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Still our apostle proceeds in farther direction and advice to Timothy, both as to his preaching and his practice, both as to his doctrine and conversation.
1. As to his preaching, he requires it to be done with due authority: These things command and teach, that is, these things teach commandingly, and with a necessary authority; the ministers of God speak from God, therefore may command from God.
2. As to his conversation, he exhorts him to exercise such a becoming gravity in his deportment, that, though he was very young, none might despise him or his function because of his youth: where piety and modesty meet in young ministers, it will preserve their youth from contempt; and where levity and vanity are found, it will expose not only youth, but gray hairs also, to contempt and scorn.
3. He directs them to be not only a precedent to all ministers, but a pattern to all believers: Be thou an example of the believers, and that,
1. In word, or speech; look that thy discourse be wise and instructive, not idle and impertinent, much less frothy and profane, but let something for edification always drop from thy lips.
2. In conversation, look that thy gravity be beyond thy years, make up in thy deportment what is wanting in thy age observe a just equality, neither too amusing nor too prostrate, behave not thyself neither above nor below thyself.
3. In charity, show benevolence and exercise beneficence towards all mankind, according to thy ability and opportunity: nothing gives a minister a greater advantage for the success of his labours than charitable distributions; this gives us a throne in the hearts of our people, when wisely managed.
4. In spirit, that is, in zeal and warmth of spirit, in fervency and affection, in an active and sprightly zeal for the glory of God and the good of souls, such a zeal as may render thee industrious in feeding, governing, and instructing thy flock.
5. In faith, that is, in fidelity to, and constancy in, the true religion, not enduring either to be huffed or wheedled out of the truth; for it is a sacred depositum, an holy treasure, which we must transmit to our posterity, as our forefathers did to us with their precious blood.
6. In purity, in chastity and cleanliness, abstaining from sensual lusts, from wantonness and worldly-mindedness; choose spiritual delights now, for they are the entertainment which we must live upon to eternal ages.
By all this we see how much it is in a minister's own power to procure a due esteem to himself, at least to prevent his own contempt, since an holy and exemplary deportment, faithful and constant labours, never fail to do that in some measure: but if we fail here, what other methods soever we use, we shall find God making good his threatening, 1Sa_2:30, that they which despise him shall be lightly esteemed; nor will any titles, dignities, or pre- eminences above others, secure the guilty from the efficacy of this curse, which will cleave to their persons, yea, to their memories, like a girdle to their loins.