There was still an amount of important matter to be considered as the apostle drew

near to the conclusion of his life's work.  The next to be mentioned by name is

Alexander, who did Paul much evil. But let us leave the apostle with his beloved friend

Luke to solace and cheer, eagerly expecting the coming of his son Timothy and of Mark,

with Tychicus already on his way to Ephesus to fill the breach.

The sands of time are sinking, but the last word has not yet been said, let us therefore

devote one more article at least to these precious moments, before we say "Hail and

farewell" to one of the noblest servants that ever followed Christ.

It is fitting that the dispensation which opened so far as its inspired literature is

concerned, with the words "Blessed be God" (Eph. 1: 3), should end with the doxology

with which preceding study closed (II Tim. 4: 18).

This epistle, however, is not the only one where the heart of the apostle as it were

overflows and compels him to add to his "last" word. The reader will remember that in

Philippians the apostle said "finally" twice, and that in Romans, there is a doxology in

chapters 1: 25, 9: 5, 11: 36, and that he appears to come to a conclusion twice before

actually doing so (Rom. 15: 33, 16: 20 and 27). Ephesians pronounces a doxology in

the middle of the epistle (3: 21), and Philippians ends in much the same way as does

II Timothy, for after the doxology of Phil. 4: 20, the apostle sends his salutations and

benedictions to every saint in Christ Jesus (4: 21-22). Paul was a man of thanksgiving,

every epistle except that to the Galatians contain the words eucharisteo, echo charin,

eucharistos, eucharistia or charis, 45 references in all. Paul had "endured to the end",

and a thankful spirit was no small contribution to his success. Even on the lower plane of

life, it is true that:

Not only was Paul a man who gave thanks on every possible occasion, he was a man

who loved those who had been given into his charge, so that they were in his mind and

heart, night and day. For some of us it would have been impossible to step down from

the heights of II Tim. 4: 18, to think of sending greetings to a few believers, but it is the

very essence of the apostle's conception of grace that he could and did mingle the

sublime with the homely. It would, we believe, have been a cause of great grief to him,

had he forgotten the simple salutation to "Prisca and Aquila". They had come into his

life when he first set foot in Corinth (Acts 18: 2) and their home had provided not only

a shelter for the apostle himself, but an opportunity to earn a meager livelihood "with his

own hands", and so maintain that independence which he perceived was essential in his