practice what its principles are. Knowing this, therefore, let us seek to love God, to love all men, to cultivate brotherly love, to maintain purity of conduct and of character, to mind our own business, to work with our own hands, and to walk honestly toward them that are without.

"Ver. 6. "That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.'

"He doth here press a second branch of that sanctification, spoken of ver. 1. The exhortation is first proposed to this sense; that in no 'matter,' or in no business of common commerce, they should wrong their brother, either by open violence (as the word rendered 'go beyond' implieth, it signifieth to go above, or trample upon one as despicable, and so expresseth to the life the nature and way of proud and insolent oppressors), nor yet by secret fraud and deceit (as the other word is expressly rendered, see also 2 Cor. vii. 2), and the party whom they are discharged to oppress or deceive is their brother'—that is, one of the same religion with them (Deut. xvii. 15); whereby he meaneth not as if it were lawful to oppress others (see the contrary, Exod. xxii. 21), but because the most of their traffic and commerce being probably with Christians and among themselves, the consideration of their interest in the person injured by them would add no small weight to their sin (1 Cor. vi. 6). Next, he addeth a reason to enforce not only this dissuasive, but the former (ver. 5), and it is taken from one dreadful effect of all such sins, they lay open the person guilty to God's dreadful vengeance: and he confirmeth the

truth hereof from this, that he had often told them so much before when he was with them, and not only simply told, but seriously testified,' and earnestly obtested them to believe the truth of what he had deponed, as it were upon oath unto them, for so much doth the word imply.

"The wise Lord hath judged it fitting so to dispense of things worldly unto mankind, not giving all things needful unto any one, as that men cannot live without mutual commerce, and exchange of commodities from one hand to another; for he supposeth the necessity of mutual commerce, while he forbiddeth oppression and deceit in it: That no man go beyond his brother in any matter,' or in any business of common commerce.

"So covetous is man by nature of that which is his neighbour's, and so little willing to reverence the Lord in the measure of things worldly dispensed unto him (Isa. v. 8), that he is easily tempted to catch advantage of his neighbour in the matter of commerce, and to make up his own worldly estate by impairing the estate of others; for Paul, while he forbiddeth this evil, supposeth that men are prone to fall in it: That no man go beyond or defraud his brother.'

"So enslaving an evil is covetousness, that where it reigneth it maketh the covetous wretch employ the utmost both of his power and skill to give it satisfaction; for Paul, while he forbids both going beyond, or oppressing by power, and defrauding by skill, implieth that both power and skill are usually employed for carrying on this sin: 'That no man go beyond or defraud.''

These are prescriptions for every-day life.

"Ver. 7. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.'

"In this verse there is a second argument for enforcing all the former exhortations, both general and particular, positive and negative; and it is taken from the end intended by God, when he did first effectually call them that is, draw them out of nature to the state of grace (Col. i. 13); which is expressed, first negatively, it was not that they might thence take liberty to defile themselves with sin of any kind; for the word uncleanness' must be taken here in that general sense, as being opposed to sanctification, and containing under it all the sins formerly forbidden, not only fornication, which is uncleanness' strictly taken, but also oppression and fraud. Next, positively, he had called them to sanctification,' or that they might be sanctified, and live in the constant exercise of all the sanctifying graces of God's Spirit.

"As God is a dreadful avenger of all sin, so chiefly of such sins of professors of the gospel as do reflect upon their Christian calling, either as hardly consistent with it (Deut. xxxii. 5), or as opening the mouths of profane atheists to reproach it (2 Sam. xii. 14); for he here gives this reason why God is the avenger of all such sins-God had called them to abstinence from them, and consequently their lying in them would reflect upon their calling: ' For God hath not called us unto uncleanness,' saith he.

"It is the duty of called Christians, in all their actions and employments, to examine all by the rule of their Christian calling, and to do or not do accordingly, being always loth to do anything which may in the least measure reflect upon it, though it should otherwise bring them never so much pleasure or advantage; for he will have them to abstain from the flesh-pleasing

sin of uncleanness, and the profitable sin of covetousness, fraud, and oppression; upon this account, they were not according to the rule of their Christian calling For God hath not called us unto uncleanness,' saith he.

"So averse are all men by nature from the duties of holiness (Rom. viii. 7), so impotent to go about them, as being dead in sins and trespasses (Eph. ii. 1), that the Lord must first draw us out of nature to the state of grace, and create in us a new heart and abilities to do good (Ezek. xxxvi. 26), when he effectually calleth us, before we mind holiness in earnest: For he hath called us unto holiness,' saith he.

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Though some do abuse grace unto wantonness, and pretend they may sin without fear (when, as they suppose, they are effectually called), because the root of the matter is in them, and grace once received cannot be lost (Rom. vi. 15); yet such corrupt reasonings receive no encouragement, neither from the author of grace, the holy God, nor from the end of bestowing grace, which is our sanctification and holiness."

Many were mourning at that time over their near and dear relatives, who had been martyred for their attachment to the Gospel, and their determination on no account to abjure or to forsake it. They had been cut down, many of them, in the prime and vigour of life; and the Thessalonian Christians that were left behind felt it so hard that separation should be so soon, and that those they loved should be taken away at so early a period in their Christian course. Paul speaks by inspiration words that have no precedent in heathendom. His thoughts are the more striking, when we read the remarks made by Quin

tilian, Seneca, and Cicero about their lost friends,their earnest hope, their wishing that they may live,their uncertainty whether they may or not; or if you will read that most beautiful relic,-the most beautiful I have ever read, the Life of Agricola, by Tacitus; the expression of grief and love, replete with soothing words, reaching the highest pitch of hope that heathendom could rise to; you will be struck by the contrast between the faint, feeble expectations of the heathen, and the sure, the blessed, the unwavering hope that Christianity inspires into the heart of every mourner. The apostle says, "I would not have you to be ignorant"-that is, I wish you to be particularly informed, I wish to give you special instruction-" concerning them which are asleep." What a bright thought is here!-those you call dead are only asleep. The word that we employ to denote the resting-place of the dead dust is singularly in unison with this a cemetery. What is a cemetery? It is literally "a sleeping-place." The idea, therefore, that is conveyed in the gospel is, that believers simply sleep in Christ. In the catacombs at Rome, where the martyrs were crowded and shut up together during the persecution of Nero and Domitian, you find inscribed, or rather etched, upon the walls"Such a one sleeps in Jesus;"" Felicia sleeps in the Lord;" showing that the primitive Christians of that

no idea of an intermediate suffering, but that t that the soul was severed from the body, s in glory, and the last sleeps in the hope of surrection.

that some, and even good divines-men talent and of piety-have tried to show that oul enters into a state of insensibility between