23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ BE with you. 24 My love' BE with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. (See Eph. vi. 24. note 2.) 23 May the favour and assistance of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you who love him. 24 My love be with you all who love Christ Jesus. And in testimony of my sincerity in this, and in all the things I have written, I say Amen. Wherefore, since the apostle denounced this curse against the man, who, while he professed subjection to Christ, was secretly alienated from him in his heart, it is as if he had said, Though such a person's wickedness cannot be discovered and punished by the church, yet the Lord at his coming will find it out, and punish him with eternal perdition. This terrible curse the apostle wrote in his epistle to the Corinthians, because many of the faction, but especially their leader, had shewn great alienation of mind from Christ. And he wrote it with his own hand, to shew how serious he was in the denunciation. Estius says, from this example, and from the Anathemas pronounced Gal. i. 8, 9, arose the practice of the ancient general councils, of adding to their decisions, or definitions of doctrines, Anathemas against them who denied these doctrines. See Buxtorff's Loxie. Chaldaicum, p. 827. 1248. Ver. 24. My love be with you all. 1-Le Clerc suspects that Mor is a mistake of the transcriber for OT, the abbreviation of EOY. And B. Pearce supposes he is right in that conjecture, because in the conclusion of the second epistle it is, a Tυ : Ta 'the love of God be with you.' But alterations in the sacred text, without the authority of ancient MSS, are never to be admitted. Be sides, there is a great propriety and beauty in this manner of ending an epistle, in which the apostle had so sharply reproved the Corinthians. By assuring them of his love, he convinced them that all the severe things he had written proceeded from his anxiety for their eternal welfare, and thereby removed the prejudices which his reproofs might otherwise have raised in their minds.-Le Clerc's conjecture, mentioned above, that the transcribers of the New Testament have in this passage, by mistake, written MOY for EOY, is one of the many instances which might be produced, of conjec. tural emendations of the sacred text, proposed by bold critics, which, instead of improving, really mar the sense and beauty of the passages into which they would have them introduced. PREFACE. II. CORINTHIANS. SECT. I.—Of St. Paul's Design in writing his Second Epistle to the Corinthians. WHEN the apostle sent his first letter to the church at Corinth, he resolved to remain in Ephesus till the following Pentecost, (1 Cor. xvi. 8.), that Titus, who carried his letter, might have time to return, and bring him an account of the manner in which it was received by the Corinthians. But the riot of Demetrius happening soon after it was sent away, the apostle found it necessary to avoid the fury of the rioters and of the idolatrous rabble, who were all greatly enraged against him, for having turned so many of the inhabitants of Asia from the established idolatry. Wherefore, leaving Ephesus, he went to Troas, a noted seaport town to the north of Ephesus, where travellers, coming from Europe into Asia, commonly landed. Here he proposed to employ himself in preaching the gospel of Christ, (2 Cor. ii. 12.), till Titus should arrive from Corinth. But Titus not coming at the time appointed, St. Paul began to fear that the Corinthians had used him ill, and had disregarded the letter which he delivered to them. These fears so distressed the apostle, that notwithstanding his preaching at Troas was attended with uncommon success, he left that city and went forward to Macedonia, expecting to find Titus. But in this expectation he was disappointed. Titus was not in Macedonia when the apostle arrived. He therefore resolved to wait in that country, till Titus should come and inform him how the Corinthians stood affected towards their spiritual father. It seems he judged it imprudent to visit them till he knew their state. In Macedonia St. Paul had many conflicts with the idolaters, (2 Cor. vii. 5.), who were greatly enraged against him, as all the other idolaters were, for opposing both the objects and the rites of their worship. These fightings, joined with his fears for Titus, and his uncertainty concerning the disposition of the Corinthians, exceedingly distressed the apostle at this time. But his uneasiness was at length happily removed by the arrival of Titus, and by the agreeable accounts which he gave him of the obedience of the greatest part of the Corinthians, in excommunicating the incestuous person; at which solemn action Titus may have been present. Much encouraged therefore by the good news, the apostle wrote to the Cointhian church this second letter, to confirm the sincere part in their attachment to him, and to separate the rest from the false teacher who had led them so far astray. To understand this epistle rightly, the reader must recollect, that as Titus spent some time in Corinth after delivering the apostle's first letter, he had an opportunity to make himself acquainted, not only with the state of the sincere part of the church, but with the temper and behaviour of the faction. Wherefore, when he gave the apostle an account of the good disposition of the church, he no doubt at the same time informed him concerning the faction, that some of them still continued in their opposition to him, and in their attachment to the false teacher; and that that impostor was going on in his evil practices. Farther, Titus, by conversing with the faction, having learned the arguments and objections by which their leaders endeavoured to lessen the apostle's authority, together with the scoffing speeches which they used to bring him into contempt, we may believe that he rehearsed all these matters to him. Being thus made acquainted with the state of the Corinthian church, St. Paul judged it fit to write to them this second letter. And that it might have the greater weight, he sent it to them by Titus, the bearer of his former epistle, 2 Cor. viii. 17, 18.-In this second letter, the apostle artfully introduced the arguments, objections, and scoffing speeches, by which the faction were endeavouring to bring him into contempt; and not only confuted them by the most solid reasoning, but even turned them against the false teacher himself, and against the faction, in such a manner as to render them ridiculous. In short, by the many delicate but pointed ironies with which this epistle abounds, the apostle covered his adversaries with shame, and shewed the Corinthians that he excelled in a talent which the Greeks greatly admired.-But while St. Paul thus pointedly derided the faction and its leaders, he bestowed just commendations on the sincere part of the church, for their persevering in the doctrine he had taught them, and for their ready obedience to his orders concerning the incestuous person. And, to encourage them, he told them, that having boasted of them to Titus, he was glad to find his boasting well founded in every particular. The Corinthian church being composed of persons of such opposite characters, the apostle, in writing to them, was under the necessity of suiting his discourse to them, according to their different characters. And therefore, if we apply to the whole church of Corinth, the things in the two epistles which apparently were directed to the SECT. II. whole church, but which were intended only for a part of SECT. II. Of the Matters contained in the Epistles to the Corinthians ; and of their Usefulness to the Church in every Age. ST. PAUL'S intention, in his Epistles to the Corinthians, being to break the faction which the false teacher had formed in their church in opposition to him, and to confute the calumnies which that teacher and his adherents were industriously propagating for discrediting him as an apostle, many of the things contained in these epistles were necessarily personal to him and to the faction. Nevertheless, we are not on that account to think lightly of these writings, as fancying them of little use now to the church of Christ. The things in them which are most personal and particular, occasioned the apostle to write instructions and precepts, which are of the greatest use to the church in every age. For example, in answering the calumnies by which the faction endeavoured to discredit him as an apostle, he was led to mention facts which demonstrate him to have been an apostle, commissioned by Christ to direct the faith and practice of all the members of the church:-Such as his having wrought miracles for converting the Corinthians, and his having imparted to them spiritual gifts after they believed; his having preached the gospel to them without receiving any reward from them-not even the small reward of maintenance while he preached to them; his having endured innumerable hardships in the long journeys which he undertook for the sake of spreading the gospel, and heavy persecutions in every country from enemies and opposers; 1 Cor. iv. 11, 12.; 2 Cor. iv. 8. xi. 23.; his rapture into the third heaven; with a variety of other facts and circumstances respecting himself, which we should not have known, had it not been for the calumnies of the Corinthian faction, and of the Judaizing teachers, who infested the church at Corinth, and other churches, (see Pref. to Galat. Sect. 3.), but which, now that they are known, give us the fullest assurance of his apostleship, and add the greatest weight to his writings. Next, in reproving the faction for their misdeeds, the apostle hath explained the general principles of religion and morality, in such a manner, that they may be applied for regulating our conduct in cases of the greatest importance; and hath delivered rules and advices which, if followed, will have the happiest influence on our temper. For instance, when he rebuked the faction for joining the heathens in their 211 idolatrous feasts in the temples of their gods, he hath shewed us the obligation Christians are under, in all their actions, not to regard their own interest and pleasure only, but to consult the good of their brethren also; and that they are at no time by their example, even in things indifferent, to lead their weak and scrupulous brethren into sin.-In like manner, when he reproved the Corinthians for eating the Lord's supper in an improper manner, he gave such an account of that holy institution, as shews, not only its true nature and design, but the views also, and the dispositions, with which it ought to be performed.-Finally, the arguments by which the apostle excited the Corinthians to make the collection for the saints in Judea, who, at the time these epistles were written, were in great distress, and the rules by which he wished them to direct themselves in making these collections, are of great and perpetual use for animating the disciples of Christ to perform works of charity with liberality and cheerfulness. To the things above mentioned we may add, that the epistles to the Corinthians, though suited to their peculiar circumstances, may be read by the disciples of Christ in every age with the greatest profit, because they contain matters of importance not to be found anywhere else in scripture. Such as the long account given in the first epistle of the spiritual men, and of the nature, operation, and uses of their gifts, and of the way in which they exercised their gifts for the confirmation of the gospel, and the building of the church; whereby the rapid progress of the gospel in the first and following ages, and the growth of the Christian church to its present greatness, is shewn to be, not the effect of natural causes, but the work of the Spirit of God.-The proof of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, the great foundation of the faith and hope of Christians, is nowhere formally set forth in scripture, but in the xvth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, where many of the witnesses who saw Christ after his resurrection are appealed to by name, and the times and places of his appearing to them are particularly mentioned; and their veracity is established by the grievous sufferings, sometimes ending in death, which they sustained for witnessing the resurrection of Christ.In the same chapter, by the most logical reasoning, the resurrection of all the dead at the last day, is shewn to be necessarily connected with Christ's resurrection; so that if he hath been raised, they will be raised also.— There likewise the apostle hath given a circumstantial account of the resurrection of the righteous, and hath described the nature and properties of the body with which they are to rise; from which it appears, that by the reunion of their spirits with their glorious bodies, their happiness will be rendered complete and everlasting. These great discoveries made in the first epistle to the Corinthians, impressed the minds of the disciples of Christ so strongly in the early ages, that they resolutely suffered the bitterest deaths with a rapturous joy, rather than renounce their Master, and their hope of a glorious immortality.-And, to name no more instances, by the comparison which the apostle hath instituted, in the iiid chapter of the second epistle to the Corinthians, between the inspiration of the apostles the ministers of the gospel, and the inspiration of Moses the minister of the law, he hath shewn, that the inspiration of the apostles was far more perfect than the inspiration of Moses; so that, by this dis covery, the apostle hath admirably displayed the excellence of the gospel revelation, and raised its authority to the highest pitch. Before this section is concluded, it may be proper to observe, that from the epistles to the Corinthians, and from Paul's other epistles, we learn that he was the great object of the hatred of all the false teachers in the first age, but especially of the Judaizers. Nor is it any won der that they were enraged against him, and persecuted him with the bitterest calumnies: For it was this apostle chiefly who opposed them, in their unrighteous attempt of wreathing the yoke of the law of Moses about the neck of the Gentiles. He it was likewise who resisted the introduction of the dogmas of the heathen philosophy into the church, by teachers who, having nothing in view but worldly considerations, endeavoured to convert the Greeks at the expense of corrupting the religion of Christ. In fine, he it was, who openly and severely rebuked the false teachers and their disciples for the licentiousness of their manners. Yet he was not the only object of these men's malice. Barnabas also had a share of their hatred, (1 Cor. ix. 6.), probably because he had been active in procuring and publishing the decree of the council of Jerusalem, whereby the Gentile converts were freed from obeying the institutions of Moses. Or the place where the apostle wrote his second epistle to the Corinthians, there is little doubt. In the epistle itself, ii. 12. he tells us, that from Ephesus, where he was when he wrote his first epistle, he went to Troas, and then into Macedonia, to meet Titus, whose return he expected about that time: that while he abode in Macedonia, Titus arrived and brought him the good news of the submission of the Corinthians; and that, on hearing these tidings, he wrote his second letter to them, to encourage them to go on with the collection for the saints in Judea, that the whole might be finished before he came to Corinth, Cor. ix. 3, 4, 5. The apostle therefore was in Macedonia, in his way to Corinth to receive their collection, when he wrote his second epistle to the church in that city. The facts just now mentioned, which shew that the apostle's second epistle to the Corinthians was written in Macedonia, in his way from Ephesus to Corinth, after the riot of Demetrius, shew likewise that it was written but a few months after the first epistle. For, whether the first was written immediately before or immediately after the riot, there could be but a short interval between the two epistles; namely, the time of the apostle's abode in Ephesus after writing the first letter, and at Troas after leaving Ephesus, and the weeks which he spent in Macedonia before the arrival of Titus; all which, when joined, could not make above half a year at most. Since therefore the second epistle to the Corinthians was written so soon after the first, its date may be fixed to the summer of the year 57. For, as we have shewn in the preface, Sect. 5. the first epistle was written in the end of the year 56, or in the beginning of the year 57. It was observed in Sect. 1. of this Preface, that St. Paul's second epistle to the Corinthians was sent by Titus, who carried his former letter. This excellent person is often mentioned by the apostle, and was in such esteem with him, that he left him in Crete to regulate the affairs of the churches there. He seems to have been originally an idolatrous Gentile, whom Paul converted in his first apostolical journey, and brought with him to Antioch when he returned from that journey. For he took him up to Jerusalem when he went thither from Antioch to consult the apostles and elders and brethren there, concerning the circumcision of the converted Gentiles. Not long after this Paul undertook his second apostolical journey, for the purpose of confirming the churches he had formerly planted. On that occasion, Titus accompanied him in his progress till they came to Corinth; for he assisted him in preaching the gospel to the Corinthians. So the apostle himself informs us, 2 Cor. viii. 22. If any inquire concerning Titus, he is my partner and fellow-labourer in the gospel toward you.' Wherefore, when the apostle wrote this, having been in Corinth only once, if Titus was his partner and fellow-labourer in the gospel toward the Corinthians, it must have been at Paul's first coming to Corinth when he converted the Corinthians. These particulars shall be more fully explained in the Preface to Titus. But it was necessary to mention them here, because they shew the propriety of the apostle's sending Titus, rather than any of his other assistants, with his first letter to the Corinthians, some of whom had forsaken the apostle, and had attached themselves to a false teacher. Titus being such a person, St. Paul hoped he might have had some influence with the Corinthians to persuade them to return to their duty. Besides, a number of them having been either converted or confirmed by him, he had an interest in the welfare and reputation of their church. Wherefore, when he joined the apostle in Macedonia, although he had but just come from Corinth, he not only accepted of Paul's invitation to return with him to that city, but being desirous that the Corinthians should finish their collection for the saints, he, of his own accord, offered to go back immediately, to persuade them to do so without delay, that their collection might be ready when the apostle came. By Titus, therefore, St. Paul sent his second epistle to the Corinthians, who, we may believe, on receiving it, set about the collection in earnest, and finished it by the time the apostle arrived. CHAPTER I. View and Illustration of the Matters contained in this Chapter. AFTER giving the Corinthians his apostolical benediction, St. Paul began this chapter with returning thanks to God, who had comforted him in every affliction, that he might be able to comfort others with the consolation wherewith he himself had been comforted, ver. 3-7. By this thanksgiving the apostle insinuated, that one of the purposes of his writing the present letter, was to comfort the sincere part of the Corinthian church, and to relieve them from the sorrow occasioned to them by the rebukes in his former letter.-Next, to shew the care which God took of him as a faithful apostle of his Son, he gave the Corinthians an account of a great affliction which had befallen him in Asia, that is, in Ephesus and its neighbourhood, and of a great deliverance from an imminent danger of death, which God had wrought for him; namely, when he fought with wild beasts in Ephesus, as mentioned in his former epistle, chap. xv. 32. and had the sentence of death in himself, to teach him that he should not trust in himself, but in God, ver. 8, 9. When the apostle sent Timothy and Erastus from Ephesus into Macedonia, as mentioned Acts xix. 22. it is probable that he ordered them to go forward to Corinth, 1 Cor. xvi. 10., provided the accounts which they received in Macedonia gave them reason to think their presence in Corinth would be useful; and that he ordered them likewise to inform the Corinthians, that he was coming straightway from Ephesus to Corinth, to remedy the disorders which some of the family of Chloe told him had taken place among them. But after Timothy and Erastus departed, having more than ordinary success in converting the idolatrous Gentiles in the province of Asia, he put off his voyage to Corinth for some time, being determined to remain in Ephesus and its neighbourhood till the following Pentecost; after which he purposed to go through Macedonia, in his way to Corinth. This alteration of his intention the apostle notified to the Corinthians in his first epistle, chap. xvi. 5-8. But the faction having taken occasion therefrom to speak of him as a false, fickle, worldly-minded man, who in all his actions was guided by interested views, he judged it necessary, in this second letter, to vindicate himself from that calumny, by assuring the Corinthians that he always behaved with the greatest simplicity and sincerity,' ver. 12.—And by declaring that what he was about to write on that subject was the truth; namely, that when he sent them word by Timothy and Erastus of his intention to set out for Corinth immediately by sea, he really meant to do so, ver. 13. 16.-And that the alteration of his resolution did not proceed either from levity or falsehood, ver. 17.—as they might have known from the uniformity of the doctrine which he preached to them, ver. 18, 19, NEW TRANSLATION. CHAP. I.-1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy' Mr brother, to the church of God which is in Corinth, together with all the saints who are in all Achaia;2 2 Grace BE to you, and peace (see Rom. i. 7. note 4.) from God our Father, and FROM the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 (Eurent, 1 Cor. x. 16. note 1.) Praised BE the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of tender mercies, and the God of all consolation. 4 Who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them who are in any affliction,' by the consolation wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 5 For as the sufferings for Christ abound in us, so also our consolation' aboundeth through Christ. 6 (Err J, 106.) Whether, therefore, we be afflicted, IT IS for your consolation and salvation, which is wrought in rou by enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer; or whether we be comforted, IT 18 for your consolation and salvation. 7 And our hope (ie, 307.) concerning you Is firm, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so also SHALL YE BE of the consolation. 8 (Tag) Wherefore, we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning our affliction which happened to us in Asia,' that we were exceedingly pressed above OUR strength, in so much that we despaired even of life. 20.-whereby, as well as by the earnest of the Spirit put into his heart, God had fully established his authority with the Corinthians. It was therefore absurd to impute either levity or falsehood to one who was thus publicly and plainly attested of God to be an apostle of Christ, by the spiritual gifts which he had conferred on his disciples, ver. 22, 23.-Lastly, he called God to witness, that hitherto he had delayed his journey to Corinth, expressly for the purpose of giving the faulty among them time to repent, ver. 23.—and that in so doing he had acted suitably to his character; because miraculous powers were bestowed on the apostles, not to enable them to lord it over the persons and goods of the disciples by means of their faith, but to make them helpers of their joy, persuading them, both by arguments and chastisements, to live agrecably to their Christian profession, ver. 24. COMMENTARY. CHAP. I.-1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, agreeably to the will of God, and Timothy, (see Thess. i. 1. note 1.), my fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to the church of God which is in Corinth, and to all who profess to believe in Christ, who are in all the province of Achaia; 2 Grace be to you, with peace temporal and eternal, from God our common Father, the Author of every blessing, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the Father dispenses his favours. 3 Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Eph. i. 3.; 1 Pet. i. 3.), the Author of tender mercies to sinners, and the God who bestows all consolation on the faithful disciples of his Son; 4 Who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them who are in any affliction, whether of body or mind, by explaining to them from our own experience, the consolation wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. What that consolation was, see in the note on ver. 5. 5 For as the sufferings for Christ and his gospel abound in us, so also our consolation under them aboundeth through the promises of Christ performed to us. 6 Whether, therefore, we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is accomplished by the influence of our example, animating you patiently to endure the same sufferings which we also patiently suffer; or whether we be comforted by God's delivering us from sufferings, or by his supporting us under them, it is designed for your consolation and salvation, by encouraging you to hope for the like support and deliverance. 7 And our hope concerning your consolation and salvation is firm, knowing, that as ye are partakers of our sufferings, so also shall ye be of the consolation which we derive from the discoveries and promises of the gospel, and from the assistance of Christ. 8 Wherefore, I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning the great affliction which befel me in Asia, namely, when I was constrained to fight with wild beasts at Ephesus, that I was exceedingly pressed down; that affliction being greater than I thought myself able to bear, in so much that I despaired even of life on that occasion. Ver. 1.-1. And Timothy.]-From this it is evident, that Timothy was with the apostle when the Second to the Corinthians was writ ten.-Timothy was a zealous preacher of the gospel, the apostle's constant companion, (see 1 Tim. Pref. sect. 1.), and one, of whose ability and integrity the Corinthians had received recent proofs during his late visit to them, 1 Cor. xvi. 10. His testimony, therefore, to the things written in this epistle, might have had weight, even with the faction, to convince them, that when the apostle sent them word by him and Erastus, that he intended to go directly from Ephesus to Corinth, (see Illustration), he was perfectly sincere, as he declares, ver. 13-16.; and that when he altered his resolution, and delayed his visit, it was on motives purely conscientious.-By allowing Timothy to join in his letter, the apostle did him the greatest honour, and highly advanced his credit with all the churches of Achaia. See 1 Thess. Pref. sect. 3. 2. Who are in all Achaia.]-Corinth being the metropolis of the province of Achaia, (see 1 Thess. i. 7. note), the brethren of Achaia, no doubt, had frequent intercourse with those in Corinth, and by that means had an opportunity of hearing this letter read in the Christian assemblies at Corinth. But as they had equal need with the Corinthians of the admonitions and advices contained in this letter, it was addressed to them likewise, that they might be enti tled to take copies of it, in order to read it in their public meetings for their own edification. See Essay ii. page 22. Ver. 4. To comfort them who are in any affliction.-According to Locke, the apostle in this passage insinuated, that by his own afflic tions he was qualified to comfort the Corinthians, under the distress of mind which they felt from a just sense of their errors and miscarriages. But the afflictions of which the apostle speaks, were chiefly outward afflictions: being the same with those which he himself suffered, as is plain from ver. 6, 7. Ver. 5. Our consolation aboundeth through Christ. The consolation of which the apostle speaks, was derived from the presence of Christ with him in his affliction; from a sense of the love of Christ shed abroad in his heart; from the joy which the success of the gospel gave him; from the assured hope of the reward which was prepared for him; from his knowledge of the influence of his sufferings to encourage others; and from the enlarged views which he had of the government of God, whereby all things are made to work for good to them who love God; so that he was entirely re conciled to his sufferings. Ver. 8. Affliction which happened to us in Asia.]-This is understood by some, of the riot of Demetrius, when they suppose the apostle was thrown to the wild beasts. But as he did not go into the 9 However, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raiseth the dead;2 10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us : 11 Ye also working together secretly for us by prayer,' so as the gift which COMETH to us2 through many persons, may by many persons be thankfully acknowledged for us. 12 For our boasting is this,' the testimony of our conscience, that with the greatest simplicity and sincerity,2 not with carnal wisdom,3 but with the grace of God, we have behaved in the world, and more especially (g, 293.) among you. 13 For we write no other things to you than what ye read,' (î xx, 195.), and also acknowledge, and I hope that even to the end ye will acknowledge; 14 (Kaws x, 203. 218.) Seeing, indeed, ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your boasting, even as ye also WILL BE ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus. 15 And in this persuasion I purposed to come to you first,' that ye might have a second gift; 2 16 And (d, 121.) from you to pass through into Macedonia, and from Macedonia to come again to you, and (ip') by you to be sent forward into Judea. 17 Wherefore, having purposed this, did I, forsooth, use levity? or the things which I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh,2 80 as with me yea should be yea, and nay, nay,3 AS IT SUITS MY DESIGNS? 9 However, I was suffered to pass sentence of death on myself, to teach me that in dangers I should not trust in myself, but in God, who preserveth the living from death, and even raiseth the dead to life; 10 Who delivered me from so terrible a death, and doth deliver me daily from dangers to which I am exposed, and in whom I trust that he will deliver me, while he needs my service: 11 Ye also working together in secret for me by earnest prayer to God, in such a manner that the gracious gift of deliverance from death, which cometh to me through the prayers of so many devout persons, may by many persons be thankfully acknowledged on my account. 12 I think myself entitled to the prayers of the faithful, and am persuaded that God will hear their prayers in my behalf, because my boasting is this, the testimony of my conscience, that with the greatest simplicity and sincerity, not with carnal wisdom, but with the gracious assistance of God, I have behaved as an apostle everywhere, and more especially among you. 13 For in what follows, ver. 15, 16. I write no other things to you, than what are implied in the obvious meaning of the words which ye read, and also acknowledge to be my meaning; and I hope that to the end of your life ye will acknowledge, that I always write sincerely. 14 This hope I entertain, seeing indeed a part of you have acknowledged me as an apostle, of whom ye boast on account of his faithfulness; even as ye also will be my boasting at the day of judgment, on account of your perseverance in the faith and practice of the gospel. 15 And in this persuasion that ye believe me a faithful apostle, 1 sincerely purposed to come to you first, that ye might have a second gift of the Spirit as soon as possible, by the imposition of my hands. 16 And after wintering with you, 1 Cor. xvi. 6. from you to pass through into Macedonia, and from Macedonia to come again to you, and by you to be sent forward into Judea, with your collection for the saints. 17 Wherefore, having purposed this, did I, forsooth, use levity when I altered my resolution? Or the resolutions which I form, do I form them from carnal motives, so as with me what I say I am to do, should be done, and what I say I am not to do, should not be done, according as it suits some worldly view, without any regard to my own declarations? theatre then, (Acts xix. 30.), but kept himself concealed from the rioters, he ran no such risk of his life on that occasion as to make him pass a sentence of death' on himself, ver. 9. and say he was 'delivered from so great a death,' ver. 10. I therefore suppose with Whitby, that this terrible death of which he was in danger, was his being torn in pieces by the wild beasts with which he fought in Ephesus on another occasion, mentioned 1 Cor. xv. 32. See note 1. on that verse. Ver. 9.-1. However, we had the sentence of death in ourselves.]— Amoxiμx You Javarou, literally, the answer of death. See Ess. iv. 32. -The sentence of death' is that which the apostle, when ordered to fight with wild beasts, pronounced on himself in his own mind. See preceding note. 2. But in God who raised the dead.-The apostle, in his former epistle, having proved the resurrection of the dead by many irre fragable arguments, mentions that instance of the power of God here with exultation, as a solid foundation for his expecting deliverance in the most perilous situations; and the rather, that formerly he himself had been raised from the dead in Lystra. Acts xiv. 19, 20. Ver. 11.-1. Ye also working together secretly for us by prayer.]— From this we learn, that the most eminent saints may be assisted and benefited by the prayers of persons much inferior to them in station and virtue. It is therefore a great encouragement to us to pray for one another, and a reason for our desiring each other's prayers. 2. That the gift which cometh to us.]-The word μ, translated gift, being commonly used by St. Paul to denote a spiritual or miraculous gift, it may have been used on this occasion to insinuate, that his deliverance was effected by some special interposition of the power of God. And truly something of that kind was necessary to accomplish his deliverance from a death which he thought inevitable. Ver. 12.-1. Our boasting is this.]-The apostle sets the ground of his boasting, namely, 'the testimony of his conscience, that with simplicity,' &c. in opposition to the ground of the false teacher's boasting, namely, his Jewish extraction, and his enjoining obedience to the law of Moses as necessary to salvation. 3. Not with carnal wisdom.]-What that was, the apostle tells us afterwards, chap. iv. 2. 5. where he contrasts his own behaviour with that of the false teacher. 4. But with the grace of God.]-His behaviour was suitable to the gracious dispositions which God had implanted in his heart, and te the assistance which from time to time he had granted to him. Ver. 13.-1. I write no other things to you than what ye read.]It seems the faction had affirmed, that some passages of Paul's former letter were designedly written in ambiguous language, that he might afterwards interpret them as it suited his purpose. He therefore told them, that the apology for altering his resolution respect ing his journey to Corinth, which he was going to write to them, was to be understood by them according to the plain obvious meaning of his words. 2. And also acknowledge.]-This the apostle was warranted to say, by the account which Titus had given him of the good disposi tion of the greater part of the Corinthian church. Ver. 15.-1. I purposed to come to you first.]—So #ewτtev signifies here. See Parkhurst's Diction.-As soon as the apostle was informed by some of the family of Chloe, that dissensions had ari sen among the Corinthian brethren, he determined to go to Corinth first, that is, before he went into Macedonia. His intention was to go straightway to Corinth by sea, because he wished to be there soon, in the expectation that his presence among the Corinthians would put an end to their divisions, either in the way of persua sion or of punishment. Wherefore, to prepare the Corinthians for his coming, he notified his resolution to them by Timothy and Erastus. But, after their departure, having great success in preaching, and the messengers from Corinth arriving with a letter from the sincere part of the church, the apostle judged it prudent to delay his visit to Corinth, to give them who had sinned time to repent. And therefore, instead of going straightway to Corinth by sea, he resolved to go by the way of Macedonia. This alteration of his purpose he signified to the Corinthians in his first epistle, chap. xvi. 5, 6, 7. 2. That ye might have a second gift.1-So our translators have rendered the word zze, chap. viii. 4. I think the word is here put for zze, a spiritual gift, in which sense it is used, Rom. xii. 6. Ephes. iv. 7. Ver. 17.-1. Did I, forsooth, use levity -Was the alteration of my purpose a proof that I formed it without due consideration? 2. Or the things which I purpose, &c. ]-See the View prefixed to this chapter. |