Such as would use much artifice, and but too successfully, unless weighed in the balance of Gospel Scales; for as recorded by St. Matthew JESUS Said unto His Disciples, Take heed that no Man deceive you! for Many shall come in My Name, saying, I am CHRIST, and shall deceive Many; and ye shall hear of wars, and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the End is not yet-Matt. xxiv. 4 to 6. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the Coming of The SON of Man be-Ibid, 27. In this Gracious Assurance from The FOUNTAIN of Grace and Truth, may we therefore calmly and gratefully rest, knowing that He, Who Ruleth in the Armies of Heaven, and in all the Regions of the World, will in His Own Good Appointed Time Vindicate His Ways to Man.- -In the visions of the Seer Daniel, the apostacy and persecution pointed to, both by our REDEEMER, and His zealous and Gifted Apostle, are graphically pourtrayed; but with this consoling declaration to sustain the hearts of the Faithful, that The Kingdom, and Dominion, and the Greatness of The Kingdom under the whole Heaven, shall be Given to the People of the Saints of The MOST HIGH—Dan. vii. 23, 27.— -The Son of Perdition, amongst the Many in all the Generations of Mankind past, present, and to come, who are wilfully Children of The Evil One, must be indeed on a fearful pre-eminence of wickedness and rebellion against The CREATOR and GOVERNOR of the Universe, to be thus distinguished; and how awful is it to contemplate the Doom that awaits him; and of which perhaps, only in a less degree, his willing Victims will not only be Witnesses, but Participators. The character of Ambition, if raised upon the maddening basis of impiety or false religion, is finely depicted by the Prophet Isaiah, when characterizing the vanity as well as blasphemy of the Monarch of Babylon, saying, How hath the Oppressor ceased! THE LORD hath Broken the staff of the Wicked; and the sceptre of the Rulers. He, who smote the People in wrath with a continual stroke-he that ruled the Nations in anger, is persecuted, and None hindereth. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming, it stirreth up the Dead for thee, even all the Chief Ones of the Earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the Kings of the Nations; all they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, Son of the Morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the Nations! for thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven; I will exall my throne above the Stars of GOD; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like The MOST HIGH-Isaiah xiv. 4 to 6, 9 to 14. So in the Revelation, chapter xviii. is depicted that Character of Anti-Christ, which has been but too much exemplified in the annals of Human pride and hardihood, but in a peculiar degree in the history of the Papal presumption.

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VERSES 6 to 12.-And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time; for the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only He Who now Letteth, will Let until he be taken out of the way; and then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom The LORD shall Consume with the Spirit of His Mouth, and shall Destroy with the Brightness of His Coming; even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders; and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them, that perish; because they received not the love of the Truth, that they might be Saved. And for this cause GOD shall Send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned, who believed not the Truth; but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Thus had the Apostle brought down to their understanding, what had seemed full of doubt, that CHRIST, The SON of The MOST HIGH, having Ascended

into Heaven, from Whence He had Descended to Work out Salvation, should not at once Come in the Fulness of His Power, to Make an end of Iniquity and Establish universally His Kingdom of Righteousness and Peace upon Earth. That Such was not the Will and Purpose of The GODHEAD, for that a longer age was to be Given to the World, and more of Human Kind, than had then been sojourning upon Earth from the period of its Creation to the then existing Generation, were to be born into it, Many of whom would be also Heirs of that Salvation, Purchased by the Sacrifice of CHRIST: though in the same Prophetic view thereof taken by the Apostle, the opposing and but two successful machinations of Satan were set forth, which should inflate the Souls of Many, and of One above All, or one system of vanity and pride and blasphemy above all, to the fascination and destruction of Millions. Still The Omnipotence of The ALMIGHTY Existing, would Prevent the entire subjugation of the Human heart by such artifices and oppression in the Seducer of Souls, and would Effectually Hinder an universal delusion. And assuredly the time will come, when The DIVINE Power of Extermination will succeed that of Partial Prevention; when The WORD, Which at one Breath Called all Things into Creation, shall Blast Satan in his wiles, and Sweep from the Earth every spirit of Infidelity and Impiety. And Oh! may our SAVIOUR's Love towards us be so received and cherished in our hearts, that It may Fortify us against such a state of awful deception, as to believe The Truth of JEHOVAH,as Revealed in the Law and in the Gospel,to be a cunningly devised fable, and destitute of a foundation, on which the hope of a Glorious Immortality may rest! And may we try our hearts by that Test, which the Scriptures Graciously propose to us-the love of Righteousness; assured that an opposite feeling and disposition must eventually end in the experience of the dreadful Denunciation against our Immortal Souls of interminable horror and despair, as The Infliction of the outraged MAJESTY of HEAVEN on Such, as have pleasure in Unrighteousness and seek the service of Satan, and continue therein unto the end. St. John assures us, that every Spirit that confesseth not that JESUS CHRIST is Come in the Flesh, is not of GOD-1 John iv. 3. Wilfully to close the Spiritual eye, and to bar the affections of the heart against That Light and Doctrine of DIVINE Revelation, is to dare the Threatenings of JEHOVAH, as well as to reject His Imparted Means of Grace and Salvation. And to the same Apostle was thus figuratively laid open the Effect of that Condemnation, which awaits such Blasphemers and Disbelievers-I saw the Beast and the Rulers of the Earth and their Armies gathered together to make war against Him That Sat on the Horse, and against His Army: and the Beast was taken and with him the false Prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them, that had received the mark of the Beast, and them, that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a Lake of Fire, burning with brimstone; and the Remnant were slain with the Sword of Him, That Sat upon the Horse; which Sword proceeded out of His Mouth-Rev. xix. 19 to 21; See also Dan. vii. 9, 10 and Isaiah xi. 4. For as the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews asserts, If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the Truth, there remaineth no more Sacrifice for sins; but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and Fiery Indignation, which shall Devour the Adversaries-Heb. x. 26, 27. May we, in adoption of the same Inspired Writer's admonition, Exhort one Another daily while it is called To-day, lest we be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin-Heb. iii. 13. To reject the Offer of Salvation, by denying or openly opposing the Truth as It is in JESUS, is not merely to sacrifice Eternity to Time, but Eternal Blessedness at the Shrine of Human Pride and Worldly Vanity, and of those fleeting and often cloying sensual pleasures, which cannot but lead to the apprehension and but

too certain experience ultimately of endless remorse and self-condemnation and woe-If any Man love not The LORD JESUS CHRIST, let him, or he will be, anathema maranatha-eternally separated from DIVINE Love. And how can the imagination picture the dreadfulness of that state! The infatuation to believe anything and everything opposed to DIVINE Truth is the effect of DIVINE Grace being Withdrawn from the Soul; the eye having been wilfully closed against the Light of The SUN of Righteousness; the affections being given up to all uncleanness and to the lusts of the heart and the pride of the imagination or the things of this life, even preferring darkness to Light through the evil of their ways and propensities. In reference to whom The LORD hath Declared, To Me Belongeth Vengeance and Recompence; their foot shall slide in due time for the Day of their calamity is at Hand; and the Things, that shall come upon them, make haste-Deut. xxxii. 35.

VERSES 13 to 15-But we are bound to give thanks alway to GOD for you, Brethren, Beloved of The LORD; because GOD hath from the Beginning Chosen you to Salvation, through Sanctification of The SPIRIT, and belief of the Truth: Whereunto He Called you by our Gospel, to the obtaining of the Glory of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Therefore, Brethren, stand fast, and hold the Traditions, which ye have been taught, whether by word, or by our Epistle!

A bond of welcomeness and delight to the truly Christian heart is the privileged obligation to yield gratitude to The GIVER of all Good, for the evident Proofs of the Love of GOD towards Any of our Fellow-Creatures, exemplified in the consistency of their conduct and principles with The DIVINE Will; and hence may we consider that they have been Drawn by the Cords of DIVINE Love into the Paths and in the Progress towards Eternal Adoption through CHRIST, as Children of The MOST HIGH. Such Fruits of The SPIRIT of Holiness are of DIVINE Origin and Communication, and All Attributable to the Mighty Workings of the Incarnation and Sacrifice of The SON of GOD. To believe in The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST is to believe in the Truth of Those Promises of Pardon and Reconciliation, which give the Soul its purest joy and most enduring delight; for thence is the knowledge of the true Relationship of Man to GOD, both as his CREATOR and REDEEMER; and hence is it that all the troubles and cares and anxieties and sufferings here, may become sanctified, and be made subservient to the great object of a nearer and dearer daily communing with GOD; and by the supplicated Agency of The HOLY SPIRIŤ fitting and preparing the Soul for the more conscious Presence of The DEITY, and a participation and Fellowship in the Glory, that awaits the Angels and Saints in Light and Life Eternal. Unto us the Gospel Message is continually Delivered, and the Sound of It in our ears should penetrate into and be cherished in our hearts for as The Love of CHRIST towards us Influenced Him to Endure even the contradiction of Sinners, what must be the Influence of That Love, when It is Disseminated amongst Spirits, where Sin enters not, but where Sanctity and Heavenly Harmony undisturbingly prevail. The admonition of the Apostle, to be firm in such Faith, to stand fast in the observance of Its Principles, in the hope of Its Promises, and in the practice and inculcation of Its charity, is an admonition, which we should lay deeply to heart, and by fervent and effectual prayer seek to have it fructify in the Soul, and produce fruits that may be acceptable for CHRIST's Sake in the Very Paradise of GOD. That the Epistle was written under DIVINE Inspiration, and is accordant with the Word of DIVINE Revelation, is a position which it is desirable that we should believe, both in spirit and in understanding, and apply accordingly. Such were the warmheartedness and congratulatory spirit of the Apostle at the conversion of Others

and their being Called to Newness of Life, through the Expiatory Offering and Reconciling Mediation of The LAMB of GOD. The Traditions here meant were doubtless the Tenor of the whole Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, Himself The WORD of GOD, Which had not been then Concentrated as now, in one Book.

-To be Chosen of GOD, is, as the Apostle elsewhere explains, (Eph. i. 4,) to have been in The DIVINE Mind even before the World was Created; and the Effect of Such Choice is to have the Fulness of The HOLY GHOST Manifested within us, Working in us so Effectually that we should be holy in all manner of conversation and Godliness, and cherish an enduring and overruling and everoperating love towards The LORD JESUS in all sincerity and faith as The SAVIOUR of Mankind. The Gospel of the Apostle was but the echo of The Gospel of his Heavenly MASTER, alike calling the Soul to the Glory, That Awaits the Redeemed for His Sake. And, as saith St. Peter, The GOD of All Grace hath Called us unto His Eternal Glory by CHRIST JESUS-i Pet. v. 10; i. 2. For our SAVIOUR, when in Communication with His Heavenly FATHER, Acknowledged, that the Glory, Which The FATHER Gave Him in His Human Nature, He had Given unto All, that should believe on Him, through the Word that His Apostles Delivered—John xvii. 22, 20.

VERSES 16, 17.-Now our LORD JESUS CHRIST Himself, and GOD, even our FATHER, Which hath Loved us, and hath Given us Everlasting Consolation and Good Hope through Grace, Comfort your hearts, and Stablish you in every good word and work!

Thus confirmatory of the Apostle's faith-that every Spiritual Good, that can be Visited upon us, is the Effect and Purchase of CHRIST's Devoted Love towards us-is this deeply-toned and rich effusion of Apostolic supplication for DIVINE Favour, in Its Peculiar Manifestations of inward Comfort and hearttreasured confidence in the Fulfilment of The Great End of The MESSIAH's Advent-Heavenly Peace and Eternal Good to the Souls of the Faithful; and the Inculcation of That Effect of Imparted Wisdom from Above, even the power and inclination to do the Will, and promote the Glory of GOD, and the true welfare of our Fellow-Creatures. The Love of JESUS to Mankind is the Theme of universal wonder and admiration to the Angels of Light; and as That Love never hath Failed in all Essential Ministrations to them, who are His, and whom He Graciously Calls His Own, so assuredly will It not Cease in Its Gracious Operations and Gladdening Dispensations towards them; but Inspire them with their chiefest joy in that Inheritance within the Mansions of Eternal Blessedness, which will be Allotted them. A Love will even then be Put forth, to which the fervid imagination of the fondest Christian hope can picture but the faintest resemblance: for the Love, that He Bare to us, not only Washed us from the stain and Record of our sins, but Opened to us the Gate of Everlasting Life, and will Obtain for those, who have loved Him in reverential gratitude unto the end, a Glory, Which that of Angels will not surpass, even if in degree it equal. The Resurrection of JESUS CHRIST was the Restoration of the best and purest hope of His Disciples. It is the Assurance of that hope, which should fill the heart of the Believer with Consolation and unspeakable Delight amidst the severest trials and sufferings, that can assail Human Nature. Oh that such Comfort may be ours-that it may through the Grace of The HOLY SPIRIT stablish us in every good word and work.

CHAPTER III.

▲ VERSES 1 to 5.—Finally, Brethren, pray for us! that the Word of The LORD may have free course, and be glorified, even as It is with you; and that we may be Delivered from unreasonable and wicked Men: for all Men have not faith. But The LORD is Faithful, Who shall Stablish you, and Keep you from evil. And we have confidence in The LORD touching you, that ye both do and will do the things, which we command you. And The LORD Direct your hearts into the Love of GOD, and into the patient waiting for CHRIST!

As the bond of Brotherhood is best exemplified in its influence by a desire to extend throughout it the Spiritual Life, that is the fairest foretaste of Heavenly Communion, founded on that faith, which engenders the hope of being One with CHRIST; so the Apostle, with all his Gifted Communion with The DIVINE NATURE in His First Conversion, and in his after Elevation in Spirit at least into the Third Heavens, yet seeks as an essential benefit to himself the prayers of Such as were bound up with him in one common faith and Fellowship in The Gospel of JESUS CHRIST.- -That Such as seek, at every personal sacrifice of comfort and ease, the eternal happiness of Others, should not only fail in their object, by being frustrated by the perverseness of those, whose benefit they labour for, but be even persecuted and tormented by them with more acrimony and relentlessness than would be visited upon the vilest of moral offenders, is a wondrous, though an awful truth, not peculiar to the Apostolic Age; and against such unmerited and unrighteous treatment, whether fostered in a spirit of violence or cunning, the armour of defence is most effectually found in the fervency of prayer from ourselves, or from Such as have an interest and influence at The Throne of Grace, through the Accepted and treasured Mediation of The SON of GOD. The tendency of such a prayerful spirit being to promote the study of the Holy Scriptures, Which are alone able to make wise unto Salvation, and through the pursuit of which study, in singleness and simplicity of heart, and teachableness of mind, the Word of The LORD hath that free course, which will Impart Its transforming and regenerating Power to the Soul, however previously unreasonable or wicked it may have been. The absence, by the rejection of faith, is virtually a surrender of the Immortal Soul to the Spirit of evil.The firm expectation, which the Apostle avows in the disposition of his Correspondents, both to will and to do what would exemplify in them the Christian Character, and exhibit that uprightness and loveliness, which its Principles generate, arose from the conviction, that they would have That Help from Above, Which would Sustain them in their Heavenward course unto the end, if they but acted up to their profession, and cherished the flame of Piety, which had been kindled in them by the Love of CHRIST. May GOD in His Mercy and for the Sake of The Inestimable Sacrifice Made for us in the Incarnation of His SON, Direct our hearts into the love of GOD, and into the patient waiting for CHRIST; in the hope that He will, by His HOLY SPIRIT, Take full Possession of our hearts, and Fit and Prepare them for Holy Communion in the Eternal Inheritance of All Such, as have faith so to be Saved. The Apostle's exulting and consoling doctrine is, that GOD is Faithful; and that by Him, in the Abundance of His Tenderness and Mercy towards us, as well as His Truth, we are Called unto the Fellowship of His SON JESUS CHRIST, our LORD! And who will not in bitterest and endless anguish and remorse and self-condemnation lament and chide himself at having turned a deaf ear to so Gracious A Call from Him, Who Alone hath Power to Cast both body and Soul into Hell, when the Day of Universal Judgment and Retributive Justice Arrives.Our SAVIOUR's Earnest and Considerate Prayer to His FATHER was-HOLY FATHER, Keep through Thine Own Name Those, whom Thou hast Given Me, that they may be One, as We are! I Pray not that Thou shouldest Take