2 Timothy 1:16 The Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: A good man in these verses counts up what his friend had done for him, and then, to the best of his ability, he makes a payment. I. WHAT HAD OSESIPHORUS DONE FOR PAUL? 1. "When he was in Rome he sought me out very diligently." We cannot tell what it was that took Onesiphorus to Rome. Perhaps he was a merchant, and went there to buy and sell. Perhaps he was a scholar, and went there to listen to its poets and orators, and to acquaint himself with its works of art. But whatever he went for, he resolved to see his friend. It is possible that he was not at once successful. But he grudged no time, he spared no effort. And at length he succeeded. He found Paul. Some, perhaps, had they been in the place of Onesiphorus, would have been equally well pleased not to have found Paul. They would have reported to the Church, at their return home, that they had made various efforts, and had failed, and that probably the apostle was either dead or had been removed to another city. Their consciences would have been quieted, and perhaps their friends satisfied. But Onesiphorus was not anxious merely to quiet his conscience. What had Onesiphorus done for Paul? He had gone to see him not once, but many times. "He oft refreshed me." Perseverance in sympathy or in active kindness is more difficult than the being once sympathising, or once kind. Yet, though difficult, how valuable it is I 2. There is one characteristic of Onesiphorus' visits to Paul which is well worth noticing. The apostle was refreshed by them. "He oft refreshed me." Visits to the sick and the poor may be very depressing. We may go to tell them our own troubles instead of listening to theirs, or we may go to chide and scold — to tell how that, if we had been in their places, debts would not have been contracted, nor sicknesses taken, or we may go and "talk good," and that by the hour, while the weary or the bereaved one listens in submission. And the intention in all this may have been very kind. We went — for we felt it was our duty to go — and we did our best. But, alas! our visits healed no wound — they brought no sunshine. Yet how refreshing are the visits of some, and among them those of Onesiphorus. "He oft refreshed me." Do the words suggest to us any other visitant who comes in dark moments with "thoughts of peace and not of evil"? Is there not One who says, "Come unto Me, all ye that travail, and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." 3. Further, says the apostle, "he was not ashamed of my chain." If our friends are under reproach, our going to visit them, or in any manner permitting their names to be associated with our own, is a proof of our constancy. Most men are willing enough to worship the rising sun. If we hear of any one, with whom we have a casual acquaintance, becoming suddenly distinguished by a literary production, or a work of art, or an act of heroism, we are very swift to put forth our claims to recognition or companionship. But if a friend become poor, how prone we are to "cut" him, or, if he be dishonoured, to deny him. Onesiphorus despised the shame. 4. And be it observed that what was now done at Rome had been done elsewhere. For, says the apostle, "In how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well." Perhaps at Ephesus the apostle had slept under his roof, had eaten, and that oft, at his table, had been helped by his purse, his time, his money. And now he shows that he had not become wearied in well-doing. And so he illustrated Solomon's proverb, "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." II. And now we will look at THE PAYMENT THE APOSTLE RENDERED. "The Lord," says he, "give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus." May children, and wife, and servants — all who dwell within the house or cluster round it — share the Divine bounty. May mercy engirdle its walls and canopy its reel May it fall each night upon them that dwell therein as the soft dew. May it rise on them each morning as the blessed sun. In each breast may it settle like a gentle bird; in each car may it ring like the chime of church bells. May mercy take the ham] of each and guide him, and watch over the plans of each and prosper him, and light up the prospects of each and cheer him. And, at last, may mercy make the pillow of caeca soft and easy, and enable each to close his eyes in the conviction that all beyond is well; that the strange land to which he is going is still a land of mercy, and that in it there is a welcome waiting from Him who is the "Father of mercies and the God of all consolation." But a particular period is named to which the apostle's prayers pointed. "The Lord grant that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." How blessed will it be to find mercy of the Lord in that day, and to find it as the kindly recompense for deeds done in days gone by. Who would have thought that there was any connection between those visits paid by Onesiphorus to a lonely man in irons in a gloomy prison, in a gloomy street, in the capital of the Caesars, and the transactions of that period when the throne should be set and the books opened? What thread of connection is there between these? Only this: that seed bears its appropriate crop, that certain con. sequences follow certain antecedents to the end of time — yes, and after time! (J. F. Serjeant, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: |
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