and vessels to dishonour, openeth to us the mystery of the Divine purpose in permitting schismatics and heretics to be found in his church, for the end of shewing that there also he proceedeth by the election of his own will; and must be acknowledged and besought as the sovereign dispenser of grace, and disposer of conditions. Which to forget, in the admiration and much-making either of the love of Christ or the work of the Spirit, is to subvert the foundations and bring all things into most fatal disorder and utter confusion. He then warneth his son Timothy against the lusts or strong and heady inclinations of youth, and commendeth to him to cultivate the communion of the saints in righteousness, faith, charity, and peace. And further, he warneth him against foolish and unlearned questions, which indulge the malicious and controversial humours of the intellect, and engender strivings and contentions for no worthy end; exhorting him to be "gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient; in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;" and that they may recover themselves out of " the snare of the devil, who are taken captive at his will." A lesson which I beseech God that I may be enabled to learn and to preach at all times, and especially in the discourses which I have now undertaken to set forth, concerning the spirit which is abroad in these times.

Such is the previous context of the passage under our consideration, consisting of several notices of backslidings and errors in the Christian church, towards which the Apostle directeth the attention of Timothy, and teacheth him how to carry himself. And, "being "being ready to be offered," as it were feeling insecure of a day, he passeth from the heresies which were then present, to speak of those which should come in the last days. As Jacob, the father of the twelve patriarchs, when he was about to die called unto him his sons and said, "Gather yourselves together that I may tell you that which shall befal you in the last days" (Gen. xlix. 1); so doth Paul, the father of the Gentile church, being about to be offered upon the sacrifice of his faith, calls the attention of Timothy his beloved son to the state of the Gentile church in the last days of the dispensation. And he begins it with a solemn assurance: "This know also," that however improbable and impossible it might seem to Timothy that God should permit his church to come into such a corrupt state, it would surely so come to pass according to his word. Having finished the description of the last times, as we have read it in your hearing (1-5), he exhorteth the Evangelist to turn away from all who should shew such evil disposition of heart. For, though, it was to be reserved till the last times to complete the Apostasy and reveal the perfect Antichrist, all the Apostles, without exception, had discern

ment to perceive him already in the embryo state, and did most faithfully point out, for the avoidance of the church, all those who had already been taken in the snare. How much more, then, is it our part, who live so close upon his complete revelation, and most insolent and mighty power, to consider who he is and who are of him; to know his artful wiles, and to be prepared for his open attacks! "From such turn away; for of this sort are they." And so he proceedeth to describe their crafty insinuations, first into the weakest of the weaker sex; and their resisting the truth, as the Egyptian magicians resisted Moses;-upon whom he denounceth some judgment of shame and detection, which the Lord was hastening to bring. And, then, having cleared himself by the testimony of his life and sufferings, from all share in such imposture, he announceth a great truth, verse 13; "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived;" signifying, thereby, that, undeterred by the shame and exposure which God, in mercy to them, and warning to his church, would bring upon them, the evil spirits who were then seducing the church, being themselves seduced by Satan, should not, thereby, be prevented from growing worse and worse until they brought in the last most evil and perilous days. In the view of which mighty work of Satan in the church, he giveth Timothy such a charge, concerning his preaching, as is

not to be found in all the Scriptures besides, upon his responsibility to Christ at his appearing, when he should be raised up from the mouldering dust of the grave to stand in honour before the Great Head of the church; or if not at that judgment of the quick, then at the judgment of the dead, he should not escape. And this I take to be the reason why the judgment of the quick and the dead, separated from one another by the Millennium, are named together in the charge, in order to meet both possibilities of his proving faithful and of his proving unfaithful; the judgment of the quick being in Scripture continually pointed to as the day of the church's reward; the judgment of the dead as the day of second death and destruction unto the wicked. Now, I think, that this allusion to Christ's coming to judge the quick and the dead, besides being intended to stir Timothy up with the sense of his responsibility, or the hope of his reward, is intended to carry his mind forward to the time when these seductions of the seducer should have their end, and the mystery of Satan's iniquity should be judged. He directs his attention to the glorious conclusion of the weary warfare which the preachers of the Gospel had to wage against the seducers and the seduced, in order that Timothy and all faithful preachers might have patience and long-suffering, knowing of a time when their labours should have a most glorious end. To which unequal contest, that

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Cs should be called upon vetech, verse 3: "For the when they will not endure but after their own lusts shall

selves teachers, having itching hey shall turn away their ears from , and shall be turned unto fables." do coming on of which apostasy, the No again calleth him to contend, for his e taking himself, who was now ready to

red, and the time of his departure at hand. And thus, in sublime assurance of faith, he coneladeth: "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but to all who love his appearing."

Thus have you, dear brethren, a succinct account, and I trust a clear view, of the context, in the midst of which our text lies embosomed. And I make no doubt you will agree with me in thinking that its main intention is to reveal an apostasy already begun in the church, and to grow worse and worse until the end, when it should leaven the whole constitution of religious, moral, and political society, and bring in these perilous times mentioned in the text. You will also allow that against this the great instrument with which the Lord would contend for the redemption of his people, and the continuation of his elect witnesses, should be the preaching of the word, which, surely, ought to know its enemy, if it would contend against him; and, therefore,