Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4:1

From the consideration of his own sufferings, as well as of the many important respects in which all true Christians are united, the apostle pathetically exhorts them to mutual love, and to steadiness in religion, by representing to them the glorious foundation which Christ as the great Head of the church hath laid for it. Eph. IV. 1—16.

EPHESIANS IV. 1.

I HAVE mentioned my bonds but a little vii. while ago, and I shall mention them now Eph. again; for nothing can tend so much to soften iv. 1 them as to find them the occasion of honour to Christ, and good to his church; and nothing surely can more powerfully move you to regard the exhortations I would offer to you: I therefore call upon you to consider me while you read this, as in confinement, not for any crime that hath deserved such treatment, but as the prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ,² in bonds for my fidelity Ephes. IV. 1. THEREFORE. the prisoner of

² The prisoner of the Lord] Some have deserved of this epistle, and of the others which were written by the apostle Paul in his imprisonment, (namely, those to the Colossians and the Philippians, as well as that to Philemon, and the second to Timothy,) that they are more especially remarkable for their excellence, and discover a peculiar savour of the things of God: by which it may be seen, that while his sufferings did abound, his consiliations also did abound much more. It is however manifest that this epistle, as it sets forth, in the preceding part of it, the gracious

design of God in the gospel dispensation, and represents the benefits and privileges that belong to all the faithful in Christ Jesus, as well to Gentiles as to Jews, is cast into a strain of thanksgiving and prayers, and written (as it were) all in a rapture, in a sublime and elevated style, as flowing from a mind transported with the consideration of the unsearchable wisdom and goodness of God in the work of redemption, and of the amazing love displayed in Christ towards the Gentile world. And the remaining part of it is no less admirable for the engaging manner in which he

orts them to walk worthy of their calling,

to that gospel he hath committed to my charge. And I beseech you by the memory of my chains, that ye make it your great care and daily labour, to walk worthy of the high and holy calling wherewith ye are called: let there be nothing in your temper and conduct beneath the dignity to which you are raised, and the illustrious hopes which are set before you; but shew that the crown of glory is ever in your eye, and that your hearts are duly impressed with it: And particularly as you have received the pardon of your sins, and are adopted into the family of God, let the remembrance of it engage you to behave with all humility and lowliness of heart, under a sense of your former guilt and misery, and your unworthiness of that mercy which God hath magnified towards you; and thus to carry it with meekness towards those who may have troubled you by their frowardness, tenderly passing over their infirmities and indiscretions, as sensible what great offences have been forgiven to yourselves. And should you meet with injuries from any of your brethren, as it is to be feared that even among professing Christians this will sometimes happen, do not think much to bear with them; but let me entreat you, that ye endure them with long suffering and patience without seeking revenge, and forbear one another in such circumstances, in the unfeigned exercise of mutual love: b And not on this occasion only, but with respect to your whole carriage to each other, how different soever your sentiments and practices may be in matters of an indifferent nature, be still endeavouring, so far as in you lies, to keep the unity of the Spirit, that unity of heart and affection which becomes those who are regenerated by one Spirit acting on them all, and

Improves what he had before delivered, surging the duties which became their character, with the greatest tenderness, in expressions full of love and endearment, ndding the strongest arguments to enforce them, and making mention of his bonds to recommend the exhortations that he offered to them.

b With long suffering forbear one another

in love.] As there is no copulative between meekness and long suffering, it seems most natural to connect the latter with the following clause: and if the exhortation be thus rendered, it will prevent the solecism which would arise from connecting ἀνε- χομεῖναι with ὑμᾶς in the verse before, to which we should be led by our translation See Blackwall’s Sacr. Class. Vol. I. p. 98.

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And presses them to mutual love and unity o

forming them into one body; joining them thus together in the bond of peace, and sweetly engaging them, not only to the most pacific, but to the most affectionate conduct to each other.

For this is indeed the case with regard to all that have truly and cordially embraced the gospel, and nothing can be stronger than the motives to this union, when it is considered, that with respect to the whole church [there is] only one body, of which ye all are members, and should as such have the same care for one another; (1 Cor. xii. 25;) and in this body there is one Spirit that enlivens, actuates, and fills it, under whose influence it should be your concern to act in such a way as to resemble him who is the Spirit of love and peace; and there is one inheritance that ye are waiting for, as ye are also called in one blessed hope of your calling, and should live therefore as inspired with the same joyful expectation of being all brought to the same blessed end, to one glorious abode in the heavenly world: There is also one Lord and Head of all, even Jesus Christ, who hath come down from heaven and died for our salvation; that he might incorporate us all into one society, that he might instruct us all in one faith, and might unite us all in one baptism, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: And thus he introduces us all into the knowledge and favour of the one God and Father of all true believers, who in the infinite perfections of his essence [is] above all, governing all without exception as the supreme Ruler of universal nature; who animates and operates through all, by the diffusive influence of his vital presence; and who is particularly in you all, by that special residence which he holds in those that are the temples of his grace.

Such are the great engagements we are under to the strictest and most affectionate union; and howsoever we may be distinguished from each

c To keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.] See an excellent discourse on these words, in Mr. Baxter’s Practical Works, Vol. IV. p. 628, & seq.

d One baptism.] It is mere trifling to be cut from hence against water baptism,

since there can be no room to oppose that to the baptism of the Spirit; and it is very plain that the apostle, while he declared that there was but one baptism, practised that of water.

grace we have is the free gift of Christ.

other, by the variety of our gifts, or by the difference of our stations, these several distinctions ought to be regarded by us, not as matter of emulation and contention, but rather as an additional obligation to love, when we consider the great source and design of all: for grace is given and dispensed in different degrees to every one of us in particular, not for the merit of one above another, but according to the measure of the free gift of Christ,ᵉ in such a measure as seems best to him, the great Sovereign of the church, to bestow it; whose distributions we always know to be guided by consummate wisdom and goodness, so that we all have the highest reason entirely to acquiesce in them. For we receive whatever gifts we have from Christ, and they are all bestowed by him; wherefore the words of David may be considered as applicable to this,ᶠ where he says, (Psal. lxviii. 18.) “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive,ᵍ and gave gifts unto men:”

ᵉ Grace is given to every one of us, &c.] That their differing in some respects, though united in so many, might not be urged as any plea for self esteem, or neglect of others, who wanted such distinguishing advantages, the apostle properly insists upon it, that all is communicated to us by way of free gift and sovereign liberality.

ᶠ The words of David may be considered as applicable to this.] I cannot undertake to prove, that the passage here referred to is, strictly speaking, a prediction of Christ’s ascension, and of his shedding down the gifts and graces of the Spirit. The Psalmist celebrating a late victory, goes back in rapturous meditation to God’s victory over the Egyptians, and the spoils with which he enriched the Israelites, ungrateful and rebellious as they had been, and by which he prepared for himself in the course of his providence a dwelling among them; for the tabernacle was built principally with those spoils. And the apostle beautifully accommodates the words to the triumph of an ascending Saviour, and to the royal donative of the Spirit; which he shed down on his church, into which many who had been once most rebellious were admitted, and whereby it was fitted to be his habitation. We render the clause quoted, Thou hast received gifts for men; but the Hebrew word signifies, *Thou hast

taken*, and may either express taking from the enemy, or taking out of his own royal treasury.

ᵍ He led captivity captive.] This is a phrase that signifies the leading on a train of captives, but may with greater emphasis be applied to those who of conquerors and oppressors are made captives. (Compare Judg. v. 12.) And thus it may be properly understood of the triumph of Christ over sin, Satan, the world, and death, by whom such multitudes were conquered and enslaved. Mr. Pierce indeed has taken great pains to prove that these words are to be interpreted of the good angels, as if the meaning were, “that Christ led in triumph the angels who voluntarily subjected themselves to him, after having been before his fellow guardians in presiding over other countries, as he was God’s Vicegerent in Israel.” And to establish this, he largely pleads, that neither the devils, nor the souls of departed saints, ascended with Christ into heaven, and consequently that these words must refer to the train of attendant angels. But Christ might poetically be said to lead captivity captive, when he triumphed over those that had subdued his people, and acquired such a power over the infernal spirits, as a conqueror has over a captive that he drags at his chariot wheels. In this view it may also be observed, that

Christ has ascended that he might fill all things

for naturally may our devout meditations rise from that glorious pomp with which God went up from mount Sinai, when he had triumphed over the Egyptians, and poured down blessings on his people, to that illustrious ascension of our blessed Redeemer, when he had vanquished our enemies on the cross, and returning to his Father, poured down his royal donatives like a triumphant conqueror upon his faithful subjects, yea gifts, in which those who had long been rebellious, and had but lately laid down their weapons, were to share. Now this [expression] that he ascended, what is it, or what does it imply, but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth; having come down from heaven and dwelt in this earth of ours, yea and submitted even to lie in the caverns of it for a while under the power of death? For to this low humiliation our thoughts may naturally be conducted, the subject being so familiar to our mind, and the phrase so capable of suggesting these ideas to us. And on the other hand it leads us to reflect, that he who descended to such forms of humble abasement is also the very same glorious and triumphant Person who ascended far above all heavens, beyond the regions of the air, into the heaven of heavens; going up, as the Psalmist elsewhere speaks, with a shout, and with the sound of a trumpet, (Psal. xlvii. 5,) received with the acclamations of all the hierarchy of heaven, and seated on a throne of glory, that he might fill all things with his influence, and direct and overrule all by his wisdom and power.

the Egyptians, over whom God is represented as triumphing in the passage quoted from the lxviii Psalm, though they might seem to be taken prisoners in the Red sea, (Exod. xiv. 23—28,) were not, in strictness of speech, led in triumphant procession, but immediately destroyed by the Divine vengeance.

His royal donatives like a triumphant conqueror] Many have observed that here is an allusion to the custom of conquerors, who used to give law, cases to their soldiers after a triumph (See Lamberch. Theolog. xii. cap. 25, sect. ii) And though the

Roman instances of this custom are perhaps the most familiar to our minds, yet all who are acquainted with antiquity, know that it was not peculiar to them. Compare Judg. v. 28—30.

Into the lower parts of the earth] Bishop Pearson (on the Creed, p. 229) has shown how very precariously this is urged as a proof of Christ’s descent into hell; the phrase being such as other scriptures plainly lead us to refer, either to his incarnation, (Psal. cxxxix. 15,) or his descent into the grave. Compare Psal. lxiii. 9, and Mat. xii. 40.

has appointed several offices in his church.

Accordingly he hath shed down a rich variety of gifts and graces from his triumphal seat at the right hand of the Father, to qualify and endow his servants for those various offices in the church which he hath wisely and graciously instituted for the advancement of his interest and kingdom : and thus, among the gifts which he bestowed to be employed for the advantage of his people in their respective situations, he gave some to be apostles, whose office should be personal, but should extend in its effects to the remotest generations, sending them forth to preach the gospel unto every creature as his special witnesses, and forming them, under the plenary and most abundant influences of his Spirit, to the fullest knowledge of that scheme they were to publish to the world ; (compare Mark xvi. 15, and 1 Cor. xii. 28 ;) and some he gave to be prophets, who were to explain the mysteries of faith, and to foretell future events, by virtue of the extraordinary revelations made to them ; and some to be evangelists, who were to travel from place to place, and to fulfil such particular commissions as the apostles should give, in settling and establishing the churches they had planted, (Acts xix. 22,) being furnished with such miraculous powers as were necessary for that purpose : and, besides these extraordinary officers, he also gave some to be settled pastors and teachers, who were to be of standing use, to preside in the several congregations of the saints, taking the stated oversight of them in the Lord, and to instruct them both in public and private, as their respective circumstances should require; nor were these left destitute of proper assistances, though not distinguished by such eminent endowments as the former. Now the intent of all these

And some pastors and teachers.] I shall not take upon me to determine whether two different offices are intended here, of which the former were intrusted with the care and oversight of particular churches, whereas the latter only were employed in instructing the people by way of exhortation, without being called to the pastoral office ; though, if this were the case, it seems most probable they would have been expressed distinctly as the others are ; and some pastors, and some teachers.

But I cannot forbear saying, it has been justly observed, that if Diocesan bishop were the very remedy by which the Holy Ghost designed to prevent, or to heal those schisms of which the Ephesia church was in such apparent danger (Acts xx. 29, 30,) it is very strange there should be no mention of them amidst all these ecclesiastics which are here enumerated, though some of them inferior to the supposed bishop in dignity.

These offices are all or the benefit of the ch

institutions, offices, and gifts, was for the perfecting of the saints, or finishing the character of holy men who should be destined to the work of the ministry,¹ in subordination to the great view that is still to be maintained, of building up and edifying of the church, which is the body of Christ, that its numbers may be increased, and each member advanced in knowledge and in grace; Till we all arrive at the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge or acknowledgment of the Son of God, in such entire harmony and agreement as will cement us together in still dearer bonds; and getting above that infant state in which so many of us now are, we shall grow up to the maturity of a perfect man, even to the full measure of the spiritual stature, so as to reach what may be called the standard of the fulness of Christ,ᵐ attaining to those eminent degrees of grace and goodness which will fit us to become his stated everlasting residence, and to be filled with the most glorious tokens of his presence and favour.

In the mean time, it is the design of God by these means to give us greater firmness and establishment in religion, that we may be no longer like little children, tossed to and fro as waves of the sea, and borne about as a vapour in the air, with every wind of doctrine, and every vain puff of breath, uttered with violence and eagerness, and as it were mechanically managed by the cheating sleight of designing and interested men, [and] by their various subtlety in every method of deceit,ⁿ which some insinuating teachers will

¹ For the perfecting of saints to the work of the ministry.] Bishop Burnet understands the former clause, of their being initiated into the church by the holy ordinance of baptism. (See Burnet on the Articles, p. 232.) Others would render the scripture, for the compacting, &c. as if it signified their being brought together and united into one society, whether they had been formerly Jews or Gentiles. But I rather think, with Dr. Marshal, the clauses are to be connected, and may more properly be rendered, (as in Blackwall’s Sacred Classics, Vol. II, p. 174.) For the fitting of holy men to the work of the ministry; which strongly implies by the way, that no unholy man should be employed in it. And thus there can be no necessity to suppose a transposition of the words with Grotus, as if the meaning were, For the

work of the ministry, which is to perfect the saints, and to edify the body of Christ.

ᵐ To the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.] The sense given in the paraphrase is so obvious, and suits and illustrates the peculiarity of the phrase so well, that I cannot but wonder at the impertinence of those who (as Dr. Lightfoot tells us in his Remains, p. 289) have inferred from this text that the saints should be raised at the last day exactly of the age of Christ when he died, and that their stature should be just the same with his; referring to the ambiguity of the word sinus, as signifying both stature and age.

ⁿ By the cheating sleight of men, [and] by their subtlety in every method of deceit.] The word sinus, as many critics have observed, properly signifies the artifice of those infamous gamesters who know how to cog the

hole body derives its increase from Christ.

not fail to exercise upon you, though I hope you will be able to discern and defeat it: But maintaining the truth in love, or steadfastly adhering to the doctrines of the gospel with that candid and charitable temper which it inculcates, and without which our clearest and most extensive knowledge will do us but little good, may we grow up in all things, from an infant to an adult state, into him who is the Head, [even] the Lord Jesus Christ, the great Centre of union, as well as the original Source of life and motion: And by the constant exercise of mutual affection may we be more and more united to him, from whom, as from the head, conveying influence and nourishment to every member, the whole body of Christians, being harmoniously joined, and strongly cemented together in the closest union, by the supply of every joint through proper channels of communication (as by the veins and arteries, the nerves and sinews, in the natural body,) according to the energy which is proportionable to the necessity of every part, and properly adapted to its respective place and function, makes an uniform and happy increase of the whole body, by the regular growth and nourishment of each member, to the edifying of itself in love: or, in plainer terms, the whole church, by the exercise of faith in Christ as its glorious Head, is edified and supported, and each part of it grows in mutual love, in proportion to the degree of its regard to him.

IMPROVEMENT.

If Divine grace have taught us to know the hope of our calling, verse it will surely add great weight to these pathetic exhortations of his faithful servant and prisoner of Jesus Christ, to walk worthy of it; to walk as it becomes those to do who have been favoured

dice. Some would render the last words, by craft and doubling according to the subtle method of imposture: but I think the rendering above is more literal, and am in part obliged to Mr. Blackwall for the version and paraphrase here. See his Sacred Classics, Vol. I. p. 305.

Maintaining the truth in love.] It is to hoped that no reader, and especially none of the sacred order, will fail to observe what the apostle here so plainly asserts, namely, that it was the design of the ministry to preserve peace and charity, as well as orthodoxy, regularity, and discipline, in the church.

Reflections on our engagements to unity and love.

with a call from God, who have received the honour of a call to vii. the blessings of his gospel, to the privileges and hopes of his chilverse dren. It will teach us that humility, meekness, and long suffering, 2 of which our Divine Saviour was so glorious an example, which will engage us to the exercise of mutual forbearance, and which so well suits those whom he hath brought into so happy a state.

May we all experimentally know the sweetness which attends 3 a constant care to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; that we may labour earnestly to maintain it, and with the utmost diligence may guard against those things which might lead us in any degree to violate it!

To engage us to this, let those arguments which the apostle suggests, be familiar to our mind. Do we not all indeed belong to one body, however called by different denominations? Have we not all, so far as we are truly Christians, received one Spirit? Is there not one hope of our common calling, even that of dwelling together in one and the same blissful world, with God, and 5 with each other? Have we not one Lord, even Jesus Christ, to whom we all equally profess subjection? who hath taught us one faith, who hath instituted one baptism, and who hath introduced 6 and consecrated us to one God and Father of all? And what are the considerations which should prevail so far as to divide us, when compared with such bonds of union as these?

Let us all therefore, in the name of this God, who is over all, who operates through all, and in us all, in the name of this one Saviour, and one Spirit, (awful and endearing names, into which we were all baptized,) charge it upon our own souls, that we not only do nothing by a factious and uncharitable temper to divide 16 his church, but that we study what we can do to heal its breaches, and to promote its growth and edification. And let us pray, that God would guide and succeed our endeavours for that purpose, and preserve our hearts in such a situation and temper, that we may stand continually willing to give up every temporal interest that may interfere with such a design; yea, and even to make our own blood, if such were the will of God, the cement of those wounds, at which a body so intimately united to Christ has so long been bleeding almost to death.

Were we actually to give such a proof of our regard to it, we could but very imperfectly repay the condescension and love of 9 that Saviour, who for us descended to these low regions of the earth, and dwelt for a while among the dead; and then triumphantly 8 rising, and ascending on high, led those enemies that had before held us in captivity themselves captive, as at his chariot wheels; and having received gifts for men, scattered them down with such 10 royal munificence, that he might fill all things, and fit his ministers for the offices to which he had destined them.

He exhorts them not to walk like the other Gentiles,

These his ministers we are taught by this passage to regard as the special gift of his love to the church, and as such let us adore him for them; not only for apostles, prophets, and evangelists, but also for pastors and teachers. And let us earnestly pray, that through the continued influences of that Spirit which he hath sent down from on high, holy men may in every succeeding age be so perfectly and completely fitted for the work of the ministry, that the body of Christ may be edified; that by this means, we may all come to that union, to that strength, to that full maturity, to which by calling us into the fellowship of the gospel he intended to raise us.

In the mean time, while we are advancing towards it, may we rise above that childish weakness which would make us the sport of every wind of doctrine, and a prey to every artifice of designing men. Let us ever maintain a due regard to the united interests of truth and love, that our union with Christ may be secured, and our growth in him more happily and abundantly advanced.

Ephesians 4:17-30

The apostle urges the converted Ephesians to distinguish themselves from the Gentiles, by the holiness of their behaviour, as they were so much distinguished from them by knowledge and grace; and particularly presses upon them the duties of veracity, meekness, and purity. Eph. IV. 17—30.

EPHES. IV. 17. THIS I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

EPHESIANS IV. 17. THIS I say therefore, for your further instruction how to walk worthy of your calling, and most earnestly and affectionately testify it to you in the name of the Lord, that now ye are so happily brought into the Christian church, and made partakers of such privileges and advantages, ye no longer walk, as, alas, ye have so long done, and as the rest of the Gentiles who remain unconverted still continue to walk, in such a course as plainly shews the vanity of their mind, amused with the poor empty trifles of this world, and enslaved to low and mean pursuits, utterly unworthy of their rational nature:

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, Having the understanding darkened with respect to spiritual things, by the influence of the prince of darkness upon them, and being alienated in affection as well as in their practice from the life of God, from that noble principle of true religion

The life of God.] I apprehend this does his people, as Mr. Locke understands it, not merely signify a life prescribed by God to but that it intimates a life consisting in a

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ho were alienated from God, and lived in uncl

which is indeed the Divine life in the soul, forming it to the service and imitation of him by whom it is implanted; to which they are wholly strangers, and have indeed an utter aversion to it, by reason of the ignorance of truth and goodness that is in them; yea, because of the absolute blindness and obstinacy of their heart,ᵇ the evil passions of which turn it into a kind of chaos, which will not admit the rays of Divine truth shining around them in the works of creation and providence, by the observation of which they would be formed to much better notions, even on natural principles, if they would but do justice to themselves. But alas, what can be expected from wretches who have debauched their consciences with such a course of profligate immoralities, as to have lost all sense of shame? who being grown quite callous (as it were) and insensible to all goodness, have abandoned themselves to every kind of enormity, and especially to the grossest levidness, so as to work all uncleanness with insatiable greediness; transgressing the bounds, not only of virtue and decency, but even of natural appetite, and shamefully soliciting their own lusts, under a sad incapacity of nobler and more rational enjoyments.

Into such profligate and brutal sensualities as those the heathen world are sunk; but ye have not so learned Christ,ᶜ as if his religion were a

righteous and holy imitation of his perfections, and a constant devotedness to his service; and perhaps it may also intimate its being originally derived from him. Compare ver. 24

ᵇ Because of the blindness of their heart.] This is explained by Chrysostom, Dr. Whitby, and other commentators of note, both ancient and modern, as referring to their Gentile state: but though there is no doubt but it refers to that, yet I see no reason to limit such a description only to the dark and ignorant heathens: it is, as Dr. Owen observes, too just a representation of the natural blindness of men in their unregenerate state. How the words, *ex, exex, and exex, which all come into this description, are to be distinguished, is after of much debate. It is certain they are used in different senses, not only by different writers, but by the same writers in

different places: but, on the whole, it seems most probable to me, that exex signifies the mind in general, comprehending exex, the intellectual faculties, and exex, the affections and passions; by the irregularity and obstinacy of which the understanding is often obscured, and led into the falsest and most irrational judgments. See below, noteᵇ, on ver. 23.

ᶜ I have not so learned Christ.] This may perhaps intimate that there was a manner of learning Christ which might seem more consistent with such irregularities, and may glance on some teachers who called themselves Christians, and yet took very little care to inculcate practical religion. Many passages in the apostle’s writings shew this to have been actually the case, though it seems these teachers had not much footing at Ephesus. Compare 2 Tim. iv. 3.

not so learned Christ, but were taught by him,

mere system of speculation, that might leave you practically attached to such abominable vices. Its precepts inculcate upon you lessons of the strictest purity, and I am persuaded that you feel the genuine tendency and design of it in your hearts, powerfully inclining you to act upon them; seeing ye have in effect heard him,ᵈ even the Lord Jesus Christ himself, speaking to you in his word by us his authorized ambassadors, and have been instructed in him and his religion, as the uncorrupted truth is in Jesus, and not in that imperfect and adulterated form in which some presume to deliver what they call his gospel.

Give me leave therefore to urge and entreat you, according to the many good instructions you have already received, to put off, and entirely to lay aside, with respect to the former conversation,ᵉ or to those sinful habits and practices which were the scandal and dishonour of your Gentile days, the old man,ᶠ which is depraved and corrupt in every part of it, and whose actions are directed, not by the rules of reason, and a regard to the will of God, but according to those deceitful lustsᵍ which generally prevail in the world, and once prevailed in you likewise, and sunk you into so degenerate

ᵈ Seeing ye have heard him.] That the particle in may be thus rendered, has been observed before in noteᵇ, on Eph. iii. 2, p. 125. So that no conclusion can be drawn from hence that this epistle was not written to the Ephesians, with whom he had long been conversant, but to some other church that he had never seen, and with whose circumstances he was not so well acquainted.

ᵉ To put off, &c.] As the verbs ἀποδύσθαι, ἀποδύσθαι, and ἀποδύσθαι, are all in the initiative mode, it shews how they are connected with the preceding words, and that the sense of them is, “Ye have been instructed — to put off the old man, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man.” accordingly I have preserved this connection in the version, but, to avoid such an excessive length in the paraphrase as would have made it both disagreeable and obscure, I have here, as in many other places, broken one sentence into several.

ᶠ The old man.] As particular dispositions of mind are sometimes expressed by particular garments when a man appears in them, so the whole of a good or bad character may be represented by a complete dress, yea by the body in which he appears; and vice, alas, being too natural, and getting the first possession, whereas goodness, if it ever succeeds at all, is adventitious, the former may well be called the old, and the latter the new man.

ᵍ According to deceitful lusts.] Some have explained this of the lusts into which they were led by the artifices of the heathen priests, who represented the as not disagreeable to their established deities; or by the sophistry of their philosophers, who found out so many fallacious excuses for the grossest vices. But the sense given in the paraphrase seems most certain, and of the most general importance; considerations which I have always endeavoured to keep in view in the whole of this work.

o put o the old man, and to put on the:

a state; lusts, which could lead you to no rational and solid happiness, but deluded you by vain appearances and fallacious hopes, which always ended in your disappointment and shame: And labour more and more, by cultivating every motion of the good Spirit of God upon your hearts, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, that your rational powers, being duly directed by his illumination, may maintain a proper command over all the inferior faculties of your nature, and unite them in the prosecution of that great end which you ought continually to be proposing to yourselves. And thus, let it be your care to put on the new man, to clothe yourselves with every habit of virtue and goodness, with every pious principle and disposition, belonging to the character of such as are renewed; even that new man, which is created by Divine grace, according to [the image of] God, the great standard of perfection, and is so formed as to resemble him in universal righteousness and true evangelical holiness, which, so far as it prevails in the human soul, is indeed the likeness of God, drawn upon it in the most amiable lineaments. (Compare Col. iii. 10.)

Wherefore, on these great principles, beware of every vice to which you have been formerly addicted; and, in particular, putting away every lie, whatever any of the heathens may have taught or practised, speak every one of you with the greatest simplicity and strictness, the exact truth to his neighbour; for we are all, (as

h In the spirit of your mind.] The word the seems here to be put for the whole soul, and without, the spirit, for its intellectual and leading faculty, on which the Spirit of God might chiefly operate, yet not exclusive of some influence on the inferior powers. See I Thess. v. 23, and compare note d above on ver. 18.

i True holiness.] As στίττως της αλυσίδας stands in a beautiful opposition to τιθοφόραις της αλυσίδας, deceitful lusts, I have chosen therefore, with our translation, to render it in a similar manner. But Archbishop Tillotson would translate this clause, the holiness of truth. (Vol. II. p. 349.) and v. Owen also prefers this rendering, by

truth understanding the gospel, and so explaining it of evangelical holiness, in opposition to such mere moral virtues as might be found in an heathen. See Dr. Owen on the Spirit, p. 325.

k Every lie.] This το ψυδός seems to express, and lying is so opposite to that sincerity which becomes a Christian, that what is said against it may be best taken in the most extensive sense. Dr. Whitby has well shewn, in his note on this passage, that several of the best of the heathen moralists thought lying might in many cases be justified; and I wish that none but heathens had ever taught so loose and dangerous a doctrine.

should guard against anger and stealing.

I observed above,) by virtue of our union to Christ our common Head, members one of another, and therefore it would be very indecent and improper, for the sake of any little separate advantage of our own, to injure or deceive a fellow member, which indeed the common bond of humanity might lead us to detest, if the peculiar engagements of our holy profession were not considered.

If any occasion arises which obliges you to be angry, which indeed may, and often will be the case, let not your anger discompose your spirits, and sin not in the excessive indulgence of that turbulent and dangerous passion;¹ but see that there be a justifiable cause for the resentment you express, and that your anger do not then rise beyond its proper degree, nor err in its continuance: and in this view, let not the sun, however, go down upon your wrath,ᵐ lest it grow into inveterate malice and habitual spleen: Neither in this respect give place to the devil, who labours as much as possible to possess and inflame the spirits of men with mutual enmity, and to induce them to give ear to slanderous reports and accusations, that he may make their characters deformed, and their state miserable like his own.

Let him that, while he was in his heathen condition of ignorance and vice, stole from others what was their just property, or in any other method defrauded his neighbour, steal and defraud no more,ⁿ knowing that God is the

¹ Be angry, and sin not.] It is evident that this is not a command to be angry, but concession only, with a caution to beware of sinning in it. (Compare Isa. viii. 9, 10; and Nah. iii. 14, 15.) It must however imply the thing to be possible; for to imagine, as a celebrated divine does, that it is as if it were said, Do if you can be angry without sin, seems beneath the dignity which the apostle always preserves in his writings.

ᵐ Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.] Many have observed that this was agreeable to the Pythagorean practice, who used always, if the members of their particular society had any difference with each other, to give tokens of reconciliation before the sun went down. (See Dr. Scott’s Christian Life, Vol. I. p. 326; and Dr.

Whitby’s note on this place.) Were famil prayer always practised in the evening, it might have an happy tendency to promote the observation of this excellent precept, intended (no doubt) to prevent persons going to sleep in anger, or being kept wakeful by such thoughts as continue quarrels, especially between near relation and friends, will be apt to occasion. Gloomy meditations in the silence of the night, inflame the sense of the suppose injury, and cherish fiercer resentments till perhaps at length purposes and counsels of revenge succeed. See Limborch Theolog. lib. v. cap. 45, sect. vi.

ⁿ Let him that stole, steal no more.] Stealing (as Dr. Whitby has well shewn here) was a very common vice among the heathens: but, how justifiable so-

They should abstain from all corrupt disc

avenger of all such injuries: (compare 1 Thess. iv. 6.) But rather let him labour diligently, working with [his] hands in some honest employment that which is good and creditable; that he may not only support himself, without trespassing upon society, or being in any respect a burden to it, but that he may have [something] to impart to the necessitous, and may be capable of sparing somewhat out of what he gains by industry in his calling, for the relief of such as stand in need of it.

Let me exhort you also to take heed that no corrupt discourse, no putrid, filthy, and offensive speech, proceed out of your mouth, to debauch the minds of those that are about you, and to irritate those irregular dispositions of the heart, which it may, in many instances, even without such incentives, be so difficult to restrain: but embrace every opportunity that may conveniently be taken of introducing any thing that is good, and which may tend to use old edification, that you may thus by your discourse promote the spiritual benefit of those that you converse with, and it may rather serve to minister grace to the hearers, than to check any good, or encourage any evil and irregular thoughts.

And on the whole, be very careful that you do not, by any such immoralities as I have

ever the Lacedemonian law relating to it might be in a political view, (of which see Rollin, Man. de Eudice, Vol. III. p. 341, & seq.) I fear it tended to abate the horror persons should have of invading, in any respect, the property of each other, and to corrupt the minds of young people, by forming them to a subtle and unavish turn, which, however, it might fit them for plundering their enemies in war, (to which the genius of that commonwealth was too much directed,) would certainly tend to make them bad children, servants, and citizens.

Let no corrupt discourse, &c] This undoubtedly refers to obscene talk, which is with great propriety called corrupt or putrid, as the word surges signifies, in direct opposition to that which is seasoned with salt, and is recommended, (Col. iv. 6, as tendin to preserve from such pu-

prefaction and rottenness. It is strange that such indecencies as are here censured should ever prevail, especially among persons whose rank in life requires a politeness of behaviour which would engage them to guard against this, much more than against any thing offensive in their person or dress.

Any thing that is good.] This seems the proper import of a vicar &c, which is literally, if any thing be good; intimating that if any useful thought arise, or an occasion may be fitly taken to graft an edifying remark on any thing that passes in conversation, there should be a readiness to improve it; that so every one may furnish out his quota, without unprofitable and disagreeable chasms of silence, or the necessity of having recourse to any thing that is ill to prevent them, which, alas, is too often the case.

ns on a conversation suited to the new man.

cautioned you against, grieve that Holy Spirit of God, and provoke him to withdraw his gracious and comfortable influences from your minds; seeing it is this Spirit by whom ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.⁹ His operations are the mark of God set upon you, by which you may be known to be his property, and may be assured that he will remember you as such, in that great day when he makes up his jewels; even then, when he completely redeems and delivers all his people: till which blessed time you are preserved in your adherence to religion by this Spirit, in the midst of all the dangers and difficulties which surround you; and consequently are obliged always to conduct yourselves towards him with the greatest respect and veneration.

IMPROVEMENT.

THAT we are all naturally so much alienated from the life of verse 14, 18 God, through the ignorance that is in us, that our minds are naturally so dark, and our hearts so hard, is indeed matter of the justest lamentation. But since we have learned Christ, since the light of his blessed gospel hath been imparted to us, and we are no longer numbered among the heathen nations, let us not abandon ourselves to those irregularities of temper and life, for which even their ignorance will not be a sufficient excuse; since even natural light might teach them to condemn and to abhor such courses.

There are deceitful lusts, according to which the old man is corrupt: let us be always on our guard against them, and labour after such a renovation as becomes our profession; and, in order to its being effectual, let us be earnestly solicitous to obtain it in the spirit of our mind; that we may shew its influence upon us, not merely by ceasing to do evil, but by learning to the utmost of our power to do good. Thus let it be our care to put on the new man, to be partakers of a new and holy nature, and to be brought

⁹ By whom ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.] This term of sealing seems to be a metaphor taken from merchants putting some seal or mark upon their commodities, by which they may be known to be theirs. One of the ancients somewhere says, “Delicata res est Spiritus Dei.” There is, if we may so express it, a certain delicacy in the Spirit of God, which should engage those who desire his influences, solicitously to guard against every approach to what might be grossly offensive to him. The day of redemption in this connection must signify the resurrection; (compare Rom. viii. 23.) which is here mentioned with the greatest propriety as the time when they, who in consequence of this sealing shall be finally owned as the property of God, shall be gathered into his treasury. To the end of the year, is so emphatical, that it seemed best to render it that Holy Spirit of God.

The apostle cautions them against all malice.

to the whole of that temper in all its branches, by which we shall resemble the blessed God, the bright Original of universal righteousness and holiness, and the great Model of perfection. verse In consequence of this, remembering our relation to each other, let us speak the truth from our hearts; and upon all occasions let us treat others with the same candour and integrity with which we would ourselves desire to be treated. If anger rise, let it be on just occasions, and in due proportion; and let us take care that it rest not in our bosoms, lest by indulging it we give place to the devil, and become like that malignant spirit. Let us be upright in our dealings, and conscientiously avoiding the iniquitous practice of defrauding others, let generous and charitable sentiments always possess us; nor let those whose circumstances in life may constrain them to maintain themselves by their own labour, think they may violate the strictest rules of honesty, or are dispensed with from all obligations to relieve others, more necessitous than themselves. In short, whenever we engage in conversation, let us avoid every thing that may have the remotest tendency to corrupt discourse; and let us study what may improve and edify the minds of our hearers; embracing every opportunity of suggesting any thing that is good, and that may tend to minister grace, or to promote the more abundant exercise of it in the minds of those in whom it is already implanted. Thus will the Spirit of God, that sacred Agent by whom we are sealed to the day of redemption, be delighted, instead of being grieved, as he so frequently is by the vain and foolish discourses of those who would be thought his temples, of those who indeed are so. For his influences let us look, to dispose us to every good word and work, and seasonably to remind us of these plain but weighty admonitions, which, alas, are so little remembered by the generality of Christians, that one would imagine they had scarce ever read them.

Ephesians 4:31

The apostle pursues the practical exhortations given in the two former sections, and especially insists on those to mutual love, which he enforces by the consideration of the Divine compassions as displayed in the gospel, and strongly cautions them against the gross impurities of the heathen. Eph. IV. 31, to the end. V. 1—14.

EPHESIANS IV. 31.

A S I have been exhorting you to take heed that you do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, I cannot but particularly caution you against those malignant passions which do most directly oppose his benign influences. And EPHES. IV. 31. E T all bitterness, and wrath,

e ex orts t em to mutual love and orgiveness ;

therefore let all bitterness, and indignation, and wrath, and clamour, and evil speaking, and all contentious and ungovernable passions, be put away from you, and removed to the greatest distance, together with all malice : a do not passionately resent every trifle, nor bitterly inveigh with all the licentiousness and keenness of satire against those who have greatly injured you ; nor let your anger be noisy in its language, venting itself in clamorous reproaches and abusive railings, or be deeply treasured up in the mind to wait for opportunities of revenge ; for all these things are most contrary to the nature of God, the genius of Christianity, and the character of its great Founder. But, on the contrary, be courteous and obliging to each other in your daily deportment, and tenderly compassionate towards those that are in any affliction and distress ; freely forgiving one another whatever imagined or real injury may be in question, even as God in Christ, and for his sake, hath freely forgiven you b such inexcusable and heinous injuries and affronts, as are infinitely greater than any which it is possible for you to receive from your fellow creatures.

Be ye therefore, in the exercise of kindness and forgiveness towards one another, imitators of that God c to whom ye are under such unspeakable obligations, as his beloved children,

a Let all bitterness, and indignation, and wrath, &c.] If each different word that is here made use of is to have a different idea annexed to it, I suppose the explication given in the paraphrase may illustrate its signification. But perhaps, after all, it might only be the apostle’s design, in amassing so many almost synonymous expressions together, to shew that he would have them be upon their guard against all the unalcoolant passions, and those outrages of speech and expression which they tend to produce. The like remark may be applied to many other passages of scripture, and particularly to those where all kinds of evidences are forbidden in such a variety of phrase and language.

b Even as God in Christ hath freely forgiven you.] This plainly teaches us that

the great doctrine of the atonement or satisfaction of our blessed Redeemer is always to be explained in such a manner as may leave room for the honour of God’s free grace and mercy, in the pardon of our offences consequent upon it.

c Be ye therefore imitators of God.] This, as it is an inference from the last verse of the preceding chapter, ought by no means to have been separated from it ; and, as the apostle is pursuing here the exhortation which he there began to mutual love and forgiveness, and does not finish it till the end of the next verse, it had been much more proper that the two first verses of this chapter should have been connected with what goes before, and that this chapter should have begun with ver. 31 of the former.

VOL. 51

In consideration of the love of God and of Cl

whom he hath not only forgiven after so many and great offences, but adopted into his family, and raised to such glorious privileges: And, as a demonstration of your readiness to please and honour so gracious a Father, see that ye walk in love, and steadily pursue the paths of benevolence and goodness; which ye are under additional engagements to do, as Christ also hath loved us in so wonderful a degree, and hath manifested his love to us at so expensive a rate, that he hath even given himself up for us, voluntarily surrendering himself to those cruel enemies whom he could with infinite ease have destroyed; (compare John xviii. 6;) and having submitted to become their captive, he yielded up his life upon the cross, and was there made an offering and sacrifice to God; for it is evident, that in this view his death was intended by himself, and was regarded also by the Father, who was well pleased, not only with the variety of virtues and graces which he exercised in it, but with the atonement that was made by it, and gratefully accepted it for a sweet smelling savour, or as a fragrant odour that was far more delightful than any of the victims, or any of the perfumes, which had been offered of old, whether on the brazen or the golden altar: and through him also will your acts of liberality, beneficence, and goodness, come up before God as a grateful memorial, and draw down upon you the most valuable blessings.

But, as you expect this, you must make it your care to maintain a due consistency of character, avoiding not only all malignant passions, but every kind and degree of impurity

An offering and sacrifice to God.] Dr. Bates (in his Harmony of the Divine Attributes, p. 254) thinks that the different words, τεχνολογία and δυσιν, are used in reference to the peace offering and the sin offering, as the truth of both is in the sacrifice of Christ, which appeased God, and obtains the blessings consequent upon his savour. But I cannot lay much stress on this distinction, as τεχνολογία is used in a multitude of places in the Septuagint for resenting any victim before God, as it is a new view in the New Testament, Mat.

23, 24,) for bringing a gift, and offering it on the altar; and when distinguished from δυσιν, (Psal. xl. 6, Septuag.) it answers to מנחה, the mincha, or offering of fine flour, with a proper quantity of wine, oil, and frankincense, with which the sacrifices of animals were to be attended, and thus to be presented as an offering made by fire of a sweet savour unto the Lord. (See Lev. ii. 1-9; and Numb. xv. 3-14.) It may here be used in conjunction with the former, to signify the completeness of the sacrifice.

I manner of uncleanness must be avoided.

and licentiousness : and therefore let not fornication, nor any kind of uncleanness, or insatiable desire of sensual gratifications or of the means of procuring them, be so much as named, or heard of, among you ; but abstain from these evils, and whatever might lead to them, as it becometh saints, who are conscious of the sanctity of their name and profession, and dread the thoughts of debasing it. And in this view let there be neither filthiness, or any shameful indecency in conversation, found among you, nor foolishness of speech, nor those lewd turns and ambiguities of expression, which though they are practised by the heathens, and may not seem so evidently criminal, yet are by no means convenient for Christian converts : but rather abound in the language of thanksgiving and devotion, to which we have so many obligations in every circumstance, and which would give a pleasure so much more sublime than any animal indulgencies and delights.

See then that you be cautiously and resolutely on your guard against all such enormities ; for ye well know, and have been taught this, as ye have learned Christ, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, who habitually gives himself up to any kind of pollution, nor any covetous man, who is greedy of those things which minister to his sensual appetite, and who is therefore an idolater of the worst kind,

c Nor any kind of uncleanness.] This is beyond all controversy the meaning of καὶ ἀκάλυψις ; and had I been more literal, and rendered it, let not all sort of uncleanness be mentioned, the sense had not been given so exactly, and occasion might be taken for grounding an evasion on it, for which the different genius of the Greek language lays no just foundation. See the original of Acts xx. 25, and note in that text, Vol. III. p. 303.

f Or insatiable desire, &c.] This is certainly a very literal rendering of the Greek word πνευτεῖν, which plainly signifies the desire of having more of any thing whatsoever it be. And as there was nothing indecent in the mention of covetousness, in the usual sense of it, as expressing a greedy desire of riches and gain, many good commentators suppose it refers to

that inordinate desire of unnatural lust for which the Gentiles were so infamous, and to which the Ephesians were so much addicted, as being in consequence of their riches a very luxurious and debauched people Compare Ezek. xvi. 28, 29.

g Nor those lewd turns, &c.] This seems the natural import of the word εὐθαπείναι on which many might value themselves as what they apprehended a delicate turn given to some ambiguous expression ; an Aristotle in his Ethics, using this ve word, recommends it as what renders conversation agreeable. Dr. Lucas thinks it included wantonness, profaneness, an keenness of satire. See his Inquiry of Happiness, Vol. III. p. 207.

h Nor covetous man, who is an idolater.] In whatever sense covetousness is used, (see note above,) it may be called idolatry ; as

They were once darkness, but now made light

deifying as it were the vilest idols, hath or can have any inheritance in the holy and happy kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one then, in this respect, amuse and deceive you with vain words and sophistical arguments, by which it is well known that many, and especially some that call themselves philosophers, attempt to vindicate some of these things, or at least to extenuate the evil of them; for I am divinely commissioned to assure you, that on account of these things, and such as these, the wrath of God cometh even on the Gentiles, the children of disobedience and infidelity: now if heathens are punished for them, much less can we suppose that professing Christians, who have so much greater advantages for purity and virtue in all its branches, and are under such peculiar engagements to cultivate it, shall escape with impunity in these shameful practices. Be ye not therefore partakers with them in these abominations now, if ye would not finally partake in that dreadful condemnation and misery which they are bringing on themselves by them.

For ye were once indeed in a state of gross and heathenish darkness, in which it is no wonder you were abandoned to such practices, as you had no just discernment of the sinfulness and danger of them; but now [ye are] light in the Lord, and are brought into a clear evangelical day, as being instructed by the word of God, and savingly illuminated by his Spirit: see therefore that you walk in such a manner as becomes those who are children of light, and desire to do an honour to that light of which they are born, and to that celestial family to which they now belong. For ye cannot pretend to be ignorant of the duties becoming such a birth and relation, as the fruit of the Holy Spirit,¹ by which you are regenerated [is] most evidently manifested in the practice of all good-

it is setting up something else, and (be it that it will) something comparatively very use and contemptible, and pursuing it, as if it were something that could be to us, as in the place of God, a supreme happiness. The fruit of the Spirit. It may be sufficient briefly to observe that for us some copies read us, the fruit of the light. The sense is the same, but the number of varying manuscripts seems not sufficient to confirm that reading. Yet I have had some regard to it in the paraphrase, as in some other instances of a like nature.

and should no more partake in the works of dar ess.

oodness, and right- ness, and righteousness, and truth; the opera- sect. ix. tions of it on the soul being attended with such light and influence, as to teach men of all ranks, Eph. orders, and conditions in life, invariably to observe the strictest rules of benevolence in v. 9

their tempers, integrity in their dealings, and sincerity and veracity in their words. Be careful therefore to cultivate these dispositions, proving thereby what is well pleasing to the Lord, and making the experiment how happy they are who in all things govern themselves according to his injunctions.

Walk then, as I have said, in such a manner as becomes children of light, and be not joint partakers with any about you in the unfruitful works of darkness; works which, far from being in any respect profitable or advantageous, are in their consequences most pernicious, tending to involve the soul in the gloom of guilt, and to lead it down to everlasting darkness: and therefore how excusable soever these things might be accounted in your heathen state, they are apparently most unbecoming in the midst of Christian knowledge and privileges; and, as you would not practise them yourselves, see to it that you do not countenance or encourage others in them, or by any means make yourselves accessory to the evil they occasion, but rather reprove them with plainness, though at the same time with all meekness and humility, and more especially express your detestation of them by your good conversation in Christ. There is indeed a great deal you will meet with to reprove, and in some instances the reproof is better given by actions than by words: for it is really a shame even to speak particularly of those things which are done by them in secret, and sometimes in what they call their religious mysteries too, many of them being of such a

The unfruitful works of darkness.] It is well known that ἀκρῆτος in Greek, and inutilis in Latin, are sometimes used to express not only unprofitable, but mischievous things; and this is undoubtedly the meaning of the original word here. Compare Rom. i. 28; and vi. 21.

A shame to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.] See Dr. Whitby’s note

on this text, concerning the impure and abominable nature of some religious nocturnal mysteries of the heathen. The quotations there brought, with many others which might be added to them, plainly prove, that if (as the learned Mr. Warburton supposes) the lower sort of mysteries among them were first intended by the magistrates to impress the minds of th

The Gentiles were to come to Christ for light.

nature, that the very mention of them has a tendency to taint the mind, as well as to shock all chaste and modest ears.

But to you that are light in the Lord, the vileness of these works of darkness is abundantly discovered, as all things which are such as ought to be reproved have their iniquity laid open, and are made manifest by the light; since where the light of the gospel comes, even though they are not particularly mentioned and described, yet they are exposed and condemned, and the soul which receives it is inspired with an abhorrence for what might any way lead to them: for whatsoever doth make objects manifest in their proper forms and colours, is light; and therefore the gospel well deserves that name, as teaching those who are instructed in it to judge rightly concerning the moral nature of actions, and inculcating such general principles as will be of use to them in every particular case that can possibly arise. Wherefore when God is speaking in the prophecies of the Old Testament of the calling of the Gentiles, and of the light which they should have by Christ, he says in effect to those who are yet in darkness, though not exactly in these words, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light: and this particularly is the most natural import of those well known words in Isaiah, (chap. lx. 1,) “Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the

people with the belief and sense of future rewards and punishments, and the higher sort of them to instruct persons of more affection and penetration than the rest in the knowledge of the true God, and the other great principles of natural religion, they were long before the apostle’s time greatly corrupted and degraded to the most detestable purposes: so that some persons in public characters, by no means remarkable for the purity of their own morals, thought it absolutely necessary, in order to prevent the most scandalous and profligate disorders, to prohibit the celebration of them. Mons. Saurin has observed a sarcasm in this clause seldom attended to, as if it were insinuated here, they are called atrophic, Things not to be spoken of; true, says the apostle, they are

properly so; things not too sacred, but too infamous to be mentioned. See his Sermons, Vol. VIII. p. 198.

In Awake, thou that sleepest, &c.] Some think this passage is taken from an apocryphal book ascribed to Jeremiah, which, says the learned and eloquent Mons. Saurin, might really contain some prophecies delivered by him, and so by the way be quoted by Matthew, (chap. xxvii. 9,) who might know that the prophecy recorded by Zechariah, (chap. xi. 12,) was originally spoken or written by the elder prophet. (Saurin, Ser. Vol. X. p. 286) But the sense of the passage before us is so fairly deducible from the words of Isaiah quoted in the paraphrase, that I do not see any necessity of having recourse to this supposition.

Reflections on the exercise of benevolence and purity.

glory of the Lord is risen upon thee ;” that is to say, The Messiah, represented by the glory of the Lord, shines in his church, shines upon the souls of particular persons ; and then they arise as from the dead, and shake off their deep sleep ; they rejoice in the light, they walk in it, and reflect it all around them, so that many others are awakened and transformed by it.

sect: ix. Eph. v. 14

IMPROVEMENT.

THE obligations which as Christians we lie under to cultivate benevolence and purity, are common to all countries and to all ages. Let us therefore frequently read over these plain exhortations, and solemnly charge our souls with their Divine authority and importance.

Let it not be enough to us that we carefully avoid all bitterness and wrath, clamour and evil speaking ; but let us cherish all the kind affections of mutual love and tenderness, and practice even the most difficult duties of charity, freely forgiving those that have injured us, as sensible how much greater offences God has forgiven us ; always remembering whose children we are, and what engagements we are under to imitate our heavenly Father ; and always setting before our eyes the love of Christ, who gave himself for us, and thereby offered a most pleasing sacrifice to God. Through him shall our sacrifices proceeding from the same principle be acceptable also to him, even the sacrifices of alms, of prayer, and of praise.

Chap. iv. 31

Chap. v. 1

Let us not only abstain from the grossest sensual indulgencies, but from every thing indecent in our words and actions : and, that we may do so, let us make a covenant, not only with our eyes, (Job xxxi. 1,) but with our hearts ; remembering, that it is idolatry in the sight of God to set our hearts upon the gross delights of animal nature, to the neglect and forgetfulness of his blessed Majesty ; remembering also, that the kingdom of Christ and of God is intended only for those who by purity of heart are qualified to see and enjoy him.

Many false and sophistical reasons men have invented to palliate and excuse their vices : but if the wrath of God fall upon the heathen for these things, let us not imagine that we can practise them with impunity ; and upon no account let us presume to be partakers with them in their sins, that so we may not share with them in their punishment.

We are called from darkness into light, from the darkness of sin into the light of grace ; let us remember then the happy state into which we are brought, and walk as children of light, having our conversation such as may be suitable to the character we bear,

They should be circumspect, and redeem the time.

and to the obligations we are under by the advantages we enjoy: ix. and searching diligently what is acceptable to the Lord, let us discover and make known to all, that we approve it upon trial, by verse our conforming to it, and bringing forth the fruits of goodness, 10 9 righteousness, and truth, under the light and influence of the Holy Spirit, as those who have been savingly enlightened by him.

Let us avoid the works of darkness, not as unfruitful only, but as mischievous and destructive; and be careful that we do in no degree partake of them, not even so much as by a sinful silence, when Providence calls us to reprove them: but let us earnestly pray for wisdom and grace, to order these reproofs in the wisest 13 and happiest manner; that so we may, like that light of which we are the children, not only continue ourselves unsullied in the midst of pollution, but make things manifest in their proper 12 colours, and discountenance those indecencies, the shame of which will make the very mention of them odious to the renewed soul, while those that practise them are so far conscious of their vileness, as to endeavour to conceal them from the light, and draw a veil of darkness over them.

And O that the almighty voice of God may rouse up and awaken sinners from their sleep, and engage them to arise from the dead, that Christ may give them light! He is the great and only Source of light to sinful creatures, by whom it is sprung up on those who deserved to be consigned over to chains of everlasting darkness. Let us hail the rays of this Sun of righteousness: let us reflect them to his glory: and let it be our concern, that, being raised by him from the sleep of sin, we way spring up to his service with vigour, and prosecute it through all the remainder of our days with becoming gratitude and zeal.