+I. An evidence of practical holiness.+
+II. An affection Divinely taught.+
+III. Should be constantly manifested.+
+IV. Grows by diligent cultivation.+
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 11, 12.
_A Pacific Spirit another Proof of a True Sanctification._
To pass from the subject of brotherly love to the necessity of
maintaining a quiet and peaceable disposition was for the apostle a
natural and suggestive transition. Love and peace are twin
virtues--"Two lovely berries moulded on one stem." Brotherly love can
have no place in the heart from which peace has fled and where war
and discord reign. The quiet spirit is not a weak, meaningless,
cowardly condition of mind, but contains in it all the elements of
patient endurance, unconquerable bravery, and inviolable moral power.
It is not the quietness of the shallow lagoon, on whose surface the
heaviest storm can raise but a few powerless ripples; it is rather
the profound calm of the ocean, which, when roused by the tempest, is
overwhelmed in its impetuous onset. Christ is likened to the
lamb--gentle, harmless, pacific; but when His fury is once let loose
upon the ungodly, the distracted victims will shriek for the rocks
and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that
sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. A pacific
spirit is another practical evidence of possessing the genuine
sanctification so earnestly commended by the apostle. Observe:--
+I. That a pacific spirit is to be studiously cultivated.+--"And that
ye study to be quiet" (ver. 11). The word "study" signifies to seek
after an object with a holy and active ambition, as though it were
the highest honour to possess it. How different this is from the
restless spirit of the world! There is nothing some people dread so
much as being quiet. They delight in a row; and if one does not
happen as frequently as they wish, they make one for themselves. The
political agitator, the avaricious money-getter, the fiery advocate
of war, all seek to attain their selfish ends in the midst of tumult
and confusion. Nor is the sacred circle of the Christian Church,
which should ever be the abode of peace and harmony, free from the
violence of the irrepressible disturber. There are some people who
never will be still; you cannot hold them still. They are full of
endless suggestions for other people to carry out. Their tongue is a
perpetual clatter. They fly from one department of work to another
and create distraction in each. They are always on the go. No sooner
have they related to one, with such evident satisfaction, the details
of the latest uproar they were in, than they are off to brew another.
They try one's temper; they harry one's nerves; they break one's
peace most cruelly. To such people it would be the severest task to
obey the apostolic injunction, "That ye study to be quiet," and yet
no one in the world has more need to do so than they. A pacific
spirit cannot be secured without much self-denying effort; but it is
a jewel worth all the trouble and all the sacrifice (Prov. xx. 3;
Col. iii. 12-15).
+II. That a pacific spirit is attained by a persevering industry in
personal duties.+--1. _That personal duties have the first claim upon
our efforts._ "Do your own business" (ver. 11). Attend first to your
personal concerns--whatever comes within the compass of your general
or particular calling. The man who is inattentive to his own special
duties cannot with any reason dictate as to the duties of others. To
do one's own business is the best safeguard against idleness and
meddling curiosity. Solomon declared, "Every fool will be meddling"
(Prov. xx. 3). An officious interference with the business of others
creates discords. All strifes--domestic, social, ecclesiastical, and
political--may be traced to meddlesomeness. The meddling man is a
fool, because he gratifies his own idle curiosity at the expense of
his own well-being and the happiness of others. See that the business
you do is your own business, and that you let that of your
neighbour's alone. "Be not eavesdroppers, hearkening what is said or
done in your neighbour's house. Wide ears and long tongues dwell
together. They that love to hear all that may be told them do also
love to blab out all they hear" (_Jewell_).
2. _That personal duties demand genuine hard work._--"And to work
with your own hands" (ver. 11). The claims and enjoyments of religion
do not release us from the necessity of toiling for our daily bread
and providing things honest in the sight of all men. True religion
rather consists in doing all the work of life with consistency,
diligence, and perseverance. Manual labour is not the only form of
genuine industry. The industry of some of our public men is something
amazing. There is no greater foe to piety than idleness. It is the
beginning of many other evils and has been the origin of many a
career that has ended with the prison and the gallows. An idle man is
always something worse. His brain is the shop for the devil, where he
forges the most debasing fancies and plots the most pernicious
schemes. Many take more pains to go to hell than almost the holiest
to go to heaven. Hièrome used to say that a man who labours
disheartens even the devil himself.
3. _That industry in personal duties is enforced by apostolic
precept._--"As we commanded you" (ver. 11). The apostle frequently
took occasion to enforce upon his converts the importance of
diligence in one's daily business and set them an example in his own
conduct (2 Thess. iii. 7, 8). Honest labour is not beneath the
dignity of any, and he who works the hardest has the greater
influence in enforcing industry upon others.
+III. That a pacific spirit, combined with diligence, recommends
Christianity to those outside the Church.+--"That ye may walk
honestly towards them that are without" (ver. 12). Industry is no
small part of honesty. A lazy man can never be an honest one, though
his chastity and fidelity were as renowned as Joseph's, if that were
possible to a mere idler. A restless, trifling busybody does
unspeakable damage to religion. Many, who are Christians by
profession, are often more heathenish in practice, and the blindest
among the aliens are swift to detect and pronounce judgment on their
dishonesty. The unbelieving world, on the other hand, is impressed
and attracted by the peaceful and diligent behaviour of the faithful.
Human nature is powerfully influenced by appearances.
+IV. That a pacific spirit, combined with diligence, ensures an
honoured independence.+--"And that ye may have lack of nothing" (ver.
12). It is more blessed to be able to give than to receive. What a
mercy it is neither to know the power and misery of those temptations
which arise from pinching poverty, nor yet to be necessitated to
depend upon the cold-hearted, merciless charity of others. The
patient, quiet persevering plodder in the way of Christian duty may
not always be rewarded with affluence; but he is encouraged to
expect, at least, a modest competency. And the very spirit he has
striven to cultivate has enriched him with an inheritance, which few
possibly attain--_contentment with his lot._ He whose is the silver
and the gold will care for His loved and faithful servants (Ps.
xxxvii. 25).
+Lessons.+--1. _Quarrelsomeness and indolence cannot co-exist with a
high degree of sanctity._ 2. _To secure the blessings of peace is
worthy of the most industrious study._ 3. _The mightiest aggressions
of the Gospel upon the world are made quietly._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSE._