I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications. 1 Timothy 2:1, 2 Prayer for others G. Noel. The true Christian, however, recognizes in human history the moral government of God, He believes, because God has declared it, that a mysterious but all-wise Providence governs the nations upon the earth; and that Jehovah continually regards the moral qualities of human agencies. He believes that the decay and calamities of successive empires have ever had a close and direct connection with their contempt of virtue and religion. I. THE DUTY OF PRAYER FOR OTHERS, AND MORE ESPECIALLY FOR PERSONS IN AUTHORITY, Intercessory prayer is here stated to be a duty; for when the apostle says "I exhort," he speaks by Divine command. If we recognize the authority of revelation, we must admit the act of intercession for others to be an act in precise conformity with the revealed will of God. But there are two results of the most beneficial kind which necessarily arise from intercessory prayer. 1. In every case in which we implore God on behalf of others, we recognize Him as the source of power, authority, mercy and grace. The address we make to Him implies our conviction that He is the Preserver and the Benefactor from whom all succour is derived. 2. But prayer forgathers is, besides this, an act of charity. We cannot voluntarily exercise this duty but in the spirit of charity. Prayer for others implies, by its very act, our participation in their wants, our sympathy in their sorrows, our general interest in their welfare. II. But the nature and importance of this duty will be rendered more evident as we consider THE DESIGN FOR WHICH PRAYER FOR OTHERS IS TO BE OFFERED — "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." There are two ways in which public prayer may be supposed to be the direct channel of benefit to the community. 1. In the first place, there is nothing which so tends to allay irritation, to excite compassion, to restrain envy and revenge, to calm the turbulent passions of every kind, as social prayer. Were large bodies of men honestly and frequently united in prayer to God for a blessing upon the community; were they to connect earthly government with God's kind purposes to the world of social order and of mutual good will, these united prayers would be found to be the strongest cement of the various parts of the social fabric, by bringing out before the minds of all the highest and the noblest motives by which intelligent beings, and at the same time capable of affection, can be influenced. Imagine the rich unfeignedly imploring God's blessing upon the poor — and where could be found room for the exercise of injustice and oppression? Imagine the poor praying for the rich — and where would be found room for the exercise of envy, of violence, of revenge, and of robbery? Imagine the rich praying for the rich — and where would be room for the display of rivalry, contention, and selfish ambition? Imagine the poor praying for the poor — how much kindness and mutual affection would be immediately drawn out into active operation! Imagine those in authority imploring God for a blessing on every measure they undertake, and upon all their national policy — and where would be any scope for individual and selfish aggrandizement? where would be any disunion of the interests of the ruler and the ruled? Or imagine the minds of the community united in prayer for those whom God has set over them — and where would be the wish for riot, for outrage, for insubordination, or violence? 2. But a second method in which prayer will powerfully act upon a nation is through the direct blessings which God, the righteous and the Almighty Governor, will certainly bestow. It is evident that God designs to bestow these blessings through this very channel. How easily can He send healthful seasons and external peace! How easily can He enlighten the minds, and prompt the measures of those by whom the affairs of the State are administered! ( G. Noel. )

Benson Commentary 1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 1 Timothy 2:1 . I exhort therefore — Seeing God is so gracious, and thou art intrusted with the office of the ministry, I give thee this in charge among other things. He proceeds to give directions, 1st, With regard to public prayers; and, 2d, With regard to doctrine. That supplications — To prevent evil; prayers — To procure good; intercessions — On behalf of others; and giving of thanks — For mercies received; be made for all men — Chiefly in public. “Supplications, ??????? ,” says Whitby, “are deprecations for the pardon of sin, and averting divine judgments; ????????? , prayers, for the obtaining of all spiritual and temporal blessings; ????????? , intercessions, addresses presented to God for the salvation of others. And by this rule were the devotions of the church continually directed. For, saith the author of the book De Vocatione Gentium, ‘there is no part of the world in which the Christian people do not put up such prayers as these, praying not only for the saints, but for infidels, idolaters, the enemies of the cross, and the persecutors of Christ’s members; for Jews, heretics, and schismatics.’” Of prayer in general we may observe, it is any kind of offering up of our desires to God. But the true, effectual, fervent prayer, which St. James speaks of as availing much, implies the vehemency of holy zeal, the ardour of divine love, arising from a calm, undisturbed soul, moved upon by the Spirit of God. “By this exhortation,” says Macknight, “we are taught, while men live, not to despair of their conversion, however wicked they may be, but to use the means necessary thereto, and to beg of God to accompany these means with his blessing.” 1 Timothy 2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 1 Timothy 2:2-4 . For kings — Especially; and for all that are in authority — “That is, for the ministers and counsellors of kings, and for the inferior magistrates, by whatever name they may be called, seeing even the lowest country magistrates frequently do much good or much harm. In the early times the Jews prayed for the heathen princes, who held them in captivity, ( Ezra 6:10 ; Bar 1:10-11 ,) being directed by God so to do, Jeremiah 29:7 . But afterward becoming more bigoted, they would not pray for any heathen ruler whatever. Nay, the zealots among them held that no obedience was due from the people of God to idolatrous princes, and often raised seditions in the heathen countries, as well as in Judea, against the heathen magistrates. This malevolent disposition some of the Jewish converts brought with them into the Christian Church. The apostle, therefore, agreeably to the true spirit of the gospel, commanded the brethren at Ephesus to pray, both in public and private, for all men, whatever their nation, their religion, or their character might be, and especially for kings. That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life — God supports the power of magistracy for the sake of his own people, when, in the present state of men, it could not otherwise be kept up in any nation whatever. And we should pray that our rulers may exercise their power in such a wise and equitable manner, that, under the protection of their government, we may live in peace with our neighbours, and undisturbed by foreign enemies. In all godliness — In the genuine fear, love, worship, and service of God; and honesty — A comprehensive word, taking in the whole duty we owe to our neighbour. “In the first age, when the disciples of Christ were liable to be persecuted for their religion by their heathen neighbours, it was highly necessary, by praying for kings and all in authority, to make the heathen rulers sensible that they were good subjects. For thus they might expect to be less the object of their hatred.” For this — That we should pray for them and all men; is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour — Who has actually saved us, and is willing to save all. For the disciples of Christ thus to pray for all men, especially for their heathen enemies and persecutors, was of excellent use to make the latter sensible how good, how patient, and how benevolent the disciples of Jesus were, and that their religion led them to no seditious practices. Indeed, as Macknight observes, this display of the Christian character was then peculiarly necessary, in that the heathen were apt to confound the Christians with the Jews, and to impute to them the odious spirit and wicked practices of the Jews, who, confining their benevolence to those of their own religion, cherished a most rancorous hatred of all the rest of mankind. Who will have all men — Not a part only, much less the smallest part; to be saved — Eternally. This is treated of 1 Timothy 2:5-6 . And — In order thereto; to come — (They are not compelled;) to the knowledge of the truth — Which brings salvation. This is treated of 1 Timothy 2:6-7 ; to which knowledge they would be most likely to come, if they should see the professors of it behaving in the manner now recommended, and avoiding all occasions either of public or private offence. 1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 1 Timothy 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Timothy 2:5-7 . For there is one God — One Creator of all, the Father of the spirits of all flesh, who is no respecter of persons; and one Mediator between God and men — Appointed by God to make atonement for the sins of men by his death, and who, in consequence of that atonement, is authorized to intercede with God in behalf of sinners, and empowered to convey all his blessings to them. The man Christ Jesus — Therefore all men are to apply to this Mediator. By declaring that the one Mediator is the man Jesus Christ, St. Paul intimated that his mediation was founded in the atonement which he made for our sins in the human nature. Wherefore Christ’s intercession for us is quite different from our intercession for one another: he intercedes as having merited what he asks for us. Whereas we intercede for our brethren, merely as expressing our good-will toward them. We, depraved and guilty sinners, could not rejoice that there is a God, were there not a Mediator also; one who stands between God and men, to reconcile man to God, and to transact the whole affair of our salvation. This excludes all other mediators, as saints and angels, whom the Papists set up and idolatrously worship as such: just as the heathen of old set up many mediators to pacify their superior gods. Who gave himself a ransom for all — ?????????? , such a ransom, the word signifies, wherein a like or equal is given, as an eye for an eye. The clause seems to be an allusion to Christ’s words, ( Matthew 20:28 ,) to give his life, ?????? ???? , a ransom for many. Any price given for the redemption of a captive, was called by the Greeks ?????? , a ransom; but when life was given for life, they used the word ?????????? . Indeed, this ransom paid by Christ, from the dignity of his person, was more than equivalent to all mankind. To be testified in due time — ?? ????????? ??????? ?????? , the testimony, that is, a thing to be testified, in his own seasons; namely, those chosen by his own wisdom. Whereunto I am ordained — Appointed; a preacher — ????? , a herald, to proclaim the grace of it all abroad; and an apostle — To attest by miracles that great and essential doctrine of it, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I speak the truth in Christ — As thou, Timothy, well knowest; I lie not — In pretending to such an extraordinary mission. A teacher of the Gentiles — As if he had said, I was not only in general ordained to this ministry, but by peculiar destination was appointed to preach to the heathen and instruct them; in faith and verity — That is, in the faith of the gospel, and in the whole system of truth which it comprehends. This same solemn asseveration the apostle used Romans 9:1 . He introduces it here in confirmation of his being an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles in the true faith of the gospel, because some in Ephesus denied his apostleship, and especially because the Jews were so averse to his preaching the gospel among the Gentiles, charging his doing it either upon the want of a due regard to his own nation, or some view of avarice or ambition. On this passage Dr. Benson remarks, “What writer ever kept closer to his subject than this apostle? The more we understand him, the more we admire how much every sentence and every word tends to the main purpose of his writing.” 1 Timothy 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 1 Timothy 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 1 Timothy 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 1 Timothy 2:8 . I will — A word strongly expressing his apostolical authority; therefore — This particle connects the 8th and the 1st verse; that men pray everywhere — ?? ????????? , in every place. Wherever men are, there prayer should be used; and if their hearts be right with God they will use it. By this precept the apostle condemned the superstitious notion of both the Jews and Gentiles, who fancied that prayers offered in temples were more acceptable to God than those offered anywhere else. This worshipping of God in all places was foretold as the peculiar glory of the gospel dispensation, Malachi 1:11 . Lifting up holy hands — Pure from all known sin, and in particular from injustice and oppression; without wrath — In any kind, against any creature. And observe, reader, every temper of the soul which is not according to love is wrath; and doubting — Which is contrary to faith. Unholy actions, or wrath, or want of faith in him we call upon, are the three grand hinderances of God’s hearing our petitions. Christianity consists of faith and love, embracing truth and grace. Therefore the sum of our wishes should be to pray, and live, and die, shunning every known sin, and guarding against wrath and doubting. 1 Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 1 Timothy 2:9-10 . In like manner also, I command that women — Particularly when they are about to appear in public assemblies for divine worship; adorn themselves in modest — ?????? , decent, or becoming, apparel — Neither too costly nor sordid, but what is neat and clean, as the word signifies, and suitable to their place and calling. The word ????????? , rendered apparel, according to Theophylact and Œcumenius, was a long upper garment which covered the body every way. What the apostle especially forbids is that immodest manner of dressing which is calculated to excite impure desires in the spectators, or a vain admiration of the beauty of those that use it: also that gaudiness or showiness of dress which proceeds from vanity, and nourishes vanity, wastes time and money, and so prevents many good works. With shamefacedness — ???? ?????? , with modesty, teaching to avoid every thing unbecoming; and sobriety — Or soundness of mind, as ????????? signifies, which will prevent all unnecessary expense. This latter expression, in St. Paul’s sense, signifies the virtue that governs our whole life according to true wisdom. Not with broidered — Plaited, or rather curled hair, as ????????? properly signifies; or gold — Worn by way of ornament; or pearls — Jewels of any kind; (a part is put for the whole;) or costly array — ???????? ????????? , expensive clothing. These four things are expressly forbidden by name to all women, (there is no exception,) professing godliness — And no art of man can reconcile with the Christian profession, the wilful violation of an express command. But — Instead of these vain ornaments, (what is itself infinitely more valuable, and much better becometh women professing godliness, and the gospel of Christ, the great rule of it,) with good works — That is, works of mercy and charity to their fellow- creatures, which will render them amiable in the eyes of God himself, and of all wise and virtuous persons with whom they converse. 1 Timothy 2:10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 1 Timothy 2:11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 1 Timothy 2:11-14 . Let the women learn in silence — Let every woman receive instruction in religious matters from the men in silence, in your public assemblies; with all subjection — With becoming submission to the other sex, neither teaching nor asking questions there. I suffer not a woman to teach — Namely, publicly; nor to usurp authority over the man — Which she might seem to do if she officiated under the character of a public teacher. The word ????????? , here used, signifies both to have, and to exercise authority over another. In this passage it is properly translated usurp authority; because, when a woman pretends to exercise authority over a man, she arrogates a power which does not belong to her. See note on 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 . For Adam was first formed — As the head and chief; then Eve — To denote her subordination to and dependance on Adam. So that the woman was originally inferior. As if he had said, What I now enjoin is agreeable to what was intimated at the first formation of the human race. And Adam was not deceived — The serpent did not attempt to deceive Adam. But he attacked the woman, knowing her to be the weaker of the two. Hence Eve, in extenuation of her fault, pleaded, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat, Genesis 3:13 . And Eve did not deceive Adam, but persuaded him; for he said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat, Genesis 3:12 ; insinuating that, as the woman had been given him for a companion and help, he had eaten of the tree from affection to her, which is also intimated Genesis 3:17 , in God’s words to him, Thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife. “In this view of the matter, the fall of the first man stands as a warning to his posterity to beware of the pernicious influence which the love of women, carried to excess, may have upon them to lead them into sin.” The preceding verse showed why a woman should not usurp authority over the man: this shows why she ought not to teach. She is more easily deceived, and more easily deceives. Let it be observed here, however, that the apostle’s doctrine concerning the inferiority of the woman to the man, in point of understanding, is to be interpreted of the sex in general, and not of every individual; it being well known that some women, in understanding, are superior to most men. The woman being deceived, was first in the transgression — And prevailed upon Adam, by her solicitations, to transgress also. “The behaviour of Eve, who may be supposed to have been created by God with as high a degree of understanding as any of her daughters ever possessed, ought to be remembered by them all, as a proof of their natural weakness, and as a warning to them to be on their guard against temptation. Perhaps also the apostle mentioned Eve’s transgression on this occasion, because the subjection of women to their husbands was increased at the fall on account of Eve’s transgression, Genesis 3:16 .” — Macknight. 1 Timothy 2:12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 1 Timothy 2:13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 1 Timothy 2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. 1 Timothy 2:15 . Notwithstanding, she shall be saved in child-bearing — That is, says Locke, she shall be carried safely through child-bearing; a sense which Dr. Whitby illustrates at large, and which Dr. Benson seems partly to adopt, observing, “The apostle having intimated that the man was superior by creation, and the subjection of the woman increased by the fall, he here declares, that if the Christian women continued in holiness and charity, the curse pronounced upon the fall would be removed or mitigated.” To the same purpose also Baxter paraphrases the words: “Though her sin had brought her low, and even under a curse, in the pain and peril of child-bearing, she is, even in that low and sad condition, under God’s merciful protection, and saving covenant of grace, which contains the promise of this life and that to come, if she continue in faith, charity, and purity, with sobriety.” He adds another interpretation, as follows: “Though sin and sorrow in travail came in by the woman, yet by a woman’s child-bearing a Saviour came into the world, (which is some reparation of the honour of the sex,) and so the women may be saved as well as the men by Christ.” This latter sense is nearly that adopted by Macknight, who thus paraphrases on the verse: “However, though Eve was first in transgression, and brought death on herself, her husband, and her posterity, the female sex shall be saved equally with the male; through child-bearing; through bringing forth the Saviour; if they live in faith, and love, and chastity, with that sobriety which I have been recommending.” He adds, by way of note, “The word ????????? , saved, in this verse, refers to ? ???? , the woman, in the foregoing verse, who is certainly Eve. But the apostle did not mean to say that she alone was to be saved through child-bearing; but that all her posterity, whether male or female, are to be saved through the childbearing of a woman; as is evident from his adding, If they live in faith, and love, and holiness, with sobriety. For safety in child-bearing doth not depend on that condition, since many pious women die in child-bearing; while others of a contrary character are preserved. The salvation of the human race through child-bearing, was intimated in the sentence passed on the serpent, Genesis 3:15 ; I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head. Accordingly, the Saviour being conceived in the womb of his mother by the power of the Holy Ghost, he is truly the seed of the woman who was to bruise the head of the serpent. And a woman, by bringing him forth, hath been the occasion of our salvation. If they continue in faith — The change in the number of the verb from the singular to the plural, which is introduced here, was designed by the apostle to show that he does not speak of Eve, nor of any particular woman, [merely,] but of the whole sex.” Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary 1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; Chapter 8 ELEMENTS OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP; INTERCESSORY PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING-THE SOLIDARITY OF CHRISTENDOM AND OF THE HUMAN RACE. - 1 Timothy 2:1 THE first chapter of the Epistle is more or less introductory. It repeats what St. Paul had already said to his beloved disciple by word of mouth, on the subject of Christian doctrine, and the necessity of keeping it pure. It makes a digression respecting the Apostle’s own conversion. It reminds Timothy of the hopeful prophecies uttered over him at his ordination; and it points out the terrible consequences of driving conscience from the helm and placing oneself in antagonism to the Almighty. In this second chapter St. Paul goes on to mention in order the subjects which led to the writing of the letter; and the very first exhortation which he has to give is that respecting Christian worship and the duty of intercessory prayer and thanksgiving. There are two things very worthy of remark in the treatment of the subject of worship in the Pastoral Epistles. First, these letters bring before us a more developed form of worship than we find indicated in the earlier writings of St. Paul. It is still very primitive, but it has grown. And this is exactly what we ought to expect, especially when we remember how rapidly the Christian Church developed its powers during the first century and a half. Secondly, the indications of this more developed form of worship occur only in the letters to Timothy, which deal with the condition of things in the Church of Ephesus, a Church which had already been founded for a considerable time, and was in a comparatively advanced stage of organization. Hence we are not surprised to find in these two Epistles fragments of what appear to be primitive liturgical forms. In the first Epistle we have two grand doxologies, which may be the outcome of the Apostle’s devotion at the moment, but are quite as likely to be quotations of formulas well known to Timothy. { 1 Timothy 1:17 ; 1 Timothy 6:15-16 } Between these two we have what looks like a portion of a hymn in praise of Jesus Christ, suitable for singing antiphonally ( 1 Timothy 3:16 ; comp. Pliny, "Epp." 10:96): and also what may be a baptismal exhortation. { 1 Timothy 6:12 } In the Second Epistle we have traces of another liturgical formula. { 2 Timothy 2:11-13 } St. Paul of course does not mean, as the A.V. might lead us to suppose, that in all Christian worship intercession ought to come first; still less that intercession is the first duty of a Christian. But he does place it first among those subjects about which he has to give directions in this Epistle. He makes sure that it shall not be forgotten by himself in writing to his delegate at Ephesus; and he wishes to make sure that it shall not be forgotten by Timothy in his ministration. To offer prayers and thanksgivings on behalf of all men is a duty of such high importance that the Apostle places it first among the topics of his pastoral charge. Was it a duty which Timothy and the congregation committed to his care had been neglecting, or were in serious danger of neglecting? It may well have been so. In the difficulties of the overseer’s own personal position, and in the varied dangers to which his little flock were so unceasingly exposed, the claims of others upon their united prayer and praise may sometimes have been forgotten. When the Apostle had left Timothy to take his place for a time in Ephesus he had hoped to return very soon, and consequently had given him only brief and somewhat hasty directions as to his course of action during his absence. He had been prevented from returning; and there was a probability that Timothy would have to be his representative for an indefinite period. Meanwhile the difficulties of Timothy’s position had not diminished. Many of his flock were much older men than himself, and some of them had been elders in the Church of Ephesus long before the Apostle’s beloved disciple was placed in charge of them. Some of the leaders in the congregation had become tainted with the Gnostic errors with which the intellectual atmosphere of Ephesus was charged, and were endeavoring to make compromise and confusion between heathen lawlessness and Christian liberty. Besides which, there was the bitter hostility of the Jews, who regarded both Paul and Timothy as renegades from the faith of their ancestors, and who never lost an opportunity of thwarting and reviling them. Above all there was the ever-present danger of heathenism, which confronted the Christians every time they left the shelter of their own houses. In the city which counted it as its chief glory that it was the "Temple-keeper of the great Artemis," { Acts 19:35 } every street through which the Christians walked, and every heathen house which they entered, was full of pagan abominations; to say nothing of the magnificent temples, beautiful groves, and seductive idolatrous rites, which were among the main features that attracted such motley crowds to Ephesus. Amid difficulties and perils such as these, it would not be wonderful if Timothy and those committed to his care had been somewhat oblivious of the fact that "behind the mountains also there are people"; that beyond the narrow limits of their contracted horizon there were interests as weighty as their own-Christians who were as dear to God as themselves, whose needs were as great as their own, and to whom the Lord had been equally gracious; and moreover countless hosts of heathen, who also were God’s children, needing His help and receiving His blessings; for all of whom, as well as for themselves, the Church in Ephesus was bound to offer prayer and thanksgiving. But there is no need to assume that Timothy, and those committed to his care, had been specially neglectful of this duty. To keep clearly in view our responsibilities towards the whole human race, or even towards the whole Church, is so difficult a thing for all of us, that the prominent place which St. Paul gives to the obligation to offer prayers and thanksgivings for all men is quite intelligible, without the supposition that the disciple whom he addresses was more in need of such a charge than other ministers in the Churches under St. Paul’s care. The Apostle uses three different words for prayer, the second of which is a general term and covers all kinds of prayer to God and the first a still more general term, including petitions addressed to man. Either of the first two would embrace the third, which indicates a bold and earnest approach to the Almighty to implore some great benefit. None of the three words necessarily means intercession in the sense of prayer on behalf of others. This idea comes from the context. St. Paul says plainly that it is prayers and thanksgivings "for all men" that he desires to have made: and in all probability he did not carefully distinguish in his mind the shades of meaning which are proper to the three terms which he uses. Whatever various kinds of supplication there may be which are offered by man at the throne of grace, he urges that the whole human race are to have the benefit of them. Obviously, as Chrysostom long ago pointed out, we cannot limit the Apostle’s "all men" to all believers. Directly he enters into detail he mentions "kings and all that are in high place"; and in St. Paul’s day not a single king, and we may almost say not a single person in high place, was a believer. The scope of a Christian’s desires and gratitude, when he appears before the Lord, must have no narrower limit than that which embraces the whole human race. This important principle, the Apostle charges his representative, must be exhibited in the public worship of the Church in Ephesus. The solidarity of the whole body of Christians, however distant from one another in space and time, however different from one another in nationality, in discipline, and even in creed, is a magnificent fact, of which we all of us need from time to time to be reminded, and which, even when we are reminded of it, we find it somewhat difficult to grasp. Members of sects that we never heard of, dwelling in remote regions of which we do not even know the names, are nevertheless united to us by the eternal ties of a common baptism and a common belief in God and in Jesus Christ. The eastern sectarian in the wilds of Asia, and the western sectarian in the backwoods of North America, are members of Christ and our brethren; and as such have spiritual interests identical with our own, for which it is not only our duty, but our advantage to pray. "Whether one member suffereth, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." The ties which bind Christians to one another are at once so subtle and so real, that it is impossible for one Christian to remain unaffected by the progress or retrogression of any other. Therefore, not only does the law of Christian charity require us to aid all our fellow-Christians by praying for them, but the law of self-interest leads us to do so also; for their advance will assuredly help us forward, and their relapse will assuredly keep us back. All this is plain matter of fact, revealed to us by Christ and His apostles, and confirmed by our own experience, so far as our feeble powers of observation are able to supply a test. Nevertheless, it is a fact of such enormous proportions (even without taking into account our close relationship with those who have passed away from this world), that even with our best efforts we fail to realize it in its immensity. What shall we say, then, about the difficulty of realizing the solidarity of the whole human race? For they also are God’s offspring, and as such are of one family with ourselves. If it is hard to remember that the welfare of the humblest member of a remote and obscure community in Christendom intimately concerns ourselves, how shall we keep in view the fact that we have both interests and obligations in reference to the wildest and most degraded heathens in the heart of Africa or in the islands of the Pacific? Here is a fact on a far more stupendous scale; for in the population of the globe, those who are not even in name Christians, outnumber us by at least three to one. And yet let us never forget that our interest in these countless multitudes, whom we have never seen and never shall see in this life, is not a mere graceful sentiment or empty flourish of rhetoric, but a sober and solid fact. The hackneyed phrase, "a man and a brother," represents a vital truth. Every human being is one of our brethren, and, whether we like the responsibility or not, we are still our "brother’s keeper." In our keeping, to a very real extent, lie the supreme issues of his spiritual life, and we have to look to it that we discharge our trust faithfully. We read with horror, and it may be with compassion, of the monstrous outrages committed by savage chiefs upon their subjects, their wives, or their enemies. We forget that the guilt of these things may lie partly at our door, because we have not done our part in helping forward civilizing influences which would have prevented such horrors, above all because we have not prayed as we ought for those who commit them. There are few of us who have not some opportunities of giving assistance in various ways to missionary enterprise and humanizing efforts. But all of us can at least pray for God’s blessing upon such things, and for His mercy upon those who are in need of it. Of those who, having nothing else to give, give their struggles after holiness and their prayers for their fellow-men, the blessed commendation stands written, "They have done what they could." "For kings and all that are in high place." It is quite a mistake to suppose that "kings" here means the Roman Emperors. This has been asserted, and from this misinterpretation has been deduced the erroneous conclusion that the letter must have been written at a time when it was customary for the Emperor to associate another prince with him in the empire, with a view to securing the succession. As Hadrian was the first to do this, and that near to the close of his reign, this letter (it is urged) cannot be earlier than A.D. 138. But this interpretation is impossible, for "kings" in the Greek has no article. Had the writer meant the two reigning Emperors, whether Hadrian and Antoninus, or M. Aurelius and Verus, he would inevitably have written "for the kings and for all in high place." The expression "for kings," obviously means "for monarchs of all descriptions." including the Roman Emperor, but including many other potentates also. Such persons, as having the heaviest responsibilities and the greatest power of doing good and evil, have an especial claim upon the prayers of Christians. It gives us a striking illustration of the transforming powers of Christianity when we think of St. Paul giving urgent directions that among the persons to be remembered first in the intercessions of the Church are Nero and the men whom he put "in high place," such as Otho and Vitellius, who afterwards became Emperor: and this, too, after Nero’s peculiarly cruel and wanton persecution of the Christians A.D. 64. How firmly this beautiful practice became established among Christians is shown from their writings in the second and third centuries. Tertullian, who lived through the reigns of such monsters as Cornmodus and Elagabalus, who remembered the persecution under M. Aurelius, and witnessed that under Septimius Severus, can nevertheless write thus of the Emperor of Rome: "A Christian is the enemy of no one, least of all of the Emperor, whom he knows to have been appointed by his God, and whom he therefore of necessity loves, and reverences, and honors, and desires his well-being, with that of the whole Roman Empire, so long as the world shall stand; for it shall last as long. To the Emperor, therefore, we render such homage as is lawful for us. and good for him, as the human being who comes next to God, and is what he is by God’s decree, and to God alone is inferior." And so we sacrifice also for the well-being of the Emperor; but to our God and his; but in the way that God has ordained, with a prayer that is pure. "For God, the Creator of the universe, has no need of odors or of blood." In another passage Tertullian anticipates the objection that: Christians pray for the Emperor, m order to curry favor with the Roman government and thus escape persecution. He says that the heathen have only to look into the Scriptures, which to Christians are the voice of God, and see that to pray for their enemies and to pray for those in authority is a fundamental rule with Christians. And he quotes the passage before us. But he appears to misunderstand the concluding words of the Apostle’s injunction, - "that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity." Tertullian understands this as a reason for praying for kings and rulers; because they are the preservers of the public peace, and any disturbance in the empire will necessarily affect the Christians as well as other subjects, - which is giving a rather narrow and selfish motive for this great duty. "That we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity," is the object and consequence, not of our praying for kings and rulers in particular, but of our offering prayers and thanksgivings on behalf of all men. When this most pressing obligation is duly discharged, then, and only then, can we hope with tranquil consciences to be able to live Christian lives in retirement from the rivalries and jealousies and squabbles of the world. Only in the attitude of mind which makes us pray and give thanks for our fellowmen is the tranquility of a godly life possible. The enemies of Christian peace and quietness are anxiety and strife. Are we anxious about the well-being of those near and dear to us, or of those whose interests are bound up with our own? Let us pray for them. Have we grave misgivings respecting the coarse which events are taking in Church, or in State, or in any of the smaller societies to which we belong? Let us offer supplications and intercessions on behalf of all concerned in them. Prayer offered in faith to the throne of grace will calm our anxiety, because it will assure us that all is in God’s hand, and that in His own good time He will bring good out of the evil. Are we at strife with our neighbors, and is this a constant source of disturbance? Let us pray for them. Fervent and frequent prayers for those who are hostile to us will certainly secure this much, -that we ourselves become more wary about giving provocation; and this will go a long way towards bringing the attainment of our desire for the entire cessation of the strife. Is there any one to whom we have taken a strong aversion, whose very presence is a trial to us, whose every gesture and every tone irritates us, and the sight of whose handwriting makes us shiver, because of its disturbing associations? Let us pray for him. Sooner or later dislike must give way to prayer. It is impossible to go on taking a real interest in the welfare of another, and at the same time to go on detesting him. And if our prayers for his welfare are genuine, a real interest in it there must be. Is there any one of whom we are jealous? Of whose popularity, so dangerous to our own, we are envious? Whose success-quite undeserved success, as it seems to us-disgusts and frightens us? Whose mishaps and failures, nay even whose faults and misdeeds, give us pleasure and satisfaction? Let us thank God for the favor which He bestows upon this man. Let us praise our heavenly Father for having in His wisdom and His justice given to another of His children what He denies to us; and let us pray Him to keep this other from abusing His gifts. Yes, let us never forget that not only prayers, but thanksgivings, are to be offered for all men. He who is so good to the whole Church, of which we are members, and to the great human family to which we belong, certainly has a claim upon the gratitude of every human being, and especially of every Christian. His bounty is not given by measure or by merit. He maketh His sun to shine upon the evil and the good, and sendeth His rain upon the just and the unjust: and shall we pick and choose as to what we will thank Him for, and what not? The sister who loves her erring or her half-witted brother is grateful to her father for the care which he bestows upon his graceless and his useless son. And shall we not give thanks to our heavenly Father for the benefits which He bestows on the countless multitudes whose interests are so closely interwoven with our own? Benefits bestowed upon any human being are an answer to our prayers, and as such we are bound to give thanks for them. How much more grateful shall we be, when we are able to look on them as benefits bestowed upon those whom we love! This is the cause of so much of our failure in prayer. We do not couple our prayers with thanksgiving; or at any rate our thanksgivings are far less hearty than our prayers. We give thanks for benefits received by ourselves: we forget to give thanks "for all men." Above all, we forget that the truest gratitude is shown, not in words or feelings, but in conduct. We should send good deeds after good words to heaven. Not that our ingratitude provokes God to withhold His gifts; but that it does render us less capable of receiving them. For the sake of others no less than for ourselves let us remember the Apostle’s charge that "thanksgivings be made for all men." We cannot give plenty and prosperity to the nations of the earth. We cannot bestow on them peace and tranquility. We cannot bring them out of darkness to God’s glorious light. We cannot raise them from impurity to holiness. We can only do a little, a very little towards these great ends. But one thing we can do. We can at least thank Him who has already bestowed some, and is preparing to bestow others, of these blessings. We can praise Him for the end towards which he will have all things work. - "He willeth that all men should be saved" (ver. 4), "that God may be all in all." 1 Timothy 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. Chapter 9 BEHAVIOUR IN CHRISTIAN WORSHIP: MEN’S ATTITUDE OF BODY AND MIND: WOMEN’S ATTIRE AND ORNAMENT. - 1 Timothy 2:8-12 IN the preceding verses of this chapter, St. Paul has been insisting on the duty of unselfishness in our devotions. Our prayers and thanksgivings are not to be bounded in their scope by our own personal interests, but are to include the whole human race; and for this obvious and sufficient reason, - that in using such devotions we know that our desires are in harmony with the mind of God, "who willeth that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." Having thus laid down the principles which are to guide Christian congregations in the subject-matter of their prayers and thanksgivings, he passes on now to give some directions respecting the behavior of men and women, when they meet together for common worship of the one God and the one Mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus. There is no reasonable doubt (although the point has been disputed) that St. Paul is here speaking of public worship in the congregation; the whole context implies it. Some of the directions would be scarcely intelligible, if we were to suppose that the Apostle is thinking of private devotions, or even of family prayer in Christian households. And we are not to suppose that he is indirectly finding fault with other forms of worship, Jewish or heathen, he is merely laying down certain principles which are to guide Christians, whether at Ephesus or elsewhere, in the conduct of public service. Thus there is no special emphasis on "in every place," as if the meaning were, "Our ways are not like those of the Jews; for they were not allowed to sacrifice and perform their services anywhere, but assembling from all parts of the world were bound to perform all their worship in the temple. For as Christ commanded us to pray for all men, because He died for all men, so it is good to pray everywhere." Such an antithesis between Jewish and Christian worship, even if it were true, would not be in place here. Every place is a place of private prayer to both Jew and Christian alike: but not every place is a place of public prayer to the Christian any more than to the Jew. Moreover, the Greek shows plainly that the emphasis is not on "in every place," but on "pray." Wherever there may be a customary "house of prayer," whether in Ephesus or anywhere else, the Apostle desires that prayers should be offered publicly by the men in the congregation. After "pray," the emphasis falls on "the men," public prayer is to be made, and it is to be conducted by the men and not by the women in the congregation. It is evident from this passage, as from 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 ., that in this primitive Christian worship great freedom was allowed. There is no Bishop, President, or Elder, to whom the right of leading the service or uttering the prayers and thanksgivings is reserved. This duty and privilege is shared by all the males alike. In the recently discovered "Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles" nothing is said as to who is to, offer the prayers, of which certain forms are given. It is merely stated that in addition to these forms extempore prayer may be offered by "the prophets." And Justin Martyr mentions that a similar privilege was allowed to "the president" of the congregation according to his ability. Thus we seem to trace a gradual increase of strictness, a development of ecclesiastical order, very natural under the circumstances. First, all the men in the congregation are allowed to conduct public worship, as here and in 1 Corinthians. Then, the right of adding to the prescribed forms is restricted to the prophets, as in the "Didache." Next, this right is reserved to the presiding minister, as in Justin Martyr. And lastly, free prayer is abolished altogether. We need not assume that precisely this development took place in all the Churches; but that something analogous took place in nearly all. Nor need we assume that the development was simultaneous: while one Church was at one stage of the process, another was more advanced, and a third less so. Again, we may conjecture that forms of prayer gradually increased in number, and in extent, and in stringency. But in the directions here given to Timothy we are at the beginning of the development. "Lifting up holy hands." Here, again, we need not suspect any polemical purpose. St. Paul is not insinuating that, when Gnostics or heathen lift up their hands in prayer, their hands are not holy. Just as every Christian is ideally a saint, so every hand that is lifted up in prayer is holy. In thus stating the ideal, the Apostle inculcates the realization of it. There is a monstrous incongruity in one who comes red-handed from the commission of a sin, lifting up the very members which witness against him, in order to implore a blessing from the God whom he has outraged. The same idea is expressed in more general terms by St. Peter: "Like as He which called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, ye shall be holy; for I am holy". { 1 Peter 1:15-16 } In a passage more closely parallel to this, Clement of Rome says, "Let us therefore approach Him in holiness of soul, lifting up pure and undefiled hands unto Him, with love towards our gentle and compassionate Father who made us an elect portion unto Himself" ("Corinthians" 29). And Tertullian urges that "a defiled spirit cannot be recognized by the Holy Spirit" ("De Orat.," 13.). Nowhere else in the New Testament do we read of this attitude of lifting up the hands during prayer. But to this day it is common in the East. Solomon at the dedication of the temple "stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven"; { 1 Kings 8:22 } and the Psalmist repeatedly speaks of "lifting up the hands" in worship. { Psalm 28:2 ; Psalm 63:4 ; Psalm 134:2 } Clement of Alexandria seems to have regarded it as the ideal attitude in prayer, as symbolising the desire of the body to abstract itself from the earth, following the eagerness of the spirit in yearning for heavenly things. Tertullian, on the other hand, suggests that the arms are spread out in prayer in memory of the’ crucifixion, and directs that they should be extended, but only slightly raised, an attitude which is more in harmony with a humble spirit: and in another place he says that the Christian by his very posture in prayer is ready for every infliction. He asserts that the Jews in his day did not raise the hands in prayer, and characteristically gives as a reason that they were stained with the blood of the Prophets and of Christ. With evident reference to this passage, he says that Christian hands must be lifted up pure from falsehood, murder, and all other sins of which the hands can be the instruments. Ancient Christian monuments of the earliest age frequently represent the faithful as standing with raised hands to pray. Eusebius tells us that Constantine had himself represented in this attitude on his coins, "looking upwards, stretching up toward God, like one praying." Of course this does not mean that kneeling was unusual or irregular; there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. But the attitude here commended by St. Paul was very ancient when he wrote, and has continued in some parts of the world ever since. Like so many other things in natural religion and in Judaism, it received a new and intensified meaning when it was adopted among the usages of the Christian Church. "Without wrath and disputing": that is, in the spirit of Christian peace and trust. Ill-will and misgiving respecting one another are incompatible with united prayer to our common Father. The atmosphere of controversy is not congenial to devotion. Christ Himself has told us to be reconciled to our brother before presuming to offer our gift on the altar. In a similar spirit St. Paul directs that those who are to conduct public service in the sanctuary must do so without angry feelings or mutual distrust. In the Pastoral Epistles warnings against quarrelsome conduct are frequent; and the experience of every one of us tells us how necessary they are. The bishop is charged to be "no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious." The deacons must not be "double-tongued." Women must not be "slanderers." Young widows have to be on their guard against being "tattlers and busybodies." Timothy is charged to "follow after love, patience, meekness," and is reminded that "the Lord’s servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing, in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves." Titus again is told that a bishop must be "not self-willed, not soon angry," "no brawler, no striker," that the aged women must not be "slanderers," that all men are to be put in mind "to speak evil of no man, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all meekness toward all men." There is no need to assume that that age, or that those Churches, had any special need of warnings of this kind. All ages and all Churches need them. To keep one’s tongue and one's temper in due order is to all of us one of the most constant and necessary duties of the Christian life; and the neglect cannot fail to be disastrous to the reality and efficacy of our devotions. Those who have ill-will and strife in their hearts cannot unite to much purpose in common thanksgiving and prayer. And just as the men have to take care that their attitude of body and mind is such as befits the dignity of public worship, in like manner the women also have to take care that their presence in the congregation does not appear incongruous. They must come in seemly attire and with seemly behavior. Everything which might divert attention from the service to themselves must be avoided. Modesty and simplicity must at all times be the characteristics of a Christian woman’s dress and bearing; but at no time is this more necessary than in the public services of the Church. Excessive adornment, out of place at all times, is grievously offensive there. It gives a flat contradiction to the profession of humility which is involved in taking part in common worship, and to that natural sobriety which is a woman’s fairest ornament and best protection. Both reverence and self-reverence are injured by it. Moreover, it may easily be a cause of offence to others, by provoking jealousy or admiration of the creature, where all ought to be absorbed in the worship of the Creator. Here again St. Paul is putting his finger upon dangers and evils which are not peculiar to any age or any Church. He had spoken of the same thing years before, to the women of Corinth, and St. Peter utters similar warnings to Christian women throughout all time. Clement of Alexandria abounds in protests against the extravagance in dress so common in his own day. In one place he says; "Apelles the painter, seeing one of his pupils painting a figure thickly with gold color to represent Helen, said to him; ‘My lad, you were unable to paint her beautiful, and so you have made her rich.’ Such Helens are the ladies of the present day; not really beautiful, but richly got up. To these the Spirit prophesies by Zephaniah: And their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s anger." Tertullian is not less emphatic. He says that most Christian women dress like heathen, as if modesty required nothing more than stopping short of actual impurity. "What is the use," he asks, "of showing a decent and Christian simplicity in your face, while you load the rest of your body with the dangling absurdities of pomps and vanities?" Chrysostom also, in commenting on this very passage, asks the congregation at Antioch: "And what then is modest apparel? Such as covers them completely and decently, and not with superfluous ornaments; for the one is decent and the other is not. What? Do you approach God to pray with broidered hair and ornaments of gold? Are you come to a ball? to a marriage-feast? to a carnival? There such costly things might have been seasonable: here not one of them is wanted. You are come to pray, to ask pardon for your sins, to plead for your offences, beseeching the Lord, and hoping to render Him propitious to you