to the Faithful in CHRIST JESUS of all Degrees and Generations. And what more Salutary Influences upon the Soul can be wished than Grace from The FOUNTAIN of DIVINE Light, and Peace, which is the Assurance of The DIVINE Favour, through the Prevailing Love of The SON of GOD!

VERSES 2 to 4.-We give thanks to GOD always for you all; making mention of you in our prayers: remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our LORD JESUS CHRIST, in the Sight of GOD and our FATIIER; knowing, Brethren beloved, your Election of GOD.

Amidst the flow of unceasing gratitude for his own Election, under circumstances so unlooked for in his till then perverted view of Christianity and Its immeasurable Blessings, his heart could expand with added impulses of thankful acknowledgment to The SOURCE of All Being and All Blessing, for such Imparted Benefits as It Extended to Others. And in his holy communing with Him, Who Alone Knoweth the secrets of the heart, and Who Heedeth the prayer, which, though silently, is fervently put forth to Him, Paul could think of the Spiritual need of those, who had been Mercifully Brought to CHRIST, and seek, by any influence he could hope to possess, for DIVINE Reconciliation and Guidance towards them. He thus treasured in his mind, as the gladdening fruits of his Apostleship, the recollection of the evidence he had had evinced to him of the works of faith; for as the fruit-tree is only profitable when it beareth and bringeth fruit to perfection, so is it with the faith of the Christian Professor ; whose profession, if it be sincere, will manifest itself in vital exercises on every fitting opportunity; being led on by a deep feeling of attachment to the labours and pursuits, which a real and reverential love of CHRIST calls for; and this with the most exemplary patience and perseverance; resting on the Gracious Promise from On High, that the Blessings of an Eternity will, in GOD's Good Time, Open to the Beatification of every Human Soul, which shall be Summoned by CHRIST JESUS unto His Train, and be privileged to participate in the Glory of His Triumph over Sin, and Death, and Hell. The doctrine of Election is here pressed on the consideration; and well may that doctrine be received into the Christian Creed, when its employment and practical application are from the Counsel of Infinite Wisdom and Almighty Power. JESUS had Himself Taught, that the work of faith was from The DIVINE Operation; for when He was inquired of by His Disciples, what they should do, that they might work the Works of GOD, He Answered, This is the Work of GOD, that ye believe on Him, Whom He hath Sent—John vi. 29. And in St. Paul's after Epistle to the same located Converts, he further illustrated the extent of that prayerful spirit for Others, thus addressing them, We pray always for you, that our GOD would Count you worthy of This Calling; and Fulfil all the Good Pleasure of His Goodness, and the Work of Faith with Power: that the Name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the Grace of our GOD and The LORD JESUS CHRIST2 Thes. i. 11, 12.—The labour of love, so also commended by the Apostle, is the uniform effort to do good according to our ability in the diffusion of Christian charity, and especially in the promotion of Gospel Principles, either by our own exertions, if qualified so to do, or by the instrumentality of Others peculiarly Gifted with talents for the purpose; as urged also and encouraged by the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who, to those he wrote to, thus expressed himself, God is not Unrighteous to Forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward His Name, in that ye have ministered to the Saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end; that ye be not slothful, but Followers

of them, who through faith and patience inherit the Promises--Heb. vi. 10 to 12. St. Peter in his 2nd Epistle i. 10, also urges. Diligence to make our Calling and Election Sure; and the labour of a Christian Calling, beyond the escaping from the corruption that is in the World, he thus admonitorily enumerates, Giving all diligence add to faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge temperance, to temperance patience, to patience godliness, to godliness Brotherly kindness, and to Brotherly kindness charity-superadding, that if these things be in us and abound, they make us that we shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our LORD JESUS CHRIST; and that if we do these things, we shall never fall; for so an Entrance shall be Ministered unto us abundantly into the Everlasting Kingdom of our LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST-2 Peter i. 5 to 8, 10, 11. The patience of hope in our LORD JESUS CHRIST will never fail where faith in Him truly exists, even in tribulation will that patience be exercised-Rom. xii. 12. For what greater cause of consolation and rejoicing can exist in a truly believing Soul than from the hope, which the Promises of GOD in CHRIST JESUS Sustain? Let therefore Patience thus have her perfect work, (James i. 4 ;) bringing forth fruit in an honest and good heart-Luke viii. 15.

VERSE 5.-For our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in The A HOLY GHOST and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of Men we were among you for your sake.

The Doctrine, which Paul taught, and which was The Gospel, That he had received in Spirit from CHRIST JESUS, Illuminated by the Grace of The HOLY GHOST, Working on his heart and understanding, was accompanied with that evidence to Others of Power from Above, which gave Assurance of Its DIVINE SOURCE; And, as the Evangelical Prophet, (Isaiah lv. 11,) thus represented The ALMIGHTY's Fulfilment of His Revealed Will, That Word will not Return unto Him Void, but will Accomplish That, Which He Pleased; and It will Prosper in The Thing, Whereto He Sent It; so the Apostle at once appeals for his true character as a Preacher of the Word of GOD, to Those, whom he thus addresses, reminding them of the fervency of his zeal, and of its efficacy in the promotion of their knowledge of the Way of Salvation. See also 1 Cor. ii. 4, where he says, My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of Man's wisdom, but in demonstration of The SPIRIT and of Power. And St. Mark in his Narrative of The Gospel, at the concluding verse, bears testimony to the zeal and perseverance of the Apostles of The LORD JESUS, (of whom St. Paul, though the last Called, was not the least in effort or efficacy) saying of them, They went forth and preached everywhere, The LORD Working with them and Confirming the Word with Signs-xvi. 20. And in the 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians, vi. 1 to 10, the true Spirit of Christian Ministration, as exemplified by the Apostle, is set forth.

VERSE 6.-And ye became Followers of us and of The LORD, having received the Word in much affliction, with joy of The HOLY GHOST.

The Word of Eternal Life, Such as first Came from The SON of GOD, and was communicated by His faithful Apostle, though in a season of severe trial and bodily privation or suffering, yet being accompanied with the Enlightening, Healing, Animating, and Sustaining Influence of The HOLY SPIRIT, Imparted to those, who faithfully received It, A Joy, that the heart fondly cherished, as far surpassing, in an opposite effect, the most oppressive weight that such sorrow could occasion to the spirits. For it is only to be true to the Faith of CHRIST, and the Gladdening Influence of The HOLY SPIRIT will be with us, and then

whatever may be our measure of earthly sorrow, our experience of Consolation in The DIVINE Communication and exceeding Precious Promises, will more than fortify us against the being cast down by our sufferings.- -The Corinthians the Apostle says, First gave their ownselves unto The LORD, and then unto us by the Will of GOD-2 Cor. viii. 5. If thus we have the Grace of The HOLY SPIRIT we shall assuredly have Joy Therein, as Disciples of CHRIST— Acts xiii. 52.

VERSES 7, 8.-So that ye were ensamples to All, that believe in Macedonia and Achaia; for from you sounded out the Word of The LORD, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to GOD-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak anything. To be an Example in the Way of Godliness, and by its force and consistency to influence Others to go in the Road, that leadeth unto Life Eternal, is to fill an Office Acceptable in a High Degree to GOD, and most beneficial to our FellowCreatures; nor can we even conjecture to what distant Lands or Ages that influence may beneficially extend, so that Families yet unborn may hail and bless the Light, that through JESUS CHRIST may thus have Shone upon them. So sound was the Doctrine inculcated by the Thessalonians, and so persevering and active their faith in the dissemination thereof, that the Apostle forbore further to dwell upon it. See also 2 Thess. i. 4. And thus the Prophecy in the Psalms xix. 4, is Fulfilled, Their sound went into all the Earth, and their words unto the ends of the World. But every act and purpose so performed or projected would have a faithful Witness in Heaven to detail them in all their motives as well as effect. The Word of Faith, thus Preached and Nigh to us, should be believed in our hearts and confessed in our mouths-Rom. x. 8 to 10.

VERSES 9, 10.-For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to GOD from idols, to serve The Living and True GOD, and to wait for His SON from Heaven; Whom He Raised from the Dead, even JESUS, Which Delivered us from the Wrath to come.

By the conduct and spiritual bearing of those, who had learnt Christianity from Paul's Thessalonian Disciples, the effect of those Disciples' instruction, in their turn, was an evidence of the sound dispensation of that Doctrine and Faith, which they had derived from the preachings and writings of the great Apostle's (of the Gentiles) Doctrine, of Which the Incarnation and Intercession of The Only SON of GOD Form the Groundwork, and on Which depends the hope of Pardon and Reconciliation to every fervent and faithful Believer therein; for to Him does every Soul of Human Kind owe the means of Escape from the Wrath to Come, in Visitation upon unrepenting, unbelieving Sinners; since our First Parents, in disobeying The DIVINE Command, quenched The Grace of The HOLY SPIRIT within them; and thenceforth, but for the Merciful Mediation and Meritorious Sacrifice of The Blessed JESUS, both they and their Posterity would have been destitute of that Holiness, which is the Gift of The SPIRIT, and without which no one can see GOD, but under the terror of experiencing His Interminable Wrath, and being amenable to an eternal Banishment from the Glory of His Presence. The conversion to Christianity from idolatry was a change from the most darkened and prejudiced state of feeling and habit to the very Light of Heaven, and the joy of present peace, and the hope and assurance of Eternal Happiness and Glory. Such of the Converts, as had turned unto The LORD upon the Apostle's preaching, he reminds that they had previously been, according to their own conviction, carried away unto dumb idols even as they were led, (1 Cor. xii. 2,) not knowing The True and Only GOD, they did service unto them, which by nature were no gods-Gal. iv. 8.- -The expectation of the

Second Coming of CHRIST, in His Second Descent to the Earth, was the High Encouragement held out to His Followers, as the Consummation of all Things in The DIVINE Economy of Mercy and Loving-Kindness towards fallen Human Nature; for as St. Paul said of himself and Such as he in the faith, Our conversation is in Heaven, from Whence we look for The SAVIOUR, The LORD JESUS CHRIST: Who shall Change our vile body, that it may be Fashioned like unto His Glorious Body, according to the Working, Whereby He is Able even to Subdue all Things unto Himself—Phil. iii. 20, 21. Thus the Deliverance from the Wrath to Come is not confined to an escape from punishment, but in succession thereto, there Opens upon the Redeemed Soul the Glories, which a Heavenly Inheritance will impart. Our SAVIOUR, in Exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees of His Day, Pressed upon them the danger they were in of incurring the Wrath to Come-Matt. iii. 7. From Such Wrath Salvation is alone obtainable through the Sacrifice of CHRIST-Rom. v. 9.

CHAPTER II.

VERSES 1, 2.-For yourselves, Brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain; but even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully intreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our GOD to speak unto you The Gospel of GOD with much contention.

The Spirit, that animates a true Servant of CHRIST towards the winning Souls to Him, is not daunted by difficulties, nor subdued by persecution; for the Crown of Rejoicing in a Heavenly Communion is ever in vision before his Spiritual eyes; and the reclaiming of Souls from the Wrath to Come is a Work, in which he as fondly as unceasingly engages; being so rooted and built up in CHRIST, that he feels more than Conqueror in every such Field of Christian warfare or labour. And this fortitude and firmness in A SAVIOUR's Cause Saint Jude exhorts that we should earnestly contend for, as the Faith which was delivered to the Saints-Jude 3. The Record of the Apostle's sufferings at Philippi is Given in the xvi. Acts 22, &c. and the succeeding Chapter pourtrays his continuing fortitude in his MASTER's Cause.

VERSES 3, 4.-For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; but as we were Allowed of GOD to be Put in Trust with The Gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing Men, but GOD, Which Trieth our hearts.

It is the Truth that makes us free from the cowardice of the fear of Man, and when putting it forth as it is in The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, we feel that we are under the more Immediate Observation of our Heavenly FATHER, and therefore are incapable of acting in hypocrisy, and are divested of all selfish and sensual motives; and we are strenuous in encouraging the absence of all duplicity, either in action or profession, amongst those, whom we seek to bring within that belief, which is our own Assurance of Salvation; for as Saint Peter says, We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we make known the Power and Coming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST; though we were not, like Peter, eye-witnesses of His Majesty, Who Received from GOD, The FATHER, Honour and Glory, when there Came Such A Voice to Him from The Excellent Glory, This is My Beloved SON, in Whom I am Well Pleased2 Peter i. 16, 17. On another occasion Saint Paul exults in the confidence that was placed in him, in his letter to Timothy, when he speaks of sound Doctrine according to the Glorious Gospel of The Blessed GOD, Which was Committed to his trust; and for which he gives thanks to CHRIST JESUS, our LORD, Who had Enabled him, for that He Counted him faithful, Putting him

into the Ministry-1 Tim. i. 1, 10 to 12. In the dissemination of That Doctrine, which in the Holy Scriptures has been so marvellously Preserved, and in Mercy Handed down to us, it behoves us to act as under the Immediate and Unceasing Observation of GOD, and with the sustained effort to please Him; and not, in the weakness and pride of the unregenerated heart, to mix, in our motive for action, a desire to receive any measure of Human applause or unwarrantable recompence; a motive which, however cautiously concealed from the eyes of the World, would at once be laid open in all its bearings to the View of OMNISCIENCE, with Whom we have to do, and before Whose Judgment we shall finally stand.

VERSES 5 to 7.-For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; GOD is Witness: nor of Men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome as the Apostles of CHRIST; but we were gentle among you, even as a Nurse cherisheth her Children.

As the Apostle with all boldness of speech and consistency of conduct fulfilled the functions of an Apostle, so ought we with all the force of Truth, as we have opportunity, to deliver the whole Counsel of GOD, with the faithfulness as well as freedom of Appointed Agents, in Imparting that knowledge of The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, Which has been Communicated to us, and is an implied trust in us to diffuse Its Heavenly Doctrines with all singleness and simplicity; not with any sinister view of gathering and accumulating either Worldly wealth or honours therefrom, but with a clean heart, as in the Sight of GOD, and as acting under the supplicated Assistance of The HOLY SPIRIT. And even though pecuniary benefits may be sought to be forced upon us, yet should we scrupulously refrain from suffering them to operate to the prejudice of our Spiritual influence over Others; and in all our communications, as Advocates for Gospel Illumination, should we put forth a spirit of meekness and gentleness, striving to win over Souls to the love of DIVINE Truth, and of The SAVIOUR as The Adorable SOURCE of It, by the persuasiveness of Brotherly love and Kindred admonition; following in this respect the example of Paul, who in writing of himself and of those, who co-operated with him, said, We are not as Many, which corrupt the Word of GOD; but as of sincerity, but as of GOD, in the Sight of GOD, speak we in CHRIST-2 Cor. ii. 17. Our SAVIOUR had previously Exposed and Admonished some of His Hearers, who professed a belief in Him, but evidently did so from worldly motives; for Said He to them, How can ye believe, which receive honour One of Another, and seek not the Honour, that cometh from GOD only?-John v. 44. And Paul in another of his epistles expressly acknowledged that, if he sought to please Men only, he would not be the Servant of CHRIST-Gal. i. 10. The devotedness of the Apostle was like That of his Heavenly MASTER, in his zeal and persevering efforts towards the Salvation of the Souls of Others, not in any reserved view to his own temporal aggrandizement, either in worldly riches or assumed authority; for as he said to his Corinthian Converts, I will very gladly spend and be spent for you ; though the more abundantly I love, the less I be loved-2 Cor. xii. 15; exemplifying the patience and fidelity, and unwearied attachment and attention, of the fondest of Nurses towards the endeared objects of their charge.

VERSE 8.-So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not The Gospel of GOD only, but also our own Souls, because ye were dear unto us. The Apostle's love towards those he addressed was indeed a perfect love, unfailingly exemplifying a desire above all things to bring Others within the same faith in CHRIST, and unto the same justifiable hope of Eternal Salvation