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THE CONVENTION READER

saints," or holy persons, the Christians at Colosse were required to put on and manifest in their whole conduct, a tender compassionate, kind, lovely, unambitious, meek and patient spirit, bearing with each other, and forgiving one another; if any quarrel or dispute of if a cause of complaint arose among them, after the example of Christ's love to them. Thus they must avoid all occassions of irritating or provoking each other. [[bold]] Forgiving one another. [[/bold]] If ye recieve offence, be instantly ready to forgive on the first acknowledgment of the fault. [[bold]] Even as Christ forgave you. [[/bold]] Who required no satisfaction and sought nothing in you, but the broken contrite heart, and freely forgave you as soon as you returned to Him. No man should, for one moment, harbor ill will in his heart against any; but the offended party is not called actually to forgive till the offender, with sorrow, acknowledge his fault. He should be ready to forgive, and while he is so, he can neither feel hatred nor malice toward the offender; but as Christ does not forgive us till with penitent hearts we return to Him; acknowledging our offences or those who have trespassed against their neighbor. Forgive, says the apostle as Christ forgave you. Show the same disposition and the same readiness to forgive you offending brethren, as Christ showed toward you.

(14) [[bold]] And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. [[/bold]] Upon all, over all, as the other garment envelopes all the clothing so let charity or love invest and encompass all the rest. Let this be the upper garment, the surtout that invests the whole man. From love they derive all their feelings, and all their power and promptness to action. [[bold]] Which is the bond of perfectness. [[/bold]] Love to God and man is not only to cover all, but also to unite and consolidate the while. It is represented here as a girdle, by which all the rest of the clothing is [[bold]] bound [[/bold]] close about the body. To love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, an ones's neighbor as one's self, is the perfection which the new covenant requires and which the grace and spirit of Christ work in every sincerely obedient, humble believer; and that very love, which is the fulfilling of the law and the perfection itself which the gospel requires is also [[bold]] the bond [[/bold]] of that perfection. It is by love to God and man that love is to be preserved. Love begets love; and the more a man loves god and his neighbor, the more he is enabled to do so.

(15) [[bold]] And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. [[/bold]] Let the peace of Christ judge, decide, and govern in your hearts, as the judge does in the Olympic contest. No heart is right with God where the peace of Christ does not rule; and the continual prevalence of the peace of Christ is the decisive proof that the heart is right with God. When a man loses his peace, it is an awful proof that he has lost something else; that he has given way to evil and grieved the spirit of God. While peace rules, all is safe. [[bold]] In one body. [[/bold]] You cannot have peace with God, in yourselves, nor among each other, unless ye continue in [[bold]] unity; [[/bold]] and as [[bold]] one body, [[/bold]] continue in connection and dependence on Him who is your only head ; to this [[bold]] ye are called; [[/bold]]; it is a glorious state of salvation, and ye should be forever [[bold]] thankful [[/bold]] that ye are this privileged.

(16) [[bold]] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. [[/bold]] While it might appear to the reader that the apostle meant that the Colossian Christians should be well instructed in the doctrines of Christ - One might not be amiss to say, let the whole of the sacred scriptures be meant which was all from Him, and the Light of the World, and the personal Words of God; and in some way or other, all related to Him. It was very important indeed that these Colossians should be diligent and constant, steady and meditative; that it should be frequently preached, explained and enforced among them; that they should store their memories and understandings with the instructions of scripture that tit might thus abundantly dwell with them and that so their judgements might be formed upon it; their hearts cast into the mold of it; and their consciences directed by it; and that [[bold]] all wisdom [[/bold]] comprising it should be well understood. Thus the doctrine of God would dwell richly in them. There appears to be here a reference to the Shechinah, or symbol of the Divine presence, which dwelt in the tabernacle and first temple; and it was a common opinion among the Jews that where the Law is there the Shechinah is present with it, nor is this a vain supposition; Wherever

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THE CONVENTION TEACHER

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God's Word is seriously read, heard or preached, there is God Himself and in that church or religious society when the truth of God is preached or proclaimed and conscientiously believed, there is the constant dwelling of God. A clever rendering of the parts of this verse given would have us read it thus: Let the doctrine of Christ dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing each other in all wisdom, singing with grace in your hearts unto the Lord in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. This follows the original and clarifies the verse. The Colossians must practice the Word of God to do effective work. The singing here is different from what is commonly used in most Christian congregations; a congener of collections unmeaning, associated to bundles of nonsensical, and often ridiculous repetitions, which at once both deprave and disgrace the church of Christ. [[bold]]Melody,[[/bold]] which is allowed to be the most proper for devotional music, is now sacrificed to an exuberant [[bold]]harmony,[[/bold]] which requires not only many different kinds of voices but different musical instruments to support it, and by these preposterous means the simplicity of the Christian worship is destroyed.

(17) [[bold]]And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Whatsoever ye do in word or deed.[[/bold]] Let your words be right, and your action upright. [[bold]]Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.[[/bold]] Begin with Him and end with Him; invoke his name and pray for His directions and support, in all that ye do; and thus every work will be crowned with all requisite success. Doing anything in the name of God, and referring anything to His glory, is rational as it is pious. Could it ever be supposed that any person would begin a bad work in God's name? However it is so. No people in the universe adhere to the letter of this advice more than the Mohammedans, for they never undertake a work, eat meat, nor write a book without prefacing all with "In the name of the Most Merciful and Compassionate God." Not only books of devotion, but books on all arts and sciences, books of tales and romances, books of poetry, and those in the elements of reading begin thus, and one of the most abominable productions that every came from the pen of man, and is precisely the same among the Mohammedans, as the infamous work of Nicholas, charm and sermonic but among so-called Christians. [[bold]]Giving thanks to God.[[/bold]] Even praises as well as prayers must ascend to God through the Mediator.

III. THE CHRISTIAN'S ETERNAL LIFE. (VV. 11-12.) (11) [[bold]]And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The record[[/bold]], or testimony "of God," concerning which the apostle has repeatedly spoken, might be summed up in a few words, as to its outline, [[bold]]God has given[[/bold]] of His free mercy and bounty to us. Men, sinners, rebels, and enemies, even to all of a fallen race, who are willing to accept of the inestimable gift in His appointed way; [[bold]]eternal life,[[/bold]] everlasting felicity, with everything pertaining to it and their life in His Son, as God manifested in the flesh, and in His Mediatorial offices as having all fulness in Him in consequence of His atoning sacrifice for the pardon, sanctification, and salvation of every believer.

(12) [[bold]]He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. He that hath the Son,[[/bold]] he that, but true faith, receives Christ, as the Son of God and as his Prophet, High Priest, and King; His wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, "Who humbly depends on Him for all true purposes, and is thus interested in Him and vitally united to Him, and continually seeks and desires the blessings of Salvation from Him, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, [[bold]]hath life,[[/bold]] is spiritually alive, has the promise of eternal life ratified by Him, which shall certainly be completed in His everlasting felicity. [[bold]]And he hath not the Son of God hath not life.[[/bold]] He who denies Him to be truly and properly the Son of God and refused to trust and honor Him as such, who disdains to submit to His teachings as a prophet and to rely on His atonement and intercession as His High Priest, or to obey Him as King, [[bold]]hath not life[[/bold]]; he is dead in sin, under condemnation and the wrath of God abideth in Him, nor will any morality, learning, philosophy, forms of religion, doctrinal notions, or enthusiastical confidences. We cannot truly receive Christ in one character, whilst we reject Him in another. He will not protect, not will He accept service as a King for those who will not be taught by Him or who despise or neglect His precious redemption and all prevailing intercession; and He will serve as a High Priest for those "who will not have Him to rule over them."