2 Timothy 1:6 Why I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands. First, reading either the Scriptures or other holy writings. This being done in a corner will refresh the spirit. It is like food to the fainting passenger. Secondly, meditation. He that sits long by the fire shall have his body to grow hot, and his cold spirits to become active, nimble. Let this be done thoroughly, and it will make grace to stretch itself beyond its ordinary wont, and the Christian to be rapt out of himself. Thirdly, prayer. Who ever in his secret chamber went to God by earnest prayer but he was ravished in mind, and in the strength of that action spent all that day without weariness? God giveth the greatest gifts in secret; and, like man, revealeth Himself apart. Yea, private prayer doth both stir up and increase grace mightily; and as secret meals make a fat body, so doth that a well-liking mind. Fourthly, observation, and that of the daily acts of God's providence. Fifthly, examples: not the worst, but the most excellent. Set before thine eyes the cloud of witnesses, that have far outstripped thee. Think what a shame it is for thee to come so far behind them. Will not a comely suite make some leap into the fashion? Sixthly, resolution; which must consist in propounding to ourselves a higher pitch of perfection. He that would shoot or leap further than before will cast his eye and aim beyond the mark. But if all these will not stir up this fire, then consider what a loss it is to be a dwarf and bankrupt in this grace. How God may forsake us, an evil spirit possess us, and Satan seek about to apprehend us, as the Philistines did Samson; so shall we pluck up our spirits, stir up our strength, rise out of this lethargy, and fly for our lives. (J. Barlow, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. |
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