CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
1 Timothy 6:17. Nor trust in uncertain riches.—R.V. “nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches.” Perhaps they would say riches were not uncertain. But the moralists do not agree with the “Northern Farmer.” Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.—On God’s giving see St. James’s words (1 Timothy 1:5.) But this marks the end of that giving for enjoyment.
1 Timothy 6:19. Laying up in store for themselves.—Lit. “Treasuring away for themselves.” The similarity of this verse to Tob. 4:9 is too close to allow us to say it was not in St. Paul’s thoughts. A good foundation against the time to come.—Not simply against the decrepitude of old age, for which in some respects “money is a defence,” but against that day when money and its owners shall fail (Luke 16:9).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 1 Timothy 6:17-19
The True Use of Riches—
I. Is not to trust in them but in God the Giver of all things (1 Timothy 6:17).—Riches are given for use, not for storage. The moment we begin to selfishly store them, we begin to trust in them. Money is a circulating medium, and its true value is in its wise and judicious circulation. Our use of money is part of our education in life, and needs as much care and thought as the business that produces it. God only, and not wealth, maintains the world: riches not properly used only make people proud and lazy. The Greeks spoke of Plutus, the god of riches, as a fickle divinity, representing him as blind, to intimate that he distributes his favours indiscriminately; as lame, to denote the slowness with which he approaches; and winged, to imply the velocity with which he flies away. Wealth is but one of God’s gifts: to trust in it is to trust in the creature rather than the Creator. To trust in riches is committing ourselves to a great uncertainty.
II. To distribute them with a liberal and cheerful benevolence (1 Timothy 6:18).—To lavish wealth on personal luxuries is to abuse it and ourselves. On the statue of Joseph Brotherton is the inscription, “A man’s riches consist not in the amount of his wealth, but in the fewness of his wants.” Zeno, the philosopher, remonstrating with certain of his pupils for their extravagance, they excused themselves by saying that they were rich enough to indulge in extravagance. “Would you,” said he, “excuse a cook who should over-salt his meat because he had a superabundance of salt?” Wealth is kept sweet and sound by liberal distribution. The rich man is a steward of God’s gifts, and will have to give an account of the use he has made of his wealth. The noblest use of money is to do good to others, and to help to extend the kingdom of Christ. It is better to be rich in good works than in good investments.
III. Will be rewarded with eternal felicity (1 Timothy 6:19).—To spend life in getting and keeping money is to be poor indeed; to spend it in a liberal use of our means in the cause of God is to be enriched with eternal life—which is life indeed. There is truth and instruction in the inscription on an Italian tombstone, “What I gave away I saved; what I spent I used; what I kept I lost.” Giving to the Lord, says one, is but transporting our goods to a higher floor. The Princess Eugenie, sister to the King of Sweden, once sold her diamonds to raise funds to complete a hospital. When the building was completed, she visited the hospital, and standing beside a suffering inmate who thanked her with tears of gratitude, she exclaimed, “Ah, now I see my diamonds again!”
Lessons.—
1. Riches are a great responsibility.
2. A liberal hand creates many a cheerful heart.
3. Earthly wealth may be transformed into heavenly riches.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Timothy 6:17. Human Affections raised, not destroyed, by the Gospel.
I. The same affections which cling to the lowly earth are those which must struggle, under celestial guidance, to find their rest in God.
II. The glory of the eternal God is unveiled in all its majesty as the object which is to fix the affections of man.
III. In the treasuries of heaven are laid up all that you truly covet, even while you labour after their mockeries on earth.
IV. Every attribute of the eager candidate for earthly happiness and security is but the poor semblance of the very state the Christian already possesses or anticipates.—A. Butler.
1 Timothy 6:18-19. Good Works.
I. Good works are not grounds of acceptance.—
1. The true and only ground of a sinner’s reconciliation with God is the atonement of Christ and God’s free grace.
2. Good works are not preparations for our acceptance.
II. Good works are measures of reward.—
1. God’s own glory is promoted by them.
2. They are disciplinary, and constitute the most effective means of religious improvement.
3. They comprehend all the acts by which misery can be redressed, happiness increased, and souls saved.—Olin.