And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Ver. 15. And let the peace of God rule] βραβευετω, it certaminis moderator: let it rule after the manner of a moderator or an umpire. Let it oversee and overrule in all your personal discords. Or (as others sense it) let it carry away the prize, or distribute the garlands.
And be ye thankful] sc. To those that are courteous and beneficial to you. 2 Ingratum dixeris, omnia dixeris. Lycurgus would make no law against unthankfulness, because he could not think there could be any such evil committed. If there be any sin in the world against the Holy Ghost, said Queen Elizabeth in a letter to Henry IV of France, it is ingratitude. This saith one, is a monster in nature, a solecism in good manners, a paradox in divinity, a parching wind to dam up the fountain of divine and human favours. (Camden.) Ventus urens et exsiccans.
a Arbor honoretur cuius nos umbra tuetur.