Walk circumspectly, or strictly.
The apostle goes on to urge a circumspect, wise, and earnest life, closely conformed in all things to the will of God, fashioned according to that idea of wisdom which is set forth in the proverb, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Nothing is of more value than fixed principles for guiding our life. One settled conviction may be of inestimable value; e.g. the conviction that nothing can come to any good in the end which is against the will of God. Whenever greatness is achieved in any sphere of life it is through the force of well-kept rules. Every great author, artist, statesman, has owed his success to certain principles of action to which he has rigidly adhered. It has been remarked that the puritan age was an age of convictions; ours is an age of opinions. But what we need is convictions, and pre-eminently the conviction that the only true, safe, and blessed rule of life is to follow implicitly the will of God. We find here rules for a careful Christian life,
I. APART.
1. Walk circumspectly, or strictly, not carelessly.
2. Walk wisely, taking pains to ascertain that you so walk as to gain the great end.
3. Redeem the time, or buy back the opportunity (see Exposition).
4. Understand; i.e. lay to heart and follow the will of Christ.
5. Avoid intoxication and all wild excitement and unhallowed pleasure.
6. Be filled with the Spirit, and the holy, blessed emotions which he genders.
II. IN CHRISTIAN SOCIETY.
1. Cultivate Christian song, and make melody in your heart to the Lord.
2. Let thanksgiving have a special place in your exercises.
3. Submit yourselves one to another in the fear of the Lord.
As Christians have not only duties, but also joys, belonging to their individual life, so they have both duties and joys belonging to their social life. What is most characteristic of the social duties of Christians is mutual submission; consideration of one another—of what is due by one to another, and still more of the loving service which one may be able to render to the other. What is most characteristic of their social joys is the element of thankfulness in which they flourish; they should ever live as those, who in Christ have received mercies beyond all calculation; and they should make abundant use of song to give expression to such feelings and to deepen them in so doing. This joyous element goes a long way to give brightness to the social life of Christians; they will not miss the more carnal delights on which worldly men set so much store, but will feel that God puts joy in their hearts, more than in the time that their corn and wine increased.