Verse 17.— Every good and perfect gift. Gifts are here designated (1) good; (2) perfect. The same qualities in the gifts, whether applied to this life in temporal affairs or are related to our spiritual concerns, are present. View it as we may, God is the author of these gifts. Pardon of sin, the favor of our heavenly Father, the hope of eternal life— all these in which the Christian is most deeply interested— all are gifts of God. Father of lights. The word "lights" appears in the sacred text in the plural. And here is food for thought. Macknight may be right when he says: "It may denote spiritual and cor­poreal lights. To mention God's being the Father or author of the light of the heavenly bodies, as well as the light of reason, was very proper, because the creation of these cor­poreal lights is a great instance of his goodness." No variableness, neither shadow of turning. The fountain of the light which reaches this earth is the sun. Its rays do not always reach us. They are turned aside by intervening clouds. Not so with the Father of lights. With him there is no change, no turning. He is unchangeable. He gives good gifts, and none other. He does not approach us, then retire. He is always near; all in all. It is simply blasphemous, as well as absurd, to entertain the suggestion of his being the Author of influences inciting to evil.