HOMILY IV.] HOMILIES ON TIMOTHY. 419 an enemy. How, do you ask ? because " the car nalmind is enmity against God," as Paul has said, and this we always carry about us. And we per secute Christ, when He advances toward us, and comes to our very doors. 1 For wicked actions in effect do this, and every day we subject him to insults by our covetousness and our rapacity. And does any one by preaching His word, and benefiting His Church, obtain a good reputa tion? Then he is the object of envy, because he does the work of God. And we think that we envy him, but our envy passes on to Christ. We affect to wish the benefit to come not from others, but from ourselves. But this cannot be for Christ s sake, but for our own : otherwise, it would be a matter of indifference, whether t*he good were done by others or ourselves. If a physician found himself unable to cure his son, who was threatened with blindness, would he re ject the aid of another, who was able to effect the cure? Far from it ! " Let my son be restored," he would almost say to him, " whether it is to be by you or by me." And why? Because he would not consider himself, but what was bene ficial to his son. So, were our regard " to Christ," it would lead us to say, " Let good be done, whether by ourselves or by any other." As Paul said, " Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached." (Phil. i. 18). In the same spirit Moses answered, when some would have excited his displeasure against Eldad and Modad, be cause they prophesied, " Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord s people were prophets ! " (Num. xi. 29.) These jeal ous feelings proceed from vainglory ; and are they not those of opponents and enemies ? Doth any one speak ill of you ? Love him ! It is impossible, you say. Nay, if you will, it is quite possible. For if you love him only who speaks well of you, what thanks have you ? It is not for the Lord s sake, but for the sake of the man s kind speech that you do it. Has any one in jured you? Do him good ! For in benefiting him who has benefited you there is little merit. Have you been deeply wronged and suffered loss? Make a point of requiting it with the con trary. Yes, I entreat you. Let this be the way we do our own part. Let us cease from hating and injuring our enemies. He commands us " to love our enemies " (Matt. v. 44) : but we persecute Him while He loves us. God forbid ! we all say in words, but not so in deeds. So darkened are our minds by sin, that we tolerate in our actions what in words we think intolera ble. Let us desist then from things that are injurious and ruinous to our salvation, that we may obtain those blessings which as His friends we may obtain. For Christ says, " I will that where I am, there My disciples may be also, that they may behold My glory" (John xvii. 24), which may we all attain, through the grace and love of Jesus Christ. HOMILY IV. i TIMOTHY i. 15, 16. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life ever lasting." THE favors of God so far exceed human hope and expectation, that often they are not believed. For God has bestowed upon us such things as the mind ofman never looked for, never thought of. It is for this reason that the Apostles spend much discourse in securing a belief of the gifts that are granted us of God. For as men, upon receiving some great good, ask themselves if it is not a dream, as not believing it ; so it is with respect to the gifts of God. What then was it that was thought incredible? That those who were enemies, and sinners, neither justified by the law, nor by works, should immediately through faith alone be advanced to the highest favor. Upon this head accordingly Paul has discoursed at length in his Epistle to the Romans, and here again at length. "This is a faithful saying," he says, "and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." As the Jews were chiefly attracted by this, he persuades them not 2 to give heed to the law, since they could not attain salvation by it with out faith. Against this he contends ; for it seemed to them incredible, that a man who had mis-spent all his former life in vain and wicked actions, should afterwards be saved by his faith 1 This idea is beautifully illustrated by the Christuskopf of 2 Sav. omits " not"; so the sense will be, thata due consideration Overbeck. of the Law would prove that men could not be saved by it.