II. That prayer for ministers should have special reference to the success of the Gospel.—1. The Gospel is Divine. “The word of the Lord” (ver. 1). The Gospel is a message to man, but it is more than a human message. It is the voice of God speaking to man through man. If it had been simply of human origin, it would have been forgotten and superseded by the changing theories ever teeming from the fertile brain of man. Every human institution is liable to be supplanted by another. There is nothing permanent in philosophy, government, or morals that is not based on eternal truth. The Gospel is abiding, because it rests on unchanging truth. It is the “word of the Lord.”

2. The spread of the Gospel is beset with difficulties.—“That the word of the Lord may have free course” (ver. 1). The pioneers of the Gospel in Thessalonica had to contend with the malignant hatred of the unbelieving Jews, with the seductive theories of the Grecian philosophy, and with the jealous opposition of the Roman power. All hindrances to the Gospel have a common root in the depravity of the human heart—hence the difficulties occasioned by the inconsistencies of half-hearted professors, the paralysing influence of scepticism, and the violence of external persecution. The chief difficulty is spiritual, and the weapon to contend against it must be spiritual—the weapon of all-prayer. Savonarola once said, “If there be no enemy, no fight; if no fight, no victory; if no victory, no crown.” We are to pray that the Gospel “may have free course”—may run, not simply creep, or loiter haltingly on the way, but speed along as a swift-footed messenger. “Take courage from thy cause: thou fightest for thy God, and against His enemy. Is thy enemy too potent? fear not. Art thou besieged? faint not. Art thou routed? fly not. Call aid, and thou shalt be strengthened; petition, and thou shalt be relieved; pray, and thou shalt be recruited.”

3. The glory of the Gospel is to change men’s hearts and ennoble men’s lives.—“And be glorified, even as it is with you” (ver. 1). You Thessalonians, notwithstanding your imperfect views and defective conduct, are samples of what the Gospel can do in changing the heart and giving a lofty purpose to the life. Pray that its triumph may be more complete in you, and that its uplifting influence may be realised by others. “That which Plato was unable to effect,” says Pascal, “even in the case of a few select and learned persons, a secret power, by the help only of a few words, is now wrought upon thousands of uneducated men.”

III. That prayer for ministers should be offered that their lives may be preserved from the violence of cruel and unbelieving enemies.—“And that ye may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith” (ver. 2). Not all have faith, even among those who profess to have it, and it is certainly true of all those who scout and reject the Gospel. The unbelieving are perverse and wicked, and it is from this class that the minister is met by the most unreasonable and malicious opposition. Perhaps the most dangerous foes with which a minister has to contend are those who make some profession of religion, but in heart and practice deny it. “Men will write for religion, fight for it, die for it—anything but live for it.” The minister, girded with the prayers of his people, is screened from the plots and attacks of the wicked.

Lessons.—1. The success of the Gospel is a signal demonstration of its Divine authorship. 2. Ministers of the Gospel have need of sympathy and help in their work. 3. The grandest spiritual results are brought about by prayer.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Ver. 1. The Ministerial Request.

I. The request presented.—1. That the power of religion may be eminently experienced in our own souls. 2. That we may be preserved from the official dangers to which we are exposed. 3. That we may be able ministers of the New Testament. 4. That prudence and fidelity may distinguish our labours.

II. The grounds on which it rests.—1. It rests on the mutual connection which subsists between ministers and people. 2. On the law of love. 3. On its advantage to yourselves. 4. On the prevalency of fervent prayer. 5. On its connection with the salvation of souls.—Sketches.

Ver. 2. Unbelief—