Imagini ale paginilor
PDF
ePub

culously Delivered from imprisonment; and the Latter therefore had been blessed with the twofold Apostolic counsel of Peter and John; and when Paul, with Barnabas, returned from their ministry at Jerusalem, they took with them this same Mark-Acts xii. 12, 25.--Aristarchus was a Fellow-Labourer and a Fellow-Sufferer with Paul at Ephesus when the Idol-Priests of Diana assailed them with such violence, and would have put them to death, but for the interference of the Peace-Officers-Acts xix. 29.—Of Demas after-mention is made to his prejudice; for notwithstanding his adherence to the Profession of Christianity for some time, Paul some two years after this Letter to Philemon, in writing to Timothy, says, Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present World, and is departed; only Luke is with me; and the Apostle adds, Take Mark and bring him with thee! for he is profitable to me for the Ministry--2 Tim. iv. 10, 11; See also verse 22.-- -Thus we see, that even under the bondage of Slavery, a faith in CHRIST can make the Souls of Believers Free, and Rich in the Prospect of a Life to Come, where neither slavery nor sorrow will be known, and but One MASTER, The Incarnate SON of GOD, will be owned and obeyed in reverential devotedness and unfailing love.

TITUS, CHAPTER I.

VERSES 1 to 4.-- Paul, a Servant of GOD, and an Apostle of JESUS CHRIST, (according to the faith of GOD's Elect, and the acknowledging of the Truth, Which is after Godliness; in hope of Eternal Life, Which GOD, That cannot lie, Promised before the World began; but hath in due times Manifested His Word through Preaching, which is Committed unto me, according to the Commandment of GOD our SAVIOUR,) to Titus, mine own Son after the common Faith, Grace, Mercy, and Peace from GOD The FATHER, and The LORD JESUS CHRIST our SAVIOUR!

Faithful ever to his High Calling of GOD by CHRIST JESUS, on his Miraculous Conversion, the Apostle, in the Highly Commissioned Counsel he is labouring to impart towards the conversion and Salvation of Others, uniformly ranks himself as the Appointed Servant of GOD and a Minister of JESUS CHRIST, His Incarnate SON; thereby seeking to impress the minds of Those he addresses, with the Exalted SOURCE from Which his Instruction is Drawn, and the Paramount Object to Which It Points, and is sure to Lead,if faithfully followed. The DIVINE MIND, Foreknowing all Things, Knew that Man, though Created in Perfection, would unwisely use his free agency, and deviate from that line of obedience, in which alone the Grace of The HOLY SPIRIT would Remain to Aid him, and without Which Assistance the Human Soul would be utterly unqualified for the Purity and Sanctity of Heavenly Communion. In the Contemplation of that ungrateful return to GOD's Love and Goodness, The HOLY TRINITY, Weighing the awful consequences to Human-Kind of either a Discontinuance of that Order of Creation, or an Eternal Separation from all Intercourse with GOD and the Glory of His Power, Bethought how GOD could be Just and yet Let-in Mercy in His Judgment upon Man. The SON of GOD, Conscious, that The Only Way was by the Sacrifice of Himself in Human Nature and by His Perfecting Righteousness therein, that So GOD would be Just, and yet The JUSTIFIER of Pardon and Reconciliation towards All, who should come unto and trust in That Mediation, adopting thankfully and faithfully Its Conditions, Consented Thereto. And in the Grasp of DIVINE Omniscience, Wherein all Future as well as Present Circumstances are Fully Brought, GOD Saw, that Salvation and Sanctification might thus in a degree at least Go forward, and He Pronounced Such Scheme of Redemption Good; and Mankind have reason to Bless That Meditated and Fruitful Mercy, and to adore The Concurrent Fiat of The TRINITY in That Great and Pregnant Resolve. Man therefore was Made, and though sin by Man, and Death by sin were in The DIVINE Foreseeing, yet Grace, in The Promised Offering of The MEDIATOR, was Kept Alive in The DIVINE Dealings with Mankind; and in the Fulness of Time GOD was Manifest in the Flesh, and Fulfilled The Intercessory Covenant, and Brought Life and Immortality to Light by The Gospel. Such is the Tenor of the Apostle's Representation, whereby he assures to every repentant and believing Soul the Possession of the Inestimable Treasures of Grace, Mercy and Peace from The HOLY TRINITY in the Life, that is, and in That, which is to Come, through the Vastness of That Sacrifice Made by The SON of GOD for Their Acquirement and Appropriation to All who love Him in sincerity.The acknowledging the Truth, as It is in JESUS, is, as the Apostle elsewhere says, the consequence of deep repentance in the view of the hatefulness of sin, when contrasted with the Holiness and Goodness of GOD -2 Tim. ii. 25. And the contemplation of The Means Provided for the Remission of sin, and the Assurance of DIVINE Favour, in the Prospect of Eternal Life and Celestial Glory, should strengthen and confirm every opportunity of

amendment and conformity to The DIVINE Will, and lead to that liveliness of faith in CHRIST, which is alone consistent with and the justifiable foundation of Christian hope, prompting to an anxious desire to lay to heart the Words of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and conform to His Doctrine, and that of His Apostles-1 Tim. vi. 3.- THE LORD is not a Man, that He should Repent—

[ocr errors]

1 Sam. xv. 29. For All His Words are Truth, and His Promises, Yea and Amen --See Heb. vi. 13 to 19. -Our Blessed SAVIOUR in the Course of His Delineating the Process of the Last Judgment Said, When The SON of Man shall Come in His Glory, and all the Holy Angels with Him, then shall He Sit upon the Throne of His Glory; and before Him shall be Gathered all Nations; and He shall Separate them One from Another, as a Shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and He shall Set the Sheep on His Right-Hand, but the Goats on the Left. Then shall The KING Say unto them on His Right-Hand, Come ye Blessed of My FATHER, inherit The Kingdom Prepared for you from the Foundation of the World!' But then shall He Say also unto them on His LeftHand, 'Depart from Me, ye Cursed, into Everlasting Fire, Prepared for the Devil and His Angels!' And These shall go away into everlasting Punishment; but the Righteous into Life Eternal-Matt. xxv. 31 to 34, 41, 46. See 2 Tim. i. 8 to 10.- -As The LORD is thus Rich unto All, whether Jews or Gentiles, who faithfully call on Him, and who assuredly will be Saved, if they continue in the Faith, as founded in The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, may we pour forth our hearts in gratitude unto Him, for that His Gospel has Descended to us, and that we have Its Truths impressed upon us by faithful Teachers and Preachers, Such as have had the Enlightening Gift of The HOLY SPIRIT, that they might fully and boldly preach The Gospel of Peace, and bring us the Glad Tidings of such surpassingly Good Things, as Heavenly Reconciliation and Eternal Salvation See Rom. x. 12 to 15; Isa. lii. 7.-Though Childless according to Nature, Paul had many Children according to Grace. Timothy, as well as Titus, he claimed as his own Son in the Faith of JESUS CHRIST, and every true Convert and faithful Follower of The Same Heavenly MASTER, who had been brought to the knowledge of The LORD, and of the Way to Salvation and Purity and Holiness by the Apostle's teaching and preaching, he regarded with Parental Feeling, and adopted, as it were, into the Family of Paul the aged-1 Tim. i. 1,2; considering himself their Spiritual Guardian till he was called to Rest from his labours, and then consigning them to his Heavenly FATHER's Care, in the Love of CHRIST, as well knowing in Whom he so trusted.

VERSES 5 to 9.-For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things, that are wanting, and ordain Elders in every City, as I had appointed thee. If Any be blameless, the Husband of one Wife, having faithful Children, not accused of riot, or unruly: for a Bishop must be blameless, as the Steward of GOD: not self-willed; not soon angry; not given to wine; no Striker; not given to filthy lucre: but a Lover of hospitality, a Lover of good Men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the Faithful Word, as he hath been taught, that he may be able, by sound Doctrine, both to exhort and to convince the Gainsayers. Highly important was the trust Paul reposed in Titus, and earnestly did he labour to impress him with the sacredness and responsibility of it, that it might be executed to the furtherance of GOD's Glory and the Edification and Purification of the hearts and minds of Others, and in a peculiar degree those of Such, as might be selected for the Clerical duties, and especially the most prominent and influential of Appointments, the Elders or Presbytery of the Church, then forming at Crete; as out of Elders Bishops were to be chosen. Much therefore of minute counsel and cautious intimation does the Apostle deal out to Titus in reference to the considerate and prudential selection of Individuals, upon whom, in the Primitive Church of CHRIST then rising in Crete, the highest

Office should be cast by him, as under the Apostle's delegated authority. So distinct and extended are the peculiarities of character and qualifications, both morally and mentally, and so every way calculated in their observance to promote the Cause of Truth, and advance The MESSIAH's KINGDOM in the hearts of Believers, that if all Bishops and Elders and Deacons of that and every succeeding Age had been so chosen and so qualified, The KINGDOM of CHRIST would by this time perhaps have spread over all Nations of the Earth, and the Peace of GOD have universally prevailed. For the example of Those high in authority has much influence, and the Christian Character exhibited in all its brightness and beauty and singleness of Object, amidst the prominence and possession of Spiritual power, wisely regulated both at home and from home, operates upon every well-directed and sensitive heart.- -St. Paul aimed to have all things in order; and a most wholesome rule this is, and one of universal application, but in proportion as the Things of Eternity and Its deep and enduring Interests are immeasurably more Important than those of Time, so is it immeasurably more essential, that the observance of that Rule should prominently and permanently be extended to the State and Prospects of the Soul, and the course and habits to be encouraged towards promoting the same feelings and attention in Others. After a long injunction of Christian observances in his Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul adds, And the rest will I set in order, when I come —1 Cor. xi. 34.- When Paul and Barnabas were at Derbe, and had preached The Gospel there, and taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium and Antioch; confirming the Souls of the Disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith; and that we must, through much tribulation, enter into The KINGDOM of GOD. And when they had ordained them Elders in every Church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to The LORD, on Whom they believed-Acts xiv. 20 to 23. And Paul's commission to Timothy, after injoining him to be strong in the Grace, That is in CHRIST JESUS, was, to commit the Things, that he had heard of Paul among many Witnesses, to faithful Men, who should be able to teach Others also-2 Tim. ii. 1, 2. —Very much of the same qualifications for a Bishop to possess before his appointment to so high, and important, and influential a Station and Office in the Church of CHRIST, St. Paul points out to the guidance also of Timothy, in his First Letter-iii.- May we therefore stand fast in the Faith, that we are Taught by The Revelation of GOD, as Recorded in His Holy Scriptures, and rest in the Traditions Therein Contained, admitting none, that are contrary thereto! as St. Paul injoined the Thessalonians to hold the Tradition, which they had been taught, whether by his word or his Epistle-2 Thess. ii. 15.

VERSES 10 to 16.-For there are many unruly and vain Talkers and Deceivers, specially they of the Circumcision; whose mouths must be stopped; who subvert whole Houses, teaching things, which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake: One of themselves, even a Prophet of their own, said, 'The Cretians are alway Liars, evil Beasts, slow bellies.' This Witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply! that they may be sound in the Faith; not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of Men, that turn from the Truth. Unto the Pure all things are pure; but unto them, that are defiled and unbelieving, is nothing pure: but even their mind and conscience is defiled: they profess, that they know GOD, but in works they deny Him; being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Self-sufficient Characters are to be found in most Societies and in every variety of grade and age; nor is the profession of religion exempt from this irreligious propensity. Intellectual vanity, assumption of superiority in argument, a noisy resistance of sober reasoning, and an indifference to the calm and practical virtues of the retired Christian, mark their character; and amidst their own self-impor tance, sink them in the estimation of rightly-thinking minds, and call for peculiar

exertion in the Ministerial Office, especially to counteract their influence, and, if possible, work on their consciences to awaken in them a sense of their danger, and of the fearful responsibility, that must attach to a perversion of DIVINE Truth, and the misleading Others from the Paths of Peace and Hope, as Delineated only in The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST. Converts it seems there were amongst the Cretians to the faith of Judaism, or at least to the teaching of those Semi-Christians, who clung to the prejudices and ceremonial observances,in a degree,of the Jewish persuasion, especially in the typical sacrament of Circumcision; though it had been done away with by the Fulfilment of all Righteousness in JESUS CHRIST; the Law being Merged as it were in The Gospel. By such a Spirit, restless and domineering and insatiate as it is, no effort, however daring and obtrusive, is left untried to subvert the faith of All around them; and a whole Neighbourhood might be thrown into confusion and all the discomfiture of religious doubt and distrust, so as their point was in any degree gained; utterly heedless as they are of the final Issue in That Righteous Judgment, Which, at the Last Great Day of Universal Assize, will be Pronounced upon such subversions of The DIVINE Counsel and frustration of DIVINE Clemency and Intended Kindness, in Pointing to and Keeping Open the Way to Eternal Bliss, but so far all in vain, owing to such bold and self-willed arrogance and opposition. The true Servant of CHRIST feels the deep obligation of stemming this torrent of overwhelming and practical infidelity, and checking by every means in his power its baneful progress. Whatever may be the motive, that prompts to evil, responsibility attaches fearfully to it; if for the love of money, which has been characterized in general terms, from its extensive prevalence, the root of all evil, such covetousness ends in the forfeiture of the Treasures in Heaven; if ambition be the impulse, whether for temporal or spiritual distinction, the worthlessness and vanity and sadly mistaken aim thereof will be awfully experienced, when the Votaries thereof will be Outcasts from the Brotherhood of The SON of The MOST HIGH.-The delineation of the unhallowed and offensive qualities of the Inhabitants of Crete generally, confirmed by their own Poets, proves how difficult was the task consigned to Titus; and St. Paul fortifies him by his counsel, encouraging him to use firmness and to reprove, as well as to exhort, in his Ministerial Office; so that, if possible, he might rescue such brands from the fire. To be sound in the faith, is to act up to the faith, as Revealed in The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, to rest upon That Great and Paramount Authority, and to follow in all respects the Counsel and Direction Thereof. The influence of Tradition was in St. Paul's time reprehended by him; and its obtrusiveness in this age is both surprising and alarming. Such injunctions, if opposed to or unsupported by Holy Scripture and DIVINE Revelation, are utterly to be repudiated, as tending to a corruption of that Faith, on Which Salvation depends.The Pure in heart, we are assured by the Voice of Embodied Truth, shall see GOD, and bear to see Him in all His Purity and Holiness with reverential delight and adoring gratitude. It is their happy Privilege to experience, in the purity of their own minds and purposes, a delight, which accords with and enhances that of their pious hopes in The ALMIGHTY's Government of the World, and in His Final Dealing with the Souls of Men. How peaceful their progress in life! how calm their passage out of it! On the contrary, how opposite are the feelings and how awfully so will be the fate of those, who reject the Offer of Salvation, and lend themselves to sinful courses, whether in the impure indulgences of unbridled appetites and passions or in the insulting arrogancy of free-thinking and apostacy; their consciences seared, their minds perversely turned from the Light of Heaven. The religion they follow, if they follow any, is that of their own perverted imagination or pride of originality. Their conduct would falsify a profession of a right faith;

« ÎnapoiContinuă »