I Thessalonians - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 1222

cerning you, mentioning you contin- ually in our prayers; remembering your faithful work, your loving labour, and your hopeful endurance in the path of our Lord jesus Christ, before our God and Father; recognising, dear friends, your selection by God. Because our gospel came not as mere talk among you, but with power and with a holy spirit, and agrand result; as you know by means of yourselves what we were among you. And you became imitators of us, and of the Lord, accepting the message in great suffering, with the delight of a holy spirit; so that you were models to a. 1 the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you the message of the Lord has been echoed abroad, not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, but in all parts your faith towards God has extended, so that we had no need to speak anything; because those about us announced what an entrance we made in to you, and how you turned from your idols to God, to serve a living and true God; and to await His Son from the heavens, Whom He raised from the dead-—-·jesus, our Deliverer from the terror of the future. Wbzir 3r¤nkA_3crzpi¤nc2 nf ily: Guspzl. For you yourselves. brethren, know

that our assault upon you was not ineffectual. But although previously tortured and insulted in Philippi, as you know, we were hold enough in our God to speak to your in great agony, the Good News of God. For our exhortation is not from impos- ture, neither with corruption, nor with deceit; but as we have been proved under God to be believers in the Good News, so we speak : not as pleasing men, but, on the contrary, God, Who proves our hearts. For we were never ilatterers in speech, as you are aware; nor hypocritical seekers of wealth—God is witness—nor yet seeking honour from men, neither from you, nor from others, although able to assert our dignity as apostles of Christ. On the contrary, we were as 7 gentle when among you as a mother fondling her own child. We loved 8 you so much, that we thought good not only to give you the Good News of God, but also our own lives; because you became so dear to us. For you may remember, brethren, our labour and toil; we worked night and day, so as not to be any burden to you, when we preached the gospel of God among you. You and God are witnesses how

purely, righteously, and blamelessly, we were with you believers; for you are aware that even as a father his own children, so we encouraged and cheered and entreated each one of you, to conduct yourselves worthy of the God Who called you into His glorious kingdom. And for this especially we thank

God continually, that having received a reason for listening to us concerning God, you accepted it; not asa human reason, but as it truly is, a Divine reason, and which operates upon the believers among you. For you, brethren, have become exactly like the believers in the assemblies of God in Christ jesus who are in judea, since you suder the same under your own countrymen as they from the judeans: who wearied to death the Lord jesus and the prophets; and drove us out; and are displeasing to God, as well as contrary to all men; prohibiting us to tell to the heathen that they could be saved-—everywhere 1222 I0 II I2 x6