January 24

2 Timothy iv.—1. I charge thee, therefore, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom,

2. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine.

3. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

5. But watch thou in all things; endure afflictions; do the work of an evangelist; make full proof of thy ministry.

6. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

"Henceforth"—from this time onward—the glory seemed immediate, the crown a present possession. The days or months of imprisonment yet before him, the fortunes that might await him, the martyrdom that he must certainly undergo,—all this vanished from the scene; and, in the ecstasy of faith, he behold only his beloved Lord coming to bless him with the rewards of heaven. The confidence of Paul was not self-boasting. "I have kept the faith;" and that faith, as he elsewhere testifies, had kept him through conflicts and perils, and would now make him "more than conqueror" over death. This victory and crown he fain would share with all who loved his Lord. This magnanimity of love often appears in the utterances of Paul; as when he said of his Thessalonians converts, "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?" For ye are our glory and joy."

APPROPRIATE ITEMS.]

Deliver us, O Lord! we pray thee, from every evil work, and preserve us unto thy heavenly kingdom. We thank thee, O gracious God! for all thy mercies both bodily and spiritual. Bless the Lord, O our souls! and all that is within us, bless his holy name. Thou crownest us with loving-kindness and tender mercies. Thou hast not dealt with us after our sins, neither rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Father of mercies, we thank thee for our family blessings, and for the goodness thou hast shown to each of us individually. But most of all we thank thee for the redemption of the world by our Saviour Jesus Christ. Oh that we may always remember his exceeding great love in dying for us, and the innumerable benefits which by his precious blood he hath obtained for us! May we carefully walk in his footsteps, and study to serve him in true holiness and righteousness all the days of our life! Help us to keep ever in mind the great day of his appearing; and, by the faith of that coming redemption, may we be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Oh!

7. I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith:

8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

16. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

17. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

18. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

It is the triumph of Christ in and through him that he here celebrates; and the crown that he looks for is one that Christ shall give him,—not the reward of merit, but the consummation of that justifying grace which shall be to the believer "a crown of righteousness." Already he had been brought up to be sentenced, and every friend had deserted him. The disciples were too timid to risk his fate. But, in the strength of his Lord, he had boldly proclaimed the gospel to the court of Caesar; and the Lord had delivered him. He was not afraid to testify for Christ; not afraid to die for him. Forgetting himself, he thinks only of the gospel, and exhorts Timothy to be faithful to that. If the gospel is our highest joy, we can look death calmly in the face, and leave the world in triumph to be with Christ in his glory.

Prayer.

[Nos. 62, 64, 143.

hasten, Lord, that great and glorious day. Prepare all men for it. Spread abroad the gospel of thy grace. Increase and multiply thy Church, and fill the whole earth with thy glory.

As we enter upon a new day, we commit ourselves unto thy holy keeping. May our dependence be our strength! May we not be anxious for the morrow, nor vexed with the cares of life, nor led astray by the deceitfulness of riches! May we shun the temptation to do wrong, and be ready for every opportunity of doing good! May love to God and love to man rule in our hearts continually!

And now, O heavenly Father! do thou draw away our minds from earthly things, and fix them on things above. And as thy Son Jesus Christ hath ascended into the heavens, and sitteth at thy right hand, we pray thee to send down upon us thy Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.