HOMILY IX.] HOMILIES ON TIMOTHY. xx. 29.) But this he said that they might watch, and duly use the present opportunity. Ver. 5. " But watch thou in all things, en dure affliction." It was for this, therefore, that he foretold these things ; as Christ also toward the end predicted that there should be " false Christs and false prophets " ; so he too, when he was about to depart, spoke of these things. "But watch thou in all things, endure affliction " ; that is, labor, preoccupy their minds before this pestilence assails them ; secure the safety of the sheep before the wolves enter in, everywhere endure hardship. " Do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." Thus it was the work of an evangelist that he should endure hardship, both in himself, and from those without ; " make full proof of" that is, fulfill " thy ministry." And behold another necessity for his enduring af fliction, Ver. 6. " For I am now ready to be poured out, 1 and the time ofmy departure is at hand." He has not said of my sacrifice ; but, what is much more, " of my being poured out." For the whole of the sacrifice was not offered to God, but the whole of the drink-offering was. Ver. 7. " I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." Often, when I have taken the Apostle into my hands, and have considered this passage, I have been at a loss to understand why Paul here speaks so loftily : " I have fought the good fight." But now by the grace ofGod I seem to have found it out. For what purpose then does he speak thus? He is desirous to console the despondency of his disciple, and therefore bids him be of good cheer, since he was go ing to his crown, having finished all his work, and obtained a glorious end. Thou oughtest to rejoice, he says, not to grieve. And why? Be cause, " I have fought the good fight." As a father whose son was sitting by him, bewailing his orphan state, might console him, saying,Weep not, my son ; we have lived a good life, we have arrived at old age, and now we leave thee. Our life has been irreproachable, we depart with glory, and thou mayest be held in admiration for our actions. Our king is much indebted to us. As if he had said, We have raised trophies, we have conquered enemies, and this not boast fully. God forbid ; but to raise up his de jected son, and to encourage him by his praises to bear firmly what had happened, to entertain good hopes, and not to think it a matter grievous to be borne. For sad, sad indeed is separation ; and hear Paul himself, saying, " We being be reaved of2 you for a short time, in presence, not 1 i.e. as the drink-offering. [So R. V. in margin. P. S.] in heart." (i Thess. ii. 17.) If he then felt so much at being separated from his disciples, what thinkest thou were the feelings ofTimothy? If on parting from him whilst living he wept, so that Paul says, " Being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy." (2 Tim. i. 4), how much more at his death? These things then he wrote to console him. Indeed the whole Epistle is full of consolation, and is a sort of Testament. " I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." "A good fight," he says, therefore do thou engage in it. But is that a good fight, where there are imprisonment, chains, and death ? Yea, he says, for it is fought in the cause ofChrist, and great crowns are won in it. " The good fight " ! There is no worthier than this contest. This crown is without end. This is not of olive leaves. It has not a human umpire. It has not men for spectators. The theater is crowded with Angels. There men labor many days, and suffer hardships, and for one hour they receive the crown, and imme diately all the pleasure passes away. But here far otherwise, it continues for ever in brightness, glory, and honor. Henceforth we ought to re joice. For I am entering on my rest, I am leav ing the race. Thou hast heard that " it is bet ter to depart and to be with Christ." I have finished " the course." For it behooves us both to contend and to run ; to contend, by enduring afflictions firmly, and to run, not vainly, but to some good end. It is truly a good fight, not only delighting, but benefiting the spectator : and the race does not end in nothing. It is not a mere display of strength and of rivalry. It draws all up to heaven. This race is brighter than the sun s, yea, this which Paul ran upon earth, than that which he runs in heaven. And how had he "finished his course"? He trav ersed the whole world, beginning from Galilee and Arabia, and advancing to the extremities of the earth, so that, as he says, " From Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ." (Rom. xv. 19.) He passed over the earth like a bird, or rather more swiftly than a bird : for a bird only flies over it, but he, having the wing of the Spirit, made his way through numberless impediments, dangers, deaths, and calamities, so that he was even fleeter than a bird. Had he been a mere bird, he might have alighted and been taken, but being upborne by the Spirit he soared above all snares, as a bird with a wing of fire. " I have kept the faith," he says. There were many things that would have robbed him of it, not only human friendships, but menaces, and deaths, and countless other perils : but he stood firm against all. How? by being sober and watchful. This might have sufficed for the con-