his certain due. Learn, 3. That believers are under a divine appointment, from God himself, to undergo trouble and affliction. The ultimate destination of believers, is to rest, (God hath not appointed them unto wrath, but to obtain salvation.) But the intermediate destination of them is to trouble and affliction, in order unto rest, and to prepare them for that rest. Seeing then that afflictions are appointed to us, and we appointed to them, seeing there is a decree of God concerning them, a decree as to the matter of them, as to the manner of them, as to the measure of them, so to the time of them, when they shall commence, how far they shall advance, how long they shall continue, seeing every thing in affliction is under an appointment; how meek and humble, how patient and submissive, ought the christian's spirit to be under them! and with what steadiness of expectation may and ought he to look up to heaven for a sanctified use and improvement of them! Let no man be moved by afflictions, knowing we are appointed thereunto.

4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

Our apostle informed the Thessalonians in the foregoing verse, with the purpose and decree of God concerning the afflictions which were before them; in this verse he appeals to themselves, as to his own sincerity, in acquainting them, at their first conversion, that they must, through many tribulations, enter into the kingdom of God; and it came to pass accordingly: When we were with you, says the apostle, we told you, before it came to pass, that we should suffer tribulation, and it shortly after came to pass as we told you. Learn hence, That it is the duty of the ministers of Christ to give timely warning of, and to acquaint young converts early with, the pleasure of God, to exercise all that belong to him with the cross, with a variety of af. flictions, trials, and sufferings, before they come, that so they may not stumble nor be

The

offended at them when they come. sincerity of our apostle is here very remark. able; when he came first to preach the gospel at Thessalonica, he did not flatter them with the expectation of an earthly paradise of pleasure, but told them plainly that christianity had a cross attending it, that a suffering hour would come, and they must expect it: When we were with you, we told you that we should suffer tribulation. Learn, 2. That when christians have had timely notice from the ministers of God, and from the word of God, of approaching trials and troubles, before they come, they ought to fore-arm themselves, and not to faint or sink under them when they come, much less to forsake religion because of them, but to continue stedfast, knowing that the heavier the cross is, the weightier will the crown be for affliction, there is glory; for light affliction, a weight of glory; and for light affliction, which is but for a moment, a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 2 Cor. iv. 17.

5 For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our when labour be in vain. 6 But now, Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you;

Observe here, 1. One special end why St. Paul sent Timothy to Thessalonica, it was to know their faith, that is, their constancy in the faith; for he had a fear upon him, lest Satan the tempter had taken occasion, from the present persecution they were under, to turn them from christianity; and that by their yielding to his temptation, and apostatizing from the faith, his labour in the gospel had been in vain amongst them. Here note, That the saints' persecutions are called temptations, and ascribed to Satan the tempter, who, by his ministers and instruments, endeavours to hinder the progress of the gospel, and by persecutions to terrify and turn men from the profession of it.

Note farther, That there is a holy jealousy in the minds of the faithful ministers of Christ, who, though they hope the best, yet are apt to fear

the worst, with reference to the poor people, lest they should run in vain, and labour in vain amongst them; for though

their labour shall not be in vain, with respect to themselves, their reward is with the Lord; (the careful nurse shall be paid, though the child dies at the breast ;) yet, with respect to their people, they may be in vain, yea, worse, for a testimony against them, St. Mark vi. 11. Observe, 2. How happily the apostle's fear was prevented, touching these Thessalonians, by the return of Timothy, and the good tidings which he carried along with him, of the stedfastness of their faith, of the fervency of their charity, and of their particular respect to himself, having always remembrance of him in their prayers, and making a respectful mention of his ministerial labours and diligence, and this always when they had occasion to speak of him. And, lastly, By their passionate and impatient desire to see him; (so much the original word signifies ;) to which he adds, that his desire was no less ardent to see them, though the providence

of God had hitherto hindered him. Learn hence, That the best tidings which can be brought to the ear of a faithful minister of Jesus Christ is this, That his people are sound and stedfast in the faith, maintainers of charity, and promoters of good works, and do account highly of, and honourably estcem, the ministers and ambassadors of Jesus Christ; Timothy brought us good tidings of your faith, charity, and kind remembrance of us. Learn farther, From the Thessalonians' fervent desire to see St. Paul, and he to see them, that christian love doth earnestly long to evidence itself. in christian fellowship, and passionately desires the communion of saints, for the mutual comfort and spiritual advantage of each other the sweetest privilege, next to communion with God, is communion with his saints. O! what a pleasure is it, to behold the beautiful and blessed graces of the Holy Spirit of God, sparkling and shining in each other, exciting and quickening one another, acquainting each other with their experiences, and making known to each other their griefs, their doubts, and fears; no wonder then that the Thessalonians desired so passionately to see St. Paul, and he as earnestly to see them.

For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;

In these words our apostle declares the transcendent joy and overflowing comfort which was found in his soul, upon the knowledge he had received of the constancy

and stedfastness of the faith of these Thes

salonians: We were comforted in our afflictions by your faith. Of all comforts which the people of God can afford to the ministers of the gospel, there is none comparable with that which results from their unfainting perseverance in the faith, and the unblamable holiness of their life. No comfort can be greater than our people's gracious demeanour; this put a kind of

new life into St. Paul, in the midst of all the sorrows and sufferings, the afflictions and persecutions, he underwent. Now we live, says he, if ye stand fast in the Lord, that is, a life of joy and comfort; or we live, that is, it will be a mean to prolong our life, as well as to add to the comfort of it; and the contrary tends to the shortening of our days. Those that do impair the cheerfulness of their minister's lives, such as deaden their spirits, and break their hearts, by their obstinate non-compliance with the rules of the gospel, are no better than murderers in the account of God. isters may, as all other persons do, value their lives by the joy and comfort of them, then may they say, with the great apostle, "We live, as we see any of our people stand fast in the Lord; and we die, as we

If min

see others stick fast in their sins." Observe farther, How highly thankful the apostle was to God, and what unspeakable praise he renders to him, for administering to him this occasion of joy, by the constancy and perseverance of the christian faith at Thessalonica: What thanks can we render to God for you, and for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes? The faithful ministers of Christ think that their hearts thankfulness to God, for the success of their can never sufficiently be carried forth in labours in the lives of their people: What thanks can we render? As if he had said, "I can never be sufficiently thankful, or I can never fully express my thankfulness, to God for this honour, this favour, this benefit, that any soul should be brought home to God by my ministry, much more

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assigned, why he prayed so fervently for their abounding in love, namely, in order to their establishment in faith and holiness; teaching us, that as true love evidences the co-existence of all graces, so it gives stability and establishment to all graces. Learn hence, 1. That growth in grace is accompanied with stability both in faith and holiness. 2. That a general and abounding charity, being that by which we become most like unto God, tends exceedingly to our establishment in all grace, and renders us unblamable before God, at the appearance of Christ. Learn, 3. That there will be no possibility of appearing unblamable before Christ at his coming, without the love and practice of universal holiness in our christian course. Learn, 4. That the perfecting of a saint's graces, and rendering him altogether unblamable, without spot or imperfection in grace and holiness, is reserved till Christ's coming. Then, and not till then, shall our holiness be perfected, our love improved to a seraphim's likeness, all burning; then shall we obey with vigour, praise with cheerfulness, delight in God above measure, fear him without torment, trust him without despondency, serve him without lassitude and weariness, without interruption or distraction, and be perfectly like unto him, as well in holiness as in happiness, as well in purity as in immortality.

Come then, Lord, down to me,
Or take me up to thee.

CHAP. IV.

Our apostle having, in the three foregoing chapters, exhorted the Thessalonians earnestly to contend for, and courageously to persevere in, that holy doctrine of faith which he had preached to them, and planted amongst them, notwith. standing all the storms of persecution raised against them by the unbelieving Jews and op posing gentiles; he comes now, in the remaining part of this Epistle, to recommend to them several duties and graces, with which, as with so many jewels of invaluable price, they were to adorn their christian conversation; and ac

cordingly he thus bespeaks them, in the chap.

ter now before us, ver. 1.

FURTHERMORE then we

beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

In these words, we have a general exhortation given to the Thessalonians, That according to the doctrine and injunctions

formerly given them for an holy conversation suitable to the gospel, they would make it their care and endeavour to abound more and more in the exercise of piety, and outstrip themselves in doing their duty towards God and one another: We beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, &c. Where note, 1. With what great condescension and earnestness St. Paul applies himself to them: he styles them his brethren, and exhorts and beseeches them. The ministers of Christ must not only be teachers, but beseechers also, meekly and affectionately entreating persons to be kind to themselves, and comply with their present duty. Yet observe, 2. With what authority he backs his entreaty: he beseeches and exhorts by the Lord Jesus, that is, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by his authority, and for his sake; so that he that despiseth the gentle exhortations of Christ's ministers, despiseth not man, but God; as the authority of a prince is despised, when his messages by his ambassadors are rejected. Note, 3. The general and comprehensive duty which they are exhorted to, namely, to walk so as to please God in their daily conversation, to be found in the practice of all the duties and virtues of a good life. Where note, That St. Paul, in the course of his ministry, did not only explain and unfold gospel mysteries, but urge and enforce moral duties; Ye have received of us how ye ought to walk. This must be a minister's care, to acquaint his people, that as the privileges of christianity are very great, so the duties it requires are strict and exact; and those which we call moral duties, are an integral part of our religion; he that is not a moral man, is no christian: let us preach and press second-table duties, with arguments drawn from the first, namely, that they be performed in humble obedience to the command of God, and with a single eye at the glory of God, and from an inward principle of love to God, and then we can never preach up morality too much, nor our people practice it too much. Obabound more and more, that is, in grace serve, lastly, The apostle exhorts them to and holiness: christians are to be thankful for, but not satisfied with, their present measures of grace received; God allows us liberty to enlarge our desires after an abundance of his grace; and happy is it where there is found an holy covetousness going along with the grace of God, as there is an insatiable covetousness going with the

Here our apostle subjoins a reason, to enforce his foregoing exhortation: what he now required of them, was nothing but what at their first conversion to christianity he had commanded them, and that in the name and by the authority of Jesus Christ, to be performed by them; so that they were not his commands, but Christ's by him, and as such to be esteemed of them. Learn hence, That the instructions and rules for an holy life, laid down by the apostles before the churches, are to be looked upon as the commandments of Christ, as being dictated by his Spirit, and delivered by his authority, and as such to be received of them, and obeyed by them.

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3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

This is the will of God, even your sanctification; that is, this is the will of God, eminently and emphatically revealed in his word, that christians should be holy and pure, chaste and clean, not indulging themselves in those impure and filthy lusts of the flesh, fornication, and all manner of uncleanness, which the gentiles, who knew not the true God savingly, were addicted to, and in a most beastly manner guilty of; but that every one should know how to possess and make use of his body, and all its members, as the vessel and instrument of the soul, in holiness and honour. Observe here, 1. How the apostle descends from general to particular duties; he exhorted the Thessalonians, ver. 1. in the general, to walk so as to please God; here he exhorteth them, in particular, to purity and chastity, both of heart and life, and to watch against all the violent eruptions of concupiscence in their earthly members: teaching us, that the ministers of God must not satisfy themselves with giving general exhortations to a good life, but must treat of

particular sins and duties, and endeavour to put men upon the practice of the one, and reclaim them from the other; thus doth our apostle here. Observe, 2. The particular duty exhorted to, sanctification; a comprehensive word, and of large extent. In the general it consists in a conformity of our natures to the nature of God, and in a conformity of our lives to the will of God. In particular, sanctification here stands in opposition to all bodily uncleanness, as the next words do plainly show, That ye should abstain from fornication, that is, all filthiness and uncleanness contrary to chastity: intimating to us, that as there are clined to, than the lusts of the flesh; so there are no sins that a christian should more guard against, and strive to mortify and subdue, as being contrary to that purity of nature and life which the gospel directs, and the Holy Spirit assists unto. Observe, 3. The argument which our apostle here uses to enforce his exhortation to purity and holiness: This is the will of God: it is both the command of God that we should be holy, and the will of God to make us holy; now the signification of God's will ought to be a sufficient inducement to us to desire it, and endeavour after it. This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. Observe, 4. The remedy prescribed against all bodily uncleanness, and that is, a careful preserving the vessel of the body free from all fleshly pollution, and in that measure of purity and chastity which is suitable to the honour put upon it by God, in being made a temple for the Holy Ghost. That every one should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour. Where note, The title given to our body, it is called a vessel: it is, first, the Spirit's vessel, he resides in it as in his temple; and accordingly it seems to be an allusion to the consecrated vessels of the temple, in which a more than ordinary cleanness and purity was found. Secondly, it is the soul's vessel, it is its vessel or receptacle, in which for a time it is preserved; and it is the instrument of the soul, by which it acts and performs its office and function. Now it is every person's, every man and woman's duty, to possess their body, and to be masters of it; not to be possessed by it, or enslaved to it, but to keep it in subjection to, and as the instrument of, the soul: the body is God's curious workmanship, it is

no sins that human nature is more in