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THE K I N G ’S BUS I NE S S cannot descend to be a bully or a bore. —Henry. Christianity is a school of courtesy.—Sel. v. 11. Not slothful in business. Re ligion is not a thing of th e stars. It is a thing of the streets.—Stuart. The counting house ought to be as holy as the pulpit—and often is.—Sel. The most secular duties may be performed in a way th a t is pleasing to God.—Lee. You have no business with religion if you have no religion in your business. —Sel. v. 12. Rejoicing in hope. Literally “In hope rejoicing, in tribulation en during, in prayer persevering.” Each of these exercises helps the other.— J. F. & B. Instant in prayer. This is the hinge on which everything in the chap ter turns.— Sawyer. A prayerless life is sure to become a loveless life. A praying Christian is a giving Christian. —Torrey. v. 13. Distributing to the saints. Sharing your own with them. This was almost the first instinct of the church of Christ and was felt to be naturally connected with the sublimest truths of eternity.—Moule. Given to hospitality. Literally “running after guests.” In times of persecution and before the general institution of hostel- ries, the importance of this p|recept would be at once felt. In the East Where such houses are still rare, this duty is regarded as of the most sacred character.—Hodge. v. 14. Bless them. It is not the part of Christians either peevishly to fret or. proudly to plan revenge. The Lord has in this matter distinctly traced the path for His disciples and hedged it in. It is their business to render good'for evil, to pile forgiveness over injuries, layer upon layer, as diligently as those swarthy laborers heave loads of coal over the iron ore within the furnaces, and not merely in conformity with the abstract idea of transcendent virtue but with the aim, like the miners, to melt and so make valuable the sub stance, which in its present state is hard and useless.—Liddon. This Is taken from the sermon on the mount which from the allusions made to it, is seen to have been the storehouse of Christian morality among the churches. —Jamieson. v. 15. Rejoice .with them. What a world will ours be when this shall be come its reigning spirit. Of the two it is easier to sympathize with another’s sorrows than his joys because in the
In th a t the priest must burn all upon the altar (Lev. 1:9). The priest or offerer got nothing. God got all. It was all devoted to Him. To present our bodies a living sacrifice is to surrender ourselves completely to the will of God and for His use.—Haldeman. In the Old Testament types the sacrifice was slain before il was laid upon the altar but it is our living body, full of activity and power for accomplishment th a t we should offer to God.—Torrey. We are the sacrifice (1 Pet. 2 :5 ); we are the temple (1 Cor. 6:19 ); we are the priest (Rev. 1 :6 ).—Garry. Acceptable unto God. Acceptable service can only spring from love to Christ. The motive is the measure of its worth. Love always gives its best and never makes anything •of the sacrifice.—Parr. v. 2. Be not conformed. We will not be conformed to the world without if we have enough of Christ within.-^r- Palmer. Be ye transformed. The saine word as Matt. 17:2 (transfigured) and 2 Cor, 3:18 (changed). The Christian by the divine renewal is to realise an essential and permanent change, to prove himself, as it were, one of a new species.—Camb. Bible. That ye may prove. There are three steps in prev- ing the will of God: 1. Dedication— present your bodies. 2. Separation—be not conformed. 3. Edification—be transformed.—Tucker. v. 9. Let love be w ithout dissimula tion. In this section the apostle shows how the great principle of consecration must affect the details of conduct. We must not be star gazers only.—Meyer. Literally “without two faces,” that is, sincere. True love finds her joy in seeing others crowned. Envy darkens when she sees the garland given to an other. Jealousy has no festival except when she is queen of the May.—Jowett. Abhor evil. When sin is hated men go to war against it.—Davis. Cleave to good. Literally “glue”—keep yourself glued to the good.—Burrows. v. 10. Be kindly affectioned. The word rendered “kindly affectioned” has special reference 2 to family affection. The translators probably used the word “kindly” in its sfrict sense, “of the kind” or of the stock or family. Com pare 1 These. 4:9; Heh. 13:1; 1 Pet. 1:22; 3:8; 2 Pet. 1:7.—Moule. Chris tian affection has the permanence it de rives from an indissoluble bond.—Tay lor. Brotherly love. You can tell how far up in heaven one has been by the beauty of their social behavior. They
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