January 18

5 And besides this, giving all diligence, and to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;

6 And to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness;

7 And to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity.

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall;

11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundant v into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;

14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts;

20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

How faith evolves a whole garland of virtues (vers. 5-7). To the faith which has saved you, add the seven following fruits of faith: virtue, that is, courage to profess your faith, to stand alone, and to declare unwelcome truths; knowledge, that is, intelligent appreciation of God's will and your duty; temperance, that is, self-control of all appetites and passions; patient endurance amid undeserved sufferings; godlikeness—the doing in your limited degree what He would do perfectly; brotherly kindness, that is, a pure, Divine, generous affection for all believers; to this, a far-reaching charity toward even your enemies.

"Thus charity, that binds me to all men, completes what faith, that binds me to God, began."—Rev. John Parker.

"The golden chain of virtue is man's most becoming ornament; let no one sever its links; who wants one, shall have them all."—Starke.

"The finest specimen of a Christian is he in whom all the graces, like the strings of an angel's harp, are in the most perfect harmony."—Thomas Guthrie.

Closet Promise.—Godliness with contentment is great gain.—1 Tim. vi. 6.

3

Art thou poor, yet hast thou golden slumbers? O sweet Content!

Art thou rich, yet is thy mind perplexed? O Punishment!

Dost laugh to see how fools are vexed

To add to golden numbers golden numbers?

O sweet Content! O sweet, O sweet Content!

Can't drink the waters of the crisped spring? O sweet Content!

Swim'st thou in wealth, yet sink'st in thine own tears?

O Punishment!

Then be that patiently want's burden bears

No burden bears, but is a king, a king.

O sweet Content! O sweet, O sweet Content!

Thomas Dekker.